Why Was Jesus Jewish, But Not Moses?

While the answer to this question is alien to our 21st century, gentile oriented Christian mindset, it was common knowledge among our first century Christian ancestors. The evidence for the veracity of why Jesus was Jewish, but Moses wasn’t, is amply found in the pages of the Biblical record, both Old and New Testaments. But, the simple answer as to why Jesus was Jewish is that given our circumstances with the law covenant, there was no other option.

Understanding this comment means understanding the relationship between the Mosaic law covenant made with all the children of Israel and the Abrahamic covenant made with Abraham and his Seed, meaning Christ. It also means understanding Christ’s central role with both covenants. In fact, it’s all about the covenants. The Biblical record is divided into two sections, the Old Covenant and the New Covenant, for a reason. Yet, it’s all one book written to the same people … all Israel. And it means we Christians today most likely don’t know our Biblical ancestry. And when we don’t understand these things, we really can’t understand the truth of the Biblical record, our personal interpretations to the contrary. [See the Feature article, Moving Forward].

Because we’ve lost sight of our Biblical heritage, we don’t understand the two covenants and how they relate to us. And we don’t realize how fundamental the roles of the covenants are in Christianity and how the gospel is tied to both. If we did, then it would be common knowledge as to why Jesus needed to be a physical descendant of David, a descendant of Judah, a descendant of Israel, a descendant of Abraham. [See Gal. 4:4, 5; the Feature articles, The Good News Colour Revolution, and The Relevance Of The Holy Days In The Plan Of God In The Last Days].

The very first verse of the New Testament or New Covenant provides us with some insight. Matthew one, verse one reads, “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” In other words, the seed line of Christ is directly from David, a son of Israel, in turn directly from Abraham, a progenitor of Israel through his son Isaac. Hence, Christ as Abraham’s seed is the mediator of the new covenant, the one for Christians in this age, the last days. [See Gal. 3:16; Heb. 12:24].

According to the promise given to Abraham, his Seed Christ established the new covenant in the last days with the House of Israel. Christ is the kinsman Redeemer of Israel. [See the Feature article, And It's Still A Mystery]. “Therefore let all the House of Israel know … the promise is unto you and your children…” which would be us today. [See Acts 2:36-38]. With his death and resurrection, Christ ended one covenant and initiated the other … ultimately, for the same people, all Israel. [See Rom. 11:26].

One thing is clear. Knowing Christ was a physical descendant of David, the House of Judah, does not mean a “Jew came to save the Gentiles.” This idea is born out of ignorance. Rather it means Christ, as the Seed of Abraham, came to save all Israel; the House of Israel in this age, and the House of Judah at his return to establish the kingdom of God on Earth. This is the summary point of Paul's comments in Romans 11:25, 26. In terms of our understanding, as has been pointed out in articles here and in the Elephant book trilogy, Abraham, Israel and Moses were not Jewish. [See the Sneakers article, What About Everyone Else?].

Those who are Jews by definition are physical descendants of one of Israel’s twelve sons, Judah. Both Abraham and Israel were Judah’s progenitors. Moses, the “lawgiver,” was not Jewish. He was a descendant of Levi, a brother of Judah. [See 1 Chr. 23:14]. In a very extended sense, Moses was Judah’s nephew, not his son. So, while Moses was not a descendant of Judah, or Jewish, he was a descendant of Israel, who in this extended scenario would be Moses’s grandpa.

The first king of all Israel was Saul. Saul was not Jewish either. He was a descendant of Israel’s son Benjamin, also a brother of Judah and Levi. The apostle Paul, writer of most of the New Testament, was a descendant of Benjamin too and therefore was not Jewish, or descended from Judah by birth. Until Paul's conversion, he was Jewish by religion, not DNA. While those who are adherents to Judaism are referred to as Jews today, our discussion here is strictly of one’s physical lineage, not choice of religion.

David, who succeeded Saul as king of all the nations of Israel, was a descendant of Judah, and therefore was Jewish. Solomon, as David’s son, also was a descendant of Judah and was Jewish. However, after his death, all twelve nations of the kingdom of Israel were split into two entities. [See map Israel and Judah]. They were divided into the House of Judah, the Jews and the House of Israel. The other son of Israel, those of Levi, were the priesthood for both the Jews of the House of Judah, and for Israel of the House of Israel. The apostle Paul, a Benjamite, notes, “For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses [a Levite] spoke nothing concerning priesthood.” [Heb. 7:14] Both Houses were governed by the law covenant delivered from God by Moses at Mt. Sinai to the children of Israel. [See Exd, 24:3-8].

With this split between the Houses of Judah and Israel, Rehoboam, a son of Solomon became the king of the Jews or the House of Judah [1 Kng. 11:43].  Jeroboam, a descendant of Joseph, the tribe of Ephraim, one of Israel’s other twelve sons, became king over ten nations of Israel, or the House of Israel. “And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again, that they sent and called him to the congregation, and made him king over all Israel: there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah [the Jews] only.” [1 Kng. 12:20]. As we can see, the Jews were a small minority of all Israel. The same holds true today.

By way of historical clarity, the house of David is the royal line of Judah. The house of Joseph, through his son Ephraim, is the royal line of Israel to this day. [See the Feature articles, Is The US (And UK) In End-times Bible Prophecy? and Damascus A Heap Of Ruins].

This split arrangement lasted for a couple of centuries or so until the House of Israel became so idolatrous that God divorced them. [See Jer. 3:6-8]. They were taken captive by the Assyrians and dispersed throughout the Assyrian empire. It was then that they lost their claim to their covenant inheritance. And they lost their national identities. It wasn’t until the eighth to ninth century CE [Christian Era, or Common Era for non-believers] that the national identities of the House of Israel began to form and emerge once again as foretold in the prophecies. But we get ahead of ourselves here. [See the Feature article Ten Horns, Ten Nations].

By 730 BCE or thereabouts, the nations of the House of Israel disappeared into obscurity over a period of 65 years, forgotten by name, but not deed in the history books. They were a people who sat in darkness, lost and estranged from the covenant promises made with Abraham millennia earlier. [See the Feature article, Galilee Of The Gentiles]. This left only the House of Judah, the Jews as the legal heirs to both the law covenant and the promises of the Abrahamic covenant.

Consequently, the only participants in the law covenant at Christ’s first coming, and the only people of Israel still legally entitled, was the house of David, or Judah. In order for the House of Israel to be redeemed, only someone bound by the law covenant, a legitimate heir, could fulfill its terms on behalf of the divorced House of Israel. Of course, that left only Judah. Thus Christ, in the flesh, had to be a son of David [See Rom. 1:1-3], a descendant of the House of Judah or Jewish in order to be savior of the divorced, lost sheep of the House of Israel in this age.

This is explained to us in the Genesis prophecy concerning the sons of Israel in the last days. Of Judah it says, "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes." [Gen. 49:10]. Shiloh refers to Christ at his first coming. The Jews, however, rejecting Christ, still are looking for the Messiah to appear. "Then I cut in two my other staff, Bonds, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel." [Zec. 11:14]. The scepter, Hebrew, shebet, refers to a staff or rod of authority. So the authority of the covenant made with all the children of Israel was to remain solely with Judah, after the House of Israel's divorce, and only until Christ's first coming. [Again, see Jer. 3:6-8].

Upon Christ's day of crucifixion, the Old Law Covenant was broken. "And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the people." [Zec. 11:10ff]. The authority of the law covenant ceased to exist with Judah, as it had for Israel more than seven centuries earlier. The covenant authority and power transferred to Christ, but through the Abrahamic covenant. "And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever." [Dan. 2:44]. This, of course, refers to the kingdom of God established through the Spirit of God in the first century. It is our body, having received the Spirit of God, in the Christian age that now is the temple of God, not a building in Jerusalem. [See 1 Cor. 6:19, 20 ; again see the Feature article, The Relevance Of The Holy Days In The Plan Of God In The Last Days].

None of this needs to be the case if Christ was sent to save the gentiles of the world, which, of course, he wasn’t. In the larger scheme of things, Christ as a man was an Israelite. These events were driven by the covenants, which are part of the kosmos or God’s plan for all Israel. [See the Feature article, Three Temple Ages Make A Plan].

At the coming of Christ in the first century, the entire theological landscape regarding both the law covenant and Abrahamic covenant dramatically changed, as did the roles of the House of Judah and the divorced House of Israel. [For details, see chapter six, The Blind Man’s Elephant].

As we noted, Christ broke the law covenant. “And I took my staff, Beauty, and cut it in two, that I might break the [law] covenant which I had made with the people [Hebrew, 'am, kinsmen of Israel]. And the LORD said to me, 'Throw it to the potter' that princely price they set on me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD for the potter. Then I cut in two my other staff, Bonds, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.” [Zec. 11:12-14]. It remains this way theologically today between the Jews and Christians. Keep in mind, Judaism is not Zionism. Zionists are not descendants of Judah, but of Edom. [See Rev. 3:9; also Jews View Zionism As Rebellion Against God]. Makes one consider the direction our nation is taking when our leaders support Zionism, and claim to be Zionists. Indeed, we are a rebellious people. [See the Feature article, And Now, A Word From Our Sponsor].

With the law covenant broken, Christ’s resurrection marked the beginning of the Abrahamic covenant with the House of Israel. Also at this time, the bonds of brotherhood between the House of Judah and the House of Israel were broken. It was the House of Israel only at Christ’s first coming that was redeemed, which is why Christ said, “I am not sent except to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.” [Mat. 15:24]. The time for the House of Judah will be at Christ’s second coming. [See Eze. 37:16, 17, 22; Heb. 8:8].

Paul explains the broken brotherhood relationship between the House of Judah and the House of Israel metaphorically. “And if some of the branches [House of Judah] be broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree [the divorced House of Israel outside the covenant], were grafted in among them, and with them partake of the root and fatness of the olive tree [the Abrahamic covenant promises]; Boast not against the branches [the House of Judah]. But if you [House of Israel] boast, you bear not the root, but the root you. You will say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in. Well, because of unbelief they [the House of Judah, see John 12:37-41] were broken off, and you stand by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not you.”

“Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them [the House of Judah] which fell, severity; but toward you [the House of Israel], goodness, if you continue in his goodness: otherwise you also shall be cut off. [See the Feature articles, Christ Against Christians? and Revelation 17: Big Brother]. And they [the House of Judah] also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again. For if you [House of Israel] were cut out [divorced] of the olive tree which is wild by nature [meaning divorced from the law covenant, by which no man is saved], and were grafted contrary to [human] nature into a good olive tree [the promises of the Abrahamic covenant and the Spirit of God]: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches [the House of Judah, who never was divorced from God, though they are blind to Christ's redemption at his first coming], be grafted into their own olive tree?”

Paul continues, explaining the mystery and to whom he’s been referring. “For I would not, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, unless you should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, [the one-twelfth House of Judah part] until the fullness of the nations [Greek, ethnos, the House of Israel] be come in. And so, all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion [Jerusalem, the city of David] the Deliverer [Christ; see Mat. 1:1], and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob [all Israel]: For this is my covenant to them, when I shall take away their sins.” [Rom. 11:17-26; see Eze. 37:17; again see the Feature article, And It's Still A Mystery].

If we are still unsure that this is referring to the Houses of Judah and Israel, i.e., all Israel, rather than the Gentiles, a simple algebraic word problem can remove our doubts. We know that Christ broke the law covenant and the brotherhood between the House of Judah and the House of Israel at his first coming. The part of Israel that is blind to Christ to this day is Judah, the Jews. To make Paul's point clear, we'll use the most basic of algebraic equations, x+y = z. But we'll fill in the blanks with names, and assign them a simple numerical value too. Judah, the part of Israel that was blinded, will be x. And we'll assign them an arbitrary value of 10%. Y is our unknown here. Z is all Israel saved, so z will equal 100%. Now our equation reads, 10% blinded Israel + y = 100% of Israel. To find y, we leave it on the left side of the = sign, and take x, now a minus value, and place it on the right side under z or 100% Israel. So, now our algebraic equation reads y = 100% Israel minus 10% Israel. Y, therefore, equals Gentiles! Oops, wrong answer. Y equals 90% Israel, which is to say the House of Israel. The House of Israel plus the House of Judah equals all Israel saved. Simple, right? This fits perfectly with what Christ said. “I am not sent except to the lost sheep of the House of Israel” in this Christian age, the last days. [Again see, The Relevance Of The Holy Days In The Plan Of God In The Last Days].

All this "Gentile" confusion comes about because Biblical context and simple logic was ignored. As a result, the Greek word ethnos was defined into English as Gentiles rather than nations in reference to the redeemed nations of the House of Israel, which redemption was the purpose of Christ's coming in the Christian age. What a mess we make when we ignore the big picture. [See the Feature article, Moving Forward].

A part of Israel is blind to Christ. This is the House of Judah because “of their unbelief.” As the apostle Paul points out in Romans,  “What then? [all] Israel has not obtained that which he seeks for; but the election [the House of Israel] has obtained it, and the rest [the House of Judah] were blinded. (According as it is written [in the Old Testament], God has given them [the House of Judah] the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day. [See Mat. 13:25-30]. And David says, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them: Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see, and bow down their back always.” [Rom. 11:7-10 from Isa. 29:10; see Psa. 69:22, 22, 35]. As the apostle Paul said, "But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock ...." [1 Cor. 1:23].

The word election, ekloge, a noun or the word elect, eklektos, an adjective in Greek means chosen. God chose Abraham as the father of the faithful. His Seed was Christ. The House of Israel was chosen by Christ to be his people. [See Isa. 63:7, 8; also the Sneakers article His Treasure Possession]. And we know all Israel are God’s chosen people, including the House of Israel. “For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth.” [Deu. 7:6; 1 Pet. 2:9].

Disregarding our unique and blessed relationship with our LORD, we’ve been duped into forsaking it, believing we are an amalgamated group of Biblical vagabonds, commonly known as Gentiles. The Gentiles of the world, however, were never under the law covenant. While it was true, we were divorced from God and lost any claim to the promised covenant inheritance due to our being divorced according to the terms of the law, scattered among other peoples of the world without an identity, the fundamental point of the New Testament is that Christ, as the son of Abraham, changed all that for the House of Israel in the first century. This is the good news. As Paul explained, "And this I say, the covenant that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise." [Gal. 3:17, 18].

Our Lord Jesus Christ gave his life to redeem us, to buy back that which was lost, the House of Israel. He gave us a new covenant as promised because we were "chosen to be a people for Himself." [See Gal. 3:13, 4:4, 5; Mat. 15:24]. This is the good news, the gospel. And it is is a major theological point of Biblical understanding completely lost on modern day "Christianity." When we don’t understand this change in the covenants meant for us, we don’t understand the gospel. [See 2 Cor. 4;3, 4].

Why, then, have we, the House of Israel, Christians, not chosen to claim our rightful heritage as God’s own children, a “peculiar people?” [Tts. 2:14, Exd. 3:10]. And in who’s best interest is it, that we remain blinded to it, at our own peril, as the House of Judah is to Christ today? [Read chapter six, The Blind Man’s Elephant]. The answers to these questions are vital for us given the path we have chosen to walk. [See the Feature article, Why Do We Believe The Lies?]

Those who still look to any part of the old law covenant as binding to any degree are blinded. But the election are those of the House of Israel who have obtained the promises of the new covenant upon the death and resurrection of Christ, by which we have received the Holy Spirit. And we know that on the first day of Christianity, only those of the House of Israel were promised the Holy Spirit in this age. [Acts 2:36-38].

Where did events stand 2000 years ago? The House of Israel was divorced. The House of Judah, still under the law covenant, was the sole legal repository of the covenant promises. Due to the divorced House of Israel needing to be redeemed, Christ broke the law covenant and is fulfilling its terms on our behalf. [Read the book, The Hijacked Elephant, a PDF copy on the Home page, for details]. Christ also broke off the natural branches, the House of Judah, who were given “eyes that slumber” because of their unbelief when he broke the bonds of brotherhood between them and the House of Israel. The sheep of the House of Israel today, Christians, have a new covenant with God, the covenant made with Abraham, the father of the faithful and his seed, Christ.

The apostle Paul explains in the New Covenant book of Hebrews. “But now has he [Christ] obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator [1 Tim. 2:5] of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. For if that first [covenant] had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. For finding fault with them [all Israel], he said, Behold, the days come, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the House of Israel and with the House of Judah …” [Heb. 8:6-8; see 9:15].

“Not according to the [law] covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, said the Lord.” [Heb. 8:9]. As a result, the House of Israel was divorced, while the House of Judah was taken into captivity for seventy years by the Babylonians.

“For this is the covenant [Abrahamic covenant] that I will make with the House of Israel after those days, said the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:” [Heb. 8:10; see Isa. 63:8, Christ here refers to the House of Israel as “my people”]. Paul makes the point that it is with the children of the House of Israel only, after Christ broke the law covenant, that the new covenant came into force. The time is not yet for the House of Judah as they remain blinded and estranged from the Abrahamic covenant and the House of Israel, all part of the plan of God for all Israel.

But when the time is come, "None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.” [Heb. 8:11]. This will occur when the brothers, the House of Israel and the House of Judah, both are partakers of the new covenant, their bonds of brotherhood once again renewed at the return of Christ.

Ezekiel provides more details. “As for you, son of man, take a stick for yourself and write on it: 'For Judah and for the children of Israel, his companions.' Then take another stick and write on it, 'For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the House of Israel, his companions. Then join them one to another for yourself into one stick, and they will become one in your hand.”

“And when the children of your people speak to you, saying, ‘Will you not show us what you mean by these?’—say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Surely I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of [the House of] Israel, his companions; and I will join them with it, with the stick of [the House of] Judah, and make them one stick, and they will be one in My hand. And the sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes.” This will occur after the return of Christ, a fulfilling the the annual holy day of Atonement.

After the events of the "Apocalypse" have been accomplished, “Then say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: “Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all [David; Christ is king of kings, Rev. 17:14]; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again. They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. Then they shall be My people, and I will be their God. And David, my servant, shall be king over them ….” [Eze. 37:16-24; see Rev. 5:5, 22:16]. After all the New Testament is “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”  It is very clear from these verses that none of this applies to the Gentiles of the world. [See the Feature article, The Tie That Binds].

As Paul continues in Hebrews, “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. In that he says, A new [covenant], he has made the first old. Now that which decays and waxes old is ready to vanish away.” [Heb. 8:12. 13; Jer. 31:31-14].

Today, twenty centuries removed, we are ignorant of all this and are not continuing in his goodness, which is why we Christians don’t know why Christ had to be Jewish in the flesh. Nor do we understand the importance of the covenants and Christ’s role with them. The House of Israel has regressed. Theologically and spiritually, we are no more mature than babies, unable to recognize the truth of our first century heritage.

“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” [Heb. 5:12-14].

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