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Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus: Theological Objections Vol. 2

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Dr. Michael Brown has offered Jews and non-Jews alike a thorough overview of the reasons most Jewish people have not become, and are not now followers of Jesus. He has fairly answered and thoroughly referenced his responses to those objections. While some might object to his motivation, which is obviously to encourage his readers to seriously consider the possibility that Scripture does indeed back his belief system, he is upfront in motivation and the book is substantial in content.

In my opinion, the first section, titled "Jews don't believe in the Trinity. We believe in one G-d, not three" is the most valuable discussion in the book. It is the most thorough and honest look at the nature of G-d that I have read, and will clear up gross misunderstandings of who it is that Christians worship. The book is a valuable resource.

I wanted to review this book from a slightly different angle. This book is about answering Jewish objections to Jesus, but in the process of doing this he explains a lot of concepts that are important irrespective of this debate. For examples, he goes into great detail about the trinity, Messiahship of Jesus, sonship of Jesus, etc. Topics that, quite frankly, very few people understand. This book is certainly the best presentation on these topics I have seen. So even if you don't know any Jewish people this is still a very worthwile book to read.

It is interesting to me to see the below reviews which are obviously coming from people who have either never read the book or who read the book without being open to its contents. Unfortunately, when the eyes of a spiritually blinded person reads things about God, it is IMPOSSIBLE for them to rightly understand or discern truth because they are basing what they are reading on their own erroneous paradigm as opposed to with an open heart!

I feel that Michael Brown does an excellent job in tackling many of the issues that have historically plagued believers in their defense of Jesus being the promised Messiah. He has articulated truth in such a way that those who DON'T believe Jesus is the Messiah have reacted maliciously and with venom. That is exactly the response that Jesus received from the very ones that He came to save and deliver. It is my prayer that those who read this manuscript will do so with an open heart, praying that the God of Israel will give them the grace to embrace truth.

If you are ready to be challenged with TRUTH, written by someone who has a heart to see his own people saved, I encourage you to get this book -- it could possibly be one of the most important decisions that you'll ever make.

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!

This is a MUST for Jewish Evangelism!

Just when you thought Michael L. Brown gave you his 'best shot' when Volume 1 of this series was published, Volume 2 is released and all that I can say is that it is ANOTHER home run!

If you've ever wondered about how you can put your hands on a tool that could provide ammunition against the barrage of seemingly unanwerable objections to the Messiahship of Jesus (both from a secular as well as a Jewish perspective), this is the manual for you. Along with volume 1, Brown provides comprehensive answers that are both deeply theological as well as easily understood.

No leader or lay person should be without this incredible tool to compliment his or her library!

Dr. Michael Brown's Answering Jewish Objections Trilogy needs to be on the bookshelf of every Messianic Jew, every Christian, every apologist and I highly recommend that even all non-believing Jews read this Trilogy, that they may see a comprehensive response to anti-missionaries, and Messianic beliefs accurately represented, that they may see who Yeshua (Jesus) truly is.
The extensive research, scholarship, and conversational style of writing in this book makes it perfect for the scholar to the lay-person.
The Answering Jewish Objections Trilogy is highly recommended!

Is Jesus not for Jews? This is the question of the book. Theological objections treated at length in this volume, cut to the heart of the differences between traditional Judaism and the Messianic Jewish/Christian faith. They revolve around the nature of God (the Trinity, the deity of Jeus, the person of the Holy Spirit), the nature of man and the need for salvation, and sin and the means of atonement. It is astonishing that not only the Hebrew Bible but as well the Jewish rabbinic Tradition reject the Jewish objections in their own words, these objections that claim "The religion of the New Tetament is a completely foreign religion that is not only un-Jewish but is also unfaithful to the Hebrew Bible". Nothing could be more false than this.
The author starts each objection with a concise statement, followed by a concise answer, which is then followed by an in-depth answer, including citations of important sources as needed and consideration of possible objections to the answers. For those interested in more detailed discussion, substantial notes have been provided.
This material could be suitable to silence many formidable objections that have been raised against the Messianic Christian faith by Jews. There is much of substantial value, including important Jewish concepts that provide background and illumination for doctrines.
Here some examples how the author approaches his theme of Christian doctrines included in Hebrew thinking.
Jews reject the Trinity. The Hebrew Bible has a plural noun for God. "Hebrew, along with other Semitic languages, sometimes expressed greatness, supremacy, exaltation, majesty, and fullness by means of compound plural nouns. Plurality could express prominence, ownership, or divinity, all with reverence to a single person or single deity. This means that the very concept of compound unity was part of the language of the Tanakh." Then he goes on to examine Hebrew Bible verses which are in absolute concordance with the Christian concept of Trinity.
Another example: When Christians say that Christ is the Word of God it is no new concept, because the "Word of God" is in action throughout the Hebrew Bible. For example Psalm 33:6; Gen 1:3; Psalm 107:19-20 ("He sent forth his word and healed them"), Is 55:10-11, Psalm 147:15-18. "One of the important links in Rabbinic thoughts was "the Word" called Memra". The Jewish Targum even says: "the Word of the Lord will be my God". And so it goes on and on in this volume. Whatever Jewish believers state against the Christian faith, they seem to oversee more or less important facts.
It is striking how Jews reject Christian teaching although they have often the same thoughts. An example is the description of the suffering servant of God in Isaia 53 which Christians relate to Christ whereas Jews relate it to the whole of Israel or an "unknown" suffering Messiah. The Jews in general believe that the Messiah has not yet come, because of the sins of Israel. But some believe that there are two Messiahs, one who is the suffering servant and another who will come to set his people free. Christians believe that both are one and the same.
Another big issue is the atonement for sins. Jews believe in the necessity of bloody sacrifices following the tradition of the old covenant. But since there is no more temple, there is no atonement. Some Rabbis and Jewish scholars also believed that the atonement could be made possible by human sacrifices. For example Solomon Schlechter observed that "some Rabbis would, on certain occasions, exclaim, Behold, I am the atonement for Israel". To this day, when a leading rabbi dies, it is common for the mourners to say: "may his death serve as an atonemnet for us". The Christian concept of salvation is apparently not contrary to the Hebrew Bible and even Jewish tradition, "because the concept of salvation in the Tanakh and in the new covenant Scriptures is comprehensive, dealing with spirit, soul and body, both in this world and the world to come...It is deeply ingrained in Jewish tradition that the desath of the righteous atones".
This book will be of great help to understand orthodox Jewish thinking and find a clue to interchange with Jews about their religion and their objections to the Christian faith. It supports also greatly Christian doctrines because it shows that it all fits in the Hebrwe Bible. The author reallay provides substantial answers to Jewish objections.

Brown is the foremost Christian expert on Judaism, and I highly recommend this 4-volume set. This volume centers on theological objections. It can either be read as a reference source (looking up different objections in the book is not hard using the index) or read all the way through. I have chosen the former method, so I haven't read every page...but they're on my shelf whenever a question on Judaism arises. The thing about Judaism is it is so different moving from Orthodox all the way to Reformed. But the general ideas in this book cover all the branches. Every Christian should be able to talk to their Jewish believer friends, family, and co-workers, because the topic is of utmost importance.

Dr.Brown brings to bear many very important issues that
need to be looked at carefully as to why Rabbinical
Judaism so vehmenently rejects Jesus Christ as Messiah.
The "other side" will no doubt try to refute his answers
and view: but one cannot help but come away with a new
respect for the reasons Christians [and Messianic/Christian
Jews] have for their belief in Jesus [Yeshuah] as and Messiah, - The Promised One.
His notes and annotations, by the way, are alone worth
the price of this book. I know many are awaiting Dr.Brown's
third volume [emphasizing the Messianic prophecies of the
Hebrew Bible] which (hopefully) will be available this year
or next. Dr.Michael Brown is clearly a leading apologist in
this area of controversy. Orthodox "antimissionaries" certainly
have their hands full trying to refute his many well documented
reasons and arguments.

This book is very, very good. Although I am (sad to say) not used to such thoroughness, I must confess that Brown has done his job very well. He shows an impressive proficiency in the Scriptures and Rabbinic teachings; his knowledge of Hebrew is also useful.

This book is a must in Jewish-Christian apologetics, because most Jewish apologetics are more McDowell than Craig or Habermas; I am pleased to say that although Brown writes with a lucid prose that is lacking in many scholarly works, he covers weighty material thouroughly and logically.

I strongly recommend this book.