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(More customer reviews)I am not Catholic, but a messianic Jew. Yet, I recommend this book because it is very well researched and makes a point the Catholic church should have made long ago, namely that there is no break between Jesus and his Jesus heritage as so many have assumed. It gives hope for the Jewish-Gentile reconciliation which really began in the 1st century, but was sabotaged by centuries of theology of anti-Jewish contempt. Joseph Mali's excellent exegesis is proof that the Holy Spirit cooperates with those who are willing to mine the wealth residing in the Word of God within its Jewish context. Let us welcome fresh spiritual insights from Africa, the first continent to respond to the gospel. The impact of Joseph Mali's work ought to be as profound as Dan Lioy's Jesus as Torah in John 1-12, since both arrive at similar conclusions. Though I put little faith on Jewish-Christian dialogue per se, I consider this book a true and worthy point of departure for reconciliation based on recognizing Yeshua (Jesus) as the Messiah for all, Jews and gentiles. If the bridegroom was taken away to be crucified after he collided with the religious authorities, He also promised to return when His bride is One, i.e. when partitions (Jew/gentile, etc.) are no longer artificially raised. I dare say that includes, racial, gender, denominational partitions, as well. The Holy Spirit knows no such partitions. Tearing the partition never meant destroying the identities, but restoring their infinite value and preciousness to the LORD Himself who gave his life of His own free will (new wineskin) to cleanse, sanctify and preserve them for Himself. Here is Jesus' obedience: "The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life--only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father." (John 10:17-18). The Father asked Him to give his life for many, but did not obligate him to do it. So, in his sinless humanity, Jesus chose to obey the Father, thus fulfilling the Torah perfectly. Our sin made our Father God the primary victim from the very beginning, and it makes our fellow man the secondary victim to this day. Jesus was the only one who was, in his divinity the primary victim and in his humanity the secondary victim. Yet he did not die "as a victim", but to vindicate God our Father, His Word which He embodied, and all of us who repent and return to Him. To repent means we can no longer look for a scapegoat, because the Scapegoat has already been provided. Yeshua considered us precious enough to die for our sake. That makes us all equal recipients of His mercy and grace. All the glory belongs to Him. Now the kingdom as well as the judgment of all nations are near and what I do betrays what I believe. My faith without works is dead and cannot save. Therefore abide in him that He may prune you and make you fruitful. He empowers all who believe to do godly works appointed for us to do. If He was made perfect by His obedience, my obedience is not an option (John 14:21-23). Let's not mock His sacrifice. If we hold on to sin, we shall be known by our fruits and judged accordingly. If I consider myself free from guilt, condemnation and the fear of hell, and yet I am not free from the sin that binds me, I am a hypocrite indeed. Let us shine the light of our One Mediator and Savior for all the world to see.
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Against the tendency to interpret Scripture in ways that separate Christianity and Judaism, Joseph F. Mali, through a redaction-critical analysis of the two sayings on the ""new"" and the ""old"" (Mark 2:21-22), argues that Mark does not leave his readers with a complete break between Jesus and his Jewish heritage. Rather, the Evangelist opens a ray of hope that the gospel and its Jewish soil are ultimately reconcilable, not fatally antagonistic. His thorough and incisive study inform Mali's conclusion that standing at the literary center of the controversy series (Mark 2:1 - 3:6), the location of the two sayings on ""new"" and ""old"" (Mark 2:21-22) corresponds to their function of making a condensed statement for Mark, the Evangelist, of the meaning and impact of the whole conflict section.
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