Month / December 2022

by daviddawson462742281

Intriguing Messianic Jewish Perspectives of the New Testament

Dr Joseph Shulam presents pharisees as precursors to the Protestant Reformers of the 16th century1. If you are a Christian who believes that the individual believer has the right and responsibility to interpret the Word of God for themselves you have this in common with the pharisees. If you believe in active prophecy, gifts of healing and miracles, the existence of good and evil spirits, and the resurrection from the dead… you and the pharisees are on the same page. Dr. Shulam calls the pharisees the “first protestants”. It is interesting that Paul refers to himself as a pharisee in the book of Philippians and we know that many pharisees were among the first followers of Jesus. Since most Christians think of the pharisees in a negative light, it is interesting to think that Paul may have continued to self identify as a pharisee after his conversion.

When we Christians read Paul’s epistles we see the narrative of a battle between the apostle and a legalistic sect that sought to make gentile converts submit to the mosaic law. This is definitely the case. In spite of this, according to Dr. Shulam, Paul can still be considered to be the greatest “judaizer” of all, envisioning the one new synagog for all nations, expressed in Ephesians:

“ For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation,  having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace,  and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.” (Eph. 2:14-16).

Although Paul clearly taught that gentile believers should not be submitted to the mosaic law, he did see them as being brought within the community of God’s people, whose root is the jewish nation. We are grafted into the Olive Tree of Israel:

“For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches.  And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and [d]fatness of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.” (Rom. 11:16-18).

By Dr. Harvey’s research, the number of Jewish believers in Jesus as Messiah is only .05%. This is a great mystery as we contemplate the promises and purpose of God for the Jewish people in biblical prophecy.

I’ve often heard Christians comment that they prefer the word of Jesus to Paul because Jesus was patient and kind whereas Paul was stern and belligerent. Dr. Harvey conveys the opposite perspective. In his perspective Jesus’ discourse was much harsher because He was urgently warning the Jewish people regarding the consequences of collectively rejecting their Messiah. Think of the warnings of fiery judgement that followed many of Jesus’ parables. We know that in 70 c.e. the prophecies of Jesus regarding the destruction of the temple and an ensuing time of great suffering for the Jewish people did in fact occur.

In comparison, according to Dr. Harvey, Paul’s letters to the predominantly gentile churches are focused on laying the foundation of God’s grace. The gentiles had nothing of the background knowledge of God, His justice and purposes that Israel possessed. Dr. Shulam also suggests that it is probable that the judaizers Paul combats in the epistles were mostly gentile proselytes. Being in the minority initially, these gentile believers were drawn to the practices and demands of the mosaic law. This could naturally occur as they felt the pressure to demonstrate their spirituality in spite of not being born into the spiritual inheritance of the jews.

Lastly, Dr Harvey interprets Peter’s vision in Acts regarding clean and unclean animals as referring to accepting communion with gentiles in the church. He believes that the gentiles were clearly not required to obey the mosaic law. However the Jewish believers understood that obedience to the dietary laws was still part of their faithfulness to God’s covenant with the nation of Israel. How this perspective takes into consideration the definitive sacrifice of Christ for sin is something I still have not been able to comprehend completely in my study of messianic jewish teaching.

But as a gentile Christian raised in the church I find that listening to Messianic Jewish teachers brings new perspectives and questions I have never considered. This is intriguing and thought provoking, something I would not necessarily recommend for a new believer. However, I do believe that there are key understandings that we gentiles have missed because the practice of the church has largely been divorced from it’s Jewish context. Without comprehending this cultural-societal context there is much we misunderstand and misappropriate. In my humble opinion 🙂

Footnotes

  1. Dr Joseph Shulam: https://youtu.be/RzEXU5dzTxw
  2. Ibid. : https://youtu.be/Z7vn3ypuqZo
  3. Ibid. : https://youtu.be/-cVzihhZ4nQ
by daviddawson462742281

Why Christian Unity Matters (in recent history)?

I’d like to give a quick overview of some factors that contributed to Christian ecumenical movements in recent history. I realize that by using the word ecumenical here I can isolate myself from some readers.

Just a reminder, the New Oxford Dictionary’s definition of ecumenism is “the principle or aim
of promoting unity among the world’s Christian Churches”. I think this concept is something
That most Christians should be able to embrace.

The Roman Catholic Church had warned that the Protestant Reformation would cause
endless sectarian division, and historically that has proven true. The 19th century was a
a particularly intense time of multiplying new Christian denominations. But there was one thing the majority of Christian churches had in common. This was the experience of being dethroned from a position of privilege and influence in Western society during the Enlightenment. This marginalisation caused many churches to seek to band together with other Christian movements to survive this harsh new reality. The church was no longer at the center of society, no longer looked to as a universal authority on metaphysics – morality, values, meaning, etc.

Also in the 19th century, the rise of technology and relaxing political restrictions contributed to the emergence of ecumenism. Advances in transportation, for example (train travel) brought an unprecedented amount of Christians into contact with brothers and sisters of other faith traditions. In addition to this, romanticism sparked interest in the past, a movement in the arts and literature that emphasized subjectivity and the individual. People were rejecting the rationalism which characterised the Enlightenment. There was much interest in the past, including the medieval and ancient church. Some Protestant groups, such as the Oxford movement in England, began to sense that something precious had been lost in severing ties with the “apostolic” Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches.

Another factor that contribute to ecumenism was the shift in the churches from addressing primarily (or at time exclusively) “spiritual” issues to social issues as well. A key historical event was the inauguration of the World Council of Churches in Amsterdam in 1948. Since then the Roman Catholic Church has not been a full member, but has participated as an observer, which is a significant step. Perhaps being a full member would amount to a recognition that the Catholic Church is only one among other equals, which is possibly the reason for remaining as observers.

After World War II there was much optimism for ecumenism, especially among mainline Protestants (Lutherans, Anglicans, Presbyterians, etc). There have been some significant moments of reconciliation. In 1958 Pope John the 23rd repealed the declaration at the Council of Trent that no sacraments outside the Catholic Church were valid. Subsequently the Catholic Church has reached agreement with the Lutheran Church on justification by faith. This is the central point of conflict that led to the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century.

However the early optimist soon lost steam. The liberalism of mainline Protestant denominations caused disunity with Roman Catholics, Greek Orthodox and Evangelicals. Many Christian leaders at the highest level promote Christian unity passionately. At the grassroots level many Christians intuitively seek partnership with other brothers and sisters in order to fullfil Jesus’ induction that His disciples be united in one body (John 17). Often it is the leaders at the middle level that are reluctant to engage in projects of Christian unity. Perhaps this is because they have the most to lose – their position, influence and power. The leadership structures of the church today are based on the status quo of division and sectarianism, the body of Christ as it stands today.

Since the 1960’s considerable progress has been made between Catholics and Pentecostals. This is based on the shared experience of the gifts of the Holy Spirit – speaking in tongues, prophecy and healing. There is much work to be done, I hope that this short commentary encourages us to participate in the historical movement towards Christian unity in its diverse expressions.