Kicking off our series on Christian Anti-Judaism, we are joined by Dr. Matthew Thiessen to discuss Jesus & Ritual Purity. Dr. Thiessen is Associate Professor of New Testament at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, and the author of the book we’re discussing in this conversation, Jesus and the Forces of Death: The Gospel’s Portrayal of Ritual Impurity Within First Century Judaism (published by Baker). The main thrust of our conversation is that Jesus does not dismiss Jewish matters of ritual impurity as something that is outdated, primitive, or a distraction from his larger purposes, but rather he addresses the sources of ritual impurity, which underscores that Jesus is concerned to uphold the law rather than abolish it. Specifically, Jesus confronts the forces of death that lead to ritual impurity in ancient Jewish thinking, such as corpses, genital discharge, and lepra (which Dr. Thiessen contends is not leprosy, but something more mundane like eczema, dry scalp, or dandruff), so that people can return to the temple. Team members on the episode from The Two Cities include: Dr. John Anthony Dunne, Jennifer Guo, and Dr. Kris Song.

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