by David Brickner, Executive Director | September 01 2023
50 years ago, some predicted that Jews for Jesus would prove to be just a fad, mostly made up of kids who would outgrow their radical faith in Jesus. But we’re still here! And the reason for that is not because we are so faithful—it’s because God is faithful.
We’re still here because we are part of a promise that God is still keeping—and so are you!
Throughout the Bible, God makes many promises concerning the Jewish people, but this one to Abraham is probably the one most often quoted:
I will bless those who bless you,
And him who dishonors you I will curse,
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. (Genesis 12:3)
For reasons of His own, God chose the Jewish people to bring His Word and His Messiah into the world as the greatest possible blessing. If you know and love the Bible, and you know and love Jesus, then you are experiencing the fulfillment of God’s promise that through the Jewish people, He would bless people all over the world!
Did you notice the curse in between the two lines of blessing in Genesis 12:3? Just as God foresaw godly Gentiles who would bless His chosen people (more about that later), He knew that wicked people would curse and even try to wipe the Jewish people from the face of the earth.
Why have so many people tried to destroy the Jewish people? I think it has to do with God’s promises that the Jewish people would survive as a testimony to His faithfulness. Promises like:
If the heavens above can be measured,
And the foundations of the earth below can be explored,
Then I will cast off all the offspring of Israel. (Jeremiah 31:37)
Satan is the enemy of God, and he hates what God loves. The hatred directed at Jewish people comes straight from the pit of hell. But Satan will never prevent God from keeping His promises!
In the New Testament, the apostle Paul affirms God’s promises to Israel, drawing a special connection to Jewish people who follow Jesus: “So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace” (Romans 11:5).
Romans 11 unfolds God’s plan to save Israel. We are still in the “remnant” stage as a continuing minority of Jewish people trusts in Messiah Yeshua, Jesus.
So Jews for Jesus didn’t come on the scene as a new invention. We are part of that same remnant, a relatively small but highly motivated stream of Jewish believers in Jesus set on proclaiming His kingdom until the day comes when “all Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:26).
My own family is a multi-generational continuation of that same remnant. In fact, my grandfather was the founder of a Jewish mission known as Israel’s Remnant. But it goes back further than that. My great, great grandmother, who was married to a leading rabbi, became a follower of Jesus in the 1800s. My children and grandchildren have added two more generations to our family—seven generations of Jewish believers in one family!
For years the remnant was so small that many people were unaware that there was such a thing as Jewish believers in Jesus. The late 1960s and early ’70s saw the rise of the modern Messianic Jewish movement in America. That’s when God used our founder, Moishe Rosen, to help many young Jewish believers work out their calling as evangelists. This led to the birth of our Jews for Jesus ministry in 1973.
Fifty years later, by God’s grace and with a whole lot of help from friends like you, people all over the world have at least heard that some Jewish people are for Jesus.
God’s faithfulness is the reason why Jews for Jesus is still here, but He’s provided many of you as the means of that faithfulness. Some who are reading this have connected with us only recently, but I hope you don’t mind hearing about the company you are in as you read this newsletter.
Moishe passed on his tremendous appreciation, admiration, and gratitude for our partners, and I want to affirm just a few of the reasons why you mean so much to us.
We’re thankful that you know and love God’s Word, and that your support springs from your desire to share God’s heart and take part in His plan of salvation.
We’re thankful that those of you who have been with us from the beginning had the grace and wisdom to look past our outer appearance which, at times, was a bit scruffy. You cared more about our efforts to reach Jewish people for Jesus.
We’re thankful that you invited us to your churches and took the time to get to know us. You stood with us, sometimes in the face of fierce opposition. May you be blessed just as promised in Genesis 12:3.
Recently, I had an unusual experience that I want to share with you.
A man named Bob approached me after I’d spoken at his church and told me about his brother Chester, a US veteran who’d been stationed in Germany toward the end of World War II. Chester’s duties included guarding a train that had transported Jewish families to the death camps. Many had tried to bring a few precious keepsakes with them but were forced to abandon everything when they stepped off that train. Among the random items that were left behind was a clock that Chester brought back to the US. Before he died, he passed it on to Bob.
That morning, Bob presented that clock to me. I was greatly moved and remembered God’s promise to preserve His chosen people throughout all time, despite the history of Hamans, Herods, and Hitlers.
But I believe the gesture meant something very different to Bob. He knew a Jewish family had been forced to abandon something terribly important to them. For years, Bob was stirred by a deep longing to give that clock to another Jewish family who might understand and treasure it. Perhaps giving it to me was symbolic of Bob’s desire see Jewish people back in possession of what was theirs.
Of course, Jesus isn’t anyone’s personal property, but He did come through—and to—the Jewish people. In a way, each time you pray and give to help bring the message of Jesus to Jewish people, it’s like passing on the greatest treasure possible: the hope that only Messiah Jesus can bring.
I have been privileged to lead Jews for Jesus for the last 28 years, a little more than half of the 50 years that God has blessed us with so far. It has been 50 years of proclaiming liberty, the gospel of God’s salvation. As many of you know, we’ve been celebrating this jubilee all year by preparing 23 special outreaches to key Jewish audiences. I’m excited to share with you some of the highlights of events that have already taken place as of this writing.
We look forward together with great anticipation for all the Lord has yet to do. As has been said, the future remains as bright as the promises of God. Please join us in faithfully proclaiming His good news until Jesus returns.