Sid Roth

Sid:  We want everyone everywhere to be ready for the Messiah.  As most of you know I relocated the ministry to Charlotte, North Carolina. After I got here, just a few days after I got here, I have a cousin that is Jewish and not a believer in Jesus, comes from a strong Jewish background and I called her up and I said, “I’m in Charlotte.”  She said, “Well, Sid you might be interested in going to a wonderful debate between a conservative Jewish Rabbi and a Christian minister on the differences of the Jewish view of Messiah and the Christian view of Messiah.  I said, “That’s sounds wonderful.”  And I went to the debate and I have to tell you I could not believe my ears, I could not believe what the Jewish man had to say.  This rabbi, a Conservative rabbi, says he doesn’t believe that the book of Genesis is inspired by God.  Now if you take the book of Genesis and throw it out of the Bible then by the way I didn’t even think of what he thought about the rest of the Bible, but if the foundation of the Torah is thrown away what have you got in Judaism?  So I knew there was problem…and I knew that he’s Conservative, now if he’s reformed I could understand, but he’s a Conservative Rabbi.  Although I just recently in the paper and my guest by the way this week is Dr. Michael Brown who is also a Jewish believer in the Messiah.  He’s a Semitic language scholar; he has a PhD in near eastern languages and literature from New York University. And Mike I read in the papers that the Conservative Association has decided that homosexuals can now be Rabbis.

Michael:  They’ve done this in Israel actually, a Conservative is much closer to Reform these days.

Sid:  You know I don’t in my mind, I can’t…I still and my mind goes tilt when I hear a Conservative Rabbi say that a homosexual can be a Rabbi and be ordained, and that the Torah or the book of Genesis in particular isn’t even from God.  I mean what is Judaism anymore?

Michael:  You see once we set ourselves up as the ones who decide what’s inspired and isn’t and well this is outdated or outmoded or needs to be reinterpreted then we become the authorities and God is no longer the authority and who know where things will go next?

Sid:  Well, then so I listened to the Rabbi and my only conclusion inside not out loud was Oy Vey which loosely translated into English is Oy Vey.  That works the best.

Michael:  That works.

Sid:  That works too, and then the Christian minister gets up and he says “You know I love the Rabbi and the Rabbi’s me, and the only we’ll really know for sure who the Messiah is when He returns.  If it turns out to be the Jew Jesus than we’ll all be a one happy family.  And I think Oy Vey, which loosely translated means Oy Vey. What happens to the Jewish people who die before the Messiah returns?  So it’s sort of like a famous Rabbi I think you may know him, this famous rabbi said if a blind man leads another blind man won’t they both fall into the ditch.  The Christians was blind and the Jewish Rabbi was blind. I got so upset over this that when I found out about your new book, Dr. Michael Brown, I couldn’t wait  to orchestrate a debate between you and a Rabbi that’s probably considered one of the most well know Rabbis in the world.  He name is Rabbi Shmuley Boteach. He’s got a TV Show on the Learning Channel, it’s called Shalom in the Home, and what would happen if I had a real Messiah Jewish scholar and a real Rabbi debate who is Jesus?

Michael:  Yeah the thing that’s interesting, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach and I have known each other for about ten years.  We’ve had many debates and in the process of time have actually become really good friends, close friends and he wrote a book, came out earlier this year called “Kosher Jesus.”  And in his book he said, “Look we Jews need to reclaim Jesus, he was a great Rabbi.”

Sid:  I’ll tell you what, stop for one second, I want to hear what he said in his own words at the debate, let’s hear what Rabbi Shmuley Boteach thinks about Jesus.

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach debate excerpt:  Well, let me elaborate Jesus was a Jew. He was born a Jew, He lived as a Jew and He died as a Jew.  In fact He was killed for being a Jew. His religion that He practices throughout His life was Judaism; He kept the Sabbath.

Sid:  Okay, that was Rabbi Shmuley Boteach on who he thinks Jesus is, so Mike Brown came out with a book, after Rabbi Boteach came out with his, called “The Real Kosher Jesus.” Boteach’s  book is “Kosher Jesus” Mike’s book is “The Real Kosher Jesus.”  How do differ from Rabbi Boteach; Oy Vey and Oy Vey loosely means Oy Vey.  What a loaded question.

Michael:  See here’s the deal, I was really pleased that Shmuley wrote a book saying that Jews need to recover Jesus.  Yes, He was a great Jew, yes He was a great Torah teacher, yes He was called Rabbi there was not a formal title at that time, but the title of honor and respect Rabbi, my Master, My teacher.  We agree on that, we agree that much of His teaching has it’s roots in the Hebrew scriptures, and that He Himself lived a Torah observance life.  We agree on that but the most import fundamental things are the things that Shmuley misses.  He feels that Jesus died fighting against the Romans that He was a Freedom Fighter trying to lead a rebellion against the Romans believing for miraculous intervention to overthrow Rome.  I say the exact opposite, He came as a lamb, He didn’t come to launch a violent rebellion; we have seen what happens when religion gets violent that was not His purpose.  His purpose was to come and die as an atoning sacrifice to overcome evil with good to overcome hatred with love.  Not to establish a brand new religion called Christianity but to fulfill the promises to Moses and the prophets.  If you miss him as being the Messiah then you don’t understand why we’re still talking about Him 2,000 years later. There are plenty of famous Jewish Rabbis, there were plenty of Jewish Freedom Fighters.  We’re not talking about them around the world today, but we’re talking about this Rabbi Yeshua.  And here’s the most interesting thing Sid; Shmuley sent me the manuscript last year and said “Mike can you write an endorsement for it.”  And so I really thought “How can I write the endorsement on it, I differ with his main thesis, he attacks me in the book, but graciously he has fun very respectfully.”  But how can so I thought about it and I thought here’s what I’m going to do; I’m going to say while I passionately disagree with this this, this and this I’m so pleased to see an Orthodox Rabbi reclaiming Jesus, this is a fellow Jew and a Fellow Rabbi and you can call the book America’s Most Famous Rabbi Meets the Most Famous Rabbi of All Time,” and he used that endorsement.  Well in late January the book is scheduled to come out in Israel and then it’s going to come out in the United States.  As soon as word gets out about the book controversy starts rolling, Rabbis, Ultra Orthodox Rabbis’ don’t read the book, one ultra-Orthodox Rabbi puts out a band, no Jews are allowed to read this book.  Shmuley says that “I should split the royalty check after that publicity I’m going to get.” Well, any way January 18^th, a Wednesday night, I’m reading about the controversies, this books about to be released, and I get this tremendous burden in prayer that I’m suppose to say something, I’m suppose to speak into the midst of this.  I wake up the next morning it’s all over me, write your own book; write a book that will answer his and will be the most unique contribution to Jewish ministry, Jewish outreach that you’ve ever written and the most eye opening book for Christians you have ever written.

Sid:  Yeah, but I’m going to go a step further, when you read your book Mike, a Christian will now read the gospels and the book of Acts in a totally different light.  Most Christians read the New Testament, but they don’t understand the intricacies of the tensions that were going on between Paul and the Rabbis; between Jesus and the Rabbis.

Michael:  And this will put it in a context when they read a lot of Paul’s writings it’s going to open up to them.  So I get this burden write the book and get it out now.  And now here’s the funny thing Sid, I had the manuscript for months, suddenly out of the blue write this book, get it out now.  Well, through supernatural grace to write, I mean forcing myself to go to sleep at 5:00 in the morning, through supernatural work with the publisher.  From the day that I went to write the book to the day that the book came out and was in my hand was less than two and a half months.  Never experienced something like this so the “The Real Kosher Jesus” answers Shmuley; shows where he went wrong in some of his thinking and then takes the reader on a journey.   The subtitle is “Revealing the Mysteries of the Hidden Messiah.” We take the reader on a journey and unfold who Jesus the Yeshua really is.  Goes through some church history, how His real image has been obscured, and then ask the question, “Okay, is there a Kosher Jesus but un-kosher Christianity?  Did Paul change everything?”  We set the record straight and then open up the secrets, the secret of the hidden invisible God who can be seen and take the reader on this journey.

Sid:  You even deal with writings from famous Jewish people, from Jewish writings that are accepted by every Rabbi that really show that Jesus is the Messiah.

Michael:  Yeah, there’s the second chapter of the book I go through how more and more Jews are reclaiming Jesus.  I mean famous amazing statements from Einstein, from Martin Buber, from famous professors from Hebrew University, from Oxford University.  And they weren’t believers but they are like amazed with Jesus Yeshua is.

Sid:  Mike I have ask you a question and I don’t get this, but I want to know your spin; #1 I have observed the two of you together, there is a genuine affection, genuine which is hard to believe an Orthodox Jewish Rabbi, and a Messianic Jewish scholar; a genuine affection both ways not just one way.  Now how does he read your book?  How does he have a debate with you, multiple debates with you and not have a degree of doubt maybe orthodoxy is wrong maybe Jesus is my Messiah.  How can he do that?  I don’t get it?

Michael:  Well, let’s pray and hope that he does have doubts; I mean the fact is…

Sid:    But he puts the front up, if he does he doesn’t show it.

Michael:  Right and if he does I don’t know it either to be totally fair to him.  But here’s what I hope, I deal with…

Sid:  I’m sorry we’ll pick up here on tomorrow’s broadcast.