“What would happen to a Nazi murderer who believed in Jesus before he died? Would he go to Heaven, while the Jewish men, women and children he killed, many of whom were God-fearing people, would go to Hell?”
Answer: “Based on the teaching of the Hebrew Bible, if the Nazi could truly repent before he died, then God would accept him as righteous. But merely ‘believing’ without true repentance is meaningless. As for the Jews killed by that Nazi, if they died in right relationship with God, then they would go to heaven; if they died out of favor with Him, they would perish. One thing is very important to remember: The fact that these Jews died in the Holocaust does not necessarily make them ‘saints’ (even though we often speak of the six million Jewish ‘martyrs’ of the Holocaust). Our people were indiscriminately exterminated by the Nazis simply because of their ethnic background even if they were total atheists or God-haters. Their tragic suffering in the Holocaust did not, in and of itself, transform them into godly people. To the contrary, many actually lost their faith during that time, while a large number of secular and irreligious Jews became overtly hostile to God.” (See Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus, vol. 1, pp. 35-42.)
“No religious or educated Jew would ever believe in Jesus.”
Answer: “That is an absolute falsehood. There have been prominent Rabbis along with brilliant Jewish scholars who have become Believers in Jesus, but you rarely hear about them, because they are generally discredited by their own People once they prove unshakable in their faith. Whereas they were revered as saintly giants before they believed, they were reviled as ignorant sinners after they believe. The fact is that Jews who were more religious than you and more highly educated than you do believe Jesus to be the Jewish Messiah.” (See Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus, vol. 1, pp. 42-45.)
“Those educated or religious Jews in the past who did convert to Christianity did so for monetary gain or because of social pressure. It had nothing whatsoever to do with intellectual arguments or honest theological convictions.”
Answer: “Were the shoe on the other foot, and were I making such statements about the motivations of secular Jews who became traditional, I would be labeled anti-Semitic! No doubt, Christianity, along with every other major religion (including Judaism!), has had its share of ‘convenience conversions.’ These counterfeit conversions, however, in no way diminish or negate the fact that there have been highly educated or very religious Jews who have followed Jesus unflinchingly, even though it cost them their reputations, their livelihoods, their careers and even their inheritances. There have been many such Jews throughout history and to this very day.” (See Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus, vol. 1, pp. 45-50.)
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“Those religious Jews who became followers of Jesus always had the tendency to stray. If you study their lives, you’ll see that most of them threw out their traditional values and beliefs before they ever considered nonsense like Christianity.”
Answer: “Who told you that? How many of these people have you interviewed? Are you aware that many of the religious Jews who put their faith in Jesus were absolutely shocked to learn that He was the Messiah? They were living traditional lifestyles and were very much against anything Christian, but they couldn’t resist the truth of the Scriptures, in spite of the consequences of believing. As for those religious Jews who did begin to question their traditions before believing in Jesus, there is nothing illogical about this. They found problems with their spiritual foundations and sought the truth elsewhere.” (See Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus, vol. 1, pp. 50-52.)
“Missionaries like you target the sick, the elderly, the ignorant, and the young and uninformed.”
Answer: “Actually, we don’t target any one group in particular although many of us are especially interested in having exchanges with Rabbis and religious Jews whenever we have the opportunity, and we especially appreciate interaction with well-informed Jews. We won’t, however, withhold the Good News about the Messiah from anyone, young or old, healthy or sick. Everyone should know about the mercy of God that is available through repentance and faith. As for those who have lived their entire lives without the knowledge of the Messiah and now are nearing death through sickness or old age, isn’t it only fair to reach out to them? This is the time that many of them are finally doing some serious thinking about the meaning of life and their whole relationship with God. Is it right to neglect them?” (See Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus, vol. 1, pp. 52-55.)
“I’m not a very religious person, but I’m certainly not a bad person. I’m basically a normal, middle-of-the-road, good person.”
Answer: “By whose standards? Did you know that the Hebrew Bible does not even recognize a ‘not too good and not too bad’ class of people? You are either a sinner or you are righteous, a servant of the Lord or a transgressor.” (See Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus, vol. 1, pp. 55-56.)
“If Jesus really is the Messiah, why are there so many objections?”
Answer: “The number of objections that exist is not important, since there are solid answers to each and every objection, and actually, there are far more arguments for the Messiahship of Jesus than against it. In fact, it would take hundreds of books to document the various proofs. But even if there were more Jewish arguments against Jesus than for Him (and there are not), what would that prove? Most Jews today don’t even take the Ten Commandments seriously. Do their objections disprove the truth of the Bible or God’s Law?” (See Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus, vol. 1, pp. 56-57.)
“Be honest. Christianity simply doesn’t work. It doesn’t produce what it promises. Deep down, you know what I’m saying is true.”
Answer: “Actually, the reverse is true. To speak personally, I am overflowing with almost indescribable blessing since I found new life through Jesus, and I can give you innumerable proofs that he is the true Messiah, that He is alive today, and that He is at work in the Earth and in my life. Could it be your tradition that cannot produce intimacy with God and the assurance that your sins are forgiven? Could it be that, deep down, you know what I’m saying is true? In fact, I would like to ask you a question: What is the clear evidence of the presence of the living God in your life?” (See Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus, vol. 1, pp. 59-65.)
“You missionaries always use the same old arguments and proofs. Your faith can’t be very deep!”
Answer: “To be perfectly honest, I’ve been a getting a little bored with the standard arguments of the anti-missionaries. New or old, however, truth is truth. We don’t need to come up with some novel, new proofs for the Messiahship of Jesus any more than we need to come up with novel, new proofs for the existence of God. What you need to do is carefully examine the evidence. I think you’ll discover that there is a lot more to our position than you ever imagined, and as we continue to study and tap into the rich mine of biblical truth, we are more than happy to provide you with further arguments and proofs. For now, I’ve provided you some real food for thought. Read, study, reflect, and pray. As the Messiah said to our Jewish forefathers who believed in Him, ‘If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’ (John 8:31-32) It’s time for you to experience that freedom for yourself.” (See Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus, vol. 1, p. 65.)
This material is reprinted with permission. Adapted from Dr. Michael L. Brown’s book series Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus.
