A VISIT WITH MESSIANIC JEWS

When on a recent Sabbath (Saturday) I visited the Baruch Hashem (Bless His Name) Congregation in Dallas, I was reminded of a serious problem in the primitive community of believers. In the first century the integrity of the gospel was threatened when some leading Jewish believers demanded that the new Gentile believers be circumcised according to the law of Moses before they be received intp the Messianic community. This was the issue that called for the first ecumenical conference in Jerusalem in about 50 A.D. (Acts 15). It was a question of whether a Gentile had to become a Jew before he could become a Christian. While it was supposedly answered in the negative in that conference, it was a problem that would not go away, for the so-called “Judaizers” continued to harass the apostle Paul in his mission to the Gentiles.

My visit to the Messianic synagogue reminded me that today we have something of the same problem in reverse: When a Jew turns to Jesus it is supposed she will become a Gentile when she becomes a “Christian,” for it is presumed she will become a Roman Catholic, a Baptist, or a member of the Church of Christ. I put “Christian” in quotes in this context because this name has had such a Gentile connotation to the Jews through the centuries that they think of one becoming a nonJew when she becomes a “Christian.” In Israel, for instance, believing Jews cannot become citizens on the basis of the Law of Return, which allows citizenship to any child of a Jewish mother, for the supreme court has ruled that if one is a “Christian” she cannot be a Jew, even if born of a Jewish mother.

One notices that the “Christian” synagogue in Dallas is hardly recognizable as a “Christian church.” Neither of those terms is ever used. They are Messianic Jews, not “Christians;” they are a congregation (or Keneset in Hebrew), not a “church.” It is presided over by a rabbi, not a minister or a pastor. It gathers to worship God on the Sabbath, not Sunday. They are believers in Yeshua, not Jesus. The Scriptures are read in Hebrew; the blessings and congregational responses are in Hebrew. The men wear skullcaps as they do in synagogues. There is no collection as in Gentile churches; gifts may be deposited in a tray as one enters or leaves, as in a synagogue. The psalms and hymns are taken from Scripture or are otherwise of Jewish authorship and are sung or chanted in both Hebrew and English.

The great hymns of Gentile churches are not used. Hymnals are not used. An overhead projector reflects the words on the wall, sometimes Hebrew, sometimes English, often both. The congregation stands to sing and to listen to Scripture. At one point in the service I stood with the congregation for a full 20 minutes, singing and praising God, many with their hands lifted up. The rabbi unrolled a scroll of the Torah and read in Hebrew. Once rolled back and replaced in its cover, it was carried among the congregation to be touched and hand kissed by many. But this is a gesture of love and respect, not worship, for only God is worshiped. The service is richly theocentric with the name of God deeply reverenced as in Jewish tradition. Even when the hymns are flashed on the wall Lord and God appear only as G-d or L-rd, which is reminiscent of the scribes’ avoidance of writing the tetragrammaton (JHVH) and the origin of the use of Lord (Adonai) instead.

The atmosphere of the Baruch Hashem is that of a synagogue. The Torah scroll graces the platform (bema), scrolls with the symbols of the twelve tribes of Israel bedeck the walls, with the scroll of the lion of the tribe of Judah appropriately beside the Torah and above the bema facing the believers. Worship includes the Shema (“Hear O Israel, the Lord thy God is one”, etc.), the Haftarah (reading from the prophets), and a benediction. As in a synagogue the sermon (Haggadah) is at the end. The day I was present I was especially blessed to hear David Stern speak, who lives in Jerusalem and has translated the “Jewish New Testament,” which some in the audience had with them even though copies of the New International Version were in the pews, the one thing truly “Gentile”!

They do not have the Lord’s supper, except as part of the annual Passover Seder (meal), which of course is Messianic. While they did pass loaves of bread among those gathered, with each one breaking off a piece as it passed from hand to hand, it is not considered Communion but a kind of friendly breaking of bread.

They are a joyous congregation, really reving it up in their praise to God, clapping and crying hallelujah. A radiant joy permeated the place. Some danced in the aisles by two’s, three’s, and four’s, and about a dozen joined hands in a snake dance up and down all the aisles, as if at a Jewish festival. But it was not “Charismatic” in the sense of tongue-speaking. Some did praise God from their seats in Hebrew, but that is not an unknown tongue to them.

David Stern is a fellow rabbi with Joe Shu1am in the Messianic community in Jerusalem. Joe, a Jew by birth, works among Churches of Christ and was recently at the ACU Lectures. When I had a word with David after his presentation, in which he reviewed the difficulties Messianic Jews have in Israel, he told me he agreed with some things about the “Restoration Movement” and strongly disagreed with other things. I told him that while we did not have time to discuss it then, that he and I would probably disagree on the same things. I am confident that he would agree with the exceptions I have taken in this journal to the idea of “the true restored church” based upon a contrived blueprint or pattern in the New Testament, which is basic to restorationism. I would like for David to know that those who launched our Movement did not believe that.

Our Messianic Jewish brethren point out that God does not want people divided into Jews and Christians. They see themselves as a uniting force between this division, for they are 100% Jewish and 100% Messianic. They point out that Christian theology is often anti-Semitic, such as in “replacement theology” where the church is seen as replacing Israel. They witness to unbelieving Jews from the Jewish Scriptures themselves, proving from the “Old Testament” (they don’t call it that!) that Yeshua is the Messiah, such as referring to “the Prophet like unto Moses” in Dt. 18:15, the New Covenant in Jer. 31:31, and the Suffering Servant in Is. 53:4-5. One of their tracts says, “We have not sought to bring the Jewish people into Christendom, but into true Judaism.” Messianic Judaism is thus the true Judaism. They are the “completed” Jews. It is apparent that thy have a great love for the Israeli nation. At one point in the service many hands went up when they were asked if they desired to migrate to Israel. They encourage migration to Israel, believing this is the fulfillment of Scripture. They quote Scripture to the effect that all nations that oppose Israel will suffer terrible retribution (Zech. 14:12), while those who help her will be blessed (Gen. 12:3).

They practice the usual Jewish traditions, giving them a Messianic meaning. There is, for instance, a Messianic Bar Mitzvah (ceremony celebrating a Jewish boy’s reaching age of responsibility at13). They are presently preparing for their annual Pesach Seder (passover Supper), which points to Yeshua as the Lamb given by God to atone for sin. They observe all the Jewish feasts, practice circumcision, and keep the Sabbath day holy, but not for atonement. Only through faith in God’s Messiah are sins atoned for. They are immersionists, often referring to themselves as “immersed believers” and “born again Jews.”

One of their tracts says: “Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus) was sent by God to be the atoning sacrfice for the sins of Israel and of all mankind. God has promised to bring about the restoration and redemption of the scattered sheep of Israel.” They see themselves as “the remnant” that God has preserved to bring his people Israel to repentance and to faith in the Messiah. While eminently Messianic, their worship is directed to God more than to the Messiah, who is depicted as God’s atoning one, as in this hymn drawn from Scripture:

To him who sits on the throne

And unto the Lamb,

Be blessing and glory

And honor and power,

Forever.

Such lines will be sung over and over, perhaps eight or ten times, with feeling, fervor, and gusto. While they have neither piano nor organ, they do use violin and guitar. There is no printed “Order of Worship” and no hymns are announced. The singing, praising, readings, dancing, and prayers flow spontaneously.

The Baruch Hashem is an autonomous congregation that has affiliation with the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations, an association of scores of congregations nationwide. There are many Messianic congregations all over the world, including several in Israel.

The Messianic Jews are not unmindful of the contribution they can make to Gentile Christianity They talk about helping us to understand what God’s plan is for the Gentiles in reference to Israel. They like to quote Is. 49:22: “I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and they shall bring thy sons in their arms.”

Beside whatever this may mean, they can cause us to see more keenly our own Jewish roots, including the J ewishness of Jesus, and they can give us deeper insights into the Old Testament. We can begin all this by a mutual recognition that we are already one in the Messiah, despite our vast cultural and traditional differences. This is what impressed me the most about my visit, as is true with most all churches I visit: how much alike we are in spite of our differences. Those Jews in Dallas worship the same God that we worship and they follow the same Jesus that we follow. Their service on Saturday and ours on Sunday may seem worlds apart, but in the eyes of God it may well be a further fulfillment of “Christ himself is our peace, who made both Jews and Gentiles one, and has broken down the middle wall of division between us” (Eph. 2:14). I can joyfully worship with my Jewish sisters and brothers because they believe in and love the same Lord that I believe in and love. What do I care whether he is called Yeshua (Joshua) or Jesus?

Let’s pray that Messianic Judaism will flourish around the world, helping to bring Israel and all peoples to repentance toward God and faith toward Yeshua as the Messiah and the Savior of all mankind. —the Editor