Rabbi Evan Moffic’s first book, What Every Christian Needs to Know About Passover (Abingdon, 2015), prompted enough questions from Christians and Jews alike that the rabbi knew it was time for a second. His February 2016 book, What Every Christian Needs to Know About the Jewishness of Jesus, focuses on “an incredibly important figure in human history.”

“Everybody knows Jesus was Jewish, but they don’t know what that means,” says Moffic, who leads a synagogue in Highland Park near Chicago. “People think it means that Jesus followed the Old Testament, but really he was what I call a rabbinic Jew.”

Jesus was more like the Pharisees of his day, a group often vilified by Christians today. “But the Pharisees weren’t fans of the Temple and a priesthood that had become corrupt,” explains Moffic. “Jesus was much like them.”

Christians, he says, are eager to learn more about Jesus in this context. “If you want to grow closer to Jesus, you need to know more about him as a first-century Jew,” he says. “There is a genuine sense of openness in the Christian community. My interest is not to change anyone’s theology, but to add another layer of understanding to who Jesus was, to restore Jesus to his original Jewish context.”

Moffic’s research included the Jewish Torah, the Christian Bible, and the Jewish Midrash with its legends about Jesus’ life. He found many parallels between Jesus’ life and the lives of Jewish patriarchs like Abraham, Moses, Isaac, and David.

“I knew Jesus’ life has a lot of Jewish resonance, but this study really opened my eyes to how much,” he says.

Moffic, who has been a rabbi since 2006, has been speaking at Christian churches, Jewish groups, and schools from Chicago to Houston, Phoenix to Grand Rapids, Mich. “There is a genuine sense of openness, with people engaging in genuine and friendly ways,” he says.

Anyone who wants to know more about Jesus, regardless of religion, will find value in his book. “We live in an age of religious division, but this book is an example of learning about one’s faith from someone who practices another faith,” says Moffic. “It’s pretty unique and points to what’s possible in a religiously pluralistic world. People should celebrate that.”

Rabbi Moffic signs copies of his new book, subtitled A New Way of Seeing the Most Influential Rabbi in History, at 2 p.m. today, at Abingdon’s booth (1142).

This article appeared in the May 12, 2016 edition of PW BEA Show Daily.