Over the years Michael and his team have contributed significantly to the larger effort of bringing knowledge of the Jewishness of Jesus and its implications to the marketplace. His love for Yeshua, the Scriptures, the Jewish people, and his artful skill as a publisher, author, and teacher are not in dispute. What I take issue with here are some fundamental assumptions that in the short term have crippled his conception of ecclesiology and in the long run will undermine the success of his vision. As times get tough, and the saints persevere, the education level of pro- Torah believers (Jew and Gentile) around the world will only skyrocket. Technology will be on their side. Competency in the original languages and cultures of the Bible, rabbinic literature, history of Jewish-Christian relations, etc… will be such that the conversationalists will no longer lean on conceptually vague non-entities like “the church” and “Judaism” to build their cases. Rather, real educational engagement within and between Torah communities, a solid grasp of the primary sources, contemporary scholarship, all in the context of a life walking with and worshipping Yeshua the Messiah in the Spirit, will be the order of the day. Churches will continue to be the fluid things they are, as will synagogues. Just as David Rudolph was given a platform to speak at such a prestigious forum as SBL, so will the conversation continue to develop and arguments become corrected or better substantiated. There is much more good to come at the level of scholarship, which, be’ezrat Hashem, will slowly but surely permeate the universities and seminaries, colleges and institutions that are equipping Jewish and Gentile, Christian and Messianic leaders of tomorrow.
All this being said, Michael’s observations and concerns about Messianic “messiness” are not off-base. And I agree that a big part of helping this movement (which we probably define differently; cf: Tent of David, p. 214, n.6. One Torah communities are not mentioned here, likely because they are viewed as illegitimate and supersessionist at the core) step forward will be proper, patient educational outreach mixed with blameless, Messiah Yeshua-centered Torah living. But in as much as it writes Jew-and-Gentile Torah communities out of the picture with its reification and personhood-ization of “the church” and “Judaism,” Tent of David is a step in the wrong direction. If it has any success at all, it will be in inoculating its readers from clear thinking and honest, reflective thought.
This is where TorahResource Institute has an important part to play. With Adonai’s help, we will continue to help educate and equip Yeshua-loving, Torah-upholding individuals – not necessarily shlichim – who will be ready, willing, and able to gracefully and competently serve Messiah within our movement and without. They will have an answer for the hope that is in them. They will continue to grow, build relationship, and bring correction and healing for the many Messianic Jews and Gentiles who have received mis-education from well-meaning Messianic teachers.
Post Script
Tent of David urges, along with other FFOZ authors (for example, D. Thomas Lancaster’s The Holy Epistle to the Galatians, (FFOZ, 2011) p. 195), that times are urgent: American Jews are being lost to assimilation. Michael calls this the “American Holocaust” (Tent, p. 180). About ten years ago this argument was used by local orthodox rabbis to convince one of my fellow worship leaders serving a Messianic synagogue that the Jews were dying off and that if she didn’t come back under their wings, she would be in effect guilty for the catastrophe. She was Jewish (that’s why the rabbis were so insistent!), and our community leadership was unable to keep her focused on Messiah Yeshua. Fear won the day and, as could be expected, the transition arrangements were made and she moved into the “frum” community. The rest is history.
I get that assimilation is an issue. But who is in charge of preserving Israel? To use the “Holocaust” as a whip to scare believers into submission is abusive. This kind of fear is of man, not of Adonai. Lancaster calls Jewish believers “an endangered species” (Holy Epistle, p. 195). Is God not faithful? Even Paul had to be schooled in the hard lesson of Elijah’s presumptuous cry, I alone am left, and they seek my life! (Romans 11:3). The Scriptures are clear: even in Israel’s disobedience, God watches over His own. He will fulfill His promise for His namesake; it does not depend upon what man does. Any Jew (or Gentile for that matter) drawn to the Torah and observance of the holy mitzvot in the name of Messiah Yeshua do so by a move of the Holy Spirit, Who is a gift! Indeed, the very faith we have is a gift, lest that any man should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).