For nearly twenty centuries, Jews have been accused of murdering Yeshua. So-called «Christian anti-Semitism» is essentially based on this accusation. The indescribable suffering of our people—including countless pogroms and murders—is linked precisely to this accusation. But is this accusation justified? Dr. Fisher, rabbi of the Jewish Messianic synagogue «Or Hadash» in Clearwater, Florida, USA (https://ohrchadash.org) shows that the Brit Hadasha (New Testament) paints a very different picture.
Yeshua did not come merely to the Jews; He came to His creation.
«Breishit a-ya a-davar» («In the beginning was the Word» Hebrew; Johanan 1:1) is how the Gospel of Johanan begins. But a few verses further on we read a statement often subject to misinterpretation:
«He came to His own, and His own received Him not.»
Johanan 1:11
Because of a misunderstanding of this and other similar passages, we, as a people, have been accused of the evil we inflicted upon Yeshua and of having turned away from Him—the One who came to walk among us. Over the past two millennia, we have paid for this with the lives of our people. Unfortunately, this story has not ended even in our time, because if we, the Jews, have turned away from the Messiah as a gift from the Most High, then we must suffer the corresponding curse and deserve what is happening to us. However, it is not that simple.
So, in the beginning was the Word. Two verses later we read that all things were created by Him:
«By Him all things began to be, and without Him nothing began to be that began to be.»
Yohanan 1:3
In light of this idea, who exactly is being referred to when we read that He came to His own? If it refers to His creation, then it implies the entire world, for He created everything and everyone. In other words, it is not that we, as a people, have turned away from Him. But that is not all. There is another reason that supports this idea. It is recorded in the Gospels.
The reaction of the Jews of the 1st century CE to Yeshua and His teaching
Mark narrates:
«...And the multitude of the people listened to Him with pleasure.»
Mark 12:37
Yeshua is in Israel among His people—the Jews. And so, it is the Jews who listen to Him with pleasure. The people respected Him so much that when the high priests and their associates wanted to get rid of Yeshua, they were afraid to do so because of the people:
«...and they schemed to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. But not during the festival,” they said, “or there may be a riot among the people.»
Matityahu 26:4-5
In other words, crowds of Jews followed Yeshua and loved Him.
Yochanan describes Yeshua in the words of those around Him:
Still, many in the crowd believed in Him. They said, “When the Messiah comes, will he perform more signs than this man?”
Jochanan 7:31
Many of the Jewish people believed in Him! A few chapters later the same Jochanan writes:
"The P'rushim (pharisees) said to each other, "Look, you're getting nowhere! Why, the whole world has gone after him!""
Jochanan 12:19
Religious leaders who try to take action against Yeshua accuse Him of having «the whole world» follow His teachings. By this expression «the whole world» they mean the vast number of Jews who followed Yeshua. A little earlier in chapter 6, Jochanan wrote:
"Yeshua knew that they were on the point of coming and seizing Him, in order to make Him king; so He went back to the hills again. This time He went by Himself."
Jochanan 6:15
The Jews wanted to make Him their King. They wanted to anoint Him to be their anointed king. Mashiach.
Yeshua is the recognized Mashiach of Israel
How do we know that everything we’re talking about right now is true? Let’s take a journey back in history to an event known in Christianity as «Palm Sunday.» The situation leading up to this event was as follows: A few days before the Feast of Passover, Yeshua rides down from the Mount of Olives on a donkey and approaches Jerusalem through the Kidron Valley, entering the city through the eastern gate. At this time, there are many devout Jews in Jerusalem who have come to celebrate the festival. Upon seeing Yeshua, they greet Him:
«A great crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road; and the crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, »Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”
Matityahu 21:8-9
In those days, if a group of people wanted to welcome an important guest, they would cut palm branches and lay them on the road. In other words, when the religious Jews saw Yeshua coming, they cut palm branches and laid them on the road before Him, welcoming Him as their king.
Notice what they are saying here. The first word we read is «Hosanna.» Some believe that with this word they were praising Yeshua. However, in Hebrew, this word is «Hoshanah» (“Save us now”). They weren’t praising Him—they were praying to Him!
During the celebration of Sukkot, there is a special day known as the Great Day of Sukkot («Hoshanah Rabbah,» in Hebrew). On this day, special prayers called the Hoshanot are recited. These prayers are addressed to the one who is referred to by the messianic title «"Branch of David"». Note that it is with these very prayers that the people turn to Yeshua. However, instead of «Branch of David,» they call Him «"son of David",Because «Son of David» was the most common title for the Messiah at that time. I.e., they actually call Him the Messiah.
Their next exclamation is «blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!». The ancient rabbis taught that if you have the opportunity to personally greet the Messiah when He comes, this is what you should say to Him: "Baruch haba beshem Adonai" ("Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord"). The people welcome Yeshua the way our rabbis taught us to welcome the Messiah!
So, in this passage, Matityahu highlights four important ways in which the Jews welcomed Yeshua:
- Palm leaves, symbolizing a greeting from the great king.
- Reciting Messianic Prayers.
- They call Yeshua the Messiah, the Son of David.
- They welcome Him as the Messiah, in accordance with the teachings of the rabbis.
All of this clearly shows that the Jewish people did not reject Yeshua, but accepted Him as the Messiah. This is what we read in the Gospels, no matter how misunderstood they are sometimes.
Who were those who demanded Yeshua's execution?
However, immediately after these events, something happens that causes Yeshua to be executed. But before we touch on this topic, let's look at one more thing. Luke describes the event of Yeshua being led out of Jerusalem to be executed:
"Large numbers of people followed, including women crying and wailing over him."
Luke 23:27
Why are they crying? Because their Messiah is being led to execution.
A common question some people ask is: What happened to the people who welcomed Yeshua as the Messiah? Luke tells us that the Jewish people wept as He was led away to be executed.
So what had happened shortly before that? The high priest and his associates sent soldiers to arrest Yeshua. Yeshua is brought into the courtyard of the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, where the crowd is also gathered, shouting, «Crucify him!».
If you’ve ever been to Jerusalem and seen Pilate’s courtyard, you surely noticed that it could hold no more than a hundred people. How many Jewish pilgrims had come to Jerusalem at that time to celebrate Passover? It is known that about 200,000 people gathered annually for this holiday. At that time, about 2.5 million people lived in Israel. So, 100 out of 2.7 million people were shouting, «Crucify Him!» There were about 8 million Jews living throughout the Roman Empire at that time. That is, 100 out of 8 million Jews demanded that Pilate execute Yeshua.
Who were these 100 men standing before Pilate? We know that the day Yeshua appeared before Pilate was the day of preparation for Passover. According to Jewish tradition, Jews spend this day at home preparing for the great feast. Which of them, leaving their preparations behind, rushed to the courtyard of the Roman governor in the early morning to demand Yeshua's death? Certainly they were men chosen specifically for this task and who came at the insistence of the high priest and his staff.
There is one more detail that is overlooked by those who believe that the Jews did not recognize and crucify their Messiah. When you read chapters 18–20 of the Gospel of Yohanan, you’ll notice that it was the high priest and his followers who demanded Yeshua’s execution. So, did Pilate grant their request? No, he did what he himself wanted to do.
Pontius Pilate, whom we know from history, was an exceptionally negative figure. He hated the Jews and took pleasure in harming them. And now he was ready to do anything to provoke them. Ultimately, the Roman authorities removed him from Judea. The Jews could not have forced this Pilate to do their bidding. Luke records the words Yeshua spoke to His disciples immediately before His execution:
«But when he had withdrawn his twelve disciples, he said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things written through the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished: for they shall deliver him up to the Gentiles, and shall mock him, and shall insult him, and shall spit upon him, and shall scourge him, and shall beat him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again»
Luke 18:31-33
Who did Yeshua say would kill Him? Gentiles, not Jews at all.
The events following Yeshua's resurrection
What happened after Yeshua's death and resurrection on the Feast of Shavuot? His disciple Shimon preaches to a great number of people about the resurrection from the dead, which proves that Yeshua is the promised Messiah of Israel and Lord of the whole world. Luke tells us (Luke 2:41) that the three thousand Jews who came to the feast believed it.
However, this is not an exact figure. In keeping with the tradition of the time, women and children were not counted. We can safely assume that there were just as many women and, possibly, at least twice as many children. In other words, we are likely talking about 12,000 people who heard Shimon’s sermon and believed in Yeshua. That is a lot of people.
But two chapters later we read of another 2,000,000 men (Acts 21:20), which, according to our estimates, could number 8,000 Jewish men, women, and children. Then we come to chapter 21 and witness a dialogue between Rabbi Shaul (Paul) and the leader of the Jerusalem Messianic community, James, the brother of Yeshua, who, together with other members of the community, reports:
"On hearing it, they praised God; but they also said to Him, "You see, brother, how many tens of thousands of believers there are among the Judeans, and they are all zealots for the Torah."
Acts 21:20
The way Luke wrote these words leads us to believe that there were 30,000 Messianic Jews living in Jerusalem who believed in Messiah Yeshua. At this time the population of Jerusalem consisted of 70,000 people. Messianic Jews made up just under half the population of Jerusalem.
This is entirely consistent with what we have already read in the Gospels. If the Jews were happy to follow Yeshua until His death, then it is only logical that now, after His resurrection from the dead, they believed in Him as their Messiah and joined the community of Yeshua’s followers.
Some time after these events, we read in a letter by Neander—who is called the father of church history—that by the end of the first century, there were about 1 million Messianic Jews living in Israel, whose population at the time was 2.5 million. There were once so many of us.
Famous personalities among the Messianic Jews of the 1st century
Among Yeshua's followers were also the leaders of the nation of Israel. We read about this in the Gospels:
"Nevertheless, many of the leaders did believe in Him..."
Yochanan 12:42
Of course, after His resurrection from the dead, their numbers increased significantly.
"So the word of God continued to spread. The number of talmidim in Yerushalayim increased rapidly, and a large crowd of cohanim were becoming obedient to the faith."
Acts 6:7
Two of these leaders played important roles in Jewish history. One of them was named Menachem (Acts 13:1). This same Menachem is mentioned in the Talmud, where he is described as a follower of Yeshua. He was second in command in the Sanhedrin after Hillel—the most influential rabbi of that time.
Another is an addressee of Luke's epistles (Gospels and Acts) named Theophilus (Luke 1:1), whom the author describes as «venerable» (respected). This man served as high priest from A.D. 37 to 41. Faith in Yeshua had spread even to the elite of Israel.
Usually, this biblical perspective is ignored. Yet it is precisely this story that the authors of the Gospels—eyewitnesses to these events—have particularly emphasized. This is because so many people misunderstand this story completely, having been taught that we initially rejected our Messiah and killed Him. This lie has been the cause of widespread persecution and the murder of the Jewish people. Now this story has been entrusted to us so that we may tell it correctly!
