Israel and Jewish Evangelism Today
By Dr. Mitch Glaser
Dear friend,
Happy New Year! I hope and pray that 2025 will be a fruitful year as you and I serve the Lord.
There is a wonderful story about the relationship between John Wilkinson, a Gentile missionary who founded the Mildmay Mission to the Jews, and J. Hudson Taylor, founder of the China Inland Mission (now OMF International). Every January, Taylor would send Wilkinson a gift with a note attached: “To the Jew first.” Wilkinson would then send the same amount back as a gift to Taylor for his work among the Chinese with a note that read, “And also to the Gentiles.” This true story nicely captures what we will learn in this letter—how we can prioritize reaching Jewish people and still reach the world as commanded by our Messiah prior to His ascension.
There is no doubt that Jewish people need to consciously accept Jesus to obtain salvation and have access to God the Father (John 14:6; Acts 4:12). This saving faith grows out of a Spirit-enlightened understanding of the gospel brought about by embracing Yeshua (Jesus) as the Messiah (John 3:16–17, 16:8).
It is also clear God made promises to the nation of Israel. While these promises do not guarantee the salvation of every Jewish person, they do assure us that the people of Israel will play an important role in the final chapter of the drama of redemption outlined in the Scriptures.
Believing what the Bible tells us about Israel’s guaranteed role in the future should not dampen our enthusiasm to proclaim the gospel among Jewish people today. Our hearts should be inspired to fervently proclaim the gospel to Jewish people, knowing the time is near and that the salvation of the Jewish remnant is linked to the second coming of the Messiah Jesus.
Until recent days, a key factor in motivating many Christians to reach Jewish people with the gospel was the belief that the salvation of the Jewish remnant was connected to the coming of the Lord. The wide acceptance of this end-times inspiration for Jewish missions was also broadly understood among churches throughout the world.
Today, Jewish people and Jewish evangelism have somewhat fallen out of favor among Christians as Israel and Jewish people are not as noticeably needy of redemption. Many Western Christians have sided politically with Palestinians, viewing Israel and Jewish people more negatively, and have directed their “mission impulse” toward social justice issues and evangelizing Arabs, particularly Muslims. I applaud proclaiming the gospel among all people groups. However, many Christians passionate about evangelizing Muslims have embraced a one-sided view of Israel that conflicts with the facts of what is happening in the Middle East and with the Bible itself.
Until recent days, a key factor in motivating many Christians to reach Jewish people with the gospel was the belief that the salvation of the Jewish remnant was connected to the coming of the Lord. The wide acceptance of this end-times inspiration for Jewish missions was also broadly understood among churches throughout the world.
Today, Jewish people and Jewish evangelism have somewhat fallen out of favor among Christians as Israel and Jewish people are not as noticeably needy of redemption. Many Western Christians have sided politically with Palestinians, viewing Israel and Jewish people more negatively, and have directed their “mission impulse” toward social justice issues and evangelizing Arabs, particularly Muslims. I applaud proclaiming the gospel among all people groups. However, many Christians passionate about evangelizing Muslims have embraced a one-sided view of Israel that conflicts with the facts of what is happening in the Middle East and with the Bible itself.
This shift in sympathies is now commonplace in the United Kingdom, northern and central Europe, and it is rising in North America, too. Those who do not take the biblical prophecies about the land of Israel in a literal sense are fueling these shifting sympathies, leading to a declining interest in Jewish evangelism.
This is why understanding the end-times rationale for Jewish missions and the role of Jewish people in the plan of God is critical. It is my hope that Gentile Christians will be moved by the Scriptures to bring the good news to God’s chosen people.
There are several critical passages which should undergird an end-times motivation for Jewish missions. One of the most important is Romans 1:16:
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”
Those engaged in Jewish evangelism are familiar with this passage and understand its importance in motivating the church toward Jewish evangelism. This brief verse has been interpreted in a number of different ways, but more often than not, it is used to emphasize the importance of Gentile Christians reaching Jewish people with the gospel.
I would suggest that one of the reasons the apostle Paul believed the gospel should go to Jewish people first was because of his understanding of the events of the last days. When Romans 1:16 is viewed in this way, the urgency of Jewish evangelism becomes evident. One cannot fully understand Romans 1:16 without understanding Paul’s conclusion in Romans 11, where he wrote about the end-times repentance of the remnant of Israel and their reception of Jesus as Savior. If we look closely, the priority described in Romans 1:16 is founded on Romans 11:25–27 (and more fully on 11:11–29) and must be viewed in light of the role Jewish people play in the second coming of Christ.
Paul was not suggesting that the Roman believers withhold the gospel from the Gentiles until every Jewish person in the world is reached. Neither was the apostle implying that the gospel has already come to Jewish people first and that this priority no longer applies to the mission of the church today. Romans 1:16 was written in the present tense. Therefore, if the gospel is still “the power of God for salvation” and is still for “everyone who believes,” then the gospel is still “to the Jew first.”
Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, focused his ministry on reaching non-Jewish people with the gospel message. Yet, this did not lessen his concern for the salvation of Jewish people. Wherever Paul went in his ministry among the Gentiles, he also preached the gospel to Jewish people living in that area (Acts 13:13–52, 14:1–5, 18:7–11, 19:8–10). He would make sure this was his first evangelistic effort in a particular city before he spoke to the Gentiles. The salvation of Jewish people was an ever-present concern for Paul, and his actions described in the book of Acts reveal his understanding of what he penned in Romans 1:16.
The apostle’s argument may be summarized (and connected with Jesus’ words in Matthew 23:39) as follows:
When Jewish people are successfully evangelized, then Jesus the Messiah will return.
There was an end-times urgency in the tone of Paul’s preaching and in his letter to the Roman believers, encouraging them to prioritize outreach to Jewish people. His theology was enacted in his own strategy for mission. And this is why we should follow suit. In effect, Paul argued that if the church desired to witness the second coming of Christ, Jewish people must be evangelized.
The church cannot neglect Jewish evangelism: Jewish evangelism should not become the great omission of the Great Commission, and the church must make Jewish evangelism a priority because of Romans 1:16.
Paul connected the priority of reaching Jewish people with the end times, and he argued that God has not cast off His people Israel despite their national rejection of Jesus the Messiah (Rom 11). His concluding statement proving God is not finished with Israel is that “all Israel will be saved” (Rom 11:25–27). Furthermore, he wrote:
Now if their transgression is riches for the world and their failure is riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be! For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? (Romans 11:12, 15).
God has not rejected Jewish people (Rom 11:1) but rather has preserved a remnant within the nation (Rom 11:5) until the remnant becomes the nation. In this passage, the apostle tells us that in the end, God will save “all Israel,” which I believe refers to the entirety of the nation of Israel alive at that time.
Hudson Taylor, Founder Of The China Inland Mission
This monumental end-times event takes place after the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. It is evident from this passage that prior to the salvation of national Israel and the end of days there is a time when God will be at work among the Gentiles in a special way—grafting numerous “wild branches” into the olive tree as described in Romans 11:16–24.
In summary, Jewish people will return to the God of our fathers by accepting the Messiah. The nations will then witness the return of the Lord Jesus. God has not rejected His people because He is always faithful to His promises (Rom 11:29).
Reaching Jewish people with the gospel must become a priority for all Christians as, ultimately, the salvation of Jewish people ushers in Jesus’ second coming and releases the fullness of God’s blessings to the whole world.
Outreach to Jewish people begins with you! Through your prayers, giving, and witnessing to your Jewish friends, the plan of God will go forth in power! We cannot allow Jewish evangelism to become the great omission of the Great Commission.
Would you consider partnering with us by making a gift today? We could not do this great work without your prayers and partnership.
Your brother,
Mitch Glaser
President, Chosen People Ministries