INTRODUCTION John was not a Baptist, Mary was not a Catholic, and Paul was not a Reformed theologian,

they were all Jewish.1 For many this statement sets off a light bulb in their mind and reminds them of the simple yet important truth of the roots of the early Church. For others, however, the Jewish origins of Christianity are not mentioned at church, and even many Bible colleges and denominations want nothing to do with the Jewish people. They often think like Luther and others before him who proclaimed that the Jews were most accursed people for crucifying the Lord Jesus Christ. One extreme we find is the desire to completely avoid our Jewish roots, while the other is to reject Gods New Covenant and take on the yoke of the Mosaic Law. The issue was settled in Acts 15, and we should remember God does not want Gentile believers to live as Jews.2 Dr. Heidler notes that some have estimated that in the past five years more Jews have come to know their Messiah than in the previous 2000 years. These Jews are not forfeiting their Jewish identity and joining a Gentile Church, but they remain Jewish and have a greater appreciation for it. They still observe the Hebrew traditions, attend Synagogue on Sabbath, and celebrate the feasts, but they now honor and worship Yeshua as the promised Savior and Messiah of Israel.3 Dr. Heidler notes that in Eerdmans Handbook to the History of Christianity Out of a total of 656 pages, Christianitys relationship to Judaism is dismissed in one brief paragraph. The implication is that the churchs Jewish heritage is irrelevant4 Mike Brown asks a similar question to the one above, noting that Jesus was actually a Jew from birth until death when he says, So, when did Jesus become Catholic? After He rose from the dead?5 Statements such as this lead us to search and discover where our roots actually lie as the Christian church.

1 2

Author unknown.

Robert D. Heidler. The Messianic Church Arising! (Denton, Tx; Glory of Zion International Ministries, 2006), 12-13.
3

Ibid., 14.
4

Ibid., 156.
5

Michael L. Brown. The Real Kosher Jesus. (Grand Rapids, Michigan; NavPress Publishing Group, 2012), XV.

In hopes to point out certain areas where the Church has neglected its Jewish heritage, and to help the church to think Hebraically, this paper seeks to uncover the roots of the olive tree to which we belong.6 NOT A NEW RELIGION East and West It seems especially difficult for Christians living in the United States, Canada, and the British Isles to get inside the Hebrew mind.7 This is because many Christians trace their roots back to the Western Europe instead of the homeland of the Hebrew people in the ancient Near East. It is understandable why Westerner Europeans are more exposed and influenced by the philosophical culture of the Greeks; bringing an enormous cultural curtain to separate their Western European past from the East.8 When doing proper exegesis of a passage of Scripture we have to perform lexical, historical, and literary studies to find the meaning of the passage in its original context, but to overlook the Jewish mind we are creating artificial scholarship at best. The meaning of words and catchphrases has changed. We can only understand the story of Jesus and the preserved words of Jesus if we study the times during which Jesus lived.9 We must not just take from the Jews what we deem important but engulf ourselves in their culture and take both the good and the bad together as we find it. Many Christians want to take the Hebrew Bible and the Hebrew Savior as our own, but they dont want to take the Jewish people as their own. We would do well to take a lesson from Ruth 1:16 Ruth said, Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.10 Instead many in the early Church took the Greeks as their teachers. Justin Martyr was influenced by Platonic thought before his conversion, and ended up bringing many of those thoughts into his teaching. Clement and others from Alexandria placed great emphasis on
Marv R. Wilson. Our Father Abraham: Jewish Roots of the Christian Faith. (Grand Rapids, Michigan; William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1989), 34.
7 6

Wilson, 24.
8

Wilson, 24.
9

Stephen M. Wylen. Jews in the Times of Jesus: An Introduction. (Mahwah, NJ; Paulist Press, 1996), 2.
1 10

All Scripture is from the English Standard Version unless otherwise noted.

reading the Bible through Platonic eyes. This had a dire effect on the Church in matters of marriage, family, salvation and even our physical bodies and matter was considered evil.11 Many people have thought of the early churchs worship as somber, quiet, and almost mournful. That concept of church worship, however, did not become prevalent in the church until after the fourth century when the church was overrun by the asceticism of pagan philosophy.12 The early church like the Jews were a fervent and joyful people, who often sung, danced, and praised loud as commanded in the psalms, and celebrated as David did with the return of the Ark of the Covenant. Severing the Ties Dr. Marv Wilson observes that when the Church decided to meet on Sunday it became a issue to separate from its original place in Judaism.13 Instead of meeting on Saturday like its Jewish brethren, the Christian Church chose to meet on Sunday because it was the day Jesus rose from the dead. Over the centuries the Jewish community has interpreted the Churchs decision to worship on Sunday as a rejection of the very heart of Jewish experiencerejection of the Law.14 Although some Jewish Christians were still attending synagogue in Jeromes day A.D. 400, by A.D. 160 the Church had an attitude of Israel for itself. The Synagogue had a firm stance that Jesus was not the Messiah of Israel which left the Church to be more in discontinuity and even seen as the replacement of Israel.15 It was not until the fourth century, under the influence of Constantine, that the church finally broke from its Jewish roots. Even then, however it took centuries of persecution to completely remove the Jewish influences. This left me with an unexpected question, Was it really Gods will for the church to break with its Jewish roots?16 Not A New Religion
11 1 12

Wilson, 90.

Helider, 21.
1 13

Wilson, 79.
1 14

Ibid., 80.
1 15

Ibid, 84.
1 16

Heidler., 12.

Today there is a rise of Christians who desire to return to their Jewish roots, referring to Jesus Christ as His Hebrew name Yeshua HaMashiach, God as Yahweh or HaShem (meaning the name because YHWH is to holy to pronounce), and celebrating the Passover Seder and Shabbat or Sabbath on Friday sundown to Saturday sundown. Most of these Christians have no Jewish blood in them but they recognize that Christianity never set out to become a new religion. It is a fulfillment of Judaism, the along waited prophecies are found in Yeshua. The second sermon Peter preached to his fellow Jews was to repent. This is reminiscent of the call of the Prophets in the Hebrew Bible Ezekiel 18:30, 32.17 The term repent as noted by Maimonides is a four step process. The first is confession or acknowledgment of guilt, second is regret or expressing shame for committing the wrong. The third is a strong resolution to not commit the sin again, and the last step is to be restored to God and be reconciled. In light of this, conversion would not be abandoning ones ancestral people or Jewish faith but being renewed and restored in Gods forgiveness and love within that same community. 18 The first followers of Jesus were Jewish and were much a part of Jewish activities. Simon Peter prayed in the Temple (Acts 3:1), made defense before the Sanhedrin, a Jewish version of our Supreme Court (4:5-12), and when told to kill and eat non kosher food, he protested (10:13-14). The Jewish apostles taught in the Temple and interacted with the teachers of the Law, as Jesus their rabbi did.19 Hegel, the father of modern historical study, was in the camp of those who want nothing to do with the Jewish people, and believed Judaism was a flawed religion and should have died out with the rise of Christianity. Those in the other camp saw Judaism and Christianity not as rivals, but as a mother and daughter. There is still a third group for whom rabbinical Judaism and Christianity are sisters, two common outgrowths of a single mother, biblical Judaism. 20 The Sanhedrin chose to be tolerant, partly

17

Wilson, 42. Solomon Schechter. Some Aspects of Rabbinic Theology (London: The Macmillan Company, 1909), 337. Wilson, 43. Wylen, 11-12.

18

19 20

because the followers of Jesus attended temple services regularly and strictly observed Jewish laws and rituals. They showed no signs of rejecting the Law of Moses or the authority of the Temple.21

When Gentiles first started becoming Christians some Jewish believers argued they should be circumcised, after all it was a Jewish message, about a Jewish Messiah.22 The question was not whether or not Jews could belong to this new community, but whether Gentiles could belong with only repentance to this totally Jewish community. 23 This is a great misunderstanding of our day, knowing that it was not the Jews who were dependent on us for salvation, but that we were in no place to evaluate them for admittance into the communities of the early Church. We Gentiles who have hope in the Jewish Messiah should remember the words of Jesus in John 4:2 salvation is from the Jews. The New Testament is irrefutable about the beginnings of the Church in its origin; Christianity was Jewish to the very core. The essentially non-Jewish character of todays Church is a matter of history, not a question of origins.24 GRAFTED IN The roots of Christianity run so deep into Jewish soil that even a rabbi, Rabbi Shmuley, wrote a book entitled Kosher Jesus. After years of study, Shmuley now believes that we can see in the Christian Bible one of our own rabbis, Jesus, even our brother.25 Roots were always important, for Israels faith was deeply imbedded in history. Thus knowledge of beginnings is central to biblical thought. To be cognizant of ones past is essential for establishing confidence about the future.26 Christians know much

2 21

Bruce L. Shelley. Church History In Plain Language. (Nashville, TN; Thomas Nelson, 1995), 17.
2 22

Michael L. Brown. What Do Jewish People Think About Jesus? (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Chosen Books, 2007), 216.
2 23

Wilson, 43.
2 24

Ibid., 43.
2 25

Brown The Real Kosher Jesus, xvii. 26 Wilson, 3.

about the latest trending fashions, technology, what the rank of their favorite spots team is, automobiles to come out, and music, but far too few have a deep understanding of their spiritual heritage.27 As children of Abraham, Christians should be asking, What does it mean to claim spiritual kinship with Abraham and the Jewish people?28 Marv Wilson notes that many if not all Christians heed Pauls warning in Romans 12:2 to renew our minds, and not let the world squeeze us into its mold. But we have to remember the way we do this is to pattern our lives after what the Bible teaches. Our frame of reference should be based on building blocks derived from Scripture and this comes from gaining the mindset that the writers of Scripture had, and this was Hebraic. Thus Dr. Wilson goes on to say We must enter their world and become conversant with their culture. We too must look to Abraham our Father.29 In a narrative form Andrew Walls speaks of a spaceman who can travel through time to observe the original Jerusalem Christians in about 37 C.E. All are Jews meeting where only Jews can enter -- the Temple. They offer animal sacrifices, keep the seventh day free from work, circumcise their children, and follow the rituals. If the same spaceman where to fast-forward to 325 C.E. at the Council of Nicaea he would notice that hardly one of them was Jewish, and they were in fact hostile to Jews. The Christians in this era were horrified at the idea of animal sacrifices and circumcision, and when talking about offering sacrifices they meant bread and wine. Many did not have children since they viewed marriage as inferior and church leaders were not expected to marry. They treat the seventh day as a normal working day and rest on the first day of the week.30 In the early modern period anti-Semitic Scholars wrote history from the prejudiced view that Jesus was surrounded by an evil, corrupt Jewish world. The early modern scholars more friendly to Judaism and saw Christianity as an outgrowth of Judaism, a wild branch grafted into the olive tree, to use Pauls imagery. 31
2 27

Ibid., 5.
2 28

Ibid., 5.
2 29

Ibid., 5.
3 30

Robert L. Gallagher and Paul Hertig. Landmark Essays In Mission and World Christianity. (Maryknoll, New York; Orbis Books, 2009), 133-134. 31 Wylen, 11.

It means that Gentile believers understand Pauls words in Romans 11:18, specifically, his warning that, You do not support the root, but the root supports you.32 Wild Olive Branches First, those in the Christian community who may feel the olive tree died about two thousand years ago and thus the root has no life now left in it must read Romans 11 again. There Paul emphatically says that God has not rejected His people (v.1).33 Paul states that the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body (Eph. 3:6 b). Hence Gentiles have a new historyIsraels history in now their history. In the early Church, therefore, Jew and Gentile claimed a common spiritual ancestry with the Hebrews of old.34 Some may say that because Paul stresses justification by faith rather than the works of the Law, the Torah and Jews are permanently set aside, but Paul himself says by no means in Romans 11:1. Paul in Romans 11 warns those of us who come from Gentile backgrounds and come to faith, not to boast or become arrogant for we are but wild olive branches grafted into the olive tree, which is Israel. There is unity between Israel and the Gentiles, and this symbol shows the destiny of faithful Jews and Gentiles bound together.35 Thus the Church, firmly planted in Hebraic soil, finds its true identity in connection with Israel. The Church is fed, sustained, and supported by this relationship.36 Dr. Wilson also notes that the grafting portrayed is very unusual and shows that by taking what is wild by nature and joining it with choice stock the point is made that what is worthless, with nothing to boast, is now suddenly valued through its new connection.37 The root which is Israel brings support to the newly grafted branches (Romans 11:18) and it has the nuance of nourishment, life-support or that upon which

3 32

Brown, What Do Jewish People Think About Jesus?, 188.

3 33

Wilson, 30.
3 34

Ibid., 9.
3 35

Ibid., 12-13.
3 36

Ibid., 13. 37 Ibid., 14.

one is utterly dependent. This also implies the constant attitude of submission and this then gives the proper attitude of the Gentile believers in regard to his place in the family of God.38 In Pauls view any church which exists independently of Israel ceases therein to be the church as a part of Gods salvation plan and becomes simply another religious society.39 Unfortunately as Peter Richardson notes as early as the middle of the second century the Church had arrogated to itself the very position of the olive tree.40 Christians are debtors to the Jewish people for their vast religious heritage, as a child is bounded to mother, Christianity would not exist without Judaism.41

PAUL AND JESUS Before the Sanhedrin in Acts 23 Paul never speaks of his Judaism in the past tense. He proudly proclaims, I am a Jew! (Acts 22:3) and I am a Pharisee! (Acts 23:6).42 We can see how God chose to speak to us today through the Jewish people and with Hebrew mind frames, even though the New Testament or Christian Bible is written in Greek it is very much a Hebrew book.43 So at the core, Pauls theology was essentially Hebraic, albeit in his letters dressed in Greek words. This was the spiritual mindset of Paul, the Jewish scholar of Tarsus.44 We are driven to realize that the theological vocabulary and linguistic idioms behind much of the Greek New Testament are Hebraic to the very core.45 That is, Paul felt at liberty to adhere to the regulations of the Mosaic Law in matters such as circumcision the Nazarite vow and the purification ritual Paul, still faithful to Judaism, wanted to get to
3 38

Ibid., 15.
3 39

Dan G. Johnson. The Structure and Meaning of Romans 11, Catholic Biblical Quarterly 46 (1984), 100.
4 40

Wilson, 16.
4 41

Ibid., 19.
4 42

Heidler, 11-12.
4 43

Wilson, 8.
4 44

Ibid., 8. 45 Ibid., 9.

Jerusalem by Pentecost Paul adhered personally to such Jewish as the above apparently to show the people that by becoming a Christian he had not forsaken the Law but remained a faithful Jew, firmly committed to his ancestral Scriptures and traditions.46 Shouldnt we as followers of our Lord Jesus have the same view of the Old Testament He did? The Hebrew Bible had full authority and inspiration over His life and the lives of the apostles, for the Hebrew Scriptures makes up nearly eighty percent of the Bible.47 Some have gone so far as to say Jesus was not Jewish at all but a Gentile, which seems not nothing less than poor scholarship. In fact Jesus had a deep commitment to Jewish beliefs and practices of His day. As we know from the Gospel of Luke He was born to Jewish parents and circumcised on the eight day in accordance to Jewish Law. Also in Matthew He celebrated Passover with His family, learned with Jewish teachers, and was frequently at synagogue on the Sabbath.48 Dr. Moseley also notes that Jesus was most likely a Pharisee, if indeed He were associated to any of the other Jews sects, it would be them. Jesus was not so much attacking Pharisaism but defending it against hypocrisy, as it was not until Christianity was predominately Gentile that Pharisee had negative connotations. Pharisees believed that Israel was responsible for the Babylon Captivity for failing to keep Torah so they made sure to study it, this being the highest form of worship. They had such a strong commitment to study Torah that it was esteemed more highly than the synagogue itself, and we hear this attitude echoed in Pauls words in 2 Timothy 2:15 Study to show thyself approved by God49 Samuel Samdmel notes that the Lords Prayer could readily have appeared without change in rabbinic literature.50 The teachings of Hillel which overlapped with that of Jesus, was noted for teaching the whole of Judaism as, not doing to your neighbor that which is hateful to yourself, that is the whole
4 46

Ibid., 29.
4 47

Ibid., 112-114
4 48

Ibid., 40. 49 Moseley, 95-96.

5 50

Samuel Sandmel. Judaism and Christian Beginnings (New York; Oxford university Press, 1978), p. 358.

Torah, and the rest is commentary. Jesus is noted for speaking this but He is really quoting from Leviticus 19:18, and Deuteronomy 6:5. There are numerous passages in the Gospels that affirm the Jewishness of Jesus and His endorsement to the Hebrew Bible.51 In Matthew 5:17 Jesus states that He did not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets, but to fulfill them; somewhere down the line we decided to have a different goal than Jesus. Dr. Wilson speaks of the importance of other Jewish sources that help us to know of the background of Jesus day, for example the Apocrypha indicates why Jesus celebrated Hanukkah in Jerusalem. Without the Apocrypha we would not know about this holiday. In addition many of Jesus parables are given clarity through a study or rabbinic literature. Many topics, stories, and idioms such as Matt 7:2, 6:22-23, 18:18; 16:19 are seen as normative, and we are helped in our exegesis by studying rabbinic literature for a deeper meaning of the sayings of Jesus.52 EARLY CHURCH Contrary to what some believe, the first fifteen bishops of the original Church at Jerusalem were Jewish.53 Eusebius tells in his Ecclesiastical History that the church at Jerusalem was first formed of the circumcision, and then came to be formed of Gentile Christians, from the time of the apostles until the siege of Jerusalem. During A.D. 117-138 the Jewish nation was crushed and Jerusalem was renamed Aelia Capitolina by the Romans. The Jews were forbidden to enter the city for one hundred years, leaving Gentile believers for the first time in control of the Church.54 The structure of the local synagogues was carried over directly into the structure of the early Church.55 The Hebrew Christians were not completely removed until the second century leaving the church to be much a part of first-century Judaism.56
5 51

Wilson, 118.
5 52

Wilson, 120-121.
5 53

Ron Moseley. Yeshua: A guide to the Real Jesus and the Original Church. (Baltimore, Maryland; Lederer Books, 1996 ), 7. 54 Moseley, 7-8.
5 55

Ibid., 8.
5 56

Ibid., 8.

10

SIMILARITIES notes the. Dr. Moseley points out many similarities of the Synagogue and the Church. The principle leader in the synagogue was called the nasi or president, and likewise in the Christian congregations until as late as 150 A.D. The leaders were called president rather than pastor. In the synagogue three of these leaders formed a tribunal for judging cases concerning money, thief, immorality, admission of proselytes, and other things as mentioned in the Sanhedrin section of the Mishnah. In 1 Corinthians 6:1-2, we notice this was still in use among Gentile believers. The public minister of the synagogue was called a chazen who prayed, preached behind a wooden pulpit, and made sure the one who read the Law did it properly by overseeing it. Another group who cared for the poor and distributed alms, and were expected to be scholars of the Scriptures were known as gabbay tzedikah, from where we may get the modern term deacon.57 There are also other roles from the synagogue adopted by the church: the shaliach or the announcer or the apostle, the maggid, a migratory evangelist who spoke to various congregations, and the batlanim who was a scholar who provided the congregation with accurate academic answers. The zakin provided counsel similar to our modern pastors, and the rabbi was a prophet in the manner of the post-exilic prophets, who read and preached the Word edifying and exhorting the people.58 Not only were the organizational structures Jewish, but also many customs. Some speculate there were no Gentile believers for at least the first ten years. Dr. Moseley goes on to say he believes this because of Acts 10 where the Lord had to instruct Peter three times to enter the Gentile house as noted earlier.59 It is also not surprising that we would have a debt due to the Jewish people for our concepts, words, and theology. From the Synagogue we get the idea of the canon, sacred, authoritative Scripture to rule and guide our lives. The Scriptures were read, preached, and used in prayers. We as Christians even obtained our order of worship, titles of church offices elder shepherd, vocabulary of prayer, amen
5 57

Ibid., 9-10.
5 58

Ibid., 10-11. 59 Ibid., 11-12.

11

and hallelujah, not to mention the idea of baptism by immersion and the Lords Supper from Judaism.60 Christians are a branch grafted into Israel; we are not meant to be on our own, we get our life force from Israel. NOW WHAT TO DO? Everywhere Paul went among the Gentile congregations, he collected money to bring back to Jerusalem to help the poor believers there. Making it clear to these Gentile Christians that helping the Jerusalem disciples financially was the least they could do (Rom 15:27; 11:17-25 ).61 And more and more Gentile believers in Jesus are recognizing their debt to Israel and how, through faith in Jesus, rather than displacing Israel from Gods plan, they are working with Him to see Israel fulfill Gods plan.62 At the very least we should acknowledge the importance of the Jewish roots to Christianity; others have taken the next step to stand with Israel in praying for peace, giving and supporting the state of Israel financially, and spreading the truth about the olive tree and the wild branches. Dr. Marv Wilson gives a few examples of things Christians can do to learn from Jewish people and reclaim their Jewish roots. For those who many have the ability or funds, visiting the death camps of Dachau or Auschwitz or even holocaust museums in the states helps to remember that we are involved and must never be silent or leave the terrible event of the holocaust for Jews alone. It makes the Night of Broken Glass or Kristallnacht more unforgettable and helps to prevent another one happening. As a local Pastor, Scott Smith, usually says of Christian -Jewish relationships, we need to remember that while Christians are normally theological people, the Hebrews are a historical people. They remember our silence during the holocaust and the sins committed against them during the crusades, and we should offer them love and be an ally. As Isaiah 40:1 states, Comfort, comfort My people says your God. We should learn to rejoice with them when they rejoice and mourn with them when they mourn.

6 60

Wilson, 126.
6 61

Brown The Real Kosher Jesus, 116-117.

6 62

Ibid., 121.

12

Visiting a local synagogue on Shabbat or other holidays such as Passover or Purim helps us to catch a glimpse of how these holy days were celebrated in the times of the Bible. There is much that can be learned from seeing the Passover and the steps that the Jewish people take. It brings to life the communion scene we have once a month and the Exodus scenario.63 In some Synagogues you can take a free Hebrew crash course, which is a fun way to get to know our Jewish brethren and the language of the Hebrew Bible. They may even have you recite prayers in the beginning of service that you will learn in the Hebrew class. It is one thing to take a class at a Bible College or Seminary with non-Jewish professors teaching you Hebrew without an accent, and another thing where actual fluent Hebrew teacher speaks and sings the Hebrew Scriptures while you worship and learn. If you or your church is able, take a trip to the holy land with a church and synagogue interfaith trip which can help you to interact with political and religious leaders while building relationships.

CONCLUSION To understand ourselves and Christianity, Every Christian should desire a greater knowledge and strengthening of the Jewish roots of his faith. In this lifelong search and endeavor, loving and concern for Jewish people in not optional.64 We have a debt to our Jewish brothers and sisters, even if one is not convinced by the arguments above concerning the olive tree and the wild branches, for as Romans 13:8 states, we are to owe no man anything but to love them. For those who are convinced of Christianitys Jewish roots, there is additional reason to appreciate the Jewish people for the depth of their culture, their preservation of the Hebrew Bible, and descriptions they gave of the time and their faith that would be lost without the literature they have written. We as Gentile believers are not to become Jews, but to embrace them as our brothers, to pray for them as we would for our own. We should remain humble in our relations and remember that though they have much to learn and gain from us, it is likewise that we can learn, gain and grow from them.
63 6 64

Wilson, 330-331.

Ibid., 335.

13

BIBLOGRAPHY
14

Brown, Michael L. What Do Jewish People Think About Jesus? Grand Rapids, Michigan; Chosen Books, 2007. Brown, Michael L. The Real Kosher Jesus. Grand Rapids, Michigan; NavPress Publishing Group, 2012. Gallagher, Robert L. and Paul Hertig. Landmark Essays In Mission and World Christianity. Maryknoll, New York; Orbis Books, 2009. Heidler, Robert D. The Messianic Church Arising! Denton, Tx; Glory of Zion International Ministries, 2006. Johnson, Dan G. The Structure and Meaning of Romans 11, Catholic Biblical Quarterly 46 1984. Moseley, Ron. Yeshua: A guide to the Real Jesus and the Original Church. Baltimore, Maryland; Lederer Books, 1996. Sandmel, Samuel. Judaism and Christian Beginnings New York; Oxford university Press, 1978. Schechter, Solomon. Some Aspects of Rabbinic Theology London: The Macmillan Company, 1909. Shelley, Bruce L. Church History In Plain Language. Nashville, TN; Thomas Nelson, 1995. Wilson, Marv R. Our Father Abraham: Jewish Roots of the Christian Faith. Grand Rapids, Michigan; William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1989. Wylen, Stephen M. Jews in the Times of Jesus: An Introduction. Mahwah, NJ; Paulist Press, 1996.

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