Why Aren’t Most Jewish People Looking for a Savior?
An insurance company’s ads promote the idea of planning ahead. An umbrella is thrust into an unsuspecting individual’s hands – just before a downpour hits or a passing car splashes water on him. The obvious point: You never know when disaster will strike, but you’ll be glad you’re prepared when it does.
Often we hear the gospel presented as “fire insurance.” “You don’t want to go to hell when you die, do you?”
But how many people really believe in hell anymore? For many, a warning about impending eternal punishment is as laughable as it was for Noah’s generation watching an old man preparing for a global flood.
What is a Jewish view of salvation and the afterlife? It will come as no surprise that secular Jewish people resemble the wider postmodern culture in viewing religious beliefs as a collection of myths and folk tales. But when we converse with those most deeply steeped in Orthodox Judaism and believe in heaven, hell, and a messiah to come, we discover that atoning for sin is not on the job description of the Mashiach[1] (anointed one).
The main reason even Jewish people who are devoutly religious are not looking for a Savior is that no need of one is perceived. True, the Tanakh (Old Testament) plainly states, “The soul that sins shall die” (see Ezekiel 18:4,20). And Isaiah warns Israel concerning the seriousness of sin: “But your wrongdoings have caused a separation between you and your God. And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear” (Isaiah 59:2).
Rabbinic Judaism does not teach the concept of “original sin” – that is, as humans we sin because we’re sinners at heart. The rabbis teach that each of us has both an inclination toward good (yetzer ha tov) and an inclination toward evil (yetzer ha ra). But in most people, the good inclination outweighs the bent toward evil.
It is understood that “to err is human,” so wide latitude is granted for everyday shortcomings. And it is even considered possible for the most pious to live without sin. These will be granted instant access to heaven upon death; only the egregiously wicked will be consigned to eternal punishment.
But what about the rest of us “average sinners”? Following the temple’s destruction in AD 70, atoning sacrifice is no longer possible. The rabbis who gathered in Yavne/Jamnia[2] determined that prayer (tefillah), repentance (teshuvah), and keeping the commandments (mitzvot)[3] are the means of being acceptable to a holy God.
Rabbinic Judaism in essence is a works-based system. We can find favor with God through our meritorious deeds,[4] we are told. Why would we need a Redeemer if 1) most sins are not a big deal, and 2) we can earn our way to heaven?
A third reason most Jewish people are not looking for a Savior is that, for most individuals not deemed completely righteous, a temporary period of suffering after death will purge whatever sin has kept them from immediately gaining heaven.[5] The Tanakh (Old Testament) speaks of Sheol as the place of the departed; rabbinic writings refer to Gehinnom (a.k.a. Gehenna).[6] Rather than a place of eternal torment, to which only the vilest are consigned, the suffering of Gehinnom may correct and refine the average person[7] not yet fitted for Gan Eden.[8]
Rashi, the leading Ashkenazi[9] rabbinic commentator (AD 1040–1105) whose writings are most highly regarded in many ultra-Orthodox circles, states in his commentary on the Talmud (Rosh Hashana 17a), “The judgment of the wicked is twelve months…” If their sins are atoned for, according to Mishna Eduyot 2:10, they arise (to heaven); however, the utterly wicked are destroyed.[10] Those less sinful may be purified in less time and be elevated to heaven.[11]
Rabbi Moses ben Maimonides (a.k.a. Rambam) was a Sephardi[12] philosopher who lived a century after Rashi. Maimonides placed the highest value on attaining true knowledge, especially of God. He did not view Gehinnom as a real or metaphysical place but seems to teach the annihilation of the souls of the unlearned.[13] While the views of Maimonides and Rashi are divergent in many ways, both teach that human effort (keeping commandments, studying) is sufficient to attain the world to come.[14]
Most Jewish people you may meet likely will not have studied a great deal of Talmud, Rashi’s commentaries, or Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah. Many would answer the question “What happens to our souls after we die?” with an honest “I don’t really know.”
I once had an in-depth conversation with an Israeli doctor’s wife about this very subject. Her answer was revealing. “When you’re dead, you’re dead. There’s nothing after this life.”
When I indicated that way of thinking offers no hope, she responded with a note of sadness, “Sometimes I think about that and I just get depressed. So I don’t let myself think about it anymore.”
As believers, we can provoke others to jealousy by demonstrating the peace, hope, and joy that our faith provides. We know our sins are forgiven. Our God loves us so much He made it possible for us to spend eternity in His presence.
We also can point seekers to the truth. God reveals Himself to be altogether holy. His Spirit convicts us of the reality that we are not. His Word points us to His provision for us to be made righteous: atoning sacrifice. He sent His Son, the Lord Jesus, to freely provide the atonement He requires.
As those who have placed our trust in Yeshua’s death in our place and His resurrection to life everlasting, we celebrate His victory over sin, death, and hell. And we have the assurance of the One who is “the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25) that those who believe in Him have everlasting life (John 3:16).
As one who unquestionably needed a Savior, and thankfully was found and transformed by His love and grace, I joyfully testify with Scripture to this truth regarding the world to come:
53 For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 But when this perishable puts on the imperishable, and this mortal puts on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “Death has been swallowed up in victory. 55 Where, O Death, is your victory? Where, O Death, is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the Law; 57 but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus the Messiah (1 Corinthians 15:53–57).
Written by Wes Taber, Life in Messiah Global Ambassador
Were you aware of the reasons why most Jewish people aren’t looking for a Savior? How will this influence your approach to gospel conversations?
The best way to know what someone believes is to ask! Randy Newman’s book Questioning Evangelism offers good insights into talking about our faith.
For a summary of the information and ideas presented in this blog, as well as suggestions for how to discuss the important topic of the afterlife in evangelism, check out the video “Jewish Views of the Afterlife” on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoWhgO5PQmg.
Endnotes:
[1] The English word “messiah” derives from the Hebrew “mashiach.” The Greek equivalent for “anointed” is christos. Yeshua ha Mashiach and Jesus Christ are equivalent terms for the Anointed One whom the angels instructed, “Call His name Savior (Yeshua/Iesous) for He will save His people from their sins” (see Matthew 1:21). In contrast, Judaism today does not anticipate a divine savior but an earthly conqueror who will restore the glories of David’s kingdom.
[2] With the Temple’s destruction, Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai relocated to Yavne, where the central rabbinic authority (the Sanhedrin) convened from AD 70 until sometime in the beginning of the second century. Often referred to as the Council of Yavne, they enacted and interpreted halacha (Jewish law) and settled religious disputes.
[3] As Bible believers, we affirm the value of prayer, repentance, and being obedient to the Lord. But none of them, in any combination or quantity, equals righteousness. It was Abraham’s faith that justified him (Genesis 15:6). The standard for holiness is God Himself (Leviticus 20:26). God’s formula for removing the stain of sin was blood atonement (Leviticus 17:11). While the Lord does require obedience (e.g., “do justice, love mercy, walk humbly with your God,” as Micah 6:8 says), such deeds are the fruit of righteousness; they don’t make us righteous. Only faith in God’s sufficient provision for atonement can do that. By way of analogy, if one wishes to remove a blueberry stain from a white linen shirt, one does not use an iron. Ironing is great for removing wrinkles, which could improve the look of the garment, but a powerful stain remover is needed to cleanse away the embedded blueberry blotch. Hebrews 9:22 tells us “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” That Yeshua’s blood is the divinely ordained “stain remover” is seen in Matthew 26:28; Ephesians 1:7, 1 John 1:7, and Revelation 1:5.
[4] “Christianity is a religion of creeds; Judaism is a religion of deeds” is a popular formulation. As followers of Yeshua, we understand we are “created in Messiah Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). However, our good works are not to attain righteousness (Titus 3:5–6), but to glorify God (e.g., Matthew 5:16).
[5] According to Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (a.k.a. Rashi), suffering in this world also can serve as atonement, thereby lessening the need for posthumous punishment (Berachot 5a); or, for the righteous, provide merit in the world to come.
[6] For example, Yeshua refers to Gehenna in Matthew 5:22,30. Geh Hinnom is the Valley of Hinnom, outside the Dung Gate on the south side of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, where the ever-burning piles of trash came to symbolize the perpetual fires of hell.
[7] It would seem the Catholic doctrine of Purgatory comes from this very idea of a “holding place” in the afterlife where sins can be “burned away.”
[8] Gan Eden (Garden of Eden) is one way to refer to paradise in olam haba (the world to come).
[9] “Ashkenazi” refers to Jewish people whose ancestors lived in Central and Eastern Europe.
[10] "... After twelve months, their [i.e., the truly wicked] bodies are consumed and their souls are burned ... but the heretics, and those who deny the resurrection ... their punishment is eternal."
[11] For this reason, the mourner’s prayer (kaddish) is recited only during the first year following the death of a loved one; to pray longer would be to presume that a year in “refining fire” was not sufficient to burn away their sins.
[12] “Sephardi” is used to describe Jewish people whose ancestors lived in Spain and Portugal.
[13] See, for example, Guide for the Perplexed III:27, where Maimonides states that ignorance results in the loss of the soul’s immortality. His emphasis on knowledge is reflected in the high value placed on education by Jewish people to this day. Ironically, with all his scholarship, Rambam viewed God as the unknowable “wholly other,” such that no positive qualities could be attributed to Him. God’s attributes could only be stated negatively: e.g., He is not unholy.
[14] Mainstream Judaism (including Rashi and Maimonides) agree there will be a resurrection of the righteous dead. The last of Rambam’s famous “13 Principles of Judaism” is “To believe in the resurrection of the dead, at the time God wills it.”