Messianics Still Outcasts PART 2
IT’S WORTH CONSIDERING
As my previous article illustrated, just because Israel is a democracy doesn’t mean there is freedom of religion, especially if you’re a messianic Jew. In fact, messianic Jews are frequently harassed by religious organizations with the goal of making the lives of the messianic believers as difficult as possible. One such organization, which I have previously written about, is Yad L’Achim, which collects information about messianic Jews and passes it on to the Interior Ministry. Interior Ministry officials then summon them for questioning and turn their lives into a bureaucratic hell. Messianics will then find themselves the subject of plots, schemes, false rumors, and attacks on their businesses. Keep in mind that those being persecuted are Israeli citizens who pay taxes, love their country, serve in the military, and educate their children on Zionist principles.

AS I SEE IT
Many people in Israel are committed to the idea that Judaism and Christianity do not and could never go hand in hand. They cannot accept the idea that Messianic Judaism is Judaism in every respect simply because their worldview denies this possibility. I find it interesting that in the first three centuries after Christ, many Jews believed in Yeshua’s (Jesus) Messiahship in one form or another. From their writings, many of them apparently found it difficult to imagine how a person could possibly believe in Yeshua without first being Jewish, since the claims that Yeshua that Yeshua is the Messiah are found, in their opinion, in the Tenakh (Jewish Bible).

This is precisely the situation represented in Acts 15. The Church was, at that time, almost completely comprised of Jewish believers. The major topic of discussion at the Jerusalem Council was what to do with the Gentile believers who were coming into the fold. How things have changed! Now the Church is trying to figure out what to do with the Jewish believers coming to faith in Yeshua. Sadly, for the most part, the Gentile Church hasn’t done a lot better in integrating believing Jews than religious Jews have done in Israel.
I realize that the Jew/Gentile unification issue may be unfamiliar to many of you, especially if you do not live in a major Jewish population center. For some us, it may take a while to change our orientation from living in a totally “Christianized” world where Jewish people, saved or lost, are not even an afterthought. When most Christians hear the word “unity,” they think in terms of ending denominational or racial differences. The last thing on their mind is unity between Jewish and Gentile believers. This is why I am offering the companion book for my BECOMING ONE series for a reduced price of $6.95 for a limited time. It will introduce you to a subject that is close to God’s heart and should be close to ours.

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ON THE LIGHTER SIDE
Broken pencils are pointless.