Ashamed of Christ?

The apostle Paul, who was known by his Hebrew name as Saul, was a Pharisee. The Pharisees were the ancient equivalent of today's Orthodox Jews.

In fact, many of the customs and religious traditions observed by the Orthodox Jews trace back to the time of the Pharisees.

For those of you who are versed in the New Testament, you know who the Pharisees were. They were bad people. They were the religious leaders who gave Jesus Christ a very hard time during His ministry in ancient Israel.

They often plotted to kill Jesus because Christ presented a very serious threat to their authority. Unlike Christ, the Pharisees were loathed by the people. Unlike Christ, they were dull, boring, phony, corrupt and arrogant. And unlike Christ, they had no power to perform miracles such as giving sight to the blind, raising the dead and healing deadly diseases.

Eventually, the Pharisees succeeded in killing Christ by bribing one of His disciples--Judas Iscariot--into handing Christ over to them. However, unbeknownst to them, the Pharisees fulfilled God's will by crucifying Christ whose death on Calvary's cross provided atonement for the sins of mankind. (Isaiah 53)

How does Paul fit into this? As a Pharisee, Paul originally persecuted the early church until he encountered the risen and glorified Christ one day on a road to Damascus. (Acts 9) Paul's encounter with Christ convinced him that Jesus was indeed the Jewish Messiah. The hardened Pharisee, who derived great pleasure in persecuting Christians, became the greatest apostle to the gentile world.

One of the important lessons that Paul learned as a new convert was that both Jews and Gentiles became a brand new creation in Christ. Here's what Paul wrote: "You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise." (Galatians 3:26-29)

Paul continually emphasized that during his travels throughout Asia Minor and Europe. Jews and Gentiles, that had once been separated, were now brothers and sisters in the Lord.

Tragically, there are those who don't believe that. There are so-called Christians who believe the Jews are eternally cursed and cut off from God because their ancestors rejected Christ.

And there are those who identify as Messianic Jews who want nothing to do with Christianity nor Gentiles. They claim that God has called them to carry on in the religious traditions mandated by Rabbinic Judaism and to stay out of the Christian church. In fact, they don't want to be known as Christians.

Anyone who believes in Jesus Christ--or Yeshua as Messianic Jews refer to Him--is a Christian. Anyone who has truly confessed Christ--or Yeshua--as Lord or Moshiach, has a responsibility to preach Christ crucified for the sins of the world and His resurrection from the dead. That's the calling of every believer in Christ--or Yeshua.

No Jewish or Gentile believer is called to divide the Body of Christ by following the religious traditions of either pagans or those who hated Christ and betrayed Him.

Messianic Jews argue that they're being obedient to God by returning to the biblical roots of their faith. But that's dead wrong. The religious traditions practiced and promoted by the rabbis aren't biblical. They're anti-biblical and they're designed to prevent the Jews from coming to Jesus Christ.

What would Paul say to modern Messianic Jews? He'd probably tell them this: "Your boasting is not good. Don't you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast--as you really are." (1 Corinthians 5:6-7)