Calvary Road Baptist Church
“Why Jewish People Should Turn To Jesus”
“He is risen!”
That is the greeting believers in Jesus Christ most commonly voiced to each other in their encounters in the Roman world of the first and second centuries. That which most distinguished the Christian faith from the multitudes of idolatrous belief systems was the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. That is what Christendom celebrates annually on Easter Sunday. That is what believers in Jesus Christ have celebrated every week for 2000 years.
Most people of our day do not realize that for several decades following the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead on the third day, the overwhelming majority of those who believed in and followed the Lord Jesus Christ were Jewish Christians. From some 120 followers to more than 3000 Church members on the Day of Pentecost, with thousands upon thousands more coming to Christ and being added to the Church in the following weeks, upwards of 50,000 Jewish believers in Jesus Christ worshiped daily in the city of Jerusalem alone.[1]
When persecution drove Jewish believers out of the city of Jerusalem,[2] those scattered Jewish Christians initially reached other Jewish people with the Gospel message, significantly adding to the number of Jewish Christians early on in the Christian era. Then, in those Gentile majority and Jewish minority cities they had fled to, Gentiles came to know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior in ever-increasing numbers.
Gentile converts were initially among the God-fearing Gentiles who worshipped in Jewish synagogues. Eventually, more and more Gentiles were reached with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ until the Christian faith was embraced by a great majority of Gentile believers and an ever-diminishing minority of Jewish believers.
From the outset, Jewish believers in Jesus Christ worshipped their Savior on Sundays, the first day of the week, to commemorate His resurrection. On Saturdays, the Jewish Sabbath, they typically attended synagogues and used the opportunities presented to them to present the claims of Christ to their Jewish kinsmen. This resulted in many Jewish converts to Christ over the years.
Frantic to stop their synagogue worshipers from converting to Christ, the rabbis began a pattern of beginning every synagogue worship service by pronouncing a curse upon Christ and those who worshiped Him. This action achieved its desired effect by stopping the forays into Jewish synagogues by Christians searching for converts for the Master.
Ironically, their action, coupled with tragic developments in the Christian community, created an animosity in the Christian community that developed over time into Christian anti-Semitism.[3] The Jewish reaction against their Messiah, and their denial of His glorious resurrection, does not negate the Abrahamic Covenant and God’s gracious selection of them to be His chosen nation.
God's plan has ever been to provoke the Jewish people to jealousy by our relationship with Him through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. God’s judicial blinding of His people does not set aside any Christian’s responsibility to take the Gospel to the Jew first. And the Apostle Paul’s heart for the Jewish people should be reflected in our attitudes toward them. Romans 11.3:
“For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh.”
It is for this reason that our Church has always engaged in Jewish missions, formerly with our friend the late A. C. Eduards, who was affiliated with The Friends Of Israel Gospel Ministry in Bellmawr, NJ, and presently with Peter and Jean Ard[4] in Latin America and Eugene and Olga Kozachenko in Ukraine.[5] But our involvement should not end with Jewish missionaries' financial and prayer support. We should also actively engage in witnessing to our Jewish friends, neighbors, and colleagues.
To that end, so you will have the opportunity to witness to Jewish people, I present twenty-five reasons why a Jewish person should consider the claims of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Savior of sinners:
First, BECAUSE JESUS IS JEWISH
You would be surprised to learn how many Jewish people do not realize that Jesus is Jewish. From various sources, books, and articles that Jewish Christians have written and recorded testimonies that can be found on YouTube, many Jewish Christians confess their astonishment at learning that Jesus of Nazareth, the Christian Savior, was Jewish.
Whether they be secular Jews who are not involved in the practice of any religion, or religious Jews involved in regular synagogue worship, many Jewish people have no awareness that the Christian Savior is Jewish. As amazing as that might seem to you to be, Jewish people sometimes live in such an isolated spiritual environment that many have no awareness that Jesus is a Jew.
Yet we know that Jesus most certainly is Jewish. The Gospel, according to Matthew, provides a genealogy of the Lord Jesus Christ from Abraham, the first Jew, to the Lord Jesus Christ’s stepfather, Joseph. Luke chapter 3, on the other hand, provides a genealogy that reaches from the Lord Jesus Christ’s mother, the Virgin Mary, through Abraham all the way back to the first man, Adam. Both genealogies attest that Jesus of Nazareth is most certainly a Jewish man.
Consider trusting Jesus Christ as your Savior if you are Jewish because Jesus Christ is Jewish.
Next, BECAUSE JESUS WORKED MIRACLES
Herbert Lockyer is the author of All The Miracles Of The Bible.[6] One chapter is devoted to the miracles in the Gospels. He mentions that it is impossible to calculate how many miracles Christ performed in that chapter since many of His miracles are recorded collectively. The Holy Spirit of God selected those miracles recorded in the Gospels for their spiritual value and teaching. That chapter alone is worth the price of the book.
Surprising to many, however, is the acknowledgment by not only the Jewish multitudes but also by the Jewish religious hierarchy, including His enemies, that Jesus worked many miracles, from giving sight to the blind, to healing the lame, to walking on water, to turning water into wine, to cleansing lepers, to raising the dead.[7]
Should not a Jewish person consider the faith claims of a Jewish worker of miracles?
Third, BECAUSE JESUS CAME FROM GOD
John 3.1 introduces us to a Jewish scholar named Nicodemus. He is described as “a ruler of the Jews.” “In this context, ἄrcwn (‘ruler, leader’) denotes a member of the Sanhedrin who has administrative authority,” “and a distinguished teacher.”[8]
Of particular interest to me is the opening remark of Nicodemus when he first spoke to the Lord Jesus Christ. He said,
“Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God.”
Who, we might ask, is “we”? Who, besides Nicodemus, knew that the Lord Jesus Christ was a teacher come from God? Was it Nicodemus and other Jewish Bible teachers? Was it Nicodemus and other members of the Jewish Sanhedrin? Was it Nicodemus and other members of the Jewish sect known as the Pharisees? We cannot be sure. But a group of Jewish religious leaders knew Jesus came from God.
Because a group of Jewish leaders, possibly teachers, possibly Pharisees, or perhaps members of the Sanhedrin, knew that Jesus came from God, should you not also consider that Jesus came from God?
Fourth, BECAUSE JESUS IS FROM THE TRIBE OF JUDAH
From Matthew 1.2 and Luke 3.33, we know that the Lord Jesus Christ is a direct descendant of the fourth son of Jacob, Judah, and the tribe named for him. How is that important? Genesis 49.10 contains the patriarch Jacob’s dying prediction that the Jewish Messiah would descend from the tribe of Judah.
Is that not significant enough to stir your interest in the claim that Jesus Christ is Israel’s Messiah and the Savior of mankind?
Fifth, BECAUSE JESUS IS OF THE HOUSE OF DAVID
Almost a thousand verses in the Bible mention David by name. He was Israel’s second and greatest king. He was the founder of a dynasty that would culminate in the Jewish Messiah’s reign over the theocratic kingdom. To him was the Davidic Covenant established by the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Do you think it was coincidental the Lord Jesus Christ was born of the house and lineage of David, with the blood right to be Israel’s king through His mother and the legal right to be king through His stepfather?
Can you tell me why there was no outcry from the Jewish community of the first century when John’s Revelation, less than a century after Christ’s crucifixion, resurrection from the dead, and ascension to the right hand of God on high, identified this same Jesus as “the Root of David” in Revelation 5.5 and recorded His claim “I am the root and offspring of David,” in Revelation 22.16?
Who else is qualified to be the Jews' ruler and exercise lordship over a Jewish person’s life?
Sixth, BECAUSE JESUS WAS BORN IN BETHLEHEM
I am persuaded many more Christians are aware of this prediction than most Jewish people, even religious Jewish people who study the Torah. Micah 5.2 predicts that the ruler of Israel will be born in Bethlehem.
This is a prophetic pronouncement about the birthplace of the Jewish Messiah. But this prediction cannot refer to David, since it was made centuries after his birth and death. Without disputation, the Lord Jesus Christ’s birthplace, shown in both Matthew 2 and Luke 2, is the town of Bethlehem.
You know of only two individuals born in Bethlehem, Israel’s great King David, the shepherd king, the sweet psalmist of Israel, and Israel’s much-anticipated ruler, the Messiah, according to the prophet Micah. Yet the Lord Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem.
Is that cause enough for you to consider the claims made in the New Testament about Jesus, the Jewish Messiah? It ought to be.
Seventh, BECAUSE JESUS IS WITHOUT SIN
Following His baptism by His cousin John, the Lord Jesus Christ was tempted by the Devil in the wilderness for 40 days and nights. Yet through that time of temptation to sin, He did not sin.
Throughout His earthly ministry, baseless accusations were leveled against Him without evidence or proof. Attempts were made the night before His crucifixion to accuse Him of wrongdoing at the home of Caiaphas. Witnesses were gathered to testify against Him, but their efforts were thwarted by their failure to corroborate each other’s testimonies.[9] In reality, He had done no wrong.
The writer to the Hebrews twice asserted that Christ had done no wrong in Hebrews 4.15 and 9.28. Who do you know, and who have you ever heard of, who has committed not one act of sin? Not the Buddha. Not Mohammed. None of the Jewish patriarchs. Certainly not Israel’s greatest kings.
Should you not consider the Savior of sinful men’s souls, as the Savior of your sinful soul, the only Person ever to walk this earth who never sinned?
Eighth, BECAUSE JESUS IS THE ETERNAL SON OF GOD
Forty-six verses in the New Testament identify the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God, with many of those verses recording Him identifying Himself as the Son of God. I wish to take that a little bit farther. I would like to ask when Jesus became the Son of God?
The second Psalm is a messianic Psalm, and in verse seven, we find the Son of God’s statement implying how long He has been the Son of God. The verse reads,
“I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.”
Jehovah, speaking to the Son of God, is said to have stated,
“Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.”
We find wording similar to this in John 1.14:
“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”
It would take more time than I have to explain my conviction that the Son of God is the eternally begotten Son of God, and that He never became the Son of God. The question is, begotten when? In time, or eternity?
However, before you dismiss that Jesus is the eternal Son of God, is it not an important enough matter for you to investigate thoroughly?
Ninth, BECAUSE JESUS IS THE GOOD SHEPHERD
The words “good shepherd” are found three times in two verses in John chapter ten. There the Lord Jesus Christ identifies Himself as the “good shepherd” who gives “his life for the sheep” and knows and is known by His sheep.
Who else do you know of who is good, since the Bible accurately reads, “there is none that doeth good, no, not one,” describing everyone but Him who has ever lived? Who else could you trust to shepherd your soul since you have done as poor a job with your soul as I have?
Is this not a reason to consider the claims of Jesus Christ?
Tenth, BECAUSE JESUS IS THE GREAT SHEPHERD
Hebrews 13.20 reads,
“Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant.”
Does not the fact that “the God peace” raised the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead, this One described as “the great shepherd of the sheep,” qualify Him to be the shepherd of your soul? He is “the good shepherd.” He is “the great shepherd of the sheep.” The question is, are you one of His sheep that you will hear His voice and follow Him and be given by Him eternal life?
Eleventh, BECAUSE JESUS IS THE CHIEF SHEPHERD
It is the Apostle Peter, the man directed by the Savior following His resurrection to “feed my sheep,” in John 21.16-17, who describes the anticipated returning Lord of glory as “the chief shepherd” who shall appear.
Using men called to the Gospel ministry to serve in His absence as under shepherds, would you not reflect on the personal benefit in time and eternity of knowing as your personal Savior “the chief shepherd”? What better shepherd of your soul can you have than “the chief shepherd”?
Twelfth, BECAUSE JESUS IS GREATER THAN ABRAHAM
Christians and Jews identify Abraham as “father Abraham.” He is referred to in that way twice in the Old Testament and seven times in the New Testament, acknowledging the prominent place he occupies in God’s plan of the ages.[10] After all, the Abrahamic Covenant that God established with father Abraham is foundational to understanding God’s redemptive purpose.
Yet the Lord Jesus Christ is greater than Abraham, John 8.56 and 58:
56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.
58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
As lofty a position as Abraham occupies in the Jewish mind as the first Hebrew, does it not merit your consideration of Jesus Christ that He is greater than Abraham? After all, not only does the Lord Jesus predate Abraham, but Abraham was excited in anticipation of Christ’s future day.
Thirteenth, BECAUSE JESUS IS GREATER THAN MOSES
Moses was one of the greatest of the Jewish people. To him God gave the Law and the design for the Tabernacle. He led the Exodus from Egyptian slavery. He led the first celebration of Passover. He led the children of Israel to the edge of the Promised Land.
Yet the Lord Jesus Christ is greater than Moses was. How so? The writer to the Hebrews points out in chapter three of that letter that the builder of the house is worthy of more honor than the house that is built, the Creator is worthy of more honor than the creation, and that Christ is the Son over His own house.[11]
As important as Moses is to the Jewish people, should you not then consider Christ, Who is greater than Moses?
Fourteenth, BECAUSE JESUS IS GREATER THAN SOLOMON
In Matthew 12.42 and Luke 11.31, the Lord Jesus Christ spoke of the Queen of Sheba coming to
“hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.”
Would you challenge that Christ is greater than Solomon? For all of Solomon’s wisdom, he was seduced by idolatrous women. For all of Solomon’s wisdom, he set the stage for the ruin of his nation. The Lord Jesus Christ, on the other hand, is greater than Solomon because He saves from sin and does not yield to temptations as Solomon did.
Would you consider a greater than Solomon? Should you consider a greater than Solomon?
Fifteenth, BECAUSE JESUS IS GREATER THAN JONAS
The men of Nineveh repented at the preaching of the prophet Jonah. We read that in the book of Jonah, and the Savior reminded His followers of that in Matthew 12.41 and Luke 11.32.
Yet the Lord Jesus Christ is greater than the prophet Jonah. How so? Christ is greater than Jonah, in His nature, in His person, and in His mission. Jonah worked no miracles to authenticate His preaching, while Christ performed too many miracles to number. Jonah was reluctant to serve God, but Christ was delighted to serve the Father. Jonah lived out his life and died, while Christ died on the cross and conquered death to live forevermore as our resurrected and glorified Savior.
Is not this Christ worthy of your consideration?
Sixteenth, BECAUSE JESUS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS
There is no doubt that He is the king of the Jews. He has the right to rule as king owing to His stepfather’s lineage, according to Matthew. He has the right to rule according to His mother’s bloodline, according to Luke. He was recognized as the king of the Jews by the wise men from the East, by fulfilling a prophet’s prediction, by Pontius Pilate, and by His own testimony.[12]
If you are Jewish, and one is qualified to be the king of the Jews by birth and lineage and recognized as the king of the Jews by knowledgeable men searching for Him, should you not consider bowing before Him as your king?
Seventeenth, BECAUSE JESUS IS THE KING OF KINGS
Is it not interesting that both the Apostle Paul and the Apostle John identify the Lord Jesus Christ, long after His crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension to heaven, as the King of Kings?[13] Why would they do that?
One had been a scholar, while the other was a young fisherman. But they both were Jewish men well-versed in the Old Testament Scriptures. Additionally, they were both witnesses to Christ’s post-resurrection appearances. Finally, they had both been blessed by God to see heavenly visions. In other words, they were soundly convinced.
Should you not seriously consider the claims of two reputable and upright Jewish men of good standing who insist that Jesus Christ is the King of Kings? It would be wise of you to do so.
Eighteenth, BECAUSE JESUS IS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD
Five verses in John chapter one refer to light, referring to the Lord Jesus Christ. In John 8.12 and 9.15, the Lord Jesus Christ claimed to be “the light of the world.”
Consider what happens to people who trust Christ as their Savior. Reflect upon regions and cultures over the last 2000 years where Christ, the light of the world, has been proclaimed, and what has happened to those regions where Christ was once preached but is preached no more. There can be no doubt that He is the light of the world and that individuals see and comprehend spiritual reality after they have turned to Christ as they never understood it before.
Without Christ, there is spiritual blindness that can never be remedied. Is that not reason enough to consider the claims of Christ?
Nineteenth, BECAUSE JESUS IS THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE
Remember John chapter eleven, and that occasion when the Lord Jesus Christ raised His friend Lazarus from the dead, though he had been dead for four days? Because of that, the religious leaders of the Jews were more determined than ever to plot His murder, all the while admitting that He had raised Lazarus from the dead.[14]
I would like to point out what the Savior said to Martha in John 11.25. She had indicated that she believed in a future resurrection in response to the Lord telling her, “Thy brother shall rise again.” She did not realize that resurrection and life were not events or even facts. They were Christ! He said,
“I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.”[15]
Does not an individual who makes this claim deserve serious investigation? Especially someone who has, Himself, risen from the dead? And, on top of that, a Jewish man?
Twentieth, BECAUSE JESUS IS THE ONLY SAVIOR OF SINFUL SOULS
Who else have you ever heard of who claimed to be the Savior of sinners, who is said by others to be the Savior of sinners, and who has demonstrated by an abundance of radically altered lives to be the Savior of sinners?
Christ is the only explanation for the Apostle Paul, formerly the Christian faith’s most dangerous adversary. Christ is the only explanation for James, the pastor of the Church in Jerusalem and the Savior’s half-brother, the greatest skeptic of all time. Two Jewish men converted to Christ.
Who but Christ explains the transformation of John Newton, transformed from a British slave ship captain to the author of “Amazing Grace.” An evil Gentile man converted to Christ.
You don’t think the only person who ever lived who claimed to be the Savior, and who is touted by others as the Savior, who happens to be the Jewish Savior, deserves your serious consideration?
Twenty-First, BECAUSE JESUS IS THE ONLY CONQUEROR OF SIN AND DEATH
Who else do you know who rose from the dead? Who else do you know who has conquered sin? Acts 4.12 says it all, the words of a Jewish man named Simon Peter:
“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
If you are not willing to investigate the claims of Christ, you are not a serious person. You are not a thoughtful person. You are not a responsible person. I make those assertions because there is no other Savior.
Twenty-Second, BECAUSE JESUS IS THE ONLY GUARANTOR OF VICTORY
Who have you heard of that conquered death? Who have you heard of who never sinned? Who have you heard of who raised others who were dead? Who have you heard of who cleansed lepers and healed the crippled and the lame? Who have you heard of who put demons to flight and defeated the Devil?
What does this mean? It means the Lord Jesus Christ is the only guarantor of victory. Search all you want. There is no other Savior.
Twenty-Third, BECAUSE JESUS IS THE ONLY WAY TO GOD
In three passages in God’s Word, God is described as “a consuming fire.” What does that mean? Among other things, it means you have no access to Him on your own. He is too holy, and His is unapproachable holiness.
Additionally, God is too vast, immense, powerful, and everything for you or anyone else to approach Him. For that reason, we need a mediator. That mediator is Jesus Christ. There is no other.
Not only did Jesus say,
“I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me,”
John 14.6, but the Apostle Paul wrote,
“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,”
First Timothy 2.5.
Jesus Christ, the Jewish Messiah, the eternal Son of the living God, is the unique Savior of sinful men’s souls. Apart from Him there is no salvation.
Twenty-Fourth, BECAUSE JESUS IS THE ONLY SATISFACTION FOR SIN’S PUNISHMENT
God is righteous. His righteousness demands that sins be punished. But for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary, the only way for any sinner’s sins to be properly dealt with in a manner that satisfies God’s righteous demands is the lake of fire for all eternity.
But Jesus Christ’s soul was given an offering for sin,[16] and His blood was shed to wash sins away.[17] Thus, only when Jesus Christ is one’s Savior is God’s righteous demand that your sins be punished satisfied. He is the propitiation, which is to say the satisfaction for our sins, First John 2.2.
That ought to be motivation for any sinner to consider the claims of Christ since without Him as your Savior you will suffer the eternal torment of the damned without God’s righteous demands for your punishment ever being satisfied.
Finally, BECAUSE JESUS CHRIST IS THE MEANS BY WHICH GOD FULFILLS HIS PROMISE TO ABRAHAM
God promised to bless Abraham. He promised to make him a great nation. He promised to make his name great. And to, in turn, bless many others. All the nations of the earth were promised to be blessed in fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham, the first Jewish man and the patriarch of the Jewish people.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the means by which God’s covenant promise to Abraham will be fulfilled. When the Lord Jesus Christ establishes His millennial kingdom at the time of His Second Coming, the Palestinian Covenant will be fulfilled. When the Lord Jesus Christ reigns in His millennial kingdom, following the establishment of that kingdom at the time of His Second Coming, He will be seated on the throne of His father David, fulfilling the Davidic Covenant. And by His death on the cross of Calvary, providing for the salvation of His own, He fulfills the promise of the New Covenant.
On Easter Sunday, we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead a bit more emphatically than we usually do from week to week. But our Sunday worship as Christians is a commemoration of Christ’s resurrection.
It was recognized by the earliest Christians and should be recognized by Christians today. Sadly, events have unfolded that created a climate of hostility toward Jewish people, resulting in them having a distorted view of the Christian faith.
However, there is no valid reason for any Christian to harbor ill will toward any Jewish person. And there is every reason for Christians of our day, you and me, to seek the salvation of our Jewish friends, family members, colleagues, and neighbors.
After all, our Savior is a Jewish man, the God-Man, Israel’s Messiah and King, and the King of kings. Let us celebrate His resurrection as we pray for and seek to introduce our Jewish friends to Him.
__________
[1] Acts 2.41, 47
[2] Acts 8.1
[3] https://israelmyglory.org/article/an-uneasy-tension-jews-and-christians-through-the-ages-part-two/
[4] https://www.ibjm.org/
[5] https://www.jem-missions.com/
[6] Herbert Lockyer, All The Miracles of the Bible, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1961)
[7] John 2.7-10, 23; 3.2; 6.2, 26; 9.16; 11.47; Acts 2.22
[8] Lidija Novakovic, John 1-10: A Handbook On The Greek Text - BHGNT, (Waco, Texas: Baylor University Press, 2020), page 73, D. A. Carson, The Gospel According To John (PNTC), (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1991), page 186.
[9] Matthew 26.60
[10] Ge 32:9; Jos 24:3; Lu 1:73; 16:24, 30; Joh 8:53, 56; Ac 7:2; Ro 4:12
[11] Hebrews 3.26
[12] Zechariah 9.9; Matthew 2.1-11; John 19.14, 19; John 18.37
[13] 1 Timothy 6.15; Revelation 17.14; 19.16
[14] Luke 11.53
[15] John 11.25-26
[16] Isaiah 53.10
[17] Romans 3.25; 9.22; 10.18
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