Messiah - Program
The following articles seek to lay a foundation for the concept of Messiah, re-establishing an understanding informed by its origins in the Jewish tradition.
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Part 1 - Foundation
Messiah
Much of the New Testament relies on a reader’s pre-knowledge of the Jewish Oral Torah, often referred to as the “Mesorah”. From this, we derive ubiquitous concepts like, Messiah, the World to Come, Sin, heaven and Hell.
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The Mission of Messiah
As pervasive as the idea of Messiah has become over the last 2,000 years, it is easy to forget the basic mission of why we need a Messiah in the first place, and how personal responsibility fits into the equation.
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An Advocate with the Father
It is stated explicitly in the sacred Zohar that the righteous shield the world, and after their death even more than in their life. Were it not for the prayer of the righteous in the world, the world would not endure.
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Part 2 - The Mission
Messiah: Part 1, The Beginning
If we could summarize the question from which we focus this work, it is, “Why do we need Messiah?” As usual, we’ll begin this journey back to the beginning, the birth of the world.
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Messiah: Part 2, The New Normal
In Part 2, we look at the key dynamics humanity now faces after Adam’s sin, the role of the Messiah to repair these, and how we have a shared responsibility to participate.
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Messiah: Part 3, New Testament Insights
Does Jesus fulfill the role of Messiah? If so, which one - the Josephic or the Davidic? In this article, we explore what the Gospel writers seemed to think, picking up the clues from the Rabbinic tradition.
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Part 3 - The Deeper Insights
Two Messiahs: the Son of David, and Son of Joseph
One of Judaism’s most mysterious and guarded concepts is the concept of the twin Messiahs. As a result, it can be safely said that most people have derived their idea of Messiah largely from the various views within Christian theology.
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The Crucifixion of Isaac
Years ago, I heard a lecture by an Orthodox Rabbi who shared some deeper insights about the event known as the “Akeidah”, the “Binding” of Isaac. I couldn’t help but see an incredible amount of parallels to the Gospel narrative and what some Christians may refer to as the “Passion” narrative.
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The First Adam and Second Adam (Kadmon)
With this article, we will start to cover some of the more complex concepts that are featured in the New Testament. Hopefully, we’ll lay a foundation to understand ideas many see as controversial and/or a major departure from Jewish thought.
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Unraveling the Controversy of Healing on Shabbat in the Gospels
Some of Jesus’s more contentious conflicts stem from his healing on this Holy day. But if healing on Shabbat is generally permitted in Jewish law, what is the real point of the story?
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