Two Messianic Jews

Isaiah draws from the story of Passover in Isaiah 52 and 53. The New Testament portrays Jesus as our Passover Lamb and the suffering servant of Isaiah 53. Gain a deeper understanding of the gospel message as told by the Tanakh and New Testament and find out an amazing connection to the shankbone of the Passover seder and the 'arm of the Lord'!

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The Shema is central to the New Testament. Jesus says the Shema is the most important commandment and uses the Shema to make claims about his identity. He also wears ritual objects associated with the Shema, like tzitzit. The Shema is also central to Paul's theology about the community of Messiah and it was used in early liturgy of the Jesus-following community.

To support our work in strengthening the faith and identity of Jewish followers of Messiah, you can visit https://www.twomessianicjews.com/donateFor more on this topic:Lori Baron, The Shema in John's Gospel

Erik Waaler, The Shema and the First Commandment in First Corinthians

Richard Bauckham, “The Shema and 1 Corinthians 8:6 Again,” in One God, One People, One Future: Essays in Honor of N.T. Wright

Brury Eko Saputra, The Shema and John 10: The Importance of the Shema Framework in Understanding the Oneness Language in John 10

Joel Marcus, “Authority to Forgive Sins Upon the Earth: The Shema in the Gospel of Mark,” in The Gospels and the Scriptures of Israel

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Michael Jones, from one of the largest Christian apologetics YouTube channels, Inspiring Philosophy, interviewed us on the topic: "Is the New Testament Antisemitic?" This message is particularly timely, given the increasing prevalence of Jew-hatred worldwide. Sadly, Christian antisemitism is also a reality, and in this interview, we address the challenging passages that antisemites cite to argue that the New Testament promotes Jew-hatred. We cover Matthew 27:24–26; John 8:44; Revelation 2:9; 3:9; Matthew 23:33; 1 Thessalonians 2:14–16; and Philippians 3:2.

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Make sure to check out ⁠Inspiring Philosophy! It is an excellent channel that we have been watching for years. To watch the interview on YouTube, click ⁠here⁠.

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What similarities and differences can we notice when comparing the story of Jonah with Jesus calming the storm in Matthew 8? How does making this comparison show that Jesus was recognized as the Messiah? Join us for this Yom Kippur D'rash!

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Jonah 1:1-6(1) And the word of the Lord came to Jonah, the son of Amittai, saying, (2) “Get up and go[1] to the great city of Ninevah and cry out against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.” (3) But Jonah got up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord and he went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish and he paid his fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish, [away][2] from the presence of the Lord. (4) And the Lord hurled a great wind on the sea and there was a great storm on the sea, and the ship was at risk[3] to break into pieces. (5) And the sailors were afraid, and each man cried out to his god and they threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten the load from upon them[4] and Jonah went down to the innermost parts[5] of the ship and he laid down and fell into a deep sleep. (6) And the captain came to him and said to him, “What are you doing sleeping? Get up! Call on your god! Perhaps your god will give a thought to us so that we do not perish.”1 NIV and NRSV translate קוּם לֵךְ as “Go at once” and this could be translated as ‘Arise’ (BDB, 877). But I chose ‘Get up and go’ to contrast the prophetic call more clearly with the ironic remarks of Jonah ‘going down’ to Tarshish (1:3), into the ship (1:3, 5) in his disobedience.2 I chose to insert “away” to draw out the movement of the ship going the opposite direction the Lord called Jonah to go.3 BDB recommends translating הָאֳנִיָה חִשְּׁבָה לְּׁהִשָבֵֵֽר as “the ship was about to (minded to) be broken up” (363). Considering חִשְּׁבָה is in the piel, and thus intensive, I said “at risk” because it communicates the high stakes of the moment more effectively. NET notes that this would be translated literally as “the ship considered breaking up” but considering it is an idiom, I translated it to communicate its meaning, rather than word for word.4 NIV translates לְּׁהָקֵל מֵֵֽעֲלֵיהֶם as “to lighten the ship.” I wanted to bring out more fully the sense of מֵֵֽעֲלֵיהֶם so I followed BDB which recommends, “make light from upon one” (886).5 NIV translates יָרַד אֶל־יַרְּׁכְּׁתֵי הַסְּׁפִינָה as “had gone below deck” and NRSV translates it as “had gone into the hold of the ship.” I chose the more literal “went down to the innermost parts” because, once again, it emphasizes the movement downwards/away from Jonah’s call to “get up and go” (1:2). I think reminding the reader of this theme is more crucial to the message of Jonah than accurately describing the ship.

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Have you ever heard the claim that Saul's name was changed to Paul on the road to Damascus? Do Christians tell you that this name changed symbolized not only a dramatic personal transformation but also Paul's turn away from Judaism in favor of Christianity? I read through Acts 9 and Acts 13 to show that Paul's name was never changed from Saul and give an alternative explanation for why Luke shifts to use "Paul" after Acts 13:9. Thanks for joining and share it with your Christian friends!  

Christian's who debunk this myth:  
Got Questions
Gary Manning Jr.  
Dr. Greg Lanier
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At the Messianic Jewish Alliance of America (MJAA) Messiah Conference 2023, Jonathan gave a presentation addressing the standard interpretation of Mark 7.15–19. He presents three reasons why it is implausible that Jesus abrogated Israel's dietary laws and then offers a reading of the text that makes better sense of Jesus's argument in its Jewish context.

To support our work in strengthening the faith and identity of Jewish followers of Messiah, you can visit https://www.twomessianicjews.com/donateSpecial thanks to Dr. Logan Williams for sharing his research with us on Mark 7.18–19 for this presentation! Dr. Williams won the 2022 Paul J. Achtemeier Award for New Testament scholarship for this paper and it will be published as an article in the peer-reviewed journal, New Testament Studies.___________________________ You can also listen on our podcast: https://anchor.fm/two-messianic-jews Follow us on Social Media: FacebookInstagram___________________________ Works cited:Daniel Boyarin, “Mark 7:1-23 – Finally,” in Taylor G. Petrey, et al., eds., Re-Making the World: Christianity and Categories – Essays in Honor of Karen L. King (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2019), 19–34.David Rudolph, "Jesus and the Food Laws: A Reassessment of Mark 7:19b," Evangelical Quarterly, 74 (2002): 291–311.Jodi Magness, “What’s the Poop on Ancient Toilets and Toilet Habits?”, Near Eastern Archaeology 75 (2012): 80–87.Jonathan Klawans, Impurity and Sin in Ancient Judaism (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000).Logan Williams, "The Stomach Purifies All Foods: Jesus’ Anatomical Argument in Mark 7.18–19." Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting. Denver, CO. November 2022.Matthew Thiessen, Jesus and the Forces of Death: The Gospels' Portrayal of Ritual Impurity Within First-Century Judaism (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2020), 187–195.Shlomo Naeh, "Jesus, the Pharisees, and the Oral Torah", Te’udah 31 (2021): 229–248.Yair Furstenberg, “Defilement Penetrating the Body: A New Understanding of Contamination in Mark 7.15,” NTS 54 (2008): 176–200______________________ Music: https://www.bensound.com

At the MJAA Messiah Conference, Erik presented on a panel entitled, "Reaching Our People" with David Brickner, Janet Forman, and Chantel Winograd. Erik shared stories of how he has shared the gospel with young people who care about truth and those who don't. He finishes his speech by sharing an important way the Messianic Jewish community can not only reach our people, but keep our people. Enjoy!

To support our work in strengthening the faith and identityof Jewish followers of Messiah, you can visit https://www.twomessianicjews.com/donate

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Did Jesus do away with the Jewish dietary laws? Many Christians point to Mark 7.15-19 to say that he did, which is understandable, considering the common translation of Mark 7.19, “Thus he [Jesus] declared all foods clean.” In this video, I present five reasons why it is implausible that Jesus eliminated the Jewish dietary laws and then offer a reading of Mark 7.15-19 that makes better sense of Jesus’s argument in its Jewish context.    
To support our work in strengthening the faith and identityof Jewish followers of Messiah, you can visit https://www.twomessianicjews.com/donate

Note: Between 25:03 and 25:24, I mention that "pork is not in itself unclean" and that defilement comes through a Jew's disobedience to God's command not to eat pigs. In Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14, pigs are not ontologically unclean; they are not unclean period. They are unclean for Israel, the Jewish people, because God declares them to be such. Jewish disobedience to the food laws, in particular, is a matter of intention. For more on this, along with the references to this perspective in Jewish literature, see Dr. David Rudolph's essay "Paul and the Food Laws: A Reassessment of Romans 14.14, 20"
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Video on Matthew 5:17 (Did Jesus End God’s Covenant with Israel? | Live at MJAA Messiah Conference 2022)

Does Colossians Teach Against Jewish Practices? (Colossians 2.16-17)
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Works cited:  Daniel Boyarin, The Jewish Gospels: The Story of the Jewish Christ (New York: The New Press, 2012), 102-128.
David Rudolph, "Jesus and the Food Laws: A Reassessment of Mark 7:19b," Evangelical Quarterly, 74 (2002): 291-311.
John MacArthur, “The Inside Story on Defilement (Mark 7.14-23),” June 12, 2012.  
Jonathan Klawans, Impurity and Sin in Ancient Judaism (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000).  
Matthew Thiessen, "Abolishers of the Law in Early Judaism and Matthew 5,17-20," Biblica 93, no. 4 (2012): 543-56.  
Matthew Thiessen, Jesus and the Forces of Death: The Gospels' Portrayal of Ritual Impurity Within First-Century Judaism (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2020), 187-195.  
Yair Furstenberg, “Defilement Penetrating the Body: A New Understanding of Contamination in Mark 7.15,” NTS 54 (2008): 176-200 ______________________   
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Are non-Jews expected to become Torah-observant? Is this what the Jerusalem Council of Acts 15 teaches? Many Hebrew Roots and One Law teachers read the Jerusalem Council as a decision to give non-Jewish Jesus-followers a Torah "starter pack" and expect them to become more and more observant as they learn the Torah in the synagogue each Shabbat. Is this the best way to read Acts 15? We don't think so.

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At the Messianic Jewish Alliance of America (MJAA) Messiah Conference 2022, Jonathan gave a presentation responding to arguments for replacement theology put forth in Pastor Andy Stanley’s book, Irresistible: Reclaiming the New that Jesus Unleashed for the World.   
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Questions this presentation covers include:   
- What does replacement theology mean for the Jewish people?
- Did Yeshua teach that he came to end God’s covenant with Israel, to make the Torah obsolete in Matthew 5.17?
- Did the destruction of the Temple signal the end of Judaism and God’s covenant with Israel?
- Why did Yeshua have to die?  
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Works cited:  

Anders Runesson, Divine Wrath and Salvation in Mathew: The Narrative World of the First Gospel (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2016).   

Anders Runesson, “Saving the Lost Sheep of the House of Israel: Purity, Forgiveness, and Synagogues in the Gospel of Matthew,” Melilah 11 (2014): 8-24.  

Craig S. Keener, The Gospel of Matthew: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2009).  

Daniel Boyarin, “Semantic Differences; or ‘Judaism’/‘Christianity’.” in The Ways that Never Parted: Jews and Christians in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages, eds. Annette Yokisho Reed and Adam H. Becker, (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2007), 65-85.  

David J. Rudolph, A Jew to the Jews: Jewish Contours of Pauline Flexibility in 1 Corinthians 9.19-23, WUNT 2/304 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2011).  

David J. Rudolph, “One New Man, Hebrew Roots, Replacement Theology: How to restore the Jewish roots of the Christian faith without getting weird” (9-8-2021).

Geza Vermes, “Redemption and Genesis XXII – the Binding of Isaac and the Sacrifice of Jesus,” in Scripture and Tradition in Judaism (Leiden: Brill, 1961).  

Helen K. Bond, The Historical Jesus: A Guide for the Perplexed (London: T & T Clark, 2012).  

Matthew Thiessen, "Abolishers of the Law in Early Judaism and Matthew 5,17-20," Biblica 93, no. 4 (2012): 543-56.   

Nicholas Schaser interview – “I Did Not Come to Abolish but to Fulfill”   

Shaye J. D. Cohen, From the Maccabees to the Mishnah, 2nd ed. (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006).  

Ulrich Luz, Matthew 1-7: A Commentary (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2007).  

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