Dear brothers and sisters in Messiah,
I have been pondering the touching story in the New Testament about the Roman centurion who asked Jesus to heal his servant (Luke 7:1–10). As the story progresses, we discover this centurion was noteworthy for his surprising love for Jewish people, which led him to build a synagogue for the Jewish community of Capernaum (Luke 7:5).
Perhaps the centurion saw the dimming spark of God’s presence in the Galilean city, which Jesus Himself chided for its lack of spirituality (Matthew 11:23). Conversely, Jesus commended the words and actions of this centurion who had come to love the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
I find the Roman centurion to be an inspiration! He loved the God of Israel, the Messiah of Israel, and the people of Israel.
While Jewish people today do not usually require Christian help to build synagogues, we do need help fighting the increasingly virulent antisemitism not seen since the Holocaust. Additionally, our not-yet-believing Jewish people need to hear the gospel message so they, too, can powerfully encounter Jesus the Messiah, the Prince of Peace.
A Promise
We live in a world overwhelmed by spiritual, moral, and political confusion, which is why it is so important to see life through the lens of Scripture. For example, though more than 60 percent of Christians above the age of fifty believe the land of Israel belongs to the people of Israel, our younger generation of future leaders in the church are not as certain. The number of those believers under forty who support Israel drops down to below 50 percent! However, when we read about God’s assurances to Abraham and his descendants and the Abrahamic promise to create a people destined to live in the Promised Land, we are clear on this fundamental truth: God gave the land of Israel to His chosen people.
In Genesis 12:1–3, we learn this promise is without conditions and free of time parameters. The fulfillment of the promise depends upon the power of God rather than the capabilities of humankind. Jewish people were created for a holy purpose and mission to bless the world. God said directly to Abram, “I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed” (Genesis 12:3, emphasis added). God created Jewish people for the sake of the Gentiles!
A People
The very creation of the people was a miracle. Abraham and Sarah were beyond childbearing age, yet God supernaturally intervened to create Isaac, who was the first fruits of God’s promise to Abraham.
God promised no one would ever destroy this people. Numerous nations tried to destroy the people of Israel, but God would not allow it and kept His mighty hand upon them (Jeremiah 31:35–37).
A Place
The boundaries of the land given to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are outlined in Genesis 15:18: “On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, ‘To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates.’”
The answer to those who question if Jewish people have a right to the land is to believe this passage and take it literally—as far as the great river, the river Euphrates.
The cry of anti-Israel protesters, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” opposes what God promised in His word. As faithful followers of Jesus and those who believe the Bible, we reject the slogan entirely as it displaces Jewish people from the very land God Himself promised!
The tension in the Middle East will never subside until those involved in the conflict recognize the biblical promises of God to Jewish people and take them to heart. God pledged ownership of the land to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Any efforts toward reconciliation apart from this promise will ultimately fail.
We do not wish to debate whether 1948 was a human act or accomplished by the power of God. We understand the current conflict is complex, yet at the heart of the issue is the question of whether the land of Israel belongs to the people of Israel by virtue of God’s covenant with Israel. If we read the Bible literally and come to the conclusion that He gave this land—with the Genesis 15 boundaries—to Jewish people, then we must support the right of Jewish people to live in the land God established for His chosen people.
A Purpose
God promised Jewish people would live in the Holy Land and be a blessing to the nations. Isaiah predicted shalom (peace) would come to the Middle East: “In that day Israel will be the third party with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth” (Isa 19:24).
Jewish people will enjoy an enduring peace when the Prince of Peace reigns on His rightful throne. This hope reminds me of the temporary nature of all earthly conflicts, which the Messiah Himself will one day resolve.
A Prayer with a Promise
The prayer we should pray throughout the Israel-Hamas conflict is the one for peace the psalmist penned in Psalm 122:6–7: “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: ‘May they prosper who love you. May peace be within your walls, and prosperity within your palaces.’”
This prayer includes a promise: Those who love Jerusalem will prosper. The Hebrew word shalah, which is translated as “prosper,” refers to a sense of inner peace, as those who pray for peace will experience peace in their lives as well.
The peace we enjoy in our relationship with God is a foretaste of the global peace God will bring to the world when His Son returns to reign on His rightful throne. He is the Prince of Peace and will remove the curse of sin at the heart of the current conflict. He will bring humanity back to the peace Adam and Eve experienced in the Garden of Eden. The prophet Ezekiel mentioned a future day when the nation of Israel will turn to the Lord, and the land will be “like the garden of Eden” (Ezekiel 36:35).
A Plea: For Christians to Oppose Antisemitism
I am hoping both local churches and individual Christians will boldly pray against and actively oppose the rising global antisemitism. Our 130-year-old ministry is here to inspire you to pray for, support, and act on behalf of Jewish people by opposing antisemitism.
I hope you will go on to read about the Coalition Against Antisemitism, which seeks the welfare of Jewish people everywhere by building bridges between Jewish and Christian institutions to support Jewish people during this season of growing antisemitism, energized by the tragic events of October 7, and now moving across continents and campuses at a stunning pace.
Jewish people need our help today!
See Something . . . Say Something: A Call to Action
How can we stand by and watch Jewish people suffer at the hands of modern-day Hamans and Hitlers? Antisemitism is anti-gospel and anti-God. It is antithetical to God’s promises found in Scripture. The problems in the Middle East cannot be solved by removing Jewish people “from the river to the sea.” The beginning of any diplomatic solution must be to allow Jewish people to live safely and peacefully in the land God promised to His chosen people.
Let me be clear: We believe the gospel is the only ultimate hope for Jewish people, Arabs, and all who seek authentic and enduring peace.
So, how can we be part of the solution to this seemingly insoluble problem?
The first step is to turn to the Lord in prayer and intercession and then view the conflict through the lens of Scripture. Our actions must begin with prayer because this battle is a spiritual one, and prayer puts us in the right relationship with the One who made these promises. The Scriptures provide the understanding we need to propose workable solutions because they are in sync with God’s eternal purposes.
Then, like the centurion, we ought to find ways to bless Jewish people, as blessing the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will lead to blessings for the world. If we support those working toward the destruction of Jewish people and their removal from the land of Israel, then we are working against the eternal purposes of God (Acts 5:39)!
Let us join the Holy One in blessing Israel, Jewish people, and all men and women who are created in the image of God and for whom Jesus died.
I know this newsletter will help you better understand what we are up against and find ways to pray for and support Jewish people. Thank you for caring, praying, and supporting the 130-year-old work of Your Mission to the Jewish People.
Your brother,
Mitch
* Note: This is preliminary data. An earlier version of this press release was updated on January 17, 2024 to reflect the latest findings.
The Coalition against Antisemitism
As believers in the Jewish Messiah, we should support Jewish people as well as the land, as the modern State of Israel includes more than 60 percent of the world’s Jewish population. Although many antisemitic conspiracies existed long before 1948, Israel has now become the target of Islamic antisemitism, going far beyond politics to the dehumanization of Jewish people and Israelis, especially in Arabic social media and through the preaching of radical mullahs (those trained in Muslim law). Current political arguments against the Jewish homeland are often driven by age-old anti-Jewish views regarding Jewish subservience to Muslims and European-influenced racist theories and, therefore, are antisemitic and not political in nature!
Our news briefs each month feature recent stories from around our ministry. They show how God is working through our staff around the world as we bring the gospel “to the Jew first” and also to the Gentile (Romans 1:16).
