Tag Archives: Messianic Jews

August 15, 2021 · 8:00 AM

The Mystery of Romans 11 and You

You might want to get a cup of coffee or tea and take out your Bible as we reflect on one of the great doxologies in Scripture, a praise to God in Romans 11:33–36.

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again?

Paul then triumphantly declared in verse 36: “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.”

God knows the beginning, middle, and end of our pilgrimage on earth. He knows what is next, and all things are unfolding according to His plan. We should be comforted by this glorious truth—He knows everything and is never surprised by what we go through in this life. Therefore, we can trust Him fully as we walk through challenging and sometimes dark days.

GOD IS FAITHFUL TO HIS PROMISES

All human history is marching toward a Romans 11 future, which will be to the praise of His glory! Israel and the Jewish people, who are so critical to God’s grand plan of redemption, are part of that bright and glorious future. As Paul wrote in Romans 11:25, “For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery.”

We really need to understand the mystery!

The apostle explained it:

A partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, “The deliverer will come from Zion…. This is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins” (Romans 11:25b–27).

The mystery to be revealed is that all Israel will be saved one day, demonstrating God’s faithfulness. Israel’s salvation answers the question Paul asked earlier, “I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin” (Romans 11:1).

God cannot renege on a promise! Paul’s salvation is evidence that God will keep His promises to the patriarchs. One day in the future, the Jewish people, as a nation, will turn to Jesus.

He added in Romans 11:29, “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”

Paul understood that God did not remove the Jewish people from His purposes for all time; it was only temporary. The Jewish people still had—and have—a role to play in the drama of world redemption.

THE FUTURE OF ISRAEL ACCORDING TO SCRIPTURE

Zechariah describes the day of Israel’s turning to the Lord. On that day, God will “pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced” (Zech. 12:10). Zechariah envisions the Lord’s feet standing on the Mount of Olives, which will split in half, and afterwards, He will judge His enemies (14:2–3).

On that day, the Jewish people will cry out, Baruch haba b’shem Adonai, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord” (Matthew 23:39). At that moment, the Lord will save the Jewish people, conquer His enemies, and establish His throne in Jerusalem.

Paul was familiar with Isaiah 53 and may well have remembered that the prophet predicted a state of temporary national unbelief on the part of the Jewish people toward Messiah and that God would eventually open their eyes to Jesus.

Isaiah wrote:

He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. (Isaiah 53:3–5)

This passage points to a day when Israel would recognize that her Messiah died for her sins! I know this is true, as I am a Jewish believer, and that day came for me almost fifty years ago when I embraced the Jewish Messiah. One day, what happened to me will happen to the nation of Israel because God is faithful to His promises.

OUR HOPE FOR TOMORROW MOTIVATES OUR MISSIONARIES TODAY

The day will come when the Jewish people in Israel, Brooklyn, Los Angeles, Chicago, West Palm Beach, and all around the globe will recognize that He is Lord! It is this hope and understanding of the future that guides our work at Chosen People Ministries today. We serve the Jewish people considering what is to come. As Paul wrote:

How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!” (Romans 10:14–15)

Your Mission to the Jewish People exists to plant seeds of faith in the hearts of Jewish people today through the proclamation of the gospel. Some of these seeds will bear fruit today, while others will blossom in the future when God moves upon the nation of Israel and turns the hearts of the Jewish people to Himself.

SPIRITUAL FRUIT IN THE MIDST OF WAR

As you know, Israel has gone through a tough time recently with COVID-19, unsettling elections, and an eleven-day war with Gaza. Some of those who suffered the most are the elderly Holocaust survivors who live in the border towns next to Gaza. We have served this community for many years and are beginning to see great fruit for our labors.

I recently received an inspiring letter from Maxim Katz after he took a group of Holocaust survivors on a retreat, after the shelling from Gaza stopped.

Maxim writes,

“We spoke on various topics from Scripture and offered words of support and encouragement that the Lord speaks to all of us through the prophets. Everyone was very interested because it was a real live dialogue. Many asked pressing questions, sometimes unexpected ones. Several people approached us with a request to pray for them. We prayed together for all those who wished to pray. We also joked and laughed a lot. It was a wonderful time!

Finally, I want to share the words of one person who has been battling cancer for the past three years. It was his first trip anywhere other than a hospital during this time. At one of the meetings, while we were reading and pondering the Bible, he said in front of everyone: ‘I was like a dry tree, but today, thanks to you and God, thanks to this trip and fellowship, I am revived as if they poured water on me, and I can breathe and come to life! How great is our God, Jesus!’”

PARTNERS IN THE GOSPEL!

Thank you for your prayers for the Jewish people. We continue to see Jewish people coming to faith. We are excited about the opportunities we have, both digitally and in person.

Thank you for caring!

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March 30, 2015 · 7:31 AM

Preparing for Passover

We are getting ready for Passover! The holiday begins on Friday, but preparations are moving full steam ahead.

During Passover, the Jewish community refrains from eating leaven and eat what is known as matzah during the eight day holiday, as Moses and the nation of Israel fled Egypt in haste, not having time for our bread to rise and so we eat unleavened bread as a reminder of our leaving Egypt in haste.

Matzah

Matzah (unleavened bread) is eaten during Passover

For seven days there shall be no leaven found in your houses; for whoever eats what is leavened, that person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is a foreigner or a native of the land. You shall not eat anything leavened; in all your dwellings you shall eat unleavened bread (Ex 12:19-20).

As the Jewish community prepares for Passover, each family removes leaven from the home and stores – especially in heavily Jewish areas remove leavened products from their shelves. Then, during a ceremony called Bedikat Chametz, immediately before the first night of Passover and the first Passover Seder, we conduct a final search for leaven throughout the house, gather it together and throws it all out or burn it, symbolizing the house is purified or kosher for Passover.

Paul uses this understanding of the Jewish practice as the background to his statement in1 Corinthians 5:6-8.

Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Messiah our Passover also has been sacrificed. Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

The community of Corinth evidently demonstrated a tolerance for gross immorality. Paul compares sin to leaven and commands the congregation at Corinth to clean out the sin from their midst in the same way the Jewish community removes leaven from their homes during Passover. Just as leaven permeates an entire lump of dough, sinful behavior affects the entire life of an individual and congregation. If the congregation at Corinth did not deal with the wicked behavior in their midst, then this behavior would defile the entire community.

When my wife makes challah, the traditional Jewish Festival bread, she puts a small amount of yeast into the dough. This small amount of yeast makes the entire loaf of challah leavened. In the same way, sin affects the entire life of a person. We cannot compartmentalize our lives and isolate sin to a particular area. Sin in one area affects all areas of our lives. We deceive ourselves when we think the small or hidden sins in our lives will not creep it’s way into our entire soul. Even the small and hidden sins will permeate and corrode our entire being.

When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away Through my groaning all day long.

For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Selah. I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide;

I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”; And You forgave the guilt of my sin. (Psalm 32:3-5)

Therefore, we should pursue righteousness, since our Messiah has removed the chametz, leaven, from our lives. Rabbi Saul (the Apostle Paul) describes those with leavened lives as depraved and wicked, but reminds his readers that those who are pure in motives and upright in character behave as if they are without leaven. The person free from leaven does not have a hidden or secret life. The preparation for Passover reminds us of the unrighteous behaviors we tolerate in our lives. If we tolerate immoral thoughts or actions, they will begin to affect our spiritual lives and ultimately destroy our soul.

We only deceive ourselves if we think that what we look at on the Internet, watch on television or do when others are not watching will not have any affect upon our spiritual life. We simply cannot behave badly towards our spouse or children, be dishonest in business or mean to at work if we are serious about honoring God. If we are going to have a healthy spiritual life we cannot tolerate our hidden and secret sins…the ones we only we know about, as the Lord knows them too1

In the spirit of Passover, let’s remove sin from our lives, so that we are kosher for Passover and can experience the joy that only godly obedience, in light of the redemption we have through Yeshua, can bring to our souls.

Mark the blameless man, and behold the upright; For the man of peace will have a posterity. But transgressors will be altogether destroyed; The posterity of the wicked will be cut off.(Psalm 37:37-38)

For more on Passover click on http://tinyurl.com/no7r8l8

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September 29, 2014 · 6:02 AM

The Ten Days of Awe

We are in the midst of the Ten Days Awe which began with the first day of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah.  The other name for this season is the Ten Days of Repentance as the traditional Jewish belief for this season is that God will judge our hearts and actions during this period of time and determine our future.  The culmination of the ten days is the observance of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement which begins this coming Friday evening.

I have written a series of devotionals on the themes of atonement and forgiveness and hope you will read them.  The following is the text of the first devotional…

We are about to observe the Civil Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, which literally means, the “Head of the Year.” The festival is one of the seven great festivals, appointed by God to be celebrated on the first day of the seventh month of the Jewish calendar, Tishrei. All seven of these Holy Days are found in the Bible in Leviticus chapter 23, as well as in a number of other passages in the Pentateuch/Torah. There is also a vast amount of rabbinic material describing the festivals and how they should be observed.

The Holy Days are prophetic in nature and over the course of the year provide a roadmap to redemption; Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Pentecost, the New Year, Day of Atonement and Tabernacles. The holidays are similar as each one involves a rest from labor, worship, offerings and usually a reminder of a great event in the history of Israel. Oftentimes a holiday is also tied to the agricultural season and in one way or another is connected to the harvest.

It is important to note the Hebrew word translated as “holiday” in Leviticus 23 is better when understood as “appointments.” God asks Israel to remember what He did for them in history over 150 times in the Hebrew Scriptures. He set up these “appointments” (or “appointed times”) to help His people commune with Him and “remember” His good works in their history. Each of these Holy Days was established by God and revealed to the children of Israel by Moses, who received the calendar as part of the Sinai revelation.

I also believe that every one of these festivals (“appointed times”) was fulfilled in the person of Jesus the Messiah and, along with many scholars, believe the first four Spring festivals pointed to His first coming and the latter three in the Fall are related to His second coming.

These holidays have a variety of themes and customs and are observed in a similar manner by most Jewish people, whether they be Ashkenazic (Eastern European decent) or Sephardic (primarily from Spain and North Africa)—New Yorkers, Brooklynites or Israelis. The major themes of the Jewish New Year are Kingship, Remembrance and the Blowing of the Shofar.

Over the centuries, our rabbis and sages have complied a book entitled the Machzor, which is used in the synagogue as the prayer book and service guide for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur (See Leviticus 23: 23- 25; Numbers 10: 10; 29: 16 for the biblical details).

Rosh Hashanah is the first of three great festivals to be celebrated in the Fall. The other two are Yom Kippur, (Day of Atonement) and Sukkot (the Feast of Tabernacles).

The great theme of Rosh Hashanah is repentance and the overarching theme of the High Holiday season is forgiveness. In fact, the first day of Rosh Hashanah begins a season of ten days of repentance, often called the Ten Days of Awe by the Jewish people. The observance of the Day of Atonement concludes these ten days. It is understood by most Jewish people that repentance is the path that leads to salvation and the forgiveness of sin, which is secured at the closing moments of Yom Kippur.

Though it is difficult to explain the difference, forgiveness is stressed in the Jewish community far more than personal salvation, especially as understood by most Christians. Jewish people are not as apt to think about personal salvation or a secured future beyond the grave in the same way Christians do.

However, Jewish people do think about forgiveness during this time of year and are usually eager to repent before God and reconcile with whomever they may have offended as well. But, forgiveness is viewed as temporal, needing annual renewal and received on the basis of God’s grace as well as our repentance and willingness to be obedient to His Law found in the Five Books of Moses. At least this is the traditional Jewish teaching on the subject.

The Ten Days of Awe or the Ten Days of Repentance are observed during the time between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Jewish tradition calls upon us to ask for forgiveness and to forgive others as one vital part of receiving God’s forgiveness at the conclusion of the ten-day period.

The Purpose for the Devotionals:

During the Ten Days of Repentance, we will be providing our readers with ten devotions, one for each day.

These devotional thoughts will hopefully be a blessing to you and help sensitize you to what your Jewish family and friends are observing as well. We also will present a passage or two from the Bible for you to meditate upon and will allow the Lord to speak to you through His word during this important season of the year.

The Apostle Paul suggests the importance of understanding and even experiencing the Jewish festivals in his letter to Timothy. He writes,

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

Scripture Meditation:

I have found the above verses to be very helpful and practical in understanding the role of the festivals in the lives of believers in Jesus the Messiah.

In using the term Scripture, Paul is referring to the entirety of the Old Testament. Certainly, we can infer that this is also true of the New Testament, but specifically Paul has the Hebrew Scriptures in mind. Every part of the Bible is useful to us in the process of growing to spiritual maturity. This would include the Jewish holidays.

Paul is not suggesting that we must keep these festivals in any particular way nor is he suggesting that we are under obligation to keep them! Rather, he tells us that every verse in every one of the 39 books of the Old Testament is helpful and may be utilized for spiritual benefit. This would be true of the festivals outlined in Leviticus 23 and would include the three Fall events; the New Year, the Day of Atonement and Tabernacles.

Therefore, learning more about these “Feasts” is helpful for your spiritual journey. And for me, the emphases of the first two holidays on repentance and forgiveness create a magnificent backdrop for understanding the work of Jesus the Messiah, who died that I might live.

To read the rest of the devotional go to:

http://www.chosenpeople.com/main/index.php/holidays-and-festivals/836-ten-days-of-awe-devotionals

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June 2, 2014 · 9:59 PM

Shavuot – The Day of Pentecost and The Festivals of Israel

Shavuot – The Day of Pentecost The Festivals of Israel

The festivals of Israel were designed by God to focus the hearts and minds of the Jewish on various elements of God’s person and plan.   In addition, the Festivals, as much as any other portion of the Hebrew Scriptures also point to the coming of the Messiah. This is especially true of the seven great festivals outlined in Leviticus chapter 23.

I believe the four Spring Festivals were fulfilled in the first coming of Jesus.   The three Fall Festivals will be fulfilled in His second coming.

The Fourth Spring Festival

The Biblical Names

Shavuot – Weeks – 7 weeks after Passover

The fourth and final Spring Festival is called Shavuot. This word means seven because seven-sevens – or seven, seven-day weeks are to be counted by the Jewish people; beginning with Passover and then Shavuot is to be observed on the 50th day.

Pentecost – Fifty – 50th day after Passover

In Christian tradition the festival is called Pentecost – the Greek term which means 50, as this fourth spring festival is observed on the 50th day after Passover.

The Traditional Jewish Names

Zman Matan Torah – ‘the season of the giving of the Law’ – One of the Hebrew titles for the holiday in Jewish tradition is Zman Matan Torah – ‘the season of the giving of the Law’ as the Rabbis believed that the Torah was given on the day of Pentecost.  We eat special holiday bread – a reminder of the Jewish tradition that Moses climbed a ladder to heaven to receive the Law.  Shavuot is a Jewish holiday that celebrates the giving of the Torah to the Jewish people and the Talmud tells us that God gave the Ten Commandments to the Jews on the sixth night of the Hebrew month of Sivan.

The Biblical Commands

  • Sheuvot always falls 50 days after the second night of Passover. The 49 days in between are known as the Omer.  A later Jewish tradition teaches that the Torah was given on Shavuot.
  • The counting for the 50 days was to begin on that ‘day after the Sabbath’(Lev. 23:15), the day when the First Fruit/sheaf was waved occurred on the day.
  • They offered two leavened loaves of bread concluding the grain harvest. (Lev. 23:17), which was the Tithe (Lev. 27:30).
  • The two-loaves were the results (symbolically) of the one sheaf, waved before the Lord on the Day of First Fruits mentioned in Lev. 23:11
  • Shavuot is also one of the three pilgrimage feasts when all Jewish males were required to appear before the Lord in Jerusalem.

Jewish Traditions

  • There are many Jewish traditions associated with Pentecost.
  • The reading of the Book of Ruth as it is a harvest time story – King David was born and died on this festival and Ruth took on the burden of the Law.
  • Many religious Jews commemorate Shavuot by spending the entire night studying Torah at their synagogue or at home.
  • Chanting the Ten Commandments.

The Messianic Fulfillment of the Festival

Now if Passover was fulfilled in the death of the Lamb of God and unleavened bread in his sinless character and His resurrection the fulfillment of First Fruit then we must ask ourselves – how was the of day Pentecost fulfilled by the first coming of Jesus?

It is no coincidence that God selected this Jewish festival as the day when he would send his Holy Spirit.  In Acts, chapter 2 we see this festival fulfilled in some remarkable ways. To understand why God would choose to pour out His Spirit on the day of Pentecost – we must rehearse the relationship between all the Spring Festivals.

  • Passover – redemption – death of Christ
  • First Fruits – first results – Resurrection (1 Cor. 15:23)
  • Pentecost – Fruition – Birth of the Church

In Acts, chapter 2 God fulfills this festival in some remarkable ways.

The Promise

The 120 Disciples (Acts 1:15), were in one place, in one mind, praying and focusing on God’s work. They were waiting in obedience to the command of Jesus (Acts 1:4-5) and also in obedience to the Laws of Shavuot regarding “no work’ – Lev. 23:21.  Many were pilgrims who had left their homes in other places to be part of this Festival. God would bless their obedience now in a powerful way – some of those waiting were pilgrims as Pentecost was one of the three Festivals where Jewish people were commanded to go “up to Jerusalem’ to worship.

God would bless their obedience.

And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things. Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high.” (Luke 24:45-49)

And further, before His ascension to the right hand of the Father He says to His disciples,

… He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”(Acts 1:4-5)

Signs and Wonders

After some days of patient waiting – the presence and power of the Holy Spirit fell upon the disciples on the 50th day after Passover.  It was a new revelation given on a new Pentecost!  The initial giving of the Torah by Moses at Mt. Sinai had come with signs and wonders in the heaven as seen in Exodus 19.

Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.

Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice. (Ex. 19:16-19)

There were now signs and wonders in the Upper Room marking this new Pentecost as well.  It was the birthday of a new revelation and the fulfillment of God’s promises to pour out His Spirit in the last days! (Joel 2)

Hearing the Good News in their Own Language

The Tradition of All Israel Being Present at Sinai

According to our Sages, every Jew who would ever live was at Mount Sinai, pledging their obedience to the Law.  According to Jewish tradition this was not limited to the Jews alive at this time.  The Rabbis believed in the pre-existence of the soul and that every Jew who would ever live – was at Mount Sinai – with or without a body! The rational for this is that every Jewish person at that moment agreed to keep the Torah.  The verse used to teach this is,

Ex. 24:7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said,  “All that the LORD has said we will do, and be obedient.”

In light of this, it makes sense that there was also a Jewish tradition that every Jew present at Mount Sinai that day actually heard the giving of the Law in their own native tongue – after all how could they obey what they did not understand.

The fulfillment on the day of this new Pentecost, which took place 50 days after Jesus the Lamb of God died for our sins, is obvious.  There were signs and wonders, just like at Mount Sinai and those who heard the disciples preaching heard this new revelation in their own native tongue.  Can you imagine what it would have been like to be present at this new Pentecost?  It would have been amazing especially as the Jewish people realized that the new had come with the power of the old!

How gracious of God to use a tradition of man to communicate His truth to the Jewish people.  God Himself is our role model for missionary service and evangelism.   He seeks to communicate with us in ways we can understand…He could prove His point otherwise, but He deigns to prove Himself in ways that we humans can understand…as our ability to understand spiritual truth is so limited.  Perhaps the best example of this is the Son of God Himself, who took on flesh in order to communicate with you and me…to show us His love and to help us better understand the Father through His role model and example.  We too need to incarnate the Good News in ways that our families, friends and neighbors understand …through love, helping in practical ways and doing whatever it takes to help those we pray for understand that God is not far away, He is close and He loves them.

Happy Shevout/Pentecost and may the Lord fill you with the presence and power of His presence. 

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May 19, 2014 · 11:44 AM

Special Report from Kiev

Shalom dear friend in the Messiah,

I recently returned from a trip to Kiev, where I participated in the European section meeting of the Lausanne Consultation on Jewish Evangelism. This group has existed for thirty years, and was initiated by Jewish mission leaders involved with the Lausanne Consultation on World Evangelism. The meetings for the European group were held in Kiev April, 28 – May 2, 2014.

There were many reasons for the event to be held in Kiev, not the least of which is because there has been a growing, authentic and indigenous Messianic Jewish movement in Ukraine – centered in Kiev – which began in 1989 at the beginning of Perestroika. The conference statement is well worth reading, and reflects the sentiments of the attendees.

The history of the Jewish people of Ukraine is significant. Ukraine was part of the Pale of Settlement, where Jews were allowed to live, and included land that is now part of Russia, Poland, Romania, Belarus as well as today’s Ukraine. The borders were quite fluid for many years, and so many Jewish people’s “country of origin” frequently changed. However, the borders stabilized after 1945 and the formation of the Soviet Union. The area has always been important to Jewish evangelism, as more than ten million Jewish people lived in the region before World War II.

Fifty-plus years later, the Soviet Union would become the Former Soviet Union and countries that were once part of it would again assert their independence and individuality. This is most assuredly what is taking place now as the Ukrainians, especially in the Western and more European part of Ukraine, seek continued independence from Russia. The conflict between various parts of Ukraine and Russia is at the heart of current conflict. Although the conflict appears to be purely political and nationalistic, there is a spiritual aspect to the situation as well.

The Ukrainian Christians – Baptists, Pentecostals and those who identify with the mainline churches – have been deeply involved in the political struggle, hoping as well that an independent Ukraine would be best for the spiritual atmosphere of the country’s people. This is understandable, as the Russian Orthodox Church has been a very controlling presence in Russia and throughout the Former Soviet Union for many years.

The Christians in the Ukraine believe they now have greater freedoms than others in the Former Soviet Union, and part of their political struggle stems from a desire to maintain this freedom of religion. The fierce and early fighting took place in what is known as Maidan Square, the very heart both symbolically and physically of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine.  Many born-again believers found extraordinary opportunities to minister in the midst of the conflict.  As a result of the fighting many Ukranians came to the Lord.

Many Jewish people believe that Ukraine is an anti-Semitic country. Certainly this is true historically; however, after meeting some of the believers in Kiev, I can honestly say that these believers have renounced this history of anti-Semitism and assured me that they love the Jewish people, affirm the state of Israel and work hard to make the Gospel known among their Jewish friends and loved ones. This was deeply encouraging to me.

Our Israel Director, Michael Zinn, who grew up in the Western Ukrainian city of Lvov gives us an overview of the events and interviews Yuri, one of the key leaders of the prayer tent movement in Maidan:

Michael Zinn: An Overview of Recent Events in the Ukraine

Michael and Yuri: God’s Work Through the Prayer Tent Ministries

It was eye-opening to visit Maidan Square last week and see for myself some of what transpired. I know a picture is worth at least a thousand words and so you can see for yourself the pictures of the barricades, tents, tires, para-military groups, nationalist allies and more!

My hope is that you will pray for Ukraine and especially for our brothers and sisters who have been so involved in helping, praying, serving food and leading many to Jesus in the midst of the conflict. Messianic Jews from Ukraine were in the trenches as well, sharing the love of Jesus with their fellow Ukrainian citizens.

Chosen People Ministries has had a ministry in the Ukraine for many years. It started in the midst of what I call the “Russian Jewish Jesus Movement,” which I date from the fall of the Soviet Union until today. Tens of thousands of Russian, Ukrainians and other Jews living in the Former Soviet Union have come to faith in the Messiah Jesus. In fact, at our LCJE European gathering, about a third of the participants or more spoke Russian or Ukrainian as their first languages. This is miraculous when you consider that the citizens of the Former Soviet Union were once forced to renounce all religious faith, and Jews especially were not allowed to worship in communities.

It is incredible to see what God has done. In fact, twenty-five years ago, Chosen People Ministries may have had a missionary or two that spoke Russian… but today we have 25-30 Russian speakers on our staff, serving around the globe from Russia and Ukraine to Israel, Australia, the United States and Germany!

Vladimir Pikman, who became a believer through our early ministries among the Jewish people in Kiev, tells the story of the founding of our work in front of the building in Maidan where our ministries began (now damaged by fire):

Vladimir Pikman: My Testimony and the Birth of Chosen People Ministries in Kiev

I was also able to speak briefly about the work of those dedicated disciples who are the fruit of God’s work through Chosen People Ministries in Kiev. There are a number of fine Messianic Jewish congregations in Kiev and Ukraine and quite a few mission agencies that are laboring in various cities throughout Ukraine, bringing the Good News of Messiah Jesus to Jewish Ukrainians and to Gentiles as well.

Mitch Glaser: Appeal for Prayer for Ukrainian Jewish Evangelism

Remember to pray for Ukraine, as we all have many brothers and sisters there who are enduring hardship and trying to being the Gospel to their people in trying times. There are still hundreds of thousands of Jewish people in Ukraine, and we are asking God to help us increase our ministry to win our kinsmen to the Savior.

We do have one Messianic congregation in Harkov, led by Sasha Sareda, a Ukrainian Baptist pastor called to serve among the Jewish people. We support Sasha and would appreciate your prayers.

As time goes by it becomes clearer and clearer that we will need to expand our work in Kiev. If you have interest in working in Ukraine with Chosen People Ministries or supporting this ministry, please take a moment to e-mail me so that we can talk about your involvement personally.

I hope you will enjoy the videos – and please pray about supporting our efforts among Russian-speaking Jewish people today!

Make an online donation now!

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Your brother in the Messiah,

Mitch

 

Remnant and Renewal: The New Russian Messianic Movement

Who are the Jewish people of the former Soviet Union and what is their relationship to the Gospel?

Remnant and Renewal: The New Russian Messianic Movement tells the story of the Russian-speaking Jewish people, and the sometimes heartbreaking, often heroic tales of those who have sought to bring the Gospel to them throughout their troubled history.

Remnant and Renewal: $13.95

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August 15, 2013 · 1:14 PM

Peace at Any Price? Reflections on the Release of 26 Palestinian Prisoners

Over the last couple of days, a controversial event transpired in Israel that has pierced the hearts of most Israelis. Twenty-six Palestinian prisoners who had been held in Israeli jails – most of whom had been convicted of murder – were released during the night before the peace talks planned between Israelis and Palestinians, which are brokered by the United States Secretary of State, John Kerry.

 

“There will never be peace here; it is very difficult to cope.”

According to YNet, a popular Israeli website, this was the general response from the families of the victims.

YNet adds,

“This is the sentiment of the families of the victims of the 26 prisoners expected to be released as part of resuming peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. They responded Monday morning with disapproval to the decision to include the killers of their loved ones on the list of those to be released.”

The rest of the story on YNet gives an overview of the sentiments of many of the family members of the Israeli victims of the Palestinians who are being released, and is well worth reading. [1]

The following is a list recorded in J Post (The Jerusalem Post online) – with information provided by the Almagor Terror Victims Association[2] – about the twenty-six Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli jails on Tuesday as part of confidence-building measures offered by Jerusalem in an attempt to bolster recently restarted Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.[3]

I believe that it is worthwhile to simply read through the names of the released prisoners and of their victims – as well as the crimes committed.

1. Fayez Mutawi al-Khur, who established a Fatah cell of twenty members and was jailed in November 1985 for the murder of Menahem Dadon and the attempted murder of Salomon Abukasis. The two had been shot in the Gaza City market two years earlier.

2. Salah Ibrahim Ahmed Mugdad, who was arrested in June 1993 for the murder of Israel Tenenbaum, a 72-year-old security guard at the Sirens Hotel in Netanya. The Fatah member struck Tenenbaum on the head with an iron bar and stole a television set from the hotel.

3. Samir Nayef al-Na’neesh, who was arrested in March 1989 for the murder of Binyamin Meisner, a reservist killed the previous month while on patrol in Nablus. Meisner was confronted by members of al-Na’neesh’s cell, causing him to enter an alley where other cell members were waiting with rocks.

4. Yusef Abdel Hamid Irshaid, who was arrested in March 1993 for the murder of Nidal Rabo Ja’ab, Adnan Aj’ad Dib, Mofid Can’an, Tawfik Jaradat and Ibrahim Said. Irshaid suspected them of collaborating with Israel and killed them after a violent interrogation. He was also convicted of numerous attempts to kill others he suspected of collaboration.

5. Mustafa Othman al-Haj, who was arrested in June 1989 for the murder of 48-year-old Steven Frederick Rosenfeld. Rosenfeld had been hiking in the hills near Ariel and was stabbed with his own knife by a group of shepherds, who hid his body.

6. Salameh Abdallah Musleh, who was charged in October 1993 with the murder of Reuven David two years earlier. David, 59, owned a grocery store in the town of Petah Tikva. He was beaten and robbed by Musleh and an accomplice.

7. Atiyeh Salem Musa, who, along with an accomplice, used an ax to murder a Jewish co-worker, 67-year-old Isaac Rotenberg, during Passover 1994. The murder took place while Rotenberg was kneeling to fix the floor at his place of employment in Petah Tikva. He was struck on the back of his neck and died two days later.

8. Salah Mahmoud Mukled, who was arrested in July 1993 for the stabbing death of Yeshayahu Deutsch, his Jewish employer, and the attempted murder of another local resident.

9. and 10. Mohamed Abdel Majid Sawalha, who was arrested for murder and attempted murder in December 1990, and his accomplice, Hosni Faregh Sawalha, who was charged with murder and for being an accessory to murder.

The two, minors at the time, stabbed to death 24-year-old Baruch Yaacov Heisler, a passenger on a bus from Petah Tikva to Tel Aviv. They attempted to attack other passengers as well. Another accomplice was killed by a police officer.

11. Atef Izzat Sha’ath, who was arrested in March 1993 for being an accessory to murder after driving three terrorists to the crime scene and driving them away afterward. The victim, Simcha Levy, made a living in Gush Katif by providing transportation to local workers. The terrorists were dressed as female agricultural workers and rode in Levy’s vehicle, where they stabbed her to death and fled.

12. Yusef Said al-Al, who was charged in February 1994 with throwing explosives and for being an accessory to murder. He and accomplices threw two hand grenades, which did not explode, at a Border Police unit. He also planted a bomb near a Border Patrol facility and assisted in the murder of a Jewish civilian by passing on information about the lack of soldiers in the area where the killing took place.

13. Midhat Fayez Barbakh, who was arrested in January 1994 for murder. He participated in the ambush of his employer, 61-year-old Moshe Beker, who was in charge of an orchard in Rishon Lezion. Along with two others, Barbakh waited for Beker in the morning and upon his arrival stabbed him to death with a knife and a pair of pruning shears.

14. Ali Ibrahim al-Rai, who was arrested in April 1994 for the murder of Moris Eisenstatt. Al-Rai killed the 79-year-old by striking him in the head with an ax as Eisenstatt sat on a public bench in Kfar Saba.

15. Mohamed Jaber Nashbat, who was arrested in September 1990 for being an accessory to murder. Nashbat threw rocks at 46-year-old soldier Amnon Pomeranz and poured gasoline on his vehicle, after which it was set alight with Pomeranz inside. The murder took place at the Al Burej refugee camp in the Gaza Strip.

16. Samir Hussein Murtaj, who was convicted in October 1993 for the abduction, interrogation through torture, and murder of four local residents: Samir Alsilawi, Khaled Malka, Nasser Aqila and Ali al Zaabot. The victims were suspected of having collaborated with Israel.

17. Faraj Saleh al-Rimahi, who was arrested in July 1992 for the ax murder of 84-year-old Avraham Kinstler in the Sharon region. While in prison, he also engaged in efforts to obtain a weapon for abducting a soldier.

18. and 19. Ala Eddin Ahmed Abu Sitteh and Ayman Taleb Abu Sitteh, who were charged with murder in January 1994 after they stabbed to death David Dadi, 43, and Hayim Weizman, 33. The two were killed while sleeping at Dadi’s apartment in Ramle. The Sittehs, who had been working in a nearby apartment, severed the victims’ ears after killing them.

20. Esmat Omar Mansour, who was arrested in October 1993 for being an accessory to murder. A minor at the time, Mansour helped subdue the victim, 30-year-old Hayim Mizrahi, who was on his way to buy eggs from an Arab-owned farm near his home. Mizrahi’s body was stuffed into the trunk of his vehicle, which the terrorists used to flee.

21. Khaled Mohamed Asakreh, who was charged in May 1991 with murder in the stabbing death of French tourist Annie Ley. Ley was dining at the restaurant where Asakreh was employed.

22. and 23. Nihad Yusef Jundiyeh and Mohamed Mahmoud Hamdiyeh, who were arrested in July 1989 for the murder of Jewish contractor Zalman Shlein. The two minors stabbed Shlein to death with a knife after traveling with him to a construction site where he was building a house. They also beat him with an iron pole.

24. Jamil Abdel Wahab Natsheh, who was charged with being an accessory to murder in December 1992 for acting as the escape driver for terrorists who shot at IDF soldiers at the Cave of the Patriarchs. One soldier was killed and another was wounded.

25. Taher Mohamed Zaboud, who was arrested in February 1993 for murder, hijacking a vehicle and attempting to steal a weapon. Zaboud’s accomplice fired shots at the driver, Avraham Cohen, but fled when they realized he was not carrying a weapon.

26. Burhan Subaih, who was arrested in February 2001 for the murder of Jamil Muhammad Naim Sabih and Aisha Abdullah Haradin.

Israel is often characterized by world opinion – and by some evangelical Christians – as a nation that acts unjustly and lacks compassion. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth, and the release of the prisoners is clear evidence of the extent to which Israeli leaders are willing to go to achieve peace.

I am not going to try and paint Israel or the Jewish people as perfect or without moral blemish. We are all sinners – both individuals and nations. However, since there has been so much criticism of Israel in recent days, I think it is important to show that Israel and its leaders have gone far beyond what even most citizens of Israel would believe to be just and fair.

What other nation in recent days has released its convicted prisoners or offered them early “parole,” as the Israeli government is describing the nature of their actions?

These controversial decisions on the part of the Israeli leadership will be debated for years and perhaps centuries. I do not believe that the Israeli leadership views the release of the prisoners as forgiveness, nor necessarily an act of compassion, even though in some cases this might be the case – especially for the more elderly prisoners.

I assume the release of the prisoners was enacted for the sake of political expediency in hopes that the release will lead towards peace. We might not know the answer to this for a number of years, and even if some type of peace comes about as a result of this effort – many will still feel that the price for peace was too high.

I am writing these reflections to demonstrate to Evangelical Christians who have been so very critical of Israel lately that Israeli leaders are willing to do what might be viewed as reprehensible and politically inexpedient, simply in order move the peace process forward.

Really, this is all about the character of Israeli leadership and of the people of Israel. Look at the great lengths to which they have gone to show good faith in the peace process. There will be continued controversy over the next few days regarding Israel’s moving forward with housing settlements in Gilo and regarding the recent air strike, destroying the Hamas rocket launcher that was aiming missiles into Israel from Gaza. The antagonists of Israel will focus on these things and miss the fact that the leadership of Israel has risked the soul of the nation for the sake of peace.

I believe that evangelical Christians, especially those that have been so opposed to Israel in recent days and have accused Israel of being unjust, need to pause and reconsider their position in light of the renewed tears shed by the families of those who were murdered – and the cheers and celebrations by the communities of those who were released.    

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