The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus

by Amy-Jill Levine

In the The Misunderstood Jew , scholar Amy-Jill Levine helps Christians and Jews understand the "Jewishness" of Jesus so that their appreciation of him deepens and a greater interfaith dialogue can take place. Levine's humor and informed truth-telling provokes honest conversation and debate about how Christians and Jews should understand Jesus, the New Testament, and each other.

Genres: Religion, Theology, History, Judaism, Christianity, Nonfiction, Spirituality

250 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Amy-Jill Levine is University Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies and Mary Jane Werthan Professor of Jewish Studies at Vanderbilt Divinity School and Department of Jewish Studies. Her books include The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus; Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi; four children's books (with Sandy Sasso); The Gospel of Luke (with Ben Witherington III); and The Jewish Annotated New Testament (co-edited with Marc Z. Brettler). Her most recent books are The Bible With and Without Jesus: How Jews and Christians Read the Same Stories Differently (co-authored with Marc Z. Brettler), Sermon on the Mount: A Beginner's Guide to the Kingdom of Heaven; and The Kingdom of Heaven: 40 Devotionals. In 2019 she became the first Jew to teach New Testament at Rome's Pontifical Biblical Institute. Professor Levine, who has done over 300 programs for churches, clergy groups, and seminaries, has been awarded grants from the Mellon Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the American Council of Learned Societies. Institutions granting her honorary degrees include Christian Theological Seminary and the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest.

Reviews

[Mara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was here for the shade at Christian theological education throughout this (though not sure if those not inside baseball would care about some of those elements?), but beyond that, this really made me rethink many of the things I was taught when I was an evangelical about that Jesus' Jewish identity. This has some great thoughts towards interfaith dialogue, and overall, thought provoking and engaging if this is an area of interest for you

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a difficult book for me to rate and review. On the one hand, it was well written and thought provoking. Levine gave me much food for thought here. She makes many valid criticisms of Christian interpretation of Scripture throughout history, as well as the way that Christians have treated Jews.

I was truly shocked to read about how some passages of the New Testament have been used to degrade or even persecute Jewish people. Yes, Jesus was a Jew and the disciples were too. She points out that many Christian interpretations of the Gospel have gone too far. In order to make Jesus look better, many interpreters, pastors, etc. have born "false witness" against the Judaism of the 1st century. She seems like a thorough scholar, but I have heard some interpretations (for instance that Jesus was protecting women from a divorce culture that allowed men to divorce their wives willy-nilly) so often that I find myself wanting to do my own fact-checking. This is never a bad thing. Goodness knows that there are plenty of spurious readings of the Bible floating around with little to no exegetical proof!

On the other hand, she falls into wanting to separate Paul's gospel from Peter and James quite often. The second chapter was the worst for this. She also claims that certain events described in the NT are improbable, such as the dispute between Paul and Peter over eating with gentiles or the guards at the tomb claiming to have fallen asleep in order to convince the Jewish population that Jesus' body had been stolen by the disciples.

N.T. Wright said in one of his lectures that there are some scholars that make Jesus so cozy with Judaism that it's inconceivable that he would have been crucified. I get this vibe from Levine a lot. While she thinks it's a cop-out for people to translate certain passages about Jews being resistant to Jesus as "the Jewish leaders" or "Judeans", she also likes to point out that many of the Jews would not have had a problem with what Jesus was doing or teaching. She makes the case that the Temple itself wasn't the problem--maybe the High Priest and other Temple management wasn't so great from time to time--but that Jesus and his disciples (even after the resurrection) spent a great deal of time in the Temple...so it had to be a fine system. She doesn't seem to offer any alternative explanations for why Jesus was crucified. Part of this could be that she wrote this book to promote Jewish-Christian dialogue and relations.

Over-all I felt ping-ponged between one star and four star material, so I found it a bit draining. However, this is an important discussion that every Christian should engage in. I would love to see some scholarly dialogue with this book. Dr. Ben Witherington III (BW3) gave it an endorsement (one of the main reasons I bought the book), but I can't believe that he wouldn't take Levine to task on a few things at least.

[Sleepless Dreamer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is fantastic.

I spent a lot of time with Christians throughout this year. It left me with a lot of complicated feelings. With a lot of scholarly and theological knowledge as well as practical experience, Levine managed to untangle some of them.

On the one hand, I was deeply impressed by Christianity as a whole. Every church I've entered was full of friendly people who put genuine effort into making me comfortable. I felt a sense of earnestness, as if churches were a space where sarcasm and cynicism could not exist. It felt safe, the services were usually so beautiful and heartfelt.

And yet, as a Jew, I was met by so much antisemitism. I had to leave the Easter service because it physically hurt to hear my people be described this way, especially in Korea, a country that does not have a Jewish population. Beyond the overt antisemitism, I felt that Christians didn't know anything about my culture but they claimed to. Their readings of shared texts are far from how Jews read them yet most Christians I've met do not give space for my interpretation. Jews feel like a symbol for Christians, not like a living and breathing culture (and Koreans reaching out to touch me when I said I'm Jewish was not welcome).

It feels like Levine wrote this book for me.

Essentially, she claims that both Jews and Christians would gain by understanding Jesus as a Jew speaking to Jews within the context of first century Judea. For Christians, this allows a deeper understanding of their texts, as certain parts are misinterpreted without learning the culture in which he lived. For Jews, this reduces some animosity and allows to reclaim Jesus, not as a savior, but as a really cool Jew. For interfaith dialogue, this is a strong beginning of a conversation.

Along the way, Levine tackles a lot of the stigmas of both sides. For example, some Christians tend to frame Judaism as the old, lawful, vengeful and sexist religion, countered by the new, loving, forgiving and feminist Christianity. This is an outlook that is not only offensive but as Levine looks at the scriptures and historical evidence, is inaccurate to the context Jesus spoke to. Levine discusses the various ways in which Judaism has been understood in Christian eyes and how this varies from the Jewish understanding of itself.

For Jews, Christianity is often reduced to a massive block, with little understanding of the nuances. I'm deeply grateful to the Christian friends in my life for constantly teaching me how complex the branches of Christianity are. I see this problem in Judaism, in which Jews do not seek to engage with Christians.

Another useful example for me was considering how Jesus was crucified because he posed a political threat to the Roman Empire, as someone adapting a status of a king. Many Christians frame Jesus as though he was a threat to the Jews themselves, even though his work seems very much in line with Jewish thought. Criticizing the Jewish establishment as a Jew in a Jewish context is so different than being a modern Christian reading these texts and thinking of modern day Judaism.

Reading this slowly helped me feel better about my experiences. It helped me understand why Christians around me viewed things the way that they did, and how it all makes sense considering how little we both know of each other.

All in all, this is a must read for Jews and Christians alike. It is eye-opening and absolutely fascinating.

What I'm Taking With Me
- the final chapter is a list of practical thoughts for Jews and Christians and I absolutely want to reread it before I go to a church again.

- Levine points out that some Jews walk into churches and feel entitled to receive an apology. I realized that this is true for me. As Levine says, I am not a representative of all Jews and I cannot grant Christians forgiveness.

- Man, I wish I knew as much as Levine about theology, it is so cool to see her grasp of all these texts

[Dennis Fischman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amy-Jill Levine is an Orthodox Jewish woman who teaches New Testament Studies at a Christian college. She is well positioned to speak to people in both religious camps. I was not surprised to hear that Jesus and his followers were Jews all their lives, nor that a lot of the anti-Jewish thinking and writing crept into Christianity at the point where it attempted to win over gentile followers throughout the Roman empire. I was also familiar with the idea that the Gospels are historical documents, and read critically, they can tell Jews something about life in Roman-occupied Judea in the first century CE (although I think all of these ideas are not broadly understood).

The main points she made that were somewhat new to me and that stuck with me are these:

1. Most Christians (including theologians and preachers) have formed erroneous pictures of what Jewish life was like back then by taking the Gospels out of context--and many think Judaism froze in place at the time of Jesus, and we still sacrifice animals, etc.

2. To teach progressive and even liberating interpretations of Jesus' message, these Christian writers and preachers have set up a straw man--a Judaism that is monolithic and repressive--and assumed that Jesus was reacting AGAINST it, when many of his ideas were either standard Jewish ideas or developed from them.

3. This "bad Judaism, good Jesus" approach doesn't have to MEAN to foster contempt and hatred for Jews in order to do just that...even in countries in Asia and in Africa where most people have hardly met any Jews.

4. Jews have also read the Gospels naively, not realizing what interpretations Christian thinkers have developed from them (for good and ill). Jews have too often treated Christians as a bloc, as if Catholic and Orthodox, Presbyterian and Southern Baptist teachings were all the same thing.

5. We should not ask any religious or cultural group to be happy to disappear, or to give up the beliefs at its core. We should expect people to be critical of their own traditions, seeking historical truth AND figuring out how to live together. We should cultivate "holy envy" for what is beautiful and meaningful in traditions other than our own.

This is a short book, easy to read, but I have not succeeded in summarizing it. You should read it--and then write back to me about what you learned!

[Lee Harmon · Rating 5 out of 5]

What started out as a light-hearted look at the Jewish Jesus quickly turned somber. This is a serious look at the pain that anti-Semitic interpretations of the Bible have caused and continue to cause. Levine, a Jew, has an excellent grasp of New Testament studies, so this is more than a rant against Christian prejudice. It's a serious look at the real Jesus, his Jewishness, and Christianity's emergence within first-century Judaism. A provocative quote from the book: "I find Jesus reflects back to me my own tradition, but in a new key. I also have to admit to a bit of pride in thinking about him--he's one of ours."

Over and over, Levine contradicts misunderstandings about Judaism, particularly first-century Judaism, and the stereotypes that have developed as a result of shallow Christian teaching. She does so from both a Jewish and a scholarly perspective. Levine made me think differently about first-century Judaism and how Jesus fit within that context.

Because I've never keenly felt the sting of anti-Semitism, or felt myself anti-Semitic in any way, much of the book was an eye opener. I felt myself often teetering on the edge between thinking Levine oversensitive and thinking her insightful. Example: Paul writes in Galatians 3:28, "There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave and free, there is no longer male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus." In this verse, Levine admits, "I hear a desire that my people, the Jews, cease to exist."

While a scholar myself of first-century Christianity, I confess its sometimes hard for me to relate to current day Jewish-Christian tensions. On the other hand, your shrink will tell you that feelings are the ultimate truth; Christians must validate the feelings that their teachings evoke among Jews, and seek to correct the source. Levine's final chapter provides several helpful suggestions to facilitate interfaith understanding.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading the Bible as a lifelong Christian means it is easy to accept certain things about the story rather uncritically. While we recognize that Jesus was Jewish, we tend to contrast Jesus with most other Jews of his day. We also tend to assume a straight line from the Old Testament Law to the Jews of Jesus’ day to the Jews of our day. What we do not realize is that there was a lot of development of what it meant to be Jewish in both of those periods.

Amy Jill-Levine has done Christians everywhere a huge service with her book The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of Jesus. She writes with humor and wit, especially early on. Yet as you move through the book much of this is left behind and the tone becomes somber as she attacks the anti-Semitism she sees in the Church throughout history and today. The biggest benefit of this book is that Jesus is placed deeply within his cultural context, a context much richer than we often make it. Levine takes familiar texts and asks questions that Christians do not ask. She helps us see where our assumptions about first-century Judaism have led to a misreading of texts. Further, this book is not just for Christians. Early on Levine points out the irony that Jews today have no problem celebrating great Jews of the past from Freud to Einstein to Marx (Karl and Groucho) but not Jesus. By seeing Jesus as a Jew, Levine argues he can be appreciated as a Jew.

As I read there were moments when I began to wonder if Levine’s Jesus was so Jewish as to not stand out in the first century. To put it another way, if he fit in so well to his culture, why on earth was he crucified? For Levine, the answer is that Jesus could garner opposition to some of his claims without every single thing he did being totally new and radical. Jesus can be unique, to Christians, even if some of what he did was not totally unprecedented but instead fit nicely with segments of Jewish thought in the first century. Or as Levine puts it, “Jesus does not have to be unique in all cases in order to be profound.”

Overall, an enlightening and engaging read. I highly recommend this book for pastors and I hope I keep in mind some of its lessons when I talk about Jesus.

[Bruno · Rating 4 out of 5]

Outstanding. Levine takes few prisoners in this witty, acerbic,and pointed defense of the Jewishness of Jesus of Nazareth. In my opinion, her eloquent (yet vicious) take on the WCC was worth the price of the book. As a facilitator in a Protestant Bible study group, I constantly badger our folks to remember that we Christians stole this Jew - He did not come to earth to form a new religion but to justify and fulfill Judaism. The church fathers of the first and second century drove home the wedges that separate these two religions to this day - I only wish that it did not have to be that way. And stop already with the "Jews are Christ killers"! The victors get to control the history and Rome was in charge at that time. Had the Gospel writers blamed the Romans - the Gospels would not have survived. Jews, on the other hand, were fair game. Jesus was a political threat to Rome's power in Judea - He died a death of a political prisoner.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book has several liabilities: chapters are too long; at times, it feels Levine belabors her point, which, in turn, betrays her bias; unequivocally, the book is inaccurately named (the book is much less about Jesus and much more about the early church; it argues for the Christian to cease anti-Jewish rhetoric and sloppy scholarship about the New Testament and rather contextualizes the same within its proper Jewish setting).

In reading several reviews from other GoodReads members, I agree with the suggestion that this book fizzles out and loses its way. What starts as informative transforms into argument, and not one very useful to the reader seeking to learn about the ancient church/Jesus of Nazareth (as the title promises).

All that in mind, Levine's insights in the early chapters of the book are powerful and persuasive. This work has forced me to question the things I have been taught about the New Testament (and Jesus, by proxy) and had begun me on a journey to learn more about the Church's early leaders.

[Rhiannon Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

A useful examination of the misunderstandings which abound about Jesus and his Judaism. It corrects many common errors and calls for further work, especially continuing and improving interfaith dialogue.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good narrative on how the post-Jesus movement of "the Way" morphed into the Christian sect. And on how Cardinal Ratzinger's Pontifical Bible Commission in 2001 rejected both supersessionism and reading back into the OT supposed references to Christ. Two points too little known by Catholics.

Plus throughout her helpful suggestions on placing Jesus within not a Galilean or Palestinian or liberation theology or radical feminist context but that of his reality within rabbinic Judaism and the role of the Second Temple. Not as an iconoclast, but one of many critics of its corruption. Levine regards Jesus as not a "cleric" but itinerant sage-healer who responded with his own takes on the Law, rather than as if on behalf of a profession (this got a bit muddled, in my opinion, in her telling.)

I always wondered, given her subsequent books, how she got interested in this theme. She grew up in a Portuguese suburb of Boston, and found herself precociously parsing what she knew from Hebrew school against antisemitic jibes of her Catholic classmates, setting in motion her life's scholarship. Her own life's study sounds intriguing and I wouldn't for once minded more of an author's backstory.

One aspect she only lightly touches upon is messianic Judaism. I'd have wanted more in-depth insight into this phenomenon, how it does or doesn't differ from the community of the early Church, and why one can't, as she implies, remain mixing two categories which can't coalesce. I'm not sure why she treats this topic so sparingly, but given its widespread appeal among certain of her "cousins," seems to me it deserves its own chapter within an investigation into the ways Christians get "Jews" wrong. And vice-versa. Although given mismatched odds, more blame falls with the Christian supermajority.

She writes engagingly, avoids sermonizing, keeps self-deprecating or firmly principled depending on the situation, and integrates deep learning with a conversational tone without condescending or lording herself over the reader. She expects us to focus on serious material which has caused whether intentional or not, immense damage over two millennia, and her prescriptions for how to heal some of the Jewish-Christian (and a bit of Islamic) misunderstandings offer practical solutions which those who claim to speak from pulpit, bimah, post, soundbite, publication, and "Interfaith dialogue" need to take with the proper degrees of humility, honesty, and conviction. In an era fourteen years later where many anti-Jewish assertions go unchallenged, her messages are more important than ever.

[Allan Nail · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an amazing, surprising exploration of the quintessentially Jewish Jesus at the heart of Christianity. That is the book at its core, but it also details the split between 1c Judaism and the nascent Christian church. What it is not is an argument against Christianity from a Jewish perspective, though it does touch on some of the reasons why Jesus’ message to his fellow Jews did not “take” as Paul and the other church elders wanted it to, and how that led to a church that gradually began defining in contrast to Judaism. Unfortunately, that oppositional defining led to systemic anti-Judaism that is so ingrained in the popular imagination —and in the libraries and bookstores of Christendom— that one wonders if Levine’s hope of eliminating this obstacle to interfaith dialog is possible. She does believe this, and the book does what few academic examinations do, but which I love: provides detailed suggestions for those who wish to pursue positive dialog between these two Abrahamic traditions in good faith. As someone who grew up in the church, left that church, and is now husband to a Jewish woman and father to a Jewish child, my mind was opened to a better understanding of Christianity’s relationship with and to Judaism. My hope is that this book, which I imagine I will read again and again, can aid me in guiding my Jewish son as he travels in a largely Christian world, without bitterness and with understanding of his own heritage and its relationship to the faith of his father’s people.

[Dani · Rating 5 out of 5]

While at times this book was drier and took a lot of brainpower to follow, I did find it very interesting. The premise of her book is that Jews and Christians can improve their relations by acknowledging and appreciating Jesus’ Jewishness. This is going to sound so silly, but I now feel like I understand what it means to say that Jesus was Jewish. I found the last 1/4 of the book the most interesting. I read this in a book club with Sadie, and I have learned a lot from her about Christianity (specifically Catholicism) that I think really helped me understand this book better (hopefully the same can be said for her).

[Geoff Glenister · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a little torn as to how to rate this. There was some really excellent, invaluable insight here, and I think that it would do the world a lot of good if every Christian minister would read this book and take it very seriously.

However, I have a few critiques.

First of all - the title. The title gave me the impression that the book was going to be mostly a Jewish look at Jesus (or, how to understand Jesus through a Jewish lense, since Jesus was Jewish). And there is some of that in this book - but it felt like the book spent a lot more time looking at all the ways the church has messed up and been anti-Jewish.

That brings me to my second critique - I feel like, in situations like this, an author should spend more time giving the details of the solution to a problem than the problem itself. This book spent almost the entire book talking about the problem of anti-Jewishness in the church, and didn't really get to any suggestions for how to solve that problem until the last 10 pages.

Next, I think that I have to critique, as some other users here have done, the fact that Levine's bias really shines through in this book. She spends so much time critiquing the way the church has stereo-typed "the Jews" (specifically first century Jews - in Jesus' time) that it's like she leaves no room for the possibility that Christians have given any insight at all into first century Judaism. It's like she's lecturing the entire world of scholarship on how they all got everything wrong. And in one particular situation - where she critiques an author I'm very familiar with - I felt that she almost deliberately misunderstood him in order to criticize him.

That section was when she criticizes the way Marcus Borg talked about the temple being part of the Domination System. Levine basically argues that the temple was no such thing and neither did anyone think it was at all - her evidence: a list of stories (such as when Mary and Joseph take Jesus to the temple and meet Simeon and Anna) where Jews are going to the temple and not acting as if it is oppressing them. Here's the thing - she's totally misunderstood Borg. Borg is not saying that Rome is not the Domination System, as Levine basically accuses him of doing. Yes, Rome is the Domination System. But what Borg, and other scholars, are doing is to say that the temple was in many ways complicit with Rome's Domination System, and Jesus was trying to call attention to that. Because here's how a good fascist regime works - a good fascist regime is able to spin things so that many people have no idea that they are under a fascist regime. And one of the ways they do this is to divide people against each other. So while Rome had put most of their citizens under a very oppressive tax system, the Temple was insisting that Jews keep paying their tithes (basically a temple tax) or be excommunicated, and was making a big deal of all those "sinners" who didn't keep up their tithes. And so the Temple was making the Domination System worse. That is not to say that there was no value in anything else the Temple did. That is not to say that the Temple was the Domination System all by itself and Rome had nothing to do with it. It is merely pointing out that the Temple, at this point in history, was adding to the problem - and Jesus was trying to call attention to that. So I think Levine is being less than generous with her critique of Borg and other scholars who make this argument.

All that being said - this is a great book, and you should read it.

[Fred Kohn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I always look forward to reading a book by a Jesus scholar, especially one that can bring a fresh perspective from outside the Christian tradition. Unfortunately, while illuminating, this book wasn't particularly edifying. It basically consisted of a long rant against Christians, who apparently, just can't help from misunderstanding Jesus and in the process promote anti-Jewishness at every turn. Nor is this misunderstanding confined to the poor schlubs in the pews but is promoted by Christian scholars of all stripes: Protestant or Catholic, liberal or conservative; none of them can seem to get it right.

As the author explains: "[L]iberation theology, the World Council of Churches, the various Christian churches that sponsor the presses that publish this material– these are all, on the whole, splendid, praiseworthy institutions that do not intend to promote anti-Jewish views ... Thus, the lines I am quoting are selective. But a single line is enough to create or reinforce prejudice; a single line is too much."

With such an attitude, it is not hard to understand why the author finds anti-Jewishness lurking in the most innocent of places. She objects to "[G]alilee is rejected by Gentiles and Jews alike as impure and inferior" because "This reading distinguishes 'Jews' from 'Galileans'... It separates Jesus from Judaism..." No, actually the opposite is true. By lumping together Jews and Gentiles as objectors the statement makes clear that the objection to Galilee and Galileans is of a totally non-religious nature.

But this was nothing compared to the chapter on Distinct Canons, Distinct Practices. Here almost an entire chapter was devoted to the inappropriateness of Christians retitling the Old Testament the Hebrew Canon, and celebrating the Seder. It felt like a replay of the whole thing of Blacks criticizing the way Whites play jazz and criticizing any White attempt at finding a non-offensive way of describing Black people.

Nevertheless, Amy-Jill Levine is clearly a scholar who knows her stuff, and I did pick up a few scholarly tidbits that I was unaware of before. For that, I will give this book an extra star.

[Bruce Katz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative, provocative, sometimes frustrating, and always engaging. I picked up the book in the first place because I recently heard the author speak at a local event. (Well, I also picked it up because I find the subject fascinating.) I would love to sit in on her classes, as I would another scholar in the field, Julie Galumbush.

My favorite parts were the very beginning and the very end — not because the chapters in-between were lacking in any way, but because they had a different motivation behind them.

The book provides much to think about. It’s a complex subject with some shared texts, some distinct texts, and numerous variations in how the texts are/should be read. I have to say that I found the comments left by other readers here and on Amazon to be striking illustrative of the very points Levine makes, particularly when they are disputing her argument.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly, I gave up before I finished. I thought it was interesting at first, but then felt like it was more of an article stretched out into a book.

[Eric Vanden Eykel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an outstanding work of scholarship written by an outstanding scholar. It is lively, accessible, and recommended highly.

[Amanda E. (aebooksandwords) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amy-Jill Levine is an Orthodox Jew and—oddly enough one might think—a New Testament scholar. Her books were introduced to me by a friend who is a Jewish convert to Christianity.

The focus of the book is to make known what the author concludes is a common Jewish perspective on Jesus, Christianity, and the New Testament Scriptures, one that it is important for us to be aware of in order to foster compassionate dialogue between Jews and Christians.

Levine states a key point for all readers of books and Scripture alike: “Each reader and community of readers brings to a text different presuppositions and experiences, and each will emphasize different parts of the text.”

A good bit of her perspective, especially in earlier chapters, may likely be a bit jarring for some Christian believers. Most probably won’t see eye-to-eye on some of the opinions presented. That said, I agree with another reviewer who said some of the ways certain New Testament passages have been used to promote anti-Judaism and mistreatment of Jews is shocking, and having been promoted by Christians makes this horrific.

Truthfully, there were moments I did not fully agree with all of Levine’s thoughts. Some of it also left me unsure and would require further research and study before making a conclusion. However, I want to receive the book as the author presents it, remembering that the point of the book isn’t about agreeing with what is written, but understanding a perspective we may not know: how Jews of today see Jesus, the New Testament, and Christianity so that Christians and Jews can have healthy and helpful conversation and connection in spite of our differences.

If you’re like me, you may not have realized the amount of anti-Jewish teaching, Scripture interpretation, and so forth that is actually out there, even by well-known theologians and preachers. Levine writes (and I agree): “Untrained but well-meaning teachers tend to implant a great deal of religious bigotry.” She also states (in the immensely helpful final chapter) that until people are “aware of what is on the bookshelves, they will have no reason to seek to counter it.”

As stated in the final chapter’s suggestions for healthy interfaith relationships between Christians and Jews, “we need to be able to listen with the ears of our neighbors,” without which, we may unintentionally express “anti-Judaism where none is intended.” And most can agree that listening like this is one way to show loving kindness to those around us. In the words of the author, “look at the other tradition with generosity and seek to see the good.”

Lastly, Levine ends “The Misunderstood Jew,” summarizing its message: “…if the church and synagogue both could recognize their connection to Jesus, a Jewish prophet who spoke to Jews, perhaps we’d be in a better place for understanding.”

[John Martindale · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting hearing a Jewish perspective on Jesus, Levine argued that in order to prop up Christianity and to make Jesus look more progressive and inclusive, many have contrasted Christianity with the ever "regressive" and "exclusive" Judaism, and have (though often quite unintentionally) thus denigrated the Jews in the process and have embraced, what seems to some Jews, very antisemitic interpretations. Levine thinks much of the contrast between "enlightened" Christianity and "oppressive" Judaism are based upon poor scholarship. She brought to my attention how I should be cautious, checking sources and being careful to not over-generalize, and not to look for contrast that are not actually there. Indeed, there were many different view points at the time of Jesus, and finding some sexist Rabbi expressed his an extremely low view of woman, or that a man could divorce his wife for burning the toast, or that woman's testimony was worthless, doesn't mean the Jews were or are as a whole so oppressive towards woman. Just because there were some who looked for a violent and revolutionary Messiah doesn't mean all were looking for this.

Now I do think a very Jewish Jesus engaged in "critique from within", and this was in keeping with the tradition of the prophets, and it isn't necessarily antisemitic to recognize this, I guess this is what I don't think Levine addressed to my satisfaction. Suppose, I like the prophets insistence upon the centrality of concerning for the poor, and the emphasis on righteousness, justice, compassion and mercy over sacrifice, religious rites, etc... it is clear the prophets were reacting against something and in promoting what the prophets promoted, it is natural to contrast it with its antithesis. I'd almost feel Levine would consider any attempt to prop up the Prophets message, by contrasting it with some of the religious and political leaders of the time, which they railed against, would be to denigrate the people. I don't think Levine showed a way to even consider and take serious "critic from within" without it coming off as antisemitic.

It was sad to realize that there really does appear to be some anti-Jewish sentiment in the Gospel of John and a handful of Paul's letters. I always just assumed "Well, they were Jews so they couldn't be antisemitic", But Levine made it look otherwise, indeed it is conceivable for Jewish Christians, reacting to persecution and difference in belief to begin to despise the Jews and place the blame wholly on them for the death of Jesus.

[Sadie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has brought fruitful discussion to me (Catholic) and my wife (Jewish) as we read this together! Chapter one wasn’t overly challenging to me- Jesus is Jewish- yes, duh! Chapter 2 taught me lots of new things about the early church which I found fascinating. Chapter 3 was about anti-Judaism and what’s challenging about defining it/determining if it is being used. I found one part of this chapter particularly challenging to my Christian ears when Levine was trying to place a verse of Mathews’s in historical context (after saying that sometimes history leads to a circular argument). Chapter 4 was very well organized and readable! Chapter 5 was my kicker- a lot of these theologies I subscribe to- that use Judaism as a negative foil to Jesus’ liberation- yikes. Chapter six helped me understand how Jewish canon/theology/writing works better! Chapter 7 was a wonderfully helpful wrap up. The epilogue was lovely and hopeful in my opinion!

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Misunderstood Jew was too scholarly and too detailed for me to read page by page, so I skipped many pages. In order to see if Amy-Jill had written a pleasant-reader-friendly article that would recoup the premise in easy terms, I researched her a bit and found out how prevalent her articles, books, and participation exist in today's world.

Levine's premise and promise are that we need to look back in history and from that look, discover the meaning of what we understand Jesus to have said in terms of the Jewish culture and thinking of Jesus's time. We need to realize that both Jewish and Christian thought has changed during the 2000 years since he lived, therefore both groups have built up misinterpretations of both the New Testament and Old Testament.

The chapters titles can give one a simplification of the author's intent: Introduction, Jesus and Judaism, From Jewish Sect to gentile church, The New Testament and anti-Judaism, Stereotyping Judaism, With friends like these, Distinct canons-distinct practices, Quo Vadis, Epilogue. Of these, I found the first 3 and last 2 the most understandable and helpful to know in life.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amy-Jill Levine is a Jewish professor who teaches New Testament at Vanderbilt. That statement alone should intrigue potential readers. Levine contributes greatly to Jewish-Christian dialogue through this historical study of Jesus and first-century Judaism. If you think you know much about Jesus or about the Judaism he was a part of, I'm willing to bet you know far less than Levine. :) I learned a lot reading this book. It's informed by deep scholarship but it's very readable. It think every Christian minister, theologian, and Sunday School teacher should read it, and any Christian would benefit from it. Jewish people would also appreciate Levine, who is frank but also generous and open to talking with, learning from, and worshipping with Christians. (And even those who are neither Christian nor Jewish can learn much from this book.)

[Juliette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much of this book went over my head: it is written for a higher level, theologically-driven student, not a casual reader like me.

Initially, I thought Levine’s examples were too outlandish (two women asking where she removed her horns, p.102) and offensive (Christians who believe the Temple is emblematic of the hierarchy’s sins, p.149). How could people believe those lies?

But that, I think, is Levine’s point: people believe lies. They could be little lies about horns, and they could be big lies that lead to mass murder.

A friend, around my age, once told me that kids used to throw stones at him and call him a “Jesus killer.” Even 30 years later, he was still sad when he told me.
Hatred isn’t the sole property of the past. And I want to do my very best so that another child isn’t hurt like that, especially not under the guise of Jesus.

We need to be careful of our words. Are we using our words to condemn others and elevate ourselves? Are we using Jesus as a weapon?
Am I taking the time to listen to others and learn? Am I approaching discussions as one who already knows? Am I using my words to build-up and encourage?

I have a lot to consider, and Levine has also encouraged me to read the Bible, again, more thoughtfully.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jesus was a Jew.

This is the main theme of Amy-Jill Levine's book. This is important to remember when we are surrounded by pictures and religious icons suggesting he is white, fair-haired, and blue-eyed. The back of the book suggests that Levine "helps Christians and Jews understand the 'Jewishness' of Jesus so that their appreciation of him deepens and a greater interfaith dialogue can take place." But rather than placing Jesus in His Jewish context to get a better understanding of His life and teachings (as I had hoped), this book places Jesus in His Jewish context to demonstrate the breadth of anti-Semitism and show its flaws.

"The Scandal" Levine refers to in the title is that Jesus is actually a Jew. But to be honest, I never realized that was up for debate.

As conservative (read: backward and judgmental) as my church tradition was growing up, I never picked up on any anti-Semitic teachings regarding "the Jews" being the ones responsible for killing Jesus. Sure, we were taught that a lot of the leadership was corrupt and had their hand in the killing of Jesus, but then they turned Him over to the Romans. But, Jesus was a Jew - so were His followers. Just like there are good and bad of any culture or nation, there were good Jews and bad Jews. Maybe this is something I've been blind to. And of course, now that I've had more experience, I've seen that there is anti-Jewish sentiment in Christianity. But I can't see that it's as widespread as Levine suggests.

Of course, just because I'm not familiar with something doesn't mean I shouldn't learn about it, understand it, and discover it's existence. If I'd never read The New Jim Crow, I'd never have learned how much young black men are still being oppressed in our society. It is up to us to learn and ensure that we do not keep making the same mistakes.

Jill-Levine takes us through the culture, the language and words of the New Testament, the early church, and history; identifying and discussing those things that are anti-Semitic. Is the New Testament anti-Jewish? Was Paul anti-Jewish? With this, she does a wonderful job.

I don't want to take away from Amy-Jill Levine's experience, but the statement "depicting a Jesus who stands out as unique in his Jewish context… is done by painting that Jewish context in noxious colors," is something I don't think I have much experience with. Though there is value in this book with the idea that the "social-justice interests [of Jesus] make him a Jew rather than distinguishing him from Judaism." That is something that I am learning about, and as evidenced in the Old Testament in places like Isaiah 1 and Amos 5. There were likely very devout Jews who followed the scriptures that wouldn't have seen the message of Jesus as quite as radical as we might think.

Interestingly, Levine also turns upside down the (in her words "bigoted") idea that "Jesus was a feminist who liberated women from misogynistic Judaism," suggesting that (1) the ideas of Jesus weren't much different from mainstream Judaism and that (2) Jesus wasn't being necessarily progressive with the Samaritan women and his teachings on divorce. But I can't see where she suggests what the real point was of the teachings of Jesus on divorce. She first says discusses the "harshness of the ruling", which seems to indicate that Jesus was simply saying "do not divorce"; but follows it with "All this is not to say that Jesus required husbands and wives to remain together." So - what was he saying?

This seems to be a thread running through the book. I appreciate the fact that Levine wants to show where a lot of these teachings are not historically accurate, and tend to inflate or encourage anti-Semitism; but I'd like to hear the interpretations that are historically accurate. In many places, it's almost like she's saying "this is not what it means", but does not follow it up by what the text does mean.

Levine does a much better job in this book than Zealot does of relaying the idea that Peter and James were delivering one message and Paul another. Interestingly, there are a number of places that she makes similar arguments to the author of that book - such as the unlikeliness of the ruthlessness of Pilate letting Jesus go. But her arguments are more compelling overall so she seems more believable. However, like Aslan (the author of Zealot), I would have appreciated more specific citation of some of her assertions. Arguing that something makes sense or is historically unlikely is a nice argument, but without citing evidence, that's all it is: a nice argument.

One thing I thought was interesting was to see a modern Jewish scholar poke holes in Paul's arguments from the standpoint of knowing the Torah.

She also does have a point in suggesting that modern Christians only understand first century Judaism based on Leviticus, leaving out any early writings besides the Old Testament. I think that's true - we see first century Judaism through the eyes of the Torah, and that's not necessarily accurate.

And she suggests that many "theologians...find Judaism and Jews to epitomize systematic evil." Maybe I'm blind, not being Jewish, not encountering this before - but what I have seen is the small group of those in power: the Pharisees, the scribes, who represent that evil and oppression (along with the Romans) - not all of Judaism. Do I have blinders on? Or is this, even, anti-Semitism?

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Levine offers a lot of food for thought about the ways in which language and arguments affect (and offend) different groups. Her critiques of liberal churches and liberation theology for, respectively, coopting and demonizing Judaism are particularly interesting, although her tendency to focus on individual offenses limits the scope of her arguments (and her proposed solutions) toward the end.

In short, while not perfect, this is a book that made me want to dig deeper into the scholarship in this area, and that's a compliment to the author.

[Johannes · Rating 5 out of 5]

...because if I didn't worship in a Church, I'd probably worship in a Shul.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must-read for any Christian that gives context for Scripture. If you aren't up to learning Greek and Hebrew to read the original text, this is a good option.

[Neil Crowle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very thought-provoking book, which has changed my views on a number of points. It provides plenty of reasons to look differently at things when reading Bible passages. Highly recommended.

[Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book shows how important it is to have interfaith dialogue and to hear perspectives from people who are different than yourself. I learned a lot about Judaism and about Jesus and the time he lived in. Levine is funny, relatable, and challenging. She does a great job with explaining the Jewishness of Jesus.

[lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

SUCH a good book. levine is a fantastic writer, and she has produced a book that is just as touching as it is informative. a stellar must-read for jews and christians of all walks of faith.