Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus: General and Historical Objections [Paperback]

Michael L. Brown (Author)

Book Description

Series: Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus | Publication Date: February 1, 2000

Combining scholarship, an engaging style, and spiritual seriousness, Michael Brown answers Jewish objections to Jesus. Volume 1 addresses thirty-five objections on general and historical themes, such as "Doesn't belief in Jesus mean you're no longer Jewish?" Volume 2 provides incisive answers to twenty-eight theological objections, building from Rabbinic literature and the Hebrew Scriptures. Volume 3 looks specifically at questions raised about messianic prophecies in Isaiah, Daniel, Psalms, Haggai, and Zechariah.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Brown delivers a much-needed resource to Christians. He offers well-researched, thoughtful, biblical responses to difficult questions that arise when Christians share Yeshua (Jesus) with Jews.... Brown doesn't shy away from challenging subjects such as anti-missionary efforts and the Holocaust. As a result, the material is engaging and convicting. This soul-winning tool is written with a perfect blend of passion, wisdom, and revelation. It's ideal for readers wanting to reach Jewish family members, friends, or coworkers. It's also a must-have for anyone interested in understanding Christianity's Jewish roots. Highly recommend it. -- CBA Marketplace, January 2000

Michael Brown's work in the area of Jewish apologetics is the most thorough and penetrating I have seen. There is no doubt in my mind that this work will make a major contribution to the ongoing discussion and will, in fact, set the standard in the field -- Richard Averbeck, associate professor, Old Testament and Semitic Languages, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

Michael Browns thinking is incisive and to the point. His ability to explain so that anyone can understand is amazing. He will surely be acclaimed as the new expert in Jewish Christian apologetics. I would be happy to recommend his much needed book to anyone -- Moishe Rosen, founder, Jews for Jesus

Michael Browns work in the area of Jewish apologetics is the most thorough and penetrating I have seen. There is no doubt in my mind that this work will make a major contribution to the ongoing discussion and will, in fact, set the standard in the field -- Richard Averbeck, associate professor, Old Testament and Semitic Languages, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

We desperately need this book! -- Sid Roth, founder and president, Messianic Vision

About the Author

Michael L. Brown (Ph.D., Near Eastern Languages and Literature, New York University) is president of the Brownsville Revival School of Ministry in Pensacola, Florida. He has also served as a visiting professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and Fuller Theological Seminary.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Baker Books; 1ST edition (February 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080106063X
• ISBN-13: 978-0801060632
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #340,565 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must for Sensitive Interaction with Jewish People, March 1, 2000

By 

Keith A. Wells DC (Whittier, California, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus: General and Historical Objections (Paperback)

For any serious Christian who interacts with Jewish persons, this book is a must read. Michael Brown is a fascinating Jewish Christian scholar whose depth of research into the tough questions about Christianity and Jewry leaves the reader feeling educated and prepared. The author's style is interesting; he writes as though he is dialoguing with a Jewish skeptic of Jesus. The Gentile reader may feel a little left out or in the dark at first, but the insightful reader will eventually feel he or she is sitting in on a debate of the utmost importance. A Christian who knows little about Jewish people will be at times shocked and saddened over the treatment Jews have received over the centuries by so called "Christians", and at the same time fascinated by insight the author offers into how these issues may be heard and answered. This is the first of three volumes due to be released in the year 2000; this volume deals with general and historical objections to Jesus and Christianity. I cannot imagine reading the first without reading the others!

65 of 86 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well-written, detailed and accurate, but pointless, August 27, 2003

By 

Joseph T Reinckens II (Dallas, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus: General and Historical Objections (Paperback)

This is a planned four-volume set.

Dr. Brown is the leading expert on responding to objections to Jesus and Christian theology raised by knowledgeable Orthodox Jews. He has a doctorate in Semitic languages, the books are well-researched and well-written and he covers the material in detail, going into Talmudic interpretations, Rashi, Maimonedes, etc. Although such Jewish theologians are unfamiliar to most Christians, their names are as familiar to knowledgeable Jews as Moody and Scofield are to Christians.

Although most purchasers are gentile evangelists, material is arranged essentially as dialogues between an Orthodox Jew and a responding Messianic.

Unfortunately, the books are rather pointless. Why? See Evangelism Explosion. If a person is not open to the gospel, no amount of arguments will matter. You can see similar debates in Internet newsgroups between Protestants and Catholics, Protestants and Mormons, Messianics and non-messianic Jews, etc.

I recently took Brown's course on Messianic Apologetics. He started by having two Messianic Jews try evangelizing him and he responded as an Orthodox would, with arguments from his books. One of the evangelists is an Israeli graduate of the Jewish Studies program at Christ for the Nations experienced at Jewish evangelism.

Responding like a non-messianic Orthodox, Brown "wiped the floor" with both of them, with things like "Are you Jewish?" "Is your mother Jewish?" "Is HER mother Jewish?" "Do you keep kosher?" (Contrary to the Bible, the Israeli Supreme Court says a person only is Jewish if their mother is Jewish. Hence, if the mother's mother wasn't Jewish, the mother isn't Jewish, so he's not Jewish, etc.)

It then moved on to, "Numbers 23 says, 'God is not a man'. Since Jesus can't be God, all your so-called 'messianic prophecy proofs' are worthless. Also, they can't be proofs, since Messiah has not come yet. Where do Hebrew Scriptures say Messiah will be God? He will be anointed, but only a man. Where does Isaiah 53 talk about Messiah? It's not a messianic prophecy; it's talking about Israel."

One evangelist said, "Since the Temple is destroyed, sacrifices can't be offered. How do you get atonement for your sin?" The response was, "After Solomon's Temple was destroyed there were no sacrifices. How were Daniel's sins forgiven?"

For non-Christians reading this review, understand that Brown didn't "wipe the floor" with them because their arguments were wrong. They had never heard Orthodox arguments and were not prepared to respond "off the cuff". Brown's books show that many Orthodox arguments contradict Scripture or historic Jewish interpretations or both.

For gentiles considering Jewish evangelism, an argument often raised by Orthodox Jews is, "If you could read Hebrew you would know that's not what it says." Brown studied Semitic languages because he kept getting that argument even though he's Jewish. He said materials written by Christians for Jewish evangelism routinely have Hebrew errors.

Sadly, despite claims to the contrary, what comes across in the 15-hour course and books is the attitude of "I am going to convince THAT person." An informal survey has indicated it is EXTREMELY rare for a Jewish person to accept Jesus unless the person (1) was raised secular or (2) marries a Christian. Such people are willing to listen to and honestly evaluate the beliefs of Christianity. Missiology studies show that 80% of people raised in a religion stay in that religion.

Jesus interacted with religious leaders who disputed him but he did not get into extended debates like those in Brown's books. Also see Matthew 10:14

Although Dr. Brown is VERY active in evangelism, I can't help thinking, "How many hundreds of times MORE people could have been brought to Jesus if time spent researching and writing for a VERY small audience almost totally resistant to the gospel had been spent reaching out to the MILLIONS of people who are simply indifferent and uninformed but are willing to listen if someone tells them?"

If you are a Christian considering Jewish evangelism, review the sample pages, examine the books if you get a chance and visit "anti-missionary" websites, e.g., Tovia Singer. You'll see this is EXTREMELY unproductive SUPER-specialized work requiring responses to arguments you won't hear ANYWHERE elsewhere.

But don't let that deter you from GENERAL Jewish evangelism. MANY Jews are quite secular. Their main arguments are "I'm Jewish. Jews don't believe in Jesus." and "What about all the persecution the Church has done against Jews?" They are open to the gospel if you hang in there and honestly address their concerns with sensitivity.

And if YOU think Jesus or the apostles CONVERTED from Judaism to Christianity, YOU need to learn about the history of the Church BEFORE 100 A.D. In Acts 15 the apostles created "Christianity" for GENTILES, as a religion PARALLEL to Messianic Judaism.

TELL your Jewish friends that JESUS IS JEWISH. He was born Jewish, he was Torah-observant, he died Jewish, came back from the dead Jewish and he's STILL Jewish.

Hebrews 4:14 ... WE HAVE A GREAT HIGH PRIEST who has gone through the heavens, JESUS ...

THE HIGH PRIEST ISN'T CATHOLIC AND HE ISN'T PROTESTANT--HE'S JEWISH!

Check these out:

Our Hands Are Stained With Blood-Michael Brown
Restoring the Jewishness of the Gospel-David Stern
Messianic Jewish Manifesto-David Stern
Complete Jewish Bible-David Stern
Evangelism Explosion-D. James Kennedy

Shalom!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get all your courage, September 21, 2010

By 

Roman Nies (Helibrunna) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus: General and Historical Objections (Paperback)

This book is outstanding in that it
1. deals with a wide range of objections of Jews against the Christian belief and the Messiah Jesus Christ
2. it is written by a Jew who believes in Christ and is therefore especially sensitive to both traditional Jewish concerns as well as issues of importance to the church
3. it is addressed, by and large, to the Jewish person who does not yet believe in Christ as opposed to merely supplying information to the interested Christian/Messianic Jewsih reader, although such readers will easily benefit from the material compiled, and
4. it seeks to be faithful to both the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament, while using the best tools in Biblical and Semitic scholarship as well as incorporating the Rabbinic writings where it is relevant
This volume has two parts. Part 1 is about general objections. They contain broad generalizations and sweeping statements. It shows how Jews in general think: Jesus is not for Jews. The author is answering these objections as a matter of correcting misconceptions as well as getting people to think about the emotional and sometimes irrational nature of what they are saying.

Part 2 is about historical Objections. They tend to be more substantial and deal with the very purpose of the Messiah or the alleged failure of the church. Jesus, the Jews in general believe, cannot be the Messiah, because we are obviously not in the messianic age. The author is providing a biblical picture of the Messiah, showing that Jesus was indeed fitting all the Biblical proof.
I found this book astonishingly balanced. The author is never polemical or insulting. He has a very broad knowledge of Judaism and Christianity. He worte this book for everyone who is interested in reaching the Jewish people with the good news of Jesus the Messiah. He says, if anyone needs to hear the truth about Jesus, it is his own Jewish people. But Jewish people have a deplorable lack to know the true Jesus. For them he is a monstrous figure, a false prophet, a liar and deceiver, a traitor and the founder of a terrible, counterfeit religion, one whose followers are the cause or worldwide ant-Semitism and even the Holocaust. But the author makes clear that this is not the real Jesus. Rather Jews have the same biased, unfounded views of Yeshua the Jew that other people have about them as Jews. "The only way to overcome this kind of ignorance and bias is by exposure to the truth, even if that truth hurts.
Indeed the author proves many prejudices as unsubstantial. He discerns between the millions who call themselves Christian and those who live really according to the teachings of the New Testament. As if Jews do not also demand to discern between orthodox Jews and secular Jews. He is pointing out that the traditional Jewish teaching about Jesus gives a slanted portrayal of who the Messiah is and what he will do. But since the description is faulty the people are looking in the wrong direction for the wrong person. It is not education, he says, and not learning that stop people from believing in Jesus but rather ignorance as to who he really is and what their Scriptures really say about him. The same could be said about most Christians, I fear!
The author shows that the denial of Jesus as Messiah was in consequent tradition of the Jewish denial of Moses and the prophets. This is clearly stated throughout the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament.
Inso far the reproach that the New Testament is anti-Jewish makes no sense, because it is even milder to the Jews than the Old Testament. Interestingly the Torah says that the world exists six thousand years and that after the two thousand years of the Torah the two thousand years of the Messianic area would have to follow. This has to mean that at the time of Jesus, the Messiah should have come. And? No other "Messiah" has yet arrived!
The author is asking whether the Jews did not recognize the Messiah because of their iniquities. According to the Hebrew Bible the Messiah was to arrive before the Second Temple was destroyed. And this happened in the year 70 AD. The Talmud said that the Messiah would come riding on a donkey, if the people were unworthy. Is it possible that exactly this happened?
The author is stressing the special meaning of the Jews for the whole nation. He is not supporting the substitution theory that the church has substituted Israel as God`s people.
He is showing that true followers of Jesus were always persecuted and never the persecutors. Therefore the blame that the Jews were persecuted by true followers of the Christ must be rejected. The New Testament teaching is not purporting any persecution, which can be easily proved. The Jews also find it unfair ,if anyone generalizes the behaviour of some groups of Jews who are no representatives of their father`s belief.
Jesus, to the contrary, the author says, is the cure of every problem, individually and nationally, not the cause of the Jew`s problems. One should judge a tree by seeing what fruit is produced by those who hold to its principles and live out its ideals. And Israel`s best friends are Bible-believing, New Testament-reading Christians!
In one chapter the author deals about the Holocaust. He rejects the Jewish idea that this was done by Christians. He is citing many Jewish scholars who have had their own theory about the meaning of this tragedy and comments them. In his opinion God brought judgment on the Jews for their iniquities in all times. This is the clear statement of the Torah and the Talmud. But it was Satan who stimulated his willing servants to this extremeness.
I found it inconsequent to fail to think of how the judgement comes to a fair completion beyond the gates of death, because nobody could approve a child`s murder as relevant for a nation but not for the individual.
Nevertheless the author shows that he went deep into the matter. The still latent problem seems to be this: "that most religions - including Judaism basically look upon man himself to turn back and repent, not fully reckoning with how debased human nature really is. And while Jews and Muslims are taught to ask for mercy and forgiveness in prayer, there are no sure grounds for atonement and no full recognition of the depth of human corruption."
And the Holocaust proves what? The author says: "The Holocaust forces these questions on us and gives us, I believe, only one possible answer: God himself had to reach down into this deep pit of human evil to save us from our sins - including the sins of the Holocaust."
But he is also saying that the likeness of Jesus is ressembling more the likeness of the Jews in the Holocaust than those so called Christians who are no true followers of Christ! Of course, the author is critical on traditional Judaism, but he is as well critical on historical, traditional Christians. But this is not a book to save so called Christians, rather to help Jews to understand that their Messiah has already come.
"How strange it is that Jewish philosophers and religious thinkers could speculate that the Holocaust represented an act of vicarious, substitutionary suffering for our people, the experience of the servant of the Lord depicted in Isaiah 52:13-53:12, and yet the same philosophers and religious thinkers cannot conceive of our Messiah in such terms, nor can they find a point of identification between Yeshua and the Jewish people!"
According to the author the Holocaust should draw the Jews to the side of the suffering servant rather than drive them away from him. Out of death - the Holocaust and the cross - came resurrection, the State of Israel and the raising of the Messiah.
This is a highly recommendable book not only for Jews, but also for Christians, especially those who have a prejudice against Jews.