By: Robert Serreyn
Question? How do you witness to a Jewish person?
Answer:
The best method of approch is to try to convince them that Jesus Christ is Jehovah God of the Old Testament WHO came and died on the Cross to shed his blood to pay for their sins.
A Good couple of Verses to start with is…
(Exodus 3:13, & 14) And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? (14) And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
Moses asked who shall I say that has sent me? God said I AM has sent you
Now Consider John 4:26 and 18:5
(John 4:26) Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.
(John 18:5) They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them.
In both of these verses Jesus is speaking. One thing that the reader must note that in the King James Bible, ANY WORD that was NOT IN the original manuscripts the translators WOULD ITALICIZE the word TO SHOW that it was added by them in the hopes to bring clarity to the verse.
In John 4:26 and 18:5 in BOTH VERSES the word HE is italized, so the two verse should be rendered as such…
(John 4:26) Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am.
(John 18:5) They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them.
TAKE NOTE that Jesus said that he was I AM, or God WHO had spoke to Moses from the Burning Bush in Exodus 3:13, and 14, this is why the Pharisees wanted to stone Jesus in John 10:33 BECAUSE he (Jesus) said that he was God and they thought that he wasn’t.
(John 10:25,26,30- 33) Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me. (26) But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. (30) I and my Father are one. (31) Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. (32) Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? (33) The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.
To give farther proof lets look at Revelation 1:5-8 which says…
Revelation 1:5-8 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, (6) And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. (7) Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. (8) I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
Then cross reference Revelation 1:5-8 to Zachariah 12: 1-10
Zechariah 12:1-10 The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him. (2) Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. (3) And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. (4) In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness. (5) And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God. (6) In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem. (7) The LORD also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah. (8) In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them. (9) And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. (10) And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
The MOST IMPORTANT thing you want to DRAW the Jewish person’s ATTENTION TO is that any time you see the word LORD in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS that is JEHOVAH GOD.
Then FOCUS their attention on V10 of Zechariah Chp.12 and V7 of Revelation Chp.1
The evidence between these two verses and John 4:26, and 18:5 should convience the Jewish person that Jehovah God of Zechariah Chp. 12, the I Am of Exodus 3:13, & 14 is Jesus Christ of Revelation Chp.1 their Messiah WHO THEY crucified 2,000 years ago on the cross of Calvary.
In Conclusion:
When you have been able to effectively convience the Jewish person that Jehovah and Jesus Christ are one and the SAME GOD then you can share the Gospel of the Death Burial and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
(1 Corinthians 15:3,4) For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; (4) And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.
The MOST IMPORTANT thing to know IS Jesus Christ as savior, just simply believe that Jesus Christ went to the cross and DIED and shed his blood, was BURIED and three days later RESURRECTED from the dead to pay for your sins.
-Christ DIED for you – Romans 5:8
-Christ PAID your sins in full – 2 Corinthians 5:21,1 Peter 2:24
-BELIEVE (Trust In Completely) in Christ ALONE as the complete payment of sin for salvation – John 3:16, Acts 16:31, Ephesians 2:8,9
“For the wages(payment) of sin is death (eternal torment in hell); but the GIFT(salvation) of God is eternal life THROUGH Jesus Christ our Lord”. Romans 6:23
IT IS THAT SIMPLE – THE GOSPEL TRUTH