The Real Jesus

My husband Brent is a card-carrying alien. We decided long ago that it might be to our advantage for him to keep his Canadian citizenship in case we ever decided to relocate. So there it is in his wallet. His green (no, really pink!) card.

Most U.S. citizens are under the misconception that Canadians are just like us, just with more “eh’s” in their alphabet. Many Canadians can blend in so well in our society that we think they’re our twins. But secretly, most Canadians I know rather resent being considered just another territory of the United States. And after living some time up there, I assure you that there are genuine differences in politics, music, foods, fashion, and many other more subtle aspects of culture. (Anyone for a game of curling?)

One might believe that he knows Brent well without acknowledging his Canadian roots.  But in reality, one wouldn't know a whole huge aspect of him at all unless he found out what makes Canadians Canadian--and how that isn't the same as American.

So what’s my point? This spring, Time magazine ran as its cover story ten important trends. For the trend in religion they chose the “re-judaizing of Jesus”. It seems that sufficient numbers of people are seeking out the Hebraic roots of Christianity that even a major news magazine is taking note of it.

Just what does “re-judaizing Jesus” mean? For centuries, a predominantly gentile church has looked at Jesus and the Bible through gentile (predominantly Hellenistic) eyes. But the Bible was written almost exclusively by Jews!

That may not matter much when it’s just details we’re talking about. But when we’re discussing matters of importance such as the doctrines of Heaven, Hell, the Nature of God, and Salvation, it becomes a matter of vital importance!

Only recently have scholars begun refocusing their interpretation of the Bible and major doctrines through the filter of Jewish thought rather than the Hellenistic model. The Greeks tried to make everything linear, but Hebraic thought often seeks to understand a concept by balancing conflicting extremes.

Perhaps a Greek, linear thinker would show the meaning of the bush by marching up to it, taking out a sword, cutting it in two, and declaring, “Behold the bush!”

The Jewish scholar might approach and then withdraw from the bush numerous times from opposing directions until everything around the bush had been exposed and the bush stood alone. Now we could truly behold the bush.

Perhaps we lose something if we dissect the truth. Maybe it’s about time we did re-judaize Jesus.

But then, that may be impossible. After all, how can we make Jesus any more Jewish than He already is?