Some Good News

Via my good friend, Rabbi Michael Bugg's blog comes this encouraging story:


The Messianic ministry Revive Israel located just outside Jerusalem reports that its staff and partner ministries have experienced an upsurge in interest among secular and religious Israelis in the person and ministry of Yeshua (Jesus).


In their latest newsletter, Sahar S. writes that a group of 40 young Israeli college students recently visited the Revive Israel offices to ask questions regarding Jesus and the New Testament for a course on Israeli history and culture.


“They were surprised to discover that the promise of a new covenant is written in the Hebrew prophets (Jeremiah 31). The biggest news to them was that Yeshua loved the God of Israel and that His teachings were focused on a fulfillment of the moral law in the Ten Commandments (Matthew 5),” said Sahar.


“A number of them came with pre-conceived ideas and even anger towards Messianic Jews. At the end of the meeting a young religious man came and admitted that his perspective had changed about who we are – Israeli Jews who believe in Yeshua.”


The group was reportedly surprised at the level of kindness shown by the Messianics despite frequent harassment of and attacks on believers in Jesus in Israel.



I would like for my "Sunday brethren" as Rabbi Bugg calls them, to realize that those pre-conceived ideas and anger come from the idea that Messianics are traitors who have bought into the "Christian" view of who Messiah is and what He taught.  In many ways a distortion created by centuries of man-made church doctrine that does not properly understand the New Testament.


Since the gospel is "first for the Jew, and then for the Gentile," we would do well to make sure we have a proper understanding of Scripture and ask ourselves, "If the Jews are hostile to the gospel that I am preaching, is it because of the gospel itself, or is it my interpretation of it?"


If you are preaching a gospel that distorts Yeshua's message and tells people that they can disregard the Torah, Jews have every right to declare that you are preaching a false gospel, and promoting a false Messiah.