TNN Press has produced a variety Messianic
commentaries on various books of the Bible
under the "for the Practical Messianic"
byline. These can be used in an individual, small group, or
congregational study.
COLOSSIANS AND PHILEMON FOR THE PRACTICAL
MESSIANIC
coming 2010
The Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon are two of the most
overlooked letters in the Apostolic Scriptures
(New Testament) by today’s Messianic community.
Too frequently, our engagement level with
Colossians is limited to words that Paul issues
about Torah practices like Sabbath-keeping or
kosher eating or about something being
nailed to the cross. Because Christian friends
and family often use partial quotes from
Colossians to refute Messianic Believers who are
Torah observant, we often try to avoid Paul’s
letter. And like many of today’s evangelical
Christians, Paul’s letter to Philemon is totally
avoided, simply because we do not know what to
do with the issue of slavery. Ignoring these two
letters cannot be allowed to continue any
longer.
Colossians and Philemon, two letters of Paul written together, are
actually not too difficult to understand when
read as a whole—and when we consciously make a
point to interpret them for their original,
First Century audiences first. What was
the false teaching circulating among the
Believers in Ancient Colossae? Was it first
Jewish, and then pagan—or first pagan, and then
Jewish? When the Apostle Paul uplifts Messiah
Yeshua, is he simply claiming that He is like
the impersonal force Wisdom—or something much
more than Wisdom? Does Paul really affirm Yeshua
as being the Deity—God Himself incarnated as a
human? How were things like the Sabbath and
appointed times improperly used by the false
teachers in an ascetic philosophy designed to
appeal to the cosmic powers over which the
Messiah had prevailed? What can we learn about
the mystery of the ages, and how the power of
the gospel can change anyone? What role does a
letter like Philemon play in our reading of the
Bible?
In the commentary Colossians and Philemon for the Practical
Messianic, TNN Online editor J.K. McKee
shows us why today’s Messianic Believers need
not be afraid of these two letters any more. A
wide array of scholastic opinion is considered
in regard to these two texts, especially the
various proposals made about the false teaching
that disrupted the Believers in Colossae.
Contemporary applications for some negative
trends being witnessed in today’s Messianic
movement are also proposed, especially in terms
of the false philosophy and worship of angels
refuted by Paul. Colossians and Philemon are
both important letters for us to understand, as
today’s Messianic community strives to move
forward in its reading of the Pauline Epistles.
The
Epistle of Ephesians is a letter that contains a
very important message for the people of God,
who are to be encouraged in accomplishing His
mission for the world. Yeshua the Messiah is
portrayed as exalted above the cosmos, with His
resurrection power being accessible to all
Believers. God’s people have been selected by
Him to be holy, corporately composing a Temple
in which His presence can dwell. By the
sacrificial work of the cross, Jewish and
non-Jewish followers of the Messiah are to be
united together as a “one new humanity”—the
mystery of the gospel! All are to serve one
another in the Body of Messiah in mutual
submission, as Yeshua’s thoughts and mindset
nourish the whole ekklēsia. People are
encouraged to emulate God in their behavior,
living distinctively different lives from those
around them.
In
varying degrees, Ephesians has often been highly
valued by today’s Messianic movement because of
its emphasis of Jewish and non-Jewish Believers
being a part of the Commonwealth of Israel. It
does speak of the unity that we are to all have
in the Lord, as a testament to the grander
redemption of Creation that will come in the
eschaton. But while Ephesians is a text that we
often turn to, Messianics are often not aware of
the more detailed issues surrounding this letter
present in contemporary scholarship. Were the
“Ephesians” the only audience who received the
letter, or was this a general epistle written to
Believers in Asia Minor? Did the Apostle Paul
really write Ephesians, or was it written by a
second generation Believer in his name? What is
the specific debate surrounding the dividing
wall that has been abolished by the cross—is the
wall abolished really the Torah of Moses in its
entirety or could it be something else?
Are husbands the head/authority of their wives
or the head/source of their wives? How
interconnected is the composition of Ephesians
with the composition of Colossians?
In
the commentary Ephesians for the Practical
Messianic, TNN Online editor J.K. McKee
addresses the known and unknown questions that
this important letter asks us as Messianic
Believers. A large Jewish and Greco-Roman
Mediterranean background is considered of the
issues. Careful and detailed attention has been
given to the opinions present today surrounding
the dividing wall, and complimentarian and
egalitarian views of the household codes.
References to Tanach (Old Testament) concepts in
the author’s words are considered, along with
careful consideration for how Ephesians
challenges us as a faith community trying to
achieve our Father’s objectives. Poignant
questions as to how we can be molded into a
mature people are asked for today’s season of
Messianic uncertainty.
One of the major reasons that today’s Messianic
movement has grown in the past decade is a
significant interest by Believers in the Torah
and the Tanach. In too many cases, the Tanach
Scriptures were not probed in that great a
detail in a Jewish Believer’s traditional
Synagogue upbringing—and perhaps more serious, a
non-Jewish Believer’s Christian experience often
witnessed the Old Testament taking a back seat
to the New Testament in the Church. With many of
the ethical and moral controversies the greater
Judeo-Christian religious community is
experiencing in our age, a need for God’s people
to return to a foundational grounding in the
Tanach Scriptures is absolutely imperative. The
Old Testament cannot simply be disregarded any
more.
Many have stayed away from consulting the Tanach
not because of a lack of interest, but because
few want to have to deal with the controversies
it addresses. Unlike the Apostolic Scriptures,
constrained to the First Century C.E., the
period of the Tanach stretches back all the way
to the beginning of the universe itself.
Questions like: Who was the Pharaoh of the
Exodus? Did God actually condone the genocide of
the Canaanites? and Am I the only one who
thinks the Prophets are mentally disturbed?
are debates that many people do not want to
enter into. Even more significant is the affect
of critical scholarship which has attempted to
divide the Torah into non-Mosaic sources,
question the inspiration and historical
reliability of the text, and even regard much of
the Tanach as Ancient Israel’s mythology. For a
Messianic movement that claims to place a high
value on the Tanach, it is time that we join in
to these conversations.
A Survey of the Tanach for the Practical
Messianic
takes you through the Old Testament from a
distinct Messianic point of view. It presents a
theologically conservative perspective of the
books of the Tanach, but one that does not avoid
some of the controversies that have existed in
Biblical scholarship for over one hundred and
fifty years. The student, in company with his or
her study Bible, is asked to read through each
text of the Tanach, jotting down characters,
place names, key ideas, and reflective
questions. Each book of the Old Testament is
then summarized for its compositional data and
asks you questions to get a good Messianic feel
for the text. This workbook can be used for both
personal and group study, and will be a valuable
aid for any Messianic Believer wanting to study
the whole Bible on a consistent basis.
Paul's Epistle to the Galatians is easily the
most difficult to understand text for Messianic
Believers today. Galatians has been historically
interpreted by Christianity as delivering
Believers a choice between God's Law and God's
grace. Those who choose any obedience to the
Law, according to this view of Paul, are
unfaithful to the Messiah and the saving power
of the gospel. Supposedly, Paul was desperately
concerned for anyone who was trying to keep the
Torah of Moses. Consequently, Galatians is a
frequently-quoted text to today's Messianic
Believers, most of whom are trying to live a
life of holiness by obeying God's Torah in
accordance with the example of obedience modeled
to us by Yeshua.
Understanding Galatians in its original context,
for its original audience, and for the original
issues that it addressed is a severe challenge.
Was the issue that the Galatians faced forced
circumcision, followed by salvation―or was the
issue ritual proselyte conversion for inclusion
among God's people? Likewise, who were the
people errantly influencing the Galatians? Were
they authorized members of the assembly, or
misguided outsiders with a definitive agenda?
In the
commentary Galatians for the Practical
Messianic, TNN Online editor J.K. McKee
takes a direct look at the issues of Paul's
letter as he rebukes the Galatians for errors
that have crept into their congregations.
Engaging with contemporary Christian scholarship
on Galatians, critical questions regarding
common conclusions of Paul's words are asked.
Are Paul and Yeshua truly at odds when it comes
to the Torah? Were the Jerusalem leaders and
Paul at constant odds with one another? How does
Paul's progressive Pharisaism of the Diaspora
compare to the more conservative Pharisaism of
Jerusalem? What were the spiritual dynamics
present in Galatia? What does the term "works of
law" really mean? These are only a few of the
questions that are considered. Likewise, current
proposals from the New Perspective of Paul in
theological studies are also analyzed.
The Epistle
to the Galatians gives us a small peek into the
world of the early ekklēsia, and the
social dynamics and divisions between Jewish and
non-Jewish Believers that had to be resolved.
Many of the issues that the Jerusalem Council of
Acts 15 would address had yet to be discussed.
Many did not understand the Abrahamic blessing
of his seed being a blessing to the whole world.
Many thought that inclusion among God's people
came via ethnicity, rather than faith. Many did
not know the proper place of obedience to the
Torah. Paul's letter set in motion the need for
these issues to be addressed by the First
Century faith community.
This
commentary will aid many Messianic Believers who
have difficulty with Paul's letter to the
Galatians. It also provides solid, exegetical
answers to those who are skeptical, if not
critical, of today's Messianic movement.
Also included
in this commentary is an exposition on Acts
13:13-14:28: Paul’s visit to Southern Galatia.
The letter of
Paul to the Philippians is a frequently
overlooked and disregarded text in the Bible by
today’s Messianic community—yet it speaks so
profoundly to where we presently are and the
issues we are dealing, or will deal with in the
near future. Perhaps with the most Roman
character of any other book of the Apostolic
Scriptures (New Testament), save Paul’s letter
to the Romans, Philippians invites us into a
community of First Century Believers on their
own in the Roman colony of Philippi. These
people are surrounded by neighbors who are
hostile to both Judaism and the gospel message
of Messiah Yeshua. They number only in the few,
but the Apostle Paul is able to consider them
his close and affectionate friends, and seldom
has a negative word for them. The Philippians
are generous to his ministry work, and Paul has
strong feelings for their well-being and calling
in the Lord.
The Epistle
to the Philippians presents us with many
theological and social questions that cannot be
avoided by anyone who reads it. Above all
things, the Apostle Paul places Yeshua the
Messiah at the center of his life, and urges his
Philippian brothers and sisters to do the same.
He urges the Philippians to be kind, generous,
and be a light to their pagan neighbors. He
urges them to show humility and to be about the
supreme service of the gospel, even unto death.
He urges unity in the assembly, and that all
demonstrate God’s love to others. He affirms the
mystery of both the Divinity and humanity of
Yeshua. Paul also recognizes the value of women
in the local congregation, and how God will
raise them up when there are no men. For the
modern Messianic, Philippians shows us how small
fellowships and congregations on their own
should function, in addition to the huge
questions of how we can have a global vision
that recognizes the virtues of other ethnicities
and cultures, while still maintaining an Hebraic
view of the Scriptures and God’s mission.
In the
commentary Philippians for the Practical
Messianic, TNN Online editor J.K. McKee
addresses many of the avoided issues that this
text asks Messianic Believers. He takes into
account the First Century Jewish and
Roman background of Paul’s letter. He also
considers the large amount of intertexual
references that Philippians makes to the Tanach
(Old Testament), deeply embedded in Paul’s
vocabulary and mannerisms. Most importantly, he
considers the centrality of Yeshua for Paul, and
how all human achievements pale in comparison to
who He should be for us as born again Believers
who have experienced His transforming power.
Also included
in this commentary is an exposition on Acts
16:6-40: Paul’s visit to Philippi.
As
a Messianic Believer, do you have a problem
reading the New Testament? When you read the
Apostolic Scriptures, are you confused when you
encounter the Gospels, Acts, or Epistles? Have you
possibly been taught that the "New Testament"
replaces the "Old Testament," and that there are
contradictions between the two, only to be
reconciled by the coming of Yeshua? Do you have
difficulty reconciling the words of the Torah to
Yeshua, Peter, Paul, John, and the other
Apostles?
If
you have ever asked any of these questions, it
is time that you receive a re-introduction to
the Apostolic Scriptures. These texts record the
life story of Yeshua the Messiah, the history of
the First Century Messianic community, and the
challenges that the early Believers in Yeshua
faced. These texts are not contrary to the
Torah, but do continue God's progressive story
that begins in Genesis. They have valuable
lessons that every Messianic Believer and
Messianic congregation must learn in this hour,
as the Messianic community grows and matures.
A Survey of the Apostolic Scriptures for the
Practical Messianic takes you on a journey
through the New Testament from a distinct
Messianic point of view. The student, in company
with his or her study Bible, is asked to read
through each text of the Apostolic Scriptures,
jotting down characters, place names, key ideas,
and reflective questions. Each book of the New
Testament is then summarized for its
compositional data and asks you questions to get
a good Messianic feel for the text. This
workbook can be used for both personal and group
study, and will be a valuable aid for any
Messianic Believer wanting to study the whole
Bible on a consistent basis.
The Epistle to the Hebrews is one of
the most overlooked texts in the
entire Bible, and is greatly
unappreciated by many in the
Messianic movement. A profoundly
spiritual and intellectual
masterpiece, the theme of this
treatise is undeniably the Messiah
Yeshua, and His supremacy over all.
The author engages his audience by
describing Yeshua as the Creator,
being superior to angels, Moses,
Joshua, and as mediator of the New
Covenant. The author comes to these
conclusions using some very unique
ways, employing First Century
rhetoric and literary devices that
often evade your average reader.
The Epistle to the Hebrews asks
First Century questions for a First
Century audience. The Jewish revolt
in the Land of Israel was just
getting started, and the Temple was
on the verge of being destroyed.
Many Jews from all over the
Mediterranean world--who had
received Yeshua into their
lives--did not know what to do. Was
this the end of their faith? Many
were at the point of denying the
Lord. The author of Hebrews,
employing carefully constructed and
Scripturally-based arguments,
advocates that to not heed the
warnings of the past brought Israel
extreme judgment--and to deny the
Messiah would bring even worse
judgment. The bulk of his arguments
are deeply rooted in the Jewish
theology of the First Century that
we see attested to in a variety of
sources such as the Septuagint, the
Apocrypha, the Pseudepigrapha, the
Dead Sea Scrolls, Josephus, Philo,
and traditions later recorded in the
Mishnah and Talmud.
In the commentary Hebrews for the
Practical Messianic, TNN Online
editor J.K. McKee tackles some of
the difficult hermeneutical
questions that are asked when we
consider this text for today.
Hebrews asks ancient questions that
had to be answered by an ancient
audience: Hebrews has background
issues that cannot be answered
solely by a surface reading of the
text. Who wrote Hebrews? When was it
written? How broad was its original
audience? These are some of the many
questions that surround Hebrews. The
Twenty-First Century questions that
Hebrews asks are difficult for many
Messianics to consider: What should
the role of the Greek Septuagint be
in our theology? Do we ever make the
mistake of uplifting the Torah over
Yeshua? How do we maintain a high
regard for Moses, but understand
that Yeshua is superior?
In a very thorough and meticulous
way, the issues of Hebrews are
addressed fairly and scholastically.
We need to understand who Yeshua is
to us, who Moses is to us, what the
New Covenant is to us, and how we
should never lose sight of our
saving faith in Him. You will see
that the Epistle to the Hebrews is a
truly inspired and profound text.
The letter of James the Just, the
half-brother of Messiah Yeshua, is
not without its controversy. Often
considered to have the most Jewish
character among all the books of
the Apostolic Scriptures (New
Testament), James' epistle sits
between two extremes: those who deny
his message, and those who give his
message a weight that it was never
intended to have. James' letter has
a distinctive emphasis on the works
of the individual, and many have
viewed what he has to say as in fact
annulling the grace of God. Some
have denied James' place in the
Biblical canon, and others have
forgotten who James was as a humble,
kind, and patient servant of the
Lord.
James' epistle has a universal moral
message for all mankind, and
especially the Messianic community
today. Written at the beginning of
our Messianic faith, Yeshua's
half-brother was observing some of
the controversies and issues
creeping in as the gospel message
went beyond the Land of Israel. With
non-Jews being included in the
assembly, some were causing discord
and forgetting the ethics that God
requires of us to have as seen
throughout the Torah.
When you add to this the
persecutions that the early
Believers faced, coupled with the
fact that corrupt rich people were
being shown favor in the assembly,
you have a letter that deals with
practical faith and holy living.
In the commentary James for the
Practical Messianic, TNN Online
editor J.K. McKee addresses what we
need to learn as Messianic Believers
today from James' epistle. He takes
into account the distinct Jewish
character of James, cross
referencing James' writing with the
Torah and Tanach, the wisdom
literature of the Apocrypha,
Josephus, Philo, and the Mishnah and
Talmud. He also considers the First
Century history behind James'
letter, and parallels that exist
between James and the writings of
First Century Greek and Roman
moralists, with whom his broad
audience would have been familiar.
Most importantly, the various
theological opinions that have
existed over the centuries regarding
James are addressed, as are some of
the current scholastic trends in
Jamean studies, enriching the
diligent student who is looking for
a distinctive Messianic perspective
on this letter.
