Former Blackout Artist

You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. – Jesus, speaking in John 4:22

Jesus’ life, teachings, death, and resurrection are the very heart of the books of the Gospels. But to read these accounts of Jesus’ life with a deeper understanding means we shouldn’t ignore the reality that Jesus was Jewish. He was born-and-raised, fully-immersed-in-Jewish-culture Jewish. When we read the Gospels keeping that in mind, it adds so much meaning to what Jesus says and does. Let’s consider why this matters and look at some things Jesus Himself says in the Gospels to show why His Jewish identity is a big deal.

Jesus’ World Was Jewish

First off, Jesus didn’t grow up in a vacuum. He was born in Bethlehem, raised in Nazareth, and lived in a Jewish community under Roman rule. His family followed Jewish laws, went to synagogue, celebrated Jewish holidays like Passover, and read the Hebrew Scriptures (what we call the Old Testament). The people He taught, the religious leaders He debated, and even the crowds he fed and healed were mostly Jewish. So, when we read the Gospels without thinking about this Jewish context, we can miss a lot of what’s going on.

Think of it like watching a movie without knowing the setting. If you don’t know the story takes place in, say 1920’s New York, you might not get why people are dressed a certain way or talking in a certain way or talking about certain things. Jesus’ Jewishness is the setting for His story. It shapes His words, His actions, and how people reacted to Him.

Why It’s Important to See Jesus as Jewish

1. It helps us understand His teachings better. Jesus often taught in ways that made total sense to Jewish people at the time. He used ideas from the Torah (the first five books of the Bible), quoted prophets like Isaiah, and talked about things like the Sabbath and the Temple. If we don’t know these were super Jewish concepts, we might misread what He’s saying.
2. It shows His connection to God’s promises. The Jewish people were waiting for a Messiah, someone God promised would come to save them and set things right. Jesus saw Himself as fulfilling those promises, and He talked about it a lot. If we skip over His Jewish identity, we might not see how He’s tying His mission to the story of Israel.
3. It keeps us from misunderstanding Him. Sometimes people read the Gospels and think Jesus was against Judaism or trying to start a totally new religion from scratch. But that’s not the sense we get when we read with His Jewishness in mind. He wasn’t discarding His faith – He was living it out in a radical way. And let’s face it – Jesus’ faith was radical.
4. It makes Jesus seem more real to us. He wasn’t some floating spiritual figure… that Jesus was Jewish grounds Him in history. He was a real person, part of a real culture, speaking to real people. That makes His life and His words hit harder when we realize He was walking the same dusty roads as other Jewish folks in His day.

What Jesus Says About His Jewish Identity

a. “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel” (Matthew 15:24). In this part of Matthew, a non-Jewish woman asks Jesus to heal her daughter. At first, Jesus says His mission is for “the lost sheep of Israel.” This reveals to us that He saw Himself as coming first for the Jewish people, fulfilling God’s promise to them. It’s not that He didn’t care about others (He ends up healing the woman’s daughter!), but His starting point was rooted in His Jewish mission. If we miss this, we might not see how Jesus was focused on God’s covenant with Israel.

b. “Do not think I have come to abolish the Law or the prophets” (Matthew 5:17). In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus makes it clear that He hasn’t come to abolish the law or the prophets. (The “Law” is the Torah, and the “prophets” are the Jewish Scriptures. Jesus is saying he’s not there to toss out Jewish teachings but to live them out perfectly. This only makes sense if you know He’s operating within Judaism, not against it.

c. “Salvation is from the Jews” (John 4:22). When Jesus is talking to the Samaritan woman at the well, He tells her, “You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for Salvation is from the Jews.” This is huge! Jesus is pointing out that God’s plan to save the world comes through the Jewish people, their Scriptures, and their Messiah. It’s a straight-up nod to His Jewish roots and God’s promises to Israel.

d. His love for the Temple (John 2:16-17). In the Gospel of John, Jesus gets fired up when He sees people turning the Temple in Jerusalem into a marketplace. He says, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” His disciples even note that his passion reminds them of a Psalm that says, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” The Temple was the heart of Jewish worship, and Jesus’ reaction shows how much He cared about His people’s relationship with God. If we don’t know the Temple’s importance in Judaism, we might not get why this moment was so intense and why Jesus responded the way He did.

How This Changes the Way We Read

When we read the Gospels with Jesus’ Jewish identity in mind, it’s like putting on a new pair of glasses. Suddenly you notice things you missed before. You understand why Jesus debated the Pharisees about the Sabbath – it’s not because He hates the rules, but because He’s engaging in a very Jewish conversation about what it means to follow God. We see how in His parables, like the one about the Good Samaritan, would’ve shocked Jewish listeners because of their cultural expectations. We realize His last meal was a Passover Seder, tying His death to the Jewish story of the Israelites being liberated from Egypt.

Plus, it helps us avoid some big mistakes. For centuries, some Christians have read the Gospels in ways that painted Jewish people as the “bad guys” or ignored Jesus’ Jewishness altogether. That’s not just wrong – it’s harmful. Seeing Jesus as Jewish reminds us that He was part of His people, not separate from them (in His humanity, of course).

What This Means For Us

Reading the Gospels in the light of Jesus’ Jewish identity isn’t just a nice add-on that provides some color to the stories. The reality is that it’s essential. It helps us understand His words, His mission, and His world. When Jesus talks about fulfilling the Law, coming for Israel, or salvation coming from the Jews, He’s rooting Himself in the story of His people. That context makes His teachings richer and His love for God’s promises clearer.

So, next time you open up Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John, try picturing Jesus as the Jewish Messiah He was and still is. Think about the culture He was interacting with. Think about the synagogue He prayed in… the Scriptures He quoted, and the promises He came to fulfill. It’ll make the Gospels come alive in a whole new way, and you’ll feel closer to the real Jesus – the One who walked, talked, lived, and died as a Jew in first-century Israel.