***Interesting premise, as a Rabbi constructs a theoretical conversation between himself and Jesus using the texts in Matthew and a little bit of respectful imagination. Although he decides in the end not to follow Jesus' teachings his perspective is a great reflection for any apologetically minded Christian. The Rabbi claims his rejection really boils down to his view that Israel's nationhood was not prominent enough in Christ's Kingdom message, that he was too focused on the individual's role. I thought however that the Rabbi's rejection of Jesus as God and his dependence on Man's works were the root of his contentions. If man's work to keep the torah's commands is a sufficient way to achieving God's kingdom on earth, we don't need Jesus as Messiah and if Jesus is not God, how would his "fulfillment" of the torah have any more authority than any other pontificating Rabbi. But Neusner doesn't delve at all into the issue of Christ's deity, and issue I would love for him to have more fully addressed. Nonetheless his carefully constructed arguments are informative for anyone who wishes to see inside the mind of an unantagonistic yet uncoverted Jew.
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