Several CMJ members have shared tributes and reflections from the personal memories of Walter.
I did not know Walter well, although I met him twice, most recently when he led a midweek lecture at Eagle Lodge. At this lecture his love for Scripture and command of Hebrew was very evident.
I want to add to the tributes already shared a little about his academic writings. Walter contributed much to the worlds of Bible study and academic research. He served as tutor at All Nations College (Ware) and later was Academic Dean at Cliff College. He also provided many articles for the journal- Themelios and via the Gospel Coalition. I recently re-read 2 of these articles, the first- The Jewish Reclamation of Jesus and its implications for Jewish-Christian Relations. Secondly – The Parousia- Getting our terms right. In these articles, the depth and breadth of his understanding along with his pastoral and evangelistic sensitivities shone through.
His best-known book is probably Jesus Ben Joseph -An Introduction to Jesus the Jew (1993). This accessible and well researched book helped and inspired many people see and follow Jesus in new and deeper ways. Along with this his study guide and commentary on Numbers published by Westminster/John Knox Press (1983) demonstrated his scholarship and standing in the field of Old Testament studies.
His Ph.D. dissertation from the University of Birmingham published in 1991 was titled- Messianic Judaism and Jewish-Christian Relations: A Case Study in the Field of Religious Identity. This dissertation opened up new areas of research and in a number of ways enabled others to explore and reflect upon the historical and contemporary significance of Messianic Judaism and Jewish Believers in Yeshua.
Rev Alex Jacob CEO CMJ UK
Walter’s funeral is taking place at 1pm on July 8th at Newark Congregational Church, Newark
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