Our Stories
We come from different Jewish backgrounds, but we have one thing in common: we all believe Yeshua is the redeemer our prophets foretold. Two thousand years ago, many Jewish people believed Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah. Today, there are still Jews who agree. Here are some of our stories.
I googled “Christianity” and found the New Testament in Hebrew. I expected it to be an anti-Semitic book with stories about Santa Claus! But in the first pages, the Gospel of Matthew, I read the genealogy of Jesus and saw all these Hebrew names. It felt so familiar.
I kept looking for a traditional Jewish explanation that would satisfy, but found none. The only plausible explanation seemed to be Jesus.
My life’s two passions have been mathematics and being Jewish. I viewed life as one big equation and was always looking for its solution! So how does Jewish boy + a traditional Jewish education + mathematics PhD = believer in Jesus?
I realized that Jesus had never been anything else but a Jew, and I accepted Him into my life. Today I am very outspoken about my faith. After surviving Auschwitz, what do I have to lose?
I was spiritually dry, and found myself seeking answers in an Orthodox Yeshivah. Within eight or nine months, I was completely fed up and confused. I left feeling empty. The God I had once believed in seemed far away, if He even existed.
Jewish faith in Jesus was handed down from generation to generation on both sides of my family, so my parents are Jewish Iranian believers in Jesus.
She told me that Yeshua is the Hebrew name for Jesus. As soon as I heard that, it made perfect sense to me. Yeshua in Hebrew means “salvation.” Now if Jesus is salvation, I reasoned, it may be that He is the Messiah and I would not have to wait anymore.
I was trained in the scientific method, yet I had judged the New Testament without having read it. What kind of scientific method was that? So I took the book home and began reading it eagerly and with an open mind. It was not anti-Semitic – in fact, it was very Jewish.
It was at that moment I remembered tearing Jews for Jesus posters off of a telephone pole years before. I had told my friend these people were liars, that you can’t be Jewish and believe in Jesus.
I felt I hadn’t found what I was looking for. Something was wrong. I thought that if I could find a combination of New Age and Judaism, my search would be over.
When I realized he was trying to push Jesus on me, I threw him out of my house and told him never to speak to me again.
Throughout my life and in Yeshiva, I had been taught that the Messiah who would come and redeem Israel would be from the line of King David. I asked God to give me a sign that would answer my questions and point me in the direction I needed to go in life.
I said, “God, if you’re real, show up.” And before me I saw the face of Jesus! I looked at it and I felt a presence in my room; and I felt afraid. I saw a clear vision of God—and ignored it.
“Knowing Jesus has changed every area of my life, not the least of which is my professional life. I am a full-time private practicing medical oncologist. My relationship with the living God gives my life meaning and fulfillment. It brings contentment, despite the painful realities of life and death.”
I had so many questions like “why is there one God for the Gentiles and another God for the Jews?”
Ceil Rosen, wife of Jews for Jesus founder, Moishe, had a unique Christmas experience, leading her to consider Jesus seriously as the alternative to religious Judaism or atheism.
How a Jewish kid with an Irish name found his Messiah – Ron Mcdevitt’s story Hi, my name is Ron Mcdevitt. I’m a Jewish believer in Jesus Christ. I was born in New York City. My mother and father are both Jewish. My father’s family was living in...
Stan Meyer's Story Should I admit to my Orthodox Jewish friends that I was a secret believer in Jesus? Perhaps I hoped they would challenge my belief. After all, life would be simpler if I did not believe in Jesus. But my experience with Orthodox Judaism pointed me...
Melissa Weinisch was born to Messianic parents. Melissa accepted Jesus as the Messiah at age five for herself and not just for her parents. This article and video share Melissa’s journey of not just being a believer in Jesus but rather being pursuer of God, seeking Him with all of her body, soul, and spirit.
This Israeli young man grew up with all the right information, but truly discovered God’s presence after his IDF service. Watch David Minsky’s story here.
London born and bred, Julia first served with Jews For Jesus as a volunteer, playing guitar at special events such as our annual Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) service. She came on staff in 2003, serving as an outreach worker, sharing the Gospel with many Jewish...
My Mother KNOWS I’m Doing This. My mother and father are both Jewish, both from the East Coast, and both had aspirations for me, their daughter, which I am sure did not include handing out pamphlets about Yeshua (Jesus). For that matter, handing out pamphlets about...
Laura Barron spent her childhood years in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Rye, New York. Her father was a doctor and her mother was a teacher. Her parents grew up in a tight-knit Jewish community in Dayton, Ohio and had known each other from school. While this could...
How did this Jewish woman come to faith in Jesus though a knock-knock joke? Read Laurie’s story…
Steffi Geiser Rubin was commissioned by Jews for Jesus to create the art for “Multitudes.” Originally from the Bronx, Steffi grew up with a strong Jewish background. In January of 1971 she encountered a man named Moishe Rosen at a Bible study on the UC Berkeley...
Shout Out | Jack Sternberg | A Fellow Physician Began Attending Church - and He was Jewish This is the story of Dr. Jack Sternberg. Check out more of Jack’s story! Dr. Jack Sternberg, oncologist: “Undaunted, I visited with rabbis, hoping they could show me...