Sharing God’s Heart for the Jewish People
“Where’s my prophet Mohammed in this?!?” angrily demanded the young woman.
Our home church had sent a group of six with me to New York for hands-on training in sharing our faith with the Jewish people. We were on our first day of outreach on the streets of Brooklyn, distributing gospel literature near a subway stop where a wide variety of ethnicities stream by.
The woman who had received the pamphlet graciously – the very first our team member Becky had handed out – walked away, scanned its contents, and returned with her blood boiling. The tract we were distributing includes the word “Shalom” on the front cover. Inside, each panel has a key word in Hebrew at the top. That combination was sufficient to ignite deeply ingrained passion in this adherent of Islam. She began loudly chanting something in Arabic.
Soon others in her group, all in their early twenties and emboldened by the current climate of antisemitism, joined the circle around Becky. One tore up the tract in front of her. Another got in Becky’s face and said loudly, “Do you see what she just did? Do you see me?” His obvious intent was to incite a response to escalate the situation.
“Yes,” said Becky calmly, refusing to take the bait. “And it’s okay. We’re just here to share the love of God.”
Seeing Becky would not engage with their rude tactics, they sought to pull others on the street away. “You don’t want to talk to her,” the young woman was saying. Once the group came to understand that Becky would not react, they left – but did return to walk past a few times with hateful stares.
None of us on this team were Jewish, but throughout the week we experienced numerous encounters with those who saw us expressing love for the Jewish people. It’s one thing to read about the surge in antisemitism; its another to experience “second-hand hate” for standing with the Jewish people from whom we as Christians have received two of our most valued gifts: the Scriptures we read and the Messiah who purchased our redemption.
It’s one thing to have a theoretical love for the Jewish people. It’s another to speak with individuals and learn their stories and worldviews. At a restaurant we met *Tamar, a Holocaust survivor who as a young girl in Poland was spared by being shipped to Siberia rather than Auschwitz. She initiated the conversation, curious as to who we were.
When Tamar asked, “How can people treat others this way?” we had the privilege of telling her that it is nonsensical that those who truly love Jesus, a Jew Himself, would hate His people. Her bright eyes beamed with gratitude. “I knew there was something different about you.”
*Menashe, a highly cultured and accomplished journalist for a major New York publication, was out for a run in the park when he encountered our team at a literature table. The whiteboard question that day was “What’s the BIG story of the world?” That proved to be sufficient stimulus for Menashe to engage in a lengthy conversation with our colleague, Pieter.
Like many secular Jewish people, Menashe observes the holidays and even regularly attends synagogue – but for him the Bible is a collection of folklore and myths. In fact, the whole idea of the metaphysical realm holds no interest for him. “I don’t give a second’s thought to the existence of God or the afterlife. I don’t have the bandwidth for anything but this [material] world.” But he was willing to give his contact information to stay connected.
On Friday we wore “I stand with the Jewish people” t-shirts. This sparked a variety of reactions, from curious to disdainful to spiteful. But we had very positive responses from the Jewish community, from a shouted “Shabbat shalom” to an Israeli man who expressed his profound gratitude to Christians willing to speak up publicly. Another Israeli family, touched by our expressions of loving concern, gave us a business card with an invitation to visit next time we’re in Jerusalem.
And then there are the Haredim (ultra-Orthodox) – the spiritual descendants of the Pharisees of Jesus’ day who were zealous for the law. One particular sect of the Hasidim is easily approachable and eager to tell us of their beliefs and practices, but few are open to consider the claims of Yeshua to be the long-awaited Messiah…
… Which is why our hearts rejoice to see an increasing spiritual hunger among the very religious. True, the majority of those exiting ultra-Orthodox communities do so because they are disenchanted with the emptiness of ritual and rigors of halakhah (rabbinic regulations which inform every aspect of daily life). Some simply wish to pursue the forbidden pleasures of this world. But others are truly hungry to know the God of Israel in a personal way and are open to hearing about Yeshuaha-Mashiach (Messiah Jesus).
One of the highlights of our time in New York was an evening study in the book of Isaiah. Two individuals from the Haredi community who are growing in their faith in Yeshua and an Israeli ministry colleague added zest to the discussion. What a joyful reminder that God is faithfully calling out a remnant of Jacob’s descendants to be a part of Messiah’s family of faith – “natural branches” alongside we Gentiles who are the grafted-in “wild branches” in Paul’s Romans 11 picture of the olive tree of true faith.
The list of atrocities committed by “Christians” against European Jewry is extensive: bans, blood libels, expulsions, Crusades, the Inquisition, pogroms, the Holocaust…. Learning this history helps us understand the huge barriers these events and the toxic attitudes behind them have erected over centuries. What would it have looked like if Jewish people in mid-1930s-to-‘40s Europe had seen the church as a place of welcome refuge rather than a source of disdainful prejudice – and far worse?
In addition to our desire at Life in Messiah to demonstrate God’s covenant faithfulness and enduring love to our Jewish friends, we also seek to equip believers to share the glorious message of salvation through faith in Messiah Jesus. It’s one thing to spend a week experiencing Jewish New York and having hours of instruction and practical training; it’s another to have one’s heart touched with the love of Jesus for His people when He wept over Jerusalem – and willingly went to Calvary for our redemption.
“Sharing God’s heart for the Jewish people” is more than a slogan; it is the mission to which we have been called and are committed. What would God have you do today to demonstrate the love of Jesus to His kinsmen?
Written by Wes Taber, Life in Messiah Global Ambassador
*Pseudonym used to protect privacy
The church’s horrid historical reputation of antisemitism cannot easily be reversed. What is something God would have you do to counteract the tsunami of hatred our Jewish friends are facing today?
What obstacles or objections do you encounter as you endeavor to share the good news of the salvation Jesus freely offers?
How can we at Life in Messiah be a resource for you as you seek to be an instrument of God’s love for His chosen? We’d love to hear from you. Contact us today.