At one point, I told a girl who had just begun reading the banners to let me know if she had any questions. Acknowledging me, she continued reading the banners, then found me where I'd retreated a bit to the side. Beginning with questions wondering how we can combine the Old and New Testaments, she told me that she is Jewish. We sat and talked for at least an hour, discussing sacrifices for sins, and the fact that the New Testament says that the law in the Old Testament is no longer valid based off of the final, perfect sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.
Michal (Michelle) reminded me that as a Jew, she does not believe that Jesus is God. I discussed with her how the evidence points to Jesus either being a liar, a lunatic, or who He said He is. Evidence of this is seen when Jesus said, "Worship only God." If he was not God, then he could not have been a good man because he allowed himself to be worshipped (Luke 4:8) so, he was either lying about who he claimed to be, which wouldn't have made him a good prophet, or he was crazy. Or, he is who he said he was-the Lord God.
One of Michal's questions about Jesus was, "Why would God have created another god?" Since the Jewish people do not believe Jesus is God, it was difficult for her to grasp the concept of God having more than one entity since one of the Ten Commandments says, "You shall have no other gods besides Me" (Exodus 20:3). I shared the analogy of Bill Gates living in the slums as a homeless man for a week-he's denying who he is, in order to experience another level of society. He is still Bill Gates; the fact that he still has the billions of dollars that he does, does not change the fact that he has altered his circumstances for that week. In much the same way, Jesus is God in the form of man coming down to spend 33 years on earth, experiencing the same things we experience without giving in to sin. He denied His rights to be honored and respected on earth in order to demonstrate His intimate love for us. He died on a cross that had once been a tree that He had created. This sacrifice is the most personal of all demonstrations of anyone that we have recorded in history.
Michal asked if I believed that everyone has to accept Jesus in order to be forgiven by God and go to heaven. She was somewhat taken aback when I shared that the Bible says that there is no difference between Jew and Gentile-that everyone must accept Jesus in order for the Father to forgive sins and allow us into heaven. We discussed how there has always been a mediator between man and God. In the Old Testament, that was always a prophet, and someone specifically chosen and anointed by God himself-such as Moses or Abraham. Never is there a part in the Old Testament where common man could communicate directly to God without first going thruogh the priest, who performed the ceremonial cleansing that God's law demanded. I shared with her how Jesus was the fulfillment of the law, not an entirely NEW law; Jesus, as a Jew, followed the ceremonial, civil, and moral laws from the Old Testament. However, he made a way for common man to communicate directly to God THROUGH him. One illustration of this is by the curtain in the temple being torn in half at the time of his death on the cross; (Matthew 27:51). God was essentially saying that Jesus is the final Mediator between God and man; that belief in sinless Jesus' death and resurrection created a line of communication directly to God as had never existed before. The curtain no longer separates us from the Holy of Holies, the inner chambers of the temple, when we seek God through Jesus Christ.
At one point, Michal stated how God could have obliterated all of humanity if He had wanted to. Not only this, but if Jesus had been God, He should have been able to keep himself from being murdered on the cross.
"So, why didn't he if he was God?" She asked.
"Well, the Bible says that Jesus could have called for thousands of angels to rescue him if he wanted them to" (Matt. 26:53).
"Why didn't he?"
"The reason he didn't? Well, it's because he loved us more than he loved himself. His love held him there, and allowed him to endure the terrible suffering that he did. His power never left him-he gave it up temporarily, refused to use what was his, in order for a greater purpose to be fulfilled-the ability of mankind to be saved through his death on the cross, if they will yield themselves over to him."
Jesus allows both Jews and Gentiles to believe in Him and be saved, as evidenced in Romans 3:21-24 when it says, "But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus" (NIV).
Another concept we discussed involved goodness. Michal shared that Jews do not believe that everyone has to be Jewish in order to be saved, like Bible-believing Christians believe that only those who accept Jesus will be saved. She believes that Muslims, Jews, and Christians (e.g., any religion) can be saved if they practice goodness to the best of their ability inside of their religion.
The Bible's response to this widely accepted belief about goodness is that God's standard of goodness never changes. He is holy and just, and demands recompence for sins. He provided Jesus as the means; Jesus is the only means because He was perfect, and we are not. The New Testament book of Hebrews tells how it is impossible for ceremonial practices to take away sin:
"The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming-not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. Otherwise would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins" (Hebrews 10:1-4 NIV).
There are over 300 prophecies in the Old Testament that Jesus fulfilled in the New Testament. Psalm 22:16-18 says, "Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet. All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garments" (NIV). This portion of scripture was written hundreds of years before crucifixion was invented.
Jeremiah 23:5,6 says, "'The days are coming,' declares the Lord, 'When I will raise up for David (OR, up from David's line) a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The Lord our Righteous Savior'" (NIV).
I could continue listing more of these astounding prophecies, but a simple Google search will easily get you a list of the many verses in the Old Testament with prophecies that Jesus fulfilled. Even if you are secure in your belief of who Jesus is, I would encourage anyone to spend even a short time in study over this area. It is flabbergasting to consider the fact that Jesus fulfilled so many of these Old Testament statements 700, 800, and 1000 years after they were written.
Michal and I could have talked all day, but she had to leave. We exchanged information, and hopefully we will be able to continue our discussion in the future.
Let me close with a verse from my quiet time yesterday. I journaled about Hebrews 10:8-10.
"First he said, 'sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire. Nor were you pleased with them'-though they were offered in accordance with the law. Then he said, 'Here am I, I have come to do your will.' He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." Vs. 18: "And where these, (sins and lawless acts) have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary."
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