Judaism stands at the wellspring of the Christian faith. The God who called Abram out of Ur, made covenant with him, and promised blessing to all nations is the same God Christians worship and confess as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Genesis 12:1–3; Matthew 28:19). The Scriptures of Israel bear witness to his character and purposes, and the church gladly receives the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings as the living word of God that points forward to Christ (Luke 24:44; Romans 15:4). Christians do not despise the root that bears them; they honor it (Romans 11:18).
Yet the arrival of Jesus of Nazareth brings the turning point the Old Testament anticipated. He came not to abolish the Law or the Prophets but to fulfill them, bringing the shadows to their substance and the promises to their pledge kept (Matthew 5:17; Hebrews 10:1). By his once-for-all sacrifice, his resurrection, and his ascension, he inaugurated the New Covenant promised through Jeremiah, opening a new and living way into God’s presence for Jew and Gentile who believe (Jeremiah 31:31–34; Hebrews 10:19–22). In this fulfillment the church keeps the Israel/Church distinction clear: God’s covenant gifts and calling to Israel remain, even as the church now shares spiritual blessings in Christ and awaits the future mercy God has pledged to national Israel (Romans 11:25–29; Ephesians 2:11–13).
Words:1959 / Time to read: 10 minutes
Historical and Cultural Background
The story of Judaism rises from God’s sovereign call and faithful covenants. The Lord promised Abram a land, a seed, and a blessing that would reach all families of the earth, and Abram believed the Lord and it was credited to him as righteousness (Genesis 12:1–3; Genesis 15:6). Through Moses God formed a nation at Sinai, giving commandments, a priesthood, and sacrifices, so that a holy God might dwell among a redeemed people (Exodus 19:4–6; Exodus 25:8). Through David God promised a dynasty and a throne that would endure forever, locating hope in a royal Son who would rule with justice and bring peace (2 Samuel 7:12–16; Psalm 89:3–4).
Israel’s worship centered on the tabernacle and later the temple, where sacrifices taught the holy seriousness of sin and the gracious provision of atonement, meaning sin-covering by sacrifice (Leviticus 1:4; Leviticus 17:11). The annual Day of Atonement set forth cleansing and access, yet its repetition signaled that a fuller cleansing was still to come (Leviticus 16:34; Hebrews 10:1–4). Prophets promised a Servant who would bear iniquity and a King who would reign in righteousness, braiding hope for forgiveness with hope for the kingdom (Isaiah 53:5–6; Isaiah 9:6–7). Thus the Old Testament itself trained Israel to look beyond the copy to the coming reality (Hebrews 8:5).
After the temple’s destruction in AD 70, Jewish life re-centered around Scripture, prayer, and community. Rabbinic Judaism, later synagogue-centered teaching and practice, organized daily piety without sacrifices, elevating study and the rhythms of Sabbath and feasts. Across the centuries Judaism has expressed itself in many streams—some strict, some moderate, some liberal—yet united by devotion to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and by love for the Torah (Romans 9:4–5). Through all changes, the God of Israel remains faithful, and his gifts and calling are irrevocable (Romans 11:1–2; Romans 11:29).
Biblical Narrative
The Bible’s storyline runs from creation to new creation, with covenants as its backbone. God made the world good and made humanity in his image to reflect his glory, yet all have sinned and fall short of that glory, and death entered through sin (Genesis 1:31; Genesis 1:27; Romans 3:23; Romans 5:12). The Law given through Moses revealed God’s holiness, exposed transgression, and guarded the nation until the promised Seed would come (Galatians 3:19; Galatians 3:24). The sacrificial system provided real yet provisional cleansing, pointing beyond itself to a greater sacrifice with final power to forgive (Numbers 28:3; Hebrews 9:9–10).
Jesus steps into this story as Israel’s Messiah and the world’s Savior. He is David’s Son and David’s Lord, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, and the Prophet like Moses who speaks God’s final word (Psalm 110:1; John 1:29; Deuteronomy 18:15; Hebrews 1:1–2). He lived in perfect obedience, offered himself on the cross as a ransom for many, rose on the third day according to the Scriptures, and ascended with all authority in heaven and on earth (Mark 10:45; 1 Corinthians 15:3–4; Matthew 28:18). By one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy, and he sat down at the right hand of God, a posture that signals the finished sufficiency of his priestly work (Hebrews 10:12–14; Hebrews 7:27).
In his death and resurrection the promised New Covenant comes into force. On the night he was betrayed Jesus lifted the cup and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood,” locating Jeremiah’s promise in his own saving work (Luke 22:20; Jeremiah 31:33–34). The Spirit now writes God’s law on hearts, grants full forgiveness, and gives bold access to the throne of grace so that we find mercy and help in time of need (Hebrews 8:10–12; Hebrews 4:16). The gospel is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Gentile, uniting a people from every nation without erasing God’s future kindness to Israel (Romans 1:16; Acts 15:14–18; Romans 11:26–27).
Theological Significance
The deepest difference between Judaism and Christianity concerns how God brings sinners into the right with himself. The Law is holy, righteous, and good, yet by works of the Law no one will be justified because the Law exposes sin rather than removes it (Romans 7:12; Romans 3:20). Abraham’s story shows the way: he believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness, a pattern Paul says was written not for him alone but for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead (Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:23–25). The just shall live by faith, and in Christ a righteousness from God has been revealed, apart from the Law, to all who believe (Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 3:21–22).
Jesus fulfills the sacrificial system and the priesthood. The tabernacle and temple served as a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, a typology, prophetic pattern pointing to Christ, so that when the true High Priest appeared he entered the greater and more perfect tabernacle with his own blood, obtaining eternal redemption (Hebrews 8:5; Hebrews 9:11–12). Believers now form a living temple as the Spirit indwells them, and they offer spiritual sacrifices of praise and obedience, yet this spiritual reality does not cancel God’s promises to Israel or the future hope God has pledged (1 Corinthians 3:16; 1 Peter 2:5; Romans 11:28–29). Progressive revelation, God unfolds truth over time, enables us to affirm both: Christ has fulfilled what the Law prefigured, and God still holds a future for the nation he chose (Luke 24:27; Acts 3:19–21).
The kingdom hope also requires care. Christians confess that Jesus will return to reign, bringing justice and restoration, raising the dead, and renewing creation so that righteousness dwells (Acts 1:11; Isaiah 11:1–9; 2 Peter 3:13). The church does not replace Israel; rather, in this present age Jew and Gentile who believe are one new humanity in Christ while God’s national promises to Israel await their appointed fulfillment in his time (Ephesians 2:14–16; Romans 11:25–27). This stance guards against pride and keeps prayer and mission aimed at the mercy that triumphs over judgment (James 2:13; Romans 11:20–22).
Spiritual Lessons and Application
Christians should approach Jewish friends with gratitude and humility, remembering that we stand by faith and must not be arrogant but tremble, for the root supports us and not the other way around (Romans 11:18–20). Gentile believers are wild branches grafted into Israel’s cultivated olive tree, sharing in its nourishing sap by grace alone (Romans 11:17). This posture shapes our tone: we honor the Scriptures, we honor the people through whom they came, and we commend the Messiah promised within them (Romans 3:1–2; Acts 26:22–23).
Witness should flow from the Law and the Prophets. Open Genesis to show that God justifies by faith, not works, and that the Seed of the woman will crush the serpent’s head (Genesis 15:6; Genesis 3:15). Read Isaiah to see the Servant who bears our iniquities and justifies many, and Psalm 110 to see David’s Lord seated at God’s right hand (Isaiah 53:5–11; Psalm 110:1). Walk the road to Emmaus again and let Jesus himself show that the Messiah had to suffer these things and then enter his glory (Luke 24:26–27). In every passage point to the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and to the King who will reign in Zion (John 1:29; Zechariah 14:9).
Pastoral sensitivity matters. Many Jewish people have known hardship done in the name of Christ, so Christians should adorn the gospel with patience, prayer, and integrity. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem and for the day when God pours out a spirit of grace and supplication so that they will look on the one they have pierced and mourn as for a firstborn (Psalm 122:6; Zechariah 12:10). Offer to read the Scriptures together, beginning where a friend is willing, and trust the Spirit to open hearts as the word is explained (Acts 8:30–35; 2 Corinthians 3:14–16). The goal is not to win arguments but to bear witness to the crucified and risen Lord who saves all who call upon his name (Romans 10:9–13).
Conclusion
Judaism and Christianity share one sacred story up to the coming of Christ, and at that point the story reaches its goal. The Law and the Prophets bear witness to a righteousness from God that comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, and in him the promised New Covenant has been established with forgiveness and a new heart (Romans 3:21–22; Hebrews 8:10–12). The sacrifices and priesthood did their appointed work as tutors and shadows until the true High Priest came and offered himself once for all, opening the way into the holy presence of God for every believer (Galatians 3:24–25; Hebrews 10:19–22).
This fulfillment does not erase Israel; it displays God’s faithfulness. The same Lord who grafted Gentiles in by grace promises future mercy to Israel, and the church prays and labors in hope until the Deliverer comes from Zion (Romans 11:26–27). In the meantime the gospel goes to the Jew first and also to the Gentile, summoning all people to repent and believe and promising eternal life to everyone who trusts the crucified and risen Son (Romans 1:16; Acts 17:30–31). “There is salvation in no one else,” and that name is offered to all (Acts 4:12).
“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people… For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” (Jeremiah 31:33–34)
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