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Jewish Christian Biographies
For the last two years we have been researching and writing biographies of Jewish Christians who lived in the last 2000 years. The goal of this long term project is two-fold: First, to show to our people that faith in Jesus as Lord and Messiah is not something new, there have always been prominent Jews and Rabbis who believed in him; and second, to encourage believers today by demonstrating the faithfulness of God to his covenants and his promises to Israel throughout history.
The stories are edifying as you see the challenges and oppositions the believers faced and the price they were willing to pay. They are also a testimony to God’s faithfulness. There has always been a remnant of those who have ‘not bowed their knees to Baal’. Since the days of Jesus on earth, there have always been those of the people of Israel who have bowed before him and confessed him as their Lord. The history of the Jewish nation is a tale of God’s faithfulness and loving-kindness.
Rivka has been heading this long-term project in her spare time. She is researching this history, century by century, exploring the stories of those whom God, against all human odds, spoke to and blessed with saving faith in the Messiah of Israel. The stories are often miraculous – young people, raised to hate the very name of “the crucified one’ and surrounded by those who would destroy them in his name, come to love him and give up all things for his name’s sake.
They were mighty for God’s kingdom – the first Pardu and Chinese translations of the Bible were done by Jewish Christians, pioneer missionaries; there are Jewish equivalents or parallels to the well-known David Livingstone, George Műller, William Carey, Adoniram Judson, John Wesley and Aimee Semple McPherson; Jewish bishops, pastors and evangelists; scientists, doctors and medical missionaries; translators, writers and teachers. They came from the Promised Land, Europe and England and the Middle East, from orthodox homes, yeshivas and synagogues and all strata of society. Many paid the terrible price of alienation from their families and people, others had the joy of seeing their entire families come to faith. The stories are diverse, but all testify to God’s power and his faithfulness to the remnant that is called by his name.
Our website reflects just a small part of the research being conducted. A database is growing and now holds several hundred names of Jewish believers from the early days of the church through to modern days in Israel. Each name is a testimony of God’s miracle work.
Many scholars and interested people in the Messianic movement have compiled lists of outstanding Jewish believers. HaGefen’s research is unique in several aspects: first, we seek to compile as comprehensive a database as is possible, basing our research on original missionary reports, articles and research done by 18th and 19th century missionary historians. Second, we are producing this in Hebrew. Third, we emphasize the local church, providing Israeli believers with their own unique history.
Each article written for the website provides a brief biographical sketch and a list of resources on the same individual, whether articles and books written by him, or those written about him. Where links are available to literature found on the internet, these are provided so that anyone who is interested may delve deeper into the stories provided. This project has been a great encouragement to the staff of HaGefen, and fortification to our faith. We do indeed have a cloud of witnesses who have gone before us. May we be found worthy to follow in their footsteps. You can read some of these biographies in English on our website at: www.ha-gefen.org.il |
