Posted by: mchuey | 21 April, 2008

“Everyone is wrong but me!”

by J.K. McKee

Passover is one of the most important times of year for the Messianic community of faith. The season of Passover and Unleavened Bread is so affluent with themes of God’s salvation history it absolutely overwhelms the mind and inspires the soul. The Lord’s plagues upon Egypt, the death of the firstborn, the Passover lamb, the deliverance through the Red Sea, and the onset of the Ancient Israelites sojourn in the desert immediately stir the senses and motivate us to action. The final time before Yeshua’s crucifixion, His Last Supper, His prayers in the Garden of Gethsemane, His trial before the Jewish religious leaders, His encounter before Pilate and being beaten by the Romans, and finally His crucifixion and resurrection are also remembered by the faithful as we contemplate the sufferings of our Lord. What all these things mean, how they connect together, and the significant role they play in the Bible and for us today—are really beyond comprehension.

Why does it seem that today’s Messianic community in 2008 does not address these themes very well at this time of year?

About twelve years ago in 1996 when I first started celebrating Passover as a Messianic Believer, things seemed so much easier than they seem today. I was a part of a vibrant Messianic Jewish congregation. We had a traditional sedar in our home the first night of Passover. On the following night the congregation assembled at a hotel for a catered, sit down sedar presentation that was also traditional. If I can recall correctly, there were at least 400 people in attendance, things went very smoothly, and many Christian visitors were exposed to the Messianic movement and to the significance of the Passover meal for the first time, in a very orderly and professional manner. I still think back on this first sedar and consider it to be the ideal for every congregation and fellowship.

Since the late 1990s an incredible swell of non-Jewish Believers has entered in to the Messianic movement, and issues that were not issues in Messianic Judaism have arisen to the surface. A great number of debates ensue this time of year that can cause a great amount of division and in-fighting among Messianic congregations and assemblies. They all concern the season of Passover. In the past three to four years, in particular, I have encountered far too many people utter the line: “Everybody is wrong but me!” People that are believed to have differing opinions, are at worst chastised as not truly following the Bible, or at best somehow not having the right “revelation.” Where God’s love, reason, and a fair-minded examination of the issues are I honestly do not know.

We start with the Passover sedar itself: Are we to follow the traditional Jewish sedar with the four glasses of wine or not? Or do we follow our own haggadah? Do we have lamb following Sephardic Jewish custom, or chicken following Ashkenazic Jewish custom? Do we eat with our “loins girded” (Exodus 12:11), or in a relaxed posture (Mark 14:18; Luke 22:14)? Do we allow for an egg to be on our Passover plates? Moving forward, to what degree do we consider what is “kosher for Passover”? Is Orthodox Jewish halachah sufficient, do we follow the lead of the more Centrist branches of Judaism, or do we make up our own rulings? And what about the season of counting the omer to Shavuot? Do we follow the traditional, Pharisaic method of determining when to celebrate Shavuot, follow its competing Saddusaical method, or even follow the Essenic method as attested in the Dead Sea Scrolls?

I think it is safe to say that far too much attention has been given to some of the minutiae of this season than is appropriate—at the expense of some of the much larger issues.

With a large number of non-Jewish Believers entering into the Messianic movement, and with the rise of an independent Messianic congregational phenomenon, during this season we will witness a great number a-traditional ways to celebrate Passover. We will also witness a great number of congregational leaders asserting that their way of commemorating the Festival of Freedom is the only way, and some will even throw down the gauntlet and say that other ways are invalid and that others are not truly “keeping Torah” and thus commemorating Passover. When the Lord looks down on us from His throne in Heaven, what does He really think? Does He see men and women united around the two most important events in the entire Bible: the Exodus of Ancient Israel from Egyptian bondage and the final atonement offered for our sins? Better yet, what does the enemy think when he sees much of the Messianic movement this time of year? He is probably very pleased to see many people divided and harping on one another’s ills, and that the greatest spiritual move since the First Century is ineffective to make a difference.

Is it possible, that just for this year, we can focus on some of the bigger concerns of Passover?

What does the Exodus mean to you? What does it mean to sacrifice a blameless lamb? What does it mean to be delivered via the Red Sea and brought to God’s mountain? What does it mean for the King of Kings to be conducting an intimate meal with His chosen Twelve, as He prepares to be taken and executed on false charges the next day? What does it mean for the Savior of the world to be lifted up on a painful cross? What does it mean for Yeshua to be resurrected from the dead?

The book is far from closed on some of the debates that ensue this time of year. Only time, more research, a greater consideration for a broad array of hermeneutical factors, and reasonable people being problem solvers will adequately answer them. But this season is not about whether you have lamb or chicken at your sedar meal, or whether you are a designated Pharisee or Sadducee when it comes to counting the omer. This season is about our all-powerful and merciful God taking an interest in His creatures. It is about God directly intervening in the affairs of His people, delivering them into His salvation, and empowering them for new opportunities. How we learn to do this as the emerging Messianic movement remains a challenge, but not an impossible one if we are guided by His Spirit. But it will not be accomplished if we brazenly assert “Everybody is wrong but me!” during this special time of the year. Such a statement will only cause more problems, and is not solution oriented.

Oh, how I long for those simpler times of just twelve short years ago!

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Responses

This is so true. It will be a wonderful day when all of our brothers and sisters dwell in unity.. even about the finer points of the feasts! I agree that some times the true meaning of what we are attempting to observe can be obscured in the midst of so many differing opinions and viewpoints.
It has been my personal experience to see several groups practicing the feasts at different times… sometimes with drastic differences and pointing to all other groups as being in “Error”.
Let us all show brotherly love and gentle treatment of one another, realizing all of us are doing the best we can to observe these wonderful feasts and festivals in honor of our amazing and merciful God who has delivered all who recieve his Living Word.
B’shem Y’shua,
Jennifer Callahan
Navarre Fl

By: Jennifer Callahan on 21 April, 2008
at 3:13 pm

Halleluyah! Finally someone told it like it is! Whenever people’s limited, human mindsets come into play, God’s Word goes out the window….

Thanks, J.K.

Shalom,
Carmen

By: Carmen on 21 April, 2008
at 3:35 pm

I was discouraged with all the differances of the “Christian” world. I thought being a Believer would be so simple. You do what the Bible says. But there seems to be just as many differences in this walk as in the Christian walk.

I will try to keep my eyes on Yeshua and let Him lead.

Nancy
Northeast FL

**********

JKM: When one leaves institutional Christianity with the idea that “the Church got it all wrong, and all I have to do is read the Bible”–as though we can read the Bible outside of its historical and cultural context–it can be very easy for the same person to enter into the Messianic movement and not have a great deal of respect for the Synagogue or for Jewish tradition. Most of the disarray we find at this time of year has come from those unwilling to consider the positions of the Jewish community regarding Passover. This does not mean one has to be “Orthodox,” necessarily, but even the Conservative or Reform positions are just casually disregarded.

Over the next 10-20 years, especially as Messianic scholarship and theological engagement improves, we are going to see more teachers and leaders who have a greater respect for our shared Jewish and Christian heritage. Much of the rhetoric that we see against our Christian brothers and sisters will be reduced, and there will undoubtedly be a significant shift back toward a Messianic Jewish and traditional style of halachah as I originally experienced back in the mid-1990s. It will bring the unity and stability that we all desire. I know that I am working toward this end.

By: Nancy Oliver on 21 April, 2008
at 5:51 pm

So very well said…Just wanted you to know how it ministered to me.
Want to print this little excerpt out and use it next year, as a “preface” to our
Passover..
Blessings,
Judy Johnson

By: Judy Johnson on 21 April, 2008
at 10:36 pm

I agree with what you have written in several points. However, I believe you have over looked one group of people in your writings. That is the group that does look at the themes you mentioned with a focus on Scripture. Often it is those people who are labeled as saying: “Everybody is wrong but me!” when in reality we are asking for: ‘time, research, a greater consideration for a broad array of hermeneutical factors, and reasonable people’ to sit down and search out the Biblical basis for what we are doing. Those who want to look at The Word, the words of the Word, the context, the setting, and the message. Getting very many people to actually do that before they decide when, where and how to observe the Lord’s Feast is difficult.

Many of the non-Jewish believers who have joined the ‘Messianic Movement’ have come out of the religion of Christianity. That does not mean we reject everything we ever learned there but we have come to realize that we must scrutinize every thing in the light of Scripture before ‘buying into it.’ We are not really concerned with what the Saddusaical, Pharisaic, Essenic or even the Karaite ‘methods’ are. We do not ignore them; we just don’t accept them at face value. We recognize that, just as the Christian religion corrupted the Word (Not necessarily always from malice or power hunger.) that Judaism is a religion. It too, has its own history of man-made manipulation, additions and error.

We have been asking: What does the Exodus mean to us? What does it mean that Yahweh sacrificed His blameless lamb? What does it mean to be delivered via the Red Sea and ‘mikvahed’ there with Moses. What does it mean to us, here and now, to stand before Yahweh’s mountain and say with the people there, ‘All that the LORD hath spoken we will do’?

What does it mean for the King of Kings to be conducting an intimate meal with His chosen Twelve, and ‘took bread(lechem)and wine’ and gave it to us, as He prepares to be taken and executed on false charges the next day? What does His use of the elements of the Melchizedek Priesthood mean? What does it mean for the Savior of the world to be lifted up on a painful cross? What does it mean for Yeshua to be resurrected from the dead? These questions and many more!

It is not that we think, “Everybody is wrong but us!” It is that we realize no one has it all right! We would like to ‘come together’ with the ‘love of God, reason and fair-minded examination of the issues’. So far, we have not had much success getting anyone else in our congregation to do that. Do you have any suggestions as to what to do now! We have been praying - not just for ‘them’ but for us, too. We just want to do what Yahweh’s Word instructs us to do.

Eileen Schnepper

**********

JKM: Thank you for your thoughts. One of the things that we always have to remember, and we easily overlook, is that today’s Messianic movement is a strong reflection of the American culture in which it has mostly arisen. Ours is a culture of extremes: one is either all or nothing, one is either a teetotaler or an alcoholic, one is either on a constant diet or is a glutton, one is to either take no action or take unilateral action. When I have heard people say “Everyone is wrong but me!” it is often reflective of such a culture. Pragmatism and arriving at reasonable solutions are simply not a part of most of today’s Messianic worldview.

Of course, there are people who do seek to look at the themes of God’s deliverance as seen in the Torah and Apostolic Scriptures, who should be highly commended for looking at the bigger issues that really matter. But all too easily, their voices are drowned out in a sea of rhetoric and extremism. And Passover is surely not the only time in which this occurs. Too many people have felt intimidated so as to not let their opinions be voiced.

A problem that exists in today’s Messianic community is the fostering of an attitude that “since the Church was ‘all wrong,’ the Synagogue must be ‘all wrong’” as well. You will notice that our ministry does not argue against the celebration of Christmas and Easter as being “pagan” as do a majority of Messianics; we simply say they are non-Biblical and encourage people to consider the great value in what HaShem has told us to do in His Word. Nor do we fail to recognize that there have been many Christians over the centuries who have valued the role of God’s Torah, particularly in terms of its moral commandments. We encourage people to return to the Scriptures, and the basic premise of interpreting a text the way its original audience received it and then how it should be applied in the Twenty-First Century. This hermeneutic undoubtedly includes consulting language, history, culture, and tradition—especially weighing tradition where the Scriptures are mute or unclear.

It is only in the independent Messianic community, dominated by non-Jews, where Jewish tradition gets cast aside without any consideration. Some of this is in response to people who latch on to a very Orthodox Jewish style of faith, incorrectly believing that being traditionally Jewish means that one has to be “Orthodox.” This extreme is, once again, largely a reflection of American culture. I do not believe it bodes well for the immediate future, as it has caused many to be isolated and ineffectual for the Lord.

Only time, further study and research, and indeed more (formal) education on the part of our leaders will change the current trends that we witness. This is not easily achieved, though, given some of the undercurrents that are present. Patience on the part of the reasonably minded must prevail, and patience is likewise not a common American virtue. It will take hard work and effort, and being able to let the Spirit of God move us forward at His pace. We cannot afford to cut any corners.

I have personally discovered that when all of the factors are properly weighed into the equation, the future Messianic movement that will exist in the next two to three decades will not be that unlike today’s Messianic Judaism, except for some key differences:

The fundamentalism from which today’s movement suffers will be gone. Its orthopraxy will be very similar to the Centrist branches of Judaism, and it will have a healthy respect for tradition, albeit not Orthodox. It will recognize the spiritual value in our Christian heritage. There will be no calendar controversies as the Jewish calendar followed worldwide will be followed. There will be a respect and an equality for all people—Jews and non-Jews, and males and females. There will be an engaged and dynamic theology that does not shirk from controversial issues. There will be an innovation and solution oriented ethos that wants to make a difference, and see His peace prevail. Perhaps most important, there will be an understanding of missiology and what it means to be God’s people in the world!

I greatly look forward to the day when that Messianic movement arrives, and when we can actually be a force to be reckoned with.

His blessings to you at this special time of year!

By: Eileen Schnepper on 24 April, 2008
at 6:30 pm

Hey John,
I just read through your blog and wanted to say what a blessing it is to find out about this blog posting. Keep up the good work and bless you brother.
Yes, i know-nothing at all about the substantive issue of the blog……..I am still learning too much to have any useful comment to make…
Benjamin

By: Benjamin Whigham on 4 May, 2008
at 3:33 pm

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