I few years ago, as part of my on-going ministerial training, I had the opportunity to engage with other faith traditions and so I chose Orthodox Judaism and I went to Edgware in London, and was a guest for the evening at the home of Rabbi Natan Levy who runs a synagogue of about 80 Jewish families. (The Jewish religion no longer has priests because they no longer have the temple. Rabbis are teachers and leaders of the synagogue.) I got on really well with Natan and we were both very open with each other in discussing each other’s faith. Natan told me Jews are still waiting for the Messiah and it is something they talk about a lot in their synagogue meetings. He told me that every son born to Jewish parents in every generation wonder if this is the Messiah.

I asked the rabbi how he could be so certain that Jesus is not the Messiah. And he told me ‘their’ interpretation is that the Messiah, when he comes, will bring about a new world order; worldwide peace and He will reinstitute or re-establish the temple in Jerusalem… Of course the evangelist in me had to respond… but Jesus did bring about a new world order – indeed the whole world records time as either before or after his death! – and he also brought about peace, forgiveness and reconciliation to God… to every nation, tribe, people and language who accept Jesus as the Messiah and turn to Him… and on the point as whether or not the temple in Jerusalem will ever be rebuilt, maybe it will maybe it won’t but regardless, Christians are now the living temple of God because the Holy Spirit of God resides within us, in our hearts. The rabbi listened intently but… (who knows)!

Amazingly, the Jewish Rabbis and theologians today still pour over the Scriptures as they have done for generations. They have taught in their synagogues that the Messiah was coming, but they failed to recognise or acknowledge Him when He arrived. Yet the OT Scriptures they read are filled with Messianic prophesies.

• They identified the tribe from which He would be born: ‘The sceptre will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from his descendants until the coming of the one to whom it belongs, the one whom all nations will honour’ (Genesis 49v10 NLT).
• They described His family of origin: ‘A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse [the father of King David]; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest upon him…’ (Isaiah 11v1-2). They foretold the virgin birth: ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and you will call him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14)
• And they foretold where the Messiah would be born. Bethlehem. ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you will come a ruler who will be shepherd of my people Israel.’ (Micah 5v2)

R. Ian Seymour