Jews, Hebrews, Israelites

The three words, Jews, Hebrews and Israelites are very closely related and are used interchangeably by most people.  They are not technically the same, but the distinction is minor.  The Jewish faith and people all began with Abraham, as recorded in the book of Genesis, the first book of the Bible.  And the Old Testament follows the history of the Jewish people down through time.  The reason for the emphasis on these people is at least two-fold.  These were God's chosen people to whom He gave a special law to follow.  And these were the people of Jesus.

As the New Testament begins, we read of the genealogy from Abraham down to Jesus.  So Jesus was born a Jew, of the tribe of Judah.  Jesus kept the Jewish law all through His lifetime, as did His family and those around Him.  Jesus had to die before the new religion of Christianity, following after Christ, was to come into effect.  So during Jesus' life He only taught in preparation of the coming change.  But a change was coming....and we read of this in the books of the NT.

The documenting of the change from the Jewish Law to the Law of Christ is shown in the book of Acts where we see the apostles going forth to teach the new way.  They were doing what Jesus had taught them to do when He said, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  He who believes and is baptized will be saved...."(Mark 16:15-16).  The gospel was the good news that Jesus was the Son of God, that He died for all people, and that through following Him one could be saved eternally.

After the book of Acts we find that the other books, written to Christians to further help them in growing their faith, show clearly that the Jewish Law is no longer in effect.  Colossians 2:14 says it was "nailed to the cross."  Galatians 3:28 says that "there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus."

Anyone practicing the Jewish faith today is surely in error for several reasons.  One is that Jesus and His followers as written in the NT made it clear that Judaism is over.  And Jesus Himself pointed out that those trying to follow the Jewish Law were not keeping it fully, accurately; and no one trying to do that today would do so correctly.  But it is interesting to go back and to study the religion and the history of the Jews.  After all, this is the family of Jesus.

Thanks for reading.  Keep the faith.