That's because you're still missing the point. It isn't really up to you to decide whether you think Jesus was a Jew or not.. because he simply was. He was descended from David; his entire heritage was Jewish, and he couldn't possibly have been anything else because otherwise none of the people he was trying to minister to would have listened to him. His utmost priority was setting the Jews on a straight path, and remind them that his plan extended to ALL peoples. The reason there's such significance in the fact that he broke cultural boundaries when he took the time to talk to a Samaritan woman is because he was making a point, and he could only make it because he was a Jewish Rabbi who would otherwise never have anything to do with Samaritans or women! And maybe we should stop using the word 'Judaism', because in your mind you have it restricted to some ancient religion that is no longer of any relevance. But God doesn't see it that way. The Jews - His chosen people - are still His priority.ric wrote:That's why I hesitate to say he was a Jew. Jesus existed before Judaism was ever conceived. Jesus is the base of Judaism. God wasn't just like "Yo Jesus, you wanna go down and die on a cross? I'm thinkin that would really work with the whole Judaism thing I've got goin." No, Judaism was just a stepping stone (a VERY ESSENTIAL STEPPING STONE THAT IS STILL RELEVANT TODAY) to God's ultimate plan centered on Jesus. And you can call that ultimate plan the fulfilled Judaism, in fact, it totally makes sense. It just seems slightly confusing to me, but whatever.
We like to take Jesus and make him all culturally relevant to fit our own ethnicity and heritage, but the fact of the matter is that Jesus came to earth as the promised messiah the Jews had long expected, and the Jews the focus of his entire ministry. It's more than simply admitting that he was a Jew, it's understanding that his Jewish heritage defined him.