Finding Jewish People is a short series about where we
might be already crossing paths with Jewish people and where might rub elbows
with them. Many times we think Jewish people only live in New York, Hollywood,
and Israel but the live in all parts of the world and throughout all of
America.
The first time I met a Jewish person (that I know of) it
was not what I would have expected. He was young, clean cut. He a modern,
Southside fade hair cut. His kind a hip, urban looking young man. He was
Hispanic and that was a shock. I would have never known that he was a
practitioner of Judaism except he was incarcerated and he asked me about how to
write a chaplain to make sure that his meals would be kosher. He was
a convert from Catholicism. He was nothing like the T.V. type of Jewish people.
He was seemingly normal. He told jokes. We talked about how you could make a
tamale that was Kosher. Pork which is popular was a complete no-no. I thought
of him as a Hasidic Hispanic, although he did not Hasidic. He had a Spanish
surname. He was not a Cohen or anything ending in a “berg” or “stein”. He did
not fit the mold. The first Jewish person I met did not look the part, yet here
was faithful and Torah observant from what I could tell.
I met the second Jewish person of my life in the same place.
Behind bars. This man was not Hispanic but a large, lumbering, white skinned
Jewish man. He was Messianic Jew. His family was Jewish. More importantly
mother was Jewish. Towering at a height well over six feet he was huge. He had
broad shoulders and a big belly, big hands and big feet. A mammoth of a man
with a deep voice this man did not seem the typical picture. He read, spoke and
wrote fluent Hebrew. He had a Bible in which both Testaments were in Hebrew.
Something I had never seen before. He was greatly disturbed that the prison
unit he was at had written his name and id number on it. That was a great
tragedy to him. And huge injustice. I could not understand at the time as I had
no clue about a yad (a pointer for the Torah). He was upset not because it was
personal property but God’s words. And those are important.
The first two Jewish people I met were indistinguishable
from people I met would bump into at a Costco or a Wal-Mart. They were pretty
normal. I would have had no clue that would have kept Shabbat or that they
would prefer lochs and bagels to bacon and eggs. They were a great deal like my
neighbors and my family members. They were real and human, just like me.
There is a great chance that you have met a Jewish person.
Or maybe you have a family member that married one. A Jewish man, woman, or
child may actually live in your neighborhood, pass you in the grocery store or
pump gas across from you at the gas station. Jewish people are part of the
American community and the fabric of the world. That begs the question, “What
can you and I do to reach them for Messiah Jesus?” First, begin to pray. Pray
that God would open their hearts and our eyes. That Yahweh would divinely
coordinate an opportunity for you to speak to a Jewish person about Christ and
that they would be receptive o God speaking through you and the work of His
Spirit. Second, equip yourself with some resources from Tzedakah Ministries. They are
solid, biblically grounded, cross centered, easy to use resources that can help
you share with someone and will give you are greater confidence to do so. Tzedakah Ministries is a
huge help to people like you and me and is full of great helps, information and
resources. I can’t recommend them enough. They are like no other ministry that
ministers to and evangelizes Jewish people. And finally, be open to learning
new things. Loving Jewish people for Christ will open up a new world to you
that is rich and beautiful even though it was seemingly hidden to you before.
Opening up your heart and life to them will be a blessing in itself, but the
greater fruit will be seeming them come alive as they trust and follow Christ.
