-Messianic Jewish Theologian-
Rabbi Mark S. Kinzer, Ph.D.
Besorah: The Resurrection of Jerusalem
and the Healing of a Fractured Gospel
The gospel of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth has healed countless lives over the centuries, but the gospel itself has been wounded through neglect of one of its main components. The books of Luke and Acts reveal that the death and resurrection of Jesus are linked inextricably to the destruction and promised restoration of Jerusalem, the city that personifies the Jewish people as a whole. To highlight this expanded understanding of the gospel, Mark Kinzer and Russ Resnik unpack the Hebrew term for gospel, besorah, as a prophetic message of salvation for Israel and all nations. In Luke’s besorah, the death and resurrection of the Messiah are a sign of the coming judgment and restoration of Jerusalem and the Jewish people—a restoration that brings with it the renewal of all creation. This prophetic dimension of the besorah is a key to healing the fractured gospel and restoring its power amidst the strife and tumult of the twenty-first century.
Dr. Jen Rosner, author and scholar, recently interviewed Mark Kinzer and Russ Resnik about their just released (June 2021) book, Besorah: The Resurrection of Jerusalem and the Healing of a Fractured Gospel. The book is a non-academic presentation of the materials from Dr. Kinzer's longer, more academic work, Jerusalem Crucified, Jerusalem Risen.
Book Introduction (6 Minute Video)
Does a Divine Messiah Fit Within Judaism?
Messianic Jewish and Traditional Jewish Scholars Discuss
Traditional Jewish scholar, Dr. Zev Garber and Messianic Jewish scholar, Dr. Mark Kinzer participate in a discussion on whether a divine Messiah fits within Judaism and how Messianic Judaism's view of Jesus's incarnation affects its relationship to the broader Jewish world. This discussion took place at the 2020 Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting to interact with the ideas presented in Dr. Kenneth Hanson’s and Dr. Zev Garber’s book, Judaism and Jesus, a book analyzing the historical Jesus and Messianic Judaism.
Who is Rabbi Dr. Mark S. Kinzer?
Mark Kinzer’s work has been foundational to the development of a theologically robust and responsible Messianic Judaism in the 21st century, a contribution that will lead to significant reverberations in the wider Jewish and Christian worlds.
David Rudolph, author of A Jew to the Jews (Mohr Siebeck 2011) and editor of Introduction to Messianic Judaism (Zondervan 2013)
[Mark Kinzer is] a breakthrough thinker who has taken Messianic Judaism to a new level of theological sophistication.
Richard Mouw, former President of Fuller Theological Seminary
[Mark Kinzer is] widely regarded as the [Messianic Jewish] movement’s foremost theologian.
R. Kendall Soulen, Wesley Theological Seminary
As a Messianic Jewish theologian, Mark Kinzer now joins the ranks of David Stern, Daniel Juster, and earlier Hebrew Christians such as Jacob Jocz, Joesph Rabinowitz, and Paul Levertoff. Each in their time helped to shape the aims and aspirations of Jewish believers in Jesus, articulating their views in the context of Church and Synagogue.
Richard Harvey, Mishkan
Very perceptive in this field of Jewish-Christian relations are the pioneering books of the Messianic Jew Mark S. Kinzer.
Henk Bakker, Faculty of Theology, VU University Amsterdam
I have come to recognize Mark Kinzer as a major theologian whose work deserves serious attention in the Catholic world.
Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna, Austria
