Can Gentile Believers Belong to a Messianic Synagogue

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May 27, 2004

Can Gentile believers be members of a Messianic synagogue? The short answer to this question is, yes! A longer explanation is more interesting, No?

Gentile Believers, according to the New Testament, have already entered into a Jewish faith (Romans 11:24). They should feel quite at home in a Messianic synagogue. Being spiritually circumcised they have become part of the Commonwealth of Israel (Ephesians 2:11-13). To be a member of any Messianic synagogue, a Gentile Believer should love the Jewish people. He should, of course, understand what God is doing among these people and he should be able to say, along with Ruth of the Bible: "Your people shall be my people and your God shall be my God (Ruth 1:16).

But, remember: Messianic Judaism is Jewish. Although they are spiritually united with true Christians, and consider them their spiritual brothers, Messianic Jews have their own expression of the Faith, and retain their Jewish identity. Jewish holidays and Sabbath are observed. Circumcision is practiced, and many of them keep kosher. They have Bar and Bat Mitzvahs as well as Jewish weddings and funerals. The following is a litany of their beliefs concerning Messiah: "Yeshua was a descendant of King David; He was raised in a Jewish home and went to synagogue; He perfectly kept the entire Torah (Galatians 4:4); Yeshua was the most Jewish of Jews teaching that He fulfilled, and not set aside, the Torah (Matthew 5:17-19); all of His early disciples lived very Jewish lives; the Messianic movement was entirely Jewish at its inception; the Scriptures are Jewish; the Jewish Bible provides the foundation of faith and, the New Testament was written by Jews."

There are presently about 150 Messianic synagogues in the United States and another 50 or so in Israel. Messianic synagogues are also found in other countries. Bible prophecies indicate that Messianic Judaism is a direct result of God revealing Himself, once again, to the Jewish people, and that one day they will all recognize Yeshua. "Messianic Judaism is the Judaism of the future."

The co-habitation of Messianic Jews and Gentile Believers is not new. It began in the first century. At first, the early Messianic Jews only proclaimed Yeshua to Jewish people. "Ironically, the big controversy was not if it was Jewish to believe in Yeshua, but whether Gentiles could become part of the Messianic Faith without having to become Jewish first." In time, Messianic Jews recognized that Messiah was not only for them, but also for others. Yeshua was shared with non-Jews as well as Jews. The Apostle Paul, a Jew among Jews, was sent by God to be the Apostle to the Gentiles. As a result many Gentiles were converted from unbelief and came into the Messianic Faith. Messianic Judaism is not new.

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