Nothing Can Keep the Gospel Locked Down!by Dr. Mitch Glaser05 December 2020
Dear brothers and sisters,
Merry almost Christmas and thank you for your prayers and partnership. Chosen People Ministries, Your Mission to the Jewish People, is positioned to reach thousands of Jewish people during December, and I am excited. We could not be where we are today without God working through you!
I am especially pleased with the opportunities we have for online evangelism. We are now in the midst of evangelistic campaigns in the United States, England, and Israel. We are offering a booklet about the Jewish holiday Hanukkah entitled Hanukkah: A Bright Light for Dark Times, who we know is Jesus, the Light of the World! We have been speaking to Jewish people about Jesus on Zoom and in person as restrictions allow, and a growing handful of Jewish people in Israel and across the globe are coming to faith. We have baptized some new believers in the past few months too. God is moving!
No one, and nothing the devil can throw at us, can keep the gospel locked down!
FACING HARD TIMES IN THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Our dedicated missionaries are working through the many challenges facing them daily in their ministries. And the Lord is using these hard times, caused by COVID-19, to bring out the best in our staff. They are more creative, sacrificial, and dependent upon the Holy Spirit than ever before!
I am concerned, however, with our missionaries who have been enduring hard times in hard places! Your prayers can help our staff power through the challenges by His Spirit.
Let me tell you what these wonderful missionaries are facing.
Our staff in Israel and Brooklyn face regular opposition from religious Jewish people who protest our Bible studies and services—especially at our Greater Tel Aviv Messianic Center in the suburb of Ramat Gan. Some of our staff also face the challenge of having limited resources, as the regions where they serve do not have an abundance of local churches committed to Jewish missions. I wish we could send the staff everything they need, but we cannot as our resources in the United States are also limited.
Our missionaries here at home are also having a tough time because the opportunities to speak in churches—one of the primary ways our missionaries raise their support—is still severely limited because of the pandemic.
We are not sure when churches will fully reopen their doors to our ministries.
Our staff who work in hard places need the freedom to travel to other places to raise prayer and financial support, but it is impossible for our overseas staff to come to the United States to raise support right now.
Our global staff also face the challenges of working in countries plagued by government instability. For example, the governments of England, Israel, and Argentina are under pressure. Policies are changing and uncertainty rules, which make people hesitant to give to missions, even if they can.
COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS
We have to admit that even though we have endured some tough times over the last nine months, we also know there is a lot to be thankful for!
I hope you were able to gather with your family to celebrate Thanksgiving. Yet, I imagine you may have limited the number of your guests to protect your more vulnerable loved ones as we did. Our heavenly Father also protects those He loves. In one of my favorite passages in all of Scripture, Isaiah wrote:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you (Isaiah 43:1–3).
Like our heavenly Father, we are “wired” to protect those we love!
We do have so much to be thankful for in the midst of hardship, including the freedom to express our faith, the availability of Bibles and other Christian literature, and loving families, even though we might have to see them via Zoom.
God is good—all the time.
Let me list a few reasons why I am so thankful this year.
1. Our online outreaches have been very successful.
2. Many Jewish people have come to faith during the pandemic.
3. There is growing interest in the gospel among ultra-religious Jewish people. We have never received as many inquiries from religious Jewish people as we have during the last few months.
4. The Chosen People Ministries staff is healthy. We are still working mostly from our homes, but some of us are also in the office a few days a week. And our congregations—at least some of them—are meeting again in person, following their own state and local requirements.
There is a lot to be thankful for each day, even in light of what we have lost. The Lord always makes up for our hardship, but in His way.
He promised Israel, “Then I will make up to you for the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the creeping locust, the stripping locust and the gnawing locust, My great army which I sent among you” (Joel 2:25).
He loves each of us so deeply and personally. Jesus taught His disciples this as well. Matthew wrote:
Do not worry then, saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear for clothing?” For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you (Matthew 6:31–33).
And He loves those who are preaching the gospel through Your Mission to the Jewish People.
I am grateful for you, too, as it is because of your sacrifice and generosity that the Lord cares for our dedicated staff worldwide, especially those serving in hard places! We currently have staff working in areas that cover 96 percent of the world’s Jewish population, which today is about 15 million!
We are thankful for you, and we pray regularly for the needs of our broader Chosen People Ministries family. Please feel free to send us your prayer requests at chosenpeople.com/pray. We want to thank God for what He is doing in your life and pray for your needs.
A belated Happy Thanksgiving and early Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah!
Your brother,
Mitch
Dr. Mitch Glaser | December 4, 2020 at 8:30 AM | Tags: Christmas, covid-19, evangelism, hanukkah, pandemic, Yeshua | Categories: Digital Media, evangelism, Holidays & Festivals, Jewish Holidays | URL: https://wp.me/p1MrcO-op
Jesus, the Passover Lamb
Dr Mitch Glasser, March 16, 2018
We are approaching the Passover /Easter season, and I pray this will be a spiritually enriching time for you and your family. Hundreds of Jewish people— both believers in Jesus and seekers—will be attending Chosen People Ministries’ Passover events around the globe. Please remember to pray for these outreaches, as many Jewish people will be introduced to the Lamb of God for the first time in a very “Jewish way!”
Your Mission to the Jewish People has produced two new books, which are now available. Both books cover similar material, but the longer book, Messiah in the Passover, goes into greater depth regarding Passover in the Bible, Jewish history, and even Church history. The Gospel in the Passover focuses on the way in which Jesus fulfills the festival.
Passover and the Gospel of John
My chapter in Messiah in the Passover focuses on the Gospel of John, and so, based on that wonderful Gospel, I will try to answer this question: “Was the Last Supper a Passover Seder?” The following is a small portion of the chapter.
The Gospel of John is critical to understanding the Jewish story of Jesus. Many scholars argue that the Gospel of John was primarily written to Gentiles, perhaps because of its A.D. 90 date of authorship as well as for a variety of textual reasons. However, the Gospel of John really should be viewed through a Jewish lens. John himself was Jewish and one of the earliest disciples of Jesus. Traditionally, and without argument, he is thought to be the author of the Gospel that bears his name, the Epistles (First, Second and Third John), and the Book of Revelation. According to early Church tradition, John lived longer than any of the other apostles and died as an exile in the late first century on the island of Patmos.
John’s first-hand experience with Jesus gives him great insight into the details of Jesus’ life. He traveled with the Messiah, heard His sermons, and was perhaps the one who was described as “beloved.” He was present at the foot of the cross, unlike his peers, and was given the task of caring for Miriam (Mary), the mother of Yeshua (John 19:26-27).
He was present with Jesus at every Jewish festival the Savior celebrated. Perhaps this is why we learn some unique aspects of the last Passover supper of Jesus through John—especially from the teaching of the Savior during that meal, generally referred to as the Upper Room Discourse.
John mentions Passover quite often in his Gospel. In his very first mention of Jesus, John refers to Him as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). We may assume that his hearers would have understood this comment in light of the Passover.
John describes three different Passovers observed by Jesus: John 2:13, 6:4, and the final Passover, the focus of this chapter, found in John 11:55, 12:1, and 13:1, with additional references in John 18:28 and 19:14. It should also be noted that Luke tells us that John was asked by Jesus to make preparations for this final Passover meal (Luke 22: 8-13).
The Foot Washing
We understand that the Seder observed by Jesus and His disciples would have been more primitive and not as well developed as what was described 200 years later in the Mishnaic tractate, Pesachim,1 or found in the modern Haggadah, the guide to our modern Passover Seder. However, some of the traditions recorded by John run parallel to our modern day Passover Seder and cause us to think that, in fact, Jesus observed a similar Passover to what we know today and what I was raised celebrating each year! As most of us know, Jesus washed His disciples’ feet during the Last Supper.
The washing of hands during the Passover Seder is foundational to foot washing. The modern Haggadah calls upon participants to wash their hands twice for the sake of establishing ritual purity. The first ritual hand washing is called, in Hebrew, Urchatz.2 In this instance, water is poured from a cup, once over each hand and recited without a blessing in preparation for taking the greens, either parsley or lettuce, which is part of the traditional Seder meal.
The second hand washing is called Rachtzah3 and it is done a little later in the Passover service just prior to eating the matzah (unleavened bread). This time, a blessing is said when pouring the water over the hands: “Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us with His laws and commanded us to wash our hands.”
These washing traditions harken back to those linked to ritual purity found in the Torah and in particular to various commandments associated with the priesthood and Temple offerings, especially the preparation of the priests for their duties.4 Again, our modern Passover Seder rituals developed over centuries and cannot be simply “read into” the Passover Seder of Jesus. In this instance, however, it appears that the washing of the disciples’ feet should be associated with the liturgy of the Last Supper (or Last Seder) rather than the common washing of feet when entering a house as a guest.
The strongest indication is that the disciples are already sitting at the table and engaged with dinner when the foot washing begins. 5 Jesus decided to use His washing the disciples’ feet rather than their hands to teach the disciples some early lessons about true humility, suggesting that true spirituality is not simply a matter of performing rituals correctly but a matter of the heart. The lessons in humility demonstrated and then taught through changing the hand washing into a foot washing is dramatic and powerful.
So when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments and reclined at the table again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. (John 13:12-17)
There are many rabbinic teachings found in the Mishnah and Talmud that emphasize the importance of humility.6 We find similar thoughts about humility in the words of Jesus Himself spoken during the Sermon on the Mount, especially as gleaned from the first three beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-5).
Reclining at the Table
Once again, we have good evidence that this meal is a Seder as Dr. Don Carson, in his commentary on the Gospel of John, suggests that the “reclining” posture of the disciples during the meal is another hint that the meal was a Passover Seder: “In short, the posture of Jesus and his men is a small indicator that they were, in fact, eating the Passover meal.” 7
The reclining posture of the disciples and Jesus indicates that the meal was a “special meal” and in this instance, because of the other elements mentioned and the date it took place, it may be seen as a Passover Seder.
The Sop and the Betrayal
Another key to understanding this meal as the Last Seder of Jesus comes when Jesus indicates to His disciples that Judas is going to betray Him. In response to Peter’s asking who the perpetrator will be, Jesus responds, ‘“That is the one for whom I shall dip the morsel and give it to him.’ So when He had dipped the morsel, He took and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot” (John 13:26).
The dipping of the “morsel” likely refers to one of the various “dippings” that are part of the Seder. It could refer to the dipping of the greens (parsley or lettuce), the bitter herbs, or the charoset (the sweet mixture of apples, nuts, and honey used to symbolize the sweetness of redemption in the midst of the bitterness of slavery represented by the other dippings). We might not know which dipping Jesus is referring to exactly, but clearly this is an unusual action for a regular meal, but not for a Passover Seder.
There are many other reasons why we believe that the dinner recorded by John was an early version of a Passover Seder, but perhaps the above will suffice for now and give you a hunger to learn more about the Passover and the ways Jesus, the Lamb of God, fulfills the Feast.
Enjoy the rest of the newsletter and remember to pray for our staff serving in 17 countries around the globe as they present the Messiah through the Passover in churches, homes, and Messianic congregations and speaking one-on-one with Jewish people who need to know the Lord.
Thanks for your prayers for our ministry. Happy Passover and may the power of His resurrection give you strength to serve Him faithfully!
Your brother,
Mitch
1 The tractate of the Mishnah about Passover
2 Literally, washing or cleansing
3 Literally, To wash or bath
4 Leviticus 8:6, Leviticus 16:24-25
5 Craig S Keener, The Gospel of John: A Commentary (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 2003), 906.
6 Ibid. 906–907.
7 Carson, D. A.. The Gospel According to John. (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; W.B. Eerdmans, 1991), p. 473.
*****************************************Nothing Can Keep the Gospel Locked Down!by Dr. Mitch Glaser
Dear brothers and sisters,
Merry almost Christmas and thank you for your prayers and partnership. Chosen People Ministries, Your Mission to the Jewish People, is positioned to reach thousands of Jewish people during December, and I am excited. We could not be where we are today without God working through you!
I am especially pleased with the opportunities we have for online evangelism. We are now in the midst of evangelistic campaigns in the United States, England, and Israel. We are offering a booklet about the Jewish holiday Hanukkah entitled Hanukkah: A Bright Light for Dark Times, who we know is Jesus, the Light of the World! We have been speaking to Jewish people about Jesus on Zoom and in person as restrictions allow, and a growing handful of Jewish people in Israel and across the globe are coming to faith. We have baptized some new believers in the past few months too. God is moving!
No one, and nothing the devil can throw at us, can keep the gospel locked down!
FACING HARD TIMES IN THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Our dedicated missionaries are working through the many challenges facing them daily in their ministries. And the Lord is using these hard times, caused by COVID-19, to bring out the best in our staff. They are more creative, sacrificial, and dependent upon the Holy Spirit than ever before!
I am concerned, however, with our missionaries who have been enduring hard times in hard places! Your prayers can help our staff power through the challenges by His Spirit.
Let me tell you what these wonderful missionaries are facing.
Our staff in Israel and Brooklyn face regular opposition from religious Jewish people who protest our Bible studies and services—especially at our Greater Tel Aviv Messianic Center in the suburb of Ramat Gan. Some of our staff also face the challenge of having limited resources, as the regions where they serve do not have an abundance of local churches committed to Jewish missions. I wish we could send the staff everything they need, but we cannot as our resources in the United States are also limited.
Our missionaries here at home are also having a tough time because the opportunities to speak in churches—one of the primary ways our missionaries raise their support—is still severely limited because of the pandemic.
We are not sure when churches will fully reopen their doors to our ministries.
Our staff who work in hard places need the freedom to travel to other places to raise prayer and financial support, but it is impossible for our overseas staff to come to the United States to raise support right now.
Our global staff also face the challenges of working in countries plagued by government instability. For example, the governments of England, Israel, and Argentina are under pressure. Policies are changing and uncertainty rules, which make people hesitant to give to missions, even if they can.
COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS
We have to admit that even though we have endured some tough times over the last nine months, we also know there is a lot to be thankful for!
I hope you were able to gather with your family to celebrate Thanksgiving. Yet, I imagine you may have limited the number of your guests to protect your more vulnerable loved ones as we did. Our heavenly Father also protects those He loves. In one of my favorite passages in all of Scripture, Isaiah wrote:
Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you (Isaiah 43:1–3).
Like our heavenly Father, we are “wired” to protect those we love!
We do have so much to be thankful for in the midst of hardship, including the freedom to express our faith, the availability of Bibles and other Christian literature, and loving families, even though we might have to see them via Zoom.
God is good—all the time.
Let me list a few reasons why I am so thankful this year.
1. Our online outreaches have been very successful.
2. Many Jewish people have come to faith during the pandemic.
3. There is growing interest in the gospel among ultra-religious Jewish people. We have never received as many inquiries from religious Jewish people as we have during the last few months.
4. The Chosen People Ministries staff is healthy. We are still working mostly from our homes, but some of us are also in the office a few days a week. And our congregations—at least some of them—are meeting again in person, following their own state and local requirements.
There is a lot to be thankful for each day, even in light of what we have lost. The Lord always makes up for our hardship, but in His way.
He promised Israel, “Then I will make up to you for the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the creeping locust, the stripping locust and the gnawing locust, My great army which I sent among you” (Joel 2:25).
He loves each of us so deeply and personally. Jesus taught His disciples this as well. Matthew wrote:
Do not worry then, saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear for clothing?” For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you (Matthew 6:31–33).
And He loves those who are preaching the gospel through Your Mission to the Jewish People.
I am grateful for you, too, as it is because of your sacrifice and generosity that the Lord cares for our dedicated staff worldwide, especially those serving in hard places! We currently have staff working in areas that cover 96 percent of the world’s Jewish population, which today is about 15 million!
We are thankful for you, and we pray regularly for the needs of our broader Chosen People Ministries family. Please feel free to send us your prayer requests at chosenpeople.com/pray. We want to thank God for what He is doing in your life and pray for your needs.
A belated Happy Thanksgiving and early Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah!
Your brother,
Mitch
Dr. Mitch Glaser | December 4, 2020 at 8:30 AM | Tags: Christmas, covid-19, evangelism, hanukkah, pandemic, Yeshua | Categories: Digital Media, evangelism, Holidays & Festivals, Jewish Holidays | URL: https://wp.me/p1MrcO-op
Jesus, the Passover Lamb
Dr Mitch Glasser, March 16, 2018
We are approaching the Passover /Easter season, and I pray this will be a spiritually enriching time for you and your family. Hundreds of Jewish people— both believers in Jesus and seekers—will be attending Chosen People Ministries’ Passover events around the globe. Please remember to pray for these outreaches, as many Jewish people will be introduced to the Lamb of God for the first time in a very “Jewish way!”
Your Mission to the Jewish People has produced two new books, which are now available. Both books cover similar material, but the longer book, Messiah in the Passover, goes into greater depth regarding Passover in the Bible, Jewish history, and even Church history. The Gospel in the Passover focuses on the way in which Jesus fulfills the festival.
Passover and the Gospel of John
My chapter in Messiah in the Passover focuses on the Gospel of John, and so, based on that wonderful Gospel, I will try to answer this question: “Was the Last Supper a Passover Seder?” The following is a small portion of the chapter.
The Gospel of John is critical to understanding the Jewish story of Jesus. Many scholars argue that the Gospel of John was primarily written to Gentiles, perhaps because of its A.D. 90 date of authorship as well as for a variety of textual reasons. However, the Gospel of John really should be viewed through a Jewish lens. John himself was Jewish and one of the earliest disciples of Jesus. Traditionally, and without argument, he is thought to be the author of the Gospel that bears his name, the Epistles (First, Second and Third John), and the Book of Revelation. According to early Church tradition, John lived longer than any of the other apostles and died as an exile in the late first century on the island of Patmos.
John’s first-hand experience with Jesus gives him great insight into the details of Jesus’ life. He traveled with the Messiah, heard His sermons, and was perhaps the one who was described as “beloved.” He was present at the foot of the cross, unlike his peers, and was given the task of caring for Miriam (Mary), the mother of Yeshua (John 19:26-27).
He was present with Jesus at every Jewish festival the Savior celebrated. Perhaps this is why we learn some unique aspects of the last Passover supper of Jesus through John—especially from the teaching of the Savior during that meal, generally referred to as the Upper Room Discourse.
John mentions Passover quite often in his Gospel. In his very first mention of Jesus, John refers to Him as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). We may assume that his hearers would have understood this comment in light of the Passover.
John describes three different Passovers observed by Jesus: John 2:13, 6:4, and the final Passover, the focus of this chapter, found in John 11:55, 12:1, and 13:1, with additional references in John 18:28 and 19:14. It should also be noted that Luke tells us that John was asked by Jesus to make preparations for this final Passover meal (Luke 22: 8-13).
The Foot Washing
We understand that the Seder observed by Jesus and His disciples would have been more primitive and not as well developed as what was described 200 years later in the Mishnaic tractate, Pesachim,1 or found in the modern Haggadah, the guide to our modern Passover Seder. However, some of the traditions recorded by John run parallel to our modern day Passover Seder and cause us to think that, in fact, Jesus observed a similar Passover to what we know today and what I was raised celebrating each year! As most of us know, Jesus washed His disciples’ feet during the Last Supper.
The washing of hands during the Passover Seder is foundational to foot washing. The modern Haggadah calls upon participants to wash their hands twice for the sake of establishing ritual purity. The first ritual hand washing is called, in Hebrew, Urchatz.2 In this instance, water is poured from a cup, once over each hand and recited without a blessing in preparation for taking the greens, either parsley or lettuce, which is part of the traditional Seder meal.
The second hand washing is called Rachtzah3 and it is done a little later in the Passover service just prior to eating the matzah (unleavened bread). This time, a blessing is said when pouring the water over the hands: “Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us with His laws and commanded us to wash our hands.”
These washing traditions harken back to those linked to ritual purity found in the Torah and in particular to various commandments associated with the priesthood and Temple offerings, especially the preparation of the priests for their duties.4 Again, our modern Passover Seder rituals developed over centuries and cannot be simply “read into” the Passover Seder of Jesus. In this instance, however, it appears that the washing of the disciples’ feet should be associated with the liturgy of the Last Supper (or Last Seder) rather than the common washing of feet when entering a house as a guest.
The strongest indication is that the disciples are already sitting at the table and engaged with dinner when the foot washing begins. 5 Jesus decided to use His washing the disciples’ feet rather than their hands to teach the disciples some early lessons about true humility, suggesting that true spirituality is not simply a matter of performing rituals correctly but a matter of the heart. The lessons in humility demonstrated and then taught through changing the hand washing into a foot washing is dramatic and powerful.
So when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments and reclined at the table again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. (John 13:12-17)
There are many rabbinic teachings found in the Mishnah and Talmud that emphasize the importance of humility.6 We find similar thoughts about humility in the words of Jesus Himself spoken during the Sermon on the Mount, especially as gleaned from the first three beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-5).
Reclining at the Table
Once again, we have good evidence that this meal is a Seder as Dr. Don Carson, in his commentary on the Gospel of John, suggests that the “reclining” posture of the disciples during the meal is another hint that the meal was a Passover Seder: “In short, the posture of Jesus and his men is a small indicator that they were, in fact, eating the Passover meal.” 7
The reclining posture of the disciples and Jesus indicates that the meal was a “special meal” and in this instance, because of the other elements mentioned and the date it took place, it may be seen as a Passover Seder.
The Sop and the Betrayal
Another key to understanding this meal as the Last Seder of Jesus comes when Jesus indicates to His disciples that Judas is going to betray Him. In response to Peter’s asking who the perpetrator will be, Jesus responds, ‘“That is the one for whom I shall dip the morsel and give it to him.’ So when He had dipped the morsel, He took and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot” (John 13:26).
The dipping of the “morsel” likely refers to one of the various “dippings” that are part of the Seder. It could refer to the dipping of the greens (parsley or lettuce), the bitter herbs, or the charoset (the sweet mixture of apples, nuts, and honey used to symbolize the sweetness of redemption in the midst of the bitterness of slavery represented by the other dippings). We might not know which dipping Jesus is referring to exactly, but clearly this is an unusual action for a regular meal, but not for a Passover Seder.
There are many other reasons why we believe that the dinner recorded by John was an early version of a Passover Seder, but perhaps the above will suffice for now and give you a hunger to learn more about the Passover and the ways Jesus, the Lamb of God, fulfills the Feast.
Enjoy the rest of the newsletter and remember to pray for our staff serving in 17 countries around the globe as they present the Messiah through the Passover in churches, homes, and Messianic congregations and speaking one-on-one with Jewish people who need to know the Lord.
Thanks for your prayers for our ministry. Happy Passover and may the power of His resurrection give you strength to serve Him faithfully!
Your brother,
Mitch
1 The tractate of the Mishnah about Passover
2 Literally, washing or cleansing
3 Literally, To wash or bath
4 Leviticus 8:6, Leviticus 16:24-25
5 Craig S Keener, The Gospel of John: A Commentary (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 2003), 906.
6 Ibid. 906–907.
7 Carson, D. A.. The Gospel According to John. (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; W.B. Eerdmans, 1991), p. 473.
*****************************************Nothing Can Keep the Gospel Locked Down!by Dr. Mitch Glaser
Remembering Billy Graham
by Dr Mitch Glaser
23 February 2018
Yesterday marked the passing of a great man of God: the evangelist Billy Graham. Though he did far more than preach the Gospel to millions and lead millions to the Lord, as founder of Christianity Today, leading his own organization, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, and helped begin significant Christian groups like the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, and the Lausanne Consultation on World Evangelism, he will still be known as an evangelist. Clearly Billy Graham viewed evangelism as his highest priority.
He was also a good father and husband, and kept a team together for five decades. He trained some of the most capable leaders of our day, including his son, Franklin, who now leads the BGEA and Samaritans Purse.
My view of Billy Graham changed drastically after I became a believer in Jesus. I was raised a Jewish New Yorker, and Billy Graham was not someone I paid attention to or who had any impact on my life. Once in awhile, I would watch one of his sermons on WOR channel 9 in New York. I changed channels quickly, as every Jewish person knew that we should not watch or listen to Christian evangelists like Billy Graham. I found him easy to listen to, although I admit I did not quite know what to do with him. He evidently had integrity, but he seemed so "puritanical" to me and he was just very Gentile and the epitome of what I was not. On the other hand, he did speak with passion and fervency that I appreciated, even as a young Jewish teenager living in New York City.
After I became a believer in Jesus I understood that every other believer in Jesus was my brother or sister, including Billy Graham. I learned a lot about the Bible and how to share the Gospel from him. When I was a brand new believer I even volunteered to counsel for one of his other evangelists at some rallies in the San Francisco Bay area where I was living at the time. I was really helped by learning how to share the Good News using my five fingers (anyone remember the hand illustration?) and appreciated the way he stood for the Lord in the public square.
Billy Graham produced two films, which were of particular significance to me as a Messianic Jew. The first was His Land, which showed how modern Israel was the fulfillment of prophecy. I loved it and took all my friends to see it! Billy Graham connected me to my own homeland and I was better able to understand what God did in Israel through the lens of Scripture for the first time. I could tell at that point that Mr. Graham was a friend of the Jewish people and of the nation of Israel, which he proved over and over again through his long 99 years of life.
The second film was the story of Corey Ten Boom - The Hiding Place. This movie again gave a clear Gospel message that was a powerful tool for Jewish evangelism. I saw the movie in Beverly Hills in a theater packed with Jewish people and you could hear a pin drop through the movie as we watched a Gentile woman suffer for her faith and love for the Jewish people. I understood that Billy Graham had a deep love for the Jewish people and for the nation of Israel.
Later on as I continued in my ministry, especially in the greater New York area, I had the privilege of being part of a number of committees for the Billy Graham rally held in Central Park on September 25th, 1991. One of my mentors was the chairman of the campaign committee and brought me into many different areas of the internal organization of the event. We formed a group that worked with Cliff Barrows and Dan Southern, who ran the campaign locally, to organize the follow up of the Jewish contacts. We also wrote papers and met and prayed together in order to help the Graham organization better understand the Jewish nuances of New York City. I was humbled because the Graham team really listened to us and changed their usual Crusade model for something that would be friendlier to the variety of ethnic groups in New York City - including the Jewish people.
They did not use the word crusade, which is a sensitive term for Jewish people. They had Marty Goetz sing some Messianic songs on the platform and Kathy Lee Epstein Gifford share her testimony as a Messianic Jew. The entire experience was wonderful. I was proud to be part of it and with great joy we were able to follow up on dozens of Jewish people who had committed their lives to the Lord at the Central Park rally.
The icing on the cake for me personally was when Billy Graham decide to do his last series of rallies in New York City in the Borough of Queens, where I grew up. I was asked to pray on the Sabbath, Friday night, June 24th, 2005, at the rally in Flushing Meadows Park, the site of the 1964 World's Fair. It just so happens that I was raised a couple of miles from this venue and I was able to stand up that night and pray for the Jewish people of the greater New York area. I sat behind Billy - he sat in a chair because he was already too weak to stand and preach. The message was only 15-20 minutes long and his gentleness, directness, and love for the crowd was apparent and actually overwhelming - you could just sense it. I sat stunned by the pristine simplicity of the message preached by this man of God. I even had the joy of praying with a Jewish man that night to receive the Lord.
Billy Graham, though he did not really know me outside of the night I prayed for the service, was a big influence in my life. I had a deep affection for this man. I am sure that I am just one of millions of lives that he touched so deeply. I thank God for Billy Graham and want to go record as one of the many Jewish people who admired and respected him for his godly example, Gospel conviction, love for Israel and the Jewish people, and desire to bring Jewish people to a saving knowledge of Jesus the Messiah. He will be missed by all of us until the reunion!
Dr. Mitch Glaser | February 22, 2018 at 4:09 PM | Tags: Billy Graham | Categories: Billy Graham | URL: https://wp.me/p1MrcO-gB
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December 2017
http://www.chosenpeople.com/site/newsletters/1712NL.pdf
FROM THE PRESIDENT - CHRISTMAS THROUGH JEWISH EYES
Dear friend, Shalom and a Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to you! We celebrate two great festivals of deliverance and joy during December. One of the holidays is observed by Christians and the other by Jewish people. There is some cross over today as, once in awhile, I find a Christmas tree capped with a Jewish star or see a Jewish person with a Hanukkah bush in their home! Sometimes this is done to ease the tension of a mixed marriage by bringing the holidays together for the sake of the children. Rarely is there recognition that, at its root, Christmas is a Jewish holiday and Hanukkah finds its ultimate fulfillment in Yeshua, the Messiah and Light of the world. Believe me, it is not easy to persuade the most ardent adherents that the above is true, but when recognized, it brings a greater delight and joy to each of the holidays. Let me explain by reminding us of the story of both holidays, beginning with Christmas.
THE CHRISTMAS STORY BEGINS IN THE BOOK OF GENESIS
Where does the Christmas story begin? Most people would answer correctly — in the Bible. However, they would begin the story with the wrong Testament by jumping right in with the birth of the Messiah! The story in fact begins much earlier. The story of Christmas begins in the Old Testament as far back as the book of Genesis. The first promise of a redeemer is found in Genesis 3:15: “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel.” Moses tells us that God would one day deliver mankind from sin and death, from disobedience, and from all the evil and human hardship that came about as a result of the fall of Adam and Eve. This deliverance would come through the seed of the woman who, in the process of destroying the serpent, would bruise his heel—not with a mortal wound but painful nonetheless. The wounding of this son of Eve points to Jesus who bore our sin. He was born of a woman, innocent, perfect, and without sin. His death may be viewed like the bruising of the heel, painful but not fatal since He rose from the dead. In Yeshua’s rising from the dead, He proved that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had accepted His sacrifice for sin. Later on, in Isaiah 53, we read these words, “All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on him.” We are all sinful and we all need a Savior. We are unable to save ourselves because we have inherited the disobedient nature of our “parents,” Adam and Eve. All praise be to God who sent His Son to die as the solution for our sins—for both forgiveness and transformation! This glorious story of redemption begins with the first sin because God’s grace has been available from the very start to all those who would receive it! The drama of redemption unfolds throughout the Old Testament Scriptures. In Genesis 12, we discover that God calls an elderly couple, Abraham and Sarah, to be His bridge of grace to a broken and sinful world. Their descendants, the Jewish people, were chosen for the sake of those who were not part of their own community and who ultimately would be used by God to bless the world: “And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed” (Genesis 12:1-3). Eventually these blessings to the world would come through one descendant of Abraham, the Messiah Jesus, and through Him the world would receive the blessings of redemption. But, how would the one promised in Genesis 3:15 be recognized? The Scriptures begin filling in His qualifications. Christmas is the drama of redemption fulfilled through the Jewish Messiah. The first one is that He would come from one particular tribe of Israel. He would be from the tribe of Judah, the fourth-born son of Jacob. As Moses describes, “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples” (Genesis 49:10). Even the rabbis of old recognized that the name Shiloh was a reference to the Messiah and redeemer promised to Israel and the nations. These promises shaped the expectations of the Jewish people so that when the Messiah came He would be recognized by His people. The qualifications for the Messiah continue as the Bible tells us that He would also be a Son of David. This was promised through the prophecy of Nathan to King David: “When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever… Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever” (2 Samuel 7:12-13, 16). David thought he would build a house for God—the Temple—but instead God created a house for the king assuring him that one of his descendants would sit on his throne forever. The Savior would be a Jewish man, a true prophet (Deuteronomy 18:15) who dies for the sins of both Jews and Gentiles (Isaiah 53, Psalm 22) and rises from the grave as the all-powerful Son of God “…who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 1:4). Christmas is the drama of redemption fulfilled through the Jewish Messiah, and the story does not begin in the New Testament but is rooted and grounded in the Hebrew Scriptures. This is why I believe Christmas is a Jewish holiday!
SALVATION IS OF THE JEWS
Jesus made a profound comment in the Gospel of John when speaking to the well-known Samaritan woman: “You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews” (John 4:22). What did He mean? The answer is simple. Jesus let the Samaritan woman know that salvation has its origins in God’s promises to the Jewish people, but the blessings that come through the Jewish Messiah would extend to all who want to have a personal relationship with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This salvation has “Jewish origins” but is available to all who believe! In a similar way, Hanukkah, the Jewish holiday celebrating the victory of the Maccabees over the Syrian Greeks and their wicked king, Antiochus Epiphanes, also points to this same Savior. Did you know that the observance of Hanukkah is mentioned in the Bible? In John 10, the Apostle writes, At that time the Feast of the Dedication took place at Jerusalem; it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple in the portico of Solomon. The Jews then gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, “How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me. (John 10:22-25) The Messiah took this occasion to reveal Himself to His people and, in so doing, He was telling the Jewish hearers that there is a salvation coming that is far greater than the one won by the Maccabees on that first Hanukkah. In fact, the lights lit for this holiday are designed by our tradition to remind us of the miracle that kept aflame the eternal light in the Temple. There was only enough oil to last for a day, but it lasted for eight days. The story may or may not be true, but when a Jewish person sees the glow of the Hanukkah candles, they are reminded of His power to deliver His chosen people from destruction! As a Jewish follower of Jesus, when I see the beautifully lit Hanukkah menorah, I am reminded of the One who claimed to be the Light of the world (John 8:12) and through whom we all have redemption from sin and the hope of everlasting life. I hope you will enjoy the brief Bible studies on various Messianic prophecies and that they will encourage your heart. I also pray that you might share some of these prophecies with your Jewish friends who look forward to the great deliverance to come but who do not yet know that the Messiah, predicted in the Hebrew Scriptures, has come and His name is Yeshua — the Savior of the world. Have a great holiday season and remember to pray for Your Mission to the Jewish People as we reach His chosen people in dozens of cities across the Americas and in seventeen other countries around the globe! Thank you for your faithful prayers and generous support.
Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah,
Mitch
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03 November 2017
RAISE YOUR VOICE ON BEHALF OF ISRAEL AND THE JEWISH PEOPLE
Israel became a nation in 1948—just a few years after the horrific discoveries of the death camps. To this day, I still meet soldiers who discovered the camps: the buried bodies, and the survivors barely clinging to life. Soon after the simple phrase “six million” became well known. Some people wonder, “Was it really six million Jewish people who died? Despite Holocaust deniers, the evidence is overwhelming that at least six million Jewish people died at the hands of the Nazis.
I believe it is fair to say that the modern State of Israel grew out of the ashes of the Holocaust. Next year, thankfully, and against all odds, we will celebrate the 70th anniversary of modern Israel.
A CONCERN FOR HOW THE CHURCH VIEWS ISRAEL
My chief concerns for Israel today are her safety and the well-being of all those who live in the Promised Land. But I am also deeply concerned about the way my brothers and sisters in Messiah—the Church— view Israel and the Jewish people today.
In the church today, are two fundamental views regarding Israel and the Jewish people.
STILL PART OF THE STORY
The first view is that God still has ongoing favor for the Jewish people—favor that was established with the Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 12:1-3) and reiterated in the Davidic Covenant (2 Samuel 7:14ff.). His plan also unfolds in the books of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:31-35) and Romans (Romans 11:11-29).
This view holds that the Lord will return one day, His feet will rest upon the Mount of Olives and He will conquer the enemies of Israel (Zechariah 12:10, 14:3ff). Next, He will establish a literal throne in Jerusalem and rule as the Messianic son of David.
NO LONGER PART OF THE PLAN
The second view that many born-again Christians hold is that the Jewish people rejected Jesus in the first century and, because of this, God no longer has a role and plan for the Jewish people. Adherents to this view do not see a literal expression of the various covenants where God promises the Jewish people that they would dwell in the land in peace and that Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, would reign on His glorious throne in Jerusalem—the capital of His kingdom.
There are wonderful and godly Christians on both sides of this fence!
As a mission to the Jewish people, we simply cannot be silent on these issues. I am hoping that the resources we are providing will increase awareness in the Body of Messiah of the ways the Bible describes God’s relationship to Israel and the Jewish people.
Yours in the Messiah,
Dr. Mitch Glaser
President of Chosen People Ministries
15 September 2017
The Feast of Tabernacles by Dr. Mitch Glaser
Jesus, Himself is the fulfillment—He is God in the flesh who tabernacled among us.
Shalom,
It is hard to believe another year has passed! The Fall Feasts are upon us, and Jewish people all around the world will soon begin to celebrate the New Year (Rosh Hashanah), the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), and the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot)—the three great Fall Festivals described in Leviticus 23:23-44.
We believe that each of the Festivals points to Jesus in one way or another, and this is wonderfully true of the Feast of Tabernacles! This Feast, in particular, carries a rich meaning for both Christians and Jewish people alike.
Yeshua the Messiah and the Feast of Tabernacles
Jesus (Yeshua in Hebrew) is the fulfillment of all the Jewish Festivals, and this includes Sukkot. First of all, we understand that Jesus Himself is the fulfillment of the Festival in that He is God in the flesh who “tabernacled” among us. As John wrote,
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)
The Greek word John used for “dwelt” is skene, a word that refers to the pitching of a tent. The image is easy to grasp—through the incarnation, God pitched a tent, which was His flesh, to veil His pure glory. Jesus pitched His tabernacle and dwelled among us for a short sojourn until the day He returns to reign as King. The incarnation was a foretaste of the experience of God’s glory we will enjoy when the kingdom is established on earth. In that day, the Messiah will be King over all, and both Israel and the nations will bow to Him as their sovereign Lord.
…so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:10-11)
In the 7th chapter of John, we see that Jesus Himself celebrated the Festival and, in fact, He used the celebration to make one of the most profound announcements regarding who He is. Specifically, it was on the seventh day of the Feast, called Hoshana Rabbah. This day is also known in Judaism as the last Day of Judgment. It was customary at that time for the Jewish people to send a choir of Levites and a priestly orchestra to the pool of Siloam to gather water in giant urns, which were then brought back to the altar.
They would march around the altar crying out Hosheanah—“Lord save us…Lord save us,” many times over. They would then pour the water from the urns at the base of the altar. This ceremony symbolized the future hope of the Jewish people—looking forward to the day when God would pour out His Spirit upon the people of Israel in fulfillment of Joel 2:28-29:
It will come about after this that I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind: And your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.
According to Jewish tradition, these events were expected to take place when the Messiah appeared on the earth. This “pouring out” was foreshadowed in the Temple by the pouring out of the water at the base of the altar. The water drawing ceremony, as it was known, was a portrait of the day when God would send His Messiah and His Spirit, and the Jewish people would become alive spiritually as they had never before.
Jesus understood the traditions associated with this great day of the Feast, and He knew this was the last opportunity on the Jewish calendar to repent of sins and be cleansed. It is a common misconception that Judaism teaches that the Books of Life and Death are sealed at the conclusion of the Day of Atonement; however, Jewish tradition dating back to the first century tells us that the judgment, which determines one’s fate for the year, is actually finalized on Hoshana Rabbah—literally, the great day of salvation.
It was at the high point of this ceremony when Jesus rose up and cried out:
“If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’ ” But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. (John 7:37-39)
Clearly, He was telling the crowds He was the Messiah, and that the Spirit of God is now being poured out, and that He is the living water. Those who drink, or believe in Him, will never thirst again! The Jewish people had a chance to find forgiveness of sin at the conclusion of the High Holiday cycle, and that moment had arrived—the way of salvation was through faith in Him!
It is safe to assume that Jesus’ declaration was heard by many Jewish people that day, because Sukkot is one of the three biblical Festivals which required all Jewish males to travel to Jerusalem from around the world.
The Future Sukkot
We will also see the Feast of Tabernacles fulfilled in the Kingdom period when the nations will be commanded to come up to Jerusalem and celebrate the Feast (Zechariah 14:16-19). If not, the prophet tells us that a drought would come upon those who disobey. We may assume that this is speaking of God literally withholding water, but also refers to a spiritual drought as those who do not follow the Lord also do not enjoy His favor and goodness.
There is a final unfolding of this great Festival which is described by the Apostle John who writes,
And I heard a loud voice from the thrones saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among men and they shall be His people and God Himself shall be among them, and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, crying, or pain, the first things have passed away. (Revelation 21:3-4)
We believe God will fulfill the kingdom promises to the Jewish people and establish the throne of Jesus in a literal and renewed Jerusalem. But that is not the end of the story—there is more to come. Ultimately, the whole earth will become the Sukkah booth of God, and He will reign for all eternity. As Paul describes,
When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all. (1 Corinthians 15:28)
This is a description of heaven, as after Jesus reigns as King over Israel and the nations for what many believe is for a literal thousand years (Revelation 20:1-5), the events described in Revelation 21 and 1 Corinthians 15 will take place. First, He literally fulfills His promises to Israel based upon the Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 12:1-3), and then the eternal reign of the Triune God is established forever.
I hope this gives you a whole new perspective on why the Feast of Tabernacles is also called the “Season of Our Joy.” What can bring greater joy than remembering how God tabernacled among us, while also looking forward to the day when He will be with us forever?
The Gospel and the Middle East Conference
There is much to learn about the present and future of Israel and the nations! This is why we have planned a major conference on biblical prophecy to study these very issues in the Scriptures! It is critical for us to look at current events through the lens of the Bible.
Speaking of which, I have some good news: we still have some room for you to join us at The Gospel and the Middle East conference scheduled for October 13-14 in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex! This is going to be an exciting opportunity to hear speakers like Joel Rosenberg, Darrell Bock, Craig Blaising, and others from the Chosen People Ministries staff. We are also bringing in speakers from Israel, and we will hear testimonies from former Muslims who know the Lord and love the Jewish people.
The conference will be an incredible time of exploring what the Bible teaches about Israel and the Middle East, but it will also be a time of celebration as you hear directly from those who minister in Israel about how God is moving in the Holy Land! We are grateful for our co-sponsors, Dallas Theological Seminary and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, so please join us if you are able! The registration information is on the enclosed card, or you can register online at thegospelandthemiddleeast.com.
Thanks for your prayers and faithful financial support as we share the Good News of Jesus the Messiah with Jewish people around the globe!
Enjoy the remainder of the newsletter, especially the information about Jewish views of the end times. I pray you have a blessed High Holiday season. Please remember to pray for Your Mission to the Jewish People and for the many outreaches we are having at this time all around the globe.
In Him,
Mitch
The Feast of Tabernacles by Dr. Mitch Glaser
Jesus, Himself is the fulfillment—He is God in the flesh who tabernacled among us.
Shalom,
It is hard to believe another year has passed! The Fall Feasts are upon us, and Jewish people all around the world will soon begin to celebrate the New Year (Rosh Hashanah), the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), and the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot)—the three great Fall Festivals described in Leviticus 23:23-44.
We believe that each of the Festivals points to Jesus in one way or another, and this is wonderfully true of the Feast of Tabernacles! This Feast, in particular, carries a rich meaning for both Christians and Jewish people alike.
Yeshua the Messiah and the Feast of Tabernacles
Jesus (Yeshua in Hebrew) is the fulfillment of all the Jewish Festivals, and this includes Sukkot. First of all, we understand that Jesus Himself is the fulfillment of the Festival in that He is God in the flesh who “tabernacled” among us. As John wrote,
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)
The Greek word John used for “dwelt” is skene, a word that refers to the pitching of a tent. The image is easy to grasp—through the incarnation, God pitched a tent, which was His flesh, to veil His pure glory. Jesus pitched His tabernacle and dwelled among us for a short sojourn until the day He returns to reign as King. The incarnation was a foretaste of the experience of God’s glory we will enjoy when the kingdom is established on earth. In that day, the Messiah will be King over all, and both Israel and the nations will bow to Him as their sovereign Lord.
…so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:10-11)
In the 7th chapter of John, we see that Jesus Himself celebrated the Festival and, in fact, He used the celebration to make one of the most profound announcements regarding who He is. Specifically, it was on the seventh day of the Feast, called Hoshana Rabbah. This day is also known in Judaism as the last Day of Judgment. It was customary at that time for the Jewish people to send a choir of Levites and a priestly orchestra to the pool of Siloam to gather water in giant urns, which were then brought back to the altar.
They would march around the altar crying out Hosheanah—“Lord save us…Lord save us,” many times over. They would then pour the water from the urns at the base of the altar. This ceremony symbolized the future hope of the Jewish people—looking forward to the day when God would pour out His Spirit upon the people of Israel in fulfillment of Joel 2:28-29:
It will come about after this that I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind: And your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.
According to Jewish tradition, these events were expected to take place when the Messiah appeared on the earth. This “pouring out” was foreshadowed in the Temple by the pouring out of the water at the base of the altar. The water drawing ceremony, as it was known, was a portrait of the day when God would send His Messiah and His Spirit, and the Jewish people would become alive spiritually as they had never before.
Jesus understood the traditions associated with this great day of the Feast, and He knew this was the last opportunity on the Jewish calendar to repent of sins and be cleansed. It is a common misconception that Judaism teaches that the Books of Life and Death are sealed at the conclusion of the Day of Atonement; however, Jewish tradition dating back to the first century tells us that the judgment, which determines one’s fate for the year, is actually finalized on Hoshana Rabbah—literally, the great day of salvation.
It was at the high point of this ceremony when Jesus rose up and cried out:
“If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’ ” But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. (John 7:37-39)
Clearly, He was telling the crowds He was the Messiah, and that the Spirit of God is now being poured out, and that He is the living water. Those who drink, or believe in Him, will never thirst again! The Jewish people had a chance to find forgiveness of sin at the conclusion of the High Holiday cycle, and that moment had arrived—the way of salvation was through faith in Him!
It is safe to assume that Jesus’ declaration was heard by many Jewish people that day, because Sukkot is one of the three biblical Festivals which required all Jewish males to travel to Jerusalem from around the world.
The Future Sukkot
We will also see the Feast of Tabernacles fulfilled in the Kingdom period when the nations will be commanded to come up to Jerusalem and celebrate the Feast (Zechariah 14:16-19). If not, the prophet tells us that a drought would come upon those who disobey. We may assume that this is speaking of God literally withholding water, but also refers to a spiritual drought as those who do not follow the Lord also do not enjoy His favor and goodness.
There is a final unfolding of this great Festival which is described by the Apostle John who writes,
And I heard a loud voice from the thrones saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among men and they shall be His people and God Himself shall be among them, and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, crying, or pain, the first things have passed away. (Revelation 21:3-4)
We believe God will fulfill the kingdom promises to the Jewish people and establish the throne of Jesus in a literal and renewed Jerusalem. But that is not the end of the story—there is more to come. Ultimately, the whole earth will become the Sukkah booth of God, and He will reign for all eternity. As Paul describes,
When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all. (1 Corinthians 15:28)
This is a description of heaven, as after Jesus reigns as King over Israel and the nations for what many believe is for a literal thousand years (Revelation 20:1-5), the events described in Revelation 21 and 1 Corinthians 15 will take place. First, He literally fulfills His promises to Israel based upon the Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 12:1-3), and then the eternal reign of the Triune God is established forever.
I hope this gives you a whole new perspective on why the Feast of Tabernacles is also called the “Season of Our Joy.” What can bring greater joy than remembering how God tabernacled among us, while also looking forward to the day when He will be with us forever?
The Gospel and the Middle East Conference
There is much to learn about the present and future of Israel and the nations! This is why we have planned a major conference on biblical prophecy to study these very issues in the Scriptures! It is critical for us to look at current events through the lens of the Bible.
Speaking of which, I have some good news: we still have some room for you to join us at The Gospel and the Middle East conference scheduled for October 13-14 in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex! This is going to be an exciting opportunity to hear speakers like Joel Rosenberg, Darrell Bock, Craig Blaising, and others from the Chosen People Ministries staff. We are also bringing in speakers from Israel, and we will hear testimonies from former Muslims who know the Lord and love the Jewish people.
The conference will be an incredible time of exploring what the Bible teaches about Israel and the Middle East, but it will also be a time of celebration as you hear directly from those who minister in Israel about how God is moving in the Holy Land! We are grateful for our co-sponsors, Dallas Theological Seminary and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, so please join us if you are able! The registration information is on the enclosed card, or you can register online at thegospelandthemiddleeast.com.
Thanks for your prayers and faithful financial support as we share the Good News of Jesus the Messiah with Jewish people around the globe!
Enjoy the remainder of the newsletter, especially the information about Jewish views of the end times. I pray you have a blessed High Holiday season. Please remember to pray for Your Mission to the Jewish People and for the many outreaches we are having at this time all around the globe.
In Him,
Mitch
30 May 2017
What holiday do Jews and Christians have in common?
By Dr Mitch Glaser
Introduction
The Festivals of Israel
What is the larger backdrop of the drama of Shavuot, the festival of First Fruits? Commonly known to Christians as Pentecost, Shavuot is one of four spring festivals and one of three “Aliyah” festivals found in the Hebrew Scriptures, when Jewish men were commanded to go up to Jerusalem and worship at the Temple. The festivals of Israel were designed by God to focus the hearts and minds of the Jewish people on the redemptive message of God’s person and plan.
The seven great festivals outlined in Leviticus chapter 23 all point to the coming of the Messiah. Jesus had the Festivals, along with other passages of Scripture, in mind when he told the two disciples on the road to Emmaus,
And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures. (Luke 24:25-27)
The four Spring Festivals – Passover, the Festival of Unleavened Bread, First Fruits and Shavuot – were fulfilled in the first coming of Jesus, and the three Fall Festivals, Yom Kippur, Rosh HaShanah and Sukkot will be fulfilled in His second coming.
The First Three Spring Festivals
Passover is a prophetic portrait of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The celebration of unleavened bread reminds us of the sinless nature of the Savior. First Fruits, which took place on the Sunday after the Sabbath of Passover speaks of the Messiah who would rise as the first fruit from among the dead.
The Fourth Spring Festival
The Biblical Names
Shavuot – “Weeks” – 7 weeks after Passover
The fourth and final spring festival is called Shavuot, which means “weeks” in Hebrew. Beginning with Passover, Israel is commanded to count seven whole weeks until the 50th day at which point Shavuot is observed.
You shall also count for yourselves from the day after the sabbath, from the day when you brought in the sheaf of the wave offering; there shall be seven complete sabbaths. You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh sabbath; then you shall present a new grain offering to the Lord. You shall bring in from your dwelling places two loaves of bread for a wave offering, made of two-tenths of an [c]ephah; they shall be of a fine flour, baked with leaven as first fruits to the Lord. Along with the bread you shall present seven one year old male lambs without defect, and a bull of the herd and two rams; they are to be a burnt offering to the Lord, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the Lord. You shall also offer one male goat for a sin offering and two male lambs one year old for a sacrifice of peace offerings. The priest shall then wave them with the bread of the first fruits for a wave offering with two lambs before the Lord; they are to be holy to the Lord for the priest. On this same day you shall make a proclamation as well; you are to have a holy convocation. You shall do no laborious work. It is to be a perpetual statute in all your dwelling places throughout your generations. (Leviticus 23:15-21)
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
Chag HaKatzir, which means “The Harvest Holiday.”
Chag HaBikurim, meaning “The Holiday of First Fruits.” This name comes from the practice of bringing fruits to the Temple on Shavuot.
Chag ha Azereth - Jewish tradition designates it as “Chag ha Azereth” or simply “Azereth” (the “feast of the conclusion” or simply “conclusion”).
The Biblical Commands
There are many Jewish traditions associated with Shavuot, such as reading the Book of Ruth, spending the entire night studying Torah until dawn, chanting the Ten Commandments, decorating synagogues and homes with aromatic spices, and partaking of a dairy meal and dessert.
The Book of Ruth is traditionally read during Shavuot because the biblical account takes place during the summer harvest. The book of Ruth celebrates God restoring honor and dignity to Naomi and her Moabite daughter-in-law, Ruth. Ruth is a gentile who identifies with the Jewish people by committing herself to Naomi and Naomi’s people, the Jewish people. King David, Ruth’s great-grandson, was born and died on this festival.
Many religious Jews commemorate Shavuot by spending the entire night studying Torah at their synagogue or home. They also study other biblical books and portions of the Talmud. This all-night gathering is known as Tikun Leyl Shavuot and at dawn participants stop studying and recite Shacharit, the customary morning prayer.
The Foods of Shavuot
What Jewish holiday would be complete without a signature cuisine? Shavuot is no different! According to long-standing tradition with a blurry origin, dairy foods such as cheese, cheesecake and milk products are eaten on Shavuot. A popular Shavuot delicacy is cheese blintzes. Some believe the tradition is related to The Song of Songs and based upon the passage that references milk and honey in chapter 4, verse 11.
Your lips, my bride, drip honey; Honey and milk are under your tongue, and the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.
Many believe that this line is comparing the Bible to the sweetness of milk and honey. In some European cities children are introduced to Bible study on Shavuot and are given honey cakes with passages from the Bible, primarily passages from the first five books of Moses (the Torah), written on them.
Zman Matan Torah –– 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 Law – the Torah, was given on Shavuot. A special holiday bread with a ladder design embedded into the loaf is eaten – a reminder of the Jewish tradition that Moses climbed a ladder to heaven to receive the Law.
The Messianic Fulfillment of the Festival
Now, if Passover is fulfilled in the death of the Lamb of God, Unleavened Bread in His sinless character, and First Fruits in His resurrection, then we must ask ourselves – how is Shavuot (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.
The Promise of the Spirit
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” (Leviticus 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.
Jesus opened the eyes of the two disciples traveling on the road to Emmaus and explained to them what was in the Old Testament scriptures about Himself and then pointed them towards the coming of the Holy Spirit, which He described as the “promise of the Father.” This implies that the coming of the Holy Spirit was the subject of Old Testament prophecy. This is detailed further when the Holy Spirit falls and Peter explains the event in light of Joel chapter 2:28-32.
Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed 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,
Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized [f]with the Holy Spirit [g]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 Shavuot/Pentecost! The initial giving of the Torah by Moses at Mount Sinai had come with signs and wonders in the heavens as seen in Exodus 19.
So it came about on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunder and lightning flashes and a thick cloud upon the mountain and a very loud trumpet sound, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the Lord descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently. When the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him with thunder. (Exodus 19:16-19)
There were 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!
The Tradition of All Israel Being Present at Sinai
According to Jewish tradition, our Sages taught that every Jew who would ever live was at Mount Sinai, pledging their obedience to the Law. The rabbis believed in the pre-existence of the soul and that every Jew who would ever live was there at Mount Sinai, with or without a body! The rationale for this is that every Jewish person at that moment agreed to keep the Torah. The verse used to teach this is in Exodus 24:7.
Then he took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!”
The Jewish tradition that every Jew present at Mount Sinai that day actually heard the giving of the Law in their own native tongue makes sense, as in order to obey the Jewish people needed to understand what they heard. Now, this is just a tradition and we do not believe this actually took place. But, the Jewish tradition is ancient and could very well have been known by Jesus and His disciples.
This new Pentecost took place 50 days after Jesus, the Lamb of God, died for our sins. There were signs and wonders, just like at Mount Sinai and those who heard the disciples preaching understood this new revelation in their own native tongue. The new had come in a similar manner as the old, and therefore had greater authority for the disciples if indeed they knew the tradition.
How gracious of God to use our culture and human understanding to communicate His truth to us! He communicates with us in ways we can understand: God could make His point otherwise, but He proves Himself in ways that humans can comprehend since our ability to fully grasp 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 internalize and embody the Good News in ways our families, friends, and neighbors can understand – that is 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.
Lessons from the Feast of Shavuot
Jews and Gentiles Together: Live in Unity
There were Jewish people from almost every region in the Diaspora who were now part of this first harvest on the Day of Pentecost. They seemed to decide as a group that they did not want to return home immediately after the festival, but rather to spend time with one another. Note Luke’s description in Acts chapter 2,
And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved. (Acts 2:44-47)
This first band of Messianic brothers were all Jews as there were no known Gentile believers at this point. In fact, the Lord would teach these early Jewish believers what it meant to live in unity and work through their differences so that they were prepared for the harvest of non-Jews that would come a short time later, beginning with Cornelius in Acts chapter 10.
The Holy Spirit draws our attention and focus to Jesus and it is when we focus on the Messiah and Lord that we find unity. The Spirit of God seals us, baptizes us and connects us to Jesus and one another in a way that is supernatural and miraculous and without parallel in this world of divisions and conflict. We are not perfect and sometimes we do not work at unity, but it is clear from the text that the impact of the First Day of Shavuot in the New Covenant calendar was a season of amazing unity. This is the work of the Holy Spirit.
Paul described our unity in greater depth in writing to the believers in Ephesus,
But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. (Ephesians 2:13-16)
The Lord wants us to become His by the power of the Holy Spirit and to work together in unity as so much more can be done together than apart as we proclaim the Good News of Jesus to a broken and needy world.
Preach with Power
We believe in the deity of the Holy Spirit and that He existed in perfect fellowship with the Son and the Father in the Old Covenant and for all eternity. However, the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the New Covenant is quite different than in the Old Covenant. The Holy Spirit did not change, but His role certainly did. His role in the world today is well described by Jesus in the Gospel of John, where we read,
But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. (John 16:7-11)
The term translated Helper, “parakletos” literally means “one who is called alongside”…to help, strengthen and to partner with each child of God in their life and ministry. The work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and lives is all-important, as first He regenerates us – we become born again…born from above – then He indwells us, fills us, and empowers us to preach.
We see the power of the Holy Spirit unleashed in the early sermons of the Book of Acts, especially through Peter’s preaching,
Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!” So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. (Acts 2:37-42)
But, there is more!
The Holy Spirit not only empowers the preacher, but also convicts the hearer.
The Holy Spirit convicts those who hear the preaching to repent of their sin and be saved. Convincing others that Jesus is the Messiah and by believing in Him we receive the gift of everlasting life is God’s job - through His Holy Spirit. He will convict and draw seekers to Himself as this work is His work and not ours.
The Global Harvest
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth. (Acts 1:8)
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. (Romans 1:16)
The festival of Shevuot/Pentecost reminds us of God’s plan to bring the Good News of salvation through the Messiah to the world. This was His plan all along! When God told Abram that He would bless the world through His descendants, it was clear that God’s choosing of the Jewish people was not for the sake of the Jewish people alone but for the entire world. He said to Abram,
“And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse.
And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3)
The blessing He promised through the Jewish people is the Gospel – the Good News about the Messiah Jesus who died and rose for our sins. Perhaps this is why the Day of Pentecost may be viewed as the birth of the church – the mysterious New Covenant community made up of Jews and Gentiles. As Paul writes,
To be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. (Ephesians 3:6)
This mystery Paul is describing is the joining together of Jews and Gentiles in God’s family – set apart through the sacrifice of the Messiah Jesus and united together by His Holy Spirit.
The two loaves, made with leaven, remind us that Jews and Gentiles, sinners redeemed by God’s grace in Jesus may be made acceptable to God. As the two loaves, we are also representative of the “rest of the harvest.” And it is now our joy to work in the harvest fields of the Lord until He returns!
Jews and Gentiles have been brought together through the miracle of Pentecost and share a common Lord, common life, and common calling to reach the world for Jesus in the power of His Spirit.
And together, empowered by the Holy Spirit, we have a common mission – to bring the Good News of Jesus the Messiah to the Jew first, and also to the Gentiles! (Romans 1:16).
Dr. Mitch Glaser | May 30, 2017 at 6:12 PM | Categories: Jewish Holidays | URL: http://wp.me/p1MrcO-eX
What holiday do Jews and Christians have in common?
By Dr Mitch Glaser
Introduction
The Festivals of Israel
What is the larger backdrop of the drama of Shavuot, the festival of First Fruits? Commonly known to Christians as Pentecost, Shavuot is one of four spring festivals and one of three “Aliyah” festivals found in the Hebrew Scriptures, when Jewish men were commanded to go up to Jerusalem and worship at the Temple. The festivals of Israel were designed by God to focus the hearts and minds of the Jewish people on the redemptive message of God’s person and plan.
The seven great festivals outlined in Leviticus chapter 23 all point to the coming of the Messiah. Jesus had the Festivals, along with other passages of Scripture, in mind when he told the two disciples on the road to Emmaus,
And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures. (Luke 24:25-27)
The four Spring Festivals – Passover, the Festival of Unleavened Bread, First Fruits and Shavuot – were fulfilled in the first coming of Jesus, and the three Fall Festivals, Yom Kippur, Rosh HaShanah and Sukkot will be fulfilled in His second coming.
The First Three Spring Festivals
Passover is a prophetic portrait of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The celebration of unleavened bread reminds us of the sinless nature of the Savior. First Fruits, which took place on the Sunday after the Sabbath of Passover speaks of the Messiah who would rise as the first fruit from among the dead.
The Fourth Spring Festival
The Biblical Names
Shavuot – “Weeks” – 7 weeks after Passover
The fourth and final spring festival is called Shavuot, which means “weeks” in Hebrew. Beginning with Passover, Israel is commanded to count seven whole weeks until the 50th day at which point Shavuot is observed.
You shall also count for yourselves from the day after the sabbath, from the day when you brought in the sheaf of the wave offering; there shall be seven complete sabbaths. You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh sabbath; then you shall present a new grain offering to the Lord. You shall bring in from your dwelling places two loaves of bread for a wave offering, made of two-tenths of an [c]ephah; they shall be of a fine flour, baked with leaven as first fruits to the Lord. Along with the bread you shall present seven one year old male lambs without defect, and a bull of the herd and two rams; they are to be a burnt offering to the Lord, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the Lord. You shall also offer one male goat for a sin offering and two male lambs one year old for a sacrifice of peace offerings. The priest shall then wave them with the bread of the first fruits for a wave offering with two lambs before the Lord; they are to be holy to the Lord for the priest. On this same day you shall make a proclamation as well; you are to have a holy convocation. You shall do no laborious work. It is to be a perpetual statute in all your dwelling places throughout your generations. (Leviticus 23:15-21)
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
Chag HaKatzir, which means “The Harvest Holiday.”
Chag HaBikurim, meaning “The Holiday of First Fruits.” This name comes from the practice of bringing fruits to the Temple on Shavuot.
Chag ha Azereth - Jewish tradition designates it as “Chag ha Azereth” or simply “Azereth” (the “feast of the conclusion” or simply “conclusion”).
The Biblical Commands
- Count 50 days. Shavuot always falls 50 days after the second night of Passover. The 49 days in between are known as the Counting of the Omer. The counting for the 50 days was to begin on that “day after the Sabbath” (Leviticus 23:15), the day when the First Fruit/sheaf was waved.
- Offer two leavened loaves of bread concluding the grain harvest (Leviticus 23:17), which was the Tithe (Leviticus 27:30).
- The two loaves were the symbolic results of the one sheaf waved before the Lord on the Day of First Fruits mentioned in Leviticus 23:11.
- There were other offerings to be offered that day.
- Shavuot is also one of the three pilgrimage feasts which required all Jewish men to appear before the Lord at the Temple in Jerusalem.
There are many Jewish traditions associated with Shavuot, such as reading the Book of Ruth, spending the entire night studying Torah until dawn, chanting the Ten Commandments, decorating synagogues and homes with aromatic spices, and partaking of a dairy meal and dessert.
The Book of Ruth is traditionally read during Shavuot because the biblical account takes place during the summer harvest. The book of Ruth celebrates God restoring honor and dignity to Naomi and her Moabite daughter-in-law, Ruth. Ruth is a gentile who identifies with the Jewish people by committing herself to Naomi and Naomi’s people, the Jewish people. King David, Ruth’s great-grandson, was born and died on this festival.
Many religious Jews commemorate Shavuot by spending the entire night studying Torah at their synagogue or home. They also study other biblical books and portions of the Talmud. This all-night gathering is known as Tikun Leyl Shavuot and at dawn participants stop studying and recite Shacharit, the customary morning prayer.
The Foods of Shavuot
What Jewish holiday would be complete without a signature cuisine? Shavuot is no different! According to long-standing tradition with a blurry origin, dairy foods such as cheese, cheesecake and milk products are eaten on Shavuot. A popular Shavuot delicacy is cheese blintzes. Some believe the tradition is related to The Song of Songs and based upon the passage that references milk and honey in chapter 4, verse 11.
Your lips, my bride, drip honey; Honey and milk are under your tongue, and the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.
Many believe that this line is comparing the Bible to the sweetness of milk and honey. In some European cities children are introduced to Bible study on Shavuot and are given honey cakes with passages from the Bible, primarily passages from the first five books of Moses (the Torah), written on them.
Zman Matan Torah –– 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 Law – the Torah, was given on Shavuot. A special holiday bread with a ladder design embedded into the loaf is eaten – a reminder of the Jewish tradition that Moses climbed a ladder to heaven to receive the Law.
The Messianic Fulfillment of the Festival
Now, if Passover is fulfilled in the death of the Lamb of God, Unleavened Bread in His sinless character, and First Fruits in His resurrection, then we must ask ourselves – how is Shavuot (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.
The Promise of the Spirit
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” (Leviticus 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.
Jesus opened the eyes of the two disciples traveling on the road to Emmaus and explained to them what was in the Old Testament scriptures about Himself and then pointed them towards the coming of the Holy Spirit, which He described as the “promise of the Father.” This implies that the coming of the Holy Spirit was the subject of Old Testament prophecy. This is detailed further when the Holy Spirit falls and Peter explains the event in light of Joel chapter 2:28-32.
Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed 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,
Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized [f]with the Holy Spirit [g]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 Shavuot/Pentecost! The initial giving of the Torah by Moses at Mount Sinai had come with signs and wonders in the heavens as seen in Exodus 19.
So it came about on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunder and lightning flashes and a thick cloud upon the mountain and a very loud trumpet sound, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the Lord descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently. When the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and God answered him with thunder. (Exodus 19:16-19)
There were 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!
The Tradition of All Israel Being Present at Sinai
According to Jewish tradition, our Sages taught that every Jew who would ever live was at Mount Sinai, pledging their obedience to the Law. The rabbis believed in the pre-existence of the soul and that every Jew who would ever live was there at Mount Sinai, with or without a body! The rationale for this is that every Jewish person at that moment agreed to keep the Torah. The verse used to teach this is in Exodus 24:7.
Then he took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!”
The Jewish tradition that every Jew present at Mount Sinai that day actually heard the giving of the Law in their own native tongue makes sense, as in order to obey the Jewish people needed to understand what they heard. Now, this is just a tradition and we do not believe this actually took place. But, the Jewish tradition is ancient and could very well have been known by Jesus and His disciples.
This new Pentecost took place 50 days after Jesus, the Lamb of God, died for our sins. There were signs and wonders, just like at Mount Sinai and those who heard the disciples preaching understood this new revelation in their own native tongue. The new had come in a similar manner as the old, and therefore had greater authority for the disciples if indeed they knew the tradition.
How gracious of God to use our culture and human understanding to communicate His truth to us! He communicates with us in ways we can understand: God could make His point otherwise, but He proves Himself in ways that humans can comprehend since our ability to fully grasp 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 internalize and embody the Good News in ways our families, friends, and neighbors can understand – that is 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.
Lessons from the Feast of Shavuot
Jews and Gentiles Together: Live in Unity
There were Jewish people from almost every region in the Diaspora who were now part of this first harvest on the Day of Pentecost. They seemed to decide as a group that they did not want to return home immediately after the festival, but rather to spend time with one another. Note Luke’s description in Acts chapter 2,
And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved. (Acts 2:44-47)
This first band of Messianic brothers were all Jews as there were no known Gentile believers at this point. In fact, the Lord would teach these early Jewish believers what it meant to live in unity and work through their differences so that they were prepared for the harvest of non-Jews that would come a short time later, beginning with Cornelius in Acts chapter 10.
The Holy Spirit draws our attention and focus to Jesus and it is when we focus on the Messiah and Lord that we find unity. The Spirit of God seals us, baptizes us and connects us to Jesus and one another in a way that is supernatural and miraculous and without parallel in this world of divisions and conflict. We are not perfect and sometimes we do not work at unity, but it is clear from the text that the impact of the First Day of Shavuot in the New Covenant calendar was a season of amazing unity. This is the work of the Holy Spirit.
Paul described our unity in greater depth in writing to the believers in Ephesus,
But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. (Ephesians 2:13-16)
The Lord wants us to become His by the power of the Holy Spirit and to work together in unity as so much more can be done together than apart as we proclaim the Good News of Jesus to a broken and needy world.
Preach with Power
We believe in the deity of the Holy Spirit and that He existed in perfect fellowship with the Son and the Father in the Old Covenant and for all eternity. However, the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the New Covenant is quite different than in the Old Covenant. The Holy Spirit did not change, but His role certainly did. His role in the world today is well described by Jesus in the Gospel of John, where we read,
But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. (John 16:7-11)
The term translated Helper, “parakletos” literally means “one who is called alongside”…to help, strengthen and to partner with each child of God in their life and ministry. The work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and lives is all-important, as first He regenerates us – we become born again…born from above – then He indwells us, fills us, and empowers us to preach.
We see the power of the Holy Spirit unleashed in the early sermons of the Book of Acts, especially through Peter’s preaching,
Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!” So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. (Acts 2:37-42)
But, there is more!
The Holy Spirit not only empowers the preacher, but also convicts the hearer.
The Holy Spirit convicts those who hear the preaching to repent of their sin and be saved. Convincing others that Jesus is the Messiah and by believing in Him we receive the gift of everlasting life is God’s job - through His Holy Spirit. He will convict and draw seekers to Himself as this work is His work and not ours.
The Global Harvest
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth. (Acts 1:8)
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. (Romans 1:16)
The festival of Shevuot/Pentecost reminds us of God’s plan to bring the Good News of salvation through the Messiah to the world. This was His plan all along! When God told Abram that He would bless the world through His descendants, it was clear that God’s choosing of the Jewish people was not for the sake of the Jewish people alone but for the entire world. He said to Abram,
“And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse.
And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3)
The blessing He promised through the Jewish people is the Gospel – the Good News about the Messiah Jesus who died and rose for our sins. Perhaps this is why the Day of Pentecost may be viewed as the birth of the church – the mysterious New Covenant community made up of Jews and Gentiles. As Paul writes,
To be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. (Ephesians 3:6)
This mystery Paul is describing is the joining together of Jews and Gentiles in God’s family – set apart through the sacrifice of the Messiah Jesus and united together by His Holy Spirit.
The two loaves, made with leaven, remind us that Jews and Gentiles, sinners redeemed by God’s grace in Jesus may be made acceptable to God. As the two loaves, we are also representative of the “rest of the harvest.” And it is now our joy to work in the harvest fields of the Lord until He returns!
Jews and Gentiles have been brought together through the miracle of Pentecost and share a common Lord, common life, and common calling to reach the world for Jesus in the power of His Spirit.
And together, empowered by the Holy Spirit, we have a common mission – to bring the Good News of Jesus the Messiah to the Jew first, and also to the Gentiles! (Romans 1:16).
Dr. Mitch Glaser | May 30, 2017 at 6:12 PM | Categories: Jewish Holidays | URL: http://wp.me/p1MrcO-eX
19 May 2017
God Keeps His Promises
The modern state of Israel is simply the resurrection of the nation God created through Abraham.
Shalom in the Messiah,
I wish I had been alive on May 14, 1948!
I cannot imagine what it was like for Bible-believing Christians to see the Jewish people reestablished as a nation in the land of Israel. I would imagine that believers who heard the announcement on the radio or read about it in the newspapers probably thought about some very specific passages in the Old Testament, which promised that the Land of Israel would be the possession of the Jewish people. For example,
The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; for all the land which you see, I will give it to you and to your descendants forever. I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth, so that if anyone can number the dust of the earth, then your descendants can also be numbered. Arise, walk about the land through its length and breadth; for I will give it to you.” (Genesis 13:14-17)
On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates….” (Genesis 15:18)
“I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.” (Genesis 17:8)
Thus says the Lord, who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar; The Lord of hosts is His name: “If this fixed order departs from before Me,” declares the Lord, “Then the offspring of Israel also will cease from being a nation before Me forever.” (Jeremiah 31:35-36)
“I will put My Spirit within you and you will come to life, and I will place you on your own land. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken and done it,” declares the Lord. (Ezekiel 37:14)
And there are so many others—dozens of prophecies promising the Jewish people that the Land of Israel would be their inheritance…granted to them by God alone!
The odds against these promises coming true were profound. Think about it for a moment. The Jewish people were attacked and dispersed from the land of Israel over and over again by hostile pagan nations like Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. These nations tried to destroy the Jewish people in many different ways.
Yet, the Jewish people always had a presence in the land of Israel, but truthfully that presence was small. For centuries after the destruction of the Second Temple, Jewish people have prayed for the restoration of Zion in their Sabbath prayers. The longing to return to the land always burned within the hearts of the Jewish people.
Attempts to destroy the Jewish people did not cease with the demise of these hostile ancient nations but continued throughout the centuries. In the medieval period in Europe, Jewish people were persecuted and exiled by “Christians” in European countries and dominated by Muslims in the Middle East. The Jewish population dwindled in Europe as Crusades, Inquisitions, and Pogroms hurt the Jewish people causing loss of life and property and demographic shifts—but it didn’t decimate them. The Holocaust did though.
Nothing would compare with the attempted annihilation of the Jewish people by Hitler and his evil accomplices during the Holocaust as the God who promised to preserve the Jewish people would not allow them to be destroyed! So, in 1948, from the very ashes of the Holocaust rose an alleged new entity—the modern state of Israel, which in fact was simply the resurrection of the nation God had created earlier from the loins of Abraham and Sarah.
Beginning in 1948, the cities of Judah and Israel began to be rebuilt. The Hebrew language was reinstituted as the common everyday vernacular. Jewish people from across the globe, moved by survival and persecution in Europe and the Middle East, fled to the nascent nation and though it was replete with swamps, deserts, and dusty foothills, these early pioneers literally put their shoulders to the plow and broke through soil and rock to create the modern state of Israel. The immigrants came from all over the world: Europe, North Africa, North America, South Africa, South America, and from hundreds of nations where Jewish people have been displaced. But now…the Jewish people were home.
The words of the prophet Ezekiel in chapter 36 have come to life in vivid color as we have seen the resurrection of Israel with our own eyes. We know that God has fulfilled His promise, though there is more to come because we have seen it ourselves. The prophet wrote,
“I will vindicate the holiness of My great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord,” declares the Lord God, “when I prove Myself holy among you in their sight. For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land.” (Ezekiel 36:23-24)
The restoration of Israel is a miracle God performed to show us that He is faithful to His promises. The return of the Jewish people to the land promised to her forefathers is in the process of being fulfilled and will one day be finalized when the Jewish people return to the true Messiah, Jesus, and recognize Him as the true King of Israel (Zechariah 12:10, Romans 11:25ff). And as sure as the Jewish people have returned to the land— this is how sure we can be that the Jewish people will also turn to Jesus in the last days.
Once again, the prophet writes,
Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God.(Ezekiel 36:25-28)
As you can see, the physical promises are just beginning and the promises of spiritual restoration are just around the corner! Now that the Jewish people are at least in part back in the land of promise, we should expect to see the next steps take place where the Lord begins to stir the hearts of the Jewish people and turns His chosen people to the Messiah Jesus.
Chosen People Ministries and Israel
Our Mission, which began in 1894, has been serving in the Holy Land since the 1930s. Our ministry in Israel has grown with the nation and continues to do so because of your faithful prayers and financial support. Thank you so much for helping us reach the nation of Israel when they were less than a couple hundred thousand Jewish people living there. Today there are almost 7,000,000 Jewish people living in the holy land and your Mission to the Jewish People is there with over 20 staff workers—mostly Israelis—reaching out to the Jewish People. Through the Jerusalem Center, our benevolence distribution operates in five cities within Israel. We are now at work each day telling Israelis about Jesus through our rented Center in the greater Tel Aviv area.
For many years we focused on the growing number of Russian Jewish immigrants in Israel. There was a tremendous harvest among these new immigrants and half of our staff in Israel, including our leadership team, are the fruit of this revival among Russian Jews who emigrated to Israel beginning in the late 1980s. We will continue to minister to the Russian Jewish immigrants and their families, but we have been slowly turning our attention to the millions of younger and more secular Jewish people living in Israel who are in such desperate need of the Gospel. I hope you enjoy the article about the history of our ministries in Israel. I think you’ll learn a lot about how God has worked in so many powerful ways among Israelis over the last few decades!
Join Us for Israel’s 70th Birthday Celebration
Click here for our celebration of Israel’s 70th birthday that will take place in July 2018. This is going to be a fantastic Israel tour—on steroids! We are not only going to travel to the land, but we are also going to host a Bible conference and introduce you to our Israel staff and various leaders in Israel. You will not only receive an orientation to this miraculous land of promise, but you will also meet those who are doing God’s work in Israel by reaching Israelis for the Lord Jesus. I hope you will be able to join us!
We know that there will be many who would like to join the celebration with Chosen People Ministries and so we will need to limit the numbers that we can take to the first 100 people who sign up!
Your Support and Prayers
We will emphasize the work of Your Mission to the Jewish People among Israelis during the next 12 months and until we celebrate the 70th birthday in Jerusalem.
Thank you so much, we can only continue this ministry because of your encouragement, love, prayers and generous financial support.
Warmly in our Messiah,
Mitch
Messiah in the Passover
by Dr. Mitch Glaser
Passover and Easter are like bookends holding together a narrative of faith that spans thousands of years.Shalom!
Happy Passover and Easter season! I look forward to this time of year when we observe Passover, which is a foreshadowing of the most defining moment in human history—the death and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah.
The two holidays are forever linked in much the same way as the Old and New Testaments are joined in one great story of God’s love and redemption. Yet, the historical distinctions between them are at the core of the religious self-understanding of so many Jewish people and Christians.
It is thought that Passover is for the Jews and Easter is for the Christians. However, in the Bible and in the mind and heart of God, I believe they are twin sisters of the same redemptive truth. The cross only makes sense in the shadow of the blood-smeared doors of the Israelite slaves in Egypt.
How I pray that my Jewish family and friends might one day recognize the continuity of this one great story and its fulfillment in the Messiah of Israel—Jesus. Passover and Easter are like bookends holding together a narrative of faith that spans thousands of years, dozens of authors, and Spirit-breathed texts (2 Timothy 3:16).
Yet, it is still one grand story of God’s love and creation, of man’s fall and spiritual wanderings, and of the prophetic hope exquisitely fulfilled when the Savior spoke these words at His last Passover supper with His disciples.
And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.” (Luke 22:19-20)
In order to help this season be all the more meaningful to you, I have some really good news!
Our staff has produced a 350-plus-page book entitled, Messiah in the Passover. It is a reference book and there is something in this volume for everyone! It includes an in-depth study of the Passover throughout biblical history, church history, and Jewish history—all of which leads to a deeper understanding of the Passover today and how the Jewish people celebrate this remembrance of the redemption from Egypt.
We also cover some very practical topics, such as how to use the Passover in sharing the Gospel with your Jewish friends and linking the Last Supper, which was a Passover Seder, with the Lord’s Supper, where Jesus announced His death and resurrection through the traditional elements of the Passover meal.
We provide a Jesus-centered Hagaddah, or guide, to a family Passover that you can use in your own home and also provide Passover lessons for your children so that they can better grasp this great Old Testament story.
And, we included a number of delicious recipes so you can enjoy many of the traditional Passover foods yourself!
The book is now available for pre-order. We are also happy to send you a copy of the book for your donation of $200 or more. As you know, we depend upon God and your generous support to continue our ministry of reaching the Jewish people with the message of redemption.
We have also developed a new website entitled—you guessed it…Messiah in the Passover. So please visit www.messiahinthepassover.com to enjoy a bundle of wonderful features including Passover “how to” videos and some additional detailed studies that will enable you to learn more about the Jewish heritage of our faith.
Please remember to pray for Your Mission to the Jewish People this month as we share the message of Messiah in the Passover with thousands of Jewish people, both online through our Facebook campaigns, and in person through our Messiah in the Passover presentations at churches, and banquets at our centers and Messianic congregations. Find out more by visiting our website and find a presentation near you.
Passover, Prophecy, and JesusAllow me to share with you the following excerpt from my chapter written on the Passover in the Gospel of John from the Messiah in the Passover book:
Often referred to as His Passion, this last week is the most eventful of Jesus’ short life. Certainly, it is the most significant from a human perspective, as it includes His death and resurrection—the penultimate moment of human history.
His final week, according to John, also includes various teachings, which are unique to this Gospel [of John] such as His Upper Room Discourse, teaching on the Holy Spirit, High Priestly Prayer, etc.
The last week of Jesus’ life is also significant because many Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled during this week, especially those involving His atoning death and resurrection.
The agenda, goals, and purposes of His last week are outlined in both the Old and New Testaments and driven by the necessity for Jesus to fulfill all that is predicted about Him in the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings, as well as His own predictions in the Gospels.
In particular, three Old Testament passages heavily influence the agenda of the Messiah’s last week on earth: Isaiah 53, Daniel 9:24–26, and Leviticus 23. These texts create a path for what Yeshua would do and when He would do it.
Additional Old Testament prophecies such as Psalm 22 and Zechariah 12:10 also help to paint a prophetic portrait of our Messiah’s last days on earth. As the Apostle Peter writes,
As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. (1 Peter 1:10–11)
There is no doubt that the Savior of the world was born to die in order to fulfill many direct prophecies and types. Especially that of the Lamb of God, which is a direct comparison to the Passover lamb whose blood was smeared on the doorposts of the Israelite homes to protect their firstborn males from the tenth plague of the Exodus story.
The Apostle John, in the book of Revelation, describes Jesus as “the Lamb who has been slain” (Revelation 13:8). The Apostle Peter adds that we,
. . .were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold,…but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you. (1 Peter 1:18–20)
The predicted role of Jesus as the suffering and sacrificial Lamb of God who will die for sin and rise from the grave is not peripheral to the plan of God, but rather is at the very heart of who Jesus is and what He came to accomplish. Isaiah had already used the prophetic imagery of the Passover lamb in his well-known chapter 53.
He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth. (Isaiah 53:7)
This last week of the Savior’s life would conclude with the Passover!
I hope you will be blessed and enriched and that the Messiah of the Passover will be more precious to you than ever before!
Your brother,
Mitch
Messiah in the Passoverby Dr. Mitch Glaser
by Dr. Mitch Glaser
Passover and Easter are like bookends holding together a narrative of faith that spans thousands of years.Shalom!
Happy Passover and Easter season! I look forward to this time of year when we observe Passover, which is a foreshadowing of the most defining moment in human history—the death and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah.
The two holidays are forever linked in much the same way as the Old and New Testaments are joined in one great story of God’s love and redemption. Yet, the historical distinctions between them are at the core of the religious self-understanding of so many Jewish people and Christians.
It is thought that Passover is for the Jews and Easter is for the Christians. However, in the Bible and in the mind and heart of God, I believe they are twin sisters of the same redemptive truth. The cross only makes sense in the shadow of the blood-smeared doors of the Israelite slaves in Egypt.
How I pray that my Jewish family and friends might one day recognize the continuity of this one great story and its fulfillment in the Messiah of Israel—Jesus. Passover and Easter are like bookends holding together a narrative of faith that spans thousands of years, dozens of authors, and Spirit-breathed texts (2 Timothy 3:16).
Yet, it is still one grand story of God’s love and creation, of man’s fall and spiritual wanderings, and of the prophetic hope exquisitely fulfilled when the Savior spoke these words at His last Passover supper with His disciples.
And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.” (Luke 22:19-20)
In order to help this season be all the more meaningful to you, I have some really good news!
Our staff has produced a 350-plus-page book entitled, Messiah in the Passover. It is a reference book and there is something in this volume for everyone! It includes an in-depth study of the Passover throughout biblical history, church history, and Jewish history—all of which leads to a deeper understanding of the Passover today and how the Jewish people celebrate this remembrance of the redemption from Egypt.
We also cover some very practical topics, such as how to use the Passover in sharing the Gospel with your Jewish friends and linking the Last Supper, which was a Passover Seder, with the Lord’s Supper, where Jesus announced His death and resurrection through the traditional elements of the Passover meal.
We provide a Jesus-centered Hagaddah, or guide, to a family Passover that you can use in your own home and also provide Passover lessons for your children so that they can better grasp this great Old Testament story.
And, we included a number of delicious recipes so you can enjoy many of the traditional Passover foods yourself!
The book is now available for pre-order. We are also happy to send you a copy of the book for your donation of $200 or more. As you know, we depend upon God and your generous support to continue our ministry of reaching the Jewish people with the message of redemption.
We have also developed a new website entitled—you guessed it…Messiah in the Passover. So please visit www.messiahinthepassover.com to enjoy a bundle of wonderful features including Passover “how to” videos and some additional detailed studies that will enable you to learn more about the Jewish heritage of our faith.
Please remember to pray for Your Mission to the Jewish People this month as we share the message of Messiah in the Passover with thousands of Jewish people, both online through our Facebook campaigns, and in person through our Messiah in the Passover presentations at churches, and banquets at our centers and Messianic congregations. Find out more by visiting our website and find a presentation near you.
Passover, Prophecy, and JesusAllow me to share with you the following excerpt from my chapter written on the Passover in the Gospel of John from the Messiah in the Passover book:
Often referred to as His Passion, this last week is the most eventful of Jesus’ short life. Certainly, it is the most significant from a human perspective, as it includes His death and resurrection—the penultimate moment of human history.
His final week, according to John, also includes various teachings, which are unique to this Gospel [of John] such as His Upper Room Discourse, teaching on the Holy Spirit, High Priestly Prayer, etc.
The last week of Jesus’ life is also significant because many Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled during this week, especially those involving His atoning death and resurrection.
The agenda, goals, and purposes of His last week are outlined in both the Old and New Testaments and driven by the necessity for Jesus to fulfill all that is predicted about Him in the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings, as well as His own predictions in the Gospels.
In particular, three Old Testament passages heavily influence the agenda of the Messiah’s last week on earth: Isaiah 53, Daniel 9:24–26, and Leviticus 23. These texts create a path for what Yeshua would do and when He would do it.
- Isaiah 53—The prediction of the Messiah’s suffering, death, and resurrection, along with Israel’s response to His message.
- Daniel 9:24–26—The prediction of the Messiah’s death as detailed in the prophecy of the seventy weeks.
- Leviticus 23—The pattern of the Messiah’s passion as revealed through the Passover, which will especially influence the last week of Jesus’ life.
Additional Old Testament prophecies such as Psalm 22 and Zechariah 12:10 also help to paint a prophetic portrait of our Messiah’s last days on earth. As the Apostle Peter writes,
As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. (1 Peter 1:10–11)
There is no doubt that the Savior of the world was born to die in order to fulfill many direct prophecies and types. Especially that of the Lamb of God, which is a direct comparison to the Passover lamb whose blood was smeared on the doorposts of the Israelite homes to protect their firstborn males from the tenth plague of the Exodus story.
The Apostle John, in the book of Revelation, describes Jesus as “the Lamb who has been slain” (Revelation 13:8). The Apostle Peter adds that we,
. . .were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold,…but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you. (1 Peter 1:18–20)
The predicted role of Jesus as the suffering and sacrificial Lamb of God who will die for sin and rise from the grave is not peripheral to the plan of God, but rather is at the very heart of who Jesus is and what He came to accomplish. Isaiah had already used the prophetic imagery of the Passover lamb in his well-known chapter 53.
He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth. (Isaiah 53:7)
This last week of the Savior’s life would conclude with the Passover!
I hope you will be blessed and enriched and that the Messiah of the Passover will be more precious to you than ever before!
Your brother,
Mitch
Messiah in the Passoverby Dr. Mitch Glaser
INSIDE ISRAEL
19 July 2016
Aliyah Day Added to Israel’s Holiday Calendar
Israel is adding another holiday to its calendar – Aliyah Day – to commemorate those who have immigrated to Israel. It is not easy to uproot life and family from a familiar homeland and move to Israel where the language, style of life and weather is different. Aliyah Day is a way to give back to those who have moved to Israel to show the world that this is the Jewish homeland and a place to consider living and pioneering.
Please pray for safety and protection for Jewish people who live in regions and neighborhoods of antisemitism and fear.
Salt Levels in Sea Of Galilee on the Rise
Salt levels in the Sea of Galilee (the Kinneret) are on the rise as a result of another winter of low precipitation. Without new water flowing into the Sea of Galilee, underwater, and nearby salt water springs flow in and disturb the levels of “sweet water.” As a result, farmers may soon not be able to use the sea water to water crops, and it may damage its ability to be used for drinking water. The Sea of Galilee has shrunk from 480 million cubic meters in the 1970s to 320 million cubic meters of water today.
Please pray for the Sea of Galilee, a very important and necessary body of water in Israel with much biblical and modern significance to so many people.
Israelis Win Gold Medal
Israeli rhythmic gymnasts won the European Gold medal on their home court – the championship took place in Israel. This group of gymnasts is the most decorated in Israeli history. They will fly to Brazil to take part in this summer’s Olympic games and are a hoping for more medals.
Please pray for all the Israeli athletes traveling to Brazil, for safety and protection as they compete.
Terminally Ill Israeli Kids Fly To See Soccer Games
Russian-Israeli billionaire Roman Abramovich has helped sick children attend international soccer games in the past, and this time, 55 Israeli children and their caregivers have flown to France to see three soccer matches at the 2016 Eurocup. The charity that organized this is run by volunteers and Abramovich donated the money. Many of the kids have not seen an international soccer game and probably will not live long enough to see another major competition.
Please pray for these children, their families, and their doctors who care for them, that cures and solutions can be found to fight their illnesses.
Commemorating the Hostage Crisis of 1976 in Entebbe, Uganda
Four decades after the surprise, daring Israeli rescue mission by elite Israeli forces in Entebbe Uganda, Prime Minister Netanyahu and a large security detail have come to commemorate the mission in special ceremonies with the Uganda government. Over 100 Israeli hostages were freed while Netanyahu’s brother, Yonatan, was shot as his unit stormed the airplane. The raid made international headlines and embarrassed then-dictator, Idi Amin, who had taken power by force. Benjamin Netanyahu will continue to three other African countries – Kenya, Rwanda, and Ethiopia.
Please pray for continued good relations with Israel and African countries.
Short-Term Missions Teams Serve with Chosen People Ministries in Israel
So far this summer, we have had quite a few short-term missions teams come and serve with us in Israel. They have helped in our food distribution centers as well as packaging food parcels for the poor and needy. They have been involved in special events for Holocaust survivors where they shared many stories from the Word. There was even a special night of pampering for single mothers. Would you like to bring your church or school group to serve with us? Please contact [email protected] for more information or visit our website for more information. We await your friendly smiles and desire to share your testimonies!
Please continue to pray for all the summer outreaches going on in Israel and around the world.
19 July 2016
Aliyah Day Added to Israel’s Holiday Calendar
Israel is adding another holiday to its calendar – Aliyah Day – to commemorate those who have immigrated to Israel. It is not easy to uproot life and family from a familiar homeland and move to Israel where the language, style of life and weather is different. Aliyah Day is a way to give back to those who have moved to Israel to show the world that this is the Jewish homeland and a place to consider living and pioneering.
Please pray for safety and protection for Jewish people who live in regions and neighborhoods of antisemitism and fear.
Salt Levels in Sea Of Galilee on the Rise
Salt levels in the Sea of Galilee (the Kinneret) are on the rise as a result of another winter of low precipitation. Without new water flowing into the Sea of Galilee, underwater, and nearby salt water springs flow in and disturb the levels of “sweet water.” As a result, farmers may soon not be able to use the sea water to water crops, and it may damage its ability to be used for drinking water. The Sea of Galilee has shrunk from 480 million cubic meters in the 1970s to 320 million cubic meters of water today.
Please pray for the Sea of Galilee, a very important and necessary body of water in Israel with much biblical and modern significance to so many people.
Israelis Win Gold Medal
Israeli rhythmic gymnasts won the European Gold medal on their home court – the championship took place in Israel. This group of gymnasts is the most decorated in Israeli history. They will fly to Brazil to take part in this summer’s Olympic games and are a hoping for more medals.
Please pray for all the Israeli athletes traveling to Brazil, for safety and protection as they compete.
Terminally Ill Israeli Kids Fly To See Soccer Games
Russian-Israeli billionaire Roman Abramovich has helped sick children attend international soccer games in the past, and this time, 55 Israeli children and their caregivers have flown to France to see three soccer matches at the 2016 Eurocup. The charity that organized this is run by volunteers and Abramovich donated the money. Many of the kids have not seen an international soccer game and probably will not live long enough to see another major competition.
Please pray for these children, their families, and their doctors who care for them, that cures and solutions can be found to fight their illnesses.
Commemorating the Hostage Crisis of 1976 in Entebbe, Uganda
Four decades after the surprise, daring Israeli rescue mission by elite Israeli forces in Entebbe Uganda, Prime Minister Netanyahu and a large security detail have come to commemorate the mission in special ceremonies with the Uganda government. Over 100 Israeli hostages were freed while Netanyahu’s brother, Yonatan, was shot as his unit stormed the airplane. The raid made international headlines and embarrassed then-dictator, Idi Amin, who had taken power by force. Benjamin Netanyahu will continue to three other African countries – Kenya, Rwanda, and Ethiopia.
Please pray for continued good relations with Israel and African countries.
Short-Term Missions Teams Serve with Chosen People Ministries in Israel
So far this summer, we have had quite a few short-term missions teams come and serve with us in Israel. They have helped in our food distribution centers as well as packaging food parcels for the poor and needy. They have been involved in special events for Holocaust survivors where they shared many stories from the Word. There was even a special night of pampering for single mothers. Would you like to bring your church or school group to serve with us? Please contact [email protected] for more information or visit our website for more information. We await your friendly smiles and desire to share your testimonies!
Please continue to pray for all the summer outreaches going on in Israel and around the world.
Celebrating Israel’s 68th Birthday
Report for 'Celebrate Messiah' by Dr Mitch Glaser, Chosen People Ministries
11 May 2016
Dear friend in the Messiah,
Happy 68th birthday to Israel! It is hard to believe that modern Israel was established such a short time ago. The modern state of Israel is an answer to the prayers of Jews and Christians and is a signpost of God’s faithfulness to His covenants and promises.
The survival of the Jewish people and their return to the Promised Land of Israel is a clear testimony of God’s faithfulness to His word! The miracle of Israel is a joy to behold, but the glorious future promised by God has not fully arrived yet. There is more to come as so many prophecies in the Hebrew Scriptures are still to be fulfilled – and we look forward to that day when the nation of Israel will “look to Him whom they have pierced and mourn as one mourns for an only begotten son…” (Zech. 12:10).
As you know, we are living in difficult days for the nation of Israel, as Hamas is still firing missiles into the border towns and personal terrorists are murdering innocent Israelis each week. We are hoping and praying for peace!
Meanwhile, there are millions of Jewish people and Arabs in Israel that we must reach with the Good News of the Gospel. In order to do this we must have a better understanding of modern Israel so that we can be most effective in our ministries.
The Pew Foundation Report on the Jewish Religion in Israel Recently, the Pew Foundation, which has done such an excellent job analysing the Jewish community and many other faith communities, recently produced a report on Jewish religious life within Israel. The full report is over 200 pages and is the result of surveys taken between late 2014 and early 2015. You can read the full report here.
The report did discover seven key findings, and I will note and comment on them here in relationship to how each might impact our bringing the Gospel to the Jewish people in the Holy Land. The first paragraph of the report is a good introduction as to why the foundation felt it was important to do this study:
For a small country, Israel holds a place of great importance for three of the world’s major religious groups. The modern Jewish state is not only the “Promised Land” for Jews, but the only country in the world where they form a majority of the population. For Christians, Israel is the “Holy Land,” because it is the place where Jesus’ life and death unfolded. And, for Muslims, Jerusalem is the place where the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven.
Here are the points, followed by my comments:
1. Israeli Jews are largely united on the need for their nation to be a homeland for Jews, regardless of their origins.One would expect Israelis to affirm the need for the nation of Israel. Remember, the modern state of Israel grew out of the ashes of the Holocaust. Also, antisemitism is on the rise around the world, and perhaps the number one reason why Jewish people from across the globe move to Israel is because they feel unsafe in their current locale. This is clear from the following response to the survey,
Three-quarters of Israeli Jews (76%) see antisemitism as common and increasing around the world.
This sense of threat which Jewish people feel because of growing antisemitism also gives us opportunities as followers of Jesus to help the Jewish people better understand the promises of God so that they can depend upon Him for safety and security. It also provides us with a great opportunity to show God’s kindness to the Jewish people so that they understand that "true Christians" love the Jewish people because they love the Jewish Bible and the Jewish Messiah. Remember, aside from Islamic extremism, most Jewish people generally believe that Christianity is the source of antisemitism. We would like to change that understanding through our love and actions as believers in Jesus.
2. Virtually all Jews in Israel identify with one of four major religious subgroups: Hiloni (“secular”), Masorti (“traditional”), Dati (“religious”) and Haredi (“ultra-Orthodox”).This part of the report was very helpful in understanding the religious divisions among Israelis. The report indicates that about 50% of the Israelis surveyed are secular and the other 50% are religious in one way or another. Therefore, it is actually wrong to think of Israel as a secular country. Other reports and surveys in recent years have indicated a growth in Orthodox Judaism, not only because they seem to have more children than other types of Jewish people, but because they are also making converts from among more secular Jewish people.
This means that our efforts to reach Jewish people for the Messiah in Israel cannot simply be limited to those who are more secular. Certainly, at times it seems easier to reach more secular Israelis with the Gospel, but we must remember that there is a substantial group of religious Jewish people, the Orthodox Jewish people in Israel, that we must pray for and give the message of Jesus.
3. Jewish groups consistently disagree on a range of specific public policy issues.
It is clear that there is a great divide between Orthodox, traditionalists and secular Jews in their vision for the state of Israel. The secular would like to have complete freedom of movement on the Sabbath, as Israel for the most part does not allow public transportation to run on Friday night and Saturday. There are a host of other issues as well, including military service, as in years past, Orthodox or traditional Jewish people were not required to serve.
In light of the above, it is important to note that most Jewish people and those thinking about becoming religious believe they are faithful to God and have a certain idea of what that means. Paul understood this in Romans 10:2. I believe that this divide between religious and nonreligious Jews in Israel provides an opportunity for the Gospel, as long as we continue to show His love to both secular and Orthodox Jews. Remember, we want to reach all Israelis with the Gospel.
4. About eight-in-ten (81%) Israeli adults are Jewish…It is important to note the religious diversity within Israel, not simply among Jewish Israelis but among all Israelis. According to the survey the non-Jewish population of Israel is divided in the following manner,
…the remainder are mostly ethnically Arab and religiously Muslim (14%), Christian (2%) or Druze (2%). Overall, the Arab religious minorities in Israel are more religiously observant than Jews.
As the figures indicate, Christians in Israel are a very small minority, something we in predominantly Christian countries are not used to at all. Israel cherishes religious freedom, and people of all faiths are able to worship as they wish, build houses of worship, print books that reflect their religious traditions, etc.
In effect, there is great freedom to proclaim the Gospel within Israel; however, individualised opposition or opposition coming from smaller groups of more religious Jews and Muslims will always be a challenge. In fact, this is one of the reasons that the Christian population in a town like Bethlehem has reduced by almost 50% over the last few years. The problem is not the Israelis, but the more religious Muslims who are intolerant of Christians.
5. Half of Israeli Jews (48%) say Arabs should be transferred or expelled from Israel while a similar share (46%) disagree with this.This is a large and disturbing number, and inconsistent with previous surveys. The reason might lie with Pew’s use of Hebrew. It is technical but important. The Pew study used the word for Arab without the Hebrew definite article. This would cause the respondents to be unsure about what the researcher intended. The London-based Jewish Chronicle describes the problem in this way:
Every respondent will have interpreted the question in their own way, which is bad planning by Pew because it needed just one more letter to make this aspect of the question clearer. The definite article is extremely important in Hebrew, and if Pew was interested in what Israeli Jews think about the presence of Arabs, it should have asked about “the Arabs” not “Arabs” — which would have required one extra letter, a hey.
The language in this question seemed to be confusing and should become the subject of vigorous discussion in the days ahead. However, this question did show the lack of good faith between Israelis and Arabs.
This is simply a reminder for us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, as only the Lord can break through so many seemingly insurmountable challenges to peace.
6. Together, Israel and the U.S. are home to about 80% of Jews globally, and there are strong bonds between the world’s two largest Jewish populations.The ties that bind the United States Jewish population to Israel are strong. The author of the summary further writes,
Most Israeli Jews feel they share a common destiny with U.S. Jews and think U.S. Jews have a good influence on Israeli affairs. American Jews also harbor warm feelings about Israel. Our 2013 survey of U.S. Jews
(Read survey here) found that most say they are either “very” (30%) or “somewhat” (39%) emotionally attached to Israel, and that caring about Israel is either essential or important to what being Jewish means to them.
This is another reminder of how important it is for evangelical Christians to support the modern state of Israel, not because modern Israel is perfect, but because the Jewish people have come back to the Land promised to them by God. And the relationship between these two great democratic nations needs to be strengthened so that we can show a common front in facing our common enemy – radical Islam, especially as seen in the actions of ISIS, Iran and Hamas.
It’s interesting to note that although Australia has only around 1% of the world’s Jewish population, at about 120,000, it is a very tight-knit community with an extremely strong and faithful support for and relationship with Israel; proportionately even stronger than the US.
7. Israeli Jews overall are more religious than U.S. Jews, partly because Orthodox Jews make up a greater share of their population.There is no doubt that the Orthodox Jewish population of both Israel and the United States is growing in numbers and influence. This is true also for Australia. This growth has an impact on Jewish community life, politics and, of course – faith. Celebrate Messiah’s partner, Chosen People Ministries in the US, experiences this already in reaching the almost one million Jewish people of Brooklyn, as the ratio of Orthodox to non-Orthodox Jews is quite different than in most cities within the United States. Brooklyn has a high percentage of Orthodox, or otherwise religious Jewish people, which shapes our community. This can also be said for the highly concentrated population of Jewish people in and around the Melbourne suburb of Caulfield.
We might be entering a season when more traditional Jews become the Jewish religious norm in Israel, the United States and countries such as Australia. I believe we will continue to see many Jewish people rejecting religion and faith and others becoming more traditional.
This is all the more reason for Christians to pray for and support ministries like Celebrate Messiah. Reaching religious Jewish people is better accomplished by Jewish ministries like ours, as traditional Jewish people do not often know evangelical Christians. Perhaps this can change as Christians begin to find new ways to love and pray for their Jewish friends, both secular and religious.
I hope you enjoy the newsletter and please pray for our work within Israel and around the globe as we reach Jewish people for our Messiah Jesus!
If you would like to provide a gift to help us continue our growing work in Israel please click here.
As always, I want to thank you for your generous prayers and support without which we could not continue this great work that began in Australia in 1995!
Yours in our Messiah,
Mitch Glaser
Dr Glaser is the president of our partner ministry in the US, Chosen People Ministries
Report for 'Celebrate Messiah' by Dr Mitch Glaser, Chosen People Ministries
11 May 2016
Dear friend in the Messiah,
Happy 68th birthday to Israel! It is hard to believe that modern Israel was established such a short time ago. The modern state of Israel is an answer to the prayers of Jews and Christians and is a signpost of God’s faithfulness to His covenants and promises.
The survival of the Jewish people and their return to the Promised Land of Israel is a clear testimony of God’s faithfulness to His word! The miracle of Israel is a joy to behold, but the glorious future promised by God has not fully arrived yet. There is more to come as so many prophecies in the Hebrew Scriptures are still to be fulfilled – and we look forward to that day when the nation of Israel will “look to Him whom they have pierced and mourn as one mourns for an only begotten son…” (Zech. 12:10).
As you know, we are living in difficult days for the nation of Israel, as Hamas is still firing missiles into the border towns and personal terrorists are murdering innocent Israelis each week. We are hoping and praying for peace!
Meanwhile, there are millions of Jewish people and Arabs in Israel that we must reach with the Good News of the Gospel. In order to do this we must have a better understanding of modern Israel so that we can be most effective in our ministries.
The Pew Foundation Report on the Jewish Religion in Israel Recently, the Pew Foundation, which has done such an excellent job analysing the Jewish community and many other faith communities, recently produced a report on Jewish religious life within Israel. The full report is over 200 pages and is the result of surveys taken between late 2014 and early 2015. You can read the full report here.
The report did discover seven key findings, and I will note and comment on them here in relationship to how each might impact our bringing the Gospel to the Jewish people in the Holy Land. The first paragraph of the report is a good introduction as to why the foundation felt it was important to do this study:
For a small country, Israel holds a place of great importance for three of the world’s major religious groups. The modern Jewish state is not only the “Promised Land” for Jews, but the only country in the world where they form a majority of the population. For Christians, Israel is the “Holy Land,” because it is the place where Jesus’ life and death unfolded. And, for Muslims, Jerusalem is the place where the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven.
Here are the points, followed by my comments:
1. Israeli Jews are largely united on the need for their nation to be a homeland for Jews, regardless of their origins.One would expect Israelis to affirm the need for the nation of Israel. Remember, the modern state of Israel grew out of the ashes of the Holocaust. Also, antisemitism is on the rise around the world, and perhaps the number one reason why Jewish people from across the globe move to Israel is because they feel unsafe in their current locale. This is clear from the following response to the survey,
Three-quarters of Israeli Jews (76%) see antisemitism as common and increasing around the world.
This sense of threat which Jewish people feel because of growing antisemitism also gives us opportunities as followers of Jesus to help the Jewish people better understand the promises of God so that they can depend upon Him for safety and security. It also provides us with a great opportunity to show God’s kindness to the Jewish people so that they understand that "true Christians" love the Jewish people because they love the Jewish Bible and the Jewish Messiah. Remember, aside from Islamic extremism, most Jewish people generally believe that Christianity is the source of antisemitism. We would like to change that understanding through our love and actions as believers in Jesus.
2. Virtually all Jews in Israel identify with one of four major religious subgroups: Hiloni (“secular”), Masorti (“traditional”), Dati (“religious”) and Haredi (“ultra-Orthodox”).This part of the report was very helpful in understanding the religious divisions among Israelis. The report indicates that about 50% of the Israelis surveyed are secular and the other 50% are religious in one way or another. Therefore, it is actually wrong to think of Israel as a secular country. Other reports and surveys in recent years have indicated a growth in Orthodox Judaism, not only because they seem to have more children than other types of Jewish people, but because they are also making converts from among more secular Jewish people.
This means that our efforts to reach Jewish people for the Messiah in Israel cannot simply be limited to those who are more secular. Certainly, at times it seems easier to reach more secular Israelis with the Gospel, but we must remember that there is a substantial group of religious Jewish people, the Orthodox Jewish people in Israel, that we must pray for and give the message of Jesus.
3. Jewish groups consistently disagree on a range of specific public policy issues.
It is clear that there is a great divide between Orthodox, traditionalists and secular Jews in their vision for the state of Israel. The secular would like to have complete freedom of movement on the Sabbath, as Israel for the most part does not allow public transportation to run on Friday night and Saturday. There are a host of other issues as well, including military service, as in years past, Orthodox or traditional Jewish people were not required to serve.
In light of the above, it is important to note that most Jewish people and those thinking about becoming religious believe they are faithful to God and have a certain idea of what that means. Paul understood this in Romans 10:2. I believe that this divide between religious and nonreligious Jews in Israel provides an opportunity for the Gospel, as long as we continue to show His love to both secular and Orthodox Jews. Remember, we want to reach all Israelis with the Gospel.
4. About eight-in-ten (81%) Israeli adults are Jewish…It is important to note the religious diversity within Israel, not simply among Jewish Israelis but among all Israelis. According to the survey the non-Jewish population of Israel is divided in the following manner,
…the remainder are mostly ethnically Arab and religiously Muslim (14%), Christian (2%) or Druze (2%). Overall, the Arab religious minorities in Israel are more religiously observant than Jews.
As the figures indicate, Christians in Israel are a very small minority, something we in predominantly Christian countries are not used to at all. Israel cherishes religious freedom, and people of all faiths are able to worship as they wish, build houses of worship, print books that reflect their religious traditions, etc.
In effect, there is great freedom to proclaim the Gospel within Israel; however, individualised opposition or opposition coming from smaller groups of more religious Jews and Muslims will always be a challenge. In fact, this is one of the reasons that the Christian population in a town like Bethlehem has reduced by almost 50% over the last few years. The problem is not the Israelis, but the more religious Muslims who are intolerant of Christians.
5. Half of Israeli Jews (48%) say Arabs should be transferred or expelled from Israel while a similar share (46%) disagree with this.This is a large and disturbing number, and inconsistent with previous surveys. The reason might lie with Pew’s use of Hebrew. It is technical but important. The Pew study used the word for Arab without the Hebrew definite article. This would cause the respondents to be unsure about what the researcher intended. The London-based Jewish Chronicle describes the problem in this way:
Every respondent will have interpreted the question in their own way, which is bad planning by Pew because it needed just one more letter to make this aspect of the question clearer. The definite article is extremely important in Hebrew, and if Pew was interested in what Israeli Jews think about the presence of Arabs, it should have asked about “the Arabs” not “Arabs” — which would have required one extra letter, a hey.
The language in this question seemed to be confusing and should become the subject of vigorous discussion in the days ahead. However, this question did show the lack of good faith between Israelis and Arabs.
This is simply a reminder for us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, as only the Lord can break through so many seemingly insurmountable challenges to peace.
6. Together, Israel and the U.S. are home to about 80% of Jews globally, and there are strong bonds between the world’s two largest Jewish populations.The ties that bind the United States Jewish population to Israel are strong. The author of the summary further writes,
Most Israeli Jews feel they share a common destiny with U.S. Jews and think U.S. Jews have a good influence on Israeli affairs. American Jews also harbor warm feelings about Israel. Our 2013 survey of U.S. Jews
(Read survey here) found that most say they are either “very” (30%) or “somewhat” (39%) emotionally attached to Israel, and that caring about Israel is either essential or important to what being Jewish means to them.
This is another reminder of how important it is for evangelical Christians to support the modern state of Israel, not because modern Israel is perfect, but because the Jewish people have come back to the Land promised to them by God. And the relationship between these two great democratic nations needs to be strengthened so that we can show a common front in facing our common enemy – radical Islam, especially as seen in the actions of ISIS, Iran and Hamas.
It’s interesting to note that although Australia has only around 1% of the world’s Jewish population, at about 120,000, it is a very tight-knit community with an extremely strong and faithful support for and relationship with Israel; proportionately even stronger than the US.
7. Israeli Jews overall are more religious than U.S. Jews, partly because Orthodox Jews make up a greater share of their population.There is no doubt that the Orthodox Jewish population of both Israel and the United States is growing in numbers and influence. This is true also for Australia. This growth has an impact on Jewish community life, politics and, of course – faith. Celebrate Messiah’s partner, Chosen People Ministries in the US, experiences this already in reaching the almost one million Jewish people of Brooklyn, as the ratio of Orthodox to non-Orthodox Jews is quite different than in most cities within the United States. Brooklyn has a high percentage of Orthodox, or otherwise religious Jewish people, which shapes our community. This can also be said for the highly concentrated population of Jewish people in and around the Melbourne suburb of Caulfield.
We might be entering a season when more traditional Jews become the Jewish religious norm in Israel, the United States and countries such as Australia. I believe we will continue to see many Jewish people rejecting religion and faith and others becoming more traditional.
This is all the more reason for Christians to pray for and support ministries like Celebrate Messiah. Reaching religious Jewish people is better accomplished by Jewish ministries like ours, as traditional Jewish people do not often know evangelical Christians. Perhaps this can change as Christians begin to find new ways to love and pray for their Jewish friends, both secular and religious.
I hope you enjoy the newsletter and please pray for our work within Israel and around the globe as we reach Jewish people for our Messiah Jesus!
If you would like to provide a gift to help us continue our growing work in Israel please click here.
As always, I want to thank you for your generous prayers and support without which we could not continue this great work that began in Australia in 1995!
Yours in our Messiah,
Mitch Glaser
Dr Glaser is the president of our partner ministry in the US, Chosen People Ministries
A New Haman Has Risen
11 March 2016
Shalom in the great name of our Messiah!
One of my favorite Jewish holidays has always been Purim—the biblical Feast of Esther (Esther 9:22). The holiday is observed on the 14th day of the Hebrew month Adar, which corresponds to our solar calendar date this year on March 24. The celebrations last for a full day, but remember, the Jewish day begins the night before and concludes at sunset; therefore the Festival begins on the evening of March 23.
There are many reasons why I enjoy Purim (a Hebrew word which means “lots”). But perhaps the foremost reason why I love Purim is because I am Jewish and if the evil Haman had succeeded, I would never have been born! On Purim we celebrate the survival of the Jewish people, usually against greats odds and far more powerful enemies.
We Are Still Here!In fact, this pattern of deliverance is such an important part of the Jewish story. As my good friend Dr. Michael Rydelnik, who teaches at Moody Bible Institute, humorously summarizes: “They tried to kill us, we won and so—we ate!” On Purim we celebrate by eating special baked goods called hamantaschen—sometimes referred to as “Haman’s hat” or “Haman’s ears”! These are wonderful pastries with various types of fruit and poppy seeds enfolded into a very buttery and delicious cookie.
The Scroll of EstherThe main event of the Purim celebration is the reading of the Book of Esther, called in Hebrew, the Megillot Esther, the Scroll of Esther; and oftentimes a play based upon the story is used to entertain and educate both children and adults alike. Jewish people are at their most creative in putting on these plays and use different themes each year to keep the story interesting.
I am sure there will be plenty of Purim plays with a Star Wars theme this year! The plays are supposed to be fun and are not viewed as irreverent as they do tell the great story of God’s deliverance of the Jewish people from the hateful hands of Haman.
Second PurimThere is also a phenomenon in Jewish history called the second Purim. These events are not widely known, but perhaps you can already understand why Jewish people created them. A second Purim refers to an instance, aside from what was recorded in the Book of Esther, when the Jewish people were saved from imminent destruction.
The enlightening description of second Purim on the website Jewishgen.org concludes,In a few fortunate cases, the danger (facing the Jewish community) was suddenly removed, or the dreaded law was inexplicably abrogated. Then, that community would commemorate each anniversary of the happy change by observing a “Second Purim,” a festival, which mimicked the original Purim, which marks the deliverance of the Jews of Persia from the evil machinations of Haman. Historians have listed some 90 “second Purim” anniversaries observed by various Jewish families and communities, beginning with the early Middle Ages.1
There were even times throughout Jewish history when the enemies of Israel selected Purim as the day they would attack the Jewish people. There was an instance during the Holocaust period when Purim became a day of slaughter for a local Jewish community.
It seems that both the Jewish people and enemies of Israel understood the symbolic value of the story of Esther.
New Hamans Arise in Every GenerationThere are new Hamans on the world scene today seeking the destruction of the Jewish people. Israel is under attack and antisemitism is on the rise. We understand that ISIS and all forms of Islamic extremism seek the destruction of Israel. In fact, the existence of the modern state of Israel is actually opposed by almost every manifestation of Islam--
though various brands of Islam exercise this antipathy in different ways. Some are more violent than others.
The rise of global antisemitism has begun to permeate our society and is often subtly wrapped in the guise of an anti-Israel position. We see this virulent form of anti-Jewish behavior actively engaged on our college campuses today.
Unfortunately, this anti-Israel spirit can easily cross boundaries and align itself with an anti-Jewish position, even flowing into the lives and ministries of good Christians and churches seeking to bring the Gospel and comfort to those viewed as suffering injustice.
Let’s face it—there is a lot of propaganda and noise bombarding our culture through the media. It is hard for everyday sincere people to distinguish between what is true and what is false.
As followers of Jesus the Jewish Messiah for all, and as those who believe the Bible, composed by primarily Jewish authors, we should be sympathetic to the Jewish cause. Historically, most true Christians have been pro-Israel and pro-Jewish without being anti anyone else…but today winds of change are in the air and therefore it is important to reread what the Bible says about Israel and the Jewish people. Unfortunately, we see a growing anti-Israel movement within the church today that also shows the telltale signs of an historic anti-Jewish position as well.
God Is Faithful to His PromisesAs followers of Jesus the Messiah we understand that God still has His hand on the Jewish people! This is why we have a long history of second Purims, where we celebrate God’s faithfulness to the Jewish people.
May I summarize the remarkable promises penned in Jeremiah 31:35-37?
The Jewish people will not be destroyed until they fulfill all God intended them to do. God is not yet finished with His chosen people (Romans 11:29).
The above rests upon the foundational passage in the book of Genesis when God promised Abram that He would bless those who bless the Jewish people and curse those who curse them. We also see in this passage that God promised to bring blessings to the entire world (Genesis 12:3) specifically through the Jewish people. God created the Jewish people to be a bridge of blessings and revelation to the nations.
These truths of Scripture are clear to me and are a great foundation for our understanding of God’s plan and purposes for the Jewish people!
Happy Purim! I pray the Lord will guide us as we try to understand our times, stay true to the teachings of the Scriptures and remain faithful to our Messiah, Deliverer and Lord!
In Him,
Mitch
http://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/Piotrkow/pit237.html
11 March 2016
Shalom in the great name of our Messiah!
One of my favorite Jewish holidays has always been Purim—the biblical Feast of Esther (Esther 9:22). The holiday is observed on the 14th day of the Hebrew month Adar, which corresponds to our solar calendar date this year on March 24. The celebrations last for a full day, but remember, the Jewish day begins the night before and concludes at sunset; therefore the Festival begins on the evening of March 23.
There are many reasons why I enjoy Purim (a Hebrew word which means “lots”). But perhaps the foremost reason why I love Purim is because I am Jewish and if the evil Haman had succeeded, I would never have been born! On Purim we celebrate the survival of the Jewish people, usually against greats odds and far more powerful enemies.
We Are Still Here!In fact, this pattern of deliverance is such an important part of the Jewish story. As my good friend Dr. Michael Rydelnik, who teaches at Moody Bible Institute, humorously summarizes: “They tried to kill us, we won and so—we ate!” On Purim we celebrate by eating special baked goods called hamantaschen—sometimes referred to as “Haman’s hat” or “Haman’s ears”! These are wonderful pastries with various types of fruit and poppy seeds enfolded into a very buttery and delicious cookie.
The Scroll of EstherThe main event of the Purim celebration is the reading of the Book of Esther, called in Hebrew, the Megillot Esther, the Scroll of Esther; and oftentimes a play based upon the story is used to entertain and educate both children and adults alike. Jewish people are at their most creative in putting on these plays and use different themes each year to keep the story interesting.
I am sure there will be plenty of Purim plays with a Star Wars theme this year! The plays are supposed to be fun and are not viewed as irreverent as they do tell the great story of God’s deliverance of the Jewish people from the hateful hands of Haman.
Second PurimThere is also a phenomenon in Jewish history called the second Purim. These events are not widely known, but perhaps you can already understand why Jewish people created them. A second Purim refers to an instance, aside from what was recorded in the Book of Esther, when the Jewish people were saved from imminent destruction.
The enlightening description of second Purim on the website Jewishgen.org concludes,In a few fortunate cases, the danger (facing the Jewish community) was suddenly removed, or the dreaded law was inexplicably abrogated. Then, that community would commemorate each anniversary of the happy change by observing a “Second Purim,” a festival, which mimicked the original Purim, which marks the deliverance of the Jews of Persia from the evil machinations of Haman. Historians have listed some 90 “second Purim” anniversaries observed by various Jewish families and communities, beginning with the early Middle Ages.1
There were even times throughout Jewish history when the enemies of Israel selected Purim as the day they would attack the Jewish people. There was an instance during the Holocaust period when Purim became a day of slaughter for a local Jewish community.
It seems that both the Jewish people and enemies of Israel understood the symbolic value of the story of Esther.
New Hamans Arise in Every GenerationThere are new Hamans on the world scene today seeking the destruction of the Jewish people. Israel is under attack and antisemitism is on the rise. We understand that ISIS and all forms of Islamic extremism seek the destruction of Israel. In fact, the existence of the modern state of Israel is actually opposed by almost every manifestation of Islam--
though various brands of Islam exercise this antipathy in different ways. Some are more violent than others.
The rise of global antisemitism has begun to permeate our society and is often subtly wrapped in the guise of an anti-Israel position. We see this virulent form of anti-Jewish behavior actively engaged on our college campuses today.
Unfortunately, this anti-Israel spirit can easily cross boundaries and align itself with an anti-Jewish position, even flowing into the lives and ministries of good Christians and churches seeking to bring the Gospel and comfort to those viewed as suffering injustice.
Let’s face it—there is a lot of propaganda and noise bombarding our culture through the media. It is hard for everyday sincere people to distinguish between what is true and what is false.
As followers of Jesus the Jewish Messiah for all, and as those who believe the Bible, composed by primarily Jewish authors, we should be sympathetic to the Jewish cause. Historically, most true Christians have been pro-Israel and pro-Jewish without being anti anyone else…but today winds of change are in the air and therefore it is important to reread what the Bible says about Israel and the Jewish people. Unfortunately, we see a growing anti-Israel movement within the church today that also shows the telltale signs of an historic anti-Jewish position as well.
God Is Faithful to His PromisesAs followers of Jesus the Messiah we understand that God still has His hand on the Jewish people! This is why we have a long history of second Purims, where we celebrate God’s faithfulness to the Jewish people.
May I summarize the remarkable promises penned in Jeremiah 31:35-37?
The Jewish people will not be destroyed until they fulfill all God intended them to do. God is not yet finished with His chosen people (Romans 11:29).
The above rests upon the foundational passage in the book of Genesis when God promised Abram that He would bless those who bless the Jewish people and curse those who curse them. We also see in this passage that God promised to bring blessings to the entire world (Genesis 12:3) specifically through the Jewish people. God created the Jewish people to be a bridge of blessings and revelation to the nations.
These truths of Scripture are clear to me and are a great foundation for our understanding of God’s plan and purposes for the Jewish people!
Happy Purim! I pray the Lord will guide us as we try to understand our times, stay true to the teachings of the Scriptures and remain faithful to our Messiah, Deliverer and Lord!
In Him,
Mitch
http://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/Piotrkow/pit237.html