17 minute read
A LUTHERAN JEW FOR JESUS
Steve Cohen
A Sign
A funny thing happened to me on my way to begin law school in 1972. I was standing on a hill in Seattle, Washington when a man in a big black Lincoln Continental drove up. He got out of the car, walked up to me and somehow knew that I was Jewish. “God sent me here to talk with you,” he said. “You are to study the Bible, become a believer in Jesus as your Messiah. For your mission in life will be to bring the gospel to the Jewish people!” He got back in the car and drove away. My first though was, “That is Meshugganeh (Yiddish for crazy), whoever heard of a Jewish person believing in Jesus?”
On December 23, 1973, in Tacoma, Washington I received God’s gift of salvation through the three-year witness of a Lutheran friend. My late wife, Jan, was an organist in a Lutheran Church and I tagged along as a brand-new believer. During a Sunday School class, I asked this question, “If you have a friend who does not believe in Jesus yet, how do you begin the conversation?” One of the members of that study stood and said, “Mr. Cohen, we are Lutheran, we don’t do that sort of thing!” Why not, I thought?
Reticence in Witnessing to Jewish People
I soon discovered that as a response to the Holocaust, many Christians have eschewed witnessing to Jewish people for fear that there might be backlash. Some have even gone so far as to bolster their non-witnessing by claiming that since the Jewish people are God’s chosen people, they do not need faith in Jesus for eternal salvation. They already have it. While there is indeed a huge surge in overt anti-Semitism in the world today, I propose that the highest form of anti-Semitism is the silence of the Church in sharing the saving message of the gospel with Jewish people. If we take Jesus at face value, then his words in John 14:6 say it all: He said, ““I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”1
I grew up knowing keenly that I was Jewish. My parents were Jewish, my grandparents were Jewish, I was born Jewish. There was never a time in my life when I did not know that I was Jewish though I underappreciated my heritage. After I became a believer in Jesus, I began to rediscover my Jewish roots. That led me into the ancient world of the Bible, Jewish life, the challenges in Israel, and the struggles against anti-Semitism. I began reading with intentionality both the Tenakh (Old Testament) and New Testament to understand what God was calling us to do. Those early years of faith brought new understandings that opened my eyes to the need and urgency for reaching the lost sheep of Israel.
What Does It Mean to Be Jewish?
This is not as easy a question as it may appear. If you ask three rabbis, you will get five different opinions. Some say it is if you have a Jewish mother (majority view), others if you have a Jewish father (minority view), and still others use the religious test: whether you follow Judaism in one of its major branches. Still others might use the cultural view, or perhaps the bagels, lox and cream cheese test.
But what does God say about all this? We know from the biblical record that God called Abraham to leave his family and homeland to go to the place that God would show him. He did so at age 75. The LORD said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you" (Genesis 12:1-3). The choosing of Abraham and his descendants was for a specific purpose (read mission): to be a light to the Gentiles lost in idolatry that they turn to the one true living God.
The Jewish Festivals
Jewish life is framed by a cycle of biblical festivals. As in many Christian churches, there are those who attend only at Christmas and Easter, and in the same way many Jewish people attend only during major Jewish festivals. The festivals that govern religious life today are outlined in Leviticus 23. The first festival, held weekly, is given the highest place within Jewish life. It is known as Shabbat, the Sabbath. Leviticus 23:3 reads, “There are six days when you may work, but the seventh day is a day of sabbath rest, a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; wherever you live, it is a sabbath to the Lord.”
The Sabbath begins at sundown on Friday and runs through sundown of the following day, a time when the family comes together. The Sabbath is a time of joy, change, rest and reflection. It is also a time of worship, studying the scriptures, and reflecting upon God, our creator. A festive occasion, the Sabbath is welcomed as a bride, or as the “Queen Sabbath.”2
The first of the annual festivals in the religious calendar falls in the springtime, around Easter, and is known as Pesach (Passover). This eight-day festival is really three festivals combined into one eight-day period: the Feast of the Passover Lamb, the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Feast of First Fruits. The Festival of the Passover Lamb commemorates the exodus event. A firstborn lamb is sacrificed, and its blood poured upon the door frames of Jewish homes. This anointing delivered the Jewish people from the grip of the tenth plague, the slaying of the firstborn, and brought them freedom from the bondage and slavery they suffered under Pharaoh. Besides commemorating the exodus, Passover is also known as the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For eight days, Jewish people rid their homes of all forms of leaven, such as cookies, cakes and breads, and only the unleavened bread, usually matzoh, is eaten.
The third festival celebrated during this eight-day period is known as the Feast of First Fruits. Leviticus 23:9-11 reads, “The LORD said to Moses, ‘Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain you harvest. He is to wave the sheaf before the LORD so it will be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath.’”
Passover is celebrated in the home. The family gathers to commemorate the exodus through the feast of the Passover Seder and the singing of traditional songs. As believers in Jesus, we can gain insight into the sacrament of Holy Communion by understanding what was happening in the Last Supper, which was the Passover meal.
Fifty days after Passover comes Shavout, or Pentecost. Its name means weeks, because we mark seven cycles of weeks from the seventh day of Passover until the day we celebrate Shavout. This holiday is doubly significant. First, it celebrates the harvest by the offering of the first fruits of the wheat harvest. Synagogues are decorated with flowers to commemorate the harvest. And it also remembers the giving of the Ten Commandments to Israel on Mt. Sinai. But within the galut, or exile (Jewish people not living in Israel), the agricultural element of Shavuot is diminished. In American synagogues, this festival is used as a time for confirmation. The children who are confirmed, or initiated, into the Jewish fold are regarded as “first fruits,” offered on the altar of God in honor of Israel’s covenant on Mt. Sinai. It is commemorated by the consecration of Jewish youth to Torah.
Rosh HaShanna, the Feast of Trumpets, usually falls in mid-September. Leviticus 23:23-25 reads, “The LORD said to Moses, say to the Israelites: On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts. Do no regular work, but present an offering made to the LORD by fire.” According to Jewish tradition, the world was created on the first day of Tishre. While it is 2024 in the Gregorian calendar, in the Jewish calendar it is 5784 – going back to the traditional dating of creation. Rosh HaShanna is designated as a day of judgment for Israel and all mankind, a time dedicated to prayer and contemplation, a day of spiritual rebirth. The shofar, the ram’s horn, is sounded 100 times within the synagogue to remind worshipers of their need to return to God. The shofar has a special position within Jewish traditional life. On Rosh HaShanna, God opens three great books in heaven the Book of Life, the Book of Death and an intermediate book. Those who have lived a most righteous life in the past year automatically have their names inscribed in the Book of Life. Those who have lived a most wicked life in the past year automatically have their names inscribed in the Book of Death. The rest have their names placed in the intermediate book. We then have ten days to restore our relationships with our fellowman. We are to seek forgiveness where we have offended, make restitution of outstanding damages, and fulfill or seek release from vows made. These are known as the Days of Awe.
We turn to God to seek His forgiveness on Yom Kippur, the 10th day of Tishre. After the last service ends, the shofar is once again sounded, and fates are sealed in either the Book of Life or the Book of Death for the coming year. A typical greeting is exchanged: L’Shannah tovah tekateivu – “may your name be inscribed for a good year.”
Today there are no Jewish sacrifices since the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE. So in lieu of the blood of bulls and goats, rabbis teach we do three things to bring about our own atonement for our sins: prayer and fasting, repentance, and good deeds. Rabbinic Judaism is in essence a works-righteousness religion. We must do enough good deeds to overcome the burden of our sins.
Sukkot comes on the 15th day of Tishre and continues for eight days. Sukkot literally means booths, or tabernacles. It’s a holiday of thanksgiving, and the final of the three ingatherings of the harvest for the ancient people of Israel. The sacrifices offered in the temple during this holiday were considered by the sages as the most important ones, and are bound to be resumed, even if the temple is never rebuilt in Israel, and even if all the other sacrifices are abolished.
Chanukkah, Hanukkah, Chanukah (choose your spelling, as experts disagree) is the Festival of Dedication, or the Festival of Lights. This day begins on the 25th day of the Jewish month, Kislev, usually around mid-December, and lasts for eight days. Hanukkah celebrates the rededication of the temple by the Maccabees, who, in the year 167 BCE, were victorious over their enemies, the Syrian Greeks. These enemies, under the leadership of Antiochus and aided by Hellenized Jewish people, attempted to recapture the liberated Israel. Today people light candles during this holiday to honor the traditional myth that, at the temple’s rededication, a small jug of kosher (proper) oil lasted for eight days, though it contained only enough oil for one day’s light. The only reference in the Bible to Hanukkah is found in John 10:22: “Jesus is at the temple in Jerusalem during the Feast of Dedication.”3
Knowing more about your Jewish friends and their lives helps you better relate the gospel message, and at the same time enables them to see that it is not heretical, but rather natural, to be Jewish and believe in Jesus.
Apple of His Eye Mission Society
I began my missionary journey in 1976 serving with Jews for Jesus. I volunteered with the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod on its task force on Jewish evangelism in 1980 and became its chairman in 1986. In that same year, I was invited to begin a new Lutheran mission society in St. Louis to bring Jewish evangelism into the overall mix of missions within our church. The natural progression of all these efforts came to fruition in the formation of The Apple of His Eye Mission Society in August of 1996. Our mission statement states that “The Apple of His Eye Mission Society exists to boldly declare Y’shua as the Messiah and urgently equip God’s people to do the same.”4 We are also a Recognized Service Organization (RSO) of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod.5
We are organized around a set of core values which guide our mission. First, we stress the need for direct Jewish evangelism. It is vital that we focus our energy on a clear presentation of the good news of life and salvation in Y’shua to unsaved Jewish people worldwide (Romans 1:16). We also follow sound Lutheran biblical doctrine. We value biblical grace-oriented teaching as we equip people to be witnesses to the life we find in the Messiah, Y’shua.
Planting congregations with a messianic Jewish heritage is an important outcome of our ministry. We also seek to nurture Mishpochah (family). We value a caring and committed community which will rejoice together in our victories and mourn with those who mourn. We recognize that for some, faith in Y’shua may lead to loss of family and Jewish community support, and we willingly stand in the gap to provide support and community for those Jewish believers. We value raising the awareness level of Lutheran congregations for their Jewish community neighbors and we work to lift their zeal and skills in sharing their faith with them.
Challenges in Jewish Evangelism
Jewish missions present some unique challenges. There are over 16 million Jewish people scattered over 134 countries of the world. Missiologists acknowledge that over 98% of the Jewish population today is unsaved. Not only do we face indifference by many Jews regarding spiritual matters, but even if the things of God are entertained, they are often colored by the long history of anti-Semitism, which is linked by some to the Church and to Dr. Martin Luther specifically.
To complicate matters, those who are in our churches are silent when it comes to reaching Jewish people. It has also long been declared by Jewish leaders that one cannot be Jewish and believe in Jesus. Yet we know the opposite to be true - the first followers of Jesus were Jewish, Jesus was Jewish, and the apostles were Jewish. Indeed, we believe that the most Jewish thing one can do is follow the Jewish Messiah, Jesus!
There are other hurdles as well. We cannot piggy-back the gospel onto an agricultural mission, a medical mission, or an educational mission, as is done in foreign settings. But on the plus side, the Jewish people are also highly educated and capable. Let’s face it, they took a desert and made it bloom. They are on the cutting edge of medical technologies and are highly literate. Furthermore, the Old Testament was written in their original tongue, so we don’t need to translate it. This means that the only thing we can do to tell people about Jesus is to witness in as loving and direct manner as possible!
Not only do we face indifference by many Jews regarding spiritual matters, but even if the things of God are entertained, they are often colored by the long history of antisemitism, which is linked by some to the Church and to Dr. Martin Luther specifically.
The History of Jewish Missions
The history of Jewish missions by Lutherans up to the 1980s could best be characterized by the words “start” and “stop.” Dusty archives bearing the names of Landesmann and Frankenstein recall an era when the Church sought to “find” the “lost sheep of Israel.” And through their faithful endurance and personal missionary efforts, gospel seeds were planted and God granted a harvest of souls. But when their careers ended, there was no one to take up the cause and continue the work, and so it came to a halt. World War II and the Holocaust also left their marks. Many wondered if a people who had been so oppressed should be approached with the gospel, since some Jewish leaders claimed that Jewish missions were akin to spiritual genocide. Many Lutherans have bought in to that mindset, and even validated a so-called two covenant theory which claims that Jewish people receive salvation apart from Christ because they are God’s covenant people. (For a complete article on this issue see our web site: http://www.appleofhiseye.org/resources.html and click on the PDF “To The Jew First.”
Our Work Today
Apple of His Eye Mission Society started with a file folder and the use of a cubby-hole in the administrative unit of Christ Memorial Lutheran Church in Affton, Missouri. From the earliest days, we sought opportunities to bring the message of salvation out into public settings. Our home-made gospel tracts, called broadsides, have been written, printed and distributed in public venues like parades, concerts, art shows, etc. Each one is an invitation to engage in a personal evangelistic dialogue over the person of Jesus. Since 1996 we have written over 150 new gospel tracts and distributed over a million of them. We have also given presentations in over 1,800 churches in the US and abroad about how to reach Jewish people with the gospel.
With the help of my staff, I developed a cache of evangelistic materials for both the believer in Jesus and the inquirer. Here are a few examples: Jewish By Discovery6 seeks to understand the covenantal relationship with God and his invitation to follow him. Beginning From Jerusalem7 is a comprehensive 156 page look at Jewish people and evangelism. And Winsome Witnessing 1018 is a practical devotional encouraging the heart to grow in personal witness. We have also published many articles in Portals of Prayer on Jewish themes, and the Apple of His Eye Mission Society also publishes a monthly newsletter.
We would like to send you your choice of the above resources for free. Just send an e-mail to: steve.cohen@appleofhiseye.org and let us know which one you would like. Also visit our website at www.appleofhiseye.org to find a plethora of great source material in these areas. We can also be reached by phone at 636-326-4040.
Steve Cohen is the founder of The Apple of His Eye Mission Society (1996). He has served full-time as a front-line missionary to the Jewish people since 1976. He holds a Master’s of Arts from Fuller Seminary in Jewish Missions (1992) and has authored six books, over 150 Gospel tracts, and has spoken in over 1,800 churches on the need and urgency of including Jewish people in the overall mission of the church. He is currently married to his new bride, Nancy. They reside in Georgetown, Texas along with their two fur babies, Sophie and Izzy – aging labradoodles. His passion is reflected in the words of the Apostle Paul, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God for salvation for all who believe – to the Jew first…” (Romans 1:16).
Footnotes:
1The Holy Bible, Zondervan NIV Study Bible. Edited by Kenneth L. Barker, full revised edition (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing, 2002). All other citations in this article use the NIV translation.
2“Four Reasons Shabbat Is Compared to Bride and a Queen,” Chabad.org. accessed 3/25/24, https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3753326/jewish/Four-ReasonsShabbat-Is-Compared-to-Bride-and-a-Queen.htm
3“Jewish Festivals,” Britannica Encyclopedia, 3/24/2024, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Jewish-festivals
4“Our Story,” The Apple of His Eye Ministry, accessed 3/25/2024, https://www.appleofhiseye.org/about/our-story
5“RSO Directory,” The Apple of His Eye Mission Society, p. 25, accessed 3/25/2024, https://files.lcms.org/file/preview/rso-directory
6Steve Cohen, Jewish by Discovery (Pennsauken, New Jersey: BookBaby, 2020).
7Steve Cohen, Beginning from Jerusalem (St. Louis, MO: The Apple of His Eye Mission Society, 2001), accessed 3/24/2024, https://www.appleofhiseye.org/images/aohe/docs/aohe-beginning-fromjerusalem-2nd-ed.pdf
8Steve Cohen, Win-Some Witnessing 101, accessed 3/24/2024, https://media.ctsfw.edu/Text/ViewDetails/19950
