Pastor's Message
September 2026
Jesus' Jewish Roots
Within the Church, it is imperative that we acknowledge both Jesus’ divinity AND his humanity. If Jesus is not divine, he couldn’t have saved us. If Jesus is not truly human, then his saving work is pretend, not reality. With this in mind, let us explore Jesus’ Jewish roots.
We confess that Jesus Christ was true God from eternity, but he became true man when he was conceived in Mary by the working of the Holy Spirit through the divine miracle that is the incarnation. Jesus was born in a specific time at a specific place to a specific family. (More on this in December.)
Jesus’ Jewish roots are imperative to understanding who he is and the culture that surrounded him. The Jews were descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They are named after the fourth son of Jacob, Judah. This was because it was the southern tribe of Judah which lasted the longest and, at least sometimes, was faithful to the Lord.
For the Jewish people, most of their history was challenging. For four hundred years, they were slaves in Egypt. God raised up Moses, humbled Pharoah and led the people to freedom. In the desert, they were given the Law and how to worship the Lord properly. They were meant to be different from the nations, for through them “all the peoples on earth will be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3) This is key to understanding them.
When they finally entered the Promised Land, they had to fight their way in. First Jericho, then Ai, then the rest of the central corridor. But not everything was given to them at once. Each generation would have to fight. Each generation was challenged to be faithful to the Lord and his calling. Far too often, they failed. It wasn’t that God was unfaithful. They were unfaithful. God was faithful to his promises and his warnings.
Then came the Golden Era. David finally conquered all their enemies. Solomon reigned over the nation in peace. Gold was as common as stones. They were the envy of the surrounding nations and respected. But pride goes before the fall and Solomon fell into idolatry. Idolatry would be the Achillies heal of this nation. Sometimes they were faithful to the Lord. Too often they turned to other gods like Baal and Ashtoreth. The Lord was not pleased.
God gave them over to their enemies. First the Assyrians. Then the Babylonians. Israel fell. Judah fell. They were slaves scattered once again.
But God remembered his people. A remnant returned. As time went on, there was a revival. Instead of embracing the foreign gods of the nations, they were offended when a pig was sacrificed on the Lord’s altar by a Greek king. They revolted and had peace for a few decades. But then the Romans came. An enemy ruled over them again.
That’s the history into which Jesus was born. An oppressed people. A people which had been beaten down again and again. A people still under foreign rule. A people ready for change. A people eager for a Messiah. A people holding on to the promises of the Prophets. A people eager for the Christ!
It’s amazing the impact Israel had in its time. Located at the crossroads of three continents, the Jewish people were a thorn in the flesh of the Romans. They simply wouldn’t play nice. They didn’t adopt the common language. They didn’t worship Caesar as god. They regularly rebelled and stored up trouble. Submit, or be put in your place!
Rome would not tolerate a threat to their rule. And so, while the people longed for the Messiah who would set them free, they remained fearful of the threat of Roman backlash. They believed, but quietly resented their oppressors, and those in league with them, including King Herod.
Jesus himself was raised in Nazareth. Mary (named for Miriam, the sister to Moses) and Joseph (named for the 12th son of Israel) taught Jesus the essence of the Jewish faith and their Jewish traditions. Joseph certainly would have taught Jesus his carpentry trade. Money was hard to come by, but carpenters could make a satisfying living in nearby towns while remaining relatively anonymous. Nazareth was not big. It was off the path on the side of a cliff, but you could see the whole Jezreel Valley and recall the stories of the many battles fought there.
Antisemitism was real in Jesus’ day. But even among the Jews, Galileans were looked down upon. Nazareth didn’t even make the list of important towns in Galilee. When people found out that Jesus was from Galilee, they immediately judged him. People often make that mistake. They judge by how a person looks or how they sound. Such people are blind to the truth.
We, too, are shaped by our past, by our families’ history. We don’t have to be our parents, but they do impact who we are, for better or worse. The boy Jesus was shaped by his environment, emotionally and spiritually. We should never discount that. Mary and Jesus raised him in the fear and love of the Lord, his Heavenly Father. They kept the faith. These things matter. Jesus was a son of David, a son of Abraham. He had to be to fulfill God’s prophecy.
~ Pastor Ben Golisch ~
Jesus' Jewish Roots
Within the Church, it is imperative that we acknowledge both Jesus’ divinity AND his humanity. If Jesus is not divine, he couldn’t have saved us. If Jesus is not truly human, then his saving work is pretend, not reality. With this in mind, let us explore Jesus’ Jewish roots.
We confess that Jesus Christ was true God from eternity, but he became true man when he was conceived in Mary by the working of the Holy Spirit through the divine miracle that is the incarnation. Jesus was born in a specific time at a specific place to a specific family. (More on this in December.)
Jesus’ Jewish roots are imperative to understanding who he is and the culture that surrounded him. The Jews were descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They are named after the fourth son of Jacob, Judah. This was because it was the southern tribe of Judah which lasted the longest and, at least sometimes, was faithful to the Lord.
For the Jewish people, most of their history was challenging. For four hundred years, they were slaves in Egypt. God raised up Moses, humbled Pharoah and led the people to freedom. In the desert, they were given the Law and how to worship the Lord properly. They were meant to be different from the nations, for through them “all the peoples on earth will be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3) This is key to understanding them.
When they finally entered the Promised Land, they had to fight their way in. First Jericho, then Ai, then the rest of the central corridor. But not everything was given to them at once. Each generation would have to fight. Each generation was challenged to be faithful to the Lord and his calling. Far too often, they failed. It wasn’t that God was unfaithful. They were unfaithful. God was faithful to his promises and his warnings.
Then came the Golden Era. David finally conquered all their enemies. Solomon reigned over the nation in peace. Gold was as common as stones. They were the envy of the surrounding nations and respected. But pride goes before the fall and Solomon fell into idolatry. Idolatry would be the Achillies heal of this nation. Sometimes they were faithful to the Lord. Too often they turned to other gods like Baal and Ashtoreth. The Lord was not pleased.
God gave them over to their enemies. First the Assyrians. Then the Babylonians. Israel fell. Judah fell. They were slaves scattered once again.
But God remembered his people. A remnant returned. As time went on, there was a revival. Instead of embracing the foreign gods of the nations, they were offended when a pig was sacrificed on the Lord’s altar by a Greek king. They revolted and had peace for a few decades. But then the Romans came. An enemy ruled over them again.
That’s the history into which Jesus was born. An oppressed people. A people which had been beaten down again and again. A people still under foreign rule. A people ready for change. A people eager for a Messiah. A people holding on to the promises of the Prophets. A people eager for the Christ!
It’s amazing the impact Israel had in its time. Located at the crossroads of three continents, the Jewish people were a thorn in the flesh of the Romans. They simply wouldn’t play nice. They didn’t adopt the common language. They didn’t worship Caesar as god. They regularly rebelled and stored up trouble. Submit, or be put in your place!
Rome would not tolerate a threat to their rule. And so, while the people longed for the Messiah who would set them free, they remained fearful of the threat of Roman backlash. They believed, but quietly resented their oppressors, and those in league with them, including King Herod.
Jesus himself was raised in Nazareth. Mary (named for Miriam, the sister to Moses) and Joseph (named for the 12th son of Israel) taught Jesus the essence of the Jewish faith and their Jewish traditions. Joseph certainly would have taught Jesus his carpentry trade. Money was hard to come by, but carpenters could make a satisfying living in nearby towns while remaining relatively anonymous. Nazareth was not big. It was off the path on the side of a cliff, but you could see the whole Jezreel Valley and recall the stories of the many battles fought there.
Antisemitism was real in Jesus’ day. But even among the Jews, Galileans were looked down upon. Nazareth didn’t even make the list of important towns in Galilee. When people found out that Jesus was from Galilee, they immediately judged him. People often make that mistake. They judge by how a person looks or how they sound. Such people are blind to the truth.
We, too, are shaped by our past, by our families’ history. We don’t have to be our parents, but they do impact who we are, for better or worse. The boy Jesus was shaped by his environment, emotionally and spiritually. We should never discount that. Mary and Jesus raised him in the fear and love of the Lord, his Heavenly Father. They kept the faith. These things matter. Jesus was a son of David, a son of Abraham. He had to be to fulfill God’s prophecy.
~ Pastor Ben Golisch ~