StoneBridge Community Church
Pastor Jeff Cheadle
Matthew 5:17-18 NIV
Synagogue-goers wonder, "How could anyone believe in Jesus?" while church-goers wonder, "How could anyone not believe in Jesus?"
1. Rabbi Jesus did not set out to…
Matthew 5:17-18 NIV
John 4:22 NIV
John 5:39-40 NIV
John 5:46 NIV
Luke 24:27 NIV
Matthew 16:21 NIV
Isaiah 53:3-12 NIV
For Reflection/Discussion: Jewish people sometimes wonder, "How could anyone believe in Jesus?" while Christians may wonder, "How could anyone not believe in Jesus?" What accounts for those different perspectives? If a Jewish friend were to ask you why you believe in Jesus, what would you tell them? Would your friend find your answer convincing? Why or why not? What does Jesus mean when he says, Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them? In what ways, if any, did Jesus fulfill the Messianic expectations of the Jewish people? In what was did he disappoint them? Read Isaiah 53. Who, in your judgment, is Isaiah 53 describing? Are there other ways of interpreting the text? Are they convincing?
2. History helps us understand…
1 Corinthians 1:22-23 NIV
For Reflection/Discussion: Why was Jesus' crucifixion a "stumbling block" to the Jewish people? What were some of the historical events that contributed to the parting of the ways between Christianity and Judaism? In what ways do Christian and Jewish people have different understandings of Jesus, the nature of God, the Hebrew scriptures, and the destruction of the Temple by the Romans in 70AD?
3. The roots of the Christian Church are…
Romans 11:17-18 NIV
Ephesians 2:14 MEV
For Reflection/Discussion: What is anti-Semitism? In what ways have Christians knowingly or unknowingly contributed to anti-Semitism? Have you ever witnesses an anti-Semitic act or heard an anti-Semitic statement? How should we respond to anti-Semitism when we encounter it? Read Romans 11. What point (or points) is Paul making? What are some of the reasons Christians have to thank God for the Jewish people, the Hebrew scriptures, and Jewish traditions?
