Justice, Jesus and the Jews: A Proposal for Jewish-Christian Relations Book

Justice, Jesus, and the Jews centers on our common root, the Hebrew Bible, and the relationship of the Jewish prophet Jesus of Nazareth to his ancestral heritage. The correspondence between the biblical notion of justice and Jesus? proclamation of the reign of God raises a number of questions for both Jews and Christians. It also provides a common ground or lens for Jewish-Christian dialogue. The hope is that the focus upon justice will deepen that dialogue. Justice is an issue that can unite Jews and Christians rather than divide them. Justice, Jesus, and the Jews explores the foundational question of how justice is to be understood as mediated through the written Torah of the Hebrew tradition and the oral proclamation of the historical Jesus. In particular, was Jesus seeking to express what was deepest and best in the traditions of his own people? Profound differences do exist and any final unification and reconciliation awaits God?s future. However, while the differences remain, there are many issues that bring us together. Not the least of these is justice. The retrieval of the Hebrew notion of justice and Jesus? relationship to it may serve to challenge and to renew both the Jewish and the Christian traditions and to provide a lens for developing a closer relationship in these more ecumenical times. Such, at least, is the hope and project of Justice, Jesus, and the Jews. But there are difficulties along the way and distinctions that must be made. Chapter 1 reviews current issues in Jewish-Christian relations, specifically whether Jewish-Christian dialogue is possible, the necessity and difficulty in reading each other?s texts (using the Gospel of Matthew as an example), three ways in which the Hebrew Scriptures are read, and finally the key issue of this book as it emerges in relation to other possible issues. Chapter 2 elicits from a reading of the Tanakh a biblical understanding of justice. Corresponding to the Hebrew understanding of justice, Chapter 3 employs the methods of historical criticism as applied to the Gospels in order to engage the question of what Jesus might have intended by justice in his historical mission to Israel. Justice, Jesus, and the Jews will appeal to academicians, graduate students, and others who want a scholarly or professional reference work, especially those interested in the Jewish-Christian dialogue.Read More