The Jerusalem Post published an article by Faydra Shapiro on January 5, 2020 entitled Jews today and Jesus’s Jewish body. The article opens as follows:
Jesus not only was a Jew, but according to Christian theology, Jesus is still a Jew.
“At the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.” (Luke 2:21)
Yes, He was a Jew.
It is great to see the acknowledgment of Faydra Shapiro in her article, Jews Today and Jesus’ Jewish Body (January 5, 2020, JPost.com) however, one important correction is vital. He wasn’t named “Jesus “ as Shapiro states. As a Jew, born in Israel, He was named Yeshua, a proper Jewish name, not the Anglicized version which is associated to a non-Jewish person who had no connection to being a Jew. Shapiro is correct that Christians should internalize their Messiah’s Jewishness in order to reject anti-Jewish sentiment which, today, is becoming more prevalent. By the same token, Messianic Jews, those who believe that Yeshua was the promised Messiah should not be labeled as non-Jews who have converted to another faith, making them ineligible for Israeli citizenship. If Yeshua was Jewish and lived as a Jew, which He did, then identifying Him as Messiah cannot eradicate one’s birthright. In short, both Christians and Jews need to be remember that Yeshua was Jewish, all His followers were Jewish and, most important, He did not start a new religion. Non-Jews simply recognized His Messiahship as well.
Chava Stein
