In Depth:  Jewish evangelism

Daniel McIlhiney

I want to share a story with you that emphasises the importance of understanding Jesus’ Jewish context when speaking to your Jewish friends about Him.

I recently met with an elderly Jewish woman whose daughter was being baptised and she wanted to understand why. “How could she?” she asked me as I sat down. “How could she give up on her identity like that? I could never do that!”

Daniel McIlhiney

Two days before writing this from sunny North Carolina, a well-meaning friend asked me, “so, when did you convert?” This question still makes me bristle. Perhaps it shouldn’t.

I answer him, of course, and took it as the well meaning question that it was intended to be, but that word “convert” is not a word that I, or any other Jewish believers in Jesus that I know, feel comfortable with.

Ziggy Rogoff

There is something undeniably powerful about a personal testimony. It’s real, it’s living, and it carries the undeniable mark of God’s hand at work.

Recently, I had lunch with some Jewish friends who do not recognise Jesus as the Messiah. Instead of debating theology or trying to construct the perfect argument, I simply shared a testimony — Oli’s story. I didn’t have to persuade, argue, or convince. The testimony did the work for me, and it can for you too.

Daniel McIlhiney

In our Jewish scriptures, the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, we read about a series of men who speak on behalf of God. These are the prophets.

The prophets’ job was to communicate on behalf of God to people. A common motif at the start of these prophetic careers is the moment of commissioning - the moments when the prophet first encounters God in a unique way (often accompanied by a “vision”, e.g. Isaiah’s vision of God on His throne or Ezekiel’s vision of God on His chariot) through prayer. Each and every prophet spoke first with God before speaking with the people. Why was Isaiah in the temple after the death of Uzziah? To pray!

Daniel McIlhiney

Antisemitism is on the rise. We all know it; you know it and your Jewish friends certainly know it. In the first half of last year, there were a reported 1,978 antisemitic incidents (compared with 964 in the same period of 2023).

We have just had the festival of Hannukah, a festival which commemorates (amongst other things) the victory of the Jewish Maccabean rebels over the forces of the Seleucid Emperor, Atiochus IV Epiphanes. The revolt was prompted by the antisemitism of this deranged Emperor’s forces and, as Jews across the UK gathered to celebrate God’s provision in those days, conversations would have turned to antisemitism today.

Ziggy Rogoff

When sharing the gospel, we seek to contextualise without compromising, so that people can better understand concepts of sin, salvation and Messiah without being waylaid in unfamiliar ‘Christianese’. But we also remember that it is God who works through these interactions, and only He can save.

People bring their own attitudes into gospel interactions, ranging from hostile to friendly, and while their response is beyond our control, our commitment to godliness remains unwavering as we strive to make Jesus known. In fact, when people get mad with us it means something in their heart is moving.

Daniel McIlhiney

There are as many kinds of Jews as there are people. Some are religious and some are not, but like all other people Jews will bring assumptions to the reading of Scripture, to the concept of God and to the claims of Yeshua, Jesus.

For a Jewish person, religious or not, these assumptions are likely influenced, directly or indirectly, by the Tanakh, the Jewish Hebrew Bible. These are also the assumptions that Jesus Himself, along with His followers, held.