It depends on who Maran Rabbeinu Yeshua is! The Good News presents him as the Jewish Messiah (Yochanan 1:41,45, 49).  If he’s not the Jewish Messiah, then no one should believe in Him because His credentials as “Savior of the World” are based on His credentials as the “Messiah of Israel”. If he is the true Messiah, then it is correct that I believe in Him; and I would be a Jew in good standing with God, even if no one else agreed.

But, let’s say for argument’s sake, that Yeshua is a false Messiah. Still, I must be seen as a Jew in the eyes of rabbinical authority. Why? Because, believing in a false Messiah does not make any Jew a non-Jew. For example, in 132 A.D./C.E., during the Jewish revolt against Rome, Rabbi Akiba (a very famous Rabbi) declared Bar Cochba to be the Messiah. Although Bar Cochba was the rebel leader of the revolt, he had none of the accepted credentials to be the Messiah! It appeared to be merely Akiba’s pragmatic attempt to unite all Jews against Rome. Since that time, however, no Jewish authority has ever said, “Akiba is no longer Jewish for believing in a false Messiah”.  If Rabbi Akiba is still ‘a Jew in good standing’, then a Jew who believes in Yeshua as the Messiah, cannot be considered otherwise.

A few years back, I was invited to speak on a secular radio call-in show in Miami, Florida. I received a number of “you’re-no-longer-a-Jew” calls from Jewish listeners. Suddenly a call came in from a more polite gentleman: “Mister, now that you’re a believer in Yeshua, you’re no longer a Jew, for the Bible says ‘that in Messiah there’s neither Jew nor Greek’”. I recognized the portion and responded over the air “Oh, do you mean Galatians 3:28, ‘There’s neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free, male nor female; for are all one in Yeshua the Messiah.’” “Exactly”, the caller replied. “Well”, I quickly said, “then let me ask you a question, please. Are you a believer?” “Yes, I am”, he answered. “Great. Are you married?” I asked “Well, yes, I’m married”, he slowly answered. I asked again, “Is your wife a believer?” “Yes, she’s a… believer”, he responded with a longer pause “Well”, I said, pausing to catch my breath. “If you’re a believer and still a male, and you’re wife is a believer and still a female, then I’m a believer and still a Jew. The verse in Galatians is not teaching that we lose our identities in Messiah, but that there’s only one way to God for all people.” An extremely long pause, then, “You mean I’m still Jewish, too?” “If you were born a Jew”, I responded, “then you’re still a Jew.” “Hallelujah!” he shouted over the airwaves, “they told me I was no longer Jewish”.

So, if someone says “you can’t believe in Yeshua and still be Jewish”, they need to read what the Jewish Bible teaches: Yeshua is our Messiah, and trusting in Him is the most Jewish decision you can ever make!

The twelfth principle of Jewish faith is the belief that the Mashiach (Messiah) is coming and he will restore Israel to greatness beyond that known in the days of King Solomon. "I believe with complete faith in the coming of the Messiah, and though he may delay, nevertheless I wait for his coming every day."