By Charles Gardner —
Very dear friends of mine who love Jesus and count many Jewish people as their neighbors recently held an ‘Israel Afternoon’ as one of their regular outreaches.
They represent the UK branch of the international Evangelical Sisters of Mary movement, birthed among the rubble of Germany towards the end of World War II when a praying group of young ladies realized that the brutal bombing of their cities was God’s judgment for touching “the apple of his eye” (Zechariah 2:8) through the mass murder of Jews in the Holocaust.
The sisters who are based in the London area were overwhelmed by the response to their ‘open day’ with more than 100 friends attending, nearly half of whom were Jewish. One of the sisters began by asking the Christians “to stand and say to our Jewish friends; ‘You are not alone!’”
Sister Thekla, who is German, reports: “Many were deeply touched; some had tears in their eyes and, later, others said: ‘You don’t know what this afternoon meant to us’.”
Guest speakers, from Bridges for Peace, testified how they are seeking to help Israel’s Jewish community and the IDF soldiers wherever possible.
And yet this is not generally the experience of Jewish people in the south of England. Only the other day a menacing mob of pro-Palestinian protestors descended on a north London synagogue. Why is this?
I believe it’s because the UK Church is not giving a clear lead on these matters. Jesus calls us to let our light shine before men and not hide it under a bushel. Yet in failing to adequately demonstrate love for the Jewish people in our midst, we are surely hiding the light that has brought us, through Christ, into the kingdom of God.
With the Jewish festival of Hanukkah approaching, we are reminded of the miraculous way the menorah kept burning for eight days at the re-dedication of the Temple when there was only enough oil for a day. The restoration followed its desecration by the Syrian Greek tyrant Antiochus Epiphanes when he sacrificed a pig there and blasphemously proclaimed himself God.
We learn from John’s Gospel that Jesus himself attended this festival some two centuries later, and it was in the Temple precincts at this time that a conflict arose over his Messianic claims. Yeshua was indeed the ‘great light’ prophesied by Isaiah (chapter 9:2).
With the re-dedication having reportedly taken place on December 25th 164 BC, there is good reason to believe that Hanukkah (also Chanukah) was seen by the first disciples as the ideal way to mark the birth of our Lord, with its emphasis on light and Jesus being the perfect embodiment of the temple restoration. All of which would surely make Christmas a Jewish feast! Whatever you think about that, it is the Church’s responsibility to look out for the Jews. (See Romans 11:18; 15:27)
In South Africa, where their government, like ours, is no friend of Israel, Jews can nevertheless walk the streets in relative safety because Christians there are prepared to let their light shine.
Shaun Zagnoev, an Orthodox Jew visiting Israel as part of a South African delegation of mainly Christians showing their support for the embattled nation, explained: “Christianity is the dominant religion in South Africa. When you look beyond the politics, the overwhelming majority of South Africans want to engage with Israel, not isolate it. We have millions of friends of Israel in our country.”
And he added that it’s one of the least antisemitic societies anywhere. “The government’s stance is totally out of step with the people.”
My best friend from schooldays in South Africa is very involved in a ministry called Touching Hearts whose vision – among other things – is to help prepare the bride of Christ for Jesus’ return and “to help bring in the full number of the Gentiles so that Israel can be saved” (Romans 11:25f). So clearly, believers there are taking the lead.
After all, it’s the Church, not the state, that calls the spiritual tune of a nation. But there is a crack in the wall of the United Kingdom that has let in a flood of antisemitism… because the Church has not kept watch!
For Zion’s sake we must not keep silent, the prophet Isaiah insisted (chapter 62:1). And Jesus said, “Let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds…” (Matthew 5:16) – perhaps in the form of Hanukkah or Christmas gifts for your Jewish friends or neighbours. I have a beekeeper friend who is preparing to hand out gifts of honey!
I pray that our Jewish friends may know the experience of King David, who urges us all to “taste and see that the Lord is good!” (Psalm 34:8)
