Messianic Jewish Leaders met to discuss the topic
“The Gospel and the Jewish People”
“The Gospel and the Jewish People”
By David Sedaca, LCJE Area Coordinator for Latin America
Messianic Jewish leaders from different parts of the world met in New York City, October 8 through 10, 2007, for what was named The Borough Park Symposium, to discuss the topic “The Gospel and the Jewish People.”
This event, convened by messianic Jewish leaders from different affiliations, came as result of several consultations that had taken place in Borough Park, heart of the Orthodox Jewish community of New York City. These preliminary consultations were attended by messianic Jewish leaders from different organizations without any person or organization taking the leadership. There was consensus in trying to find a mean by which we can freely express our concerns as Jewish believers in Jesus, taking into account that there are issues that need to be discussed from a purely Messianic Jewish perspective. It was also agreed that there are issues that need to be openly treated since these topics are sometimes being discussed without a frank, face to face discussion with those proposing these subjects.
The modern day Messianic Jewish movement has been around since the early 70’s, and as a movement it has grown to encompass different currents of thought. Diverse ideas have enriched the movement, yet at the same time it is perceived that certain values and basic principles need to be laid out and openly discussed in order to better define the boundaries within which Messianic Judaism can be understood. Messianic Judaism is no longer an experiment to be tested or a fad to be tried out, but it is a valid expression of faith and practice for Jewish persons who have accepted Jesus as Lord and Messiah. Given the fact that Messianic Judaism is part of the Jewish community and at the same time part of the larger Body of Messiah, in recent years the way in which this dual relationship is to be understood has been expressed in different ways. For example, while there are some who advocate a more traditionally Jewish way of life, others feel that there is no obligation to do so. More recently, another issue has come to the forefront and it has to do with the particular way in which we need to understand salvation and the Jewish people. While some firmly believe in the traditional evangelical view that all need to accept personally and consciously Jesus as Lord and Savior, there are some who advocate the view that somehow there is a distinctive and unique way in which the sacrificial death of Jesus is applied to the salvation of the community of Israel as a whole, without the need of a personal and confessional acceptance. This last view has been called “the wider hope” or “the unconscious mediation of Messiah.” Although the concept has been discussed in the past by Hebrew Christians, precursors of the present day Messianic Jews, it is only recently that such views have been articulated. A recently published book by Messianic Rabbi Dr. Mark S. Kinzer, Postmissionary Messianic Judaism (Grand Rapids: Brazos, 2005) has made of the topic Salvation and the Jewish people a matter of intense debate within the Messianic Jewish movement. Kinzer’s views are shared by other prominent Messianic Jewish leaders while other leaders oppose such views; these different perspectives have raised valid questions that need to be discussed. It was in response to issues like these that several Messianic leaders met to consider whether a forum where these topics issues could be treated was necessary. It was the unanimous consensus of these leaders that yes, the time was right and necessary to hear what others have to say. Thus the idea of a Borough Park Symposium was birthed and a Steering Committee was appointed to set it up. The members of this committee were Barry Rubin, Akiva Cohen, Jason Sobel, Mitch Glaser, Russ Resnik, David Sedaca, and Michael Wolf. It was decided that such symposium needed to be closed and by invitation only to messianic Jewish leaders with academic background and representing all segments of the messianic Jewish movement from around the world. The number of people invited was limited to 50 and only a few of them were to present papers since the goal of the symposium was to hear and respond to what others had to say. It was also agreed to have no more than five Christian observers, non-Jewish people who have and are committed to the same goals as those set up by the committee. A letter of invitation was sent to messianic Jewish leaders in which the intention and goals were clearly stated.
The purpose of the symposium
“The purpose of the symposium is to provide a forum for members of the broader Messianic Jewish community to articulate their beliefs with an expectation that they will receive a respectful hearing, but without the expectation that agreement concerning these beliefs will be achieved. The Symposium is designed to provide an internal platform for leaders to better understand each other and the various positions held within the Messianic movement.
In addition it is hoped that the Symposium will facilitate ongoing theological discussion among members of the broader Messianic Jewish community and lead towards a greater mutual understanding within the movement, providing opportunities to deepen personal relationships and foster fellowship in the Messiah.”
Common values
It was also stated that those participating will have to share basic common values, which were defined as follows:
“We are Jews who believe in Yeshua and in God’s covenant with Israel, and as members of the Jewish community, are committed to the welfare of our people.
We believe in the authority of Scripture and the deity of Yeshua, and that eternal life is the gift of God in Messiah Yeshua our Lord.
We feel compelled by the spirit of God to advance the good news of Yeshua among our people.
We desire to preserve the unity and secure the future of the Messianic Jewish movement and our common mission through respectful dialogue, without acrimony even in the face of critical disagreements.”
The theme of the symposium was The Gospel and the Jewish People, and the selected format was to have a moderator and then three or four presenters who usually brought different perspectives on the same subject, after which the theme was opened for open discussion.
The symposium was opened by Barry Rubin, President of Messianic Jewish Resources, who welcomed all in behalf of the Steering Committee. He was followed by David Rudolph, who spoke on “Guidelines for Healthy Theological Discussion.” Mitch Glaser, President of Chosen People Ministries, had agreed to coordinate the event in New York City, closed the evening speaking on “The Need for and Expectations for the Symposium Goals”.
The first session
The first session, which was moderated by Akiva Cohen, discussed the subject of “The Gospel Message” and the speakers were Rachel Wolf, Stuart Dauermann and Arnold Fruchtenbaum. In Rachel Wolf’s paper, “What is our Message” she says
“The Messianic Movement was born of God’s spirit, a miraculous birth. Because of the radical life-change most of us experienced, and because of our sense of destiny, our message is intimately connected with how we understand ourselves. Our identity and our message are intertwined. The clarity and content of our message depends on the clarity and content of our identity.” The issue in question was that we often speak of the imperative to share the Gospel, the Good News of Messiah, with our Jewish people, but what exactly does the Bible mean by the term “the Gospel” or the “Good News”?
Stuart Dauermann tackled the issue of urgency. In the paper he presented, titled What Is The Gospel We Should Be Commending To All Israel In These Times Of Transition?, Dauermann states
“Today I want to pull the covers off a sleepy movement, arousing all of us to a unified, demanding, and sacrificial evangelistic mandate, appropriate to our times, to the whole counsel of God, and to our identity as the Remnant of Israel. Mine is a call to inconvenience: it is a call to radical change. Mine is a call to sacrifice: it is call to risk and discomfort. And above all, mine is a call to seek, speak, and live a gospel that is good news for all Israel.”
The final speaker on this segment was Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, who on his paper “The Condition of Salvation For Jews and Gentiles in This Age” answered the question by saying
“Exactly what must one do to be saved? According to the Scriptures, what is it that a person must do to be saved? The key point as emphasized by the Brit Chadashah is that faith is the one and only condition for salvation. In more than 200 cases where a condition is given for salvation, faith or belief is stated to be the only condition.”
The second session
The second session dealt with the topic “Salvation and the Jewish People.” How does one attain salvation? Is there a different way of salvation for Jewish people and Gentiles? Russ Resnik, General Secretary of the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations, was the moderator. The session was open by Mark S. Kinzer with his paper “Final Destinies: Qualifications for Receiving an Eschatological Inheritance.” His presentation followed with unique interest as Dr. Kinzer adheres to the belief defined as unconscious mediation, signifying by this that the people of Israel may be saved through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus, without their conscious individual acceptance of Him. Among his arguments, Kinzer states
“What qualifications must individual human beings possess to inherit life in the world to come? Underlying this general question is a more specific one: Do we have grounds for hope that some who do not explicitly acknowledge Yeshua before death will be among those who inherit life in the world to come? Within the Messianic Jewish movement the driving concern is even more specific: Do we have grounds for hope that some Jewish people who do not explicitly acknowledge Yeshua in this life will be among the redeemed in the world to come? I call this the question of final destinies. In my view, the good news proclaimed and lived by the apostles is primarily concerned with final destiny (in the singular): the eschatological consummation of covenant history and the created order in Messiah Yeshua by God's Spirit. Most Messianic Jews would also consider salvation as dealing prominently with nations, and in particular with the nation of Israel.”
Kinzer’s presentation was followed by Michael Rydelnik, Professor of Jewish Studies and Bible Moody Bible Institute who addressed the question of the need for conscious faith in Yeshua and whether there can be different methods of salvation for Jew and gentiles. Rydelnik responded to this question saying
“The New Covenant consistently seems to affirm that Jewish people, or Gentiles, must have conscious faith in Yeshua to experience God’s forgiveness and receive the promise of life in the world to come.” But he added “Certainly, God would not hold people accountable for failing to believe in someone of whom they had never had. This is uniquely true of the Jewish people and Yeshua, since for the most part, the only message Jewish people have received of Yeshua is the distorted one proclaimed by the historic Church. The true Yeshua was blotted out by the anti-Torah, supercessionist, anti-Jewish Jesus forced upon the Jewish people for centuries. According to this view, God would be unjust if he failed to overlook Jewish unbelief because the good news of Yeshua was so distorted by the Church.”
Rydelnik argues that there is no other way to be saved other than through the work of Jesus, but this message needs to be proclaimed by those who have believed, thus the urgency of proclaiming this message to the Jewish people.
Closing this segment was Dr. John Fischer, Dean of St. Petersburg Theological Seminary and president of the International Messianic Jewish Alliance with his paper “The View From Here.” Fischer addresses the question of Salvation and the Jewish people from personal perspectives emanating entirely from Bible texts. Speaking of salvation he declares,
“However, this raises the question about the minority—regardless of how small or how large it may be. What about those who respond positively and correctly to the information they do have, and have not yet heard about Yeshua—or have not encountered a clear and accurate presentation of his message? Again the biblical texts provide some guiding principles. God makes a way to get these positively-responding individuals the information necessary to take the next step. In fact, it appears that he often “goes out of his way” to do so”.
An animated and intense period of question and answers followed and those participating on the symposium were able to add their own views and expressed their own ideas to this subject.
The third session
The third session, moderated by Messianic Rabbi Michael Wolf of the Messianic Jewish Alliance of America, discussed the subject “Presenting the Gospel to our Jewish People”.
The purpose of this discussion was to answer the questions How do we proclaim the Good News to the Jewish people? What strategies and methods are effective? How do we reach the various elements of the Jewish community – from the most Orthodox to those who are part of our contemporary postmodern culture? The presenters came from different backgrounds and spheres of action so they were able to bring different and challenging perspectives on this subject. They were Sam Nadler, renown Messianic Jewish writer, Susan Perlman, Director of Communications of Jews for Jesus, Vladimir Pikman, Director of Beit Sar Shalom in Germany, who brought a unique perspective from a European view, and Tsvi Sadan, Israeli Messianic Jewish scholar.
Sam Nadler offered his views on this subject on his paper, “The Good News proclamation by the Messianic congregation,” where he makes the following statement:
“My thesis is that for me messianic congregations best accomplish the proclamation of the Good News to my people. By Good News I understand that in Messiah Yeshua, God has faithfully confirmed His Abrahamic promises to Israel redeeming all who have faith in Him. By congregation (e.g., kehilah, edah, synagogue), I mean a local community of disciples that gather regularly for prayer and teaching, in mutual accountability to Scriptural authority, as opposed to a weekly bible study or a fellowship meeting, that may also meet regularly, and contain both prayer and teaching, but would lack the mutual accountability to Scriptural authority. By “messianic” I refer to the faith in Messiah expressed in a biblically Jewish frame of reference. There are three basic values generating the kavanah-driven methodology that actively proclaims the Good News to my people through a messianic synagogue.”
Susan Perlman, on her paper “Presenting the Gospel to the Jewish People: an assessment of what is and a plea for the future,” makes the following observation:
“I am convinced that in our hearts most of us believe we think we know the most effective ways to make Messiah known to our Jewish people. In the same way, we tend to conclude that other methods are not as effective. But to be honest, all that data out there is mostly old and not anything close to comprehensive. Perhaps the largest study done was over twenty years ago by Jews for Jesus (Mitch Glaser and Beverly Jamison) in which the first 1,014 responses were used as the sample. The most common initial attraction to the gospel cited by Jewish believers was through individuals and the most common agent directly influencing spiritual decision was individual as well.”
Vladimir Pikman of Germany offered another perspective on the same. On his paper “Presenting The Gospel To The Jewish People: Communicational Perspective” he says
“An evangelistic question that is usually asked is “How are we going to present the Gospel to our Jewish people?” Such question has “we” in the center. In order to be oriented toward other Jewish people we should rephrase the question – “How are our Jewish people going to hear the Gospel?” It makes a big change in the perspective, helping us to get less selfish. In this case we start to better appreciate ministries of others and stop thinking in terms of only “our” programs and projects. It frees us for partnership with others. It is also important to keep in mind that people have to be reached not for “us” (our congregation, ministry, etc.) but for the Messiah.”
The closing paper “Keruv as Guiding Principle for Proclamation of the Good News” was given by Israeli scholar Tzvi Sadan. In his though provoking presentation Sadan makes the statement that
“Strategies and methods will always be the outcome of specific worldviews. Let me illustrate what this means. Before the destruction of Gush Katif, leading rabbis proclaimed: “It shall never happen”. This false prophecy was based upon a certain worldview that assumes a God who operates according to predictable patterns. The strategy and the methods resulting from it were: Since they have God on their side, all the would-be evacuees had to do was to hug their opponents, or as their slogan said: “we have love and it shall win.” This was a strategy of compliance rather than resistance. The result of that strategy was a resounding failure. Now, if present strategies of the proclamation of the Good News and the methods resulting from them are to be understood, we must try to understand what shapes the present and prevalent Messianic Jewish worldview. Only after such a process wherein we are rigorously honest with ourselves and willing to be vulnerable – even to the point of discomfort – can present existing strategies be truly identified and examined for their actual value.”
The discussion that followed was lively, and even at times contentious, as some of the views presented original and controversial, yet there was deference and respect both to the presenters and to those speaking from the floor. It is worth pointing out that all attendees whether presenters or participants were equally qualified to speak on the subject and they were invited on this basis. Needles to say, the open discussions that followed the presentations became as important as the papers themselves.
The closing event
The closing event of the symposium was at a banquet whose theme was “The Future of our Movement.” The two speakers were, Jason Sobel, representing the younger generation of scholars and leaders, and Joel Chernoff, General Secretary of the Messianic Jewish Alliance of America.
Jason Sobel, gave an outstanding speech that was received as a plea and encouragement to leave a legacy to those like him, who will be the ones responsible in carrying the Messianic Jewish movement into the next decades. Sobel is involved in networking with younger Messianic Jewish individuals and embodies a new generation of young scholars so his words regarding the future of our movement were appropriate. Having heard Sobel’s speech we are assured that God is raising a new generation of strong leaders, giving us the assurance of a bright future.
Joel Chernoff gave a report on how the movement is involved in the life of the Jewish community, especially in charitable work done in Israel in behalf of Messianic Jews. Chernoff indicated that we are no longer a movement to be ignored but are becoming part of the fabric of the Jewish community.
I had the privilege to give the closing remarks, where I spoke of our movement as heir of a long line of faithful Jewish believers in Jesus and the mandate we have received to continue carrying the message that has been entrusted to our generation, yet looking ahead at the movement with renewed optimism. I pointed out that I was ordained by Emmanuel Lichtenstein, son of the 19th century Jewish rabbi Isaac Lichtenstein, and how I continue the work initiated by my father, the late Victor Sedaca. We are part of a long line of Jewish believers in Jesus, and as the line goes back for generations, it will also continue on for generations to come, until the return of the Lord Jesus.
Will there be a future similar symposium?
Summarizing the event and evaluating its success, one can truly say that this forum provided the leadership of the messianic Jewish movement with a platform where we all were able to listen to what others had to say, an opportunity to renew friendships and affirm each other, while respecting and accepting our differences. I believe that this symposium was what we had all hoped for and much more. The full text of the papers delivered at the Borough Park Symposium is available at www.boroughparksymposium.com Will there be a future similar symposium? There was certainly an expressed interest of meeting again to discuss other relevant issues within this framework. The organizing committee felt that we had accomplished what we set out to obtain, namely, to organize an event where Jewish believers in Jesus can come together and learn from each other. The spirit of brotherly love and unity within diversity experienced at this event was clearly expresses when at the closing of the event we all erupted spontaneously singing “Hine Ma Tov,” How beautiful and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in harmony.”
David Sedaca
davidsedaca@yahoo.com