For
years, Rabbi Glenn and I have been concerned,
bothered, frustrated and annoyed by growing
segments of the Evangelical Church who have
been cozying up to the non-Messianic Jewish
community in an undiscerning and compromising
way. These men and their organizations claim
to love Israel and the Jewish people, but they
compromise by toning down the Gospel and giving
money to other organizations that not only don’t
operate in the name of Yeshua, but also are
hostile to Yeshua and to Messianic Jews!
We are convinced that much more good could have
been accomplished if the tens of millions of
dollars that have been raised among Evangelical
Christians were given to good Messianic Jewish
ministries. David Brickner, Executive Director
of Jews for Jesus, addressed this issue in their
February 2007 newsletter. It is reprinted here
with permission from the Jews for Jesus Newsletter
(copyright February 2007).
David
writes: Have you ever been angry at a television
commercial? Many commercials manipulate people’s
emotions and make misleading promises. It is
easy to become desensitized to this. However,
when I see commercials that make something that
is meaningful and noble into a sales pitch,
it arouses my sensitivities. The loftier the
sentiment the more upset I become to see it
manipulated via commercials. For example, I
hate seeing the concept of love used to line
people’s pockets, as though the right car or
right phone or right gift of jewelry will result
in a satisfying relationship.
Recently
two commercials pitched specifically to Christians
- asking them to give money to support Israel
- made me particularly angry. “Wait a minute,”
you say. “Don’t you want Christians to support
Israel?” Yes I do, and that’s exactly why I
am angry. Allow me to explain. The first commercial
is sponsored by Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein’s organization,
the International Fellowship of Christians and
Jews. It aired on the Fox News Channel quite
a bit, especially during and after the war between
Israel and Hezbollah last August and September
(and is still being aired as I write). It speaks
of Israelis suffering because of the war and
shows footage of the rabbi comforting an elderly
Jewish woman who is crying inconsolably. (I
could be mistaken, but the footage was so very
familiar that I think it was recycled from his
previous infomercial requesting help for Russian
Jews.) The rabbi’s voiceover reminds Christians
of their duty to bless and comfort Israel, and
assures them that by giving to his organization
they will fulfill that duty. Rabbi Eckstein
is tapping into a very deep, strong current
of Christian emotion when he speaks of the importance
of supporting Israel, praying for the peace
of Jerusalem and blessing the descendants of
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
I am so grateful for the genuine, Bible-based
conviction behind Christian love for Israel.
I believe it is a God-given commitment that
is very, very special. But why do so many Christians
respond to Rabbi Eckstein’s appeals for Bible-based
support (evangelicals in America have given
over a quarter of a billion dollars for this
fundraising effort) for projects that have nothing
to do with reconciling Jewish people to God?
I can understand it to a certain extent, inasmuch
as Eckstein’s approach to Christians, in my
opinion, is ambiguous at best and has misled
many in the Church, who think he is a Jewish
Christian. They do not know that some of the
funds Rabbi Eckstein collects go to groups that
oppose efforts to tell Jewish people that they
need to know Jesus as Messiah and Lord. However,
the high profile Christian leaders who deal
with Eckstein certainly know that he is not
a Christian. Still, they encourage Christians
to express their love for Jewish people by giving
to leaders who are spiritually blind. Because
yes, as offensive as that statement sounds,
the Bible does say that without Jesus, my people
are blind (Romans 11:25). Am I saying that only
Christian ministries can do good? Not at all!
I am saying that when someone taps into your
spiritual, biblical motive to love the people
of Israel or anyone else, what flows from that
love should have spiritual, biblical impact.
The
second commercial is even more difficult for
me to understand than the first. It is produced
by well-known Christian televangelist John Hagee.
Many Christians understandably appreciate Rev.
Hagee’s support for Israel, his messages on
television and his best-selling books. But now
Rev. Hagee wants Christian donations to help
build an Orthodox Jewish school for orphans
in Israel. We watch as he shakes hands with
an Orthodox rabbi in front of the half-built
school. We are then encouraged to give donations.
Suggested amounts start at $1,000.
Of course we should care for orphans in Israel
and elsewhere! But is building Orthodox Jewish
schools the best way for Christians to do this?
In these schools, Jewish orphans will be taught
that Jesus is not for Jewish people, and that
Jews who trust Him as Messiah and Lord are traitors
to God and the Jewish people .
I am
not blaming the rabbis for teaching this, for
that is what they believe. But what does John
Hagee believe? If there is one thing in common
between Rabbi Eckstein and Rev. Hagee it is
that the vast sums of cash they raise will never,
ever be used in any way to make the name of
Jesus known to the Jewish people. And therein
lays a great irony, an amazing mystery, a stunning
tragedy. Evangelical Christian donations in
America are funding anti-Jesus education and
instruction for my Jewish people in Israel.
Can anyone explain this to me? Help me understand.
Please! I can understand that Rabbi Eckstein
would be satisfied with this outcome. But what
about Rev. Hagee? No one doubts his faith that
Jesus is the Messiah. John Hagee seems to believe
that when the Apostle Paul states, “and thus
all Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:26), he
was declaring that Jewish people have an automatic
pass, so they don’t need to believe in Jesus
in this life in order to be with Him in the
next. Furthermore, Hagee indicates that since
God placed a veil over the eyes of Jewish people,
it is futile for Christians to share Christ
with them.
Thankfully,
many Christians are concerned enough to share
their faith with Jewish people and, as those
of us in Jews for Jesus can attest, God has
used those efforts to lift the veil from many
Jewish eyes. For the time being, those of us
who receive Christ are in the minority, but
we would be even fewer if all Christians thought
as Rev. Hagee does. His kind of theology fails
to address Paul’s gut-wrenching profession of
great sorrow and unceasing anguish, and even
his wish that he himself could be accursed for
the sake of his brethren (Romans 9:1). If there
is no consequence to Jewish unbelief, why would
Paul be in such anguish? What do we do with
Scriptures that clearly teach that believing
with one’s heart and confessing with one’s mouth
are necessary for salvation (Romans 10:9)? Those
who think this refers to Gentiles only need
to read the rest of the chapter! But if there
is indeed so grave a consequence to Jewish rejection
of Jesus, why is it that John Hagee and others
don’t seem to realize or speak to their danger
of eternal damnation?! Help me understand. Please!
Isolating certain texts, failing to read
them in their context, and neglecting to compare
them with the clear teaching of other Scriptures
is a recipe for false interpretation. This is
a life and death issue. And I don’t mean
to pick on John Hagee exclusively. I am equally
upset by mega-church leaders who invest their
time advising rabbis on ways to grow larger
synagogues, rather than advising them that Jesus
- and the narrow road that He pointed to - is
the way of salvation.
It pains me that believers in Jesus who read
their Bibles nevertheless feel their Christian
duty to Jewish people can be fulfilled through
supporting those who don’t believe that Jews
need Jesus . Christians seem to understand
that Muslims need Jesus, and that Buddhists,
animists and atheists need Jesus. But what about
Jewish people, the ones to whom the prophets
prophesied, the ones who are called the people
of the Book, the ones over whom Jesus wept and
for whom Paul was willing to be cut off from
Christ? Otherwise discerning Christians seem
to develop a great deal of uncertainty and angst
when it comes to Jewish souls. Those who struggle
with this issue mean well, but they often miss
the implications of their own uncertainties.
Almost
every believer who was not raised in a Christian
home can tell you that at some point, someone
risked offending them by explaining their need
for Jesus. Yet many Christians whose friends
are perishing seem so intent on protecting their
friendships, as though if they pray enough,
the friendship itself could somehow save the
person with no risk involved. I would never
underestimate the importance of friendship in
a witness, but when the gospel message is made
clear, there is always some risk of rejection.
Until folks realize that the risk of their friends
going to a Christless eternity is more terrible
than the risk of losing a friendship, their
witness will be compromised.
I think
you know that my request for help understanding
all of this is rhetorical because I’m pointing
out a serious problem. There is no way to make
it out as anything other than a problem. And
the solution is you. I hope that you who realize
the need to evangelize Jews (and everyone else)
will be salt and light wherever you see uncertainties
cropping up in the Church concerning Jewish
people’s need for faith in Jesus. And when someone
makes an appeal for Christians to show their
love for Jewish people, please remember that
our love is incomplete at best and misleading
at worst if it does not point beyond ourselves
and to the One who loved us so much that He
sent His Son to die, so that WHOEVER BELIEVES
IN HIM will not perish, but have eternal life.
