Major Objections and Sharing the Gospel

What you'll learn

• Answer the most common Jewish objections to Jesus, including the 'unfulfilled prophecies' and 'a man can't be God' objections
• Explain Paul's relationship to the Law, answer the claim that the New Testament is antisemitic, and compare covenant and dispensational views of Israel fairly
• Plan how to share the gospel with Jewish friends lovingly and wisely

'Jesus didn't bring world peace or rebuild the Temple'

This is the most common objection, and it is serious. The prophets promise an age when nations 'learn war no more' (Isaiah 2:4), the exiles are gathered (Isaiah 11:12) and God's sanctuary stands among his people (Ezekiel 37:26-28). Jesus did not do all of that, so how can he be Messiah?

The answer is that the Tanakh itself pictures the Messiah in two contrasting ways: lowly and suffering (Isaiah 53; Zechariah 9:9, riding on a donkey) and glorious and reigning (Daniel 7:13-14). The Talmud noticed this tension and proposed that if Israel is worthy he will come 'with the clouds of heaven', and if not, 'lowly, riding upon an ass' (Sanhedrin 98a). Other rabbis spoke of two Messiahs, son of Joseph and son of David (Sukkah 52a). Christians believe these are two comings of one Messiah. Daniel 9 puts atonement and the cutting off of the anointed one before the Temple's destruction, and Jesus promised to return in glory (Mark 14:62; Acts 1:11) to complete what remains, including universal peace. Meanwhile he has already brought the knowledge of Israel's God to the nations, as the servant was to do (Isaiah 49:6).

'The New Testament is antisemitic'

Jewish friends may point to John's frequent phrase 'the Jews', Matthew 27:25 ('His blood be on us, and on our children') or 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16. These texts have been horribly misused, and we should admit it.

But consider: the New Testament was written almost entirely by Jews, about a Jewish Messiah, to communities founded by Jews. Its criticisms of Jewish leaders are intra-Jewish prophetic critique, like Isaiah calling Jerusalem 'Sodom' (Isaiah 1:10) or Jeremiah's denunciations. In John, 'the Jews' often refers to the Judean religious authorities, while the disciples, the crowds who believe, Mary, Martha and Lazarus are all Jews. Jesus prayed 'Father, forgive them' (Luke 23:34), Peter told the crowd they acted 'through ignorance' (Acts 3:17), and Paul loved his people to the point of anguish (Romans 9:1-5). The New Testament condemns sin in every people and offers the same Saviour to all.

'Christians changed the Law' and Paul

Many Jewish people see Paul as the founder of Christianity who abandoned Torah. Yet Paul calls himself 'an Hebrew of the Hebrews' and a Pharisee (Philippians 3:5), says 'the law is holy' (Romans 7:12), and insists faith does not make void the law but 'establish[es]' it (Romans 3:31). In Acts 21 thousands of Jewish believers were 'zealous of the law' and Paul joined in a Temple purification rite (21:20-26).

What changed is the covenant, and the Tanakh itself promised that change: 'I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel... not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers' (Jeremiah 31:31-32). In it God writes his law on the heart and forgives sin (31:33-34). Hebrews 8 quotes this whole passage. (You met the new covenant in Know Your Faith, Lesson 10, and the place of the law in Lesson 12.) Messiah did not abolish God's Torah; he fulfilled it and inaugurated the new covenant the prophets announced. Jewish believers may keep Jewish customs; Gentiles are not required to become Jews (Acts 15).

Israel and the church: an in-house debate

Jewish friends sometimes ask, 'Do Christians think God has replaced us?' Here Bible-believing Christians differ among themselves, and you should present the views fairly. You met them in Know Your Faith, Lesson 10.

Covenant theology, the confessional Reformed view (Westminster and 1689), sees one people of God and one way of salvation across the covenants. Gentile believers are grafted into Israel's olive tree (Romans 11:17-24) and receive Israel's titles (1 Peter 2:9). Critics call this 'replacement theology' or supersessionism; many Reformed writers prefer to speak of fulfilment, because the church is not a Gentile substitute for Israel but Israel's own tree, with its believing remnant and grafted-in branches. Covenant theologians differ on Romans 11:26. Calvin read 'all Israel' as the whole people of God, Jew and Gentile; others, such as O. Palmer Robertson, read it as the elect of ethnic Israel through history; and many, such as John Piper, expect a large future turning of Jewish people to Christ. The Westminster Larger Catechism teaches believers to pray for 'the Jews called' (Q. 191).

Dispensationalism treats Israel and the church as distinct peoples with distinct programmes, and expects a future national salvation and restoration of Israel in a literal millennium. John MacArthur (1939-2025), a Calvinist, was a well-known dispensational premillennialist. Some dispensationalists see the founding of the modern State of Israel in 1948 as a step toward that fulfilment.

What unites these believers matters more. All affirm that God has not cast away his people (Romans 11:1-2), all reject contempt for Jewish people, and all hold that Jews and Gentiles alike are saved only through faith in Jesus the Messiah (Acts 4:12; Romans 10:1-13). That rules out dual-covenant theology, the idea that Jewish people are saved through the Sinai covenant without Christ; Paul's anguish for his kinsmen (Romans 9:1-3) would make no sense if they were already saved without him. Finally, keep the gospel distinct from politics. Christians hold differing views about the modern State of Israel and its policies, but neither support for nor criticism of a government should become contempt for Jewish people or replace the call to faith in the Messiah.

'A man can't be God' and 'You need the Oral Torah'

Numbers 23:19 says 'God is not a man, that he should lie'. In context, it says God does not lie or change his mind as humans do; it is about God's character, not about whether he can take on a human nature. The Tanakh shows God appearing in human form to Abraham (Genesis 18) and Ezekiel's vision of 'the likeness as the appearance of a man' on the throne (Ezekiel 1:26). Christians do not claim a man became God, which would be idolatry; we claim the eternal Word took on flesh without ceasing to be God (John 1:1, 14). (You met the person of Christ in Know Your Faith, Lesson 4.)

Orthodox friends may say Scripture cannot be rightly understood without the Oral Torah. Respond respectfully: the Tanakh itself never mentions an oral law given at Sinai, and Moses 'wrote all the words of the LORD' (Exodus 24:4). The Sadducees and later Karaite Jews rejected rabbinic oral tradition, and the Talmud itself records sharp disagreements. Jesus honoured the written Scriptures as final and rebuked tradition that set aside God's commandment (Mark 7:8-13). Rabbinic tradition is a valuable window on Jewish history, but not an inspired authority.

Sharing the gospel with Jewish friends

Some practical wisdom, drawn from Messianic Jewish ministries such as Jews for Jesus (founded in 1973 by Moishe Rosen) and Chosen People Ministries:

• Ask about their story and beliefs. Many Jewish people are secular; do not assume they believe in God, the Tanakh or the afterlife.
• Use Jewish terms where helpful: Yeshua, Messiah, Tanakh, 'the Jewish New Testament writers'. Avoid 'convert', which implies ceasing to be Jewish.
• Start in the Tanakh. Read Isaiah 53 or Jeremiah 31 together and ask, 'Who do you think this is about?'
• Acknowledge the history of Christian antisemitism, especially if family stories of persecution come up.
• Focus on Yeshua himself: his Jewish life, his claims, his death as atonement (Leviticus 17:11; Isaiah 53:10) and his resurrection.
• Be patient and pray. Coming to faith can cost a Jewish person relationships with family and community. Offer real friendship and, if they come to faith, help them find a congregation where their Jewish identity is honoured.

Sin, atonement and the Temple

A final question often emerges: 'How are we forgiven without a Temple?' Many Jewish people answer with repentance, prayer and good deeds (Hosea 14:2, 'the calves of our lips'). Gently show that the Torah centred atonement on blood sacrifice (Leviticus 17:11), and Yom Kippur's ritual depended on the Temple. Since AD 70 there has been no altar. The New Testament's answer is that God provided the final sacrifice, Messiah, 'once for all' (Hebrews 10:10), just before the Temple fell. This is not a Gentile innovation; it is the fulfilment of Israel's own story.

Example: Talking about atonement with an observant friend

David: We don't need a sacrifice. On Yom Kippur we repent, pray and give charity, and God forgives.

You: I respect how seriously you take Yom Kippur. Repentance really matters; Psalm 51 says God will not despise a broken and contrite heart. Can I ask about Leviticus, though?

David: Sure.

You: Leviticus 17:11 says 'it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul', and Leviticus 16 sets Yom Kippur around the high priest, the altar and the goat that bears the people's iniquities. What happened to all that?

David: The Temple was destroyed. So the rabbis taught that prayer takes the place of sacrifice, like Hosea says.

You: That's an honest answer to a painful loss. But it makes me ask: would the God who commanded atonement by blood leave Israel with none? Daniel 9 says an anointed one would be cut off and then the sanctuary destroyed, and Isaiah 53 describes a servant made 'an offering for sin'.

David: You mean Jesus.

You: I do. He died about forty years before the Temple fell. I believe God provided the final sacrifice before he took the old one away. Your repentance doesn't need to be replaced; it needs to be met by the sacrifice God provided. Would you read Isaiah 53 with me?

In their own words

“The Messiah will bring peace, gather the exiles and rebuild the Temple. Jesus did none of these, so he is not the Messiah.” (Isaiah 2:4; Ezekiel 37:24-28; Maimonides, Laws of Kings 11:4)

“God is not a man; the idea of God becoming a man is idolatry.” (Numbers 23:19; Hosea 11:9; Deuteronomy 4:15-16)

“Each person bears his own sin; no one can die for another's sins.” (Ezekiel 18:20; Deuteronomy 24:16)

“Without a Temple, prayer and repentance take the place of sacrifices.” (Hosea 14:2; Babylonian Talmud, Berakhot 26b; 1 Kings 8:46-50)

“The new covenant still has the Torah at its centre, written on the heart, so it does not abolish the commandments.” (Jeremiah 31:31-34)

Key texts

• Zechariah 9:9 with Daniel 7:13: The lowly Messiah on a donkey and the glorious Son of Man on the clouds; Sanhedrin 98a noticed the tension. Two comings resolve it.
• Jeremiah 31:31-34: God himself promised a new covenant unlike the Sinai covenant, with forgiveness of sins. Hebrews 8 quotes it in full.
• Numbers 23:19: Read in context, it denies that God lies like humans, not that he can take on human nature.
• Leviticus 17:11: Atonement by blood is central to Torah; useful when discussing atonement without a Temple.
• Romans 3:31; 7:12: Paul upholds the goodness of the Law and says faith establishes it.
• Acts 21:20-26: Paul and thousands of Jewish believers honoured the Law; he did not teach Jews to abandon their identity.

Objections and answers

Try answering each one yourself before you open the response.

Written task

Choose two of these objections: (1) 'Jesus didn't bring peace or rebuild the Temple'; (2) 'A man can't be God'; (3) 'The New Testament is antisemitic'; (4) 'You need the Oral Torah to understand Scripture'. Write a 300-400 word response to each as if speaking to an informed Jewish friend, citing the Tanakh, the New Testament and at least one Jewish source fairly.

Hand this in to Mr Scott. He will look for:

• States each objection in its strongest form with its Jewish sources
• Answers primarily from the Tanakh read in context
• Cites at least one rabbinic or Jewish source accurately (e.g. Sanhedrin 98a, Sukkah 52a, Maimonides)
• Acknowledges historical misuse of Christian texts where relevant and rejects antisemitism
• Ends by pointing to Yeshua with warmth and humility

Further reading

• Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus, Volumes 4-5: New Testament Objections; Traditional Jewish Objections by Michael L. Brown: Volume 4 answers objections to the New Testament (including antisemitism and Paul); Volume 5 addresses the Oral Law and rabbinic tradition.
• The Real Kosher Jesus: Revealing the Mysteries of the Hidden Messiah by Michael L. Brown: A popular-level case that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah, written in response to a rabbi's book on Jesus.
• To the Jew First: The Case for Jewish Evangelism in Scripture and History by Darrell L. Bock and Mitch Glaser (editors): Biblical and practical essays on why and how to share the gospel with Jewish people.