BEMA Episode Link: 238: Jewish Roots — What Difference Does It Make?
Episode Length: 56:08
Published Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2021 01:00:00 -0700
Session 6
About this episode:

Marty Solomon and Brent Billings follow up on listener feedback from the episode with Jen Rosner before exploring the final three chapters of Understanding the Jewish Roots of Christianity, discussing the Jewish character of the Church and puzzling through what difference it makes to our lives as Christians.

Discussion Video for BEMA 238

Understanding the Jewish Roots of Christianity by Gerald McDermott

The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill — Christianity Today

Mark S. Kinzer

Archbishop Foley Beach at the Anglican Church in North America

Gerald R. McDermott at Samford University

Join the BEMA Slack

Transcript for BEMA 238

Notes

*Note: The following notes are handwritten by me, Adam, and I reserve the right to be wrong.

BEMA 238: Jewish Roots — What Difference Does It Make?

Title & Source Summary

Episode: 238 - Jewish Roots — What Difference Does It Make? Hosts: Marty Solomon and Brent Billings Focus: Final three chapters of “Understanding the Jewish Roots of Christianity” edited by Gerald R. McDermott

This episode concludes the series exploring “Understanding the Jewish Roots of Christianity: Biblical, Theological, and Historical Essays on the Relationship Between Christianity and Judaism.” The hosts discuss the Jewish character of the church, the significance of Messianic Judaism in healing the Jewish-Christian schism, and what practical difference understanding Jesus’s Jewishness makes for modern Christians. The conversation addresses critical questions about Jewish-Gentile relationships in the ecclesia, cultural appropriation versus participation, and key theological words that need reconsideration.

Key Takeaways

  • The church (ecclesia) needs Jews who live in ways that accentuate rather than hide their Jewish identity in order to maintain its Jewish character
  • The Jewish-Christian schism was not divinely ordained but resulted from human brokenness and represents a tragic departure from God’s intended design
  • Three groups emerged in the second century: the wider Jewish community, Jewish members of the ecclesia, and the emerging Gentile Christian church
  • Cultural appropriation occurs when Gentiles remove Jewish traditions from their root source; participation occurs when Gentiles engage in Jewish practices within a Jewish community context
  • Understanding Jesus’s Jewish context is essential for properly interpreting his teachings, life, and ministry
  • Four critical theological words require reconsideration: Christ, Jews, Law, and Kingdom
  • The ideal design was for Gentiles to be immersed in a Jewish movement without being under covenant, learning and experiencing from within that community

Main Concepts & Theories

Two Views on the Jewish-Christian Schism

View 1: Divinely Ordained Separation

  • The separation between Judaism and Christianity was necessary, providential, and irreversible
  • While sinful attitudes accompanied the differentiation, the differentiation itself was divinely designed
  • This view is common in Jewish-Christian dialogue because it poses no threat to current identities
  • Problem: This view suggests Jesus has no significance for the Jewish people apart from creating a Gentile assembly, and the Jewish people continue untouched by Jesus’s death, resurrection, and ascension

View 2: Tragic Schism (BEMA’s position)

  • The separation was a result of human rebellion and was not God’s intended design
  • God’s purpose was to offer a different future than what actually came to be
  • The visible bond between Jewish and Gentile believers was severed by rebellious human actions
  • This view presumes mutual indwelling was divinely willed and only human sin broke the connection
  • According to John Howard Yoder, we should not read history as if the outcome that happened had to happen
The Three Corporate Characters

Mark Kinzer identifies three groups that emerged in the second century rather than just two:

  1. The Wider Jewish Community - Those who maintained traditional Jewish identity and practice but did not accept Jesus as Messiah
  2. Jewish Members of the Ecclesia - Jews who believed in Jesus as Messiah while maintaining their Jewish identity and practice
  3. The Emerging Gentile Christian Church - Gentiles who believed in Jesus but were not under Jewish covenant

The question becomes whether Messianic Judaism (group 2) can serve as a bridge to heal the schism between groups 1 and 3.

The Jewish Character of the Ecclesia

Mark Kinzer’s key insight: “To be Jewish, the ecclesia needs Jews, and it needs them to live in a way that accentuates rather than hides their identity as Jews.”

Core affirmations that did not need to become mutually exclusive:

  • Jewish identity: Genealogical Israel is beloved, chosen, and set apart by God for a priestly task in the world
  • Ecclesial identity: Jesus is the Messiah of Israel and the Lord of the universe

The denial of each other’s core affirmations resulted in mutually exclusive communal identities, but this was not inevitable.

Cultural Appropriation vs. Participation

Appropriation (problematic):

  • A group of Gentiles without Jewish presence creating their own Seder meal
  • Claiming Jewish traditions as “our story” or “our identity” without Jewish context
  • Removing the root and source of the tradition

Participation (appropriate):

  • Gentiles participating in a Seder meal within a community that includes Jewish presence
  • Engaging Jewish traditions from an educational perspective with proper respect
  • Being immersed in a Jewish context while not being under covenant
  • Considering Jewish brothers and sisters and their perspectives before appropriating practices

The ideal design: Gentiles would have been invited into a Jewish context, immersed in a Jewish body practicing Jewish traditions, included without eating kosher or being under covenant, but learning and experiencing from within that Jewish-led community.

Six Implications of Jesus’s Jewishness

Archbishop Foley Beach outlines practical implications:

  1. No Antisemitism - It would be incongruent for followers of a Jewish Messiah to be antisemitic
  2. Understand Hebrew Roots - Modern followers should desire to understand the Jewish foundation of their faith
  3. Value the Tanakh - The Old Testament/Hebrew Scriptures should be properly valued, not relegated to secondary status
  4. Interpret Through Jewish Context - Jesus’s teachings must be understood through his Hebrew background and Jewish cultural filter
  5. Share Jesus with Jewish Friends - Though historically done poorly, this remains important (while acknowledging the complexity)
  6. Acknowledge the Debt - Followers of Jesus owe a great debt to the Jewish people who bore “the burden and heat of the day”
Four Words Requiring Reconsideration

Gerald R. McDermott argues these theological terms need fresh examination:

  1. Christ - Understanding Jesus as the Jewish Messiah, not an abstract Messiah; also re-examining Paul’s expansive use of “Christ”
  2. Jews - Particularly in John’s Gospel, where the Greek “Ioudaios” often references Judean Jews or a Judean worldview, not all Jews generally
  3. Law - Reconsidering what Torah means in light of Jesus bringing “the Messiah’s Torah” or “law of Christ”
  4. Kingdom - Understanding kingdom not as boring Enlightenment-style sameness, but beautiful divine diversity of Jews and Gentiles, Israel and nations, all oriented to the Messiah in ways suited to their differences

Examples & Applications

The Covenant Renewal Framework

Rather than viewing Jesus’s covenant as replacing the old covenant, consider it as another renewal of the one covenant God made with Israel. Since:

  • There is no separate Hebrew word for “renewed” that differs from “new”
  • Israel’s history is full of covenant renewals
  • Perhaps Jesus’s covenant meal represents another renewal rather than complete replacement
Historical Context for Jewish-Christian Relations

Before engaging in religious dialogue with Jewish friends:

  • Recognize that most Jews have relatives who died in the Holocaust at the hands of people who identified as Christians
  • Understand that Christians killed tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands of Jews over centuries before the Holocaust
  • Learn the basics of this history to approach dialogue with appropriate humility and awareness
The Olive Tree Metaphor

Paul’s imagery: The church consists of branches on a tree supported by Jewish roots, not a separate tree growing from different seeds. This means:

  • Christians should affirm not merely Jewish roots but the Jewish character of the Gospel
  • The church is grafted into something existing, not creating something entirely new
  • The foundation remains Jewish, even as Gentiles are included
Practical Community Engagement

Example of navigating appropriation:

  • Having a community Passover meal that includes Jewish presence and leadership: Appropriate participation
  • A group of only Gentiles deciding to have “their” Passover meal: Appropriation
  • Gentiles engaging Seder from an intentionally educational perspective with proper respect: Potentially appropriate if done thoughtfully

Potential Areas for Further Exploration

  1. Messianic Judaism’s Role - How does contemporary Messianic Judaism function as a bridge between the wider Jewish community and Gentile Christianity? What are the challenges and opportunities?

  2. Paul’s Use of “Christ” - Investigate Richard Rohr’s and other scholars’ arguments about Paul using “Christ” in more expansive ways beyond just “Messiah”

  3. Translation of “Ioudaios” in John - Deep dive into scholarly debates about how John’s Gospel uses the term for “Jews” and its implications for translation and interpretation

  4. Catholic Contributions - Research how recent Catholic thought has paved the way for renewed Jewish-Christian dialogue (contrasting earlier and later Catholic positions)

  5. Anglican Engagement - Explore why the Anglican community has become a significant voice in Jewish-Christian relations and Jewish roots discussions

  6. Covenant Theology - Examine various theological positions on whether God’s covenant with Israel remains in force and how it relates to the new covenant

  7. The 12 Tribes and 12 Apostles - Investigate the connection between Jesus’s reconstitution of the 12 tribes through the apostles and the parable of the vineyard

  8. Historical Antisemitism - Study the history of Christian persecution of Jews from the early church through the Holocaust to understand the context of modern Jewish-Christian relations

  9. Kingdom Theology - Explore biblical kingdom language in light of Jewish expectations and apocalyptic literature, particularly in Revelation

  10. Gentile Identity in Christ - How do Gentiles maintain their identity as Gentiles while being grafted into Israel’s story without appropriation?

Comprehension Questions

  1. What is the difference between the two views on the Jewish-Christian schism, and why does BEMA advocate for the second view? What are the Christological problems with the first view?

  2. According to Mark Kinzer, what three corporate characters emerged in the second century, and how does identifying three groups rather than two change our understanding of the schism?

  3. Explain the distinction between cultural appropriation and participation in the context of Gentiles engaging in Jewish practices like the Seder meal. What makes the difference?

  4. What does it mean that “the ecclesia needs Jews who live in a way that accentuates rather than hides their identity as Jews”? How does this relate to the church’s Jewish character?

  5. Why do the four theological words (Christ, Jews, Law, Kingdom) require reconsideration according to Gerald McDermott? Choose one and explain what fresh perspective is needed.

Summary

Episode 238 concludes the series on “Understanding the Jewish Roots of Christianity” by wrestling with what practical difference it makes that Jesus, the apostles, and the entire New Testament were thoroughly Jewish. The key insight is that the church was designed to maintain a Jewish character, not merely Jewish roots, which requires the active presence of Jews living visibly as Jews within the community of believers.

The hosts emphasize that the Jewish-Christian schism was a tragic departure from God’s design rather than a divinely ordained necessity. Three groups emerged - wider Judaism, Messianic Jews, and Gentile Christianity - and healing requires understanding this three-way relationship rather than a simple two-party split. The ideal was for Gentiles to be immersed in a Jewish movement, learning and participating without being under covenant.

Practical implications include rejecting antisemitism, valuing the Tanakh, interpreting Jesus through his Jewish context, and navigating the fine line between cultural appropriation and genuine participation. The conversation challenges listeners to reconsider key theological terms like Christ, Jews, Law, and Kingdom through Jewish lenses. Ultimately, the episode calls Christians to recognize their debt to the Jewish people, embrace the Jewish character of their faith, and work toward healing the ancient schism while respecting appropriate boundaries between Jewish and Gentile identity in Christ.

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