JESUS THE JEW I NEVER KNEW: Reflections on the Disconnect Between Christians and Jews

In the Preface to this book, Messianic believer, Tom Bloodworth, penned these sobering words: “…a view of Judaism that is highly influential in Christianity today is ‘replacement theology’, which states that in essence God is finished with Israel as a nation and that the Church has become the agency through which God works in history. The consequences of this folly are very apparent. The willful ignorance of the Church concerning its Jewish roots has resulted in the mutual enmity of Jew and Christian for the last two thousand years, with the climax being the awful tragedy of the Holocaust. But even worse for the Church, when Christianity is divorced from its Jewish roots it becomes a house without a foundation.” This book is the author’s attempt to help fellow Christians understand the truth of those words and hopefully reconnect with their Jewish roots. Christians owe so much to the Jewish people. However, Dr. Fernandes’ observance as he travels in ministry around the world, is that many in the Church are not only ignorant of this debt, but a growing number are becoming increasingly hostile towards Israel and the Jews. Biblical illiteracy causes many to be deceived by the darkness that enshrouds the secular world thereby turning their backs on Israel and her people. It is the author’s hope that this book will cause many to rethink, and hopefully, if they care not for the Jewish people, to experience a paradigm shift. The truth is the entire revelation, from Genesis to the final Book of the Apocalypse, comes to us thanks to the Jews. Every book of the Bible was penned by a Jewish author. The Patriarchs, Judges, Prophets and Kings so enthusiastically preached about in pulpits everywhere were Jews. The twelve leaders of the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve Apostles of the New Testament Church were also Jews. The very first followers of Jesus were all Jews. Jesus was a Jew and that in itself should be cause for serious reflection. A holy Church cannot turn against the people God sovereignly called and chose as His own. A house cannot stand without solid foundations. The Church will not thrive as long as believers in Yeshua continue to reject their Jewish Messiah. God sovereignly chose Israel as is confirmed by multiple passages of the Scriptures such as Isaiah 44:1, “Yet hear now, O Jacob My servant, and Israel whom I have chosen.” According to several New Testament passages, such as Romans 11:17-18, it is we Gentiles who have been converted from one thing to another. It is we who have adopted the Jewish Holy Scriptures, the Jewish understanding of God, and we who have been accepted and saved by the Jewish Messiah. The goal of this book is to reconnect the Church of Christ to the Christ of Israel.