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Jews for Jesus' Rich Robinson, in his own review of Kinzer, identifies a key problem: Kinzer's declaration that "the Jewish people remain in covenant with God, with their own distinct calling and way of life intact, despite their apparent communal reject[ion] of Yeshua's divine mediation" is an affront to Paul's clear teaching that Jews need to be evangelized.

These qualms are enough to trouble many in the Messianic community. They bother me, too. But Kinzer's strong stands on supersessionism and antinomianism are worth serious consideration by Jewish and Gentile believers alike. Both can learn something from him, even as one hopes Kinzer's thinking on other matters will evolve.

Mark A. Kellner is a writer and editor who lives in Rockville, Maryland.

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Also posted today is:

Messianics for Evangelicals | The Messianic Movement surveys a vast and often confusing realm.

Post-missionary Messianic Judaism is available from Christianbook.com and other book retailers.

More on Messianic Judaism includes:

Jacob vs. Jacob | Jewish believers in Jesus quarrel over both style and substance. (Feb. 8, 2005)

Elephant in the Room | Messianic Jews seem to be an embarrassment in an otherwise thoughtful dialogue. (May 18, 2004)

University Forbids 'Offensive' Tracts | Messianic Jew sues University of New Orleans over ban. (Sept. 17, 2003)

CT Classic: Do Jews Really Need Jesus? | What evangelicals believe about evangelization of the Jews—and whether the Holocaust makes a difference in that task. (Aug. 16, 2002)

CT Classic: Judaism Under the Secular Umbrella | The best challenges force you to identify yourself. (July 26, 2002) A 1978 interview with Chaim Potok.

Weblog: Dial M For Messianic Jews | Jewish groups fight messianics in phone book (Feb. 18, 2002)

The Return of the Jewish Church | In 1967, there were no Messianic Jewish congregations in the world. Today there are 350. Who are these believers? (Sept. 7, 1998)

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March 2006, Vol. 50, No. 3