I am pleased to recommend Brad Young’s research into the parables of Jesus, and I am sure that his new book, Jesus and His Jewish Parables, will help its readers gain a clearer understanding of Jesus’ words and teaching.
There is no question that the way to understanding Jesus leads through his Jewishness. To be a Jew in Jesus’ day meant learning not only the Hebrew Bible, but also a wealth of rabbinic interpretation. Jesus’ contemporaries called him “Rabbi” — Teacher — and my experience has shown me that Jesus was a very learned man. His words were sometimes simple as salt (e.g., Mt. 16:26), but even in such cases he alluded to Jewish learning, and he sometimes also spoke as a rabbinical authority (e.g., Mt. 12:11-12).
A knowledge of this Jewish background is vital for a modern reader to understand what Jesus really meant. You do not have to be Jewish to be nourished by Jesus’ bread, but to become a New Testament scholar it is essential to acquire a sound knowledge of ancient Judaism. If you want to understand Jesus’ parables without becoming a scholar, you have to find a teacher who is an expert in Jewish matters. Dr. Young is such an expert, a scholar whose books reveal new aspects both in Jewish and in New Testament research.
There is no need to fear Jesus’ Jewishness. Paul has written with great insight “that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order
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