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surrounded with hyper-commercialism, and assaulted by the cacophony of the often-garish displays of the Holy Family, Santa Claus, and popular characters. One is left to wonder where the remembrance is that two thousand years ago, on a cold Israeli night, an infant destined to redeem the world was born. Is there room among the bedlam for that truth? This child was born of orthodox Jew- ish parents—his earthly father a righteous man—and his mother chosen to fulfill the enigmatic prophecy in Genesis 3:15, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” …This child would be the Messiah of Israel. He would break the power of the serpent, that deceiver. He was the One in whom all the families of the earth would be blessed and find redemption (Genesis 12:3).
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This child grew up within the com- munity of Israel—an Israelite—known by His Hebrew Name, Yeshua—conveyed by an angel: “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS” (in Hebrew, Yeshua). —Luke 1:31 In His humanity, He embraced and
fulfilled the Torah, teaching from it and the Hebrew Scriptures with such illumina- tion and inspiration that He drew great numbers of followers among His brethren who recognized His extraordinary insight.
s the holiday season once again approaches, we are often over- whelmed by the press of activity,
He troubled Jerusalem’s religious rulers who feared the iron fist of Rome. Finally, His followers became so numerous, and rumors of His miracles and messianic claims so widespread, that the status quo was mightily threatened. He had to be stopped. The Prophet Daniel foresaw this: “Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Him- self.” —Daniel 9:26 We all know and celebrate Yeshua’s resurrection. Death could not hold Him. He became the first fruits of resurrection— a very Jewish concept and fervent Jewish hope. After His death and resurrection His message spread from Jerusalem and Judea and to the uttermost parts of the world. Among the Jews in Jerusalem alone, the book of Acts records that myriads (which is thousands upon thousands, or an innu- merable multitude) of Jews believed in Yeshua and were all zealous for the law. —Acts 21:20 Yet Scripture records that there were
many who did not recognize Yeshua as the Messiah, primarily the religious leaders, who served under Roman rule, and those seeking a conqueror who would over- throw Rome. (Of course, the “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” had to be rejected and suffer, as prophesied in Isaiah 53, and die a sacrificial death to redeem man- kind.) However, never was Yeshua viewed by His own as anything but a Jew, an Isra- elite. That was then. Today, most Jewish People perceive
Yeshua as Jesus Christ, the God of the Gen- tiles—foreign and forbidden to Jews. Indeed, even among Christians, this is
often the case. Both view Jesus as far removed from His Jewish heritage. This is unfortunate. The holiday season is an ideal time to
share one’s faith, as people are characteris- tically more open to the subject matter. So what must we do? The biblical mandate is clear. We must, as the Apostle Paul said, take the message of Yeshua to the Jew first and also to the Gentile (Romans 1:16). This may be a particularly difficult
holiday season economically for many. Assurance, comfort, and hope is found in relationship with God alone through His Son. With this issue of Jewish Voice Today, we hope to equip, inspire, and encourage you to fulfill that mandate and be pre- pared to share Yeshua with Jewish People that God may bring into your life. Our prayer is that you will be both enriched in knowledge and enlivened in your spirit to declare your faith with boldness and joy. We thank God upon every remem-
brance of you for your faithful fellowship in enabling us to proclaim Yeshua around the world to the Jew first and also to the Nations! May this be a blessed holiday season for you and your family as you cel- ebrate Yeshua, the Light of the World.
—Sarah, Editor All biblical references from the NKJV
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