Why does the Jewish Religion Believe Differently than we do?

In Judaism, the main reason is that God is understood as one and not incarnate as a human being. So the Christian claim that Jesus is the divine Son of God does not fit with traditional Jewish belief about who God is.

A few key reasons:

1. Strict monotheism

Judaism teaches that God is absolutely one. Because of that, the idea that God has a divine son, or that God became human, is generally rejected in Jewish theology.

2. The Messiah is expected to be human

In Jewish belief, the Messiah is not God. He is expected to be a human leader descended from King David, not a divine person.

3. Messianic expectations were not seen as fulfilled

Many Jews do not accept Jesus as the Messiah because the traditional expectations connected to the Messiah include things like:

bringing worldwide peace

gathering the Jewish exiles back to Israel

rebuilding or restoring what is connected to the Temple era

leading the world toward full knowledge of God

Since those things did not happen in Jesus’ lifetime in the way Judaism expects, Judaism does not identify him as the Messiah.

4. Different reading of Scripture

Christianity and Judaism read many of the same Hebrew Bible passages differently. Christians see some passages as pointing to Jesus. Jews generally do not interpret those passages that way.

Also, in Judaism, phrases like “son of God” can sometimes be understood symbolically, such as referring to Israel, angels, or a king with a special relationship to God, not meaning that someone is literally divine.

So, the issue is not simply that Judaism “dislikes” Jesus. It is that Judaism and Christianity have different beliefs about God, the Messiah, and how Scripture should be understood.