Brad Young: Jesus, the Jewish Theologian

Dr Brad H. Young



"In an internationally recognised university, a world-renown New Testament scholar remarked to his students, "The first thing you must do to be a good Christian is to kill the Jew inside of you."  One of the students raised her hand to respond to his statement with a question. The learned professor listened as she asked him, "Do you mean Jesus?"  Jesus the Jewish Theologian, page xxi.

"Theologians have read the gospels as Christian literature, written by the church and for the church. When Jesus is viewed among the Gentiles, the significance of Jewish culture and custom is minimized, or forgotten altogether. But when Jesus is viewed as a Jew, within the context of First Century Judaism, an entirely different portrait emerges." Jesus the Jewish Theologian, page xxii.

"As Christians we tend to view Paul as the Church's first theologian. I have become convinced that this approach is theology at its worst. Christianity begins with Jesus."  Jesus the Jewish Theologian, page xxxiii.

"Many Jews have died because of Christian views of Judaism. Not only have Christians wrongly persecuted the Jewish people because of our erroneous beliefs about Jews and Judaism,  but we have robbed ourselves of a treasured heritage which would have been the source of great spiritual enrichment. By rejecting Judaism, the church has missed Jesus. The major problem with Christianity today is a failure to appreciate the life and teachings of Jesus."  Jesus the Jewish Theologian, page 261.

I suppose we will never miss what we have never known or had to begin with.

Brad Young is a Professor of Biblical Literature in Judeao Christian Studies at the Graduate Department of Oral Roberts University. He is also founder and President of the Gospel Research Foundation, Inc.

The Jesus I never knew

Philiip Yancey

"Martin Buber said, "We Jews know [Jesus] in a way -- in the impulses and emotions of his essential Jewishness -- that remains inaccessible to the Gentiles subject to him."  He is right, of course.  To know Jesus story I must, in the same way I get to know anyone else's story, learn something of his culture, family and background."

Philip Yancey, The Jesus I Never Knew , pages 28-29.

The corollary to this, is that unless you know something about Jesus' culture, family and background then you will struggle to understand what he is trying to say.

He was a Jew, speaking to other Jews, in their language, using figures of speech, idioms and humor familiar to them. 

If you don't know anything about what is was to be a first century Jew, then I venture to say, you won't understand what he is trying to say at all, however much you think you do.

Torah Portions for children (8+)

Last year I shared some resources we used for teaching Torah to our children. Now they are another year older and I felt the two older ones (now aged 8 & 10) were ready to read the Parasha for themselves. Unfortunately reading the passages using a "grown up" bible would be too verbose for them.  Fortunately Nanny Reuben has kindly paraphrased the Torah portions for intermediate readers. Click the above screenshot to find her website where the Torah portion pdf files may be downloaded.