The Bema Podcast has been very helpful in providing the Jewish / Eastern context of the Scriptures, as well as many things I have missed for many years. It has also reignited my desire to know my text. Before I continue to share this resource with others, I wanted to get your thoughts on it (as a teacher and brother I respect and followed for years).
I have watched hundreds of Bema podcasts—all of seasons 1-5 plus numerous episodes in later seasons. Bema is useful in that it gets people thinking—and into their Old Testaments! I have heard from so many people how this material has reignited their passion for God's Word. Bema also illuminates the Jewishness of the early church, esp. in Palestine. Amen! I do have one concern, however. Bema sometimes makes statements that are speculative, or else imply that later rabbis (say, of the 4th or 6th century) know what was done and taught in the 1st century. I think we need to take the later sources (Mishnah, Talmud, etc) with a grain of salt.
The doctrine that the kosher laws still apply, at least to Jewish-background Christians, is questionable. So is the notion that a near-exact version of the Lord's Prayer is found in the Jewish Amidah. There should be better fact-checking.
As for the Jewishness of Christianity—and the possibility of overestimating this—there are a number of pieces at the website. To give just two examples, see Follow the Rabbi and Yeshua. And if you missed it, please listen to the series on Messianic Judaism (which came out in 2020—and as a book in 2022). These suggestions should help with matters of nuance that are sometimes missing from Bema.
Please see also Q&A 1632.
