1. How to Reach Jewish People with the Good News Rabbi Jack Zimmerman

2. Why bother sharing with Jewish people?

3. A Godly calling! Romans 11:11 “So I ask, "Has Israel stumbled so badly that it can't get up again?" That's unthinkable! By Israel's failure, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make the Jewish people jealous”

4. Your role in God’s end time plan of salvation and return of Jesus Romans 11:25b-26 “…a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”

5. TERMINOLOGY: WHAT TO SAY AND WHAT NOT TO SAY?

6. Instead of… Say……
Jesus Yeshua
Christ* Messiah
Convert Messianic Jew
baptize immerse
trinity echad
Old Testament Tanach
* “Christ-killer” is an all too common charge leveled against Jewish people

7. Perception is reality
Christian view: Symbol of the atonement and God’s love in sacrificing his own son for us. It represents Jesus' victory over sin and death
Jewish view: Symbol of oppression
and persecution

8. “FRIENDSHIP EVANGELISM” Most who come to Yeshua are won through the ministry of friends or relatives. The pitfalls: Don't befriend a Jewish person just to "get them saved". The person will sense this and feel you are only interested in them as a conquest. Let your friendship be genuine. It must not be dependent on your friend's response to the Gospel.

9. “FRIENDSHIP EVANGELISM” The pitfalls: “We’ve been friends for years
“FRIENDSHIP EVANGELISM” The pitfalls: “We’ve been friends for years. I haven’t shared the Good News with them yet; but they see Yeshua through my friendship and love and they will eventually accept Yeshua as their Messiah” Romans 10:14—”…how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?”

10. “FRIENDSHIP EVANGELISM” The pitfalls: “I don’t know enough of the Bible to adequately witness; I have to be better equipped first” Isaiah 55:11—”So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it”

11. “FRIENDSHIP EVANGELISM” The pitfalls: “I can’t stand rejection; what if they say no?” REJOICE!

12. “FRIENDSHIP EVANGELISM” Invite your Jewish friend to Church But first: Find out what the worship team is singing (ie, “Holy, Holy, Holy”) Find out what the Pastor is preaching

13. 5 Things you didn’t know about Jewish people: 1
5 Things you didn’t know about Jewish people: 1. Jewish people believe that if they accept Jesus they are no longer be Jewish. 2. Most Jewish people are not particularly religious, and instead live out their Jewishness through culture and tradition. Only 1 out of 10 Jewish people regularly attend their own synagogue.

14. 5 Things you didn’t know about Jewish people: 3
5 Things you didn’t know about Jewish people: 3. Most Jewish people don’t accept the divine authority of their own Old Testament. (Tanach) 4. Most don’t know that Yeshua was Jewish and the New Testament was written by Jews. They view the New Testament as a “Christian” book about another religion. Some think Jesus was a Jew who converted to Christianity! 5. Jewish people know that if they were to consider Yeshua, their families and friends would not understand them, and some might even disown them.

15. Orthodox Jews – Beliefs 6% of Jews
Orthodox Jews – Beliefs 6% of Jews. Emphasis on tradition and strict observance of the Law of Moses as interpreted by the rabbis. The greatest prophet was Moses and no other prophet can come later and change his words. The "Messiah" has not yet come. Jesus has no place in Orthodox Judaism. No original sin. Jewish people are “chosen”; they don’t need salvation

16. Orthodox Jews – Beliefs God taught the Oral Torah to Moses, and Moses taught it to others, down to the present day. This tradition was maintained only in oral form until about the 2nd century, when it was written down in a document called the Mishnah. Over the next few centuries, additional commentaries on the Mishnah were written. These commentaries are known as the Gemara. The Gemara and the Mishnah together are known as the Talmud.

17. Exodus 24:4 “Moses wrote down everything the Lord said”

18. Orthodox Jews – Beliefs 13 Principles of faith 1
Orthodox Jews – Beliefs Principles of faith God alone is creator 2. God is unique and one 3. God is Spirit and does not have a body 4. God existed prior to everything else 5. We are to pray to God alone 6. The words of the Hebrew prophets are true

19. Orthodox Jews – Beliefs 13 Principles of faith 7
Orthodox Jews – Beliefs Principles of faith 7. Moses is the greatest prophet 8. The Torah is from God 9. Torah can’t be added to or taken away 10. God knows all things 11. God rewards the righteous 12. The Messiah will come 13. The dead will be resurrected

20. Conservative Jews – Beliefs 35% of Jews
Conservative Jews – Beliefs 35% of Jews. Conserve Jewish tradition while allowing Torah to evolve to meet the individual’s needs today. Middle ground between Orthodox and reform. God is impersonal. No original sin. Sin is committing immoral or anti-social acts. Not necessarily belief in a Messiah, but in a messianic age to come. The Messiah is a human being who is not divine. He will restore the Jewish kingdom and extend his righteous rule over the earth. He will execute judgment and right all wrongs. No concept of life after death. No certainty in heaven or hell.

21. Reform Judaism – Beliefs 38% of Jews
Reform Judaism – Beliefs 38% of Jews. Jewish religious Law is not binding. Progressive revelation and greater openness to external influences. Emphasizes ethics. Varied interpretation of the “God concept” . No original sin. Sin is viewed as the ills of society. Salvation is betterment of self; social improvement. Not necessarily belief in a Messiah, but in a messianic age to come. No concept of life after death. No certainty of heaven or hell.

22. Exodus 23:19 “Do not cook a young goat in its Mother’s milk” Orthodox: Separate sets of dishes, silverware Conservative: Should I eat a cheeseburger? Reform: “I love Five Guys!”

23. If Jewish people no longer sacrifice animals, how do they receive atonement for sin? Hint: see Leviticus 23:26-32

24. O.T. MESSIANIC PROPHECIES Psalm 22 – Crucifixion Isaiah 7:14 – Virgin Birth Isaiah 53 – Messiah suffers for us Zechariah 9:9 – Triumphal entry Zechariah 12:10 – Messiah pierced Daniel 9:24-27 – Time of His Coming Micah 5:2 – Born in Bethlehem

25. Jewish Objections to Jesus “When the Messiah comes, he’s supposed to bring peace. Yeshua can’t be the Messiah, because he didn’t bring peace when he came”

26. THE RESPONSE: Isaiah 2 Isaiah 2:2,4—”In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it…He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore”

27. Jewish Objections to Jesus “Isaiah 7:14 is not a prophecy of the virgin birth. The Hebrew says “young woman”, not “virgin”

28. Isaiah 7:14—”Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign
Isaiah 7:14—”Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. A virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall give his name Immanuel”

29. Young woman (Almah) עַלְמָה Virgin (Betulah) בְּתוּלָה Isaiah 7:14—”Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. A עַלְמָה shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel”

30. Young woman (Almah) עַלְמָה Virgin (Betulah) בְּתוּלָה Genesis 24:43—”Behold, I am standing by the spring, and may it be that the עַלְמָה maiden who comes out to draw...” (Rebecca)

31. Young woman (Almah) עַלְמָה Virgin (Betulah) בְּתוּלָה Genesis 24:16—”The woman was very beautiful, a בְּתוּלָה virgin” (Rebecca)

32. Jewish Objections to Yeshua “If God the Father is God, and Yeshua is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, that’s three Gods! We Jews believe only in One God. We follow Monotheism; you Christians follow Polytheism. That’s idolatry, and against our beliefs”

33. THE RESPONSE: “One” One – יָחִיד (yachid) only, solitary Genesis 22:2—”Then God said, "Take your son, your יָחִיד only son, whom you love--Isaac-

34. THE RESPONSE: “One” One – אֶחָד (echad) plural one, one in unity Genesis 2:24—”a man will leave his father and mother and will be united with his wife, and they will become אֶחָד one flesh.

35. THE RESPONSE: “One” One – אֶחָד (echad) plural one, one in unity Deuteronomy 6:4—”Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is אֶחָד one”

36. Jewish Objections to Yeshua “Jews do not believe in original sin”

37. THE RESPONSE: Psalm 51:5 ”Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me”

38. Jewish Objections to Yeshua “If God hates human sacrifice, how could He accept Yeshua’s sacrifice as atonement for our sins?

39. THE RESPONSE: Isaiah 53:10 ”It was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer…”

40. THE RESPONSE: The sacrifice of Yeshua doesn’t violate the prohibition against human sacrifice, because Yeshua wasn’t merely human. Only God Himself could atone for the sins of mankind. This is why God had to become a Man; no other sacrifice would suffice.

41. Jewish Objections to Yeshua “We Jews don’t believe that a man can become God”

42. THE RESPONSE: Genesis 32 (But God can take the form of a man…
THE RESPONSE: Genesis 32 (But God can take the form of a man….) Genesis 32:24, 28, 30—”So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak…Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome…So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared”

43. Jewish Objections to Yeshua “The Messiah has to be in the line of David. Yeshua is not, because while Joseph may be a descendant of David, Joseph is not Jesus’ blood father”

44. THE RESPONSE: John 6 John 6:41-42—”At this the Jews there began to grumble about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They said, “Is this not Yeshua, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?” While Jewish people accounted family through the father, Jewishness was passed on through the mother. Mary was also a descendant of David…

45. In the eyes of the Law of the time, Joseph was the Father
In the eyes of the Law of the time, Joseph was the Father. By taking Mary as his wife, he could lawfully claim Yeshua as his son.

46. THE “KOSHER” ROAD Heaven and Hell are real (2 Kings 2:1
THE “KOSHER” ROAD Heaven and Hell are real (2 Kings 2:1. Psalm 9:17) Good deeds aren’t enough (Isaiah 64:6) Sacrifice is still necessary (Lev 17:11) Who is that Sacrifice? (Isaiah 53:5)