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Description: - The Torah (Law of Moses)--is it in full force today? Yeshua (Jesus) said, "Don't think that I have come to abolish the Torah... I have come not to abolish, but to complete." What did he mean? - Sha'ul (Paul) wrote, "All Israel will be saved." Was he speaking of all Jews? Messianic Jews (Jews who believe Yeshua is the Messiah)? The Church? Who is Israel? - Why did Yeshua juxtapose the saying, "Do not store up for yourselves wealth here on earth" and "The eye is the light of the body"? Dr. David Stern, a Messianic Jew living in Jerusalem, speaks to these and other issues in the Jewish New Testament Commentary. In this companion volume to his widely read and highly acclaimed "Jewish New Testament," he offers an exciting and original way of understanding the New Testament from a Jewish point of view.
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Review Summary: Excellent - one of the best gifts I have ever received |
Date: 2008-10-20 |
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Details: Please pay no attention to the negative reviews: their authors have serious axes to grind; as such, their reviews do not address the subject at hand. That having been said...
I inherited this commentary from my late mother. What a blessing - and great study tool! This is packed with many insights into Jewish culture and traditions of Old and New Testament (and later) eras, and how they contributed to the writings (e.g., idioms and allusions) of those first evangelists, and to their reception as well - to say nothing of the reception of Jesus Himself!
While the author is secure in his faith tradition, he is not dogmatic or opinionated: where more than one interpretation of translation or doctrine is possible, at least on those topics I am familiar with, he states the various arguments concisely but is respectfully neutral.
Well done, Dr. Stern! |
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Review Summary: Interesting perspective |
Date: 2008-09-05 |
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Details: Good background information on the Jewishness of the first-century church. Commentary is not as in-depth as some others, but it does help us read the text through Jewish eyes. |
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Review Summary: David, You Made My Day! |
Date: 2008-07-17 |
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Details: 'Complete Jewish Bible' goes with
'Jewish New Testament Commentary'.
After I found the commentary on
(Luke 17:20-21) 'The Kingdom of God'
between 'among you' and 'within you',
as is (Mattew 27:25) 'His Blood Be On Us...'
note is a beaut.
Round here it seems like during
lynching of Jesus Christ
when i start talkin 'Jesus'
I am not welcome...younger
neighbours are 'not interested'
...
Commentary made five stars. |
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Review Summary: Hebrew roots perspective |
Date: 2008-07-05 |
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Details: Book arrived promptly and in great condition. The Jewish perspective and background on the Bible has become for me absolutely indispensible to my study of the Word. Much of the understanding of the Bible has been lost to us because our lack of understanding of this perspective. |
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Review Summary: Good but disappointing |
Date: 2008-05-15 |
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Details: I bought the New Testament Commentary at the same time as the Complete Jewish Bible, both works by Dr. Stern. The Commentary is a good reference and I look forward to using it. But I found a few things that disappointed me.
The author, Dr. Stern, is a Messianic Jew. In that light, I was hoping for some real insight into the Jewish Messianic thought. To the contrary, Dr. Stern mocks the distinction between Messiah ben Joseph and Messiah ben David, even though the former strengthens his position. And he never connects the Book of Daniel's Son of Man idea with Messianic thought, even though Jesus repeatedly mentioned it.
From a historical perspective, Jesus did not meet the job description of Messiah. This is one of the reasons Jewish people have little interest in Christianity.
The Messiah was to be a human descendant of King David. We have genealogies in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke that show this lineage, although they conflict with each other. Some say one is Mary's, but her name is not mentioned. The Gospels also say that Jesus was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit falling upon the Virgin Mary. OK, so which is it? Joseph or Holy Spirit? No Jewish person I know would leave that issue unchallenged.
The Messiah was to lead the armies of Israel to victory and to restore the kingdom of Israel and put David's descendant to the throne. Jesus preached about God's Kingdom, not a human one. Jesus never raised an army or confronted even one Roman soldier. Forty years after his death, Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed. One hundred years after his death, Israel was wiped off the map, not to reappear until 1948.
Prior to Israel's reappearance in 1948, the British, who held Palestine after the fall of the Ottoman empire following World War I, arranged with the neighboring Arabs to open the territory as a Jewish homeland. The Americans and other nations helped, too. The Jewish people who immigrated put in the work and sacrifice to make the desert blossom as a rose. But Jesus never showed up. So how can Jesus be Israel's Messiah? If anybody, the people of Israel are Israel's Messiah. Dr. Stern does not even mention it.
One comment Dr. Stern made that really infuriated me is found in a list of complaints he made about Christians who do not live up to the ideals of their faith. His list was mostly valid, until it comes to the Holocaust. The Holocaust is a hot-button issue for all Jewish folks, their feelings are intense, though the points of view vary considerably. Dr. Stern says that the Christians did nothing even when they knew the Jews were being burned alive. In reality, the Christians, with Jews right beside them, were fighting a World War against the perpetrators of the genocide. None of the Allies, the Americans, British, or Russians, really understood what was happening in the death camps until their armies reached them. Then they were appalled beyond belief. If Dr. Stern were an aging camp survivor with a failing memory, I would have let his comment go. But Dr. Stern is an intelligent man who knows truth from exaggeration. He discredited himself and his otherwise valuable work.
The book is worth reading. The hyperbole and diatribe are not. |
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out of 39 Reviews
