To a Jewish Friend
JEWISH PEOPLE NEED THE GOSPEL TOO!
WITNESSING TIPS
You may agree with this statement, but still say to yourself that you do not know how to share it with them. We have prepared this brief pamphlet to give you some basic guidelines on how to share your faith with a Jewish person. These guidelines are based upon two principles the Apostle Paul shared in his letters:
Understand the Jewish people. "To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews." (1 Cor. 9:20a)
Live a life in the Messiah that a Jewish person would desire. "Again I ask: Did they [the Jewish people] stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious." (Romans 11:11)
Friendship Is the First Step
Friendship, like any dynamic, living thing, must be cultivated. To be a friend, a person must become involved with the whole person, not just with his soul. Too often, well-meaning Christians seem to want to get to the "bottom-line" without earning the right to approach that most personal territory. Remember that friendship is the greatest extension of God’s love. It involves connecting your life with the life of another person. It means making yourself vulnerable.
Building friendships is an art and requires skill. First, it entails laying a proper foundation. Building a friendship with a Jewish person is no different from building friendships with others.
In all cases you must be committed to recognizing, respecting and appreciating the uniqueness of the individual.
Understand Your Friend's Uniqueness
You can lay the foundation for building friendships with a Jewish friend with a little research. Understanding Jewish history, Jewish culture and Jewish experience will provide a basis for discussion. This doesn’t mean Jewish history from only a biblical perspective, but from the perspective of today. We suggest you start with the following sources:
Max I. Dimont, Jews, God and History (New York: Penguin, 1972)
Chaim Potok, The Chosen (New York: Fawcett, 1986); In the Beginning (New York: Fawcett, 1986)
Milton Steinberg, Basic Judaism (Northvale, NJ: Aronson, Jason, 1987)
Films such as: Fiddler on the Roof, Yentl, or Schindler’s List
Jerusalem Post (International Edition in English), Jerusalem Post Publications, Ltd., Romena Industrial Quarter, PO Box 81, Jerusalem 91000 Israel
Jerusalem Post and Opinion, 2120 N Meridian St, Indianapolis, IN 46202
The Canadian Jewish News, 205-1500 Don Mills Rd, North York, ON M3B 3K4 (available in Jewish communities across Canada)
The Chosen People, Chosen People Ministries (Canada), Box 897, Station B, North York, ON M2K 2R1
Discover Mutual Interests
Once you have established a foundation through proper research, seek to determine common and special interests. These may include children, sports, music, literature, cooking, the arts, chess, hiking, jogging, social events, work, hobbies, scouting, and so forth. All areas of mutual interest form bridges whereby one can communicate friendship and, as God directs, witness for Him.
Shared experiences and events, both joyous and solemn, can also cause the relationship to grow close and personal. Illness, death, accidents, bar mitzvahs,
birthdays, or holidays are watershed experiences that, when shared with friends, cause love to grow and trust to build. Your availability to your friend may be the important building block
that will allow for a discussion of spiritual matters.
Share Your Testimony
With an open channel of communication, you may be able to shift conversation from the mundane to the eternal. This is best done through the sharing of your testimony. This is not necessarily the story of your salvation experience, although questions concerning your original experience with God may well arise. A testimony is merely the reporting of how God is at work in your life -- today, yesterday, last week, last month. Here are some helpful reminders:
Be Brief
Ten words spoken with sincerity, enthusiasm and purpose are more important than one thousand poorly communicated words.
Be Current
The connection of prayer and answers to prayer to real everyday life will cause your friend to yearn for the God Who hears!
Be Relevant
Let the Holy Spirit make you a sensitive witness. The Scriptures admonish us to laugh with those who laugh and mourn with those who mourn. Choose the appropriate time for sharing your words of testimony. (Romans 12:15)
Be Scriptural
Often you will find that, when you are sharing a word of personal testimony, God will bring to mind passages of Scripture that relate to the particular incident. In sharing Scripture with your Jewish friends, you are much more likely to strike a response chord with verses quoted from the Old Testament.
Share the Gospel from the Old Testament
(1) We need a relationship with God to get the most out of life.
To have joy and pleasure: "In thy presence is fullness of joy; [and] pleasures for evermore." (Psalm 16:11)
To have peace and strength: "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace ... in the Lord God is everlasting strength." (Isaiah 26:3,4)
(2) But our lack of holiness separates us from God.
God is holy and expects us to be holy, too: “Ye shall be holy; for I, the LORD your God, am holy." (Leviticus 19:2)
We are unholy; even the best of us sin: "All we like sheep have gone astray." (Isaiah 53:6). "All of our righteousnesses are as filthy rags." (Isaiah 64:6)
Sin causes separation and death: "But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you, that he will not hear." (Isaiah 59:2) "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." (Ezekiel 18:20)
(3) But God loves us and has provided atonement.
He chose us because He loved us: "The LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people ... because the LORD loved you." (Deuteronomy 7:6-8)
He has provided a way to bring about reconciliation with Him: "... It is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul." (Leviticus 17:11)
(4) Even though the Temple was destroyed in 70 CE (AD) -- and with it blood atonement --
God had already provided a way to overcome our separation from Him through the death of Jesus,
the Messiah of Israel.
He was born in Bethlehem as predicted. (Micah 5:2)
He was born before the destruction of the Temple as predicted. (Daniel 9:26)
He was a meek and humble suffering servant as predicted (Isaiah 52:13-53:8), but He was to be our sin-bearer. (Isaiah 53:12)
(5) Jesus -- or Yeshua -- is God’s provision to restore our relationship with Him, giving us once again joy and pleasure, peace and strength.
Some Practical Helps
Prepare with prayer and a spirit of love. Be humble in your approach. The apostle Paul says, "Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either." (Romans 11:20-21)
Spend more time listening than talking. Dialogue and discuss, do not preach and proselytize.
Silence on the part of your listener may mean that he is reflecting upon what you have said. It does not necessarily indicate disinterest.
Allow the Spirit of God to work in each conversation. If God is at work, the subject will lead in a very natural way to the things of the Lord.
Let your friend change the topic of conversation. Don’t feel badly if the discussion changes to secular subjects.
Interject rather than interrupt. In the course of conversation, if something is said that you do not agree with, do not interrupt. It is better to gracefully interject your thoughts at a later point.
Be sensitive to feelings. Use words that fit the background of your friend. Jewish people will more likely relate to the word believer than to Christian, to Messiah than to Christ, and to Jewish people than to Jews.
Show genuine appreciation for the Jewish people and the Jewish way of life. Ask questions about what being Jewish means to your friend.
Using Gospel Literature
After you have shared in a personal way, and if you feel so led, you may want to leave a piece of literature with your friend. It is important to think in terms of the overall context of your relationship. Do not be indiscriminate in your tract distribution. If you’ve had a conversation on a certain faith subject and you would like to leave your friend with something more extensive to consider, a sensitive, well-written piece of literature might be the next step. Make certain that you have read the tract yourself in advance. You must be aware of its contents.
Consider lending the tract rather than giving it to your friend. Suggest that he review it and reply with his comments. In this way, you will be justified in bringing up the subject
again at a later date. Chosen People Ministries has a series of tracts available that deal with special questions Jewish people have about your faith.
Some Final Thoughts
In the minds of most Jewish people, the terms Gentile and Christian are synonymous.
Jewish people will be more impressed with your life than with your words. The qualities of a Spirit-filled life will set you apart from others.
The average Jewish person has little knowledge about the Old Testament.
The average Jewish person will not be surprised to hear you talk about your faith. They expect Christians to do just that.
Remember that Jewish people are like all other people in that they appreciate true friendship and kind neighbourliness. Your love, set in the context of a faithful Christian walk, will speak of God’s love to your Jewish friends.
Chosen People Ministries has additional tools to help you witness to your Jewish friends:
Various summer mission programs for the young and not-so-young
The Chosen People Newsletter -- free
Tracts, videos, books, etc.
Speakers available for church groups and services.