I am excited about this special season of the year as we celebrate the Jewish high holidays! The appointed times (mo’edim in Hebrew) are holy days that God gave to Israel as tutors for godliness and faith. They are living theology lessons, enacted year after year to rehearse the great themes of Israel’s covenant relationship with God.
Renewal and Covenant
The fall festivals—the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah), the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), and the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot)—were given to Israel to be celebrated within the boundaries of a covenant relationship with God as defined for the Jewish people at Mount Sinai. They were designed to lead the nation to spiritual renewal, and we see this often throughout the story of the Old Testament. It is a bit different in Israel today; the holidays are viewed much the same way we understand Thanksgiving, which can easily be observed as a national or cultural event, not as a spiritual pause in the rhythm of our lives and the lives of our families. God created the fall festivals to call His chosen people to commit ourselves to Him and crown Him Lord of our lives.
Repentance: The First Step
The Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah) traditionally encourages the first step toward strengthening our relationship with God through repentance. The haunting notes of the shofar (ram’s horn) call Israel back to God, echoing the same call that has sounded throughout our covenant history, from the prophets onward. To heed that call, we must repent, turn away from sin, be willing to leave ungodly lifestyles behind, and walk with the God who loves us.
Genuine repentance is more than saying, “I’m sorry” or asking for forgiveness. It means being sorry enough to change. It means being willing to make amends to those we have wronged. Good intentions are only part of the process; repentance must include the willingness to do righteousness as well. Isaiah’s words apply: “all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment” (Isaiah 64:6). We must approach God admitting that we have nothing to offer but our willingness to serve Him.
The Hebrew term for repentance is “tshuvah,” which literally means to turn. We need to make two sharp turns on the Feast of Trumpets, the New Year: we must turn away from sin and turn toward God. Repentance is both vertical and horizontal—toward God and toward man.
Followers of Jesus the Messiah can learn some wonderful lessons from the Jewish New Year as we also need to repent daily to grow in godliness. Yes, our sins are forgiven through the death of the Messiah, but we still need to repent daily or more often to grow in grace. When we wrong someone we love, we apologize; the relationship survives and deepens. It is no different with God. The apostle John wrote: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). The word “confess” means to agree with God regarding our sin and be willing to change. There is no need to wait for a certain time of year to repent. For the follower of the Messiah, it is a daily and ongoing duty.
As Paul wrote, “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Messiah died for us” (Romans 5:8). God has taken the first step toward us so that we can take the next one toward Him.
Redemption: More Than Repentance
The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) teaches the second sobering truth: repentance alone cannot bring us back to God. If we have wronged Him, then the penalty for sin must be paid. This theology is at the heart of the sacrificial system. The sacrifices were not arbitrary acts of divine severity, but demonstrations of the moral seriousness of a universe in which sin has real consequences.
God graciously let Israel offer a substitutionary sacrifice. But the contrite and broken hearts of Old Covenant worshipers had no effect unless the penalty for sin was paid. Leviticus 17:11 states it plainly: “The life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.”
God sent the Messiah, Jesus, to bear sin’s penalty for both Jewish people and Gentiles. Yet, repentance is not enough, and the Scriptures invite us to receive Him as our personal Redeemer, admitting that it was we who deserved death and we who sinned, yet He is the one who suffered. Paul wrote, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
On the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), we remember that the blood of bulls and goats can never finally take away sin (Hebrews 10:4), but the blood of the Lamb of God takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). The high priest entered the Holy of Holies once a year with the blood of the sacrifice. Our Messiah entered the true Holy of Holies, the very presence of the Father, once for all with His own blood (Hebrews 9:12). The Day of Atonement points to Golgotha. The cross is our mercy seat where the blood of the sacrifice was sprinkled to appease the wrath of God’s displeasure for our sins.
We hope and pray our Jewish brothers and sisters will turn to God, who invites us to accept His Son Jesus as our personal Redeemer. When we accept Him as Lord of our lives and as our Savior, we are assured of forgiveness—not once a year, but each day and for all time.
Rejoicing: The Fruit of Covenant Life
So, we begin with repentance but recognize that forgiveness was secured through His shed blood. The cycle of the fall festivals concludes with the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot), a joyful celebration. The plentiful harvest attests to God’s faithfulness to His people. Joy is the fruit of faith, the reward of being cleansed through the shed blood of the Messiah. Tabernacles does not begin the journey; it is the destination. It is a festival of joy celebrating God’s generous provision—not the thin, circumstantial happiness of a life catering to one’s preferences, but the deep and durable joy the Lord described when He said, “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full” (John 15:11).
The decision to receive Jesus as our Redeemer brings inner joy as there is no greater joy than knowing Him. Joy comes when we obey Him. That is the peace that the Feast of Tabernacles models for the Christian life as we rejoice in Him who died and rose for our sins.
It is this joy, which comes through a personal relationship with God, that we preach around the globe, in the United States, Israel, and nineteen other countries where Jewish people live. Your Mission to the Jewish People is located in areas representing 95 percent of the global Jewish population.
The Year of Evangelism
There are so many wonderful opportunities throughout the year to fulfill our ministry as we pray for, evangelize, disciple, and serve the Jewish people in so many ways. Season 2 of our “I Found Shalom” video testimonies is a tremendous opportunity for the harvest, as Jewish people are open to the gospel today. We have seen quite a few Jewish people come to faith through our ministry of hosting Israelis around the world—including Japan, Taiwan, New Zealand, and Australia. You can visit our Host Israelis website (hostisraelis.com) to add your name as a potential host for traveling Israelis.
We held children’s camps in the United States and Israel throughout the summer, along with three street outreach campaigns in London, New York City, and San Francisco. We have spoken with hundreds of Jewish people in person and thousands more online.
This year, we intend to focus on upfront evangelism. We will not neglect the other priorities in our mission statement, but we believe now is the time for Jewish people to hear clearly and directly about Jesus and accept Him as Savior and Lord. This moment is upon us, and we need your support and prayers to forge ahead in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Evangelism to our Jewish brothers and sisters has been our highest priority for 132 years!
I am so grateful for you. Please remember to pray for our many high holiday services—we have dozens upon dozens this September across our twenty-one countries of ministry. You are God’s blessing to us, and I pray you will experience His blessing as you bless the Jewish people with the gospel message.
Dr. Mitch Glaser 