I don’t want to come across all fanboy about Daniel Lancaster, but I probably will. Daniel is the teaching elder at Congregation Beth Immanuel in Hudson, Wis., and director of education for First Fruits of Zion, a messianic resource ministry. I regularly listen to his sermons, downloadable from bethemmanuel.org, and have studied his Torah Club Volumes 1 and 2. He’s also the author of two excellent books, King of the Jews and Grafted In, and released some excellent teachings through FFOZ this past summer, What About the Sacrifices? and What About Evangelism?
It’s his new project that I’m most excited about, though. He has rewritten FFOZ’s Torah Club Volume 4. The earlier TCV4 went through each Gospel and then Acts at the pace of about 2-3 chapters per week. The new TCV4 uses a harmonized version of the Gospels. In his answers, Daniel explains what’s new about TCV4—and what might be fairly challenging.
1. Why was a revision of the Torah Club commentary on the Gospels necessary? And what happened to Acts, which formerly was included?
The revision is necessary because we want our Gospel commentary to be comprehensive. The original was spotty and left out a lot of material, or covered material in only a summary fashion. Plus, I wrote that commentary seven years ago. I’ve learned a lot since then, and the scholarship of Messianic Judaism in general has advanced a lot since then. It was time for a more mature version of the commentary, lest it become obsolete. We pulled out Acts in order to accommodate more room for more commentary on the life and teachings of the Master. We plan on offering a new volume in the future with the Acts material also expanded which will incorporate a significant amount of material from the epistles. We are really trying to facillitate better learning.
2. What are some of the things readers will be surprised by?
Readers will be suprised at just how much material we are packing in, and how much is new material that they have not heard or considered before. We are taking on a lot of tough issues. To help prepare for this rewrite, I did a lot of work studying anti-missionary objections. We are addressing those objections. Readers will be surprised at how radical a straight-up, literal reading of the gospels can be. It’s pretty revolutionary.
3. How can an increased understanding of the Jewishness of Jesus affect theology and practice in the greater Christian community?
Understanding Jesus’ words correctly should have an impact on how we implement those words. Theologically there is a lot of trouble. A Jewish reading of the Gospels dislodges a lot of presuppositions, and knocks down some sacred cows. We aren’t going to tell people what to believe or how they have to interpret the Gospels, but we are going to say, “Check this out. This is the Jewish way of looking at it. This is probably what it meant to the early Jewish believers.” That can present a lot of challenges for Christianity. There’s room for all of us to grow in the paths of discipleship. Greater Christianity certainly does not need to start practicing Judaism, but we do need to realize that true Christianity is a branch of first-century Judaism. That’s the place to start.
4. In one of your video promos for TCV4, you say the following:
The problem is that until you study the gospels, which are Jewish, from a Jewish perspective, you don’t know that you don’t know what they’re talking about. But when you study from a Jewish perspective, all of a sudden the lights go on and you realize, oh, that’s what that was, that’s what that means. … For the most part, outside of a Jewish reading of the New Testament, people don’t know what they’re reading.
This is a very strong, challenging statement. Are you saying that Christians haven’t truly understood the Gospels very well for two millennia?
Yes.
Ask a closed question, get a closed answer.
Discussion
No comments yet.