Friday, 5 April 2019

The Recovery of the Jewish Gospel

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Why speak of a Jewish Gospel? Isn't the Gospel universal and for all peoples? Yes indeed. We use the phrase Jewish Gospel to speak of the original context of the message. This context was the first century Jewish community. The Gospel not only was first spoken to Jews in Israel, but was taken to the nations by Jews who understood it in that context. This recovery of understanding the Gospel is not the result primarily of Messianic Jewish influence, though we have had some influence, but is the culmination of 100 years of Christian scholarship delving into the original context of the message of Yeshua. This recovery amazingly parallels the restoration of Jewish people to faith in Yeshua. This is God's providence and has enormous consequences for us all.

Why speak of a Jewish Gospel? Isn't the Gospel universal and for all peoples? Yes indeed. We use the phrase Jewish Gospel to speak of the original context of the message. This context was the first century Jewish community. The Gospel not only was first spoken to Jews in Israel, but was taken to the nations by Jews who understood it in that context. This recovery of understanding the Gospel is not the result primarily of Messianic Jewish influence, though we have had some influence, but is the culmination of 100 years of Christian scholarship delving into the original context of the message of Yeshua. This recovery amazingly parallels the restoration of Jewish people to faith in Yeshua. This is God's providence and has enormous consequences for us all.

The Gospel is not an invitation to say a prayer so that we have assurance of heaven. Faith is not merely mental assent, but the right response to a Kingdom invitation -- a response which demands faithfulness. In both Hebrew and Greek, one word stands for both faith and faithfulness. Heaven is part of the promise, but the promise is only to those who have submitted their lives to the King and his Kingdom. All of this is possible because of the gift of the Holy Spirit.

These are excerpts from my article here and let me know what you think.