When I lived in Northern Virginia I had a Jewish house-mate for several years, and in the mid-1970s my boss was Jewish.  All of my personal experiences and interactions with members of the Jewish community have been positive!   In recent times I’ve had a burden for them.

Recently a Rabbi spoke to a group I attend.  He explained there are the three denominations within the Judaism: 
The Orthodox [which tries to adhere to the law of Moses and rabbinical laws];
The Reform [which is based upon the Bible and oral laws passed down through generations.  They emphasize themes such as social justice rather than strict adherence to the law of Moses]; and
The Conservate [which share many of the views of the Reform but feel the Reform movement has pulled too far away from the Jewish tradition.  They believe the Jewish law remains obligatory, but that the Orthodox interpretation is too rigid.]

When I asked him what happens to Jewish people when they die, the Rabbi said he doesn’t believe in heaven and hell as Christians do and consequently, he didn’t know what happens. 

Not mentioned was the rapidly growing Messianic movement which observes the Jewish traditions but which believes both the Old Testament and the New Testament are valid parts of the same book; The Bible.  They accept Jesus [Yeshua in the Hebrew language] as the Messiah.  My former boss at the Commerce Department in Washington, Paul Liberman, has been a leader in this movement for generations.  There are close to a thousand such congregations worldwide and currently 275 active groups that meet weekly in Israel.

When I started working for Paul, I asked him how he could believe Jesus was Messiah and he told me that a Christian on the commuter bus he took to and from work challenged him to find as many Messianic prophesies in the Old Testament as he could and then to see if Jesus fulfilled them.  Paul took on the challenge and discovered that Jesus had fulfilled all of them!  Then he had a choice to make.  He wasn’t willing to give up being Jewish.  So, Paul became a Messianic Jew – one who believes Jesus is the Messiah.

So, this Christmas as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus, let’s take a few moments to look at some of these Messianic prophecies:

• Isaiah 7:14 – Messiah would be born by a virgin.  [The angel Gabriel came to Mary and told her she would be impregnated by the Holy Spirit and that her child was to be called Jesus. Then the angel Gabriel came to Joseph and told him in a dream that Mary had not been playing around, that the child was from the Holy Spirit and was the Son of God.]


• Michah 5:2 – Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. [Caesar Augustus decreed that a census be taken with each person going to their hometown to register.   Mary and Joesph being of the House of David went to Bethlehem where Jesus was born.]


• Isaiah 53 – Messiah would be rejected by His own people [After a triumphant arrival to Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey (foretold in Zechariah 9:9) the people turned on Him calling for His crucifixion.] 
  
  
• Psalm 51 & Zechariah 11 – Messiah would be betrayed by a close friend for 30 silver coins. [Judas, one of the twelve, plotted with the Chief Priests to betray Jesus for exactly 30 pieces of silver.]


• Psalm 22 – His garments would be split between them and they would gamble for His clothes [The soldiers who crucified Jesus split His garments between them but because His outer garment was one piece of cloth, they threw dice to determine who would get it.]


• Psalm 34 – None of Messiah’s bones would be broken [Death by crucifixion is death by asphyxiation where the person’s lungs fill up with fluid until they die from a lack of oxygen.  The person can push up with their legs in order to get air but eventually they die.  The religious leaders didn’t want to have bodies hanging on crosses during the Passover celebration so they asked to have the prisoner’s legs broken in order to hasten death.  The Roman soldiers did so for the two who were crucified with Jesus but Jesus was already dead so none of His bones were not broken.]

Feedback about the "Chalk Talk" (Video) from a lifelong neighborhood friend currently residing in Santa Barbara, California
Thanks for writing and sharing your [chalk] talk with me. Very pleased to hear your voice and point of view. I got it just as I returned from choir rehearsal led by our fabulous cantor at our synagogue which is part of the Reform Judaism. We lite the Hannukah candles then sang and discussed new and traditional English and Hebrew songs in celebration of this minor historical holiday [Hannukah].

Last Sunday I attended a lecture by the president of Hebrew Union College at the synagogue about the prophets and he asked complex questions about their messages and whether as Jews today we are living prophetically.   All Jews study the laws; Torah study is every day. Perhaps you need to do some additional research before commenting on the different parts of Judaism. You also might want to check your definition of the Talmud. * All the laws and interpretations are complex.

Don’t try to put Jews in a box, our most famous one is your messiah.  I can try to explain why we’re still waiting for our Messiah another time. But remember that if two Jews are in the same room there will be three answers to a simple question! *

Thank you for your prayers, we need them and always have. Anti-Judaism is ancient but here we are in spite of this continuing hatred.
 
*[Response: I really, really appreciated these comments.  Being a gentile believer, I have never experienced what it is like being part of the Jewish faith; instead relying on what the Internet could tell me (as we all know the Internet is often unreliable!) and what I learned from a local Rabbi from Reform Judaism. 

A few observations: 
- When I try to put God in a box, He keeps jumping out!  Glad to see that I’m not alone! 
- Like this long time friend shared about Jews’ answers to a simple question, it is the same among those of us who are not Jewish!  And,
- The important thing is that we learn to honor and respect each other.
 
Try as they might, know that those who choose to eliminate the people of God will not succeed for they are not fighting against flesh and blood, but against the all-powerful God who created heaven and earth!  We serve and seek to follow the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob (and for us who believe, His Messian as well).  My sincere thanks for your comments!]

Feedback from a retired defense attorney currently living in the state of Washington:
It has always amazed me that these remarkably good people have had to endure repeated persecutions over the years. They do not deserve it. It is time to honor them.

Comment from a Reformed Church in America Pastor in upstate New York
While I am not necessarily adding commentary, I like the column because I agree that it explains the fulfillment of prophecy in Jesus' birth, ministry, and crucifixion. I was thinking about doing the same theme for a Bible Study next week.   Good Job.

Comment from former employee of Stanford University Hospital System currently living in the Chicago area:
A couple of things come to mind:
I’ve learned in recent years that the book of Isaiah chapter 53 isn't read in synagogues. A woman came to our home a couple of years ago to have my husband do some work for her. During our conversation, I lovingly mentioned to her that she was one of God’s chosen people.   She let me know that she didn’t believe in God, or any of that “stuff”. I suggested she read Isaiah 53 and Matthew 21. She asked me if the Isaiah passage was in their Tanach and I assured her it was.  She read the Isaiah passage, and she wrote back that it upset her.    

I’m troubled, very troubled by the amount of antisemitism in the world. It’s very distressing. 

Some people may have trouble with the Jewish people being “God’s chosen people.”  They weren’t chosen because they are special, but because they were the group of people especially chosen by God to carry out His purpose and plan for salvation of the world.

I’ve always had a special love for the Jewish people.  To see these holocaust deniers, and think of people like Corrie TenBoom, Schindler, Bonhoeffer, Nicholas Winton and others who put their very lives on the line to defend, care for, provide and hide the Jews during the third Reich makes me realize how little courage the church has today in standing for the faith against the evils of the world.  Where we live we see the church embracing more and more of the world, not the other way around.

Feedback from a former Congressional Chief of Staff currently living in Arizona:
I liked your article...clearly took a great deal of time and prayer to write.  Thank you for sharing!  
Perhaps modifying the “Merry Christmas” ending to include either the challenge Paul Liberman accepted OR present the idea that Christmas is a God’s gift waiting to be opened...a perfect gift for all people, all ages and it has no calories!