It's easy to read the New Testament and think that Jesus's ministry and message ("grace, forgiveness, love") was somehow in stark opposition to Judaism ("the law, justice, purity"). In today's episode, guest Amy-Jill Levine explains how Jesus's teachings, actions and miracles fit squarely within 1st-century Jewish beliefs and practice, and why understanding Jesus's Jewishness is imperative for healing the centuries-old rift between Jews and Christians. 

Excellent books by Amy-Jill Levine:

• The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus
• The Jewish Annotated New Testament
• Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi

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Theme music written and performed by Dave Roos