It seems fair to say that the world looks at Christianity and Judaism as two entirely different religions. (You may question the word “entirely” but, by and large, they do.) If that’s the comparison, there’s something to say for that; because Christianity and Judaism are quite different. But if you’re comparing Christianity to the faith of Abraham, you’re on entirely different ground.
Christianity and Judaism might be compared to two branches of the same tree, but one does not grow out of the other at all. To borrow a phrase from Paul, “Don’t think that you bear the root. The root bears you.” And so Christianity and Judaism, if they are going to look to a root at all, have to look to the root which is Jesus Christ.
In the New Testament, Judaism is called “the tradition of the elders”. The dominant Judaism of the time, held by the Pharisees and Sadducees, rejected Jesus out of hand. And it’s easy to see why they did; Jesus did not fit the mold of the extant Judaism. In fact, he was in sharp conflict with it at just about every turn. But he was not in conflict with Abraham or Abraham’s God—an important distinction for us to make. To begin with, I want to call your attention to an enigmatic statement made by Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration…