Review of Kobel's Dining with John

Dining with John: Communal Meals and Identity Formation in the Fourth Gospel and its Historical and Cultural Context.  By Esther Kobel. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 2011. Pp. xx + 370. Cloth, $176.00.

In Dining with John, Esther Kobel, at the University of Basel, is interested in the role communal meals played in the experience of the earliest Christ-followers and the ‘historical’ Johannine community. To uncover this role, she pays particular attention to the rhetorical function of food, drink, and meals in the Gospel of John and offers an imaginative context, informed by the concept of hybridity, by allowing the text to function as an indicator of a plausible Sitz im Leben that arises from key discursive pointers in John’s Gospel. Koebel’s socio-rhetorical approach, as practiced by Vernon Robbins, recognizes the way these discourses mutually inform one another and, more importantly, draws from both the Jewish and non-Jewish context and cultural codes. After an introduction and a state of the question, the study is broken into two parts: the first pays close attention to metaphorical use of food and drink in the Fourth Gospel, while the second brings to the fore selected themes from the narrative world of the Gospel that were likely important to the negotiation of the group’s identity.   

A central premise for Koebel is that the Johannine community’s regular meals had a deeper significance than just bodily sustenance. Chapter 1 provides the reader with her understanding of the foundational issues. Her assumption concerning the Gospel is that it “was written for and directed to a specific section of the Christ-movement, a ‘textual community’ which I will call the ‘Johannine community,’” though this should not be construed to provide “a direct window into a historical Johannine community.” Rather it describes a “context” a “living environment” and “practices of the Gospel’s addressees and/or authors” (33). She follows what has come to be the dominant social-scientific approach to understanding identity (Tajfel, Turner, Jenkins, and Hall). Chapter 2 surveys the existing scholarship dealing with the sociological perspective on meals within the broader field of biblical studies and the Fourth Gospel specifically.

Chapter 3 overviews the narrative structure of the Fourth Gospel and the way meal scenes, food, and drink emerge throughout. She makes a strong case for the centrality of meal settings and their associated discourses as an interpretive key for the Gospel of John (especially in comparison to the Synoptic tradition). The primary and oft repeated point is that Jesus provides food for his believers, and those who accept this food and partake of him/it show themselves to be his followers and make concrete their Christian identity (at least in its embryonic form). The meal scenes in John 6 and 13–17 provide the pivot points for the entire Gospel, the first with regard to the significant reduction in participants as the story continues, and the second (with the removal of the betrayer) as the occasion for the formation of the ingroup, “the true community that is marked by mutual indwelling of the disciples with Jesus even after his death” (107).

The strength of this study emerges in the socio-rhetorical intertextures evident in part 2. Chapter 4 sets a clear context for the way meals form identity; this chapter alone makes a significant contribution to NT studies. Chapter 5 studies the eucharistic discourse in John 6 and the way footwashing decenters it. Chapter 6 surveys the way non-Jewish (and non-Christian) discourses influenced meal practices. Kobel is particularly interested in the framework mystery cults may provide for understanding John 6:51-58, described as a “Jesusphagy/Christophagy” (247). If some of the members of the Johannine community were former participants in the Dionysian tradition, then eating Jesus’ flesh and drinking his blood would have been particularly allusive. Chapter 7 reads the same pericope in the context of accusations of cannibalism. She sees this practice in the light of Greek and Roman groups who bound themselves together by eating flesh and drinking blood. This is not meant to imply this was actually occurring but that those who might have come from this background needed to be reassured that “chew[ing] on the flesh of Jesus” was an acceptable way to “continue bonding around their leader” (270). Chapter 8 addresses the betrayal meal scene and places the context in the reoccurring Roman persecutions of voluntary associations. The Christ-believers might have been afraid that some of the Jews would betray them to the Romans. If the earliest Christ-movement was seen as a type of voluntary association, this could provide a plausible context for fearing the Jews, since the Romans relied on betrayal by an insider for their prosecution of group members (292).

Chapter 9 provides a summary and is followed by an appendix on Jesus’ avoidance of food in the Gospel of John. Kobel notes that the interpretive pluralism that her study reinforces should not deflate contemporary interpreters but should be an encouragement that this Gospel is a fine example of cross-cultural communication and one that could be understood by both those from a Jewish and a non-Jewish background. Kobel is quite convincing with regard to her claim that the meal accounts are central to the Gospel’s rhetorical purpose to create belief in Jesus and to form a distinct social identity within his followers. While one could quibble with some of the exegetical choices made in this work or whether meals have this type of identity-forming power, it stands out as an excellent example of the way social scientific criticism (here in its socio-rhetorical guise) provides fresh insights into several long-standing debates within NT studies.

Review of Celebrating Paul

Celebrating Paul: Festschrift in Honor ofJerome Murphy-O'Connor, O.P., and Joseph A. Fitzmyer, S.J. Edited by Peter Spitaler. The Catholic Biblical Quarterly Monograph Series 48. Washington, D.C.: The Catholic Biblical Association of America, 2011. Pp. xxviii + 439. $25.00.

Celebrating Paul brings together a number of papers presented at Villanova University (and several additional essays) from the 2008 celebration of the Jubilee Year for the Apostle Paul, where Professors Murphy-O’Connor and Fitzmyer received honorary degrees. The honorees open the volume with studies addressing recent themes in Pauline studies generally and the “eucharist” in Corinth specifically. The rest of the work moves from broad-ranging studies on Paul to those focused on individual texts, with a major focus on Romans. Suggesting new trajectories in Pauline studies, W. S. Campbell in “‘I Rate All Things as Loss’” convincingly shows that Paul does not disparage his Jewish identity now that he is in Christ, and M. D. Nanos in “Paul and the Jewish Tradition” supports the contention that Paul remains within the bounds of Judaism. J. D. G. Dunn, in an essay likely requiring further scholarly engagement, argues that Paul was a “convert” from Judaism. This volume is a major contribution to NT studies and admirably reflects the influence of its honorees.

IBR Call for Paper 2014: Identity Formation in the Pauline Letters

Identity Formation in the Pauline Letters: Call for Papers 2014 IBR Meeting

We will be holding two halves to our session at the IBR Annual Meeting on Nov. 21, 2014 in San Diego. The first half, for which we would like to receive paper proposals, will concentrate on the theme of Identity Formation and Paul’s Jewish Context. We welcome papers examining the Pauline letters in their contingent and coherent Jewish contexts, or analyzing them by means of relevant Jewish literature, or incorporating relevant Jewish archaeological, historical, or literary evidence in order to construct more precisely Paul’s identity-forming work. 

The second half will be a book review session. We are delighted to be able to concentrate on the Pauline letters and methodological sections of The T and T Clark Handbook to Social Identity and the New Testament, edited by J. Brian Tucker and Coleman A. Baker (Bloomsbury T and T Clark, 2014). We will be inviting respondents to ensure a dynamic and multi-faceted discussion ranging across social theory, social history, and Paul’s approach to identity formation. Please contact J. Brian Tucker brian.tucker@moody.edu and/or James Miller james.miller@asburyseminary.edu for more information.

Review of Ehrensperger's Paul at the Crossroads of Cultures

Ehrensperger, Kathy. Paul at the Crossroads of Cultures: Theologizing in the Space-Between. London: Bloomsbury, 2013. xiv + 224 pp. £65.00 (hardback), ISBN 978-0567046369.

Kathy Ehrensperger, Reader in New Testament Studies at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, provides a new paradigm for understanding Paul’s theologizing, one that builds on the emerging fields of bilingualism and biculturalism. She concludes that these frameworks provide a better understanding for the way Paul engages the diverse contexts evident in his mission among the nations. Thus, she calls into question key aspects of standard scholarly constructs and provides a more convincing way forward, one that sees Paul as a cultural negotiator in the space between Roman, Greek, and Jewish cultural discourses.

The introduction (chapter 1) highlights the focus of the study, which is to look at Paul’s role as an intercultural communicator, one who is a mediator between Jewish, Greek, and Roman cultural and ethnic traditions. However, Ehrensperger rejects any claim of fusion or assimilation with regard to these processes. This last point is a crucial and most convincing insight from her work as she builds on the findings of bilingualism and biculturalism to understand more clearly Paul’s approach to communication (e.g. as one embedded in Judaism but conversant in multiple universes of discourse). Chapter 2 interrogates the concepts of Hellenism and hybridity. The former is rejected as a useful way of describing the interaction between Greek and Jewish culture. The source of the problem relates to Johann Gustav Droysen’s original development of the concept and Martin Hengel’s later appropriation of Droysen’s work. The aspect of Hellenism that is most problematic for Ehrensperger is the idea of cultural fusion. Her rejection of that naturally leads her to critique the use of the postcolonial concept of hybridity. Within Pauline studies, Ehrensperger notes two tendencies: (1) a lack of clarity with regard to what is being implied and (2) an expectation of blending in the intercultural encounter. Both concepts are found to be less than useful for Pauline studies specifically. Hybridity contributes to an assumption that the Christ-movement resulted in a third race while Hellenism, with its problematic ideological roots, often posits Hellenistic Judaism as that which paved the way for the universal and higher religious ideals of Christianity.

Having questioned the continuing validity of two crucial concepts in NT studies, chapter 3 outlines Ehrensperger’s suggested way forward, namely the use of bilingualism and biculturalism in an alternative paradigm for understanding Paul’s intercultural interaction.  This chapter convincingly connects language, culture, and identity via the resources of sociolinguistics. The contribution of Pierre Bourdieu is clearly evident, especially his concept of habitus. Ehrensperger navigates the challenges associated with defining culture and ethnicity and concludes that Farzad Sharifian’s idea of cultural conceptualizations connects well with Bourdieu’s work while Floya Anthias’ distinction between ethnic and cultural groups is probative. Of particular interest with regard to Paul is the idea of relational ethnicity; this properly recontextualizes Jewish particularity within wider on-going cultural discourse during the first century CE. The chapter continues by outlining the research into bilingualism and biculturalism especially as it relates to ethnic diversity. It is evident in this section just how pervasively the monolinguistic context of NT scholars has contributed to the premature closing off of certain interpretive options. The chapter concludes with a nuanced discussion of the way a lingua franca does not necessarily lead to cultural blending; rather, localized diversity is more often evident in such a cultural context.

Chapter 4 highlights linguistic, ethnic, and cultural diversity within the Roman Empire. This wide-ranging survey further substantiates Ehrensperger’s claim that blending and fusion of collective identities was not the norm. The preponderance of literary and inscriptional artifacts in Greek and the comparative lack of vernacular languages for these is a challenge to the thesis put forth in this monograph. Thus, this chapter seeks to deconstruct the standard view for the significance of this evidence. Particularly problematic for the standard view are the elite fallacy and the power dynamics associated with provincial collaborators and Rome. Here Ehrensperger’s feminist hermeneutic proves quite useful in discerning problematic interpretive trajectories. A few highlights from this chapter include: (1) a reminder that the use of Greek language does not necessarily imply the acceptance of Greek culture; (2) Jewish literature of the period, identified as barbaric literature, provides an important interpretive lens for understanding ways to respond to Roman and Greek hegemony; (3) since there was no blended ‘Graeco-Roman’ cultural construct during the Early Principate this term should only be use cautiously and with ‘definitional clarity’ (p. 77 n. 72); and (4) bicultural mediators (e.g. Manetho, Lucian, Josephus, and Philo) perform vital functions in any situation of cultural contact and the Early Principate was no exception. These combine to support Ehrensperger’s developing thesis, that ‘Paul and his co-workers…embarked on a mission which included the mediation/translation of an alternative to the dominating imperial discourse rooted in the Jewish alternative tradition that had developed over centuries of interaction with others’ (p. 101).

Chapter 5 places Paul on the first century map with regard to cultural, ethnic, and linguistic diversity. Ehrensperger cleverly weaves in and out of existing debates within Pauline studies as they impinge on Paul’s identity and practices as an intercultural meditator. She begins by discussing the way Paul would have been viewed from the perspective of Roman imperial discourse. She then moves into an important review of ethnē from a Roman perspective and provides an overview of the important work done on this topic from the research of Davina Lopez and Brigitte Kahl. Ehrensperger concludes that Paul would have been viewed as a member of a subjugated ethnē; however, he does not describe himself or his own people with the same term –for that he uses the term genos. Thus, Paul’s ‘us and them’ categorization is different than that practiced by the Romans. In the discussion of genos, Ehrensperger see Paul as one who continues to identify with his ‘descent group’, values his Jewishness, and maintains full Torah observance (p. 130). Next Ehrensperger discusses the Jewish perspective on ta ethnē and rejects the idea that such universalizing discourse suggests that Paul thought existing identities were obliterated. The collective identity of members of the nations is not problematic for Paul in the main but only when it results in idolatrous practices. One of the fascinating interpretive moves that Ehrensperger makes is that Paul’s view of Jews and the people from the nations may have not developed in a significant way. Thus for Paul, there was no ‘third kind’ within the Christ-movement; there were ‘those of the peritomē and those of the akrobustia in Christ, but no mixture between them’ (p. 131). This chapter concludes with a profile of Paul’s Jewish identity: he was at least bilingual, received a Greek Jewish education, and would have continued to be identified as one of the peritomē, one embedded ‘in the alternative Greek discourse of his people (genos)’ (p. 137).

Chapter 6 focuses on the role of Israel’s scriptural tradition and its interpretation as it moves between cultural contexts. The development of the LXX serves as an exemplar of the way ideas written within the Hebrew symbolic universe are transformed when translated into Greek. This model serves as a helpful comparison for the challenges Paul, as part of the polyglot Jewish interpretive tradition, dealt with when communicating his gospel since it is sourced in a similar symbolic universe. The influence of Israel’s apocalyptic tradition is also seen in Paul’s writings, especially as it interacts with Roman threats of violence and totalitarianism. Thus, Ehrensperger rightly places the Christ-movement as part of an ‘existing Jewish resistance tradition’ (p. 151). However, this resistance did not lead Paul to conclude that all aspects of one’s former life had been obliterated in Christ. One of the important contributions of Ehrensperger’s work is the recognition of aspects of life among the nations that continue in Christ. The chapter concludes with two examples of the way paying attention to various cultural scripts results in interpretive clarity; these include the unity of Israel and the nations, and the understanding of the social implications of pist- related words. The former reveals Paul as one seeking to achieve unity among the nations in ways that challenged the approach of the Romans, while the latter, emphasizing faithfulness, trust, and loyalty, reveals a stark difference between pist- discourse and Roman fides discourse. Taken together, these two examples show the interpretive value of Ehrensperger’s new paradigm.

Chapter 7 provides an analysis of the challenges associated with everyday ritual life within the Roman Empire. Ehrensperger offers a convincing reading of 1 Corinthians 8-10, one that reveals the difficulty of negotiating the existing ritual experiences of those from the nations. This chapter brings to the fore the significance of the bicultural paradigm and shows Paul to be open to aspects of the cultural life of the nations, as long as these align with God’s glory (1 Cor. 10.31). Also, in her discussion of the table of the Lord, she makes a compelling argument that Paul was not critiquing the Jerusalem Temple but still viewed it as the centre of the cult for the God of Israel, with differing implications for Christ-followers from the nations and from Israel both of whom Christ links in ‘peace’ and ‘mutual empowerment’ (pp. 211, 213). 

Chapter 8 highlights the key components of bilingualism and biculturalism that were relevant to Ehrensperger’s study and synthesizes many of the arguments developed in the preceding chapters. She reminds her readers that, in light of her new paradigm, ‘any attempt to emphasize one dimension involved in this translation process, Jewish, “Greek or barbarian”, at the expense of the other, is inadequate’. Ehrensperger is calling for clear attention to all the narratives of belonging and cultural encyclopedias in existence in the first century CE as a way to better understand the ‘loss and gain’ evident in Paul’s mission as an intercultural mediator (p. 219). For Paul, his gospel discourse remains ‘to the Jew first and also to the Greek’ (Rom. 1.16b) and this paradigmatic statement takes on seminal significance in Ehrensperger’s approach. This is not merely a salvation historical statement but one of embeddedness and belonging. Paul’s message required cross-cultural communication which necessitated some familiarity with non-Jewish cult practices, though there is also a distinct lack of integration of existing philosophical or mythic traditions because his ‘narrative framework is entirely Jewish’ (p. 221). The book concludes with an important call to contemporary Jewish-Christian dialogue as a direct implication of Paul’s theologizing at the crossroads of cultures.

I found very little to disagree with in this monograph, though one wonders if we can discern with any level of specificity the presence of former God-fearers within Paul’s addressees or the extent to which non-Christ-following Jews are part of Paul’s theologizing. These each deserve further investigation, especially since the latter is crucial for this approach to Paul. What Ehrensperger has presented in Paul at the Crossroads of Cultures is nothing short of a paradigm shift. Her approach, which I see as completely on target, will – in due time – change the way Pauline scholars engage Paul and his diverse contexts. The lenses of bilingualism and biculturalism genuinely move the interpretive discussion forward – a rare achievement in an era of ever-increasing monographs dealing with the apostle Paul. This work is highly recommended and one that Pauline scholars will have to respond to since the implications of her work touch almost every current debate within the field. 

Identity Formation in the Pauline Letters

The four main papers for our 2013 IBR research group Identity Formation in the Pauline Letters are now available online.

Review of Atkinson's Baptism in the Spirit

Atkinson, William P. Baptism in the Spirit: Luke-Acts and the Dunn Debate. Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2011. Pp. x + 154. ISBN 978-1-60899-971-2. $19.00 paper.

William P.Atkinson, Vice-Principal Academic, Director of Research, and Senior Lecturer in Pentecostal and Charismatic Studies at the London School of Theology, reviews critiques of James D. G. Dunn’s Baptismin the Holy Spirit by various Pentecostal scholars and concludes that the Pentecostal understanding of the doctrine is correct. The reception of the Spirit is not related to the inception of new covenant life; rather, it is an empowerment for service in the life of the church.

Chapter one surveys Dunn’s work and outlines the six key scholars who have engaged his arguments. Here Atkinson defines baptism in the Holy Spirit as “a charismatic empowering for Christian service distinct from and thus, potentially, chronologically subsequent to initial regenerating faith in Christ” (p. 3). Dunn clearly rejects this definition, following instead a conversion-initiation understanding of Spirit baptism. Thus, Pentecostal scholars (or ex-Pentecostal in the case of Max Turner) have responded, since they see the doctrine of subsequence as central to Pentecostal identity. Their critiques are outlined in chapter two: Dunn reads Luke-Acts through the lens of Paul and assumes an identical pneumatology. Furthermore, the terminology was much more fluid at this early stage than Dunn is willing to admit. Dunn brings together what Luke kept separate, i.e., salvation and the gift of the Spirit. Finally, it is clear that different understandings of salvation history, especially the three pneumatological epoch distinction, result in diverse readings between Dunn and his debaters. Taken cumulatively, Atkinson concludes that Dunn’s debaters have cast doubt on his claim that to become a Christian is to receive the Spirit (p. 65).

Chapter three then provides an assessment of the various intra-Pentecostal alternatives. Atkinson’s most significant disagreement is with Max Turner’s view, one closely aligned with Dunn. He thinks Turner has missed the subtlety of Luke’s idea that “the Spirit may be directly at work in the process of people’s coming to faith; that these new converts, despite such prior ‘soteriological’ work of the Spirit, still need to receive the Pentecostal gift of the Spirit” (90). At this point, Atkinson’s approach may neither be convincing among Pentecostals (his primary audience) nor non-Pentecostals (though he is not trying to convince this group).

Chapter four addresses the canonical context of the debate by looking specifically at the writings of Paul and John (1 Cor 12:13; John 20:22). While Atkinson’s reason for choosing these two verses based on his engagement with Turner is clear, it seems that a test case from Romans 8:9, the putative “‘killer blow’ to Pentecostal doctrine” would have been in order and that more than a restating of various Pentecostal interpreters would have strengthened Atkinson’s argument. However, his claim that Dunn has misread Pentecostal doctrine is well placed since the majority of Pentecostal Pauline interpreters maintain some sort of soteriological pneumatology. Atkinson contends that John 20:22 provides the strongest evidence for “two distinct experiences” of receiving the Spirit (p. 118).

Chapter five summarizes and offers several practical suggestions for contemporary expressions of the present-day work of the Holy Spirit. Atkinson suggests using the term “Baptism in the Spirit” to describe an equipping for service that is experienced by modern-day Pentecostals. This book is quite useful for those seeking to understand this distinctly Pentecostal doctrine. It is not designed to convince non-Pentecostals; rather, it is a fine survey of intra-Pentecostal discussions using Dunn’s work as a dialogue partner. In this way it meets its stated goal (p. 1).

Review of Rudolph's and Willitts' Introduction to Messianic Judaism

Introduction to Messianic Judaism: Its Ecclesial Contextand Biblical Foundations. Edited by David J. Rudolph and Joel Willitts. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2013, 335 pp., $26.99. 

David Rudolph and Joel Willitts have put together an important collection of essays addressing a contemporary religious movement (Messianic Judaism) that many are unaware of and a contemporary hermeneutical shift (post-supersessionism) that is beginning to take hold in some quarters of the biblical studies world. The book begins, after an important introduction by Rudolph, with 13 essays written by self-identified Messianic Jews and then 14 essays written by several leading NT scholars and theologians. It concludes with an extensive summary of each essay written by Willitts and an integrative conclusion pointing out the contemporary significance with regard to the book’s topic. This volume brings together authors who share a general outlook with regard to the continuing covenantal identity for Jews and represents an excellent model of cross-communal dialogue. The highly recommended book would be useful as a supplemental text in New Testament and theology courses, especially graduate seminars focused on ecclesiology and hermeneutics. It is written at a scholarly but accessible level and the short chapters keep the arguments moving forward while directing the reader to locations for more extensive coverage of the topic being discussed.  

It would be unwise to cover all 28 chapters in this brief review and Willitts’ chapter already does this. So, I will focus my comments on four chapters from each part, those that highlight several issues I found particularly probative, especially since I write and research from a similar post-supersessionist perspective. In chapter 1, Rudolph defines what he means by Messianic Judaism, “we are referring to a religious tradition in which Jews have claimed to follow Yeshua (Jesus) as the Messiah of Israel while continuing to live within the orbit of Judaism” (p. 21). This distinguishes the approach put forth in Part 1 from those who align more closely with Messianic Judaism as a sub-group identity within Protestant Evangelicalism. Rudolph notes that Jewish followers of Jesus continued for the first four centuries of our era and only disappeared under the threat of Constantine's sword and canon law (p. 25). It emerged again during the 18^th century and continues today in rather diverse expressions. The diversity evident among Messianic Jews is expressed in several important ways, e.g., Stuart Dauermann’s essay on “Messianic Jewish Outreach” is indicative of a critical debate over evangelism or, as Dauermann prefers, the not-synonymous-term “outreach” (p. 94). Outreach does proclaim that Jesus is the Messiah but the social implications of this message go beyond the individualistic discourse often associated with evangelism. It finds itself more closely aligned with the wider Jewish community in the way discipleship is expressed. The most intriguing aspect of Dauermann’s essay is the idea that gentile and Jewish repentance differs (p. 95). This insight is very important and sets a framework for a Torah-informed repentance that is oftentimes overlooked (see Rom 2:12; p. 96).  

Another area in which diversity is expressed is found in Mark Kinzer’s essay, one whose influence is found throughout the first part of this book. Kinzer’s concern is the liminal state Messianic Jews find themselves with regard to Evangelical Protestantism on the one hand and the wider Jewish community on the other. His essay describes the way Hashivenu and the UMJC have sought to carve out a place for Messianic Judaism within the contemporary expressions of Judaism. This is clearly a hotly debated but intriguing development. Most of the debates relate to “the evangelical theological tenets of biblical and soteriological exclusivism” (p. 128). Kinzer’s broader influence has been felt in the publication of Postmissionary Messianic Judaism, the term “postmissionary” was chosen to make an ecclesial point: “Messianic Jews are not called to be representatives of the Christian community operating within another religious community (i.e., the Jewish people) but to be fully part of the Jewish world in both religious and national terms. In fact, they are to represent the Jewish community in relation to the Church, rather than the reverse” (p. 132). What Kinzer’s work does is to allow the church to think through the social implications of what it means to be part of the commonwealth of Israel (Eph 2:12). While the debates over a more inclusivist soteriology will undoubtedly continue, Kinzer’s “bilateral ecclesiology” should not be lost in the discussion for the way the church could relate to the Jewish people (p. 137). One final area of diversity should be noted, Daniel Juster’s essay brings to the fore the debates over the way Messianic Jews relate to the broader gentile Christian world. Here the debates over supersessionism and the sordid history of anti-Judaism create significant communal tensions. The idea of one body of Messiah that is expressed in two different ways is crucial for the continuation of “unity with distinction? (pp. 137, 142). This is seen as Jews are encouraged to continue to relate to God as Jews and, with the exception of the “One Law” movement, gentiles are encouraged to relate to God as gentiles, all in a relationship of “interdependence” and “mutual blessing” (p. 142; see further on this Tucker, Remain in Your Calling, pp. 115-35).  

In Part 2 the essays focus on the church and Messianic Judaism. I will highlight four of these essays, all of which are crucial for the development of a post-supersessionist approach to the NT. William S.Campbell’s essay “The Relationship between Israel and the Church” provides a post-supersessionist reading of Romans 9-11. This programmatic essay provides several interpretive trajectories for future scholars thinking about issues of supersessionism. For example, Campbell in reflecting on the purpose of Romans and the interdependence between gentiles and Jews in Christ concludes that “Israel is not merely a historical antecedent to the church, and the church has not replaced, and cannot displace, her in the divine purpose. Israel belongs to the present and future of the church and not merely to her inception” (p. 204). Anders Runesson’s essay “Paul’s Rule in All the Ekklēsiai” discusses 1 Cor 7:17-24 and argues that this passage provides scholars with a potential center for Paul’s theologizing. Runesson understands Paul’s rule to include the view that “socioethnic differences between the two groups [Jews and gentiles] ‘in Christ’” was expected by Paul and that the way each obeyed God’s commandments will look different based on this pattern of thought (p. 218). Also, Runesson is undoubtedly correct in noting that the use of ekklēsia by Paul should be understand as pointing to the idea that the Pauline movement was still within the broader synagogue community at this point (rather than disconnected from it) (p. 220). 

Justin Hardin’s essay addresses whether Gal 3:28 and Ephesians 2:14-18 should be understood to indicate that Paul sought to collapse ethnicity. He concludes, with regard to Gal 3:28 that Paul does not seek to obliterate ethnic identities: “On the contrary in this verse Paul announced the glorious universal reality that through faith in the Messiah, there is equality as children of Abraham across ethnic (as well as gender and social) boundaries” (pp. 228-29). In a similar way, Eph 2:14-18 does not erase ethnicity in the creation of the “one new humanity”; rather, it is a metaphor of “oneness” used by Paul to address the nature of the peace given in Christ (p. 231). Thus, those who claim that Paul develops a “race-less people” have overstated their position (p. 232). The idea that existing identities continue in Christ is a theme that is developed in Campbell, Runesson, and Hardin; however, Joel Willitts’ essay develops this further and in a way that provides an eschatological rationale for the continuation of ethnicity in Christ. Willitts researches Revelation 19-22 from a Jewish context (e.g., the bride imagery and Isaiah) and concludes that the New Heavens and New Earth are patterned on a Davidic city. Thus, Israel’s identity is never superseded and that “John teaches that Israel’s distinctive role in God’s administration of creation continues eternally” (p. 253). This interpretive approach provides a challenge to aspects of both amillennialism and premillenialism. Israel’s distinctive purposes are never supplanted (p. 246). 

Rudolph and Willitts are to be commended for putting together such a substantial volume. This book deserves wide attention from scholars, pastors, seminary students, and obviously those within the Messianic Jewish movement. It provides insights into the religious diversity evident in our contemporary context as well as alerting the reader to the emergence of a new paradigm for New Testament interpretation, i.e., post-supersessionism.