Can the Breach Be Healed?

THE rift between Jew and Christian runs deeper than the Holocaust. From the very beginning, these two faiths have been at odds over a central issue: whether Jesus of Nazareth was the promised Messiah.

In the first century, the Messianic issue sparked violent persecution of Christians. (Acts 8:1) The situation, however, later reversed itself. In time, professed Christians became the persecutors of Jews. But in spite of Christendom’s best efforts to convert Jews over a period of centuries, the Jewish people as a whole have not budged from their original stance.

One Jewish writer noted that while Jews have nothing against Jesus as an individual, he “is certainly not the political Messiah whom we and our ancestors so intensely desired.” Rabbi Samuel Sandmel put it more bluntly: “We have not come to believe as you [Christians] believe; it is that simple.” (We Jews and You Christians) As a result of this difference of opinion, a religious chasm exists between Jews and Christians that looms far wider than most realize.

Roadblocks to an Accord

On the one hand, Christian doctrine leaves no room whatsoever for a path to salvation without Jesus. Jesus himself said: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”​—John 14:6; compare Acts 4:12; 1 Timothy 2:3-6.

Religious dialogues tend to evade the issue that caused this rift in the first place, namely, the Messianic claims of Jesus. Only when this matter is squarely faced can some of the age-old barriers of fear and distrust begin to crumble.