Sharing the gospel with Jews

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: Today is Tuesday, August 6th. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day. Good morning. I’m Lindsay Mast.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. Coming next on The World and Everything in It: A new leader for the evangelistic group Jews for Jesus.

Israel’s war with Hamas and reports of rising anti-semitic incidents have brought new challenges for the Messianic Jews who work with Jews for Jesus.

MAST: The group began more than half a century ago, in San Francisco. Audio here with a Jews for Jesus Leader in Israel, courtesy of TBN Israel.

AUDIO: At the end of the Jesus Movement a lot of those that came to faith in the states as part of the Jesus movement were hippies, a lot of the hippies were Jewish people, and hence Jews for Jesus began.

Those Jewish hippies handed out tracts and practiced street preaching.

SOUND: [STREET CORNER SINGING]

EICHER: Today, Jews for Jesus also leads aid and community outreach efforts. But the group remains controversial in the Jewish community. The Guardian called co-founder Moishe Rosen one of the most detested figures in some Jewish circles. Critics say it’s misleading to tell people they can be both Jewish and Christian, and take issue with evangelizing Jewish people.

Audio here from YouTuber Rudy Rochman:

RUDY ROCHMAN: It is extremely offensive to try to proselytize and try to force or manipulate or trick Jews into converting to Christianity. We don’t want to accept Jesus as a part of our tradition. It’s your right to keep it for you. But keep it away from us.

MAST: But Jews for Jesus continues its work—and the task hasn’t changed in the 10 months since the beginning of Israel’s war with Hamas.

Joining us now to talk about how the war has affected Jews for Jesus’ evangelism efforts is Aaron Abramson. He recently became the group's new CEO–the first Israeli to lead the organization. Aaron, good morning.

AARON ABRAMSON: Good morning.

MAST: Tell me about evangelism in Israel since October 7th? How has the war affected those efforts?

ABRAMSON: Yeah, so when October 7 happened, and you have to understand, everybody was so in shock. It was just traumatic across the board. But our team pivoted very quickly and said, “What would Yeshua, what would Jesus do?” “How can we serve Israelis right now that are hurting and in need?” Suddenly things were closed down, or people were, you know. Kids weren't able to go back to school right away. People were being displaced, because they were, they were actually moving from their locations where they were living. If they were living up north, they were living near the Gaza border, so suddenly they were in hotels, displaced, and so we started delivering meals like 5,000, 6,000, 7,000 meals a week to people who are in need. And we were partnering with other organizations like Samaritan's Purse and other ministries in Israel to do that. When people experience something like this, everything looks bleak. Well, then they start looking around and they start asking, “What's out there? What's going on?” Because some of this doesn't make sense to people. “Why do people hate us so much?” Or “Why are people so against us?” And so that's been one of those perceptions that has led a lot of people to start asking deeper questions. And so that's something that we positioned ourselves to be able to do, because it's not just about providing for people's physical needs, as well.

MAST: How have things changed because of the war, if at all, in places outside of Israel?

ABRAMSON: People in a lot of different places who are Jewish are starting to feel less confident being public about their Jewishness. They felt more ostracized or more demonized as a result of being either Israeli or even just Jewish. And so we've extended that invitation to Israelis and to Jewish people just to come in. And we were hosting events in the evening just to have people come talk, have a free cup of coffee and a baked good. Jews for Jesus is not a political entity or political organization. We realize that that's a complicated issue, but we love people, and we know that Jesus loved people. And Jesus had a heart for His own people, and so, you know, he came to the lost sheep of Israel. He came to His people. So we really want to provide that space for Jewish people to come to feel safe, to be able to engage with other Jewish people, whatever they may believe. And in the midst of that, many of them are getting to hear more about the hope that we have as Messianic Jews, and what Jesus has done for us and how he's impacted our lives directly.

MAST: The Anti Defamation League reports that there has been a substantial rise in incidents of anti semitism since October 7. Can you speak a little bit more about what you've observed on that front?

ABRAMSON: Sometimes people misconstrue the fact that they think, “Well, people who believe in Jesus believe X, and they're against us.” And what we want to show is Jesus, you know, came to his own, he loved his own people. He gave His life, not just for the Jewish people, but for the world. And so Christians and Jewish people both are beneficiaries of that. And we want them to be able to hear that and meet other Christians and hear from other Christians. So another piece of what we're doing is really encouraging Christians to just reach out to their local Jewish friends and say, “Hey, I'm praying for you right now.” Even something small like that can make a world of a difference, especially right now, during this tough time.

MAST: How do you encourage hope among your employees and the people you're helping when things feel dark?

ABRAMSON: We go back to the gospel. I don't know exactly what the future holds, only God does. But I do believe that division and hatred and wars make us ask those deep questions like, “Who are you, God, and who am I? And why is this happening?” You look at Israel and the exile, and you look at the history through the Hebrew Scriptures, and you see how challenging different times were. But how it also would bring men and women back to the Lord and back on their knees. In a sense, it's drawn us back onto our knees to say, “God, you save us.” We actually feel an immense sense of purpose, and our mission is really boosted - it encourages us to really get out and do the work that we do, even in deeper ways.

MAST: Aaron Abramson is the CEO of Jews for Jesus. Thank you for giving us your time, Aaron.

ABRAMSON: Thank you so much, Lindsay, for having me, and it's been a pleasure.

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