Missionary To Jews

[Theland]

We Christians are commanded by Christ to tell all the world of the good news of the Gospel of salvation.
We tell Jews about Jesus, the Jews tell us to get lost!
We as Christians MUST evangelise, it is part of our faith, but Jews whom we love resent it.
So, if Jews claim to have a handle on the Truth, why don't they evangelise US?
This is not a cheap shot at Jews of whom I am in awe, but a genuine question.
On the BBC web site, Jewish message board, a guy named CuppaJoe is most articulate in giving us Christians the cold shoulder. Why? Can anyone shed light on this?

[Clanad]

I think, Theland, that Romans Chapter 11 is instructive in this question, especially Verse 25. The problem is that, for a long time, many mainline Christian denomiations failed to understand that Christianity is not a stand-alone, new religion, but as Paul tried so hard to make clear, is an extension and fullfillment of all the Judaism was. We've not done a very good job of presenting that aspect and doing so, the Jew, especially the secular Jew on one hand and the Ultra-Orthodox on the other have come to mistrust the Christian (not without some reason, by the way).

The Messianic movement, though, is literally exploding, worldwide. In Israel alone, from a handful of Jewish believers 30 years ago, there are many hundreds of Messianic congregations with an estimate of 10,000 beleivers, over 3,000 in Jerusalem alone, by most counts and growing daily. The truly exciting thing about the movement are the numerous reports of Jews accepting Yeshua because of visions and the obvious work of Rauch Ha Kadesh... again, I believe, as a fulfillment of prophecy...(Zechariah 14:9 and Hos. 3:4-5, among others).
It's the responsibility of the Christian to assure Jews that they can believe that Yeshua is Ha Masiach and still remain Jews, with all the richness that Adonai intended when He chose them...

[chakka35]

I think it's simpler than that.
Jesus, if he existed, was a Jew who (as far as we know anything about him) preached Judaism to Jews.
Long after his death along came Paul who decided to form a new religion and made Jesus (whom he never knew) the centre of it, claiming him to be the son of God and establishing him as a form of Messiah quite different from the Jewish concept of Messiahship which Jesus certainly did not fit.
In the process this new-fangled Christianity (as it eventually became) stole the Jewish god Jaweh and made him their own.
Knowing how sensitive and jealous religious people are about their particular slants on the basic superstition of theism, resentments in various directions don't surprise me.

[naomi24]

Hello dear Theland, What did Christ actually command his followers to tell all the world? No one really knows, do they? We only have the gospels to go by, and we know they aren't eye witness accounts, so are you absolutely sure you're spreading the right message passed on by the right man? Chakka is right. Jesus was a Jew - and one whom I don't believe ever intended to form a new religion. If you think about it really logically, can't you see that you're following the doctine of St Paul - not Jesus - and Paul has created only confusion - and has a lot to answer for. Sadly, I don't know you personally, but as I've said before, I feel you would be more at home with Judaism than the lie of organised Christianity.

[Theland]

My opinion on the veracity of the Gospels differs from your Naomi. I do actually believe them.

[naomi24]

Naturally I respect your choice to believe the gospels, Theland, but you are aware that they are not eye witness accounts and have been tampered with so much over the years, and therefore I fail to understand why you believe them.

[wizard69]

"my OPINION"
"I do actually BELIEVE them"
Ignore scholorship then Theland eh?

[Theland]

Wiz & Naomi - If you look into it, you will find lots of evidence to point to the Gospels being reliable, but of course, I imagine you will dismiss this and only look to what points to the flaws.
We have to differ on this. But, that's O.K. You are doing fine with your lack of belief, and I'm doing fine maitaining my belief.

[HassanRafeeq]

Just a couple of verses to consider:

Deuteronomy 13:6-10 KJV (I have in no way taken these verses out of context, or twisted them, acording to the bible, this is God's message to to the jews.)

If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which [is] as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers;
[Namely], of the gods of the people which [are] round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the [one] end of the earth even unto the [other] end of the earth;
Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him:
But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.
And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.


Telling a jew to worship Jesus falls under the jurisdiction of this verse (even if it is correct to worship Jesus). So any jew that has heard this, or thinks the same way as this, is beaing very genouris in turning you away. Acording to the bible, he is simply supposed to kill you.

Go ahead and read for yourself
http://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/Deu/Deu013. html#8

[joko]

i actually think trying to convert people and preaching at them does your 'cause' more harm than good, theland

nothing makes non-religious people laugh more than listening to the blind faith of a religious zealot.

i have only ever been completely put off by the god squad, never once have i been tempted to join, simply because i find the insistance, the look in their eyes, the preoccupation with it, disturbing.

i sat and had lunch with 2 of my old friends and was shocked to discover they had become born again christians - they were like different people and peppered every sentence with stuff like ''ahhh, praise jesus...'' or '' praise be...'',
singing ''there is power in the name of jesus'' just randomly mid conversation, and as i told them what had been happening in my life over the last couple of years, anything bad was smugly declared ''the work of the devil'' and any thing good was '' gods work'',
it was completely bizarre and i was actually a bit embarrassed as i had brought a few mates with me and also for the rest of the customers in the cafe, who looked a bit miffed.

i saw one of the girls again a few months later and enquired how the religion stuff was going - her eyes darkened and she said 'i don't want to talk about it'.
i said something like ''oh sorry to hear that, are you ok? what went wrong?'' - she just clammed up, gave me a hug and jumped on the bus!!

mmmm..... says it all really...