To most everyone I know, the “Good News” (in Hebrew it’s called B’rit Chadasha) is that Yeshua (Jesus) has come to die for our sins, which allows us to be saved.
But I think the Good News is something a little different.
If you prefer to watch a video, click on this link: Watch the video.
If you ask nearly anyone who is either Jewish or Christian, they will probably agree on one thing: the New Covenant is for Christians and the Old Covenant is for Jews. But, then again, if you ask any Jewish or Christian person who has a messianic understanding, they will tell you that the New Covenant is the continuation of the Old, and that they are both one book, one story about one God, and the Messiah he sent to the Jews, and then to the Gentiles.
I am a Messianic Jew, which means that both sides hate me: my Jewish brothers and sisters say I am a traitor and must be a Christian if I “believe in Jesus” (whatever the heck that is supposed to mean), and Christians say I am not really saved if I do all that “Jewish” stuff because I am still “under the law” (again, whatever the heck that is supposed to mean).
However, my advantage is that I was raised as a Reform Jew, so I was never really trained in Torah or Talmud, and being Jewish I was never told about the Good News or what the New Covenant writings mean, so I have been able to approach both the Old and New Covenant innocently, i.e., without preconceptions or a conditioned understanding.
Consequently, I see things that neither most Jews and Christians don’t: not because they are ignorant or faithless, but because they have been forced to wear blinders all their life, and don’t even know they are wearing them!
So, nu! What great revelation do I have to share with you?
Well, I’m not so sure it’s a revelation, but it is what I believe is the real “Good News” and, remarkably, it sort of fits in with the traditional Christian view of the New Covenant I talked about above, which is that the Old is just for Jews, and the New is just for Christians.
You may ask, “How is the Good News only for Gentiles?”
I’m glad you asked
The Good News, as I see it, is not that Yeshua came to earth and died for our sins- which is, in and of itself, about as good news as one can ever hope for- but rather the good news is that the salvation Yeshua provided to the Jews (who absolutely needed it because the temple was about to be destroyed) was now being made available to the pagan, polytheistic, hedonistic, drunkard, sexually perverted Gentiles, as well.
And this (again, as I see it) is not a surprise, since there are many prophecies about God’s house being a house of prayer for all peoples, the light coming to the Gentiles, and most of all, Ezekiel 18:23, where God says he doesn’t want to see anyone die but turn from their sins, and live.
So, my friends, if someone asks you what the Good News of the Bible is all about, you can tell them that it is about how salvation through the Jewish Messiah God promised to send was made available to everyone on earth.
And that is my understanding of what the “Good News” is really about.
That’s it for today, so l’hitraot and Baruch Ha Shem!
