What do Jewish people think about Jesus?
Jesus once put a question to the religious leaders of His own nation about who the Messiah really is — and their silence has echoed through the centuries. What the Jewish people have thought of Jesus, both in His own day and since, is one of the great themes running through the New Testament, and the commentators treat it as the test that measures every person.
The Question That Tests Everyone
The question was not asked out of curiosity. It was aimed at unbelieving men, and one writer sees in it the point on which everything else balances.
F. B. HoleThere is no greater question between the covers of the Book than the one the Lord Himself raised with the unbelieving men of His day — "What do you think about the Christ?" (Matt. 22:42). In these few short words He set before them the pivotal point on which everything turns. The deepest foundations of the faith lie here, and any error or fault in this matter is sure to make its influence felt throughout the whole building.
What They Could Not Answer
The Pharisees — the strictest religious party of the day — already held that the Messiah would be descended from King David. What silenced them was the puzzle Jesus set alongside it.
H. H. SnellThe question by which our Lord silenced the Pharisees, so that "no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask Him any more questions," was about the mystery of His person. Though they knew that the Messiah would be the Son of David, they were completely confounded when asked how the Christ could be both David's Lord and David's son. (Matt. 22:41-46.)
Their difficulty was not a lack of information. It was a matter of the heart.
William J. HockingYet when Jesus asked the Pharisees, "What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?" (Matt. 22:42) not one of them had faith to refer back to Jehovah's words to Him, "You are My Son." His Sonship and His lowliness awakened their hatred, not their homage, and as a result their eyes were blinded.
Why the Nation Turned Away
The evidence was not the problem. One writer traces the refusal to something the evidence exposed.
William KellyThey would have none of Him; not because He did not give every possible proof of His Messiahship, but because He put them in the presence of God and of their sins, and from that testimony there was no escape except the rejection of Himself.
Two claims were refused, not one. He was rejected as King, and also as the Son of God.
William J. HockingNot only as their King, but as the Son, the Jews refused their Messiah. When Pilate was inclined to release Him, they insisted on His crucifixion, saying, "We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God" (John 19:7).
The Veil That Remains
The commentators explain the continuing Jewish view of Jesus by pointing to a covering over the heart — a picture drawn from Moses veiling his face.
Hamilton SmithIsrael's thoughts have been darkened, and remain so to this day. When they read the law they cannot see the One to whom the law points, because of the unbelief of their hearts. The veil that was on the face of Moses is now on the hearts of Israel. When at last Israel turns to the Lord the veil will be taken away.
Never the Whole Nation
Alongside the national refusal, the writers insist that individuals have always been reached.
The Bible TreasuryThe apostle then shows that in spite of the national rejection of the Messiah, grace still saves some. "There is a remnant, chosen by grace" (Rom. 11:5). And this is true at the present time. Rare as the conversion of a Jew is, the Christian rejoices to know that there is still, here and there, one and another whom grace enlightens and saves from among the Jews.
The Answer Still to Come
The story does not end with refusal. The writers point forward to a day when the nation's verdict on Jesus is reversed.
The Christian's FriendThe Messiah they will behold, but, beholding Him, will mourn. Their fathers' guilt, the nation's sin, with which they are closely connected, will be clear to them; and looking on Him, whom they as part of Israel pierced, they will mourn. What an awakening there will be! Centuries of national unbelief judged in a moment.
Summary
- Question. "What do you think about the Christ?" is the pivotal point on which everything turns — an error here works its way through the whole building.
- Silence. The leaders knew the Messiah would be David's son; they could not explain how He is also David's Lord.
- Cause. Proof was never lacking. He set them in the presence of God and of their own sins, and rejecting Him was the only escape.
- Veil. They read Moses without seeing the One he points to — and that veil lifts only in turning to the Lord.
- Remnant and reversal. Grace still saves some now, one by one; and a day is coming when they will look on the One they pierced and mourn.