Today’s question is, “Was Jesus a Jew?”
In this video I’ll answer that question from a biblical perspective. Then afterwards,
as always, I’ll share some helpful resources, so stick around until the end.
It would seem that the question of Jesus’ ethnicity would be beyond controversy. Of
course Jesus was a Jew—right? The biblical record says, yes, Jesus was a Jew. But that doesn’t stop
the disagreements and objections that some have. We will take a look at what the Bible has to say.
In Jesus’ day, a person was considered Jewish if he or she 1) was born to a Jewish mother
or 2) had formally converted to the religion of Judaism. Jews by descent traced their lineage
to the ancient Hebrews; Jews by conversion were proselytes from any ethnic background.
Jesus was a Jew by descent, and He lived a Jewish life in the first century.
Jesus was born in Judah to a Jewish mother, raised in Galilee in a Jewish home, and taught
in Jerusalem, the Jewish capital. He ministered throughout Israel: “He came to His own [the Jewish
people], and His own [the Jews] did not receive Him” (John 1:11, NKJV). Speaking to a Samaritan,
Jesus said, “You [Gentiles] worship what you do not know; we [Jews] know what we [Jews] worship,
for salvation is of the Jews” (John 4:22). In His use of first- and second-person pronouns,
Jesus identified Himself as being among the Jewish population.
The biblical record sets out the facts: Jesus Christ is “the son of David,
the son of Abraham” (Matthew 1:1). When the angel Gabriel announced Jesus’ birth, he spoke of Jesus’
having “the throne of his father David” and of His “reign over Jacob’s descendants forever”
(Luke 1:32–33). In writing of Jesus’ unique priesthood, the author of Hebrews says,
“It is clear that our Lord descended from Judah” (Hebrews 7:14). Judah was a son of Jacob,
and it’s from his name that we get the word Jew. Mary’s genealogy, in Luke chapter 3,
shows that the mother of Jesus was a direct descendant of King David, giving Jesus the
legal right to the Jewish throne and establishing without a doubt that Jesus was a Jew by descent.
The biblical record also presents Jesus as living a Jewish lifestyle and keeping the Jewish law.
He was reared in a Jewish home,
and Jesus’ parents were careful to do all that the law required of them.
In His ministry, Jesus often taught in synagogues, and even in the temple. In His teaching,
Jesus pointed to the Law and the Prophets as authoritative, He taught others to keep the law,
and He Himself observed the commandments. Jesus identified with the religion of the Jews and was
considered a rabbi, although He strongly rejected the pharisaical reinterpretation of that religion.
As a Jew, Jesus observed Passover (John 2:13), the Feast of Tabernacles,
and Hanukkah. Jesus was called the King of the Jews.
The Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament was a Jewish savior, one chosen by God for a special
purpose. The Messiah was to serve God by redeeming Israel and then ruling from Zion, bringing peace,
righteousness, and security to Israel. Jesus is the Jewish Messiah, the Son of David sent to the
Jews, and in His earthly ministry He focused on “the lost sheep of Israel” (Matthew 15:24).
But in His death and resurrection, Jesus secured salvation for all who would trust in Him,
regardless of their nationality or background. The Jewish Messiah became the worldwide Savior.
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