PARASHAT RE’EH
- Aug 7
- 2 min read
Saturday 8th August 2026 Mevorchim Chodesh Elul 25th Av 5786
PARASHAT RE’EH
Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17; Isaiah 54:11-55:5; John 6:35-51
Is Jesus A False Prophet? How did Yeshua get such a bad reputation with the Jewish people?
In Messianic Judaism, we believe that Yeshua of Nazareth is the most misunderstood, most misrepresented, and most maligned person in history. Conventional Judaism considers Yeshua of Nazareth a false prophet.
Conventional Jewish people do so as well. Tragically, the conventional Christian interpretation of Jesus only reinforces the conventional Jewish opinion. Messianic Judaism differs from conventional Judaism in this regard.
Moses warned Israel against miracle-working prophets who turn people away from the Torah. Such a prophet must be regarded a false prophet and put to death. Even if the would-be prophet’s sign or wonder does succeed and his prediction does come to pass, he might still be a false prophet. Signs and wonders are not the final proof. If the prophet attempts to dissuade you “from the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk” (Deuteronomy 13:5), you are to disregard him as a false prophet. The way in which God commanded us to walk is the Torah and its commandments.
Deuteronomy warns the Jewish people not to listen to such a prophet, even if his ministry comes with amazing signs and wonders. Instead, the Jewish people are to “follow the LORD … keep His commandments, listen to His voice” (Deuteronomy 13:4). This means that anyone claiming to speak on God’s behalf and declaring that the Torah is null and void must be considered a false prophet, even if he performs signs and wonders.
Ever since the early second century, Gentile followers of Jesus have taught that He canceled the Torah. Christians who confessed His name believed that Christ came to end the Torah, overturn the Sabbath and holy days, eliminate the dietary laws, abolish the Levitical priesthood and the sacrificial system, destroy the Temple, and bring an end to Judaism.
Judaism responded by declaring Yeshua a false prophet. As a Torah-breaking miracle-worker who encouraged others to abandon the commandments of God, the Jesus of popular tradition certainly qualifies as a false prophet according to the criteria of Deuteronomy 13.
Can the Jewish people be faulted for rejecting someone they have only known as a false prophet, an enticer, and an enemy to the Torah and to their people? The conventional Jewish rejection of Jesus is, on closer examination, an expression of fidelity to God.
The irony in that reversal of expectation illustrates the saying of our Master,
“Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you”
(Matthew 7:1–2).
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