God, in His infinite wisdom, determined to deal with His creatures through the covenants He made with them. He created one man and made a covenant with him. He then used another man, Noah, and through him and his family re-created the world, so to speak. And then God revealed Himself to Abraham. God called Abraham to leave his homeland, Haran, and to go to a land that God would show him. This was the beginning of the story of the Jewish people – the “wandering Jews” as we are often called. God not only called Abraham apart, but entered into a covenant with him through a ceremony which is related to us in Genesis 15.
God told Abraham to sacrifice a heifer, a ram and a goat and, as was the custom of those days in the ancient Near East, the sacrificed animals were cut in half. Normally in ceremonies of this type both parties would pass between the sacrificial victims. But in the establishing of this covenant God alone passed between the parts declaring, as it were, “May it be done to me as has been done to these animals, if I do not keep my promises to you.”
God promised to give Abraham a land but, more than that, God also promised to make him a great nation; to bless him and to make his name great. God would bless those who blessed Abraham and curse those who cursed him (Gen. 12:1-3).
Though Abraham did not have the patience to wait for God to fulfill His promise to him through his wife, Sarah, nevertheless God graciously and miraculously gave them a son, Isaac, the son of promise. Later God’s promises were reiterated to Isaac and after that to his younger son, Jacob. Jacob received the name Israel after wrestling with the Angel and prevailing. This was the first instance that the name Israel is mentioned in the scriptures, and after that it appears 2567 times in some 2285 verses.
In Jacob, the sons of Israel grew into a nation. The nation was in slavery for some 400 years until God by his outstretched arm and strong hand delivered them. He delivered them from the Egyptians so that he could be their God and that they could worship him. Again he makes a covenant with them as he gives them his law. He calls them to be a light to the nations and to proclaim his glory to all. But being sinners, as we all are, they failed to fulfill their calling and to keep the law of God. And yet time after time, patiently, lovingly and graciously he calls them to Himself through his faithful prophets.
God went very far to fulfill His covenant and the day came when He even sent His only begotten Son to the cross. There is no price too high to prevent Him from remaining faithful to His covenant and promises.
The New Testament church began in the land of Israel and within the ethnic Jewish people. Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29) came first to the Jewish people. The first disciples and the first churches were Jewish. In fact, when the Gentiles began to believe in the God of Abraham and in Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, the church leadership gathered to determine what to do with these Gentiles and how to bring them and what to require of them (Acts 15).
After the resurrection, Jesus commanded his disciples to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit. After they receive the Holy Spirit, they will be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and in the remotest parts of the world. Further along in history, when our resurrected Lord appears to Saul the Pharisee, the persecutor of the Way, Saul receives his commission to become an apostle to the Gentiles. And yet Luke, the writer of the Acts of the Apostles, documents how Paul, the new Saul, would go first to the synagogues, to the Jewish people, in every city, and only then to the Gentiles.
Today it seems that the world has turned upside down. The Gentiles are the majority of the church. It is interesting to think, hypothetically speaking, that it is likely that if the Israelites as a nation had accepted Jesus as their Messiah, you, my Gentile brothers and sisters, would not be sitting here today. But God’s plan of salvation was that through the temporary stumbling of the Jewish people, salvation would come to the Gentiles. Because of their rejection of Jesus, the door was opened for all people to come in. This is the significance of Jesus’ parable of the wedding banquet in Matthew 22:1-14.
This is a very brief history of the church from 2000 years ago until now.
Today Israel has, in a way, become the center of world news. The eyes of many nations are on Israel.
The church in Israel is growing, and growing fast. This is of course relative to the past. There were days when my wife, Eti, knew most of the believers in Israel. Thankfully, this is not the case today. There are more and more churches being established and increasingly people are showing a real interest in the gospel. The Jewish population in Israel is on the rise and today constitutes the largest Jewish population of any other nation; and likewise also the number of Jewish Christians, or Messianic Jews, is on the rise as well.
In the massive Russian immigration to Israel in the early nineties there was a real openness to the gospel. Some came to Israel with faith in the Jewish Messiah, while others who for years had lived with no concept of God or knowledge of Judaism,found in Israel not only the God of Israel but also the Jewish Messiah. After years of bondage and slavery to atheism, their heart's desire was to be filled spiritually. The church in Israel grew and many new congregations were planted. Our own church, Grace & Truth, which I have been privileged to serve as elder for twenty years now, grew from about 40 to over 400 people within a few years.
In 2009 a national evangelistic campaign was conducted in conjunction with a mission organization from abroad, which CWI Israel helped to coordinate. The campaign included banners, media ads and internet popups. HaGefen Publishing, the Israeli branch of CWI, published a book of testimonies for the campaign. On average we received more than 100 phone calls a day and many of the callers asked for the book – though not all. I had the privilege of speaking to quite a few of the callers. One of them identified himself as a yeshiva student. In May a similar campaign was launched among Russian speakers, with more than 1300 people requesting the book. Please remember to pray for the follow-up of the many who have heard the Gospel and received the book.
In Israel today we have many missionaries established to reach and support a unique group of people. For example, many mercy ministries are operating – ministries to widows and orphans and other needy people. The youth, the soldiers, young adults, single mothers and many other groups have specific outreach for their needs. All of these are positive signs that God is continuing to work among the Jewish people. We are also beginning to see much fruit. It seems as if the seed that has been laboriously sown for many years and watered by the tears, the prayers and support of many Christians like yourselves, is now bearing fruit.
However, there is still much work to be done. Percentage-wise, only 0.2% of the population are believers in the true Messiah. There is a great need to present the Gospel to our people boldly and courageously. There is still much to be done to help the new believers grow in their faith and to become disciples and disciple-makers for Christ. More books need to be printed and published. More Israelis need to be educated in theology and other areas.
I believe that we live in a very crucial point in history. As the Lord has opened a door of opportunity for Jewish people to come to faith, we must take advantage of this opportunity and bring the Gospel back to Jerusalem, from the place where it first went out.
And you, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ in Hong Kong, have this privilege and this responsibility to the Jewish people, who are the source of salvation and blessings that you have received. For salvation is of the Jews. Drinking water and remembering its source …
copyright 2009
Delivered at CWI conference in Hong Kong, October 2009 |
