The chasm between Judaism and Christianity goes beyond the unfortunate and sometimes bloody history between the two faiths. There are some deep theological divides as well. For example, Jewish people traditionally find it very difficult to understand the idea of the Incarnation—that Jesus is both fully man and fully God. So how can a Jewish person possibly come to believe that Jesus is God in the flesh when their community and heritage is so opposed to this belief?

Jewish people affirm that God is one; He is singular and not three. One of the core prayers of Judaism, referred to as the Shema, is based on Deuteronomy 6:4: “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!” This is often viewed as a religious rallying cry within the Jewish community and recited almost every time Jewish people gather for prayer. The idea that God is three-in-one is viewed as non-Jewish and heretical by almost every Jewish person in the world, apart from Jewish believers in Messiah!

Jewish people also do not believe God can become a man and are taught that worshiping God in any form—be it flesh, wood, or stone—is idolatry. Therefore, to believe that God became a man and to then worship this individual would be viewed as antithetical to the Jewish faith. Resistance to the idea that God became a man is woven into the Jewish soul.