Messianic Synagogue

Messianic Jews occupy an uncomfortable position between a Christian church that sometimes fails to appreciate their distinctives and a Jewish community that often rejects them as intruders. In living out their faith in Jesus as Savior in the framework of Jewish identity and tradition, Messianic Jews experience their "?in-between?" status as a major factor in their own spiritual formation.

Rabbi Hayim Halevy Donin has called the Jewish community "?a family, an expanded family to be sure and ofttimes a far-flung family, but a family nevertheless?" (To Be a Jew [New York: Basic Books, 1972], 8). Messianic Jews consider themselves to be an integral part of that family and reflect Jewish cultural and religious forms in their worship and throughout their lives. Nevertheless, there is a distinctive of Messianism, as understood by Messianic Jews, which is fiercely disputed by most, if not all, of the balance of the Jewish "?family.?" For Messianic Jews believe that Yeshua ben Yosef—Jesus—is the Messiah of Israel (Matt. 1:16; Luke 4:23). Despite this serious controversy within the greater Jewish community over their beliefs and, indeed, over their status within Judaism, Messianic Jews equally strongly identify themselves as Jews. In fact, within halakha (Jewish law and tradition) itself, Messianic Judaism finds support for its argument that no matter how non-normative their beliefs, they remain Jews. Theology, as done in a Messianic Jewish setting, in some ways resembles evangelical Christian theology. Inevitably, however, issues emerge that are of concern only to Jews. Imbedded in Jewish religious thought are the concepts of torah, covenant, and mitzvah (commandment), which are important to the religious self-identification of most Messianic Jews as well. Indeed, the importance of halakha is a matter of survival itself, as at least a few Messianic leaders are beginning to realize and deal with seriously. Circumcision is the rite of initiation for a Messianic Jew, as it is also the rite of initiation into the community of Israel. Although many Messianic congregations practice the mikvah-brit, a form of baptism as seen through Jewish religious rites and history, the primary rite (both chronologically and in terms of fundamental scope) is the brit milah or circumcision—that is, incorporation into the covenant of Abraham. This covenant of Abraham makes a person a Jew. One of the essential elements of the covenant has always been the land, eretz Yisrael, which is now being manifested once again in the nation of Israel. Therefore, Zionism is an important ingredient in Messianic Judaism, especially in the relationship of the individual members of Messianic synagogues and the larger community, for whom Zionism often means "?a vague, though by no means insincere, friendliness to the State of Israel?" (Will Herberg, Protestant, Catholic, Jew [Garden City, N.Y.: Anchor Books, 1960], 190). Tradition, yet another identifying feature of Messianic Judaism, is viewed in a manner similar to that of reformed Judaism. Torah also is an identifying feature of Messianic Judaism, as it is for all forms of Judaism. In most Messianic synagogues, the reading of the Torah is an integral, if not the central, element of the worship service. Sermons, as one would expect, draw heavily upon the Hebrew Bible, and Bible studies frequently use it. Being Jewish involves at least some kind of incorporation within the Jewish community. Subsequently, this community is an inherent ingredient in the spiritual formation of every Jew, except for the most isolated Jew from the community life. Participation in the living community, am Yisrael or the "?people of Israel,?" is so important that without this participation Jewish people would wither away. Messianic Jews are an "?in-between?" people. They are caught between a Christian church which often lacks understanding of or appreciation for their ambivalent situation and the Jewish community which is often hostile to and even less understanding of their desire to remain who they are—Jews—and simultaneously to live as believers in Yeshua, their Messiah and Savior. Messianic Jews are sometimes criticized by the church for holding on to their rituals and almost always rejected by Jewish community institutions as fraudulent intruders from the outside, rather than as an indigenous Jewish movement. Their uncomfortable position between two religious systems incorporates itself into the identity of Messianic Jews. The Messianic community is, in a real sense, a persecuted people, and this persecution influences their self-understanding both as believers in Yeshua and as Jews. However, Messianic Jews are more than just another movement within the Jewish community. They are a people who have acknowledged that they have been redeemed by the sacrifice that Jesus, Yeshua, made once for all on the cross at Calvary. This fact inevitably shapes the spirituality of Messianic Jews, both as individuals and as worshiping people. They are evangelical in their theology, for they have—often under extremely harsh circumstances—appropriated an individual and personal faith in Jesus' substitutionary atonement. This concept is a powerful one for Jews who come to faith in the Messiah. But Messianic Judaism is still a young movement. This should dissuade the observer from making projections or trying to generalize. As a young movement, Messianic Judaism is characterized by excitement and fervor. Messianic Jews are seriously attempting to discover what it means to be a Jewish people who try to appropriate the tradition of the Jewish community while simultaneously taking a radical stand that often results in rejection from that community.