To a Jewish leader living under Roman occupation in Judea in the 1st century, Yeshua of Nazareth was one in a long list of messiahs.


Indeed, given the times and the circumstances, Yeshua was the least likely candidate of all. Lowly, poor, and non-violent, Yeshua preached a kingdom ‘not of this world’ to a people


So your Jewish prospect must first accept that his ancestors killed the Messiah. Tat’s a prety tall order. Ten there is the whole problem of what comes next. For most of the last two thousand years, the Cross has been a symbol of anti-Semitic hatred, persecution, pogroms, and, ultimately, genocide.


Now you just expect that a Jew is suddenly going to accept that you are right about the Jewish Yeshua and that the last two thousand years of Jewish history is wrong? Tat Yeshua really holds out the prospect of redemption and not persecution?


The Issue of Three in One


Te basic doctrine of Judaism, if there is one doctrine that stands above the rest, is the Shema. “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord . . .” .


iahs


And then we come along and tell them there are really three. Are you surprised at the reception you get?


To an observant Jew, accepting Christ means rejecting YHWH in favor of polytheism. Coming to Christ means rejecting the Lord God of Israel. So, they might listen politely, but what they are hearing isn’t what you are trying to tell them. Tey are hearing what they expect to hear.


How, then, does one reach Jews for Jesus? Tere is no magic technique, no special arrangement of words, no spell or incantation that will undo a lifetime spent learning exactly the opposite of what you are saying.


thirsting for a messiah-king who would restore unto Israel the greatness it enjoyed under King David.


Tat the Jewish Sanhedrin, charged with both the political and religious well-being of their people, would not embrace Yeshua as Messiah in the midst of a political uprising against the most powerful and ruthless empire the world had ever known should not have been unexpected.


In the final analysis, the Bible gives us no reason to believe that Caiaphas was a particularly evil man; he was pragmatic. It was simply that Caiaphas said out loud what the rest of the Sanhedrin were trying to dance around, that it was beter “that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish” (John 11:50).


As a former military man, I understand this principle well. Caiaphas was only doing what political leaders have always done. No doubt, in his own eyes he viewed himself a patriot. But in the narrative that most of us use as the basis for our presentation of the Gospel, the Messiah came to the Jews first —and they killed Him.


Prayer Is the Answer Te Christian’s secret weapon isn’t all that secret. It is prayer.


First John 5:14-15 reveals, “Tis is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.”


Tat would seem a prety iron-clad promise, asking in faith, according to His will . . . But what is His Will?


“Te Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).


In this effort we have an ally. We have the knowledge of the Shema, as well. Te Lord our God is one God as revealed in


(Continued on page 26) Jewish Voice Today 21


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