Diverges c. AD 30
Judaism
Judaism is the faith of Israel, the covenant people through whom the Messiah came. It shares the whole Old Testament with Christianity, yet it does not receive Jesus as the promised Messiah.
Key person
Abraham is the father of the covenant people; Moses gave the Law at Sinai. After the destruction of the temple in AD 70, the sacrificial system ended, and Judaism was reshaped by the rabbis around Torah study, the synagogue, and later the Mishnah and Talmud.
Timeline
Genesis 12:1-3 · c. 2000 BC
God calls Abram and begins the covenant line.
Genesis 17:7-14
The covenant is confirmed and marked by circumcision.
Exodus 19-20 · c. 1400s BC
Israel receives the Law at Sinai and becomes a covenant people.
2 Samuel 7:12-16
The Davidic covenant points forward to the Messiah.
c. AD 30
Jesus is presented as the Messiah; most of Israel's leaders do not receive Him.
AD 70
The temple is destroyed and sacrifice ceases.
c. AD 200 onward
Rabbinic Judaism develops through the Mishnah and Talmud.
Where it splinters from faith in Christ
Judaism holds the same Old Testament promises but does not receive Jesus of Nazareth as the promised Messiah and Son of God, and continues to await a Messiah still to come. In New Testament terms, this is the line stopping at the threshold of its own fulfillment: it keeps the covenant, the Law, and the hope, but not the One to whom they were leading. The parting point is not a doctrine added later; it is the person of Jesus.
What Judaism holds
- One God, who made covenant with Israel.
- The Torah and the Hebrew Scriptures as God's revelation.
- Covenant obedience, holiness, and worship.
- The expectation of a Messiah who has not yet come.
Biblical touchpoints
- Romans 9-11 - Paul's account of Israel, the Messiah, and the grafting in of the nations.
- John 1:11 - "He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him."
- Luke 24:27, 44 - Jesus shows that Moses and the Prophets speak of Him.