Kesher A Journal Of Messianic Judaism

Messianic Jewish Theological Institute Teaching and Living a Vision of Jewish Life Renewed in Yeshua Messianic Jewish Theological Institute (MJTI) seeks to be: ¥ a prophetic sign of Israel's destiny by exemplifying and advancing Jewish life renewed in Yeshua; ¥ a Messianic Jewish school rooted in a contemporary Jewish experience of Yeshua and a Messianic interpretation of Judaism; ¥ a vision center for the Messianic Jewish community; ¥ a dialogue center for theological encounter between faithful Christians and Jews; and ¥ an international learning community born in the Diaspora but oriented to Israel. Messianic Jewish Theological Institute P.O. Box 54410 Los Angeles, CA 90054-0410 www.mjti.com www.kesherjournal.com

Messianic Jewish Theological Institute "Teaching and Living a Vision of Jewish Life Renewed in Yeshua" Messianic Jewish Theological Institute (MJTI) seeks to be: - a prophetic sign of Israel's destiny by exemplifying and advancing Jewish life renewed in Yeshua; - a Messianic Jewish school rooted in a contemporary Jewish experience of Yeshua and a Messianic interpretation of Judaism; - a vision center for the Messianic Jewish community; - a dialogue center for theological encounter between faithful Christians and Jews; and - an international learning community born in the Diaspora but oriented to Israel. Messianic Jewish Theological Institute P.O. Box 54410 Los Angeles, CA 90054-0410 www.mjti.com www.kesherjournal.com

Messianic Jewish Theological Institute "Teaching and Living a Vision of Jewish Life Renewed in Yeshua" Messianic Jewish Theological Institute (MJTI) seeks to be: - a prophetic sign of Israel's destiny by exemplifying and advancing Jewish life renewed in Yeshua; - a Messianic Jewish school rooted in a contemporary Jewish experience of Yeshua and a Messianic interpretation of Judaism; - a vision center for the Messianic Jewish community; - a dialogue center for theological encounter between faithful Christians and Jews; and - an international learning community born in the Diaspora but oriented to Israel. Messianic Jewish Theological Institute P.O. Box 54410 Los Angeles, CA 90054-0410 www.mjti.com www.kesherjournal.com

The gospel of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth has healed countless lives over the centuries, but the gospel itself has been wounded through neglect of one of its main components. The books of Luke and Acts reveal that the death and resurrection of Jesus are linked inextricably to the destruction and promised restoration of Jerusalem, the city that personifies the Jewish people as a whole. To highlight this expanded understanding of the gospel, Mark Kinzer and Russ Resnik unpack the Hebrew term for gospel, besorah, as a prophetic message of salvation for Israel and all nations. In Luke's besorah, the death and resurrection of the Messiah are a sign of the coming judgment and restoration of Jerusalem and the Jewish people--a restoration that brings with it the renewal of all creation. This prophetic dimension of the besorah is a key to healing the fractured gospel and restoring its power amidst the strife and tumult of the twenty-first century.

Who are the Messianic Jews? What do they believe and practice? What is the Jewish community's reaction to the development of Messianic Judaism? In this pioneering study, Dan Cohn-Sherbok traces the development of the Messianic movement from ancient times to its transformation after World War II. Focusing on the nature of the movement today, the volume continues with a detailed examination of Messianic practices, and the place of Messianic Judaism within the contemporary Jewish community.

In recent years, a new form of Messianic Judaism has emerged that has the potential to serve as a bridge between Jews and Christians. Giving voice to this movement, Mark Kinzer makes a case for nonsupersessionist Christianity. He argues that the election of Israel is irrevocable, that Messianic Jews should honor the covenantal obligations of Israel, and that rabbinic Judaism should be viewed as a movement employed by God to preserve the distinctive calling of the Jewish people. Though this book will be of interest to Jewish readers, it is written primarily for Christians who recognize the need for a constructive relationship to the Jewish people that neither denies the role of Jesus the Messiah nor diminishes the importance of God's covenant with the Jews.

This book is the go-to source for introductory information on Messianic Judaism. Editors David Rudolph and Joel Willitts have assembled a thorough examination of the ecclesial context and biblical foundations of the diverse Messianic Jewish movement. Unique among similar works in its Jew-Gentile partnership, this book brings together a team of respected Messianic Jewish and Gentile Christian scholars, including Mark Kinzer, Richard Bauckham, Markus Bockmuehl, Craig Keener, Darrell Bock, Scott Hafemann, Daniel Harrington, R. Kendall Soulen, Douglas Harink and others. Opening essays, written by Messianic Jewish scholars and synagogue leaders, provide a window into the on-the-ground reality of the Messianic Jewish community and reveal the challenges, questions and issues with which Messianic Jews grapple. The following predominantly Gentile Christian discussion explores a number of biblical and theological issues that inform our understanding of the Messianic Jewish ecclesial context. Here is a balanced and accessible introduction to the diverse Messianic Jewish movement that both Gentile Christian and Messianic Jewish readers will find informative and fascinating.

The good news (euangelion) of the crucified and risen Messiah was proclaimed first to Jews in Jerusalem, and then to Jews throughout the land of Israel. In Jerusalem Crucified, Jerusalem Risen, Mark Kinzer argues that this initial audience and geographical setting of the euangelion is integral to the eschatological content of the message itself. While the good news is universal in concern and cosmic in scope, it never loses its particular connection to the Jewish people, the city of Jerusalem, and the land of Israel. The crucified Messiah participates in the future exilic suffering of his people, and by his resurrection offers a pledge of Jerusalem's coming redemption. Basing his argument on a reading of the Acts of the Apostles and the Gospel of Luke, Kinzer proposes that the biblical message requires its interpreters to reflect theologically on the events of post-biblical history. In this context he considers the early emergence of Rabbinic Judaism and the much later phenomenon of Zionism, offering a theological perspective on these historical developments that is biblically rooted, attentive to both Jewish and Christian tradition, and minimalist in the theological constraints it imposes on the just resolution of political conflict in the Middle East.