If a Gentile converts to Judaism, they are no longer a Gentile. They are fully Jewish and a member of the Jewish community. So when I say a Gentile who hangs around the Jewish community, I am not referring to a convert.
If you're not referring to a convert, cool. We agree/that's the end of it really. Of course a Gentile who converts is considered Jewish/member of the community, even though their Gentile background is remembered - and for those who are Gentiles/God Fearers in the community, it is thankfully not the case where the Lord ever said that one had to be fully Jewish in order to have access to things. However, some of this has
already been discussed before and there's no need bringing it up again.
But indeed, for Gentiles who were included in the community, it is not a small matter. And from a Messianic perspective, it must be kept in mind. Cornelius in Acts 10 is an excellent one to consider. And there are other examples besides that to consider...
As scripture notes:
Acts 10/Acts 10:19
Cornelius Calls for Peter
1At Caesarea there was a man named
Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. 2He and all his family were
devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. 3One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, "
Cornelius!" 4Cornelius stared at him in fear. "What is it, Lord?" he asked.
The angel answered, "Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.
Cornelius was a Gentile who attached himself to Judaism but chose not to undergo formal conversion, which included public circumcision and public immersion (proselyte baptism). This class of Gentiles, known in Judaism as "proselytes of the gate", was quite large at this time. They were attracted to the nobility of the Jewish worship and truth of the one God who had revealed himself in the Bible....but for various reasons did not become Jews. There is the reality ot others who are "GOD-Fearers", who are in no way following all things Jewish--and yet they're still cool with God. The same is true for our times today...
And to be clear, for those who wish to live a Jewish lifestyle as Gentiles due to their being convicted to do so, they have the freedom to do so since the same thing seemed to occur many times in the scriptures...specifically in regards to those who had a Ruth-Like mindset of joining with the Jewish people and honoring their mindset....and I do think that there's a beauty to those who wish to be Messianic Gentiles, as
FFOZ has noted alongside many other groups. One of the books I was able to read on it growing up is by Don Fito, entitled
Your People Shall Be My People----and it's very well written in regards to discussing those who wish to have a Ruth-Like calling toward joining with the Jewish people for the sake of outreach/identification.
Acts 15:23-29 makes it clear that in order to become a child of God, a Gentile does not need to undergo conversion rites to Judaism in order to be accepted...nor are they bound to be concerned at all with whether they are allowed to eat Kosher foods.....and in fact, Rav Shaul (Paul) takes it one step further in saying that Messianic gentiles should remain as they are and not seek to become part of Israel in the flesh (
I Corinthians 7:18-24) ---but if one wishes to live in a specific way, that is their decision.
It always becomes an issue when Gentiles try to live Jewishly
thinking they now have the rights to speak as if they themselves are "Jews"/belonging to Israel and do so because of a fixation on all things "Israel"----as that has caused great damage in the Body....and it is an issue when many Gentile believers today, in their search for "the Jewish roots of the faith" are adopting traditional Jewish ways
not mandated by Scripture....specifically in regards to how
traditional Judaism's oral law contains conversion rituals and too many Messianics are attempting to 'graft' those beliefs into Messianic Judaism.
Being "Jewish" was never what the Lord was concerned on for Gentiles, for as Peter said, " in
every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him." ( Acts 10:34-35 ). More on where I stand in this regard is seen here in #
229, #
15 and #
17 --for when anything Gentile is despised just for one to call themselves "Israel", that's a problem. And
As another said best, " What a great cosmic joke, after 2,000 years of separation begun by anti-Semitism, for Jewish and Gentile believers to begin to come together, and be torn apart this time, not by anti-Semitism, but by its converse, let us call it anti-Gentilism! Such divisions are not scriptural, and only give place to the devil."
Also, As another said
best in a paper presented to the International Messianic Jewish Alliance meeting in Puerto Vallarta Mexico in 1997 :
Identifying With Israel
The primary role of Gentiles in the Body of the Messiah is to identify with Israel. To identify with Israel is different from identifying as Israel. As Gentiles, our struggle must be to show that we have been brought into a relationship with the God of Abraham without being a replacement of Israel. But there is a danger here. If Gentiles lose their own identity and become copy-cat Jews, or if the differences become hidden, the purpose for the body to be both Jew and Gentile in one new man will be lost.
We are to appreciate both Jewish and Gentile culture...and for those Gentiles within the movement who feel that all Gentiles MUST live as Jewish people in order to appreciate them, it's a big problem. As Yeshua noted:
Luke 7
The Faith of the Centurion
1When Jesus had finished saying all this in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. 2There a centurion's servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. 3The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, "This man deserves to have you do this, 5because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue." 6So Jesus went with them.
He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: "Lord, don't trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. 7That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."
9When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, "I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel." 10Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.
Matthew 8:4-6is the place where the other version is given....and of course, in Luke's account, others came to Jesus on his behalf while Matthew's account does not mention them at all. The accounts may seem contradictory--but Matthew, as he often does, simply abbreviates the story. For in Matthew, he actually reports what the
centurion said through the messengers, based on the idea that what the person does through an agent is what the person himself does. Regarding the text, when the Roman
centurion addresses Jesus as "Lord", he shows a remarkable sensitivity for Jewish traditions...saying he's unworthy of receiving Jesus into his Gentile home, as a Jew who entered the home of a Gentile became ceremonially unclean (
Acts 10:27-29 / ).
Some other interesting things from the text are that the normal relationship between Romans and Jews, as is usual between conquerors and conquered, was not one of love and trust---from either side. But this pagan Roman officer had demonstrated a love for the Jewish people which moved the Jewish leaders to plead on his behalf before Yeshua, whose primary ministry was not to Gentiles but to Jews..especially as evidenced in his interaction with the girl whose daughter was possessed/was a Gentile (
Matthew 10:4-6 / /Matthew 15:25-27/ ). Love was demonstrated to be a matter of deeds--"he built the synagogue for us!"--not mere words or feelings; and this is its primary meaning throughout Scripture. Similarly, in modern times "Righteous Gentiles" have been honored by trees planted along the road to Israel's
Yad VaShem Memorial of the Holocaust because they risked their own death to save Jewish lives. Examples of such would be people such as
Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese individual who saved many Jewish people during his time in China and was a rescuer of Jews during the Nazi Holocaust.....
one of the greatest example of what it means to be a "God-Fearer" and how being a Gentile isn't something to be ashamed of.
In regards to Matthew 8:4-6 and the Roman Centurion, of course Replacement Theologians and those against Jews may conclude that Jesus was excluding Jews from the Kingdom---but the point of the story was not exclusion. Rather, it was inclusion......as here Yeshua clearly states that Gentiles from ALL OVER (from the east and the west), even an army officer of the hated Roman Empire, can by virtue of trusting in God join God's people Israel and take their places at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven with Abraham, Issac and Jacob. Of course, this very thing has occurred many times before---whether with Rabab the Prostitute when she joined the people of God ( Joshua 6:24-26 / /Hebrews 11:30-32 /James 2:24-26 )..or Ruth..who was in the line of Christ ( Matthew 1:4-6 / ) after she joined on with the Jewish people, even though she was a Moabite ( Ruth 1:1 /Genesis 19:36-38/ ) and the Law forbade anyone of Moabite descent to enter the sanctuary due to Moab's history ( Deuteronomy 23:2-4/ /Numbers 22:1 )
A Gentile who attends synagogue and hangs around the Jewish community does not full rights in the community. In Judaism, the lesser 'rights' or obligations does not make the Gentile a second class person. It simply means the person is Gentile and not Jewish
There's actually the dynamic of Jews having the same experience, as just because one's Jewish doesn't mean one gets to be fully involved - specifically in the event that one's not really connected to the community, involved or working with it, sporadically present or not truly zealous for the Lord. There's a lifestyle dynamic that goes alongside access and mobility.
In Judaism, a Gentile does not have the same laws or obligations as a Jewish person, and therefore can not serve the same as a Jewish person.
Indeed - although having differing requirements or laws isn't always the same as saying one is not to be considered a full member of a fellowship.
View it similarly to a closed communion. A person might attend services every week at a closed communion church, while a member of that church only attends 3 times a year. But the non-member can not take communion because they are not a member.
Bad example, as even in those churches where a member attends 3 times a year, many places have it where one's level of commitment will determine whether they are able to do certain things.
A Gentile who attends an Orthodox synagogue but does not convert is not a member of that community and while welcomed as a guest and friend, is not a member and therefore is limited in certain areas. This is not making the person second class.
Doesn't always play out that way, Q - and I'll go with the synagouges that've noted that often when it comes to Gentiles involved in synagouges who do not convert and yet are fully involved/immeshed and yet Gentile.
For Messianic Gentiles who attend a synagogue, should they convert, it is assumed they are renouncing Yeshua. So, the choice will be to be fully Jewish and a member of the Jewish community and renounce Jesus, or a Gentile who joins in with the Jewish community but not as a member of the community and maintaining belief and allegiance to Yeshua.
In the Reform movement, of course it is a bit different, as the Reform movement has a somewhat high level of mixed marriages, so a Gentile spouse will be more included so that they are more comfortable in a synagogue setting as their children of raised Jewish
Thankfully, in Messianic Jewish synagouges/services, it does not have to be the case that one has to be Jewish/made fully Jewish in order to be a member of the community and have access to things.
