Ryan Lambert

Writer, Teacher, and Bridge Builder. Host of Bridge Builders Forum Podcast

[Ryan Lambert @rlambertatl]

When Paul warns the Philippians about “dogs,” “evildoers,” and “mutilators of the flesh,” most interpreters assume he is talking about Jewish or Jewish-Christian “Judaizers.”

But is that really so clear?

In this clip, Ryan Lambert explores an alternative reading: What if Paul is actually warning the Philippians about pagan influences pulling them back toward their former gods?

📺full episode 👉 https://t.co/RJyrTKaMwS
🎧full episode 👉 https://t.co/Bzhpa6csz8

[Ryan Lambert @rlambertatl]

In this clip, Amy-Jill Levine explains how understanding the Jewish world of Jesus can help Christians read the New Testament more accurately, prevent anti-Jewish teaching and preaching, and better understand Jesus himself.

📺full episode 👉 https://t.co/XsqNdkYVMi
🎧full episode 👉 https://t.co/aiYgwwQvZ6

[Ryan Lambert @rlambertatl]

Philippians is one of Paul’s most beloved letters. And there is wide agreement that Paul wrote this letter, in part, to oppose those who were negatively influencing this young community of Christ-followers toward Judaism. Consequently, the traditional understanding of Philippians has perpetuated the idea that Paul no longer saw value in Jewish practice (at best) and was hostile to it (at worst).

But I think it's unlikely that this is what Paul was opposing in Philippians.

A good case can be made that Paul was opposing paganism and the gods, and not Jews and Judaism in this key letter.

How can that case be made?
And why does it matter today?

Check out this week's episode to find out! And as always, I'd love to know what you think.

📺👉https://t.co/YmISjyvyq1
🎧👉 https://t.co/Bzhpa6d0oG

[Ryan Lambert @rlambertatl]

@Exodus15_11 Good question. There is a significant difference. Stern was offering commentary from a messianic Jewish perspective. The JANT includes commentary and essays from Jewish scholars, but none of them are messianic.

[Ryan Lambert @rlambertatl]

Great to get my physical copy! Such an important volume. You can check out my interview with the editors, Amy-Jill Levine and Marc Brettler 👇

📺👉 https://t.co/dfjCCwDWvd
🎧👉 https://t.co/manh7FiB1x

[Ryan Lambert @rlambertatl]

When The Jewish Annotated New Testament was presented to Pope Francis, the Vatican newspaper described it as “a bridge between Jews and Christians.”

Marc Brettler explains why building bridges is only the beginning…and why helping people walk across them may be the most important work of all.

📺full episode 👉 https://t.co/O1lmWGT9wZ
🎧full episode 👉 https://t.co/aiYgwwQvZ6

[Ryan Lambert @rlambertatl]

Why was The Jewish Annotated New Testament needed?

In this clip, Amy-Jill Levine explains how misunderstandings about Judaism still make their way into Christian preaching and teaching, and how better historical context can help Christians read the New Testament more accurately while challenging interpretations that fuel antisemitism.

📺full episode 👉 https://t.co/3eSI131WPX
🎧full episode 👉 https://t.co/aiYgwwR3OE

[Ryan Lambert @rlambertatl]

It was truly an honor to interview world-renowned scholars Dr. Amy-Jill Levine and Dr. Marc Zvi Brettler about the release of the 3rd edition of the Jewish Annotated New Testament.

A line from Dr. Levine encapsulated why this conversation is so important. She said, "Christians don't have to make Jews look bad to make Jesus look good!" Historically, many assumptions and interpretations of the New Testament do just that. The Jewish Annotated New Testament resists that approach by situating Jesus and the entire New Testament within their Jewish context, which goes a long way toward helping Jews and Christians not only understand Jesus and the New Testament better but also each other.

In our conversation, we discuss how the first edition came to be (in 2011), how it's been received by both Jews and Christians, and what's new in the 3rd edition. And, very importantly, we discussed how the Jewish Annotated New Testament can help those who want to stand against rising antisemitism today.

📺👉https://t.co/gOwdCKSTsR
🎧👉 https://t.co/aiYgwwQvZ6

[Ryan Lambert @rlambertatl]

Luke's account of Paul in Athens is one of the most famous scenes in the Book of Acts. Paul's masterful ability to adapt his rhetoric to his audience is on full display. However, in addition to adapting his rhetoric, most interpreters also understand Paul to have adapted his behavior, particularly his Torah observance, depending on his audience.

But did Paul really have the flexible attitude toward the Torah that most interpreters assume?

In this episode, I argue that "the Jewish Paul" remained a loyal Jew within Judaism even as he brought the gospel to places like Athens.

Along the way, we explore Paul's encounter with the Stoic and Epicurean philosophers, the significance of the Areopagus, and what Acts 17 reveals about Paul's Jewish identity and his engagement with the Greco-Roman world.

📺👉 https://t.co/UqwSJsFuIj
🎧👉 https://t.co/Sgzd1U3kEi

[Ryan Lambert @rlambertatl]

Thessalonica.

It was a bustling city in Paul’s day and it still is.

Paul faced significant opposition there from some of his fellow Jews. What was it about his message to the non-Jewish world that set off alarm bells in the Jewish community?

Of course there are multiple possible layers to that answer…but a big factor was time.

In other words, plenty of Jews would have likely sympathized with Paul’s “Jewish prophets informed ideals” to preach that non-Jews should turn from their gods and idols. But major tensions and concerns arose over whether the TIME was appropriate to proclaim such a message…

We’d love you to join us as we dig into this topic further this Tuesday at 9:00 AM EST for part 3 of the online interactive study, Journey with the Jewish Paul.

9:00 AM - 9:45 AM EST
Tuesday, July 21
Free, meets on Zoom
Register👉 https://t.co/WIKRfkvkeN

[Ryan Lambert @rlambertatl]

Does the Book of Lamentations have relevance today?

Why do Jews mourn the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple?

Does the Jewish fast day, Tisha B'Av, have any meaning for Christians and their relationship with Jews?

We'll discuss this and more in a special interactive, commemorative Zoom meeting on Tisha B'Av (the 9th day of the Hebrew month of Av) with our special guest and friend, Orthodox Jewish theologian David Nekrutman of The Isaiah Projects.

Thursday, July 23rd
12:00 PM - 12:45 PM EASTERN on Zoom
This event is FREE, but registration is required
Register👉 https://t.co/HTovWLqeJR

[Ryan Lambert @rlambertatl]

In this clip, Alan Brill discusses the “common spiritual neighborhood” that Judaism and Christianity share. Divergences certainly took place over time, but in recent times, there have been some noteworthy convergences.

📺full episode 👉 https://t.co/sTLTLdAJyj
🎧full episode 👉 https://t.co/EGcPpgboo3

[Ryan Lambert @rlambertatl]

"A Jewish Trinity."

Isn't that an oxymoron? Well, some would certainly say so. However you react to those three words, I'm sure what you are NOT expecting is for "A Jewish Trinity" to be the title of a book written by an Orthodox Rabbi who is also a scholar of Jewish mysticism!

To be clear, the above book is not a Jewish defense of the Christian doctrine called the Trinity! Rather, it is a brave initiative by a Jewish scholar to engage with Christian theology, highlighting unexpected similarities while respecting significant differences.

More than anything, this book represents a remarkable development in the Jewish-Christian relationship: the ability to engage one another's theology on a deep level, motivated by a desire to see differences not as deficiencies but as opportunities for mutual enrichment.

In this week’s episode of the Bridge Builder Forum, I was honored to sit down with the author, Rabbi Prof Alan Brill. Our conversation will give you feel for the important topic he covers in the book.

📺👉 https://t.co/3aM9botFYO
🎧👉 https://t.co/EGcPpgaQyv

[Ryan Lambert @rlambertatl]

Does the Book of Lamentations have relevance today?

Why do Jews mourn the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple?

Does the Jewish fast day, Tisha B'Av, have any meaning for Christians and their relationship with Jews?

We'll discuss this and more in a special interactive, commemorative Zoom meeting on Tisha B'Av (the 9th day of the Hebrew month of Av) with our special guest and friend, Orthodox Jewish theologian David Nekrutman of The Isaiah Projects

Thursday, July 23rd
12:00 PM - 12:45 PM EASTERN on Zoom
This event is FREE, but registration is required
Register👉 https://t.co/HTovWLpGUj

[Ryan Lambert @rlambertatl]

Paul is one of the most influential humans ever. He’s also one of the most misunderstood.

Journey w) the Jewish Paul online study 👉https://t.co/exoQKfE5hS
Journey w) the Jewish Paul cruise👉https://t.co/FusofjsHl5

[Ryan Lambert @rlambertatl]

What if the most important lesson of Capernaum isn’t found in the synagogue…or the church?

In this thought-provoking clip, Dr. Wally Cirafesi explains why the “in-between space” between these two buildings may hold a key to reimagining Jewish-Christian relationships today.

📺full episode 👉 https://t.co/4msKqDSvys
🎧full episode 👉 https://t.co/OijyhSeqMx

[Ryan Lambert @rlambertatl]

In this 9 minute episode, I share three foundational keys that can transform the way we read Paul's letters. While many have begun to rediscover Paul's Jewish identity, it's equally important to understand the broader Mediterranean world in which he lived, traveled, and proclaimed his message.

🎧👉 https://t.co/GivTG2373u
📺👉https://t.co/Z1euSQwtkv

[Ryan Lambert @rlambertatl]

What if the synagogue and church in Capernaum weren’t just buildings…

What if they were making competing theological claims?

In this fascinating moment with Dr. Wally Cirafesi, we explore how the architecture of ancient Capernaum may reveal an ongoing dialogue (and competition) between Judaism and Christianity—and why that history still matters today.

📺full episode 👉 https://t.co/0SYuRUD13U
🎧full episode 👉 https://t.co/OijyhSeqMx

[Ryan Lambert @rlambertatl]

If you’ve ever visited Capernaum, you may have walked through its famous synagogue and stood beneath the octagonal church traditionally associated with Peter’s home.

But what if those monuments tell a very different story than most visitors realize?

In this new episode of the Bridge Builders Forum, I sit down with New Testament scholar Dr. Wally Cirafesi to explore how archaeology, history, and architecture reveal a fascinating—and often overlooked—chapter in the relationship between Jews, Jewish followers of Jesus, and the emerging Christian movement.

Together we discuss:
• The synagogue Jesus actually knew
• Peter’s house and the earliest Jewish followers of Jesus
• What is a Christaeum?
• The rise of the octagonal church and the synagogue across the street
• Supersessionism, memory, and what modern visitors to Capernaum may be missing

Whether you’ve traveled to Israel or simply want to better understand the Jewish world of Jesus, I think you’ll find this conversation both thought-provoking and deeply relevant for Jewish-Christian relations today.

📺👉 https://t.co/KdFKlw3Ndj
🎧👉 https://t.co/OijyhSeqMx