A Lifelong Commitment to Jewish-Christian Relations: Dr. Marvin Wilson
By Marvin R. Wilson
This post is excerpted from Susan Michael’s book Every Generation’s Story: 75 Years of American Christian Engagement with Israel, which follows the unique experiences of 18 American Christians representing 5 generations who responded to God’s call to go to Israel—and how it changed their lives forever.
I was in elementary school during the final years of Adolf Hitler’s reign of terror, the last years of World War II (1939–1945). … My first awareness of the Jewish people came from watching short news reels from Europe that played at our local theater on Saturday afternoons. … However, at this young age, I had no sense of the immensity of the targeting and systematic destruction of the Jewish people. After studying this over my lifetime, I still wonder about the indifference and silence of the church during the Holocaust. Thus, I firmly believe that Christian support of a strong and secure Israel is one important way to right an ugly historical wrong. …
In the early 1950s, during my high school years, I went with my parents to several “Israel in Bible Prophecy” conferences held in various New England churches. The speakers affirmed something new and “prophetic” was happening and that it was tied to Israel’s return to the Land—the “ingathering” promised in Scripture.
Mentors in the Early 1960s
In the winter of 1960, I was in my final semester at Gordon Divinity School. The class was an intensive study of the newly discovered Dead Sea Scrolls taught by F. F. Bruce, a world-class New Testament scholar. Simultaneously, my Old Testament professor, Dr. Charles Pfeiffer, encouraged me to pursue graduate studies in Hebrew Bible and Semitic languages. Pfeiffer had studied under Cyrus Gordon, a distinguished Jewish linguist and Hebrew Bible professor. … [He] felt I would thrive under Gordon at Brandeis University, so he drove me there to meet him. Gordon’s response to the question about me doing my PhD work under him was, “Yes!”
The following fall, Professor Gordon captured my attention when he started class by saying, “This morning, I would like us to turn to a Torah passage written by my ancestor, Moses.” Those words blew me out of the water! No Christian pastor, teacher, or professor I had ever heard spoke about the Bible in such a personal way. However, as a Jew, Gordon saw himself as part of an interconnected, dynamic family whose teachings and traditions extended back to Sinai.
It was an existential moment that set my life in a new direction. … For the first time in my life, I saw the connection between a historical figure of Israel’s past and a living person of Israel’s present. From that day forward, I knew my calling would involve teaching the Hebrew Scriptures and building relations with the People of the Book. … For decades now, I have been a man on a mission to seek and find ways to remedy this disconnect. The Bible is one of the greatest gifts from the Jews, and Christians must find tangible ways to thank the people God chose to impart His revelation to the world. Commitment to involvement in Christian-Jewish relations and support of Israel are meaningful avenues to accomplish this extraordinary task.
Dr. G. Douglas Young: Evangelical-Jewish Relations
After completing my graduate studies at Brandeis in 1963, I started my first full-time teaching position at Barrington College in Rhode Island. During the 1960s, Dr. G. Douglas Young, president of the Institute of Holy Land Studies (now Jerusalem University College), lectured annually at Barrington in my Old Testament classes. While there, Young would recruit students for a summer of study at his Jerusalem campus, established in 1956.
Like Pfeiffer, Young was one of Cyrus Gordon’s students. When he spoke, he emphasized why it is important for Christians to visit Israel and why they need to read the Bible through Jewish (non-Western) eyes. As a pioneer in Evangelical-Israeli relations, Young stressed the need for Christians to return to the source: to study the geographical, archaeological, and physical settings of the Bible in Israel. … Every time Dr. Young came to Barrington College, he fed a growing hunger within me to visit Israel as soon as possible.
… In June 1967 the Six Day War broke out in Israel. The rabbis of the greater Providence area were greatly concerned about the safety of the Israeli people. One evening, a thousand Jews gathered in the ballroom of a local hotel and pledged over $2.3 million in support of their fellow Jews in Israel. (With inflation, that would be over $10 million today). Dozens of Jewish students in the Brandeis University community also responded to the war in Israel by immediately dropping their studies and catching the next available flight to Israel to help wherever needed so Israelis could join their military units and defend the Land. These responses to the Six Day War showed me how Jews are an interconnected, international family. They truly care for each other. …
My First Trip to Israel: The 1972 Lod Airport Massacre
… In the spring of 1972, I made my first trip to Israel, where I audited courses and lived in the same building as Dr. G. Douglas Young at the Institute for Holy Land Studies in Jerusalem. … It was shortly after the massacre at Lod Airport. … As soon as we landed still in my seat, military and customs officials boarded the plane, frisked me, and inspected each item in my carry-on bags—all while questioning me continuously. Other passengers received similar treatment. When we were finally allowed to enter the terminal, I smelled disinfectant, still pungent after airport workers removed the pools of blood from the terminal floor. I also saw the holes left by the bullets sprayed from the terrorists’ assault rifles.
My disconcerting entry into the “Holy Land” remains a powerful reminder of the ubiquitous nature of antisemitism and the fact that Jews are not safe in their own country. The very people who have given so many life-changing blessings and contributions to the world cannot even experience the gift of shalom living in their homeland. Little wonder that Israel calls its army the Israel Defense Forces.
…
I committed significant time to study antisemitism and the Holocaust and identifying opportunities to educate others. Since the early 1970s, dozens of my students have completed academic internships taught by Holocaust Survivors at the Holocaust Center Boston North. Others have taken leadership roles in speaking out against antisemitism in their communities and through media outlets. A few of my students have held full-time positions with para-synagogue organizations that fight antisemitism. …
National Conferences for Evangelicals and Jews
Several months after I returned from my first trip to Israel, Dr. Young called me from Jerusalem quite unexpectedly. He had recently visited New York and had a lengthy conversation with one of the most influential rabbis in America, Rabbi Marc Tanenbaum, director of interreligious affairs at the American Jewish Committee. Tanenbaum emphasized to Young that in the States, Jews and Evangelical Christians do not know or understand each other well and that he would like to see that situation change. Tanenbaum asked Young about developing a three-day conference that would feature a dialogue between Evangelical and Jewish scholars and leaders. Young’s Institute for Holy Land Studies and the American Jewish Committee (AJC) would cosponsor the conference. Young needed to remain in Israel, so he asked if I would be willing to serve as the Evangelical coordinator of the conference. I would be working with Tanenbaum and his staff to develop the program and secure the most knowledgeable Evangelical scholars to speak on the topics agreed upon for the conference. With some trepidation, I accepted the assignment, which involved three years of planning in cooperation with AJC staff.
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In 1989 I published Our Father Abraham: Jewish Roots of the Christian Faith (William B. Eerdmans), a textbook on the relationship of Judaism to Christianity and the history of Christian-Jewish relations. After more than 30 printings and translations into six foreign languages, a second (expanded) edition of the book was released in 2021.
I am indebted to Dr. G. Douglas Young for how in my formative years as a scholar, he instilled confidence in me that Evangelical-Jewish relations were possible. He emphasized the importance of including Evangelical and Jewish perspectives on Israel in conference agendas and insisted that sensitive and patient dialogue could be productive and exceedingly valuable. He was right! My decades of experience focused on Evangelical-Jewish relations testify to Dr. Young’s vision and wisdom. …
Return Visits to Israel Have Changed My Life
When my first visit to Israel ended and it was time to return home, I was overwhelmed with sadness. As I boarded my flight back to the States, one question consumed me: How soon could I return? The Land has such a powerful attraction. The educational, historical, and spiritual riches available in Israel are inexhaustible. My fondness for and friendship with Israel and its people has continued to grow. What follows are a few (of many) ways Israel has changed my life.
First, I read the Bible differently. As a Western Bible teacher, I recognize the Bible as an Eastern book that must be understood through Eastern, Semitic eyes. Being in Israel allowed me to see the difference. The Land offers rich commentary on Scripture through its geographical, topological, and archaeological setting. While exploring the biblical sites, I quickly became aware of how the location of roads, hills, valleys, and water within modern Israel parallels the ancient. Being in the Land also greatly enlarged my understanding of the life and humanity of Jesus.
Second, my life has been changed through the joy of encouraging others to experience Israel. Over the years, dozens of my students studied at Jerusalem University College. Others became fluent in Hebrew while earning graduate degrees in Second Temple Judaism at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. A few students have volunteered on kibbutzim,2 and some have pastored congregations in Israel. I have led over a thousand American Christians from various denominations on tours to Israel after teaching seminars to prepare them for the experience of a lifetime.
Third, Israel provided the opportunity to expand my work in Evangelical-Jewish relations. I have spoken at synagogues and churches in Jerusalem and conferences sponsored by the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ). I co-led an interfaith trip with a Conservative rabbi friend, and upon returning home, this same interfaith group celebrated Shavuot (Pentecost) together. I have also served on the Advisory Boards of the Institute of Holy Land Studies (IHLS), Jerusalem University College (the former IHLS), Bridges for Peace, and the ICEJ.
The largest and most challenging audience in Israel I was invited to address was an international interfaith conference at the Jerusalem Convention Center. Several thousand Jewish and Christian leaders from 97 nations attended. I was surprised when a group of Orthodox Jews blocked the auditorium entrance in a “sit-down” protest, angered that Jews would dialogue with Christians. Police carried the protesters out before I was allowed to speak on Evangelical-Jewish relations. Sharing the platform with me that afternoon were Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey and Joseph Ratzinger, a Catholic cardinal who a decade later was elected Pope Benedict XVI. My address was carried around the world on BBC radio.
As I stood before this incredible audience, I silently thanked God that my first awareness of the new State of Israel in Pastor Huffman’s church in 1948 had come full circle. Yes, the protestors’ distracting presence reminded me of the fragility of interfaith dialogue. But despite the obstacles, I knew in my heart it was the road for me to travel. I also realized God allowed me the privilege of being in that Jerusalem venue so I could present the critical necessity of Evangelical-Jewish relations. Indeed, it was—and is—a challenge heard by religious leaders worldwide. To God be the glory for the work He has done and continues to do!
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Marvin R. Wilson, PhD, is a leading scholar on Christian-Jewish relations. He is the Harold J. Ockenga Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies at Gordon College, Wenham, Massachusetts, where he taught for more than 50 years. He is the author of the widely used text Our Father Abraham: Jewish Roots of the Christian Faith. Wilson served as the primary scholar for the award-winning national television documentary Jews & Christians: A Journey of Faith, based on Our Father Abraham.
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