Post-missionary Messianic Judaism: Redefining Christian Engagement with the Jewish People [Paperback]

Dr. Mark Kinzer's well-thought, carefully argued presentation of what he has coined "Postmissionary Messianic Judaism," is a must read for all theologians and pastors. Relying not only on his own biblical scholarship and exegesis, but on that of many other scholars as well, Dr. Kinzer presents the reader with a form of Messianic Judaism that retains faithfulness both to the traditions and teachings of Judaism, and to New Testament theology.

The author argues that a careful study of the New Testament reveals that both Jesus (Yeshua) and his disciples not only followed the commandments (mitzvot) of the Torah (Old Testament), but taught that all Jewish followers of Jesus were obligated to observe the commandments, also. The early community of Jewish believers in Jerusalem made it clear that Gentile followers of Yeshua were not required to observe the commandments that had been especially reserved for the Jewish people. Dr. Kinzer further explains that by the beginning of the 2nd century CE, the largely Gentile Christian church began to teach that it had superseded Israel as the new people of God, and that observing the Torah was contrary to New Testament teaching -- even for Jewish believers in Yeshua.

Dr. Kinzer argues that a proper understanding of New Testament teaching would correctly view the Jewish people as still being the people of God, and that through Yeshua the covenants first made with Israel have been expanded to include Gentile Christians. But in order to understand their proper relationship to the Jewish people, there must also exist a bridge between the two, which is made up of Jewish believers in Yeshua who retain their ties to the rest of the Jewish community by remaining Torah observant, and tied to the Gentile Christian community by their faith in Yeshua.

Dr. Kinzer's book provides a way for both a fresh and timely way of bridging the schism that remains between Judaism and Christianity.

There are two main ideas in this book, argued in an academic style suitable for serious theological inquiry: (1) that Jewish followers of Jesus have a covenantal obligation to Torah and Jewish community and (2) that Jewish tradition (a.k.a. the rabbis) are an authoritative voice for Messianic Jewish practice (though not an infallible one).

Post-missionary does not mean we Messianic Jews have no message for our Jewish people. It is a term urging the Christian community to take a different stance toward the Jewish people. Instead of "we're right-you're wrong-so listen to what we have to say," Kinzer argues that Christian should support a Messianic Jewish model of promoting Jesus from within Judaism rather than from the outside. (A practical example might be a Christian introducing their Jewish friend to a Messianic Jewish community rather than presenting Jesus as calling for conversion away from Judaism and assimilation into Christianity).

The premise of the book sounds radical to those unfamiliar with Judaism, to Christians who assume Judaism is a false religion, and to many Messianic Jews who reject Jewish tradition. Kinzer's argument is very tight. This book may change your paradigm.

To see more about this book, you may wish to read an article from my blog called, "Post-Missionary Messianic Judaism, 3 Yrs Later," [...]

Post-Missionary Messianic Judaism is a tough book to review. Half of me wants to give it 5 stars, the other half zero. The author is bright and some of its strong points are extremely strong and insightful, but because of its equally strong bad points, the book just doesn't work, in my opinion.

The title itself means that Messianic Jews have been encouraged - in the past - to maintain their Jewish connections as a way to evangelize ("missionary"). Modern Messianic Judaism tends to now advocate maintaining ones Jewish roots because this is right and good - not for pragmatic or evangelistic reasons.

The book's strong suit is its argument that the early Jewish Christians retained their Judaism. He also demonstrates (from a few selections by key church fathers) that the early church chose to separate itself from its Jewish roots because of persecution directed by the Romans toward the Jews.

Mark Kinzer's main thesis is that, "the New Testament teaches a bilateral ecclesiology in solidarity with Israel." He in essence argues for a Jewish church whose members are Torah observant, remain involved within the Jewish community and synagogue, while also fellowshipping with gentile believers who are thusly connected to Israel through these Jewish believers.

As far as proving this proposition, the author does a pretty good job. Beyond this, however, the book becomes questionable at best.

What's wrong? The author uses a poor hermeneutic (or at least not an evangelical one), his hermeneutic leads to the opposite position regarding his main proposition, he interprets texts with an agenda, trying to force unnatural interpretations on verses that contradict his proposition, he suggest that Jews can be saved apart from faith in Jesus (Yeshua), he quotes more from Roman Catholic sources than he does evangelical ones, and he also proposes that modern Messianic Jews must follow both the Torah and the oral Torah (tradition) as though the Bible had nothing to say about this.

His principle of hermeneutics suggests that the Bible is "irreducibly ambiguous" (which is far from always true), that we need to take into account how Christian readers have understood a text down through the ages (which destroys the author's proposition, since Christian readers have embraced an anti-Semitic reading for about 1800 years!), and that we must adjust our hermeneutics in light of history.

His suggested interpretations of passages that contradict his proposition are completely unsatisfying. In Galatians 2:14, where Peter confronts Paul and says, "You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?" the author suggests a couple of interpretations (one borrowed, one original) that actually made me doubt his proposition. No answer is better than an obviously contrived one.

For the Biblicist, this book does not make the grade. It is geared more toward Roman Catholics or other groups who do not feel compelled to develop their theology from solid exegesis. Many of its theological extensions were quite a reach.

Yet, nonetheless, it does excel in provoking thought, and some of the passages were carefully interpreted in creative and potentially accurate ways.

I would recommend this book to the theologian, leader, or discerning reader who has significant interest in Messianic Judaism and the role of Israel in God's dealings. It might be appreciated by those with sympathies toward Roman Catholicism.

There are many grains of wheat amongst the tares here. Nonetheless, for most readers, I would recommend "They Loved the Torah" as a more Scripturally-based work.

Additionally, Kinzer can strongly advocate a "post-missionary" approach because he does not see non-messianic Jews as necessarily lost. Commenting on the exclusive statement of John 14:6 where Jesus implies He is the only way to God, Kinzer writes,
"John does not provide a comprehensive teaching on soteriology. The book fails to tell us about the fate of the vast multitude who have not rejected Yeshua but who have not specifically embraced him."

His Romish method of interpreting Scripture justifies this: "However, the basic thesis of a canonical and theological interpretation of scripture is that our reading of each text and each book should be guided by the vision of the canon as a whole, as viewed within the life of the believing community in the context of its journey through history." Translation: the Bible doesn't say what it means, but can only be interpreted by examining how others have interpreted it over the centuries. Again, I would argue, such a hermeneutic reinforces anti-Semitism, since that is the track record of Christian interpretation, especially within Catholicism.

One must note that the "salvation only through faith in Jesus" in Acts 4:12 and John 14:6 were both directed to a JEWISH audience. If there is another way of salvation, then it is for the gentiles!