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Hebrew for Christians
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Current Online Articles
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The following articles by John J. Parsons explore various facets of the Jewish roots of the Christian faith, covering a wide range of issues, including questions about Torah observance, the relationship between the followers of Jesus and Israel, and much more.
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Online Articles...
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Additional articles will be written as time permits, IY"H...
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In the Torah we read about how Abraham was asked to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac as a burnt offering on Mount Moriah. In Jewish literature, this final test of Abraham is called the Akedah, or the "binding of Isaac." Now the question may be asked, whose sacrifice was greater, Abraham's or Isaac's? And how does the suffering of both portray the passion of Yeshua our Mashiach?
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Every so often I get asked the question of whether Jesus (Yeshua) really spoke Hebrew (rather than Aramaic, Greek, or even Latin). After all, there seems to be some Aramaic words in the New Testament, and the text itself is written in Koine Greek. In this brief article, I take a look at the question.
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When studying the Jewish roots of Christianity, certain questions often arise regarding the nature of the "Church," the nature of "Israel," and the relationship between them. Do Gentile Christians become "Jewish" on account of their relationship to Jesus? Does the "Church" somehow replace the Jewish people in God's plan as the "new Israel"? Exactly how should we understand the relationship between the Church and Israel?
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During Shavuot we revisit the miracle of the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, but you might be surprised to know that Rabbinical Judaism believes that two Torahs were given to Moses at that time -- the written Torah and the oral Torah (in Kabbalistic traditions there is even a third or "hidden" Torah as revealed in the Zohar). This brief essay considers some aspects of the oral Torah and its significance to us as followers of Jesus.
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This exploratory article raises some questions regarding whether the Torah of Moses is immutable (as is held by traditional Orthodox Judaism) or whether it is (itself) subject to overmastering purposes and plans of the Lord. In other words, is the word "Torah" to be linked to the covenant made with the nation of Israel at Mount Sinai, or is it perhaps grounded in a deeper covenantal purpose of God that is intended to embrace all of humanity?
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In this short article, John Piper attempts to cajole his fellow pastors to take their duty to study the original languages of the Scriptures seriously. I would qualify Dr. Piper's comments, however, by insisting that the study of Hebrew must take priority over the study of the Greek text of the New Testament (though of course both are important).
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After all, the Greek text of the New Testament derives its authority and veracity from the Jewish Scriptures, and not the other way around. In other words, while it's possible that the Hebrew Scriptures are true and the Greek Scriptures are not, it's impossible for the Greek Scriptures to be true if the Hebrew Scriptures are not. Too many Christian theologians go at this backwards, reading the Greek New Testament as the interpretative filter for the study of the Hebrew text. The hermeneutical primacy of the Hebrew text should be evident to all who study the Scriptures seriously.
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I was recently asked what to make of Jesus' statement, "Unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you shall not have life within you" (John 6:53). In this brief article, I consider this statement in light of other metaphors and hyperbole used in the Gospels, especially in relation to the Jewish Passover Seder.
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Why did God create the universe with both the possibility and the prevalence of suffering and evil? Surely an all-loving, all-knowing, and all-powerful God could have created a world free from the harrowing pain that plagues us all. The question is not academic, since suffering in our lives can lead to bitterness and chronic depression. Pointless suffering can lead to eventual madness and spiritual suicide, so it is vital to attempt to understand its function in our lives and find hope in our struggles.
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There are some well-meaning souls who seem to think that the life of faith in Jesus should be relatively pain-free and without the normal sorts of infirmities that affect all people. These people seem to reason that since Jesus died on the Cross as a ransom for our sins, we should also be set free from pain and sickness of every kind. If a Christian gets sick or experiences loss in their life, then he/she must somehow be deficient either in their understanding of the power of the atonement or in the exercise of their faith. Well, is this true?
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Over the past few years there has been an increased interest in the Proto-Canaanite cuneiform that is surmised to predate and underlie ancient Hebrew. Is there any value in studying these ancient Proto-Canaanite symbols? Can we find "deep" or "esoteric" meaning in the Hebrew Scriptures by studying the Hebrew pictographs? In this brief article, I survey some of the linguistic and exegetical issues....
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Kierkegaard tells the story of two young portrait artists who both sought to capture the essence of beauty in their paintings. One artist looked high and low for the "perfect face of beauty" but never found it. Tragically, he later gave up painting and lived in despair. The other artist, however, simply painted every face he saw and found beauty in each one. Now here's your question: Which of the two was the sincere artist?
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Since I recently wrote about the role of oral Torah in Jewish thinking, I thought it would be worthwhile to look at Pirke Avot ("The Chapters of the Fathers"), a popular collection of ethical maxims found in the Mishnah (i.e., the core text of the Talmud). Though it is found in part of Seder Nezikin (a section of the Mishnah concerned with legal liabilities), some scholars believe Pirke Avot originally was intended to be a summary of the entire Mishnah itself.
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You can't give away what you don't have.... Simplistic presentations of the Gospel message can be of limited value as starting points for discussion, but without taking the time to engage the total person by introducing him or her to the ongoing dialog about the life of a disciple, you run the risk of making a caricature of the life of faith.
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The devil's logic is based on compromise, calling evil good and good evil, hissing out a seductive appeal to supposed esoteric knowledge, claiming superiority to the commonsense truth claims of experience, pragmatically justifying human atrocities, barbarity, and even cold-blooded murder for the sake of political expediency. It's the prevailing dogma of the princes of this world, and it is at work in the halls of power today.
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One of the key characteristics of the "postmodern world" (i.e., the spirit of this age) is a rejection of the idea that objective truth exists. Truth is now regarded as a function of (political/social) power, and the ulterior motive ("subtext") for making a truth claim is simply the raw desire to control a set of outcomes. Let's see where this idea comes from, and where it leads...
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The world has its message or its "song," chaverim, which is invariably focused on fear and egotistic self-preservation. We are tempted, are we not, to listen and accept such propaganda without serious reflection.... After all, we are always listening to someone, but the all-important question is to whom? The inner voice of your soul gets its messages from somewhere.
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Both the physical world and the world of subjective values are inescapably known or apprehended by means of the ideal. The ideal world haunts everything we see, do, and experience. It is known in the laboratories of scientists as they seek to create the "perfect sphere" just as it is known in our private moments of shame and confession that we do not live as we ought.
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What are we to make of the plethora of Bible translations we see today? In addition to the "mainstream" versions available (KJV, ASV, JPS, RSV, NIV, NASB, ESV, NKJ, NIB, NLT, TNK, etc.), you can also purchase any number of "Study Bibles" to suit your preferences.
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During the High Holidays we are called to examine our lives and turn back to the LORD. The Talmud notes that someone may be motivated to do such teshuvah (i.e., repentance) out of fear of Divine Punishment or out of Love for God and the desire to become attached to Him....
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Some people tend to regard the God of the "Old Testament" as a God of wrath, but the God of "New Testament" as a God of love. Such a perspective reveals a deficient understanding of the overarching unity of Scriptures - and of the very plan of God to redeem the world.
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Moses foretold the coming of the Mashiach as one who would "be like me," namely, a Deliverer, Prophet, Lawgiver, Teacher, Priest, Anointed One, and a Mediator between God and man who (like Moses) would offer himself to die for the sins of the people. This brief article presents several ways in which Jesus is truly a "Second Moses."
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Read more >
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Jewish tradition sometimes refers to two Messiahs who will deliver the Jewish people from galut (exile) and usher in the long-awaited Messianic era. This short article looks at the life of Joseph as the archetypical pattern for the one who would be the fulfillment of Israel's suffering Mashiach.
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The Jewish Bible provides several lines of prophetic evidence that demonstrate that Yeshua haNotzri (Jesus of Nazareth) is indeed the promised Savior of Israel. Prophecies concerning his place of birth, his lineage, his rejection by klal Yisrael, and his sacrificial suffering as Mashiach ben Yosef are provided in this brief survey.
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When Jesus died, the enormous paraochet (veil) that separated Hakodesh (the holy place) from the Kodesh Hakodashim (Holy of Holies) in the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. Why is this significant for those who look to Yeshua as their Savior?
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The Hebrew word mitzvah means "divine commandment" (mitzvot is the plural form). Although the word is sometimes used broadly to refer to Rabbinic (Talmudic) law, in its strictest sense the term refers to an explicit commandment given by the LORD in the Torah. In this article, I provide Rambam's list of 613 commandments, and offer New Testament correlations, when applicable.
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Read more >
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The Two House Theory (or "Ephraimite Movement") thinks that "Christians" are actually members of the "lost tribes" of Israel. Based on readings from the prophets Ezekiel (Ezek. 37:15-28) and Jeremiah (Jer. 31:31), this doctrine maintains that one day the lost tribes (i.e., the church) will be reunited with the "house" of Judah (i.e., the Jews) under the terms of the New Covenant. So what do we make of this?
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Some people tend to find nuanced distinctions abhorrent and seek "either/or" answers to complex questions. Unfortunately, it's just not that simple when it comes to understanding the role of Torah in our lives as Messianic Jews and Christians...
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Within the Messianic Community at large, there is a lot of discussion as to whether a follower of the LORD Jesus should be "Torah Observant" -- that is, obligated to follow the various mitzvot stipulated in the Sinai Covenant. In this brief essay, I look at the meaning of the word "Torah" and try to show that it is a function of (or response to) something more basic, namely, the covenantal acts of the LORD God of Israel.
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