Additional Resources

Topic Recap

• Historically, Jews have not been very interested in Jesus until the modern period. 

• In the modern period, there has been a Jewish reclamation of Jesus the Jew, in part as a way to defend against Christian criticisms of Judaism, since to criticise Judaism could be seen to criticise Jesus the Jew.

• Different Jewish commentators have acknowledged Jesus' Jewishness in different ways: as an essene, or Pharisee, or prophet, or ethical teacher, and many accept that he thought he was the messiah. 

• None accept that he was the messiah or Christian claims of divinity.

• Jesus' ethics are of great interest to Jewish commentators, although they tend to be viewed as too ideal for society. 

Key Biblical Texts

• Matthew 23:1-39

Glossary of Key Terms

• Disputations - Public debates on religious subjects between Jews and non-Jews.

• Emancipation - The rolling out of the political freedoms of citizenship to Jews throughout Europe and the USA in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

• Emunah - A Hebrew term meaning faith or belief; it is used to descripe the faithfulnesss of Jewish people to God and the sacred principles of their faith throughout the ages.

• Essene - A member of an ancient Jewish ascetic sect from the 2nd century BC to the 2nd century AD in Palestine, who lived in highly organized groups and held property in common.

• The Law - The Law, or Halakha, is the collective body of Jewish religous laws derived from the written and oral Torah. It is based on biblical commandments or mitzvot, Talmudic and Rabbinic laws which developed from them, and customs and traditions.

• Legalism - Excessive adherence to law.

• Messiah - The promised deliverer of the Jews, prophesied in the Hebrew Bible.

• Messianic Jews - A modernist movement within Protestant Christianity that incorporates elements of Judaism and Jewish tradition into evangelicalism.

• Parting of the Ways - A metaphor to explain the division of Christians and Jews into two distinct religions during antiquity.

• Pharisee - A member of the ancient Jewish group who were the forerunners of Rabbinic Judaism. Their focus on adherence to the oral Torah influenced their broader interpretation of the Law and Scripture.

• Pistis - A Greek term meaning faith, used in the New Testament to describe belief respecting humanity's relationship to the divine.

• Rabbinic Judaism - The mainstream form of Judaism since the 6th Century, rooted in the belief that Moses recieved both the Written Torah and the Oral Torah from God. After the destruction of the Second Temple, the Oral Torah was recorded in the Talmud and other rabbinic texts.

• Reform Judaism - A liberal strand of Judaism that considers the religion to be an ever-evolving set of practices. It is faithful to the foundational principles of Judaism but adopts a progressive approach and does not adhere to practices considered no longer relevant in modern life.

• Resurrection - The act of rising again after death.

Suggestions for Group Discussion

• How important are Jesus' Jewish origins and context for understanding Christianity?

• Can Jewish views of Jesus the Jew be reconciled with Christian views of Jesus Christ? If not, how should Christians relate to Jews? 

• Is talking about the Jewish Jesus a bridge or a barrier for improving interfaith relations?

Suggestions for Further Reading

• The Jewish Reclamation of Jesus; an Analysis and Critique of the Modern Jewish Study of Jesus, by Donald Hagner

• Anti-Semitism in the New Testament, by Samuel Sandmel 

• Two Types of Faith, by Martin Buber

• Jesus Within the Jewish Tradition, by Morris Goldstein

• Jesus of Nazareth; His Life, Times, and Teaching, by Joseph Klausner

• The Resurrection of Jesus; a Jewish Perspective, by Pinchas Lapide 

• Rabbinic Literature and Gospel Teachings, by C.G. Montefiore

• We Jews and Jesus, by Samuel Sandmel

• Jesus the Jew; a Historian’s Reading of the Gospels, by Geza Vermes

Other Resources

• Source Book: Jewish Approaches to Jesus, by Daniel R. Langton