The highest holiday among the high Jewish holidays – Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
There are many statements by Ellen White that describe in detail how Jesus and his disciples, but above all Paul, reached the Jews. It would be good if we took these teachings and role models to heart in our social commitment.
How Jesus reached them
“Jesus reached the hearts of his listeners by showing them his love. Little by little, as they could bear it, he presented to them the great truths of the kingdom of heaven. We too would do well to learn how to adapt our work to people’s circumstances and meet them where they are. It is true that we have the task of proclaiming to the world what God’s law expects of them. But we should never forget that love, Jesus’ love, is the only power that can soften a person and lead them into discipleship. All the great truths of Scripture are anchored in Jesus. Properly understood, they all lead to him. Present Jesus as Alpha and Omega, as the beginning and end of the great plan of salvation! Present people with topics that strengthen their trust in God and his Word and encourage them to investigate his teachings for themselves. Then, as they progress step by step in Bible study, they will be better prepared to appreciate the beauty and harmony of precious truths.”(Review and Herald, November 25, 1890)
How Paul proceeded
“This is how Paul describes his approach. He did not meet the Jews in such a way as to arouse their prejudices. He did not risk making enemies of them by immediately telling them that they had to reach the hearts of the Jews and believe in Jesus of Nazareth. Instead, he dwelled on the promises of the Old Testament, which pointed to the Messiah, his mission and his work. In this way, he led them on step by step while showing them how important it is to keep God’s law. He also gave due attention to the ceremonial law, showing that the Messiah Himself instituted the whole sacrificial system. After dwelling on these topics and proving that he was well versed in them, he introduced them to the first coming of the Messiah. He showed them that all the characteristics of the prophecies were fulfilled in the crucified Jesus. So wisely did Paul proceed!”(Review and Herald, November 25, 1890)
The right choice of words
It is better not to speak of the Old Testament, because this gives the impression that the Jewish Bible is “outdated” or no longer valid. The Old Testament can be called Tanakh ( תנ״ך – tn “k). This is a Hebrew abbreviation. The T stands for Torah, i.e. the five books of Moses, the N for Nevi’im, the prophets, and the K for Ketuvim or writings. This part of the
of the Bible can also be referred to as the Jewish or Hebrew Bible. The New Testament, if used, should be referred to as a Jewish [!] book. It should be explained to some Jews that not all Gentiles consider themselves Christians. Many Jews think that Gentiles and Christians are one and the same. For them, Christians are also the persecutors of the Jews in history. Humility, prayer and genuine empathy should characterize our testimony of faith. Far too often Jews have perceived Christianity as arrogant, presumptuous and contemptuous of Jewish culture. Paul warns us against such pride in Romans 11:13-32.
The Jewish calendar
Anyone who has fellowship with Jews should know the Jewish calendar and the Jewish holidays. A Jewish friend will appreciate it if you are knowledgeable enough to respect their festivals. The year 2008, for example, was the year 5768 of the Jewish calendar (counted from the beginning of the world according to Jewish tradition). Rosh ha-Shanah, the Jewish New Year, was on September 30 this year [2008]. It is a good idea to send a New Year’s card to Jewish friends or relatives on this occasion. Yom Kippur, the highest holiday among the high Jewish holidays, is the Day of Atonement. It always falls on the fifth day after the New Year. We do not want to explain the entire Jewish calendar here. There are plenty of websites about this. It is important to know that the Jewish calendar is based on the moon, not the sun. The Jewish year consists of 12 months of 29 or 30 days each.
The difference between the lunar and solar calendars is about 10 days. The Jewish year is therefore shorter. For this reason, Jewish scholars have introduced a 13th month, which extends the year by one month in 12 out of 19 years.
Bible lessons with Jews
If you have the opportunity to study the Bible with a Jew, you should not forget that he will not initially be convinced of the correctness of the Bible or its teachings, but of the love of God that he sees in your life. There is a set of Bible lessons by Dr. Jacques Doukhan at Andrews University in English, French and Hebrew, soon to be available in Spanish. These are fifteen Bible lessons entitled Shma Yisrael. Depending on your personality and that of the Jew, however, different paths will be appropriate. On the following pages, therefore, I propose a second series of Bible lessons modeled after the one Paul described above by Ellen White.
This series revolves around themes from the first part of the Bible and introduces Yeshua as the Messiah towards the end of the study. Here is an overview of the content of the series.
1. trust in God. Many Jews have lost their trust in God because of the Holocaust. This is about the existence of God. Trust in God is built up despite the events in Jewish history. The aim of these studies is to help Jews recognize God as someone who loves them and who wants to give them peace. “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have drawn you to myself out of pure grace.” (Jeremiah 31:3)
2. trustworthiness of the Bible. For many Jews, the Talmud, the Mishnah and the oral tradition are as important as the Bible and are therefore called oral Torah. Many believe that Moses received these traditions at Sinai at the same time as the written Torah. This lesson describes the Bible and that it can be trusted more than other scriptures.
3. study in the book of Daniel. Jews can very much identify with Daniel because he lived in the diaspora. They were often in a similar situation. The historical part of the book shows that God is in control of our lives. The prophetic part shows that God directs world history. The book of Daniel paints an accurate picture of church history and the persecution of the Jews by the church.
of the Jews by the church. Daniel 9 and the 70-year weeks is the best news that Jews can hear. A wonderful prophecy of the coming Messiah and the date of his arrival.
4 The Law. The purpose of the Ten Commandments, the Sabbath and the purity laws is to make Jews realize that our personal sin (transgression of the law) separates us from God. “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not too short to save, nor his ear too hard to hear; but your iniquities separate you from your God, and your sins hide his face from you, so that he does not hear!” (Isaiah 59:1-2)
5 The sanctuary. The purpose of this lesson is for Jews to recognize through the sanctuary symbols and personal spiritual life, through the symbols and meaning of sacrifice, and the concept of forgiveness, the theology of substitution, that they need a sacrifice to be redeemed. “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls. For it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.” (Exodus 17:11) God once commanded that the Temple Mount should be the place of worship. All sacrifices among God’s people were to be offered there. In His grace, however, God did not leave us without atonement even after the destruction of the temple.
6 The significance of the biblical feasts. The aim of this lesson is for Jews to discover the Messianic meanings of the biblical feasts, e.g: (1) Passover (Pesach), (2) Shavuot (Pentecost), (3) Rosh ha-Shanah (Feast of Trumpets), (4) Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), and (5) Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles).
7 The Messiah. The purpose of this lesson is for Jews to recognize in the Messiah our God-ordained atoning sacrifice. To this end, the Messiah of Jewish tradition and the Bible as well as the Messianic prophecies are studied. “Indeed, he bore our sickness and took our pains upon himself, but we thought him punished, stricken by God and bowed down. But he was pierced through for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; the punishment was on him that we might have peace, and by his wounds we have been healed. We all went astray like sheep, each of us turned to his own way; but the Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:4-6) He offered Himself for their sins once for all when He offered Himself as a sacrifice (Hebrews 7:27).
8. the application of the discoveries about Jesus, the Messiah. The goal of this lesson is for Jews to receive Jesus into their lives through prayer. Prayer with a Jew must be addressed directly to God the Father. We can begin the prayer in the Jewish way: “Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob …”
9. end-time prophecies. The goal of this lesson is for Jews in the Seventh-day Adventist Church to recognize God’s end-time people. To this end, the Day of Atonement and the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary, the end of time and the return of the Messiah are studied.
Conclusion
Just like Paul, Ellen White really cared about the Jewish people. She says in an article published in 1890, “God’s workers need a broad horizon. They must not be single-minded in their thinking or stereotyped in their approach. They need flexibility in the way they work. The needs of people in different circumstances and conditions need to be taken into account. God wants His servants, young and old, to constantly train and learn to serve all people better and better in their needs. They should not sit back contentedly, thinking that their way is perfect and that others must work as they do.”(Review and Herald, November 25, 1890)
RICHARD ELOFER
From: Comfort, Comfort My People, Silver
Spring, Maryland (2009): Worldwide
Adventist-Jewish Friendship Center,
Pages 148-153.
With kind permission.
Source: hoffnung-weltweit.info
