and our path to God, then this question of who He is touches our soul far beyond issues of identity and even community. This is why faith in Jesus inspires Messianic Jews to risk all and, when necessary, to bear the misunderstanding and anger of friends and family for the sake of following the One they now believe is the Messiah. Another common thread found among Jewish people who believe in Jesus is that there is a new willingness to change and behave differently towards God and one’s neighbor. By believing in Jesus we not only encounter God but also come to grips with some very difficult truths about ourselves. All the As a child I received instruction both in the Bible and in the Talmud. I am a Jew, but I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene…No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life. Jesus is too colossal for the pen of phrase-mongers, however artful. – Albert Einstein, taken from “What Life Means to Einstein,” The Saturday Evening Post, October 26, 1929 pain, loneliness, confusion and emptiness that so often plagues our souls come from the same root problem—sin. We are unable to behave as God wants us to behave and because of this we suffer the consequences. He wants us to have peace—shalom! God created us to enjoy Him and to love others. After all, God placed the first man and woman in the Garden of Eden. It was God’s plan for humankind to live in a perfect relationship with Him and others. But, we have made similar choices as our ancient forefathers and turned to our own way (Isaiah 53:6) rather than God’s and seeking our own benefit above that of others. Jewish people who have put their trust in Jesus experience the rebirth of spiritual life as He is the One that Hashem (“the name,” literally, a term used for God by many Jewish people) sent to die for our sins and turn us towards Himself. Jesus, as the mediator between God and man, enables us to enjoy a relationship with a holy God that we would otherwise be unable to achieve. We are forgiven through His sacrifice and made clean on the inside, in perpetuity, not only during Yom Kippur—the Day of Atonement! Jesus atoned for all our sins, once and for all and though we might fast and beat our breast, mourning over our sins will achieve little, because He has done for us what we could never do for ourselves through dying for our sins. We are capable of repenting, but this can never fully cleanse our soul. We need more than repentance—we need atonement and Yeshua has made this possible through His sacrifice. He is the everyday answer to everyday questions and problems. By following Yeshua we encounter God in ways we never thought possible. And this encounter transforms us from the inside out. When we turn to God, through Yeshua the Messiah, and trust in His sacrifice for our sin, we are forgiven and renewed forever! Jesus is not only the most influential Jewish person who has ever lived, but He is the most influential person who ever lived. We hope you will read the Bible verses and stories of others who believe in Yeshua as the Messiah and experience God’s greatest gift to mankind—salvation and everlasting life through the Jewish Messiah—for all! 1 Jaroslav Pelikan, Jesus through the Centuries: His Place in the History of Culture (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1985), 1. JESUS SAID: THE RABBIS SAID: “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 6:1 Antigonos of Sokho: “Do not be like servants who serve the master on condition of receiving a reward, but be like servants who serve the master not on condition of receiving a reward. And let the fear of Heaven be upon you.” Avot 1:3 “And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” Matthew 7:26–27 Rabbi Eleazar b. Azariah: He would say, “Anyone whose wisdom is greater than his deeds— to what is he to be likened? To a tree with abundant foliage, but few roots. When the winds come, they will uproot it and blow it down.” Avot 3:17 “Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.’ ” Matthew 6:9-10 Judah b. Tema: “Be strong as a leopard, fast as an eagle, fleet as a gazelle, and brave as a lion, to carry out the will of your Father who is in heaven.” Avot 5:20 Primary and other sources consulted for quotes: Asch, Sholem. One Destiny: an Epistle to the Christians. Translated by Milton Hindus. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1945. Buber, Martin. Two Types of Faith. Translated by Norman P. Goldhawk. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1951. And the following websites: andyrossagency.wordpress.com; jewishvoice.org; tentmaker.org; thejewishweek.com 6 - The Chosen People
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