The Jew Named Jesus

Simon-Peter, Rebekah. The Jew Named Jesus: Discover the Man and His Message. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2013.

This book is not what I was expecting from the title. I thought that the book would go into more detail about how Jesus observed Jewish customs. It did show these, but it was superficial and really didn't address the culture behind them or give Christians significant insights into the Jewish roots of the Christian faith. Instead, I felt that I was reading more of a spiritual memoir about the author's journey since converting to Christianity from Judaism. I also felt this book was part of her crusade against "replacement theology" which is taught in some churches. However, from reading this book, you would think that only a handful of churches did not teach the view that the church replaces Israel. She really did not need to convince me that God is not finished with Israel. I can read in my Bible that God's covenant with Israel is everlasting. I really feel that my pastor does a better job of addressing the subject covered by the title of the book than the author did. Perhaps the author should have first written her spiritual memoir and then written something on the topic of the book so that she would not be tempted to deviate from the subject. I did, however, enjoy reading of her faith struggles as she came to terms with her new faith. I am glad that she was able to discover the man and his message for herself and only wish she had done a better job articulating it for her readers in such a manner that they too could understand Him from the Jewish perspective. This review is based on an advance e-galley provided by the publisher through NetGalley.