In Depth:  Jewish evangelism

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.