When the Old Testament Hurt Too Much to Believe
Today’s blog post is a message to my fellow secular Jews. There was a time in my life when I couldn’t relate to the Old Testament. I was born Jewish, raised with the stories and traditions, but I didn’t believe. Not really. The God of the Hebrew Scriptures seemed angry, distant, and relentless. The stories were full of failure—our failure. We rebelled, we suffered. Over and over. And no matter how many times I tried to make sense of it, the message felt the same: we fall short, and we are punished. I saw no way out. No hope of restoration. So I turned away. I became a secular Jew.
But something happened.
I encountered Jesus—not as a symbol of another religion, but as a living, breathing doorway back to the God of Israel. And suddenly, everything changed. The Scriptures I had once dismissed came alive. The anger I once read in God’s voice became sorrow. The judgment I saw became justice wrapped in mercy. For the first time, I understood: Jesus is the fulfillment of everything we longed for. He is our Messiah.
And I want to share this with you—not as a condemnation, but as a heartfelt invitation.
Why Jews Walked Away
Many of us walked away from faith for good reason. We saw the suffering of our people. We read about exile, slaughter, and silence. We felt the weight of generational trauma, of unanswered prayers, of a God who seemed to ask for obedience without giving us the strength to carry it out. We read the Law and saw only failure. We looked at our history and saw only loss.
So we hardened our hearts—not because we didn’t care, but because we cared too much. We couldn’t reconcile the God of Abraham with the pain of our past. So we disconnected. We lit candles at Passover, maybe. We fasted on Yom Kippur. But deep down, we let go of the idea that God was near, that He was good, that He was even real.
But What If…
But what if all those stories—the longing, the failure, the judgment—were not the end of the story? What if they were setting the stage for something greater? What if the Torah and the Prophets weren’t just warnings, but promises? What if Isaiah wasn’t mourning alone, but pointing ahead to a suffering servant who would carry all of our griefs? This is the message to my fellow secular Jews.
What if Ezekiel’s valley of dry bones really could live?
What if the covenant God made with us wasn’t meant to be broken over and over again, but instead was fulfilled in someone we’ve been taught not to believe in?
Jesus didn’t erase the Torah. He fulfilled it. He didn’t start a new religion. He completed what was already written. He didn’t point to a different god, but shined a light on the one, true God.
He came to gather the lost sheep of Israel—including the secular ones.
Reclaiming Our Jewish Inheritance
The first believers in Jesus were all Jewish. They saw in Him the hope they had been waiting for. They watched Him heal, speak, love, forgive—and suffer. They knew the Law, but they also knew their need. And when they saw Him rise from the dead, they didn’t see a man abandoning Judaism. They saw the Messiah rising to bring it to life.
This isn’t about leaving behind our Jewish identity. It’s about reclaiming it.
Through Jesus, I finally found a way back to the God of my ancestors. I found a God who wasn’t angry with me, but aching for me. A God who didn’t demand I be perfect—but sent perfection in my place. I discovered that I wasn’t cast off. I was being called home.
When Justice Meets Mercy
In Amos 5, God cries out against empty ritual and forgotten justice. He despises hollow worship, but His heart breaks for His people. He longs to heal, to restore, to bring us back. And He does it in the most radical way possible—by stepping into our story Himself.
In Jesus, justice meets mercy. The same God who thundered from Sinai now whispers grace through His Son.
And through Him, the Scriptures are no longer burdensome—they are beautiful. Every passage once painful is now a promise fulfilled. Every judgment is now understood in the light of the cross.
“For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
That promise began in Jeremiah. It was fulfilled in Jesus. And it is available to you today.
The Message: Come and See
And so I bring a message to my fellow secular Jews. If you’ve walked away from faith in God, I understand. But I want to invite you to take another look—not at religion, but at the person of Jesus. Not at rules, but at redemption. You don’t have to reject your heritage to follow Him. You don’t stop being Jewish when you believe in the Jewish Messiah. You finally come into your inheritance.
Jesus didn’t come to take us away from God. He came to bring us back.
So come and see. Come home. He’s waiting.
Resources for Curious Secular Jews
If you’re Jewish and find yourself curious—maybe even a little unsettled—by what you’ve read here, you’re not alone. Many of us grew up with a deep respect for our heritage and reverence for justice but quietly let go of faith because the stories felt distant, the pain too great, or the answers incomplete.
This section is for you. Not to pressure or preach, but to invite you to explore—at your own pace—what it might mean if the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob truly made a way back to Himself through the Messiah. These resources are here to help you ask big questions, wrestle with doubt, and perhaps discover that Jesus is not the end of Jewish identity, but its fulfillment.
Messianic Prophecies in the Old Testament (Tanakh)
1. Isaiah 53 – The Suffering Servant
“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5)
This chapter reads like a description of Jesus’ crucifixion—written over 700 years before His birth. Many Jews have never been taught this chapter in synagogue. It’s worth reading the whole passage slowly and reflectively.
2. Jeremiah 31:31–34 – The New Covenant
“‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah… I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people… For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.’”
This promise of a new covenant is the foundation of what Jesus came to fulfill.
3. Micah 5:2 – The Birthplace of the Messiah
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”
Jesus was born in Bethlehem—just as Micah foretold.
4. Psalm 22 – A Crucifixion Psalm
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1)
“They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.” (Psalm 22:18)
David wrote this centuries before crucifixion even existed. Jesus quoted this Psalm from the cross.
New Testament Verses with Strong Jewish Roots:
This message to my fellow secular Jews would not be complete without referencing some key scriptures from the New Testament. I know it is frowned upon for us to pick up this book, but be brave and take a look. It won’t bite. Either it speaks to you or it doesn’t. It is not a magic spell of deception, but words written by Jewish believers in Christ two thousand years ago.
5. Matthew 5:17
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”
Jesus isn’t the end of Judaism. Nor is He pointing to a new, false god. He’s the fulfillment of everything the Torah and prophets pointed toward.
6. Romans 11:1
“Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.”
Paul, a devout Jew and follower of Jesus, affirms that God’s love for Israel has not been revoked.
7. Hebrews 8:6 (referencing Jeremiah 31)
“But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises.”
The Most Important Question
Life on this earth is short. When we’re young, it seems like life will go on forever. But as we get older, as we watch loved ones die, it dawns on us how temporary our physical lives actually are. And this begs the question, what comes next? Most Jews don’t dwell on this question. They don’t know if heaven exists and they don’t care. But, they should.
King David cared. In the Psalm 23:6, he wrote: “Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
Jesus points a clear path to heaven. In John 14:6, He says: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” This verse is foundational because Jesus doesn’t say He knows the way—He says He is the way. The path to heaven is not a set of rules, a religion, or even good behavior—it’s a person: Jesus Himself. This is good news and worthy to consider.
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Focus Keyphrase: Message to My Fellow Secular Jews
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