In this episode of Hebrew Voices #242 - A United Future: The New Messianic Generation, Nehemia sits down with 20-year-old Messianic teacher and apologist Max Bonilla. From Maimonides to Paul and Yeshua, they explore how a new generation of believers is bridging the gap; integrating a deep respect for Jewish history and the Sages with an unwavering faith in Yeshua of Nazareth.

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Hebrew Voices #242 – A United Future: The New Messianic Generation: Part 1

You are listening to Hebrew Voices with Nehemia Gordon. Thank you for supporting Nehemia Gordon's Makor Hebrew Foundation. Learn more at NehemiasWall.com.

Max Bonilla: … the Acts 15 Council. I had constantly been told by preachers that that discussion, it disavowed the practice of circumcision. But the discussion was never about the practice of circumcision itself to begin with, it was about the Rabbinic giyur process where they were teaching people that they would be saved through the process of circumcision and not necessarily condemning someone being circumcised in order to keep the Pesach. Because if that were the case, then they would not have left four commandments for all new Christians to keep.

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Nehemia: Shalom, and welcome to Hebrew Voices. I’m here today with Max Bonilla. He has a bachelor’s in political science. He is a Bible study leader at Altar of Truth Ministry. And he’s a 20-year-old social media influencer and guitarist. Max, shalom and welcome to the program.

Max: Yeah, Shalom Nehemia. Thank you for bringing me on. So, I graduated high school at 16, started college early, then finished it.

Nehemia: Wow!

Max: And then now I’m just on TikTok talking about my messianic beliefs, essentially, and it’s something that I really enjoy doing. And I’ve picked up a bunch of hobbies on the side. I just love life and I love having a life.

Nehemia: Well, that’s wonderful. Max, you’re actually not the youngest person I’ve ever had in the program, but I think the younger person doesn’t really count because I was interviewing a woman and her daughter was there, and we were… there was a social worker, and the social worker was asking her questions. But as a full-fledged guest, you’re definitely the youngest full-fledged guest I’ve ever had.

So, welcome to the program. Let’s see what we can do here. I don’t know how this is going to go. Like, there’s this generational divide, and I’m learning more and more how significant that is. You know, there’s this profound verse where it says, “And there was a new pharaoh over Egypt, and he did not know Joseph.” And I was a young boy, and I was studying under rabbis, and we were taught that, well, that can’t literally be true because, how could somebody not know Joseph? He was the viceroy. And so, it has some other kind of meaning. He pretended he didn’t know Joseph. But what I’m realizing, as I get older, is, no, that’s literally true. Right? There is such a thing as a generational divide…

Max: Right.

Nehemia: … and the young generation really doesn’t know things that the older generation knows, and vice versa. So, you know what? Let’s start with, how are you, someone who’s such a young man… You’re really active on social media. You’re engaging in these debates. And I want to understand what that’s like, because when I was your age…

Max: Sure.

Nehemia: … oh, man, I’m old. When I was your age, we didn’t have an internet. We didn’t have social media. So, what is this like? Just try to share for my audience, who may not know, and even some of the younger audience may not be exposed to social media the way you are.

Max: Yeah, well, first of all, there isn’t as big of a generational divide as you think. I’m terrible with the Gen Z slang. I don’t quite understand it, or even the brain rot that’s spreading on the internet these days. But I will tell you this; one of the debates that I had seen recently was between Charlie Kirk and one of the people that came up to him, and he was quoting all these things from the Talmud, but they were such out-of-context quotes. And for me, I just like engaging in intellectually honest discussions, even with people who disagree with what I believe. And a lot of people who are Christian are coming at it from a standpoint where it’s authoritative. They’ll take these slight quotes where, okay, you treat the non-Jew as someone who’s not human, or Jesus is burning in excrement. They’ll take these very fringe, small beliefs, or even these out-of-context quotes, and think that there’s something that all Jews believe as if it’s something monolithic.

The reason why I ...