Mark S Kinzer

Since the groundbreaking publication of Postmissionary Messianic Judaism (2005), Mark Kinzer has challenged theologians and religious leaders to consider the essential ecumenical vocation of Jewish disciples of Jesus. Proposing a bilateral ecclesiology in solidarity with Israel, he argued that the overcoming of Christian supersessionism required a robust affirmation of the distinctive calling of Jews within the community of Jesus the Messiah. In this way, Kinzer's work put the issue of Jewish followers of Jesus on the theological agenda for those seeking a reparative reconfiguration of the relationship between the church and the Jewish people. In recent years, Kinzer has attended to the theological implications of this perspective and has widened his focus to include not only the Messianic Jewish movement but also Jews within Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant churches. The present collection of essays reflects this wider concern. According to Kinzer, the theological stones of contention are Christology conceived of as Messianology, ecclesiology understood as Israelology, and eschatology imagined as Zionology. Moreover, it is the presence of Jewish disciples of Jesus that concretizes these theological abstractions in the form of Jewish flesh and blood, summoning Jews and Christians to rethink their relationship to one another in ways that express their essential mutual dependence.

Since the groundbreaking publication of Postmissionary Messianic Judaism (2005), Mark Kinzer has challenged theologians and religious leaders to consider the essential ecumenical vocation of Jewish disciples of Jesus. Proposing a bilateral ecclesiology in solidarity with Israel, he argued that the overcoming of Christian supersessionism required a robust affirmation of the distinctive calling of Jews within the community of Jesus the Messiah. In this way, Kinzer's work put the issue of Jewish followers of Jesus on the theological agenda for those seeking a reparative reconfiguration of the relationship between the church and the Jewish people. In recent years, Kinzer has attended to the theological implications of this perspective and has widened his focus to include not only the Messianic Jewish movement but also Jews within Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant churches. The present collection of essays reflects this wider concern. According to Kinzer, the theological stones of contention are Christology conceived of as Messianology, ecclesiology understood as Israelology, and eschatology imagined as Zionology. Moreover, it is the presence of Jewish disciples of Jesus that concretizes these theological abstractions in the form of Jewish flesh and blood, summoning Jews and Christians to rethink their relationship to one another in ways that express their essential mutual dependence.

La Declaracion del Concilio Vaticano II sobre las relaciones de la Iglesia con las religiones no cristianas (Nostra aetate) transformo la vision catolica del pueblo judio y la tradicion religiosa judia. Afirmando que al investigar su propio misterio la Iglesia descubre su vinculo con la estirpe de Abraham , este documento daba a entender que el misterio de Israel es inseparable del misterio de la Iglesia. Como misterios entrelazados, cada comunidad necesita de la otra para comprenderse a si misma. En Al investigar el misterio de la Iglesia, el destacado teologo judio mesianico Mark S. Kinzer sostiene que la Iglesia todavia tiene que explorar adecuadamente las implicaciones de Nostra aetate para mejor comprenderse a si misma. La nueva ensenanza catolica acerca de Israel debe dar lugar a nuevas perspectivas en diversos campos de la teologia cristiana, como la cristologia, la eclesiologia y la teologia de los sacramentos. Con este proposito, Kinzer propone una eclesiologia de Israel arraigada en la cristologia de Israel, en la que una restaurada ecclesia ex circumcisione (la iglesia procedente de la circuncision) asuma un papel crucial como signo sacramental del vinculo de la Iglesia con el pueblo judio y de la eleccion irrevocable del Israel genealogico.

La Declaracion del Concilio Vaticano II sobre las relaciones de la Iglesia con las religiones no cristianas (Nostra aetate) transformo la vision catolica del pueblo judio y la tradicion religiosa judia. Afirmando que al investigar su propio misterio la Iglesia descubre su vinculo con la estirpe de Abraham , este documento daba a entender que el misterio de Israel es inseparable del misterio de la Iglesia. Como misterios entrelazados, cada comunidad necesita de la otra para comprenderse a si misma. En Al investigar el misterio de la Iglesia, el destacado teologo judio mesianico Mark S. Kinzer sostiene que la Iglesia todavia tiene que explorar adecuadamente las implicaciones de Nostra aetate para mejor comprenderse a si misma. La nueva ensenanza catolica acerca de Israel debe dar lugar a nuevas perspectivas en diversos campos de la teologia cristiana, como la cristologia, la eclesiologia y la teologia de los sacramentos. Con este proposito, Kinzer propone una eclesiologia de Israel arraigada en la cristologia de Israel, en la que una restaurada ecclesia ex circumcisione (la iglesia procedente de la circuncision) asuma un papel crucial como signo sacramental del vinculo de la Iglesia con el pueblo judio y de la eleccion irrevocable del Israel genealogico.

La buena noticia (euangelion) del Mesias crucificado y resucitado fue proclamada primero a los judios en Jerusalen y luego a los de toda la tierra de Israel. En Jerusalen crucificada, Jerusalen resucitada, Mark Kinzer sostiene que este publico inicial y el entorno geografico del euangelion son inseparables de su contenido escatologico. Aunque la buena noticia es universal en su preocupacion y cosmica en su alcance, nunca pierde su conexion particular con el pueblo judio, la ciudad de Jerusalen y la tierra de Israel. El Mesias crucificado participa en el futuro sufrimiento de su pueblo en el exilio y, con su resurreccion, ofrece una garantia de la redencion proxima de Jerusalen. Basandose en una lectura del Evangelio de Lucas y Hechos de los Apostoles, Kinzer propone que el mensaje biblico requiere de sus interpretes que reflexionen teologicamente sobre los hechos de la historia posbiblica. Considera asi la aparicion temprana del judaismo rabinico y los fenomenos, mucho mas tardios, del sionismo y el judaismo mesianico, ofreciendo sobre estos acontecimientos historicos una perspectiva teologica arraigada en la Biblia, atenta a las tradiciones judeocristianas y moderada en las restricciones teologicas que impone a la resolucion justa del conflicto politico de Oriente Medio.

La buena noticia (euangelion) del Mesias crucificado y resucitado fue proclamada primero a los judios en Jerusalen y luego a los de toda la tierra de Israel. En Jerusalen crucificada, Jerusalen resucitada, Mark Kinzer sostiene que este publico inicial y el entorno geografico del euangelion son inseparables de su contenido escatologico. Aunque la buena noticia es universal en su preocupacion y cosmica en su alcance, nunca pierde su conexion particular con el pueblo judio, la ciudad de Jerusalen y la tierra de Israel. El Mesias crucificado participa en el futuro sufrimiento de su pueblo en el exilio y, con su resurreccion, ofrece una garantia de la redencion proxima de Jerusalen. Basandose en una lectura del Evangelio de Lucas y Hechos de los Apostoles, Kinzer propone que el mensaje biblico requiere de sus interpretes que reflexionen teologicamente sobre los hechos de la historia posbiblica. Considera asi la aparicion temprana del judaismo rabinico y los fenomenos, mucho mas tardios, del sionismo y el judaismo mesianico, ofreciendo sobre estos acontecimientos historicos una perspectiva teologica arraigada en la Biblia, atenta a las tradiciones judeocristianas y moderada en las restricciones teologicas que impone a la resolucion justa del conflicto politico de Oriente Medio.

The idea of a Jewish Church has been banned from the Christian horizon for almost two millennia. But things are changing. Since the middle of the 70s the Messianic Jewish movement has strived to build an ecclesial home for all Jewish believers in Christ. This new phenomenon brings to life issues that had disappeared since the first centuries of the Church. What does it mean to be a Jew in the Church? Should there be a distinction between Jews and non-Jews among believers in Christ? Is such a distinction compatible with the unity of the whole Body of Christ so ardently preached by Paul? What lifestyle should this Church promote? In his various works, Mark Kinzer, a prominent Messianic Jewish theologian, has attempted to provide substantial answers to these questions. Antoine Lévy is a Dominican priest. With Kinzer, Lévy has launched the “Helsinki Consultation”, a cross-denominational gathering of Jewish theologians. In Jewish Church: A Catholic Approach to Messianic Judaism, Lévy examines Kinzer’s positions critically, bringing forward an alternative vision of what a “Jewish Church” could and should be. This is only the beginning of what promises to be a fascinating discussion.

The gospel of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth has healed countless lives over the centuries, but the gospel itself has been wounded through neglect of one of its main components. The books of Luke and Acts reveal that the death and resurrection of Jesus are linked inextricably to the destruction and promised restoration of Jerusalem, the city that personifies the Jewish people as a whole. To highlight this expanded understanding of the gospel, Mark Kinzer and Russ Resnik unpack the Hebrew term for gospel, besorah, as a prophetic message of salvation for Israel and all nations. In Luke's besorah, the death and resurrection of the Messiah are a sign of the coming judgment and restoration of Jerusalem and the Jewish people--a restoration that brings with it the renewal of all creation. This prophetic dimension of the besorah is a key to healing the fractured gospel and restoring its power amidst the strife and tumult of the twenty-first century.

The gospel of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth has healed countless lives over the centuries, but the gospel itself has been wounded through neglect of one of its main components. The books of Luke and Acts reveal that the death and resurrection of Jesus are linked inextricably to the destruction and promised restoration of Jerusalem, the city that personifies the Jewish people as a whole. To highlight this expanded understanding of the gospel, Mark Kinzer and Russ Resnik unpack the Hebrew term for gospel, besorah, as a prophetic message of salvation for Israel and all nations. In Luke's besorah, the death and resurrection of the Messiah are a sign of the coming judgment and restoration of Jerusalem and the Jewish people--a restoration that brings with it the renewal of all creation. This prophetic dimension of the besorah is a key to healing the fractured gospel and restoring its power amidst the strife and tumult of the twenty-first century.

The idea of a Jewish Church has been banned from the Christian horizon for almost two millennia. But things are changing. Since the middle of the 70s the Messianic Jewish movement has strived to build an ecclesial home for all Jewish believers in Christ. This new phenomenon brings to life issues that had disappeared since the first centuries of the Church. What does it mean to be a Jew in the Church? Should there be a distinction between Jews and non-Jews among believers in Christ? Is such a distinction compatible with the unity of the whole Body of Christ so ardently preached by Paul? What lifestyle should this Church promote? In his various works, Mark Kinzer, a prominent Messianic Jewish theologian, has attempted to provide substantial answers to these questions. Antoine Lévy is a Dominican priest. With Kinzer, Lévy has launched the “Helsinki Consultation”, a cross-denominational gathering of Jewish theologians. In Jewish Church: A Catholic Approach to Messianic Judaism, Lévy examines Kinzer’s positions critically, bringing forward an alternative vision of what a “Jewish Church” could and should be. This is only the beginning of what promises to be a fascinating discussion.

The good news (euangelion) of the crucified and risen Messiah was proclaimed first to Jews in Jerusalem, and then to Jews throughout the land of Israel. In Jerusalem Crucified, Jerusalem Risen, Mark Kinzer argues that this initial audience and geographical setting of the euangelion is integral to the eschatological content of the message itself. While the good news is universal in concern and cosmic in scope, it never loses its particular connection to the Jewish people, the city of Jerusalem, and the land of Israel. The crucified Messiah participates in the future exilic suffering of his people, and by his resurrection offers a pledge of Jerusalem's coming redemption. Basing his argument on a reading of the Acts of the Apostles and the Gospel of Luke, Kinzer proposes that the biblical message requires its interpreters to reflect theologically on the events of post-biblical history. In this context he considers the early emergence of Rabbinic Judaism and the much later phenomenon of Zionism, offering a theological perspective on these historical developments that is biblically rooted, attentive to both Jewish and Christian tradition, and minimalist in the theological constraints it imposes on the just resolution of political conflict in the Middle East. ""Jerusalem Crucified, Jerusalem Risen is a careful but exciting reading of the NT through the lens of Luke-Acts . . . Kinzer shows that it is the principal link between the gospels and the letters of the NT, and that it unveils the Jewish-Gentile admixture of the early church in ways that answer fundamental questions about Christology, eschatology, ecclesiology, ethics, and missiology. Readers of this book will discover ways of seeing Jesus and the early church that will set all of Christian theology in a new light."" --Gerald R. McDermott, Anglican Chair of Divinity, Beeson Divinity School ""Kinzer's work is ground breaking. He focuses especially on Luke and Acts to show that Jerusalem then, now, and in the future is central to the hope of the Jewish messiah, Jesus--and thus to his ecclesial body, both Jew and gentile. The good news is geographical. Kinzer develops a new form of Christ-centred Zionism, eschewing millenarianism, and bloody battle scenarios. His work is changing and challenging theological maps for Jewish and gentile Christians."" --Gavin D'Costa, University of Bristol ""This is a fascinating book. Kinzer makes the case that Israel is so central to the gospel message that removing her from it, and its hope, seriously dilutes what the gospel is about. With many fresh takes on passages, he opens up this issue for renewed discussion. It is a conversation well worth having."" --Darrell Bock, Dallas Theological Seminary Mark S. Kinzer is Rabbi Emeritus of Congregation Zera Avraham in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and President Emeritus of Messianic Jewish Theological Institute. He is the author of Postmissionary Messianic Judaism (2005), Israel's Messiah and the People of God (2011), and Searching Her Own Mystery (2015).

In recent years, a new form of Messianic Judaism has emerged that has the potential to serve as a bridge between Jews and Christians. Giving voice to this movement, Mark Kinzer makes a case for nonsupersessionist Christianity. He argues that the election of Israel is irrevocable, that Messianic Jews should honor the covenantal obligations of Israel, and that rabbinic Judaism should be viewed as a movement employed by God to preserve the distinctive calling of the Jewish people. Though this book will be of interest to Jewish readers, it is written primarily for Christians who recognize the need for a constructive relationship to the Jewish people that neither denies the role of Jesus the Messiah nor diminishes the importance of God's covenant with the Jews.