by J.K. McKee
About two-and-a-half years ago (22 November, 2005) I wrote a short editorial, entitled “What Are We Really Doing?” Looking back on some of the challenges that the Messianic community faced in 2005, I asked the honest question of why so many of us have been convicted to live a Torah obedient lifestyle and actually be “Messianic.” I asked if we were all truly endeavoring to make a difference in the lives of others, or if we were just here to do other things. Did we truly understand that when James says, “one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does” (1:25), he is speaking of the moral demands of the Torah that are to help others in the community through acts of kindness and goodness?
The issues that I mentioned in that previous editorial have not changed much since it was released. People still face the issue of not really knowing why they are Messianic. We still are bombarded as a movement with teachings that do not help people grow spiritually, and empower them to be effective witnesses for Yeshua in the world. We are still struggling with what it means to live principled, Messianic lives, where people can ask of us how they can have the same satisfaction out of life that we (are supposed to) have. And, we are still struggling with what it means to love others and see value in every human person, created in the image of God and loved by their Heavenly Father.
It has just come to my attention that much of what we face could perhaps be best summarized by another question: “Do we really know what we are doing?”
Do we understand the full implications of Exodus 19:5-6?
“‘Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.”
Or what it means to live out Deuteronomy 4:5-6?
“See, I have taught you statutes and judgments just as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should do thus in the land where you are entering to possess it. So keep and do them, for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’”
Or Solomon’s words seen in 2 Chronicles 6:32-33?
“Also concerning the foreigner who is not from Your people Israel, when he comes from a far country for Your great name’s sake and Your mighty hand and Your outstretched arm, when they come and pray toward this house, then hear from heaven, from Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know Your name, and fear You as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by Your name.”
I could list many more Tanach Scriptures to make my point, but the implication is pretty clear: God’s people are to be a missional community that makes a difference in their world. As a nation of priests, they are to be intermediaries who serve between the Lord of Creation and Planet Earth at large. As those who follow His commandments, outsiders are to see the wisdom His people possess and be attracted to Him. The greatness of God’s Temple was to be the awe of the world, so that others may be drawn to Him. These are all concepts that are extremely important for us to understand, as we should desire to be effective for Him today.
Our mission as the people of God is easily embodied in the picture of the Exodus. The Lord miraculously intervenes for the sake of those in bondage to slavery, and then delivers them through the Red Sea (picturing salvation from sin). But His salvation does not stop there, as God took the Ancient Israelites to His mountain to enter into covenant relationship with them, and gave them His Instruction to train them to fulfill His mission (picturing sanctification). Being redeemed and then being instructed and empowered for the Lord’s service are all a part of the salvation experience.
Yet as simple as this may sound, actually implementing this in the lives of people is quite difficult! Discipleship and serving God in the world are life long processes. They do not come about overnight, and they do take effort. You cannot just flip a switch and understand what spiritual discernment is, or understand how to interact with critics of the Bible. It takes time and energy and study. You have to put a great deal in to get something out. It is insufficient for anyone to just have a Strong’s Concordance and then think they are Hebrew or Greek “scholars.” And, it is not enough to just read the Scriptures and think one can understand the full context of the message without knowing about the history of the times or the circumstances to which the Biblical authors focus their messages. Furthermore, one must consider the opinions of others who have specialized in various areas of Biblical scholarship for their entire lives.
Today’s Messianic community, however, does have some issues with its Biblical scholarship. Too many of our teachers and leaders teach a “Strong’s Concordance” theology with a “Cliff Notes” level of exegesis. Too many take the easy path and cut corners, hastily drawing conclusions, rather than taking the time and energy to seriously think through the implications of what they are “researching.” Too many who endorse a message of restoration for all Israel (i.e., Judah and Ephraim) or believe that the Torah is to be followed by all of God’s people or that today’s Christian Church is in error—cannot be trusted in terms of the skills they possess, or do not possess.
Recently, Daniel C. Juster, a leader in Messianic Judaism and one whose works I have benefited from greatly, wrote about this in his article “Who Can We Trust to Teach Us?” He summarizes the dilemma quite well, by stating:
“In today’s world, the ability to refute error requires the skill-set for critical study and evaluation. Many errors occur when teachers do not take into account the whole teaching of the Scripture. False doctrine is usually built on a selective reading of the Bible. Texts that do not easily fit in are ignored. Those who teach the divine right of opulent living ignore the texts that teach modesty and the danger of riches. Those who teach a poverty mentality avoid the texts that teach prosperity. The totality of the texts in context gives us the right view point.
“Some degree of scholarship is helpful because scholarship familiarizes us with cultural context and provides a more accurate understanding of the biblical text. While many teachers claim to know some Hebrew and Greek, many of these same teachers make serious mistakes when they seek to work in the original languages. It takes years to do this well, but there are language tools that can be used with much less training. When I believe that the Holy Spirit has revealed a more accurate meaning of a text (and I do deeply believe in depending on the Spirit for understanding), I then check to see if the new insight is supported by good Bible scholars. The fact that that [sic.] the most significant aberrations from the Messianic Jewish movement have no significant scholarly support is extremely important. I do not know of one peer reviewed scholar who teaches that the New Covenant intends that Gentiles in general are called to keep the whole Torah. I do not know of any such scholars that believe the Bible teaches that true Christians are Ephraim (the Lost Tribes). On the other hand, there is great scholarly support for a basic Messianic Jewish understanding of the Bible.”
Juster has made some valid points in the above remarks. One should not just make claims about the Hebrew or Greek Scriptures without having a working basic knowledge of both languages and their grammar, and regularly employing some scholastic tools that are available on the market (i.e., HALOT and BDAG). One should consult technical commentaries to get a feel for the cultural and/or historical setting of a passage or Biblical book, and consider opinions for how far one should be allowed to go in suggesting new and possibly unique interpretations. And, the Holy Spirit should obviously be empowering one’s heart and mind as this is accomplished, guiding the teacher along the way.
What Juster has failed to mention is the fact that while he may possess the bulk of these skills himself—the bulk of teachers in Messianic Judaism itself do not. While the more independent branch of the Messianic community may be accredited with promoting various unsubstantiated, urban legends about the Scriptures—many of those urban legends originated in Messianic Judaism and still continue to flourish in Messianic Judaism! Furthermore, twenty years ago there was still a great deal of hostility in the greater Christian world toward Messianic Judaism, and still is present in some sectors of it.
The beliefs that the Torah is for all and that the prophecies of Israel’s restoration involve more than just the Jewish people, will indeed have to be worked through and require refinement. No major scholar today in Christendom is going to advocate much of what is seen in today’s Messianic community, whether an independent Messianic movement or even Messianic Judaism. That does not mean we throw out their scholarship; on the contrary, we must engage with it to demonstrate what we believe to be the ideological and theological soundness of our own. But, like all reforming movements we are in a beginning season where we are just outnumbered. We have much work that lies ahead of us.
Consider what a man like John Calvin must have faced in the Sixteenth Century. Originally from France, Calvin trained to be both a priest and an attorney, although he practiced neither professionally. Having joined the then-Protestant movement, he had to leave for Switzerland for fear of his life. He saw a great number of antics as promoted by the Radical Reformers, some of whom thought that they could march on Rome and actually depose the pope with military force! Whether you agree with his doctrines or not, Calvin remained steadfast and produced a systematic theology and commentaries that continue to be used to this day. And the Radical Reformers—they died off into obscurity.
I think you will all agree with me that we do not need to see the Messianic movement die off into obscurity. Yet, we have got people today who are just like the Radical Reformers. They cut corners with their theology, they do not possess (or even want) the skills of a capable exegete, and they actually want to go and march into the Land of Israel dictating to their Jewish brethren why they “know better” about the Torah! When one goes to an online bookseller like Amazon.com and peruses the “Messianic” publications available, one will see the standard Messianic Jewish fare, but those books are now being outnumbered by a great deal of traif, to use the good Yiddish word—“unkosher and completely unfit for human consumption.” Much of that traif promotes some form of the Two-House teaching and the view that the Torah is for all, but does not necessarily encourage being transformed by God’s love and effective servants for the gospel.
We need to obviously do better, because only a people that are empowered with the right skills and the right tools can be those who fulfill God’s mission. Remember that it did take forty years for the Ancient Israelites to be trained by the Lord in the wilderness. I do not want to subject our Father to a date calendar, but if the symbolism remains true, there will be a (long) time of training and nurturing by Him before we can be released to go and fulfill His tasks. That will be the time when today’s emerging Messianic movement will no longer be just a “movement”—it will be a force to be reckoned with in the Earth!
To get to that point will not be easy at all, as there will be much opposition, externally and internally. But what keeps me going every day is the hope that we can be something more than we are, and we can actually know what we are doing! What we will see in the future will be better than what we see right now.
Join with us today if you desire to see a Messianic community that can actually become God’s missional community, engaged not only with contemporary theological conversation—but empowered to make a difference. TNN Press offers some of the most well-researched and theologically stable Messianic materials on the market, and now we have to see that our publications are professionally printed so that outsiders can really see that we are a movement that knows what we are doing. Please give generously to the TNN Press Book Fund, not so we can sell more books, but so the Messianic community can grow properly and survive into the future!
If we can get our materials into the hands of more people, then perhaps people like Juster will be aware that balanced Messianic ministries like ours do exist and are encouraging people properly. But as of today, neither Juster nor other Messianic Jewish leaders are really aware of Outreach Israel Ministries or TNN Online. If they were aware of our approach to the issues, would they possibly moderate their rhetoric? Would the people they influence be forced to see another point of view regarding the restoration of Israel and Torah obedience?
Remember that a great number of people are exposed to Messianic beliefs through the Internet and through online book sellers. Many inquisitive Christians are unwilling to buy Messianic materials directly from a ministry, but are willing to buy “anonymously” via a website like Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble. We need to get our materials into the hands of those people, versus the traif that too many presently see and which keeps them away. We need to expand the ability for people to see a Messianic perspective that the spiritually hungry and thirsty have been earnestly praying for, but thus far have been largely unable to find. People need the materials that can edify them in both spirit and mind, instructing them how to live as a holy people that can be used by the Lord.
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