Jewish Jesus

Last night in our book study using Mealtime Habits of the Messiah we read author Conrad Gempf's take on Matthew 5:17-24 in which Jesus says in part,

Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.

In Mealtime Habits Gempf writes,

Jesus was neither a Protestant nor a Catholic. His spirituality, rooted with his Father and expressed through his prayer life, is at heart a Jewish spirituality. It's understandable we so often have trouble remembering that. He and his followers had frequent disagreemtns with the way Judaism was practiced in their day...But it's important to recognize they were internal criticisms. The major players—Jesus, Peter, James, even Paul—were as Jewish as chicken soup and matzos. If the New Testament emphasizes the differences, it is not because Judaism is so wrong it needs constant hammering but because the two theologies are so close that the differences become significant.

The "Suggestions for further thought" at the end of our reading last night asked,

Why would Jesus undermine food laws but then keep to kosher law himself?

If Jesus was so Jewish, why shouldn't we become Jewish?

We worked through these questions ourselves in an interesting discussion. Rather than jumping to fill in with our conclusions, I'll leave you to think through your own.

peace,
Frank+
The rev. Frank Logue, Pastor + King of Peace Episcopal Church