When you ask a “Christian” the question “can someone who is Jewish be a Christian” it immediately stirs consternation within the person you asked this question to. It sounds so wrong because of how we define the words “Jewish” and “Christian” today. Most people see Judaism and Christianity as two completely different groups. “Christianity” is viewed as a religious group with a set of teachings that are not compatible with Judaism. This is because of inherently anti-Semitic false teachings that cropped up shortly after Christianity.

The answer is that God’s chosen people are just that, they were chosen to be a living representation of what God will do for a group of people who put Him first. It didn’t mean that no one else could know God. God gave out laws that in many cases would establish identity; one true God, Sabbath, dietary, and for the men circumcision. These traits established identity that anyone around them could see. Keeping the law didn’t justify them before God because no one can do any work that justifies themselves before God ( Acts 13:39 , Gal 2:16 )!

To phrase the question so there won’t be any confusion, we should ask “can you be Jewish and a follower of Yeshua?” The answer is an emphatic “YES!!!” The two can co-exist harmoniously and that is exactly how God intended it to be because outwardly we are many different things but we are one in Christ ( Gal 3:28 ).

Here is a simple question that we should ask ourselves, “would God have His prophet’s prophecy about a Messiah who would be the savior of the world and then say ‘but to be a follower in Him you have to forsake a covenant God made with the Jews?’” No! God doesn’t change ( Mal 3:6 ) and His covenants are everlasting ( Num 18:19 , Ps 105:8 , Ps 111:9 ). That is the awesome thing about our God, He doesn’t change so we know we can confidence that what He said yesterday will not change tomorrow! Remember, the scriptures say that those who believe in Him (Yeshua) should not parish but have everlasting life. There is NOTHING about giving up Judaism or becoming a Jew because the two exist harmoniously. On the flip side there is nothing in Judaism that says you can’t accept the Messiah that the prophets prophesied of, as a matter of fact God expects you to believe in the Messiah He foretold of and sent!

Paul was Jewish (even after his accepting Yeshua) and boasted of his Jewish credentials ( Philip 3:3-6 ). Paul goes on to point out all of this he counts as loss, not that it is bad but that the salvation which comes through Yeshua is what counts (not following the law) when it comes to attaining the resurrection from the dead ( Philip 3:11 ). Paul also was upset when Jewish teachers came into Gentile churches he had established and started teaching them that they needed to follow the Jewish law; right down to circumcision for the men (which wasn’t a pleasant experience for an adult). Even after becoming a follower of Yeshua he kept the law and participated in the festivals ( Acts 18:21 , Acts 24:14 , Acts 25:8 ); simply put he was a Jewish follower of Yeshua. Paul maintained that if you weren’t Jewish that you didn’t need to practice the law where it pertained to identity (dietary, festivals, circumcision).

There are some issues that need to be cleared up because they have caused a lot of confusion and division among believers.

We need to revisit the topic of “covenant” because it is greatly misunderstood. The other day I heard a pastor, that I greatly respect, say that the “old testament” and “new testament” could be referred to as “old covenant” and “new covenant” which is blatantly wrong!

In the Old Testament “new covenant” is mentioned one time ( Jer 31:31 ) and this is quoted by the writer of Hebrews ( Heb 8:8 ). Yeshua only mentions “new covenant” one time at the last supper ( Matt 26:28 , Mark 14:24 , Luke 22:20 ) saying “My blood of the new covenant” or “new covenant in My blood” which has very different connotations but notice it only addresses the “blood” portion of the law. Keep in mind that what most people call the “old covenant” had several planks to it but only one part had to do with blood sacrifices, the sacrifice for sins. The other parts of the old covenant establish identity for the Jewish people; dietary, circumcision, etc., all the things that have no “redeeming” power.

Today people hear the “new covenant” and think if this is the “new covenant” then the “old covenant” is replaced by this. This is further propagated in Hebrews 8:13 when you see things like “a new covenant” and “made the first obsolete” and Hebrews 8:7 ref to first and second covenant. At a glance this is confusing but does it really mean what it appears to be saying?

First we need a little understanding of the book of Hebrews. This was written to a congregation of Jews that were followers of Yeshua, probably in Rome. They were being persecuted and many of them were contemplating placing their faith in Judaic law rather than Yeshua. The unknown writer of Hebrews is trying to encourage them to keep following Yeshua because His sacrifice is far better than any animal sacrifice ( Heb 10:4 , Heb 10:10 ).

Hebrews 8:8-12 Jeremahiah 31:31-34

The writer of Hebrews quotes the prophecy of Jeremiah. Note that this “new covenant” is with Israel and Judah; there is no mention of the gentiles. In Heb 8:10 God says “… I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts…” Verse 11 it says “None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me...” Have we come to a time where we don’t have to ask people “do you know the Lord” because everybody already knows the Lord? That obviously hasn’t happened. This means the prophecy hasn’t been fulfilled yet and the writer of Hebrews spoke presumptuously.

When you see scriptures quoted in the New Testament they come from the Septuagint, which is the Greek version of the Hebrew Scriptures. We know this because there are several verses that are translated differently from Hebrew to Greek and this quote of Jeremiah is a prime example and you don’t have to know Hebrew to see it, just compare each:

From Heb 8:9 “…and I disregarded them…”

From Jer 31:32 “…though I was a husband to them…”

Hum, there is quite a difference in the meaning, what do we use? I default to the most ancient version which is the Hebrew text as shown in Jeremiah but even if you use the book of Hebrews version, “disregarded” in Greek means “ignored” not “disowned” as many people believe it means.

When Yeshua spoke of the “new covenant” He was referring to the blood sacrifice for sins. His blood was the sacrifice for all mankind; Jews and gentiles alike! Yeshua prophesied that the temple would be destroyed ( Matt 24:1,2 , Mark 13:1,2 , Luke 21:5,6 ) which meant that the blood sacrifice system was coming to an end. Yeshua was the blood sacrifice for everybody which means that the priestly system to carry out the sacrifices was not needed anymore. This could very well explain Hebrews 8:13; the “new covenant” is the blood of Yeshua and it makes the old blood sacrifice “obsolete” hence the sacrifice system is “fading away” since the temple would be destroyed in 40 years.

Jews and “Christian’s” each have an exclusive two step connection to God but they differ:

Paul recognizes this alignment with God in Galatians 3:28 (ref Gal 3:26-28 ): “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” One might argue that being a Jew or Greek means that you are not a Jew anymore but this is wrong because it’s referring to being in Christ, a spiritual body. Our outward distinctions still exist, like Paul wrote in Galatians (above), outwardly we are still male and female! Anyone who is a follower of Yeshua makes up the spiritual body of Christ and we are all equally one with no distinction between each other.

For nearly 2000 years we, the “Christians”, have been falsely maligning the Jewish people. The reality is that if they are followers of Yeshua then they are brothers and sisters in Christ. The scriptures say we are to edify (build up) each other, not tear them down ( Heb 10:24 )!

We need to start shifting our prospective of Christianity into what the scriptures say it is. We need to stop propagating fallacies that we have been throwing out as facts. We need to start correcting those errors and start loving our brothers and sisters as God intended us to ( John 13:35 , 1 John 4:20 , Rom 12:10 , Rom 13:8 , Gal 5:13 )!