The Gospel Before Christianity

The Gospel Before Christianity: A Jewish Perspective on Jesus’ Atonement, Sacrifice, and Redemption by Dr. Eitan Bar

What did the death of Jesus mean to people whose understanding of sacrifice, atonement and redemption came from the Hebrew Scriptures?

In The Gospel Before Christianity, Jewish-Christian Bible scholar Dr. Eitan Bar explores the death and resurrection of Jesus within the Jewish and Old Testament world in which the gospel was first proclaimed. Rather than beginning with later Christian traditions and theological frameworks, Bar returns to the Hebrew Scriptures to examine concepts including sacrifice, blood, atonement, cleansing, forgiveness and redemption.

Drawing particularly on Israel’s sacrificial system and passages such as Leviticus 17:11, Bar argues that understanding the Jewish context of Scripture can significantly reshape the way Christians understand the cross. He challenges interpretations of the atonement centred primarily on punishment and divine wrath, instead inviting readers to consider biblical themes of life, cleansing, reconciliation, restoration and God drawing His people back to Himself.

This is a thought-provoking theological read for Christians wanting to examine the Jewish foundations of the Christian faith, understand Jesus within His biblical context, and explore different perspectives on what Scripture teaches about the atonement.

Why We Love It:

• Explores the Jewish Context of Jesus: Looks at the gospel through the Hebrew Scriptures and the world that shaped Jesus, His disciples and the earliest Christians.
• Takes a Deeper Look at Atonement: Examines sacrifice, blood, forgiveness, cleansing and redemption across the Old and New Testaments.
• Challenges Us to Examine Our Assumptions: Encourages readers to distinguish between what the biblical text says and theological ideas we may have inherited from later traditions.
• Accessible Biblical Scholarship: Brings together Bar’s Jewish background, knowledge of Hebrew and academic study of the Bible in a format designed for everyday readers.

Who This Book Is For:

• Christians interested in the Jewish foundations of Christianity and the Hebrew context of the Bible.
• Readers studying the atonement and the cross who want to engage with perspectives beyond the theological frameworks they may already know.
• Pastors, Bible students and thoughtful readers wanting to explore how the Old Testament sacrificial system informs our understanding of Jesus.
• Readers of biblical scholars such as Michael S. Heiser who appreciate examining Scripture within its ancient biblical context.
• Small groups and book clubs ready to wrestle with significant theological questions about sacrifice, redemption, forgiveness and the character of God.

The Gospel Before Christianity invites us to go back to the biblical story that came before the cross and ask how Israel’s Scriptures prepare us to understand Jesus. Whether you agree with every conclusion or find yourself challenged along the way, Dr. Eitan Bar offers a fascinating Jewish-Christian perspective on Jesus’ atonement, sacrifice and redemption and an invitation to look again at the biblical foundations of the gospel.