This episode elaborates on the most pivotal event in history, the resurrection, and the appropriate Scriptural response. The resurrection of Christ signaled, according to Peter, that Christ was the exalted Lord spoken of in Psalm 110:1. Peter declared in his first sermon at Pentecost that Christ rose from the dead and is seated at the right hand of God. He then cites as proof Psalm 110:1, "The Lord said to my Lord: 'Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.'" The significance of the resurrection? "God has made Him both Lord and Christ.." (Acts 2:33-36) Christ is the exalted Lord seated at the right of God, and the resurrection is the proof. When asked by the Jewish crowd what their response should be, he said they needed to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ." Identification with Christ, the Lord of David, indicates one believes in the God revealed to the Jews in the Old Testament. And Jewish failure to come under His Lordship means all "Jewishness" is forfeited. (Acts 3:23, (1 John 2:23) Consequently, Jews who reject the Lordship of Christ do not believe in the same God as Christians and Jews faithful to the God of Abraham, Moses and David.
What Do ‘Real’ Jews Believe about God?
This episode reiterates the main theme of the last several episodes, that belief in Christ as the Messiah is essential if one were to consider himself/herself a true Jew. Almost all early Christians (30-42 A.D.) were Jewish, and they would not have maintained that their belief in Christ was a peculiarly Christian contribution, as opposed to the god of the Jews. The God of Abraham and the God of Moses pointed to the second person of the Trinity. The New Testament authors and Christ Himself affirmed that true Jewishness required accepting Christ as the Messiah, Paul even arguing that physical circumcision without the circumcision of the Spirit accounted for nothing, and one's claim to be a Jew was spurious. (Romans 2:28-29, 1 Corinthians 7:19) The last part of the episode addresses the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity. Ezekiel had predicted that future believers would receive the Spirit and consequently keep God's law. (Ezekiel 36:27) Christ spoke of this regeneration as necessary for entering into the kingdom of God. (John 3:6)
True Jews Believe in Christ
The series so far has mostly emphasized the continuity of the Old and New Testaments regarding belief in the one God revealed in the Scriptures. This and subsequent episodes however press home the discontinuity between the God of the Jews and the God of Christians. This discontinuity becomes obvious in the gospels where Christ's messiahship, deity and exclusive mediatorial role are affirmed. Christ said that "all things have been handed over to Me by My Father." (Matthew 11:27) He told the Jews "unless you believe that I am He (a declaration of his messiahship and deity), you will die in your sins." (John 8:24) John later declares that "whoever denies the Son does not have the Father." (1 John 2:23) Once the Son is raised from the dead, faith in Christ as the divine Messiah and only mediator between God and man is absolutely necessary for salvation. Faith in Christ is moreover the natural response of any who are TRUE sons of Abraham and Moses. Abraham saw Christ's day and was glad. (John 8:56) Moses prophesied of the coming Messiah and made obedience to His authority the very essence of true Judaism. (Deuteronomy18:18-19) Peter said that any Jew who rejected Christ would be "cut off from His people." (Acts 3:23, NIV) A fair conclusion of all these Scriptures is that Jews who reject Christ are not children of Abraham or true Jews, and Christians and Jews do NOT believe in the same God.
The Incarnation Changes Everything
This episode summarizes the major conclusions of the previous week, noting that the deity of Christ the Messiah was affirmed in the Old Testament. This episode addresses the incarnation of the Messiah in Isaiah 9:6, as well as His full deity. He is described as "mighty God" and "everlasting Father." Christ Himself told Phillip that He was of the same substance as the Father, declaring "anyone who has seen me has seen the Father." (John 14:9) And while the Messiah was born in time 2,000 years ago, He nevertheless preexisted "from the days of eternity" as the second person of the Trinity (Micah 5:2) While the average Jew prior to Christ did not grasp the Trinitarian nature of the one God or the deity of Christ, he was nevertheless expected to affirm the oneness of God (see the shema), rejecting all other so-called gods. The answer to the question "do Jews and Christians believe in the same God?" largely depends on a Jew's placement in time vis-a-vis Christ. Once Christ comes, legitimate belief in the Father requires acknowledgment of the Son. This is the inescapable conclusion of 1 John 2:23, "whoever denies the Son does not have the Father."
Messiah and Jewish Misinterpretation of THE Son
This episode addresses the common Jewish interpretation of Psalm 2, in which "son" refers to Israel, not the unique Son of God. Jews commonly appeal to other passages in Scripture that identify Israel as God's "son," like Exodus 4:22, "Israel is My son, My firstborn." Coupled with 2 Samuel 7:14, where every new Jewish king becomes a "son," Jewish interpreters have some Scriptural basis to pose that "the son" of Psalm 2 refers to Israel or the personification of Israel in a new monarch. The qualifying comments of psalm 2 shatter this interpretation. The new king is God's Messiah, his "anointed one," (v.2) and his inheritance are the all the nations, "the very ends of the earth," a ridiculous claim, even at the height of Israel's power under Solomon. The Messiah of Psalm 2 must refer to a unique Son, for His installation as king in Zion will result in worldwide "shattering" of the nations (v.9) Jesus would later correct Pharisees' interpretations that made the Messiah a mere son of David, According to Psalm 110:1, the Messiah, a distant biological son of David, was also the Lord of David, "the Lord says to my Lord, sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet." Christ dismissed the Pharisees' claim that the primary identity of the Messiah was that of a son, "If David then calls Him 'Lord", how is He his son." (Matthew 22:45) The best explanation of THE SON in Psalm 2 and Psalm 110 is that it refers to the unique Son of God, the Messiah King Who is now seated at God the Father's right hand, waiting till till all His enemies are subdued.
God the ‘Son’ in the Old Testament?
Most of us know that the distinctive difference between Christians and Jews is that Christians believe in the deity of Christ whereas Jews do not, some contending that the deity of Christ, God the Son and the trinity were doctrines not revealed till the New Testament. This program begins a series of episodes explicating common questions surrounding these doctrines, highlighting the pertinent Old Testament Scriptures that point to the fuller revelation of the godhead in the Christian faith. This episode begins with Psalm 2, noting that the Messiah is called "my Son," and is "begotten" in time, "today I have begotten you." If Christ is the ETERNAL son of God, how can He be begotten "today?" This episode demonstrates from several Scriptures that God the Father "begat" God the Son upon Christ's accession as king. Luke cites the resurrection as the fulfillment of Psalm 2: "God has fulfilled this promise to our children in that He raised up Jesus, as it also written in the second Psalm, 'You are my Son; today I have begotten you.'" (Acts 13:33) While the average Jew living prior to Christ probably did not consider God's future Messiah as "God the Son," much less one of the three persons comprising the Trinity, he nevertheless hoped in the future absolute rule of God's Messiah, as Christ's final entry into Jerusalem suggests. Together with the distinctive elements of Judaism introduced in the last 2 lessons (justifying faith in God's provision and God's dealing with man through a perfect representative), hope in God's Messiah, make up the core of Old Testament Judaism, which naturally carried over into New Testament Christianity.
Sons of Abraham Follow His Example
This episode spells out the significance of the covenant God made with Abraham in Genesis 15, in light of the rest of the Scriptures. The previous episode noted that Abraham was justified by faith (Genesis 15:6), and Abraham rejoiced when he saw his perfect representative in Christ. (John 8:56) God did not make a covenant with Abraham directly but made it through his representative. These foundational planks of Judaism help answer the question "do Jews and Christians believe in the same God?' To the extent that Jews continue to relate to God in the manner of Abraham, they believe in the same God as Christians. Christ came 2,000 years ago, perfectly fulfilling the hope of Abraham, who saw Christ's day and was glad. (John 8:56) Just as Abraham believed and saw his perfect representative in Christ, albeit in types of a "smoking oven" or a "flaming torch," believers in Christ become sons of Abraham when they put their faith in the second Adam.(Galatians 3:7) The emergence of the distinctive traits of Judaism in the father of Judaism, Abraham, point to their full development and expression in Christianity, highlighting the continuity between the Old and New Testaments.
Did Abraham See Christ?
This episode focuses narrowly on the explanation of John 8:56, in which Christ notes that Abraham "rejoiced to see My day and was glad." The explanation is very pertinent to the question, "Do Jews and Christians believe in the same God?" For if the father of Judaism, Abraham, actually saw the pre-incarnate Christ, in the context of making a covenant with Yahweh, then faith in God the Father is intimately linked with God the Son. Genesis 15:6-18 describes the covenant that God made with Abraham. When two parties made a covenant both would walk in between animals split in half, pronouncing blessings and curses for keeping the covenant. Abraham did not walk in between the animals but instead saw a "smoking oven and a flaming torch." When interpreted through the words of Christ, that Abraham SAW Christ's day and was glad, Abraham evidently saw his perfect representative, Christ, making a covenant with God the Father--good reason to rejoice. Abraham is described as "ungodly" in Romans 4:3, but is commended because he believes in God who justifies the ungodly. The Abrahamic covenant then anticipates the New Covenant that Christ instituted, in which ungodly men are justified by faith in Him. So even at the very beginning of Judaism, justification by faith in Christ, albeit not explicit, affirms the basis by which sinners approach a holy God, through a perfect representative. With respect to the question then, one can certainly say that Christians and the first Jew (Abraham) believed in the same God.
Who was the God of Jesus?
"This initial episode sets the stage for the question by asking ""who was the God of Jesus?"" All Jews were monotheists, daily reciting the shema, ""Here o Israel, the Lord Our God, the Lord is One."" Christ, a good Jew, affirmed this core belief of Judaism, but identified this God as His own Father, even claiming that He was the God of the Old Testament, citing the Name of God made known to Moses, ""I am that I am."" [YHWH} (Exodus 3:14, John 8:58) So, while the New Testament affirms that Jesus' God was Yahweh, it also describes the Trinitarian nature of the One God, Jesus being God the Son. Both God the Father and God the Son are one is essence, but distinct persons of the Godhead. John 1:1 consequently affirms the oneness of God described in the shema, but notes distinctions within the godhead, ""In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God."" Jews prior to Christ only had glimpses of this Trinitarian God in the Old Testament, for the explicit revelation of the godhead only came with the incarnate Christ, who ""explained"" the Father. (John 1:18)