The Messiah that the Jews were awaiting was believed to be a great military leader who would defeat Judea's secular enemies and restore Jewish independence. Since this is not the role that Jesus took, there was no reason for Jews to believe that he was their Messiah. Apart from Jesus, there were several prominent Jewish rebels who claimed to be the Messiah, but they had few adherents. According to the Jewish military leader and historian, Josephus, the appearance in the year 66 of Halley's comet, a 'star that stood over Jerusalem', was an omen that his conqueror, Vespasian, was to be the Messiah. Arguably, this prophecy had some truth, because Vespasian became Roman emperor several years later.
Thus it would seem that, in the face of evidence of the resurrection, not able to be refuted at all by his enemies who had ample opportunity to do so, that many who knew of these events believed. It is thus natural that these should at first be Jews, as they were closest to the 'facts.' They would have also easily seen through the claim of 'the body having been stolen while we slept' as, if such were the case then the soldiers, under the standard military discipline of the day would not have been alive to tell it.
Perhaps the thought is in relation to the time before Jesus' death. Many did secretly believe but did not declare it for fear. Greater boldness came upon the believers later. The persecution which eventually followed only served to 'spread the flame' of the gospel, like water on an oil fire.
Jewish Answer 1
Jews do not accept Jesus as the Messiah because the Messiah is to bring peace and the revival of the dead, neither of which have yet happened. In Judaism there is no second coming and the messiah must fulfill the prophecies without dying.
Christian Answer 1
Jesus fulfilled many prophecies but since they weren't as clear-cut as people expected them to be, people don't believe in Him. Also, they don't believe that Jesus will raise the dead and bring lasting peace to those who believe in him when he comes again. The peace will be after those who believe him are sent to heaven, and those who do not will be sent to hell.
Jewish Answer 2
In Judaism, Jesus was a regular human being who lived in olden times, and is not part of Jewish religious belief.
Judaism says very little about Jesus. According to our tradition, the vast majority of the Jews at the time didn't hear of him. The Torah-sages (Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai, Rabbi Yonatan ben Uziel, Chanina ben Dosa, Bava ben Buta, Shimon ben Hillel, Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Yehoshua, Rabbi Akiva, and hundreds of others) were active at that time and their yeshivot (Torah-academies) were flourishing. Their tens of thousands of disciples and hundreds of thousands of sympathizers were active in the Jewish world in that generation; they were the leaders and the forefront of Judaism. As Josephus (Antiquities book 18) writes, "the cities give great attestations to them." The great majority of Jews loved their sages and their Torah.
The unlearned class of the Amei-haaretz (ignoramuses) was a small fringe of society, but even they would and did lay down their lives in order not to violate anything of the Torah. As one ancient historian famously wrote:
Hecateus declares again, "what regard we [Jews] have for our laws; and we resolve to endure anything rather than transgress them." And he adds: "They [Jews] may be stripped on this account, and have torments inflicted upon them, and be brought to the most terrible kinds of death, but they meet these tortures after an extraordinary manner, beyond all other people, and will not renounce the religion of their forefathers."
No one (even any of them who did hear of Jesus) - would have given any consideration to what was and is considered unacceptable for us.
Jews do not recognize Jesus as the messiah because Jesus came along after their holy book (the Torah) was written.
Jewish AnswerThe core reason Jews do not accept Jesus as the messiah is because the Christian concept of 'messiah' simply does not exist in Judaism and the Tanach (Jewish Bible).
The word 'messiah' is the Anglicization of the Hebrew 'moshiach'. The word moshiach is a title that literally translates to 'anointed'. This is a title given to any person who is anointed with oil as part of their induction into their service of HaShem (The Creator) - kings, priests, prophets, etc. Based on the Christian Bible, Jesus would not have qualified to be a moshiach of any kind.
Another Jewish Answer
According to our tradition, the mashiach (messiah) will:
* See the Third Temple rebuilt in his days (Ezekiel 37:24-28)
* Gather all Jews back to the Land of Israel (Isaiah 43:5-6)
* Usher in an era of world peace, and end all hatred, oppression, suffering and disease. As it says: "Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall man learn war anymore." (Isaiah 2:4)
* Spread universal knowledge of the God of Israel, which will unite humanity as one. As it says: "God will be King over all the world -- on that day, God will be One and His Name will be One" (Zechariah 14:9)
* Hamoshiach (the messiah) will be descended on his father's side from King David (Genesis 49:10 and Isaiah 11:1)
* Hamoshiach will lead the Jewish people to full Torah observance. The Torah states that all mitzvot remain binding forever, and anyone coming to change the Torah is repudiated. (Deut. 13:1-4)
Jews look for and await the Messiah, whom they believe will be a mighty Priest and King; who will crush all opposition and lead his people back to the promised land.
Jesus being a man of common birth, and an modest itinerant preacher teaching a gospel of love and mercy, simply does not fit their conceived image of what the Messiah should look like.
Jewish AnswerTo correct the answer above, Priests and Kings come from two completely separate tribes so it is impossible for a King to also be a Priest. Additionally, a common theme about hamoshiach is that he will in fact be of humble birth before becoming a great Torah scholar.
The word messiah is the anglicised version of the Hebrew 'moshiach'. Moshiach literally means anointed and was a title given to any person who was properly anointed with oil as part of their initiation to their service of HaShem (The Creator). Historically, we had many valid moshiachim (pl): kings, priests, prophets, judges. There is a prophecy of a future moshiach, however, there is nothing supernatural about him, he'll be a religious Jew who will lead the country of Israel. The idea of the moshiach is a relatively minor subject in Judaism.
There are several reasons as to why Jesus didn't qualify as hamoshiach. The most obvious being that based on the two lineages given for him in the Christian Bible, he did not have the correct lineage to be either a king or priest.
The word 'messiah' is the anglicisation of the Hebrew 'moshiach'. The word moshiach translates to 'anointed'. The title of moshiach was given to any person who was appropriately anointed with oil as part of their initiation to their service of HaShem. We have had many moshiachim (pl) in the form of kings, priests, prophets, and judges. There is absolutely nothing supernatural about a moshiach.
This being said, there is a prophecy of a future moshiach, however, this is a relatively minor topic in Judaism and the Tanach.
The Jewish requirements of hamoshiach are:
* Build the Third Temple (Ezekiel 37:24-28)
* Gather all Jews back to the Land of Israel (Isaiah 43:5-6)
* Usher in an era of world peace, and end all hatred, oppression, suffering and disease. As it says: "Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall man learn war anymore." (Isaiah 2:4)
* Spread universal knowledge of the God of Israel, which will unite humanity as one. As it says: "HaShem will be King over all the world -- on that day, HaShem will be One and His Name will be One" (Zechariah 14:9)
* Hamoshiach must be descended on his father's side from King David (Genesis 49:10 and Isaiah 11:1)
* Hamoshiach will lead the Jewish people to full Torah observance. The Torah states that all mitzvot remain binding forever, and anyone coming to change the Torah is immediately identified as a false prophet. (Deut. 13:1-4)
From the Jewish perspective, Jesus didn't meet a single requirement for any type of moshiach, never mind hamoshiach.
According to our tradition, the vast majority of the Jews at the time didn't hear of him. The Sages of the Mishna (Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai, Rabbi Yonatan ben Uziel, Chanina ben Dosa, Bava ben Buta, Shimon ben Hillel, Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Yehoshua, Rabbi Akiva, and hundreds of others) were active at that time and their yeshivot (Torah-academies) were flourishing. Their tens of thousands of disciples and hundeds of thousands of sympathizers were active in the Jewish world in that generation; they were the leaders and the forefront of Judaism. As Josephus (Antiquities book 18) writes, "the cities give great attestations to them." The great majority of Jews loved their sages and their Torah.
The unlearned class of the Amei-haaretz (ignoramuses) was a small fringe of society, but even they would and did lay down their lives in order not to violate anything of the Torah. As one ancient historian famously wrote:
Hecateus declares again, "what regard we (Jews) have for our laws; and we resolve to endure anything rather than transgress them." And he adds: "They [Jews] may be stripped on this account, and have torments inflicted upon them, and be brought to the most terrible kinds of death, but they meet these tortures after an extraordinary manner, beyond all other people, and will not renounce the religion of their forefathers."
No one (even any who did hear of Jesus) - would have given heed to what was and is considered unacceptable for us. The few who came in contact with him soon lost interest, and the early Christians felt the need to turn to non-Jewish centers of population in order to gain adherents, while the Jews remained Jews.
We do not believe that Jesus is or was anything other than a regular human being. We may also note that according to our tradition, prophecy ceased about 340 years before the birth of Jesus; and public miracles stopped even earlier.
Here is a related topic:
The word "messiah" is the transliterated form of the Hebrew "moshiach." The word moshiach translates to "anointed." The title of moshiach was given to any person who was appropriately anointed with oil as part of their initiation to their service of God. We have had many meshichim (plural) in the form of kings and priests. There is absolutely nothing supernatural about a moshiach.
This being said, there is a prophecy of a future moshiach; however, this is a relatively minor topic in Judaism and the Tanakh.
The Jewish requirements of the messiah are:
* Build the Third Temple (Ezekiel 37:26-28)
* Gather all Jews back to the Land of Israel (Isaiah 43:5-6)
* Usher in an era of world peace, and end all hatred, oppression, suffering and disease. As it says: "Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall man learn war any more." (Isaiah 2:4)
* Spread universal knowledge of the God of Israel, which will unite humanity as one. As it says: "God will be King over all the world. On that day, God will be One and His Name will be One." (Zechariah 14:9)
* The messiah must be descended on his father's side from King David (Genesis 49:10 and Isaiah 11:1)
* The messiah will lead the Jewish people to full Torah-observance. The Torah states that all of its mitzvot (commands) remain binding forever.
There are two ways to deal with this question: from a present evidential prospective and from a biblical evidential perspective.
Present Evidential Arguments
Some of the most common Jewish arguments against their accepting Jesus as the Messiah are the following:
Jewish tradition is that Jesus was a regular human being.
(See: What do Jews believe God is like?)
We may also note that according to our tradition, prophecy ceased about 340 years before the birth of Jesus; and public miracles stopped even earlier.
Judaism says very little about Jesus. According to our tradition, the vast majority of the Jews at the time didn't hear of him. The Torah-sages (Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai, Rabbi Yonatan ben Uziel, Chanina ben Dosa, Bava ben Buta, Shimon ben Hillel, Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Yehoshua, Rabbi Akiva, and hundreds of others) were active at that time and their yeshivot (Torah-academies) were flourishing. Their tens of thousands of disciples and hundreds of thousands of sympathizers were active in the Jewish world in that generation; they were the leaders and the forefront of Judaism. As Josephus (Antiquities book 18) writes, "the cities give great attestations to them." The great majority of Jews loved their sages and their Torah.
The unlearned class of the Amei-haaretz (ignoramuses) was a small fringe of society, but even they would and did lay down their lives in order not to violate anything of the Torah. As one ancient historian famously wrote:
Hecateus declares again, "what regard we [Jews] have for our laws; and we resolve to endure anything rather than transgress them." And he adds: "They [Jews] may be stripped on this account, and have torments inflicted upon them, and be brought to the most terrible kinds of death, but they meet these tortures after an extraordinary manner, beyond all other people, and will not renounce the religion of their forefathers."
No one (even any who did hear of Jesus) - would have given heed to what was and is considered unacceptable for us. The few who came in contact with him soon lost interest, and the early Christians felt the need to turn to non-Jewish centers of population in order to gain adherents, while the Jews remained Jews.
Here is a related topic:
The word "messiah" is the transliterated form of the Hebrew "moshiach." The word moshiach means "anointed." The title of moshiach was given to any person who was appropriately anointed with oil as part of their initiation to their service of God. We have had a number of meshichim (plural) in the form of kings and priests. There need be nothing supernatural about a moshiach.
This being said, there is a prophecy of a future moshiach. However, this is a relatively minor topic in Judaism and the Tanakh.
The Jewish requirements of the messiah are:
* Build the Third Temple (Ezekiel 37:26-28).
* Gather all Jews back to the Land of Israel (Isaiah 43:5-6).
* Usher in an era of world peace, and end all hatred and oppression. As it says: "Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, nor shall they learn war any more" (Isaiah 2:4).
* Spread universal knowledge of the God of Israel, which will unite humanity as one. As it says: "God will be King over all the world. On that day, God will be One and His Name will be One" (Zechariah 14:9).
* The messiah must be descended on his father's side from King David (Genesis 49:10 and Isaiah 11:1).
* The messiah will lead the Jewish people to full Torah-observance. The Torah states that all of its mitzvot (commands) remain binding forever.
There are two ways to deal with this question: from a present evidential perspective and from a biblical evidential perspective.
Present Evidential Arguments
Some of the most common Jewish arguments against their accepting Jesus as the Messiah are the following:
In Judaism, Jesus was a regular human being who lived in olden times, and is not part of Jewish religious belief.
According to our tradition, the vast majority of the Jews at the time didn't hear of him. No one (even any of them who did hear of Jesus) - would have given any consideration to what was and is considered unacceptable for us.
The few who came in contact with Jesus soon lost interest, and the early Christians felt the need to turn to non-Jewish centers of population in order to gain adherents, while the Jews remained Jews.
The unlearned class of the Amei-haaretz (ignoramuses) was a small fringe of society, but even they would and did lay down their lives in order not to change anything of the Torah.
The Jewish requirements of the messiah have not yet been fulfilled. They are:
* Build the Third Temple (Ezekiel 37:26-28).
* Gather all Jews back to the Land of Israel (Isaiah 43:5-6).
* Usher in an era of world peace, and end all hatred and oppression. "Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, nor shall they learn war any more" (Isaiah 2:4).
* Spread universal knowledge of the God of Israel, which will unite humanity as one. "God will be King over all the world. On that day, God will be One and His Name will be One" (Zechariah 14:9).
* The messiah must be descended on his father's side from King David (Genesis 49:10 and Isaiah 11:1).
* The messiah will lead the Jewish people to full Torah-observance. The Torah states that all of its mitzvot (commands) remain binding forever.
Catholics do not deny the existence of Mary Magdalene and neither do the Jews. The Jews do not accept that Jesus was the Messiah and, therefore, do not accept the New testament as a part of Scripture. They do not deny that Jesus or Mary Magdalene existed.
Jews call "the Messiah" as "the Messiah" or in Hebrew "HaMoshiach" (המשיח). However, as opposed to other religions, such as Christianity or Islam, Judaism does not believe that the Messiah has come yet and therefore is not identified with any person. For example, Jews don't believe that Jesus was the Messiah and, therefore, do not accept the Christian or Islamic claims that he was a God prophet or God/son of God.
Jews are not Christians. Christians believe that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah. Jews (and remember- Jesus was a Jew himself) believe that the Messiah has not yet come.
The Jews refuse to take Jesus Christ as the Messiah , even today. Historically, Judea was under Roman control. The Jewish leaders were focused on a political Messiah who would drive Rome out. Jesus took an attitude of distinct reserve and caution to this title (Messiah) since it carried overtones of political power. He went to the cross as a crucified Messiah because the Jewish leaders failed to perceive the nature of messiahship as Jesus understood it. Jews who follow Jesus today are called Messianic Jews.
Messiah
The Jews do not recognize Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah, they are still waiting for the Messiah to come.
Jews and Jesus have very little to do with each other, despite Jesus having been born Jewish. See:Why didn't the Jews believe in Jesus?
Judaism does not accept Yeshua (jesus) as messiah
The Jews do not recognize Jesus as the Messiah.
Christians believe that Jesus was the Jewish Messiah. Jews disagree.
The criteria extended past just been a Jew. Jesus did not seem to them to be fulfilling the requirements for the Messiah. He challenged many of their beliefs and practices. Many Jews do accept Christ. Also many Jews today have rejected God as well.
Such speculation is pointless, either you have faith and accept what he purportedly said of himself (that he was the Son of God, the Messiah) and you are therefore a Christian, or you don't believe this and therefore would not waste your time thinking about it.