By Marney Blom
21st century Jews and evangelical Christians have a lot in common. Many agree the Messiah – a Jewish Messiah – is coming.
And when the long-awaited Messiah King – the Son of David – does appear, many Jews and evangelical Christians believe he will make his grand entrance through the currently sealed Eastern Gate of the Old City of Jerusalem and take up residence there. While mainstream Judaism believes it will be the Messiah’s first appearance, Christians and Messianic Jewish believers are anticipating the homecoming of Jesus – known as Yeshua in Hebrew.
As if in anticipation, Jerusalem today is a city buzzing with repairs, renovations and numerous reconstruction projects. For the past nine years, its main thoroughfare, Jaffa road, has tolerated the clamour of drills, hammers and construction crews. The long-anticipated opening of Jerusalem’s $1.1 billion Light Rail has made the way from the city’s modern western gate to the ancient Old City a smooth and easy ride.
What’s more, an ambitious $5 million restoration project – the first in nearly a century – has brought about the renewal of Jerusalem’s five century-old walls. The intent of the project was to repair the four-kilometer-long seven-gated ancient wall, while preserving the idiosyncrasies of the past. For example, the hundreds of machine gun bullets embedded into the stones of the Zion gate – remnants of fierce fighting in 1948, were left in tact. The Damascus Gate – one of the most impressive of the Old City’s seven entrances – witnessed its “crown” carefully recreated. Originally built in 1541 by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, the gates kingly edifice had been destroyed during the fighting of 1967.
Further reminders of Jerusalem’s regal past have surfaced through recent archaeological finds.
Dr. Eilat Mazar’s excavations along Jerusalem’s southeastern wall date back to the 10th century B.C. First-Temple period. With the Bible as her guide, Dr. Mazar uncovered structures coinciding with the temple, palace and surrounding city of King Solomon’s time – an archaeological first.
“The fortification line includes a typical 10th century biblical city gate, another house near by and a tower,” said Dr. Eilat Mazar. “[It is a] a very impressive construction.”
As the ancient stone walls of Jerusalem are being restored, a different kind of wall – the historic separation between Jews and Christians is gradually crumbing. At a recent press conference in Jerusalem, the American TV personality of the popular “Shalom in the Home” series and author of 26 books, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, unveiled his latest work, Kosher Jesus.
“There is a sea change in the Jewish Christian relationship. Once it was based on enmity as the Jews felt very victimized. They felt Christianity was a source of anti-Semitism. There is a whole new world out there,” stated the Rabbi. “Jews have to reclaim some of the influence they have in the world and the values they have given to the world through people like Jesus. Most people perceive Jesus to be the founder of Christianity, when really he was a devout Jew.”
Although Boteach stops short of recognizing Jesus as deity and engages in a controversial reconstruction of New Testament scriptures, the author does credit Jesus as an important Rabbi and a significant figure in Jewish history. Daring to openly embrace the topic of Jesus, the central figure of Christianity, traditionally taboo in Jewish circles, Boteach’s Kosher Jesus attempts to explore common ground on which Jews and Christians can dialogue.
If Kosher Jesus is “America’s most famous rabbi, meets the most famous rabbi of all time,” quoting Dr. Michael Brown, author of Answering Jewish objections to Jesus, it could be a sign that the Messiah may be on his way.
Marney Blom, Acts News Network, Jerusalem.
Copyright © Acts News Network, Inc.