Most Jews of the time did not see Jesus as the expected Messiah because: 1. The Jewish Messiah had a different checklist. In the prophecies of the Tanakh – the Hebrew Bible – the Messiah was supposed to: - Reunite all Jews back in Israel - Rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem - Bring world peace and an end to wars - Make everyone recognize the God of Israel Jesus did not fulfill this in their view. He died before, the Temple was destroyed in 70 AD, and the wars continued. 2. Central theological issue: monotheism Judaism is strictly monotheistic: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” The idea of God in human form, or of “son of God” in the literal sense, clashed with this. For many Jewish leaders, this sounded like idolatry. 3. Religious authority Jesus openly criticized the Pharisees and Sadducees, leaders of the Temple. He taught outside the structure of the Sanhedrin – the religious court. This was seen as a threat to the religious order of the time. 4. Not everyone “rejected” him Jesus' first followers were all Jewish. Christianity began as a Jewish sect. Only decades later, when Gentiles joined in large numbers, did it become a separate religion. Christian theology says that the Jewish leaders of the time rejected Jesus because they did not recognize him as the Messiah, even though he fulfilled Old Testament prophecies interpreted differently. John 1:11 summarizes it: “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.”
