Have you ever been. Light in the Darkness by David Brickner, Executive Director

Transcription

1 VOLUME 4:5765 DECEMBER 2004 Light in the Darkness by David Brickner, Executive Director Have you ever been in a dark room when someone suddenly turns on the light? If you were struggling to see, fumbling to find a switch, you are grateful. But if you were relaxing comfortably in that darkened room, you squint at the sudden onslaught of brightness, shielding your eyes and possibly demanding to know who flipped that switch. Light is not always welcome. But light is exactly the metaphor that God uses to describe some of His most dramatic workings in our world, drama that we remember especially this month. that it represents victory against those who try to destroy the Jewish people by absorbing them into the larger society. Others will say that it represents the human spirit and what can happen when a few courageous people stand up for what is right. Some will joke wryly that it is the Jewish answer to Christmas. But many overlook a wonderful truth that Hanukkah illustrates God consistently uses less to accomplish more. He empowers the weak and the few to overcome the powerful and the many. He doesn t need to throw a galaxy of stars at the darkness in order to bring light. First, December 7 begins the eight-day holiday of Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights. This holiday commemorates events that occurred during a dark time for the nation of Israel. The Jewish people were under Syrian domination. Wicked King Antiochus was forcing Jews to assimilate to abandon their heritage and their God. He desecrated the Temple and extinguished the eternal flame that burned as a symbol of God s holy presence. In that dark hour, light dawned. The Maccabees, a family of Jews who chose to oppose the evil Antiochus, arose to fight. Though vastly outnumbered, the Maccabees and their small army defeated the superior Syrian forces, recaptured the Temple and rekindled the eternal flame. If you ask Jewish people about the meaning of Hanukkah, some will say On each night of Hanukkah, Jewish people will light special ninebranched candelabras. We light the ninth or servant candle first and use it to light the other candles, one candle for the first night, two for the second and so on. By the eighth night all nine candles are burning brightly each having received the light from that one servant. Believers in Jesus see the same principle as we celebrate the Light of the World during this same season Jews f r Jesus (continued on page 2)

2 (continued from page 1) That flame and the servant candle on the candelabra remind us of the servant Messiah who came as a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of thy people Israel. (Luke 2:32). The Messiah came into this world at a dark time as well, as the prophet Isaiah predicted He would: The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined. (Isaiah 9:2) During that dark time, the Jewish people were once again under foreign domination this time by Rome. Poverty and injustice permeated the land. Rome insisted these impoverished people travel far from home in order to register. Their only reward was the privilege of handing over even more of their meager resources to the foreign occupier. So it was that Mary and Joseph wound up in that hovel of a maternity ward in Bethlehem. The manger was probably set in a dark and dingy place, a cave of rock and dirt in the side of a hill rather than the cozy image of the crèche so often depicted at Christmas time. Yet from that dark place and in that dark time a bright light shone for the world to see. When light scatters darkness it always causes a reaction. Do you remember the shepherds on the hillsides of Bethlehem? In the darkness of that night they were suddenly overwhelmed with the glory of the Lord shining all around. Despite their fear they were drawn in wonder to that light. It brought them to the darkened cave where they bowed to worship that baby who was born the Light of the World. Just a baby, weak, even helpless. But the darkness could not withstand His light. And people responded in awe. Of course not everyone welcomed His light. Herod tried to snuff it out. Later, many of the religious leaders felt threatened by His light. But even though He was crucified and buried, lying powerless once more in a darkened cave, three days later the light of Messiah burst forth from the The darker the night the greater the light as Jesus shines through us. grave. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it (John 1:5). God s drama continues today as He shines His light into the darkness. Jesus told his followers, You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. (Matthew 5:14) That is our legacy as Jews and Gentiles who have received the Light. We shouldn t be surprised by the varied reactions or the drama that can erupt when we shine for God. Some look with joy toward that light, grateful to see what before had only been shrouded in darkness. Others raise their hands to shield their eyes or loudly demand to be left in darkness. When Jews for Jesus first began back in the 1970s we were located in Marin County, north of San Francisco. But Moishe and the early founders of Jews for Jesus felt compelled to move our offices into the city. We believed that God wanted us to truly be that city that can t be hidden, to shine brightly in a dark place. We have been here in San Francisco ever since. As things have grown increasingly dark here, His light shines all the brighter. And those who shine it along with us here in San Francisco are our allies in a drama that will continue to play out... until the day dawns and the morning star rises... (2 Peter 1:19). The darker the night the greater the light as Jesus shines through us. All this month our missionaries will be out in key cities around the world, handing out gospel tracts like the one enclosed with this newsletter. Yet everyone who knows Jesus is called to shine for Him, whether in the city or the countryside, at home or at work. If you feel weak and small, mazel tov it s all the more evidence of your calling. Remember that God has a habit of doing more with less. As we celebrate the true Light coming into the world, I can t think of any better way to mark the season than by making ourselves available and vulnerable to shine as lights in the darkness. Together, let s shine out for Him that He might receive all the glory! WE EXIST TO MAKE THE MESSIAHSHIP OF JESUS AN UNAVOIDABLE ISSUE TO OUR JEWISH PEOPLE WORLDWIDE. JEWS F R JESUS INTERNATIONAL HEADQUARTERS: 60 HAIGHT STREET, SAN FRANCISCO, CA jfj@jewsforjesus.org; HOME PAGE: ALSO WORKING IN: AUSTRALIA, BRAZIL, CANADA, FRANCE, GERMANY, ISRAEL, RUSSIA, SOUTH AFRICA,UKRAINE and THE UNITED KINGDOM EDITOR: RUTH ROSEN; ART DIRECTION: PAIGE SAUNDERS; DESIGN AND ILLUSTRATION: DAVID YAPP; VOLUME 4:5765, DECEMBER

3 WHO KNEW? (JEWISH TRIVIA) South Carolina Columbia Charleston In 1800, South Carolina had a Jewish population of 10,000 twice as many as lived in New York City at the time. Bronco Billy, the first movie cowboy, was played by a Jewish actor, Max Aronson. The Confederate cabinet offices of Attorney General, Secretary of War and Secretary of State were each held by one person known as the brains of the Confederacy. That person was a Louisiana Jew, Judah P. Benjamin. Judah P. Benjamin Louisiana Baton Rouge New Orleans Please pray for: many Jewish people to become curious during this season as they hear songs, see TV specials and in general have more opportunities to hear about the Messiah energy for our missionaries as they step up evangelism this month to greet holiday shoppers with our broadside tracts, and for many seeds to fall on good ground Oy Vey! Thanks to John Torczynski of Albuquerque, New Mexico for the following correction: The article by David Brickner in your September, 2004 edition was great, but the well-known missiologist (p. 2) is Ralph Winter, not Ralph Winters. Keep on making the Messiahship of Jesus an unavoidable issue. grace and strength for new Jewish believers Miriam (Germany), Yoran, Moshe, and Frieda (Israel), Martin (Boston) and Solomon (Ukraine) p. 8 continued follow-up for the many Behold Your God campaigns that have taken place this year, that new believers will be grounded in their faith and near-believers will realize the truth of Jesus and follow Him 3

4 By Rich Robinson Title Selected NT Passages OT Background Remarks God John 1:1; 20:28 1 John 5:20 Disputed as to correct manuscript reading: John 1:18 Disputed as to correct translation: Romans 9:5; Tit. 2:13 Isaiah 9:6 is the classic OT verse on the deity of the coming Messiah, but Daniel 7:13 is at least as strong (see Son of Man below). In 7:14, the word often translated as serve elsewhere is used of worship offered to God. Although some of the stronger statements in the NT as to the deity of Jesus are in dispute, the case for His deity does not depend on any disputed texts. It should be noted that the first-century mind (at least among the non-greeks) was not as prone to logically define things as we are. While Jesus was recognized as divine in the early church, the oneness of God was also upheld without there being an immediate need to define the person of Christ or the Trinity. Those doctrines were not formulated for several centuries. Messiah Used by Jesus in John 4:25-26; Mark 9:41; Matthew 23:10; Luke 24:26, 46 By Peter in Mark 8:29 By Caiaphas in Mark 14:61 Also see Acts 2:36; 3:20 The term means anointed one and was used with regard to kings, priests, and prophets. Eventually it became the leading popular designation of a Davidic leader who would give Israel victory over its enemies and usher in the kingdom of God. Jesus rarely used the title of Himself, probably because of its political overtones, but when others used it to refer to Him, He never rejected the title. Messianic claims are also evident in such acts as the Triumphal Entry in Jerusalem, and in passages like Luke 7: In effect, Jesus gave a different meaning to Messiahship than was current among the populace. Because it was a Scriptural expression, He did not reject the use of it as a title, but He emphasized its aspects of humility and suffering, which were generally missing from the popular concept. Lord Relatively infrequent in gospels: e.g., Mark 12:35-37 Very frequent in the epistles: 1 Corinthians 8:6; 12:3; 16:22; Philippians 2:11 The Septuagint (Greek translation of the OT made several hundred years before Christ) used the word Kurios to translate YHWH or Jehovah, the name of God. The same Greek word kurios was then used in the NT to refer to Jesus. As a form of address, Lord could merely be the equivalent of Rabbi or Teacher (see Luke 6:46). But to call Jesus the Lord Jesus Christ was to affirm His deity. Jewish hearers would know that Lord was an OT title of God. This is underscored by the NT application to Jesus of OT texts that spoke of God: Philippians 2:11, referring to Isaiah 45:23; Romans 10:13 referring to Joel 2:32; Hebrews 1:10-12, referring to Psalm 102: Gentile listeners, too, would be accustomed to hearing the term Lord used of the emperors, who were considered divine. Son of God Used by Jesus in John 10:36, 11:4 (much more frequently He simply calls Himself the Son ) By Satan: Matthew 4:3 By disciples: Matthew 14:33; 16:16 By High Priest: Matthew 26:63 By mockers: Matthew 27:40 By demons: Mark 3:11 In context of His pre-existence: Galatians 4:4; John 3:17 Used in the OT to refer to Israel, angels and kings as being in a special relationship to God (2 Samuel 7:14; Psalm 2:7; Psalm 89:26 [implied]). Generally it is held that Son of God was not a Messianic title. Evidence from the Dead Sea Scrolls suggests that possibly it was beginning to be used as such by the time of Jesus. Son of God was also used in the Wisdom of Solomon, one of the books of the Apocrypha, to refer simply to a righteous man. Probably that was the Roman centurion's intention in Matthew 27:54 and Mark 15:39 (cf. Luke 23:47). Nevertheless, Jesus went far beyond any other usage. He never spoke of the Father as our Father but rather as my Father and your Father (John 20:17). Whereas Jewish people customarily addressed God as avi, my father, Jesus called Him abba, daddy. Finally, whereas the OT term referred strictly to a status or position, Jesus' use of the term coupled with its use elsewhere in the NT indicates that it referred not only to a special status that Jesus had, but to His very nature. Son of Man Numerous places in the gospels (see remarks) Once in Acts 7:56 Never in epistles Son of Man is used to mean mankind (Psalm 8:4) or an individual human being (Ezekiel 2:1); but Daniel 7:13, the source of Jesus' use of the term, refers to a divine personage. This title (except in Acts) was used only by Jesus to refer to Himself as: 1. The equivalent of I (e.g., Luke 7:34) 2. When speaking of His sufferings (Mark 8:3 1) 3. When speaking of His return in glory (Mark 14:62) In Daniel 7, a figure like a son of man comes upon the clouds of heaven (cf. Mark 13:26). This figure is divine; therefore contrary to popular belief, the title Son of man relates not so much to Jesus' humanity as to His deity (although the notion of humanity is not absent). Besides this, Daniel 7 shows a relationship between the son of man figure and the people of God (Daniel 7:14 and 7:27). For these reasons, as well as for its lack of political overtones, Jesus used it as the most frequent designation of Himself. For Further Reading Basic: The Lord From Heaven, Leon Morris, Inter-Varsity Press, Advanced and quite technical: The Origins of New Testament Christology, I. Howard Marshall, Inter-Varsity Press, *Metaphorical descriptions such as The Door, The Good Shepherd, The Way, The Truth, and The Life, Lamb of God, Bread of Life, The Light of the World, The Word, The Lord of the Sabbath, I Am, etc. are not included.

5 Moishe, s Musingsby Moishe Rosen, Jews for Jesus Founder The Six-Year-Old Scrooge Was Me The first grade classroom was a wonderful world of discovery. For example, I discovered I could give my desk or my seat a shove and neither would move they were bolted to the ground. The walls had big pieces of slate with a shelf at the bottom and they called them blackboards even though they were green. There was a big, wonderful clock on the wall. Every new hour the bell would ring and that meant that it was time for the big kids to change rooms. (In the first grade, we didn t change rooms.) There was a lot to discover in the first grade, but there were also mysteries like some of the songs that we sang as the days got shorter and colder. I found myself wondering what a round yon virgin was, or why Harold angel was singing hark, whatever that meant. But when you are six you can afford to be patient, because there are many strange new things, and if you wait the teacher explains them to you. Nevertheless it was my mother who finally explained about the songs. She said that it was alright to sing them at school, but not at home where Daddy would hear them. She explained that they just weren t our songs. That didn t entirely satisfy me so I asked my cousin, Donald, who was a year older than me. In a conspiratorial tone Donald said that those were the songs that goyim (non-jews) sang. Furthermore, he told me goyim had a different religion, and goyim didn t like us, and that s why it would upset our parents to hear us sing their songs. He went on to describe how goyim had their own yomtov (holiday) about the birth of this magical baby. The baby was magical, according to Donald, because he grew up and did magical things, like making sick people well, and if he got mad at anybody, by magic he would kill them, and they would be dead. And he was magic because he couldn t be killed. Well, that s as much as a six-year-old could understand and I was satisfied for awhile. Soon I was old enough to realize that there was no such thing as magic, so I lost interest in the magic baby. But somehow, we couldn t get away from it. On the magic baby s birthday, some kids got lots of presents but that wasn t for Jewish kids. When we went downtown, the store windows had wonderful manikins that really moved, and more songs that we were not supposed to sing. Also, the magic baby holiday had a lot of red and green decorations. The songs sounded happy, and the colors looked bright, but we weren t supposed to let ourselves be happy, because it was not our holiday it was for the goyim. 6 We had Hanukkah, but our candles and our songs didn t seem as bright and happy as Christmas lights and songs. By the time I got into the third grade, we were able to move into a Jewish neighborhood. All of my Jewish friends made fun of Christmas. We joked as though even if we could have the holiday, we wouldn t want it. I remember chanting along with my cousins and a couple of neighborhood kids, We hate Christmas. We hate Christmas. It s not that we really hated Christmas. In fact, I think that each one of us probably wanted Christmas but Christmas left us out. Sometimes I ve wondered if we learn to hate what we re not allowed to have. At the same time it seems like children feel a mysterious beckoning from that which is forbidden. I know that I did, and when a couple of Gentile neighbors moved into the block, I saw Christmas trees and found out that they were fun. The neighbor also gave me some cookies, which my mother later said we couldn t eat because they were made with lard, or pig fat. I didn t tell her that I had already eaten one of the cookies. Many years later when I was a big boy I had a girlfriend, Ceil, who came from a more religious home than mine. Her forbidden fruit was Christmas carols. She liked singing them. It was one of those secrets that teenage kids could only share with one another. Years later, that girlfriend became my wife and those Christmas carols got her wondering and seeking and learning. She learned that the mystique about that baby (continued on page 7)

6 Some people pronounce them lot-kahz and some people pronounce them lot-keys but the emphasis is on the lot either way, and we think you ll like them... well, a lot! Latkes, the perfect potato pancakes, are a favorite tradition at Hanukkah. Fried in oil, they remind us of the story of the oil used to rededicate the Temple. Whereas legend says there was only enough oil to last one day, we are taught that God caused the Temple light to continue burning for eight days, until more oil could be procured. In years past, we ve published various recipes from staff members. At the risk of ruffling friends and family members feathers, I have to say that the latkes that stand out in my mind are those made by my colleagues, Steve and Janie-sue Wertheim. They are eye-rolling, sigh-heaving, mouth-watering perfection. What you need: 6-8 russet potatoes, grated 2 teaspoons salt 1 tablespoon baking powder 2 eggs, beaten 1/4 to 1/2 cup flour pinch of white pepper 1 large onion chopped fine Oil for frying Serves six people POTATO LATKES Traditional for Hanukkah What you do: Place a heavy pan on the stove and fill with oil to a depth of 1 and a half to 2 inches. Heat over low to medium heat while you put together the ingredients for the batter. Squeeze out the excess liquid from the grated potatoes and put the potatoes into a large mixing bowl. Add the chopped onion, salt, pepper and eggs. Mix well. Add the flour a little bit at a time, mixing as you go till the batter sticks together well (you may need to use all the flour). Cover the batter with cellophane wrap so that no air hits the batter while you are waiting for the pan to heat. (If you leave it uncovered, your batter will turn black due to a chemical reaction with the air!) Check the pan to see if the oil is hot enough by carefully easing a scant teaspoon of batter into the oil. If it is hot enough, it will immediately begin to fry vigorously and will quickly turn golden brown. If this doesn t happen, you need to wait till the oil gets hot and try again (you can test this with a kitchen thermometer the oil should be at about 375 o F). When the oil is hot, use a 1/4 cup measure full of batter to create your latkes. Don t crowd them too much in the pan. Turn them over when they are dark golden brown on one side and cook the other side. Drain well on paper towels. If you are making a big batch, put a pan in the oven with a wire rack. Heat the oven to about 250 o F and lay the drained latkes on the rack so they ll stay warm while you are cooking the rest. Serve with sour cream and/or applesauce. If your latkes never make it to the table because greedy fingers keep snatching them off the paper towel before you can load up a plate, mazel tov (congratulations) you ve mastered the art of latke making. (continued from page 6) wasn t some kind of magic; it was God. From the special birth of the baby Jesus, to the healings and all the miracles it was all God. And the baby grew up to be Someone who really could be killed, but only because He wanted to die for our sins. Yet He was so powerful, He rose the third day from the dead. Even though I still ridiculed the idea, it became clear that Ceil believed in a greater reality than the ordinary things we could see and know every day. And though I didn t want to believe it because I had always learned that Jesus was not for us Jews, somehow I knew that it was true. Before long, I had to admit what I believed and when I did, I 7 discovered that the happy colors and the happy songs to announce Him were for everybody, even me. But the biggest joy wasn t the lights, or presents or cookies we had secretly longed for as children; it was just knowing Jesus and having Him as Savior. And under God, Jews and Gentiles together could enjoy the meaning of His coming.

7 Essen Branch leader Avi Snyder reports, I was handing out broadside tracts when a Jewish woman named Miriam approached me with unconcealed excitement. The fact that I identify openly as a Jew who believes in Jesus compelled her to want to know more. She told me that her Jewish father had been killed by the Nazis. Her Christian mother then married a German soldier to protect herself and her young daughter. They survived the war, but all her life, Miriam was raised with great fear. No wonder the Jews for Jesus T-shirt fascinated her. We set up a meeting and a few days later I was asking her to read aloud from Isaiah 53. When she finished, I asked, Does that sound like anyone you ve ever heard about? It s Jesus, she replied with no hint of surprise. But her matter-of-fact attitude turned to astonishment when I explained that she d been reading from the Old Testament, not the New. We worked through the passage carefully, Miriam s eyes riveted on the page as I explained the Gospel from verses that had been written more than 700 years before Y shua (Jesus) walked the earth. Finally she looked up. Why don t our people believe? she asked. Fear, I said. But the real question is this: why don t you believe? I invited Miriam to pray with me to receive the Lord, and she agreed. Please pray that Miriam will become grounded in the love of the Lord the love that casts out all fear. Tel Aviv Shlomy Abramov reports, I had an appointment with an unsaved Israeli named Yoran and was pleased to find him waiting, on time, at our designated meeting place. He had grown up in an Orthodox family and was hungry for God. He said he had known lots about Y shua, but could never put together the pieces to understand who He really is. After an hour of discussing and looking at Scripture, Yoran realized that Y shua is the Jewish Messiah and wanted to repeat a prayer after me to ask Him into his heart. Please pray for his Bits from the growth in Messiah and for me as I disciple him. Also from Shlomy: Several of us participated in a three-day outreach in Acco, which is two hours from Tel Aviv. We recently returned to follow up and were so encouraged. Three people prayed to receive Messiah as Lord and Savior during this follow-up day: Moshe, Naftali and Frieda. Please pray they will all grow in their faith. Boston Oded Cohen reports, I first met Martin, a Jewish man in his 60 s, at the hospital just after he came out of heart surgery. He was glad I was there, even though he was still groggy. He told me about a dream he d had of Jesus. Martin asked Jesus, Please let me touch your robe. But he felt that Jesus ignored him. I have been meeting with Martin ever since. During a recent visit, Martin was extremely depressed, lonely and even wishing he had not survived the surgery. He told me that his friends have forgotten him, he is locked in his house and nobody cares. He said, You will see, the phone will not ring a single time while you are here. No sooner had he said that than the phone rang. Martin rushed to the phone, excitedly, saying, I made a liar of myself! He got two more phone calls during our visit. Between phone calls we were able to talk about the Lord and Martin prayed with me to receive Jesus into his heart. Please pray for him to have an unshakable faith in God s care and provision for him, and also pray for his healing and finances. Dnepropetrovsk Sergei Koulakov reports, Solomon used to attend our Shabbat meetings years ago, but stopped coming when he heard that following Jesus requires changing one s life and abandoning sin. I recently visited him and saw an emotionally and physically broken person who admitted he was a deep sinner before God and prayed to repent. Please pray that the Lord will lift Solomon and that his faith may be sincere. 8