SHOULD WE WORSHIP JESUS ACCORDING TO JEWISH CUSTOMS?
“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
Sakkie Parsons
Translated from Afrikaans: “Moet ons Jesus volgens Joodse gebruike aanbid?”
Someone wrote to me as follows:
“Hope you can give us more clarity.
If Jesus was a Jew, then why do we worship Him not in the way of the Jews but as Christians? ”
Here is how I see this matter:
There is no doubt, to put it this way, that Jesus, as far as His humanity is concerned, was a Jew.
That is why Jesus Himself say to us in His Word:
JOHN 4:22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.
For me, the first thing that stand out when I look at this matter from the angle that it was asked of me, is that the Jews' way of worshiping through our Lord was only meant for the Jews.
The Gentiles, in other words; you and I, were excluded:
EPH 2:11-13
11 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called "the uncircumcision" by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands–
12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
I see the Jews' way of worship as a type of worship that our Lord meant only for the Jews at that time, to establish an intimate relationship between our Lord and the Jews, until the Messiah came – not only for the Jews, but for all of mankind.
If you read Exodus, chapter 19 to 24, you will have a good insight into what I am now sharing with you.
For example, we read:
EXO 19:4-7
4 You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.
5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine;
6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel."
7 So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the LORD had commanded him.
Then – through their acceptance of what our Lord said – the Covenant was made, or if you want – the Agreement was concluded.
EXO 19:8 All the people answered together and said, "All that the LORD has spoken we will do." And Moses reported the words of the people to the LORD.
EXO 24:3 Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the rules. And all the people answered with one voice and said, "All the words that the LORD has spoken we will do."
EXO 24:5-8
5 And he sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the LORD.
6 And Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he threw against the altar.
7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, "All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient."
8 And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, "Behold the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words."
Then, when the fullness of time came, the Messiah of the Jews and all mankind made His appearance!
GAL 4:4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,
GAL 4:5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
Do you remember what the prophet prophesied?
ISA 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
ISA 9:7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.
We are now, so to speak, free from the Mosaic Covenant (Law of Moses) – Or as my great hero Paul put it so beautifully:
GAL 3:23-26
23 Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed.
24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.
25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian,
26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.
Now, because I have accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour – two "must do’s" have come to grow in my heart and these two "must do’s" make all the hundreds of do's and don'ts of the Mosaic Covenant (Moses' law ) completely unnecessary for me.
What are these two "must do’s?"
MAT 22:36-40
36 "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?"
37 And He said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
38 This is the great and first commandment.
39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets."
I say, that I need nothing more than these two "must do’s" in my life.
Just look how well my great hero Paul sum up these two fundamentals in a Christian's
life:
ROM 13:8-10
8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
9 The commandments, "You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet," and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
Someone might ask what about the other ‘must do’ namely the love for our LORD.
Paul, as it seems to me, is just saying to me in his way what John is saying to me – one can say, in a stronger manner:
1JOHN 4:19 We love because He first loved us.
1JOHN 4:20 If anyone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.1JOHN 3:15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
This “brother” as I understand the Word, clearly also indicate my sister and my brother who are not of the same nation as I am, or of the same colour as I am, who have personally accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour.
Greetings,
Sakkie