Written by Ben Volman

It is a widely-held misconception that a Jewish person who follows Yeshua as Messiah is no longer Jewish. This view has been mistakenly repeated both by Christians and Jews.

But if well-known atheists such as Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud are still considered Jews, how could a dedicated Jewish follower of a Jewish rabbi lose his or her Jewish identity? Some will answer that Messianic Jews are apostates who have left their religion, traitors who joined a Gentile faith that despises and degrades Judaism. However, neither passion nor mocking makes an argument true.

By Nikki H.

Because of family circumstances, my grandparents helped raise me and were like second parents. They were Orthodox Jews, so every morning and evening, grandpa went to shul (synagogue) to pray, and they sent me to a Yeshiva (Jewish religious school) and to Hebrew school. I remember in the second grade telling my grandparents that I made a vow to God that I would never worship an idol (of course in my mind at the time, that meant the “Christian gods”).

I grew up hearing stories of how my grandparents’ seven brothers and sisters and parents all died in concentration camps. I was told the Nazis who murdered them wore on their belt buckles the words, “For the Glory of Christ.” After coming to know the Lord, I could barely talk about my grandparents with anyone without breaking down in tears. I loved them so much, and I could not see how they could ever come to know their Messiah.

Friends sharing Good News with friends

The Apostle John gives a good summary of witnessing in his first epistle: “the life [of Jesus] was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you . . . that which we have seen and heard . . .” (1 John 1:2-3). Effective witnessing is telling what one has seen and/or heard-much as a witness in a legal case gives a testimony. But witnessing to a Jewish person goes far beyond reciting the facts of the Gospel message. Witnessing must become a dialogue between two individuals, each with mutual respect and a genuine interest in the well being of the other. Because the best witness is the witness of a friend or close relation (see John 1:40-45), the first step in sharing the Gospel with a Jewish person is to develop a friendship. Your witness will do best as it grows naturally out of a deepening relationship.

Like the popularizers of Eastern Religion in the 1960s and 1970s, the New Age Kabbalistic teachings tend to focus on what “sells” most easily to the consumer. Here are a few of the commonly cited principles of Kabbalah and some witnessing tips and Scriptures to help you in your witness.

Stress the accessibility of the Scripture in its plain meaning.

The Kabbalists teach: There is a “code” encrypted in the letters of the Hebrew Scriptures that, once deciphered, reveals the hidden truth of God.

The Scripture says: “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope” (Romans 15:4).

Rich Freeman, a Jewish believer in Messiah, came to faith in 1983 through the witness of his wife, Julia. When he told his father, Wally, about his faith decision, Wally was aghast. Born and raised in a secular Jewish home, Wally nonetheless had strong cultural connections with his Jewish heritage and culture. Serving in the Navy in World War II, Wally had also experienced anti-Semitism first hand. He could well remember sailors who called him “Christ-killer” and said, “The Germans are doing us a favor.”

Does it take one Jewish person to lead another to faith in the Jewish Messiah? The answer may surprise you: “Certainly not!” As the number of Jewish believers has increased, it is true that many Jewish people do come to faith in Jesus through the witness of Jewish followers of Messiah. But the fact is that many others are led to Messiah through the witness of faithful  non-Jewish believers who have heeded the call of the Apostle Paul that the Gospel is “to the Jew first” (Romans 1:16).

Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus, Volume 1
General and Historical Objections

When it comes to Jewish Christian apologetics, the best answers are those that respond to actual objections. Incisive and direct, this book provides an honest, fair, and thorough discussion of 35 common objections, such as:

• No religious or educated Jew would ever believe in Jesus.
• Messianic Judaism, or Hebrew Christianity, is just one big deception.
• If Jesus is really the Messiah, why isn’t there peace on earth?
• Christians have always hated and persecuted the Jewish people.

Believers and seekers alike will appreciate Brown’s spiritually focused answers, which are thoroughly documented and footnoted.

Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus, Volume 2
Theological Objections

Dr. Michael Brown looks at real questions and real answers, formed by years of dialogue with rabbis and religious Jews. Some objections include:

• Jews don’t believe in the Trinity. We believe in one God, not three.
• God doesn’t have a son.
• The Christian concept of salvation is contrary to the Hebrew Bible and Jewish tradition.
• Jews don’t need saving.
• Jews don’t believe in a suffering Messiah.

Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus, Volume 2 shows how New Testament teaching on the nature of God and the divinity of the Messiah is in harmony with the Hebrew Scriptures, how blood sacrifices joined with repentance were the heart and soul of the Torah’s system of atonement, and how Yeshua fulfilled a lofty Jewish concept, bringing atonement to the world through his death.