Jewish interpretation - New Testament

after Christianity.

Would you be able to explain what you mean by "after Christianity"? Are you referring to a specific point in time?

My focus is to find the messiah of Israel, full of humanity, not divine, fulfilling the prophecies about them.

Are you looking for Arian interpretations of the New Testament?

Could you indicate packages or bibliography in logos 8 that fit this goal?

Perhaps, after I get a better understanding of what you are looking for.

Grateful to answer. Sorry for any misconceptions and if I did not make myself understood.

I refer to the NT interpretation using only the tradition of Jewish sages: Midrash, PaRDeS, Talmud, Mishna, especially Kabbalah, Zohar, etc.

If we are going to use some temporal reference, I would propose the following hypothetical question:

Imagine if we went back in time, with the New Testament gospels in hand, in their current wording, but read and interpreted in the first century of the common age. How would Gamaliel or another sage in his day interpret the words of Jesus and his disciples on a Shabbat, considering that at that time no Western interpretive movements had yet emerged? That is, there were no Roman or Reformed theories in the world. There was no Constantine, no papacy, no Calvin, no Luther, no church fathers. It would be a hypothesis that there would only be Jews in Judea or Galilee reading a Jewish text written by Jews to Jews.

Hi there!  Your hypothetical question is also one which over the years has personally fascinated and challenged me. Seeking answers effectively requires a wide range of resources, though the ones MJ Smith points to are very good. Finding the ways in which different sages interpreted the scriptural text whether or not they individually had a perspective on the messiah is important as well as knowing that the concept of Messiahship varied over time and according to different interpreters and religious groups. 

Here are some additional resources that can be found in the Faithlife website - 

David Mishkin - "Jewish scholarship on the resurrection of Jesus'

https://www.logos.com/product/173381/jewish-scholarship-on-the-resurrection-of-jesus

 Rabbi Itzhak Shapira - "The return of the kosher pig: The divine messiah in Jewish thought"

https://www.logos.com/product/156962/the-return-of-the-kosher-pig-the-divine-messiah-in-jewish-thought

 John Fischer - "Enduring paradox: Exploratory essays in messianic Judaism"

https://www.logos.com/product/7256/the-enduring-paradox-exploratory-essays-in-messianic-judaism

 Shirley Lucass – "The concept of the messiah in the scripture of Judaism and Christianity"

https://www.logos.com/product/50105/the-concept-of-the-messiah-in-the-scriptures-of-judaism-and-christianity

 James Drummond - "The Jewish messiah: A critical history of the messianic idea among the Jews from the rise of the Maccabees to the closing of the Talmud"

https://www.logos.com/product/32454/the-jewish-messiah-a-critical-history-of-the-messianic-idea-among-the-jews-from-the-rise-of-the-maccabees-to-the-closing-of-the-talmud

 Tom Huckel - "The Rabbinic Messiah"

https://www.logos.com/product/1104/the-rabbinic-messiah

J.A. Fitzmyer - "The Dead Sea Scrolls and Christian Messianism" has a chapter on "Qumran Messianism' (Chapter 5) 

https://www.logos.com/product/17012/the-dead-sea-scrolls-and-christian-origins , though a fuller consideration of Messianism is in the following.

J.A. Fitzmyer - "The One who is to Come" 

https://www.logos.com/product/49313/the-one-who-is-to-come

I hope that some of these suggested resources may be of use to you.  Best wishes  Paul  

Dear Paulo,

I appreciate your desire for truth and your willingness to ask questions on this forum. I hope you find many great tools here. Your question is familiar to me and while I do appreciate your concerns, this issue raises some concerns for me as well. If I may ...

1] Your yearning for something "pure" is commendable. Always seek the Lord for hIs mind on how to understand and walk out your faith in Messiah.  I know that you will at the same time remember that this is a 'sin sick' world in which we all as finite human beings must own our own shortcomings. We need each other; we must respect and honor each other for the strengths HE has imparted to each and we will need to "chew the meat and spit out the bones". This because ALL human writers are equally flawed and we are all missing some pieces of the puzzles. Selah.

2] The concern about supercessionist influences upon biblical interpretation is a historical fact. It is still being addressed by many credible modern scholars [Brueggemann (who I was reading this morning) and many others]. See bibliographical note below.

3] There can be problems using "original or so called early" Jewish texts. Some are difficult to date and others are already at that time reactionary. One cannot think that some of these writings are unaffected by human agendas, social and political influences and even, yes, religious biases. 

4] My words are being written in haste and I am sure I am not expressing myself as well as I might hope to, but my point is that we need guidance dealing with these matters. There are MANY modern scholars who are aware of these concerns of yours and who DO seek to be appropriately informed by the Jewish writings that are pertinent - Dr. Michael Brown, Dr. Michael Heiser, Darrel Bock, Dan Juster and scores of others. I recommend Craig Keener for another. But if you scan the offerings on the Logos web site carefully, you can find so many others. 

5] My last word is from a deep place of concern in my heart. I have been in the Messianic world for abut 40 years now and I want to encourage you to keep growing in your walk with the Lord. Do not be afraid of Christian writings nor reject them as "irrelevant" to you. There are many tools necessary for the building of a sure and lasting structure. We (imperfect as we all are) need New Covenant lenses in order to more fully appreciate and celebrate Yeshua. The New Covenant He established is from heaven and it is absolutely NOT entirely inconsistent with the Jewish world in which He and the apostles lived. For me [and I expect for you] He is high and lifted up, He is our foundation and may we seek to keep Him central in our studies and worship. 

Ron Corbett

Brueggemann, Walter. Theology of the Old Testament: Testimony, Dispute, Advocacy. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2005. [see p.104]