Who are the most hated people on earth? The Christians? The Jews? White Anglo Saxon men? The truth is that the most hated people on the face of the earth are the Messianic Jews! We are hated by just about every group out there, from the Klan to Iran. Why? Just think about it:
We are Jews – the most hated group in history.
We are Believers in Yeshua – who isn’t against true bible believers?
The non-Messianic Jewish Community is poisoned against us.
Much of the Christian Community sees us as Judaisers (Galatians 3), trying to bring believers under the Law (which we aren’t).
So one can imagine why a Messianic Jew might be happier blending into the larger Christian world, than boldly identifying himself as a Jewish believer. Some Messianics go the other way, distancing themselves from the Church world – sometimes even denying Yeshua in the end – because of the pressures from both Jewish and Christian communities.
What does God expect from Messianic Jews?
It seems that the Lord places a high value on Jewish identity and on living a Jewish life. (Living a Jewish life doesn’t mean that we are obligated to keep extra-biblical traditions, although many Messianic Jews do find value in some of them.) Take Moses for instance. He was the one chosen by God to redeem Israel. He flees Egypt, marries a nice gentile girl from Midian and about forty years later heads back to Egypt with his wife and two sons.
On the way, the Bible says that God tried to kill Moses – which does seem a little strange since Moses was supposed to rescue the Jews from Pharaoh “At a lodging place on the way, the LORD met [Moses] and was about to kill him” (Exodus 4:24). Why was God so angry? The issue appears to be Moses’ unwillingness to embrace this foundational expression of his Jewish identity. The next two verses tell us what kept God from killing Him: “But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin and touched [Moses’] feet with it. ‘Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me,’ she said. So the LORD let him alone. (At that time she said ‘bridegroom of blood,’ referring to circumcision)” (Exodus 4:25-26).
By circumcising her sons she appeased the Lord’s anger. God was raising up a people, a distinct people who would carry a mark in the their flesh identifying them as the People of God. Moses, who spent his first forty years as an Egyptian prince and the next as a shepherd, never took the time to circumcise his boys. God expected His leader to embrace the Abrahamic Covenant. His refusal to, whether by rebellion or ignorance, nearly cost him his life – not to mention, it would have caused the Israelites to remain as slaves until God raised up another redeemer.
Then there is Esau. The scriptures say in Malachi that God loved Jacob, but hated Esau (Malachi 1:2-36). The Bible says that God is Love (1John 4:8,16) and yet, God was able to hate Esau. What did Esau do that was so despicable? He sold his birthright. “He said to Jacob, ‘Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!’ … Jacob replied, ‘First sell me your birthright.’ ‘Look, I am about to die,’ Esau said. ‘What good is the birthright to me?’ But Jacob said, ‘Swear to me first.’ So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob” (Genesis 25:30-33).
God equated despising his Hebraic identity with godlessness and adultery. If you read what the prophets have to say about the descendants of Esau, it is nothing but judgment and destruction (Jeremiah 49:8, 10; Obadiah 1:6, 8, 18-19). It seems clear that God is serious about Jewish identity.
A Strange Dream
I struggled with this for many years. I resisted my Jewishness. In fact, when I had an offer to join one of the most well-known ministries in America I begged God to let me. In the end I was going to tell the leader of the ministry, “If it were up to me I would be with you, but God has called me to Jewish ministry. Uhg!”
That night at about 4 AM I had a dream. I was sitting in a café with a very pretty blonde-haired woman. There was intense desire between us; it even seemed pure. Finally I showed her my wedding ring and told her I really wanted to be with her but I was married. Instantly I awoke. Yuk, I thought. I love my wife. I asked God to wash me.
Later that day the Lord spoke to me that the dream was from Him. “You have lusted after non-Jewish ministry with an adulterous spirit. I don’t want you to embrace Jewish ministry because I am making you. I want you to love Jewish ministry as you love your wife.”
That was a turning point in my life and ministry. I now live in Israel with my wife and children and embraced the calling to reach my people with joy.
The Calling
Israel is still called (Rom 11:1, 11, 29). The Bible promises an end-time revival amongst the Jews (Rom. 11:26; Hosea 3:4-5). If all the Jewish believers assimilate there will be no identifiable Jewish witness on earth. God forbid! It is imperative that Jewish believers embrace their calling as Jews. Yes, it may mean being misunderstood by family and friends, both Christian and Jewish. It may be uncomfortable at times. But it also means joining, in the words of Dan Juster, “the saved remnant of Israel.” Their ever growing presence on earth is like a magnet pulling Yeshua back.
