A Messianic Jewish Congregation describes a gathering of people who believe that the Old Testament of the Bible (the Jewish Tanakh) and the New Testament of the Bible are in absolute harmony and agreement.  Since Yeshua ("Jesus" is pronounced  "Yeshua" in Hebrew) lived His mortal life as a Jewish rabbi, taught in Jewish synagogues to Jewish disciples, used the Jewish Bible to validate His authority, lived according to Jewish customs, celebrated Jewish festivals, and commanded His followers to obey the tenants and teachers of Jewish Law... if we claim to be followers of Him, we must strive to understand the relevance of this very specific context.

The Jewishness of the Messiah if often down-played in the Christian community.  The characterisics of the Messiah are often presented in ways that make Him look more like us, instead of encouraging us to look more like Him.  A Messianic Jewish congregation strives for authenticity in their pursuit of Christ: recognizing that they are not the model to be followed; but are changing to become more like the example given by the Messiah.  


No two Messianic Jewish congregations look exactly alike.  There are distinctions and divisions within Messianic Judaism that allow people to pursue truth in a way that makes sense to them.   We all see things a little differently:having grown up with different understandings, priorities, biases and inhibitions.  Messianic Jewish believers are not challenged by this diversity; but see it as an opportunity for people to grow from the context of their understanding toward something that is greater than each of us.  This means that we do not possess, in ourselves, a complete understanding of truth.  We are moving toward truth.  Learning the perspective of others, how they see and understand the Bible, is valuable to everyone.