|
Dear Ed,
Thank you for writing to The Refiner's Fire!
Thanks also for being willing to acknowledge that you didn't know as much as you should about your Jewish roots. You're not alone. Most people don't. But, you can take pride in the knowledge that you are among the very few who even bother, and who actually "get it"!
You've asked a couple of great questions - and yes, I do happen to have an answer. See if this makes sense to you:
YOU ASKED: What do you teach about baptism? Jesus himself was baptised by John, and when Peter stood up on the day of Pentecost, he commanded the Jewish people to repent and be baptised. And the Ethiopian in Acts 8 was also baptised. So presumably any Jew who wants to acknowledge Jesus as their Messiah would also need to be baptised? How would you address this, particularly as in the murky past of church history part of the shameful persecution of Jews by Christians was forced baptisms, so it could well be a stumbling block.
Messianic Jews and Gentiles do go through an immersion ceremony. The Bible suggests that we do it because it shows the world that we are believers, and it has also become a tradition. But, it's never been GOD's command and getting baptized has nothing to do with "being saved"; it is merely an outward expression of an inward belief; a tradition. I personally did it at the Baptist church where I got saved. But the pastor was quick to tell me that it didn't detract from my belief, one way or the other. Here is a good explanation:
Do You Have to Be Baptized to Be Saved?
By John MacArthur, Jr., from The Crucified Christ, Word of Grace Communications, 1982, pp. 59-60
People say, "Look, Acts 2:38 says, 'Repent, and be baptized . . . .' How do you get around the fact that Peter said you've got to get baptized to be saved?" Well, it's very simple, actually. Luke 18 contains a helpful illustration. Look at verse 18: "And a certain ruler asked Him [Jesus], saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" Now, that's a good question. In fact, it's basically the same question the people asked in Acts 2:37. Skipping down to verse 22b, Jesus answered his question, and said, "Sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven . . . ." Is Jesus saying that salvation is an issue of economics? Is He saying that in order to be saved, a person has to hock everything and then give all the money to the poor? Of course not! Salvation isn't a question of economics. It isn't a question of giving all one's money to the poor. You say, "Well, that's what He said!" No, that's not what He said. Look again at verse 22. After telling this man to sell all that he had and to give the money to the poor, Jesus then said, ". . . and come, follow Me." In other words, Jesus was saying, "There's a barrier in your way, fella. You're never going to know salvation until you give up your one big hang-up - money." You see, Jesus read his heart and knew that this young ruler loved money. And the reason we know that Jesus' analysis was correct is because the guy turned around and went home. He wanted his money more than he wanted eternal life.
The point is this: It's not until you want Jesus Christ more than anything else that the conditions are removed. As long as God knows there's something in the way, He'll point it out. The biggest stumbling block to Jewish conversion was the fear of persecution, being "unsynagogued," and being put out of their whole Jewish world. So Peter says, "I know that's your problem. so that's what you're going to have to get out of the way." They had to be baptized as a public acknowledgment that they were naming the name of Jesus Christ - fully aware of what it was going to cost.
The Word of God, then, does not teach baptismal regeneration. It simply indicates, here in Acts 2:38, that the Jews were to be baptized in response to what had happened in their life. It was to be a public confession of their new union with Christ . . . and it was a high price for them to pay.
Also, please read about baptism on The Refiner's Fire.
YOU ASKED:What is your take from a Messianic Jewish perspective on Mark 7:19, where Jesus declares all food "clean". Does that mean the end of the need for kosher food? It seems to me that that is what it means, but could it mean something different?
Excellent questions and ones that have been so totally misunderstood by the Christian population!
Let's examine what our Complete Jewish Bible says:
Mark 7: 19 For it doesn't go into his heart but into his stomach and it passes out into the latrine. (Thus he declared all foods ritually clean.) 20 It is what comes out of a person," he went on, "that makes him unclean". 21 For from within, out of a person's heart, come forth wicked thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 greed, malice, deceit, indecency, envy, slander, arrogance, foolishness. 23 All these wicked things come from within, and they make a person unclean."
These verses simply don't make sense unless we put them in context with Mark 7:7 which says: (quoting from the OT) "Their worship of me is useless because they teach man-made rules as if they were doctrines." There is the connection. Yeshua was challenging the ritual preparation of foods without explaining what "foods" are - because that was already understood by His Jewish disciples to whom He was speaking. God had already told us in Leviticus what foods were and were not "okay" to eat. Yeshua was clarifying that the foods God said were clean are already clean without the man-made rules of preparation. In Mark 7 where it says, "Thus he declared all foods RITUALLY clean" it means that God has already made the foods (i.e., the ones He told us are okay to eat) already clean without the rabbinical additions of how they are prepared.
Does that make sense? The statement does not mean, for instance, that pork is good to eat because God told us that pork is NOT to be eaten. God said the cow was okay to eat, but preparing it according to the way the rabbis insist is the ritual part that Yeshua was saying is unnecessary. "Food" is only what God said was good to eat. He didn't suddenly change His mind once Yeshua died on the cross.
While we're at it, let's discuss Acts 11:4-10: It's where Peter was in a trance and had a vision seeing the sheet being lowered containing all types of animals you are not allowed to eat. Christians take this set of Sripture also as saying all foods are okay to eat, and this is wrong.
This was a test for Peter. God told Peter (paraphrasing) to "Get up! Slaughter and eat!" - to which Peter replied: "Absolutely not. Nothing unclean has ever entered my mouth!" Then God said, "Then stop treating as unclean what I have already made clean (referrring to the Gentiles!).
The test was this: Peter said, "No, I can't eat what is unclean." And God would reply: "You're absolutely right. You passed the test. You won't eat what is unclean because you know that these foods are unclean. And now you know that I have made the Gentiles 'clean' through faith in Yeshua, and they are to be taught my mitzvot (laws)."
Put in really simple terms: God speaks directly to you and says: "Touch that stove burner." To which you would reply, "No! I'll be burned!" Now because God told you to touch the stove, does that mean it's okay? No! You KNOW the stove is hot. This is like a parent telling a child, "You're right! Good! You won't touch the stove because you know it's hot. You've passed my test!" And here God has told the Jews that the Gentiles are "okay" and that it is now okay for Jews to teach them about Yahweh because of their faith in Yeshua....
In context, what happened above: Peter was being accused by the rabbinical Jews of saying, "You went into the homes of uncircumcised men and even ate with them" - because at the time it was accepted that Gentiles were considered unclean - hence the teaching that God has now said, "GENTILES are okay because they're believers in me...."
Again, thanks for writing, Ed. I hope this makes sense to you. Please don't hesitate to write again if you have any further questions.
| 