“Now Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah... that they should come to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover to the Lord God of Israel. For the king... had decided to celebrate the Passover in the second month, since they could not celebrate it at that time, because the priests had not consecrated themselves in sufficient numbers, nor had the people been gathered to Jerusalem... So they established a decree to circulate a proclamation throughout all Israel from Beersheba even to Dan, that they should come to celebrate the Passover to the Lord God of Israel at Jerusalem. For they had not celebrated it in great numbers as it was prescribed.”
Hezekiah’s Later, Greater Passover
The fact that the feast had not been celebrated in “great numbers” meant, among other things, that it had not been celebrated as a unified kingdom since the time of Solomon. But in Hezekiah’s time, when the first month came, when Passover was to be celebrated, the priests and the people were not prepared. Rather than having an unprepared Passover at the right time, Hezekiah called for a properly prepared Passover a month later. There could be no celebration without preparation.
The Outreach Program
Hezekiah wanted to reach all Jews everywhere. He realized that God was worthy of the praise of many, certainly more than just that of his own people of Judah. In 2 Chronicles 29:24, we see that Hezekiah had previously ordered sacrifices to be made for all Israel, hoping for a revival among the Jews of the north. His desire anticipated Paul’s prophecy that, “All Israel will be saved” (Rom. 11:26). This has always been the heart of God and still is today. In light of this, Hezekiah sent messengers out “from Beersheba even to Dan.” This is a colloquial way of saying that he reached out to everyone in the nation (as some might say, “from sea to shining sea”).
One might think that Hezekiah need not encourage others to come and celebrate, rationalizing that as long as he was personally celebrating and worshipping God, it would be “good enough.” But it was not good enough for Hezekiah. He understood that the meaning of Passover was not only to redeem Israel, but to reach out to others so they could be redeemed as well (see Ex. 12:4). At the time of the first Passover, Israel reached out to their Egyptian neighbors, and ultimately there was a “mixed multitude” - not just Hebrews - who left Egypt (Ex. 12:38). Because the Lamb of redemption is always greater than your needs, you can share and reach out with the same grace you have received. Even then, redemption was to the Jew first, but not to the Jew only!
Hezekiah understood the teaching in Scripture that all believers should encourage others to follow the Lord. This spiritual insight became a biblical mandate in the New Covenant: “Go into all the world...” (Matt. 28:18-20). Here we see pictured the kind of service we all need to be living out. The feast of Passover is a yearly reminder to be reaching out to others with an invitation to come to the Lord, celebrate redemption, and rejoice in the Lamb of God. Those who reach out share in the heart of God who desires “all to come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9). Believers who do not reach out will eventually dry up spiritually. A hidden faith is not a fruitful faith. The truth is, the more you give your faith away, the more you have!
In one year’s time, a congregation can grow to twice its size. How? It’s simple really: each one reach one. If each believer brought just one person to know Messiah and be part of his congregation, then that congregation’s attendance would soon double. Growth like this is important, not merely for things to get bigger. Rather, just as in Hezekiah’s day, the Lord is always worthy of the praise of many!
Mixed Reviews
The response to Hezekiah’s gracious invitation had mixed reviews.
Many who did not believe mocked and laughed at such an invitation (30:10), but the humble repented and found salvation in the Lamb (30:11). The repentant of Judah found unity “by the hand of God... and great joy” (30:12, 21).
So don’t let the nay-sayers keep you from the “great joy” the Lord has for you; reach out instead! For Scripture assures us that there is a remnant of Jewish people prepared even now to humble themselves and come to the Lamb of God (Rom. 11:5-6). During Passover season, and all year round, let’s invite our Jewish friends, and all our friends who don’t yet know the Lord, to hear the Good News of Yeshua.
(Part 3.5)From what we’ve seen in the last couple of months as we’ve studied historical reasons why most Jewish people do not believe in Yeshua today, is it any wonder that a modern Jewish writer, Jules Isaac, author of Has Anti-Semitism Roots in Christianity? writes,“Hitler’s genocide was a final offshoot of the church’s perennial “teaching of contempt” and “system of degradation of Jews” (pp. 17,18). He goes on to say, “Christian anti-Semitism, the powerful, and strongly rooted trunk upon which [in the Christian world] all other varieties of anti-Semitism are grafted, even those of a most anti-Christian nature” (ibid. p. 40).
Problem: Countering a Convincing History
To the Jewish person who is only aware of secular history, but not of what Yeshua taught, there remains no other conclusion: Christianity is anti-Semitic. Therefore, when Jewish people are pointed to the prophecies in Scripture regarding Messiah (Isaiah 7:14; 53; Micah 5:2; etc.), they cannot imagine that these could refer to Yeshua. After all, they reason, how could Jewish Scripture point to a Jewish Messiah who is the leader of an anti-Jewish religion?
Exception or Rule ?
Throughout history there have been Christians who have loved the Jewish people, such as Corrie ten Boom, who sacrificially rescued Jewish people during the Holocaust. Many Christians would point to her as a representation of their concern for Jewish people. Yet unfortunately, believers like Corrie appear to Jewish people as the exception, rather than the rule.
The Kiss of Death
Other well-meaning Christian leaders have responded to Christendom’s persecution of Jewish people with an unbiblical, tragic attitude: “Let’s not offend our Jewish friends any further by preaching the gospel to them.” This perpetuates the false belief that ‘Jewish people don’t need Jesus,’ effectively cutting them off from their only hope for eternal life (see John 14:6).
A Hardened Heart
Still other Gentile believers disregard history, the Scriptural instruction to “Speak the truth in love” (Eph. 4:15), and common sense. Rather, they attempt to justify a continued insensitivity to Jewish people. How? Instead of preaching a gospel whereby one turns from sin to God, a ‘cultural gospel’ is proclaimed for one to turn from his Jewishness, and be converted to “Christianity.” History has handed down to Jews and Christians an “us vs. them” mentality. Thus, Jewish people are often made to feel that being Jewish is a sin, and that they should turn their back on their Jewish heritage (forget Passover, Hanukkah, etc). This is confusing, and presents a false view of the issues of sin and forgiveness. Scripture is clear that being Jewish is no sin, lest Yeshua be the chief sinner, for He’s the King of the Jews.
God’s Solution: Living The Truth in Love
If, because of history, Jewish people cannot ‘see’ Yeshua in the Scriptures, and if it’s unscriptural to be insensitive to Jewish people in our witness, what then are we as believers to do? Our Jewish friends need to see us as Yeshua’s representatives. Our committed love and concern for Jewish people, and all people, is needed in order to overcome the historical horrors that have been said and done “in Jesus’ name”. Let’s not allow the sad history of the past 19 centuries to be the only witness of the Lord that our Jewish friends have. Rather, let us become ‘living epistles’ (2 Cor. 3:2,3), demonstrating God’s love for Israel. We can help Jewish people look at the Scriptures with ‘new eyes’ and favorably consider Yeshua as Lord and Messiah. Satan has done all he can to ruin our Lord’s testimony to Israel. Although he has deceived even Church leaders regarding God’s program for Israel, still the Bible says “Greater is He [Yeshua] that is in you, than he [Satan]that is in the world” (1 John 4:4), and you with your testimony can gain victory in the Lord! I know that this victory is real. Years ago, non-Jewish believers simply and sincerely shared Jesus with me. At first I mocked them because, of course, I ‘knew’ from history what Christianity was all about. Still, a spiritual seed was planted in my heart, and soon after, I came to believe the truth about Yeshua and was saved.
Three lessons for our lives from these issues we’ve looked at the past couple months:
1) The Word of God: Scripture is the sole authority for faith and practice.
2) The work of God: The sacrifice of Messiah is the sole necessity for our redemption by faith.
3) The witness of God: Love is the sole testimony for all people, to the Jew first and also to the Gentile.
You, too, can make a difference! God has strategically placed you in the lives of your Jewish friends to demonstrate the love of God, so that my people chosen by the Lord will never again say, “Anyone but Him.” Instead, may they say with confidence and joy, “No one but Him!”
Sam will be speaking:
April 1, 6:00 pm - The Journey at Lake Wylie, Lake Wylie, SC
April 2, 7:00 pm - Pitts Baptist Church, Concord, NC
April 3, 6:00 pm - Hope of Israel Passover Banquet, Charlotte, NC
April 4, 4:30 pm - Hope of Israel Columbia Passover Banquet, Columbia, SC
April 5, 10:45 am - Palmetto Land Baptist Church, Summerville, SC
April 12, 10:30 am - Young Memorial Baptist Church, Concord, NC
April 17-18 - Ariel Ministries Seminar, San Antonio, TX
April 19, 11:00 am - Emmanuel Worship Center, San Antonio, TX
April 26, 11:00 am - Calvary Baptist Church, Salisbury, NC
To schedule a speaker click here or call 704.544.1948
"The Wilderness Journey" by Sam Nadler
Walk through Exodus 15-20 with Moses and the children of Israel, and gain application for your life from their wilderness journey.
5 Mp3 Messages:
"Making Bitter Waters Sweet" (Ex. 15)
"When You're Hungry in the Desert" (Ex. 16)
"The Lord Our Sufficiency" (Ex. 17:1-7)
"The Lord Our Satisfaction" (Ex. 20:1-11)
"The Law of Love" (Ex. 20:12-17)
for $6
DonationsDonate
Word of Messiah Ministries
704-544-1948
info@wordofmessiah.org
Word of Messiah Ministries
PO Box 79238
Charlotte, North Carolina 28271 United States
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