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Finding Messiah: A Journey into the Jewishness of the Gospel
Jesus was Jewish, and his Jewish identity informed every aspect of his work, words, and witness. He came as the Messiah of Israel, God's covenant people, and he spoke the language of God's faithfulness to this people. So why does it seem that Judaism has little to do with our Christian discipleship today? Jennifer Rosner, a scholar of Jewish-Christian relations, takes us on a personal and corporate journey into the Jewish roots of Christian faith and practice. Understanding Judaism--and the way in which Judaism and Christianity became separate religions--is essential for a rich and holistic Christian identity. As a follower of Jesus who was raised in a Jewish home and who continues to live a Jewish life, Rosner has seen firsthand how a Christian faith can become impoverished when divorced from its Jewish roots. Finding Messiah follows Rosner's own journey in rediscovering the role of Judaism and God's covenant with Israel in Christian life and practice. When we begin to understand Christianity's indelible relationship to Judaism, key aspects of the Christian faith come alive and the wonder of the gospel becomes clear in new and powerful ways. Jesus' Judaism provides the foundation for the church that is built upon his name. Rediscover the Jewish Jesus, and in so doing, experience a deeper and richer faith than ever before.
215 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 24, 2022
17 people are currently reading
207 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
July 4, 2023
4.5 ⭐️
Audiobook narrated by Nan McNamara)
One of the best things that happened in my walk with Jesus over the past 47+ years began over a decade ago when I started learning to read the Bible with a 1st century, Middle Eastern lens. Since then, so many authors have brought new insight as I seek to understand what Jesus—an observant Jew who loved God and loved the Torah (and who was, after all, the Messiah)—meant when He spoke to His followers. Jennifer M. Rosner has added another layer to my education, and I’m grateful.
Robin’s Ratings
5🌟 = Out of this world. Amazing. Unforgettable. A personal favorite.
4🌟 = Enjoyed/loved it. Will recommend to others.
3🌟 = Liked it. Glad I read it. Engaging/entertaining/interesting.
2🌟 = The book was okay, but I’ve enjoyed other books so much more.
1🌟 = For whatever reason, I didn’t like it and can’t recommend it.
Audiobook narrated by Nan McNamara)
One of the best things that happened in my walk with Jesus over the past 47+ years began over a decade ago when I started learning to read the Bible with a 1st century, Middle Eastern lens. Since then, so many authors have brought new insight as I seek to understand what Jesus—an observant Jew who loved God and loved the Torah (and who was, after all, the Messiah)—meant when He spoke to His followers. Jennifer M. Rosner has added another layer to my education, and I’m grateful.
Robin’s Ratings
5🌟 = Out of this world. Amazing. Unforgettable. A personal favorite.
4🌟 = Enjoyed/loved it. Will recommend to others.
3🌟 = Liked it. Glad I read it. Engaging/entertaining/interesting.
2🌟 = The book was okay, but I’ve enjoyed other books so much more.
1🌟 = For whatever reason, I didn’t like it and can’t recommend it.
Read
January 5, 2023This is the sort of book that I’m hesitant to rate with a handful of stars since it’s such a personal story and I simply value the chance to hear from a perspective that I usually give little thought to. It left me with a lot of questions but I also appreciated hearing certain assumptions challenged.
May 2, 2023
Phenomenal!
September 21, 2023
A beautiful and touching memoir of a Messianic Jewish scholar. It contains both theology and her personal experiences as she discovers her Jewishness and restores the roots of her faith in Jesus (Yeshua).
February 13, 2023
Very insightful. Made me rethink a lot about the relationship between Judaism and Christianity.
September 8, 2022
Interesting, but slanted toward discussions of the inherent Jewishness of early Christianity and doesn't offer enough information about why she considers believing in Jesus a valid decision for someone who considers themselves Jewish.
September 17, 2023
As far as the autobiographical elements of this go, Rosner does an excellent job and tells her story compellingly. I thought that she did a good job of weaving her story into the exposition of the more non-fiction content as well. This sort of hybrid memoir and nonfiction book is becoming quite a popular genre, but I think Rosner's has worked the best of the books I've read in this vein.
Unfortunately I strongly disagree with Rosner's approach to the biblical and theological issues she discusses. I found her engagement with these issues were often sloppy, unclear, and overburdened with clichés.
For example, she never defined what she meant by the term "Jewish" or "Jewishness." According to Rosner, all of the following people are Jewish: modern Messianic Jews, a modern Orthodox Jew, a reformed Jew, the Mishnaic Rabbis, Jesus, the Pharisees, King David, and modern secular Jews. What exactly do these people all have in common that makes them "Jewish"? What does it mean to say that all these people belong to an abstraction called, "Judaism," while modern Christians who worship Israel's God and put their trust in Israel's Messiah do not? You cannot pretend that there are no important differences between Rabbinic Judaism and the "Judaism" found in the NT or the OT. Most disappointingly, at times it seems that for Rosner "Jewishness" refers to everything that is spiritually good while "Christian" refers to everything that is spiritually deficient. This tendency goes against the very spirit of her work.
Rosner's engagement with history was one of the most frustrating parts of the book. She makes wildly oversimplistic claims that made me want to pull my hair out, such as the idea that Constantine is responsible for the parting of the ways. I don't know what it's going to take for popular level writers to stop blaming everything they don't like about modern Christianity on Constantine. The claims are frankly absurd. Personally, I found her claims about Martin Luther to be the most ignorant and insulting. For example, she pretends as if the pamphlet "On the Jews and their Lies" is Luther's magnum opus and his most influential work. Even if you want to talk about Luther's attitude toward the Jews, you absolutely cannot only reference this half-baked pamphlet and call it a day. Luther said a great number of complex, contradictory, and even abhorrent things about the Jews during his career. You cannot simply treat him as the great grandfather of Nazism and move on. I can tell that Rosner is smarter than this and I was profoundly disappointed that she repeated these tired old lines without engaging with them critically. I also found her discussion of Luther's commentary on Paul in particular to be frustrating. She evaluates him by the standards of post-enlightenment biblical scholars when Luther was no such thing. You can still think he's wrong, but you cannot judge him by cultural standards of several centuries later and pretend you're engaging in responsible scholarship. If Rosner wants others to treat Jewish figures and thought respectfully, then she should do the same to others.
Finally, when dealing with arguments within biblical studies, Rosner fails to engage with voices which disagree with her favorite perspectives, thus falsely giving the impression that the scholars she cites are without significant opposition. The New Perspective on Paul and the Paul within Judaism schools are one perspective among many even within Paul studies. These are understandably Rosner's favorites, but she never once acted like these scholars have received any significant opposition. This is deceptive and irresponsible.
Ultimately, I'm quite interested in what Rosner is trying to do and am sympathetic to many claims she makes. Unfortunately her work is riddled with too many errors and weaknesses to make the case she wants to make.
Unfortunately I strongly disagree with Rosner's approach to the biblical and theological issues she discusses. I found her engagement with these issues were often sloppy, unclear, and overburdened with clichés.
For example, she never defined what she meant by the term "Jewish" or "Jewishness." According to Rosner, all of the following people are Jewish: modern Messianic Jews, a modern Orthodox Jew, a reformed Jew, the Mishnaic Rabbis, Jesus, the Pharisees, King David, and modern secular Jews. What exactly do these people all have in common that makes them "Jewish"? What does it mean to say that all these people belong to an abstraction called, "Judaism," while modern Christians who worship Israel's God and put their trust in Israel's Messiah do not? You cannot pretend that there are no important differences between Rabbinic Judaism and the "Judaism" found in the NT or the OT. Most disappointingly, at times it seems that for Rosner "Jewishness" refers to everything that is spiritually good while "Christian" refers to everything that is spiritually deficient. This tendency goes against the very spirit of her work.
Rosner's engagement with history was one of the most frustrating parts of the book. She makes wildly oversimplistic claims that made me want to pull my hair out, such as the idea that Constantine is responsible for the parting of the ways. I don't know what it's going to take for popular level writers to stop blaming everything they don't like about modern Christianity on Constantine. The claims are frankly absurd. Personally, I found her claims about Martin Luther to be the most ignorant and insulting. For example, she pretends as if the pamphlet "On the Jews and their Lies" is Luther's magnum opus and his most influential work. Even if you want to talk about Luther's attitude toward the Jews, you absolutely cannot only reference this half-baked pamphlet and call it a day. Luther said a great number of complex, contradictory, and even abhorrent things about the Jews during his career. You cannot simply treat him as the great grandfather of Nazism and move on. I can tell that Rosner is smarter than this and I was profoundly disappointed that she repeated these tired old lines without engaging with them critically. I also found her discussion of Luther's commentary on Paul in particular to be frustrating. She evaluates him by the standards of post-enlightenment biblical scholars when Luther was no such thing. You can still think he's wrong, but you cannot judge him by cultural standards of several centuries later and pretend you're engaging in responsible scholarship. If Rosner wants others to treat Jewish figures and thought respectfully, then she should do the same to others.
Finally, when dealing with arguments within biblical studies, Rosner fails to engage with voices which disagree with her favorite perspectives, thus falsely giving the impression that the scholars she cites are without significant opposition. The New Perspective on Paul and the Paul within Judaism schools are one perspective among many even within Paul studies. These are understandably Rosner's favorites, but she never once acted like these scholars have received any significant opposition. This is deceptive and irresponsible.
Ultimately, I'm quite interested in what Rosner is trying to do and am sympathetic to many claims she makes. Unfortunately her work is riddled with too many errors and weaknesses to make the case she wants to make.
June 6, 2022
Dr. Rosner’s memoir is a signal contribution to the ongoing development of Messianic Judaism in the popular consciousness of God’s covenant-keeping people. My only difficulty in this review is the conflict that I experience in wanting you to go buy the book while also wanting to tell you all about it right now! When it comes to the place of the Messianic Jew among God’s people, whether you have found yourself vehemently opposed to their existence, enthusiastically in support of their story, marginally intrigued by their potentialities, or patently ignorant of any of the implications - this book is for you to engage and learn and grow as a result.
Truly, I can think of no better starting point to enter into the difficult discussions of this space than Jen’s book, Finding Messiah. If you are brand new to these ideas, then you will find Jen standing before you with open hands and heart, inviting you into friendship alongside of her, to explore the gamut of our Father’s covenantal story in the world all the way from the epics of the Scriptures to the perils of Church History to her own exciting narrative. If you are someone who is staunch in their position regarding Israel and Judaism, whatever side of the spectrum you hold to, then I guarantee - you will be challenged here. And I believe that you would be softened as well… if you would allow it.
As you have observed, I have referred to the author as Jen as well as Dr. Rosner. I think when you read the story, you will understand why. You cannot help but feel authentic companionship in the way that she relates the incisive elements of her account, from the hope-giving to the heart-breaking. Then she also has the tender ability to diffuse high scholarly considerations into everyday language, which is rare given the typical parlance of an academic. You will encounter the professor as a friend; you will find yourself sitting with “just Jen” right there at your reading table.
For all the accolades that I could bestow upon this book and the author, the single most amazing quality that she evokes throughout the work is compassion. In the most classical sense of the word, you discover Jen’s suffering right in the midst of the plight of Jews throughout history. Yet she does not vilify the Church even as she stares unflinching into the abyss of Jewish persecution. Rather, Dr. Rosner invites both sides, Jew and Christian, to reckon with the good that each community has exemplified and to consider, at least for a moment, how things might have gone had the early believers not found themselves sundered from each other during the first few centuries following the Advent of our Messiah. From that perspective, you begin to feel the improbable yet phenomenal station that the Messianic Jew inhabits this very day. Reading this book will enliven your compassion too, because you simply cannot help but to feel the grittiness and the tenderness all the way through.
Messianic Judaism is a necessary bridge between God’s people; Finding Messiah is an electrical synapse in the Body of the Master; Dr. Rosner is a gifted and worthy beacon among His emissaries.
Truly, I can think of no better starting point to enter into the difficult discussions of this space than Jen’s book, Finding Messiah. If you are brand new to these ideas, then you will find Jen standing before you with open hands and heart, inviting you into friendship alongside of her, to explore the gamut of our Father’s covenantal story in the world all the way from the epics of the Scriptures to the perils of Church History to her own exciting narrative. If you are someone who is staunch in their position regarding Israel and Judaism, whatever side of the spectrum you hold to, then I guarantee - you will be challenged here. And I believe that you would be softened as well… if you would allow it.
As you have observed, I have referred to the author as Jen as well as Dr. Rosner. I think when you read the story, you will understand why. You cannot help but feel authentic companionship in the way that she relates the incisive elements of her account, from the hope-giving to the heart-breaking. Then she also has the tender ability to diffuse high scholarly considerations into everyday language, which is rare given the typical parlance of an academic. You will encounter the professor as a friend; you will find yourself sitting with “just Jen” right there at your reading table.
For all the accolades that I could bestow upon this book and the author, the single most amazing quality that she evokes throughout the work is compassion. In the most classical sense of the word, you discover Jen’s suffering right in the midst of the plight of Jews throughout history. Yet she does not vilify the Church even as she stares unflinching into the abyss of Jewish persecution. Rather, Dr. Rosner invites both sides, Jew and Christian, to reckon with the good that each community has exemplified and to consider, at least for a moment, how things might have gone had the early believers not found themselves sundered from each other during the first few centuries following the Advent of our Messiah. From that perspective, you begin to feel the improbable yet phenomenal station that the Messianic Jew inhabits this very day. Reading this book will enliven your compassion too, because you simply cannot help but to feel the grittiness and the tenderness all the way through.
Messianic Judaism is a necessary bridge between God’s people; Finding Messiah is an electrical synapse in the Body of the Master; Dr. Rosner is a gifted and worthy beacon among His emissaries.
March 28, 2022
TL; DR: a gamechanger that has fundamentally altered how I view Scripture. Highly recommend!
The full review:
In Finding Messiah, Jennifer Rosner discovers that her Jewishness is a critical part of her Christian identity, then puts that discovery into practice by courageously navigating the seeming contradictions between the two traditions in both academic and personal spheres. Within this framework, she reveals how the Jewishness of the gospel has been obscured by the Christian theological tradition and offers us a vision for a more integrated faith. Through “doing the stuff” of life as a Jewish follower of Messiah Jesus - navigating career and academia, worshiping, falling in love, emigrating to a new country, building a family - Rosner develops an applied theology of the Jewishness of the Gospel.
Rosner exposes the supercessionist narrative undergirding the Christian tradition: the fallacy that Christians are the new and improved people of God who have replaced the legalistic Jews as God’s covenant people. She explains how and why this narrative first developed and helps us track how it has been perpetuated through the centuries. She also exposes the deeply harmful implications of this narrative so we can better understand our tradition and serve the church more responsibly today. After exposing this vein of mistaken thinking woven throughout Christian theology, Rosen suggests an alternative model for the church to take forward into the next chapter of our theology.
Finding Messiah offers an elegant and powerful introduction to the narrative of supercessionism. By framing her exploration within the story of her personal journey, Rosner makes the point that theology is no mere intellectual exercise, but is always ultimately embodied and incarnational, like the tzitzit she sees in her first visit to a Messianic Jewish synagogue and the shawl she gives her husband for their wedding ceremony. The stuff of our ordinary lives is the ground of the holy encounter.
Finding Messiah is also a sobering wake up call for Christian believers to “do our work.” We must begin to recognize the ways in which we “other” Judaism and the Jews by reinforcing doctrine that got it wrong in the first place. From our pulpits and in our spiritual formation groups, we must reject the fallacy that Jesus is “against the Law” or that grace is the anti-Law. Instead, we must again affirm and embrace the mandate of Ephesians 2:11-22 and inquire how, from the categories of Jew and grafted-in gentile, a new sort of person and temple can be forged in Christ.
The full review:
In Finding Messiah, Jennifer Rosner discovers that her Jewishness is a critical part of her Christian identity, then puts that discovery into practice by courageously navigating the seeming contradictions between the two traditions in both academic and personal spheres. Within this framework, she reveals how the Jewishness of the gospel has been obscured by the Christian theological tradition and offers us a vision for a more integrated faith. Through “doing the stuff” of life as a Jewish follower of Messiah Jesus - navigating career and academia, worshiping, falling in love, emigrating to a new country, building a family - Rosner develops an applied theology of the Jewishness of the Gospel.
Rosner exposes the supercessionist narrative undergirding the Christian tradition: the fallacy that Christians are the new and improved people of God who have replaced the legalistic Jews as God’s covenant people. She explains how and why this narrative first developed and helps us track how it has been perpetuated through the centuries. She also exposes the deeply harmful implications of this narrative so we can better understand our tradition and serve the church more responsibly today. After exposing this vein of mistaken thinking woven throughout Christian theology, Rosen suggests an alternative model for the church to take forward into the next chapter of our theology.
Finding Messiah offers an elegant and powerful introduction to the narrative of supercessionism. By framing her exploration within the story of her personal journey, Rosner makes the point that theology is no mere intellectual exercise, but is always ultimately embodied and incarnational, like the tzitzit she sees in her first visit to a Messianic Jewish synagogue and the shawl she gives her husband for their wedding ceremony. The stuff of our ordinary lives is the ground of the holy encounter.
Finding Messiah is also a sobering wake up call for Christian believers to “do our work.” We must begin to recognize the ways in which we “other” Judaism and the Jews by reinforcing doctrine that got it wrong in the first place. From our pulpits and in our spiritual formation groups, we must reject the fallacy that Jesus is “against the Law” or that grace is the anti-Law. Instead, we must again affirm and embrace the mandate of Ephesians 2:11-22 and inquire how, from the categories of Jew and grafted-in gentile, a new sort of person and temple can be forged in Christ.
April 24, 2022
I had pre-ordered this book after hearing Jen speak on Marty Solomon’s Bema podcast.
For about 3 years now I have been investigating more about Judaism and its relationship to Christianity. I was learning a lot but didn’t necessarily know how to hold these learnings. Reconcile? Integrate? I suspect the Lord is teaching me more about how he reveals things, that sometimes we must wait on him.
This book arrived 2 weeks after my trip to Israel. I loved the trip and highly recommend every Christian go. But even while I was gushing, in the back of my mind I still had this tension that I have been living with for years now. (And I want to be clear that for me this is an intellectual tension and not an ethnic one)
This book describes it more perfectly than anything I have found yet. True to the Abrahamic faith there are few answers and mostly new questions asked, but I am glad that this book exists as part of our faith journeys.
For about 3 years now I have been investigating more about Judaism and its relationship to Christianity. I was learning a lot but didn’t necessarily know how to hold these learnings. Reconcile? Integrate? I suspect the Lord is teaching me more about how he reveals things, that sometimes we must wait on him.
This book arrived 2 weeks after my trip to Israel. I loved the trip and highly recommend every Christian go. But even while I was gushing, in the back of my mind I still had this tension that I have been living with for years now. (And I want to be clear that for me this is an intellectual tension and not an ethnic one)
This book describes it more perfectly than anything I have found yet. True to the Abrahamic faith there are few answers and mostly new questions asked, but I am glad that this book exists as part of our faith journeys.
September 1, 2024
pois bem, me deparar com a temática desse livro foi muito agradável. eu amei ler a experiência de vida dela sendo judia messiânica e como encontrar cristo despertou o desejo de se aprofundar em sua identidade judaica. falando das coisas boas desse livro, me fez questionar mt sobre minha fé e aquilo que acredito e minha comunidade local eu com certeza vou procurar saber mais sobre o que foi falado aqui. mas uma das coisas que me incomodaram mt na leitura foi as vezes a superficialidade que ela abordava alguns assuntos, ela instigava muitas perguntas e questionamentos mas não procurava minimamente responde-las ou pelo menos dar um norte (principalmente no capítulo de paulo) fora isso acho que é um livro importante dentro do cenário atual (ela também ignora a existência de um PAÍS chamado palestina uma duas vezes no livro mas enfim) a leitura desse livro fez aumentar a minha perspectiva do grande Deus de Israel, eu também espero que eu possa ver mais riqueza na minha fé a partir de hoje
November 21, 2022
It wasn't what I was hoping it would be. The whole book is one big plea to not throw out the Judaism of the Gospel. It is more about the author's life than it is about Biblical studies and how better to understand the gospel in light of its Jewish background. She tries to walk through the middle (the excluded middle) but I often got the feeling that I was being chastised - like the division between Jew and Christian is all Christianity's fault. Further, I did not care for the regular critique of modern translations. There is too much doubt about the reliability of the NT flying around to create more in order to make a minor point.
The book was ok, but I was hoping for more scripture and the Jewish background for better understanding that scripture.
The book was ok, but I was hoping for more scripture and the Jewish background for better understanding that scripture.
February 15, 2025
This book was solid; there is a lot of good content in it mixed with personal stories and development. Because I am not ethnically Jewish it didn’t connect with me on the same level, but there was one quote in this book that shot it to a 5 star for me, because it made me pause and ponder.
“Jesus commands us to love our enemies. It’s as if he absorbs hate rather than perpetuates it. And, somehow, I think we are supposed to do the same”
I love this quote and this idea that somehow the life of a believer in Jesus doesn’t just bring love, but eliminates hate. Which, in reality, we cannot do except by the power of God working through us. This is how the world gets put back together through the finished work of Jesus and His Spirit moving in His people.
Anyways, loved it!
“Jesus commands us to love our enemies. It’s as if he absorbs hate rather than perpetuates it. And, somehow, I think we are supposed to do the same”
I love this quote and this idea that somehow the life of a believer in Jesus doesn’t just bring love, but eliminates hate. Which, in reality, we cannot do except by the power of God working through us. This is how the world gets put back together through the finished work of Jesus and His Spirit moving in His people.
Anyways, loved it!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 24, 2022
Jen Rosner was my first professor at Fuller, and her viewpoint on Scripture has radically shaped who I am. So when I found out she wrote this book, I jumped at the chance to read it - and enjoyed every minute of it. It reiterated everything that shaped and formed me during me two classes with Jen, but also adds detail and nuance to her perspective. I am not exaggerating when I say all Christians should read this book and wrestle with its implications.
A bonus for all the hopeless romantics: Jen includes a beautiful love story throughout the last half of the book that will keep you wanting to find out what happens next. 💕
A bonus for all the hopeless romantics: Jen includes a beautiful love story throughout the last half of the book that will keep you wanting to find out what happens next. 💕
June 28, 2024
Thought provoking
The book challenges something that has been around since Constantine and which is at the core of a separation of brothers and sisters. Why do we think we are more favored as Christians than the Jewish people? The book kindly asks us just to consider the big quesions, not by forcing an answer, but simply by "ruminating" on them. It's woven throughout with the author's own story, which makes our journey through the book so much more real. I recommend it.
The book challenges something that has been around since Constantine and which is at the core of a separation of brothers and sisters. Why do we think we are more favored as Christians than the Jewish people? The book kindly asks us just to consider the big quesions, not by forcing an answer, but simply by "ruminating" on them. It's woven throughout with the author's own story, which makes our journey through the book so much more real. I recommend it.
May 2, 2025
So relatable for me.
As a fellow Messianic Jew, Jen nailed it and gave a voice to the confusion and turbulence I’ve dealt with since receiving Yeshua as my Messiah 48 years ago. My burning question as part of the “excluded middle” has always been, “Can you accept me as I am and can we dialogue honestly and passionately without hostility or rejection?” I’m hopeful that maybe this will come to be if indeed the paradigm shifts she describes are real and lasting.
As a fellow Messianic Jew, Jen nailed it and gave a voice to the confusion and turbulence I’ve dealt with since receiving Yeshua as my Messiah 48 years ago. My burning question as part of the “excluded middle” has always been, “Can you accept me as I am and can we dialogue honestly and passionately without hostility or rejection?” I’m hopeful that maybe this will come to be if indeed the paradigm shifts she describes are real and lasting.
July 30, 2025
I certainly am no expert in this area but, as an intro to the subject it is probably an OK start.
However, before this I read Sam Nadler's Messiah in The Feasts of Israel and Eitan Bar's Refuting Rabbinic Objections to Christianity. I was already converted to how important Judaism is to Christianity (and vice versa).
With these books I felt inspired, where as Finding Messiah, felt a bit more 'we really need to get this sorted, guys'.
However, before this I read Sam Nadler's Messiah in The Feasts of Israel and Eitan Bar's Refuting Rabbinic Objections to Christianity. I was already converted to how important Judaism is to Christianity (and vice versa).
With these books I felt inspired, where as Finding Messiah, felt a bit more 'we really need to get this sorted, guys'.
January 17, 2023
Thought provoking and entertaining
This book posed some good questions that I now need to wrestle with, but I’m glad to do it. It was well written and fast past. It combined a good story with a lot of thought provoking information. I definitely recommend it for any Christian or Jew.
This book posed some good questions that I now need to wrestle with, but I’m glad to do it. It was well written and fast past. It combined a good story with a lot of thought provoking information. I definitely recommend it for any Christian or Jew.
October 25, 2023
I wanted to learn more about what Messianic Jews believe and this helped initiate that journey. The book alternated between interesting memoir-like snippets of Rosner’s life and theological explanations. The second half of the book especially swayed between very light to intense and robust language, which was a little difficult to go between, sometimes abruptly.
January 14, 2025
Very thought-provoking. As a Gentile - raised as a Baptist preacher’s kid and educated at a Baptist school & Baptist college - I definitely encountered new ideas here. In my adulthood I’ve had a passion for better understanding Israel, the Hebrew Scriptures, and the Jewish context of the apostolic writings. I’ve begun learning Biblical Hebrew, virtually attended messianic shabbat services, gotten riled up about Constantine and Martin Luther, and learned so much about the heart of God by studying Biblical and Jewish feasts. This book not only helped fill in some gaps in my historical and cultural learning, but also challenged me to see some aspects of my faith from a different perspective. I’ve always been a “chew the meat, spit the bones” reader, but it’s going to take me more time and searching on some of these topics to see where I’ll end up. Even in areas where my own perspective may not shift for the long term, I find it beneficial to be informed of the stories and perspectives of others. I hope to revisit the book with fellow believers to have the opportunity for discussion.
May 24, 2022
A must read for every church! Finding Messiah provides a Jewish worldview of Christianity: the good, the bad and the lovely by a Jewish author with one foot in Judaism and the other in Christianity--and the complexity of belonging to two worlds.
May 28, 2022
really thoughtful, enriching and unique exploration of the jewishness of the gospel, and what we have lost by the almost complete separation of the two. Along with this, Ms. Rosner's personal experiences and reflections throughout her journey also enrich this theological chronicle.
August 28, 2023
Just not alot of meat or sway or say in this memoir for me to incorporate ideas into this particular 50 year old white male Gentile Protestant’s faith walk. I did like reading her perspectives, though, for the pure appreciation I have for her Jewish commitment in her Christianity.
June 21, 2024
Excellent book, very important in bringing together Judaism and Christianity. As a Christian we have gotten some serious things wrong in terms of theology. It is good to see progress being made. I think this book will enrich all followers of Jesus who read it!
May 30, 2022
Comparable to Mark Kinzer's Messianic Jewish perspective. See NT Wright's debate with him on YouTube. Her background at Fuller is interesting!
July 21, 2022
Part memoir, part theological discussion, this book is a good addition to discussions of Jewish Christian relations and reading Scripture in context thanks to Jennifer Rosner, a Messianic Jew.
October 14, 2024
Every Christian person needs to read this book!!! Period.
February 7, 2024
My low rating is due to two things the first one was a poor writing style. She would intermix narrative with theological arguments. There would be one paragraph on her morning sickness then a paragraph about the new perspective on Paul and the back to her morning sickness and then back to the new perspective. But I think my biggest issue with the book was that her reasoning for being a messianic Jew was that it just felt right. There seemed to be little else to explain why she identify as a messianic Jew that it felt like the home she was looking for. It came across a little shallow also at the end I had no idea what she believed because she constantly explained multiple beliefs but rarely claimed any as her own. I would love to read a better book on messianic Judaism this book was just a little disappointing.
October 24, 2022
Exceptionally helpful book. We ended up having a Q&A with the author at our church. Her story is very readable and relatable. It has spurred me to read a lot more in this direction of Jewish roots.
January 14, 2024
I found this book enlightening. It's my first journey into the Jewish perspective after becoming a Messianic Christian. I can relate to being part of the excluded middle since I'm no longer just a Christian, but also not a Jew.
I appreciated Rosner's appraisal of history and how people have misunderstood what God was doing. Constantine, Augustine, Luther and many others interpreted scriptures inaccurately, without God's spirit or perspective. I'm grateful that I never saw Christianity as a replacement of Israel or that I never thought that God had abandoned His covenant with Israel.
I laughed at Rosner's idea of hermeneutical Jews being a Jew that a Christian conjured up without ever meeting or speaking with one. It's true that Christians do this. They try to understand Jewish things in a box and never speak to or dialogue with someone from Israel or a Jewish community.
I appreciated her take on the woman who touched our Lord's tassels being made pure rather than her making Him impure. God restored her. I think Christians miss some of the meanings of this story. I also appreciated Rosner's interpretation of Peter's dream being about fellowship with gentiles, not just food.
I like the ideas presented in chapter 4 about joining Israel in ushering in God's kingdom, but then was surprised by chapter 11 saying that Ephesians 2: 11-22 says that Christians can't have communion with God or Christ without the Israel (PG. 153) according to Markus Barth, note 8 on PG 214. I re-read the passage a few times and I never saw that idea. I only see Ephesians 2 telling me that both those far off (Christians) and those near (Israel) come to God through Messiah. It may be Jews first then gentiles, but it's not Christians saved through Israel. It's both are reconciled to God through Messiah. Both need Messiah and each other. Maybe she meant that Israel received the Torah and covenant so Christians need to join them? Not clear.
Chapter 12 on Paul was different than I thought it would be. It defends Paul being a Torah-observant Jew, not his teachings. That left me with questions about whether Messianic Jews believe his teachings or not?
Reading this book showed me new perspectives. However, it also left me with many questions.
-Rosner says God gave Israel the law because obeying it was possible. Do Messianic Jews not think that the Torah was given to show sin and their need for Messiah to save them from sin?
-do Jews see themselves as sinners, unable to meet God's holy standards on their own? I didn't hear this perspective in Rosner's writing.
-do Jews believe they need to be born again?
-do Jews see Christians as equal partners in Messiah and God's redemptive work? Or are they better than those chosen second?
-if Paul is a Torah-observant Jew, does his explanation of our sinful nature in the NT come from Judaism or from spiritual revelation? He sees himself as a sinner unable to meet God's holy standards except for God's grace (I love researching where it says "But God...). Do Messianic Jews believe they are saved by God's grace not by their heritage or observing Torah?
-is it a one-way street that Christians need the Jews? Or do they see their need for Christians, that we need each other and both need Messiah as in Ephesians 2?
Interesting read. Some chapters answered the questions differently than I thought that they would. A good start to many long conversations.
I appreciated Rosner's appraisal of history and how people have misunderstood what God was doing. Constantine, Augustine, Luther and many others interpreted scriptures inaccurately, without God's spirit or perspective. I'm grateful that I never saw Christianity as a replacement of Israel or that I never thought that God had abandoned His covenant with Israel.
I laughed at Rosner's idea of hermeneutical Jews being a Jew that a Christian conjured up without ever meeting or speaking with one. It's true that Christians do this. They try to understand Jewish things in a box and never speak to or dialogue with someone from Israel or a Jewish community.
I appreciated her take on the woman who touched our Lord's tassels being made pure rather than her making Him impure. God restored her. I think Christians miss some of the meanings of this story. I also appreciated Rosner's interpretation of Peter's dream being about fellowship with gentiles, not just food.
I like the ideas presented in chapter 4 about joining Israel in ushering in God's kingdom, but then was surprised by chapter 11 saying that Ephesians 2: 11-22 says that Christians can't have communion with God or Christ without the Israel (PG. 153) according to Markus Barth, note 8 on PG 214. I re-read the passage a few times and I never saw that idea. I only see Ephesians 2 telling me that both those far off (Christians) and those near (Israel) come to God through Messiah. It may be Jews first then gentiles, but it's not Christians saved through Israel. It's both are reconciled to God through Messiah. Both need Messiah and each other. Maybe she meant that Israel received the Torah and covenant so Christians need to join them? Not clear.
Chapter 12 on Paul was different than I thought it would be. It defends Paul being a Torah-observant Jew, not his teachings. That left me with questions about whether Messianic Jews believe his teachings or not?
Reading this book showed me new perspectives. However, it also left me with many questions.
-Rosner says God gave Israel the law because obeying it was possible. Do Messianic Jews not think that the Torah was given to show sin and their need for Messiah to save them from sin?
-do Jews see themselves as sinners, unable to meet God's holy standards on their own? I didn't hear this perspective in Rosner's writing.
-do Jews believe they need to be born again?
-do Jews see Christians as equal partners in Messiah and God's redemptive work? Or are they better than those chosen second?
-if Paul is a Torah-observant Jew, does his explanation of our sinful nature in the NT come from Judaism or from spiritual revelation? He sees himself as a sinner unable to meet God's holy standards except for God's grace (I love researching where it says "But God...). Do Messianic Jews believe they are saved by God's grace not by their heritage or observing Torah?
-is it a one-way street that Christians need the Jews? Or do they see their need for Christians, that we need each other and both need Messiah as in Ephesians 2?
Interesting read. Some chapters answered the questions differently than I thought that they would. A good start to many long conversations.
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