Parashah Vayeshev Comments 2024+
Our readings this week—from Genesis, Amos, and Matthew—are all written by Jewish authors. The last leader of the Orthodox Jewish community here in Sioux City stated that the entire New Testament (the Brit Chadashah) is a commentary on the Hebrew Scriptures. From my point of view, and that of a number of others more scholarly and capable than myself, the entire Bible is Jewish—originally written in Hebrew, primarily directed toward a Jewish audience, and written by Jewish authors.
Yeshua himself says his purpose in coming was not to start a new religion. In Matthew, the Messiah tells us why he came:
“I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matthew 15:24)
However, after he died, belief in Yeshua as the Messiah of Israel coalesced into a separate and distinct religion, and the followers of Yeshua became disconnected from Judaism.
Shavuot: Beginning of Christianity—or Completion of Judaism?
Many Christians believe their religion started on Pentecost, when 3,000 people celebrating the Festival of Shavuot—fifty days after Passover—received the Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh). Others see this singular event as the beginning of Messianic Judaism. You can find this in the Book of Acts, chapter two. It is understood by many Christians to be the beginning of Christianity—the 3,000 receiving the Holy Spirit were converted from Judaism to a new religion.
Messianic believers understand it as the revelation of God that completed their Judaism, initiating a Judaism that came to be called “Messianic.”
The Seeds of Divergence
Later in Acts, we see the seeds of divergence between Messianic Judaism and Christianity. There are many historical reasons for this parting of the ways, but here I want to focus on the biblical.
In Acts 10, we are introduced to Cornelius, a non-Jew, whose devotion to the God of Israel is described. God speaks to him and arranges a meeting with Peter. In a vision, Peter is commanded to overcome a prejudice of his Jewish tradition to separate from anything or anyone pagan. Peter is commanded to share the Good News of Yeshua with Cornelius and his entire household. As at Pentecost, the Ruach HaKodesh falls on those who hear the Gospel. Cornelius and his household were certainly not the only non-Jews to come to HaShem through Yeshua at this time.
In Acts 15, we can see a source of separation between Judaism and Christianity:
“But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, ‘It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.’” (Acts 15:5)
The Jerusalem Council was held around 50 CE. Around 57 CE, we see division growing within the Messianic community:
“For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you. Now I say this, that each of you says, ‘I am of Paul,’ or ‘I am of Apollos,’ or ‘I am of Cephas,’ or ‘I am of Christ.’ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” (1 Corinthians 1:11–13)
From Nicaea to Now
After almost 300 more years, transformation became complete. The Council of Nicaea (325 CE), convened by Emperor Constantine, was composed of Christians who sought to define orthodoxy; antisemitism in imperial correspondence sealed the division by replacing Passover with Easter and insisting the Church have “nothing in common with the Jews.” The culture of Christendom later produced expulsions, inquisitions, forced conversions, and pogroms.
Martin Luther, initially concerned for European Jews, turned against them when efforts at conversion failed. In On the Jews and Their Lies he used language later exploited by Hitler to justify the destruction of European Jewry. Still, some well-known Jews did convert to Christianity across history for varied reasons—e.g., Felix Mendelssohn, Benjamin Disraeli, Bo Belinsky, and David Berkowitz.
The Kishinev Spark and the Modern Messianic Movement
Despite deepening anti-Jewish narratives, a Messianic congregation in Kishinev (Bessarabia) held its first service in 1885, led by Jewish lawyer Joseph Rabinowitz. Though the town later suffered two horrific pogroms (1903 and 1905), Rabinowitz (d. 1899) helped re-ignite a distinctly Jewish faith in Yeshua. As he said in 1888, “I have two subjects of which I am absorbed—the one, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the other one, Israel.”
Today, the Messianic movement has grown significantly. Compared to Judaism (~6000 years old) and Christianity (~2000), those of us who fall between are newcomers—yet our roots reach back to the earliest Jewish followers of Yeshua.
“Since I have had God’s help, to this day I have stood here testifying to both small and great—saying nothing but what the Prophets and Moses said would happen: that the Messiah would suffer and, being first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light both to our people and to the nations.” (Acts 26:22–23)
Clarifying the Landscape
After nearly forty years seeking God’s truth for my life, I see a landscape that includes Messianic Jews, Messianic Christians, Jewish Christians, Hebrew Roots Christians, Christian Zionists, the Sacred Name movement, and people with overlapping traits. Like the parable of the three blind men and the elephant, each grasps a part of a greater whole.
Hebrew Roots Christians
A Christian movement seeking to align with Torah and the rest of the Tanakh more than with later church traditions; honoring the biblical Feasts and much of Jewish culture while identifying as Christian.
Christian Zionists
Christians who bless the Jewish people, oppose antisemitism, and defend Israel’s right to live within its biblical boundaries.
Jewish Christians
Ethnic Jews who have embraced a fully Christian worldview and culture, often minimizing their Jewish inheritance—akin to Hellenistic Jews in the Maccabean era.
Messianic Christians
Christians who honor their faith’s Jewish foundation, observe elements of Messianic practice, and see themselves as fellow sojourners with the Jewish people.
The Sacred Name Movement
Christians emphasizing spelling/pronunciation of the Divine Name and Yeshua’s Hebrew name; many observe Feasts, food laws (kashrut), and other traditions.
Messianic Judaism
Firmly rooted in Torah, the Prophets, the Writings, and the New Testament—seeing them all as Jewish in origin; observing the Feasts (including Shabbat) and the biblical commandments as blessings:
“Happy is the one who keeps the law.” (Proverbs 29:18b)
Messianic Judaism views faith in Messiah Yeshua as the climax of Jewish hope. It favors a Jewish context over a Christian one and follows Yeshua’s model of obedience—surrendering to the Father’s will. In Jewish tradition, the Messiah is a sinless, uniquely anointed human representative (shaliach) of God—not Himself God nor co-equal as defined by later theology. (I speak for myself here, as an ordained Messianic Rabbi with a Master’s in Messianic studies, offering conclusions formed over decades of seeking God.)
Authority and Salvation
Much Christian theology rests on Church Fathers, some considered effectively authoritative because of proximity to the Apostles or perceived inspiration. Messianic Judaism does not assume rabbinic or patristic infallibility; instead, it embraces individual conviction guided by the Holy Spirit:
“Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:12–13)
Yeshua did not come to establish a new religion but to fulfill and illuminate the old. Isaiah presents the Messiah as God’s messenger; the titles “Everlasting Father” and “Mighty God” (Isaiah 9:6) describe the message’s source rather than the messenger.
Paul was no “convert” away from Israel:
“God has not rejected His people… for I too am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.” (Romans 11:1)
Those who received the Spirit at Pentecost were Jews whose Judaism was completed in Messiah. Cornelius and his household likewise were not converted to a foreign culture but received a Hebraic revelation of Israel’s Messiah:
“…they have received the Ruach ha-Kodesh just as we did.” (Acts 10:47)
Terms, Theology, and Following the Master
“Christian” technically means “follower of the Messiah,” as does “Messianic,” yet today they convey different cultures. In the end, what separates sheep from goats is whether we follow the Messiah—or merely a theology, culture, or tradition.
Messianic Jews believe the Jerusalem Council’s lifting of circumcision as an entry requirement opened the door for fellowship; growth in obedience would follow for Gentile believers as they were grafted in. Yeshua modeled obedience to God’s law; to follow Him is to pursue holiness. This does not require everyone to become Jewish—but it does call us to emulate the Messiah.
Anti-Semitism and the Plan of God
Scripture roots salvation in Israel:
“…for salvation is from the Jews.” (John 4:22)
“Go instead to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matthew 10:6)
“I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matthew 15:24)
“Behold, the days are coming… when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.” (Jeremiah 31:31)
Since Israel is God’s treasured possession (Deuteronomy 14:2), antisemitism is not merely hatred of a people but a rebellion against the One who chose them. As in Genesis 15:16, there is a fullness to iniquity; I believe God will judge antisemitism when it reaches its peak, and Messiah will remove those who refuse to repent.
Kishinev’s Witness
On Good Friday of 1891, Joseph Rabinowitz addressed his congregation in Kishinev with words that invited Jewish reflection on Yeshua’s crucifixion and Christian reflection on Jewish suffering. A decade later, horrific pogroms bloodied that city—yet the rebirth of a Messianic Jewish witness there endures as a sign that God will have His way.
Redeeming the “Unredeemable”
Even notorious sinners have found repentance and transformation in Messiah. See, for example, the accounts collected in Redeemed Unredeemable by Thomas Horn and Donna Howell.
Dry Bones Rising
Ezekiel 37:1–14: The Spirit sets the prophet in a valley of very dry bones and promises breath, sinew, and life. God brings the house of Israel up from graves and restores them.
In Vayeshev, God’s hidden hand bends evil toward redemption. Likewise, through the modern Messianic movement—sparked in places like Kishinev—the dry bones of Israel and of the nations are stirring.
Prayer
Father, we know the evil of antisemitism was used by You to bring about the State of Israel. Use it again to tear down walls of hostility and draw all who sincerely seek You into truth and unity. May our Messianic community be a worthy vessel for Your will, hastening the coming of Your Messiah, the redemption of the world, and Your renewed fellowship with us—Jew and Gentile alike. If it is Your will, let it be in our lifetime. In Yeshua’s name, Amen.
