Talks by Daniel Lancaster
(As given at the FFOZ National Conference 2011, “Yoke of the King”, focusing on the future of Gentiles in Messianic Judaism)
- Sinai and the Seventy Nations
General Description:
A historical overview of the Messianic Movement and the ministry of FFOZ in which the future vision and path of the Messianic Gentile is defined by the role of the G-d Fearer.
Main Point:
Messianic Gentiles are the future of Messianic Judaism due to sheer numbers, and will carry the movement into the next generation; not by “redefining Torah to suite our fancy” but by “allowing Torah to be transmitted, practiced, and applied as the people of Israel lay out the pattern and define it”.
Pertinent quotes:
“Messianic Gentiles are Ben Avraham which is a step above Ben Noah”
“Not every Gentile Christian will be called to take up this yoke (of Torah), which is o.k.” . . . “when you live in exile and the King is absent things will be messy, there will be diversity [among Gentile believers] and we will be o.k. with that”.
- Yoke of the King (part 1)
General Description:
A definition of Matthew 11 and Yeshua’s “yoke” based on biblical, apocryphal, and Talmudic sources.
Main Point:
Yeshua’s yoke is his reign and rule as king, based on Torah, which is easy and light compared to the yoke of oppression the Jews faced under the rule of the Roman government. In general Yeshua is offering rest from oppression, tyranny, and anxiety under the present government, and by extension from the cares and burdens of life itself for those who learn from him.
Pertinent quotes:
“[Yeshua] never lowers the bar of Torah, there is nothing easier or lighter about Yeshua’s teaching of Torah or halacha, [instead] Yeshua raises the bar by pointing toward the inside attitude and the heart.”
“You want to do the easy commandments of Torah? Keep kosher, worship on Saturday, wear tzizit, and put a Mezuzah on your door. The Master reaches inside, his commandments are not lighter or easier”.
My question:
How does this understanding of Yeshua’s yoke as easier than the burden/oppression of the Roman government reconcile with the context of Matthew 11 in which Yeshua relates woes and G-d’s judgment upon cities that have witnessed his greatest works, but yet reject him?
- Yoke of the King (part 2)
General Description:
Three steps for Messianic Gentiles to take on “the Yoke of the King”.
Main Point:
Gentile believers take on Messiah’s yoke by; 1. Taking on the seven Noahide Laws 2. Taking on the teachings of the Apostles (in the Epistles) 3. Taking on principles found in the Didache (such as “doing as much as you can of Torah”). Ultimately “caring for one another” and “carrying one another” is the Yoke of the King.
Pertinent Quotes:
“G-d fearing Gentile is a category of Judaism”. . . “Those who take upon themselves the seven laws of Noah are considered as practicing Judaism”.
“It is inadequate to refer to Gentile believers as Bnei Noah in the Messianic Jewish movement, the apostles teach Gentiles as Bnei Avraham by faith — not literally the sons of Abraham, but those who follow the faith of father Abraham.” “Gentiles have a bigger responsibility than Bnei Noah, the vast majority of Torah (ethical, moral etc.) is incumbent upon Gentiles.”
“A Gentile who does not keep strict Sabbath halacha is more Orthodox [according to Judaism] than a Gentile who keeps strict Sabbath halacha.”
My question:
The seven laws of Noah as taught by the rabbis encompass 60 or more commands of Torah of an ethical and moral nature. With this in mind, in what way do Gentiles as Bnei Avraham carry a bigger responsibility? Would it be correct to say that Bnei Avraham are Bnei Noach who, like Abraham, have faith in the promised seed, the Messiah, and are blessed (with eternal life) through him?
- The Gentile Communities of Galatia
General Description:
Consideration of the book of Galatians to explain Paul’s teaching that believers in Yeshua are “one new man”.
Main Point:
Paul’s teaching of “one new man” in Messiah does not embody sameness or eliminate Jewish and Gentile distinction. One new man is describing the new creation in Yeshua. Just as Eve was the only new creation after the heavens and earth were completed, so believers are new creations formed of the body of Messiah, the supernal Adam. Both Jewish and Gentile believers are new creatures, children of G-d.
Pertinent Quotes:
[The Christian misapplication is that] the “one new man” is a Gentile — this is Darwinianism, natural selection, survival of the fittest – not that there is no longer Jew or Greek, but that everyone is Greek.” “The goal of Messianic Judaism is to correct this fundamental misunderstanding”
[One law misapplication is that] the “one new man” is a Jew. One law neutralizes Jewish identity; it dilutes it and eliminates it by giving Gentiles the same legal status as Jews. Through intermarriage all definable borders that determine who is Jewish and who is not Jewish are erased. This theology is the end of Jewish identity.”
“Our insistence on sameness has been the greatest theological impediment of all to the advancement of the gospel.” “Jewish identity is precious and is in danger – Messianic Jews on the whole are not preserving it.”
My question:
Is it possible for Messianic Gentiles to be the future of Messianic Judaism, when Messianic Jews are on the whole not preserving their own identity (through laxity in Torah keeping and allowance of intermarriage)? Is the concept of Messianic Gentiles, (those who take on the sign commandments of Torah), upholding Jewish identity within the believing community, an oxymoron?
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The talks of Toby Janicki will be considered in part three of this series.
