How Jews Can Embrace True Christianity

As we get older, most of us add titles or accomplishments to ourselves we are proud of, and we want our life to matter and count for something. We also want a good relationship with God. I recently met someone who is the epitome of those, his name is Leor.

This spring my Wife and I toured Israel with a group from our church. Led by our Senior Pastor, and organized and handled by a tour company who provided a local tour guide. Our guide had many titles and accomplishments, and who wants his life to matter and make a difference. His name is Leor, a Jewish Israeli. Some of his titles or accomplishments include Israeli Military Commander, Police Officer, husband and father, church leader, heart transplant recipient, and my favorite (and his): Messianic Jew. Yeshua Ha Mashiach (Jesus The Messiah) is his Lord and Savior.

Leor wants his salvation story told because it is an incredible lesson for us non-Jewish Christians, and possibly a “key” to introducing Jesus as Messiah to other Jews. (I’m not a Jewish expert, just relating what I do know, and learned from Leor.)

Leor explained to us many Jews consider (some are even taught) that Christians are unloving disingenuous hypocrites. To them, we have integrated so much worldliness into us that we are phony Christians, basically ungodly except on Sunday mornings. Those perceptions mostly stem from the holocaust where millions of Jews were killed by “Christians” during that period. Nazi officials killed Jews on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, while on Sunday they went to Christian churches. Correspondingly, civilian “Christians” stood by those six days a week allowing it to happen. Guilty of murdering Jews by association and un-obstructionism.

To Jewish people, we Christians are the “whitewashed tombs” Jesus spoke of in Matthew 23:27, not them or their religious leaders. We get a coat of fresh white paint on Sunday morning, but inside are full of dead bones. Ironic, but understandable.

So how then did Leor become a Jesus Christ believing Jew? By the love of a true Christian. That genuine love shown him led to discussions such as “Leor, those people in Germany you are angry at were not true Christians. True Christians love others and would lay down their life for another,not look away.” Leor came to realize true Christianity is patterned after Jesus the Messiah, who came in grace, truth, and love. Those three define a true Christian, and should pour out of us if we say we are a Christian. Here is a closer look at those three:

Grace: Everyone has sinned, and because of those sins, fall short of knowing and pleasing God. (Romans 3:23). Sacrifices, fasting, tithing, or righteous living does not completely satisfy with finality the judicial requirements of sin, nor restore our relationship with God. In Luke 18:11-14 the person who did those things according to the Law, was not called righteous, but the one who humbly called himself a sinner. Recognizing our sin, then repenting of our sin brings grace from a merciful God through the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus.

Truth: Grace is only temporary, and somewhat ineffective if there is not truth. The gospel truth is this: Jesus shed His blood and died on the cross to pay the price that must be paid for sins. He did this only for humbled and repentant sinners, one time for all sins (past, present, and future) for those who believe He did. And those who do both of those (repent and believe), will spend eternity with Him, and receive the indwelling Holy Spirit as a helper and guide to truth during the remaining time here on earth. (John 16:7-13) Relationship with God is restored.

Love: Love God with everything you have, and love others as yourself. We tend to forget those two greatest commandments in Matthew 22:36-40. Jesus came and died and rose again because of His love for us. He died in our place (paid the penalty of our sins) so we could live, and to restore the relationship between God and us that our sin broke, see Romans 5:8. Jesus focused on loving God, and loving others…so should we, and remember, Jesus loved us even though we were still sinners and we didn’t deserve His love. Love is the key for Jesus, and for us too. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13:2-10 without love, we are nothing. In fact, look up and study that passage, it tells us how to love others, especially Jewish people.

The Jews have gotten a bad rap because many think they killed Jesus or at least stood by and allowed His murder (similar to the bad wrap of Christians during the holocaust), but consider this: John 10:17-18 tells us Jesus died willingly from obedience to the Father, and from love for us. His death was divinely appointed. It’s true most Jews reject Jesus as the Messiah, and we look down on them from their closed-mindedness, but they can remedy that, and we should lovingly help and pray they do. I am thankful Jesus died, because He died in my place, and I have new life in Him – which was proven when He rose from the dead three days later. Any Jewish person can too, ask Leor.

Love restores relationships, like God’s relationship with us because of Jesus. We should show that love to others too, especially to Jews, and allow it to restore our relationships with them too (even if we have a clouded notion they don’t deserve it), because Jesus did, see Romans 5:8 again.

God still dearly loves His Chosen People, the Jews, and desires every one of them be saved by the shed blood of Jesus, see John 14:6. I can think of little else that would please God more, than for us true Christians to show Jewish people Jesus through grace, truth, and especially love, so they can realize for themselves Yeshua ha Mashiach (Jesus their Messiah).