Christians say that Jesus is God. But isn’t this understanding just a misinterpretation or twisting of Scripture? Or maybe it’s an invention of the New Testament authors, not embraced by Yeshua Himself. Isn’t the idea of a man being God in total conflict with the Hebrew Scriptures? Not so fast! In this episode, Kevin considers at the biblical legitimacy of Yeshua’s deity, and whether or not the Hebrew Scriptures—the “Old Testament”—teaches that the Messiah is also God.
Why is traditional, Rabbinic Judaism so deeply embedded in the culture and expression of the typical Messianic Jewish synagogue service and community? Why have Messianics adopted Judaism in this way? Does it actually make us better disciples of Messiah? In what way does Judaism really support and reinforce the Jewishness of a Messianic Jew? In this episode, Kevin explains the vast difference between being Jewish and being “Judaismish,” and expresses concern about the danger that relying on non-Messianic Judaism creates for the faithful keeping of Scripture.
It might come as a surprise, but most Jewish people actually know very little about the Bible. Today’s Jewish people have grown increasingly secular and humanistic, with no standard frame of reference where it comes to spiritual or religious topics. But despite the vast differences in beliefs among Jews, one thing you can almost always count on is that Jewish people are highly unlikely to know is the truth about the most important Jew who ever lived: Yeshua. In this episode, Kevin discusses five biblical facts that most every Jewish doesn’t know—but needs to—in order to learn the truth about the true, Jewish Messiah.
What determines whether someone is Jewish? Is it strictly ethnic lineage, or is there something else? Is someone a Jew only if they have Jewish parents or grandparents? What if you have distant Jewish heritage? Can you gain or lose your identity as a Jew through conversion? Are Christians spiritual Jews? In this episode, Kevin addresses the confusion and wide range of questions about who the Bible considers to be a Jew, and the eternal importance of that answer.
When believers in Yeshua first come in to a Messianic or Hebraic understanding of the faith, it can be an exciting and spiritually invigorating time. But as you begin to navigate this new, unfamiliar territory, it can also be confusing. Is this a Jewish faith? Is it Christian? Is it somewhere in the middle? And despite having moved on from one brand of religion, you end up just exchanging it for another one, mistaking it for a “true faith” in God. In this episode, Kevin addresses this blind spot that many believers have whenever they begin traveling a new spiritual path, and suggests a way to successfully reach God without religion.
It has been an issue in modern Messianic Jewish congregations basically since the beginning: many Gentile congregants have felt like second-class citizens in part because they’ve heard the often-repeated refrain, “to the Jew first.” In this episode, Kevin looks at the Scriptures to determine if this possible doctrine of favoritism has any basis in Scripture, and, if so, whether it is compatible with the Bible’s call for unity between Jews and Gentiles.
For a full week every year, beginning at Passover, God commands Israel to eat only food made without leaven (matzah) as a reminder of how God brought freedom to Israel and rescued them from their slavery in Egypt forever. In this episode, Kevin helps you to inwardly prepare yourself for the Passover season with a powerful insight into the matzah that will reveal and convict your heart of your true reality in Yeshua.
As Messianic Jews, what should our attitude be toward Jewish tradition? According to some, Paul tells us that we should keep the traditions of Judaism, just as long as they don’t contradict or violate Scripture. But is such an assertion really true? In this episode, Kevin closely examines the teachings of Paul and Yeshua for a Scriptural view of tradition.
Many Jewish and Gentile Messianics are drawn to Chanukah in large part because of how they see Chanukah fulfilled in Yeshua. But what if injecting Jesus into a Jewish holiday isn’t the point? What if the real point of Chanukah isn’t about miracles, latkes and lights, but something far more powerful and fundamental to our faith? In this episode, Kevin explains how knowing the real story of Chanukah will effect not just how you celebrate it, but how you walk with Yeshua in your everyday life.
The Messianic Literal Translation of the New Covenant Scriptures (MJLT NCS) is not just an important Messianic Bible translation that restores its Jewishness. It’s also an objectively excellent, reliable version that uniquely presents and preserves the word of God. In this episode, Kevin picks his five favorite features of the MJLT and explains how they each contribute to making it such a solid Bible version, setting it apart from all other versions of the Bible.
a Perfect Word Ministry
