Messianic Judaism

Messianic Judaism (Hebrew: יַהֲדוּת מְשִׁיחִית‎ or יהדות משיחית‎, Yahadút Mešiḥít) is a modern-day syncretic^[1] sect^[2] that considers itself Jewish (despite the claims to the contrary of all major Jewish groups).^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6] Many Jews and Jewish authority figures,^[7] both in the United States and Israel,^[7] consider it a part of Evangelical Christianity.^[7]

It emerged in the 1960s and 1970s from the earlier Hebrew Christian movement,^[8]^[9] and was most prominently propelled through the non-profit organization "Jews for Jesus"^[7]^[10]^[11] founded in 1973 by Martin "Moishe" Rosen, an American minister under the Conservative Baptist Association.^[12]^[13]

Evangelical Protestants who identify as Messianic Jews adhere to conventional Christian beliefs, including the concept of salvation through faith in Jesus (referred to by the Hebrew-language name Yeshua among adherents) as the Jewish Messiah and Savior from sin, and the spiritual authority of the Bible (including the Old and New Testaments).^[14]^[15]^[11]^[16]^[17] Belief in Jesus as a messianic figure and as divine (i.e., God the Son) is considered by Jews to be one of the most defining distinctions between Judaism and Christianity.^[18]^[19]^[20]

Among other evangelical Christian groups, Messianic Judaism is usually accepted as a form of Christianity.^[21] However, adherents of Messianic Judaism claim that the movement is instead a form of Judaism.^[22] In the Hebrew language, they tend to identify themselves with the terms maaminim (מאמינים‎, lit. 'believers') and yehudim (יְהוּדִים‬‎‎, lit. 'Jews') in opposition to being identified as notzrim (נוצרים, lit. 'Christians').^[a]^[23] Jewish organizations inside and outside of Israel reject this framing; the Supreme Court of Israel has also rejected this claim in cases related to the Israeli Law of Return, and Messianic Judaism is recognized only as a Christian movement in the country.^[18]^[24] In this context, there is some discourse among scholars as to whether Messianic Judaism should be labeled a Jewish or Christian religious sect, though the typical consensus identifies it as a stream of the Christian religion.^[25]

From 2003 to 2007, the movement grew from 150 Messianic houses of worship in the United States to as many as 438, with over 100 in Israel and more worldwide; congregations are often affiliated with larger Messianic organizations or alliances.^[26]^[27] As of 2012^[update], Messianic population estimates were between 175,000 and 250,000 members in the United States, between 10,000 and 20,000 members in Israel, and an estimated total worldwide membership of 350,000.^[28]^{[needs update]}

^ Kessler 2005, p. 292: "[Messianic Judaism's] syncretism confuses Christians and Jews…"
^ Ariel 2013, pp. 35–57.
^ Ariel 2000, p. 223.
^ Cohn-Sherbok 2000, p. 179.
^ Cite error: The named reference Ariel2006p191 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Melton2005 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Ben Barka, Mokhtar (December 2012). "The New Christian Right's relations with Israel and with the American Jews: the mid-1970s onward". e-Rea. 10 (1). Aix-en-Provence and Marseille: Centre pour l'Édition Électronique Ouverte on behalf of Aix-Marseille University. doi:10.4000/erea.2753. ISSN 1638-1718. S2CID 191364375. The Jews have cause to worry because Evangelicals are active on both fronts, promoting support for the State of Israel, and evangelizing the Jews at the same time. While the Israeli government eagerly accepts public support of Evangelicals and courts the leaders of the New Christian Right, many Jews bitterly condemn Christian proselytism and try their best to restrict the activities of missionaries in Israel. "Jews for Jesus" and other Christian Jewish groups in Israel have become especially effective in evangelizing, often with the support of foreign Evangelicals. It is not surprising that Jewish leaders, both in the United States and Israel, react strongly to "Jews for Jesus" and the whole "Messianic Jewish" movement, whose concern is to promote awareness among the Jews as to God's real plans for humanity and the need to accept Jesus as a Savior. In this respect, Gershom Gorenberg lamented the fact that "people who see Israel through the lens of Endtimes prophecy are questionable allies, whose support should be elicited only in the last resort. In the long run, their apocalyptic agenda has no room for Israel as a normal country."
^ Cohn-Sherbok 2010, p. 100: "In the 1970s a number of American Jewish converts to Christianity, known as Hebrew Christians, were committed to a church-based conception of Hebrew Christianity. Yet, at the same time, there emerged a growing segment of the Hebrew Christian community that sought a more Jewish lifestyle. Eventually, a division emerged between those who wished to identify as Jews and those who sought to pursue Hebrew Christian goals.[…] In time, the name of the movement was changed to Messianic Judaism."
^ Lewis 2001, p. 179: "The origins of Messianic Judaism date to the 1960s when it began among American Jews who converted to Christianity."
^ Cite error: The named reference Feher1998p140 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ ^a ^b Cite error: The named reference Ariel2006p194 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Brown2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Burton2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cohn-Sherbok 2000, p. 170.
^ Cite error: The named reference UMJC_StatementOfFaith was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Ariel2006p208 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference JeC3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ ^a ^b Cite error: The named reference Denominations was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference OhrSomayach was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Lotker was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Christians was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference MJSelfID was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Spector2008 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Berman was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Foreman 2006, p. 399.
^ Schoeman 2003, p. 351: "By the mid 1970s, Time magazine placed the number of Messianic Jews in the US at over 50,000; by 1993 this number had grown to 160,000 in the US and about 350,000 worldwide (1989 estimate).[…] There are currently over 400 Messianic synagogues worldwide, with at least 150 in the US."
^ Cite error: The named reference Yeoman was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference Posner2012 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

[FOOTNOTEKessler2005292-1] Kessler 2005, p. 292: "[Messianic Judaism's] syncretism confuses Christians and Jews…"

[FOOTNOTEAriel201335–57-2] Ariel 2013, pp. 35–57.

[FOOTNOTEAriel2000[httpsbooksgooglecombooksidr3hCgIZB790CqadvocatedoffspringrhetoricShalom_223]-3] Ariel 2000, p. 223.

[FOOTNOTECohn-Sherbok2000179-4] Cohn-Sherbok 2000, p. 179.

[Ariel2006p191-5] Cite error: The named reference Ariel2006p191 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Melton2005-6] Cite error: The named reference Melton2005 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[e-Rea_2012-7] Ben Barka, Mokhtar (December 2012). "The New Christian Right's relations with Israel and with the American Jews: the mid-1970s onward". e-Rea. 10 (1). Aix-en-Provence and Marseille: Centre pour l'Édition Électronique Ouverte on behalf of Aix-Marseille University. doi:10.4000/erea.2753. ISSN 1638-1718. S2CID 191364375. The Jews have cause to worry because Evangelicals are active on both fronts, promoting support for the State of Israel, and evangelizing the Jews at the same time. While the Israeli government eagerly accepts public support of Evangelicals and courts the leaders of the New Christian Right, many Jews bitterly condemn Christian proselytism and try their best to restrict the activities of missionaries in Israel. "Jews for Jesus" and other Christian Jewish groups in Israel have become especially effective in evangelizing, often with the support of foreign Evangelicals. It is not surprising that Jewish leaders, both in the United States and Israel, react strongly to "Jews for Jesus" and the whole "Messianic Jewish" movement, whose concern is to promote awareness among the Jews as to God's real plans for humanity and the need to accept Jesus as a Savior. In this respect, Gershom Gorenberg lamented the fact that "people who see Israel through the lens of Endtimes prophecy are questionable allies, whose support should be elicited only in the last resort. In the long run, their apocalyptic agenda has no room for Israel as a normal country."

[FOOTNOTECohn-Sherbok2010100-8] Cohn-Sherbok 2010, p. 100: "In the 1970s a number of American Jewish converts to Christianity, known as Hebrew Christians, were committed to a church-based conception of Hebrew Christianity. Yet, at the same time, there emerged a growing segment of the Hebrew Christian community that sought a more Jewish lifestyle. Eventually, a division emerged between those who wished to identify as Jews and those who sought to pursue Hebrew Christian goals.[…] In time, the name of the movement was changed to Messianic Judaism."

[FOOTNOTELewis2001179-9] Lewis 2001, p. 179: "The origins of Messianic Judaism date to the 1960s when it began among American Jews who converted to Christianity."

[Feher1998p140-10] Cite error: The named reference Feher1998p140 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Ariel2006p194-11] Cite error: The named reference Ariel2006p194 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Brown2010-12] Cite error: The named reference Brown2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Burton2018-13] Cite error: The named reference Burton2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[FOOTNOTECohn-Sherbok2000170-14] Cohn-Sherbok 2000, p. 170.

[UMJC_StatementOfFaith-15] Cite error: The named reference UMJC_StatementOfFaith was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Ariel2006p208-16] Cite error: The named reference Ariel2006p208 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[JeC3-17] Cite error: The named reference JeC3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Denominations-18] Cite error: The named reference Denominations was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[OhrSomayach-19] Cite error: The named reference OhrSomayach was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Lotker-20] Cite error: The named reference Lotker was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Christians-21] Cite error: The named reference Christians was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[MJSelfID-22] Cite error: The named reference MJSelfID was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Spector2008-24] Cite error: The named reference Spector2008 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Berman-25] Cite error: The named reference Berman was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[FOOTNOTEForeman2006399-26] Foreman 2006, p. 399.

[FOOTNOTESchoeman2003351-27] Schoeman 2003, p. 351: "By the mid 1970s, Time magazine placed the number of Messianic Jews in the US at over 50,000; by 1993 this number had grown to 160,000 in the US and about 350,000 worldwide (1989 estimate).[…] There are currently over 400 Messianic synagogues worldwide, with at least 150 in the US."

[Yeoman-28] Cite error: The named reference Yeoman was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Posner2012-29] Cite error: The named reference Posner2012 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]

[22]

[a]

[23]

[24]

[25]

[26]

[27]

[28]