What religion was Jesus?
Jesus was born into Israel, circumcised as a Jewish child, taught in the synagogues, and sent to His own nation as the fulfilment of promises made to their ancestors. Yet the same writers who insist on all of this also insist that His death and resurrection opened something that Judaism could not contain — so the question is not only what He was born into, but what He came to do there.
Born Under the Law
The starting point in the commentary is a matter of birth, not of preference. When Paul says God's Son came "born of woman, born under the law," writers tie it directly to the eighth-day circumcision of the child in Bethlehem.
Truth & TestimonyBrought up in a godly Jewish home where the law was held to and loved, the child Jesus was circumcised on the eighth day. We are reminded of the apostle Paul's words here: "born of woman, born under the law." How wonderful to consider the Son of God becoming so lowly, found in obscure circumstances, and submitting to the law as a godly Israelite. It had to be so if redemption was to be found for Jew and Gentile alike.
That one act carried a binding weight, and it placed Him where no one else stood.
Numerical Bible NotesHis circumcision, as the apostle says of it, makes Him "a debtor to keep the whole law." … He pledges Himself to full legal obedience, which on His part is to have no relaxation. To others He is to be the Source of a grace which for Himself He is never to know. And the law itself marks out for Him a special place, apart from all others.
A Regular Worshipper
His practice matched His birth. Luke's note that He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath "as His custom was" is read as a description of habit, not of a single visit.
C CrainThat phrase, "as His custom was," is instructive. He was used to attending the synagogue service on the Sabbath day. He was a regular attender, as we would say, and so honoured the law of Moses.
The same pattern appears at the very beginning of His life, where the details of the temple visit are traced back to Israel's law.
J. N. DarbyThe child receives the name of Jesus on the day of His circumcision, according to Jewish custom, but according to the counsels and revelations of God, made known by the angels of His power. Everything was done according to the law, for historically we are still in connection with Israel. He who was born of a woman was born under the law.
Minister of the Circumcision
Romans 15:8 gives Jesus an official standing toward one nation. Commentators read it as describing His work while He walked here.
W. T. P. WolstonIf I understand what it means that Jesus Christ was "a servant to the circumcised," it is that He was the One who came to fulfil to the Jew the promises God made to the fathers. Further, He came according to prophecy, and in fulfilment of prophecy. How was He received? We are told, "He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him." They did not want Him and would not have Him. That opened the way for God's eternal purpose about the Church to come out.
He Defended the Jewish Line
Speaking to a Samaritan woman, Jesus took His stand with the Jews on the question of true worship. One writer notes where and when He said it.
William Kelly"You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews." There was presumption and ignorance in Samaria, and the Lord does not hide Israel's advantage in every way. But notice that Jesus only says this outside: He defends the Jews when He is among their rivals, and Himself rejected. What grace!
Known Now As Risen
His Jewish birth is never denied by these writers — but they refuse to leave Christian faith anchored there. Paul's words about no longer knowing Christ "according to the flesh" are pressed hard.
William KellyThe Lord Jesus born into the world was an Israelite, their Head and King, the Messiah; but "even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer." The Christ we are related to is certainly the blessed person born in Bethlehem. But it is not after that pattern, nor in any earthly way, that we stand in relationship with Him. We begin with Christ who died for our sins.
Summary
- Born: He came "born of woman, born under the law" — circumcised on the eighth day, raised in a Jewish home, an Israelite by birth and not by choice.
- Bound: Circumcision made Him a debtor to keep the whole law, and He kept it without relaxation, so that others could receive grace He never needed.
- Habit: The synagogue on the Sabbath was His custom, not an occasional visit, and every detail of His infancy was carried out according to Moses.
- Sent: He came as a servant to the circumcised, to confirm the promises made to the fathers — and defended the Jews' place even while His own people refused Him.
- Risen: His rejection opened the way for something new, so believers now know Him not as Messiah on earth but as the One who died, rose, and is glorified.