Robby Gallaty - The Forgotten Jesus: How Western Christians Should Follow an Eastern Rabbi

The message of Jesus may be timeless. But his life, teachings, death, and resurrection were all time-stamped. They took place in the real word at a specific time and place. In The Forgotten Jesus, Robby Gallaty helps us better understand the long-forgotten culture and context of Jesus's life and ministry so that we may better grasp the timeless beauty and power of his gospel.

Larry Osborne, Pastor and Author,
North Coast Church, Vista, California

For many years, First Fruits of Zion has aimed to help Christians to know Jesus better by seeing Him in His Jewish context. Pastor Robby Gallaty is a pastor and Bible teacher who shares that vision. His new book The Forgotten Jesus will help Christians to remember the Jewish Jesus who has largely been forgotten. Read this book if you want to know and follow our Master better!

Boaz Michael, Founder and Director of
First Fruits of Zion in Jerusalem, Israel

Looking for something new? Look to something old! This book is gold with fresh insight to the preacher in teaching Gods Word and gold to believers in seeing new understanding into the New Testament by looking to the oldthe Old Testament. Dont miss this treasure that God has revealed through Robby Gallaty.

Bryant Wright, Senior Pastor of Johnson Ferry
Baptist Church, Marietta, Georgia

Robbys passion for Jesus ignites and unites the way he thinks, speaks, and acts. His design in this book is to help you do the same. To my mind, he achieves that goal. Do you crave to love God as Father the way Jesus did? Read on! And may the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob grant you the desire of your heart.

James Whitman, Director, Center
for Judaic-Christian Studies

Im delighted to see Robby Gallatys The Forgotten Jesus and know it will be of great benefit for anyone wanting to understand Jesus Jewish context. As Gallaty re-situates him in his historical setting, he shows how our Rabbi brought the truth of Gods Word to its greatest expression. Readers will be freshly amazed at Jesus life and ministry when they view it in light of his first-century Jewish reality.

Lois Tverberg, Author of Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus

The Hebrew word for knowledge, daat, conveys the meaning intimate knowledgea knowledge that includes love. In any relationship, constant curiosity and a desire to learn more about a person enable us to grow deeper in our understanding. And the more we learn, the more we will act in order to please the one we love. In reintroducing us to the forgotten Jesus, Pastor Robby offers us the means to ignite and rekindle our knowledge of and love for the Good Shepherd of our souls, Messiah Jesus, and for our Father in heaven. May we persevere in what my beloved, late husband, Dwight A.Pryor, called the great adventure of beholding the man Jesus of Nazareth, in the beauty of his humanity and the brilliance of his teaching. This book helps us do just that!

Keren Hannah Pryor, Author of A Taste of Torah and A Dash of Drash (www.ffoz.org)

This book will help you understand and appreciate the significance of the Jewish-ness of Jesus and the larger biblical narrative. I highly recommend this book!

Matt Carter, Pastor, Austin Stone Community Church

Also by Robby Gallaty

MARCS of a Disciple

Rediscovering Discipleship

Growing Up: How to Be a Disciple Who Makes Disciples

Firmly Planted: How to Cultivate a Faith Rooted in Christ

Foundations: A 260-Day Bible Reading Plan for Busy Believers

Creating an Atmosphere to Hear God Speak

ZONDERVAN

The Forgotten Jesus

Copyright 2017 by Robert Gallaty

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zondervan, 3900 Sparks Drive SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546

ePub Edition February 2017: ISBN 978-0-310-52924-8

Bible versions are listed on page 12, which hereby becomes a part of this copyright page.

Any Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers in this book are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Published in association with the literary agency of Mark Sweeney & Associates, Naples, Florida 34113.

Cover design: Matt Wrightson

Cover photo: Christ, by Heinrich Hofmann

Interior design: Kait Lamphere

Interior photography: Shutterstock, except page 105: amite/istock

17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 /DHV/ 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To the late Dwight A. Pryor

Founder of Judaic-Christian Studies (jcstudies.com)

Your passion for uncovering the Jesus of

the Bible still burns in me today. Im forever grateful for the

time we spent together in the land where Jesus lived.

Contents

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version). Copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked CSB are taken from the Christian Standard Bible, copyright 2016 by Holman Christian Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version. Public domain.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.Zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Jesus was a Jewish man who was raised in a Jewish culture, reared by exceptionally devout Jewish parents, and lived according to the Jewish laws. He was circumcised on the eighth day of his life and was dedicated to the Lord. As he grew up, he regularly attended the synagogue on the Sabbath, participated in every biblical feast, studied and memorized the scriptures, learned a trade from his father, and started his rabbinic ministry at age thirtyall of this according to Jewish customs at the time. At the age of thirty, he selected twelve Jewish men to forsake everything, learn his teachings, and carry on his mission. Consequently, prior to Jesuss death, most of his followers were Jews who professed faith in Jesus as Messiah but still kept the festivals, worshiped in the temple, and observed the Sabbath.

If we look at Christianity today and compare it to how it began, we might notice that the Jewishness of both its founder and its original followers has been lost.

Our journey to recover the Jewishness of Jesus will bring familiar passages to life by viewing them through a Middle Eastern lens. For example, you may have heard that at the beginning of the book of Acts the disciples were huddled in a room fearfully waiting for the filling of the Holy Spirit. But a careful reading of the text proves that this teaching is inaccuratethey were hardly in hiding, and they had