JEWISH RESISTANCE TO JESUS
by Avram Yehoshua
Some may wonder why, in situations like Sam the Rock Thrower, I don't
fight back, or resist, or run, when evil confronts me. I am coming to
see that Yeshua is leading Ruti and me into the place of turning the
other cheek; of not resisting evil; of loving our enemies and of laying
down our lives, that His Glory might be seen. As I have grown in Him,
and learn to walk in this, I've come to see that my only hope for our
lives in these situations, is the Lord Yeshua. But my life cannot be the
main focus. I want Sam and others like him, to come to know the Shepherd
of Israel.
My hope is not in my strength to overpower these men, or in my
intelligence to outwit them, or in my legs to outrun them, or in hoping
that the police come and intervene, but in the knowledge that Yeshua is
my King. He is my Shepherd. He alone is my Hope. If He chooses to allow
evil to murder or maim us, then we accept this as from His Hand. That
doesn't mean that we are doormats though.
Some have chastened us, 'Be wise as serpents and harmless as doves,'
(Matt. 10:16: 'Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves.
Be therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.') In our case,
this means that we could escape these evil encounters, or better yet,
not walk into them, if we were just, 'wise as serpents.' But where does
the harmlessness of the dove come in? And what kind of defense has a
dove or a lamb? God made the lamb virtually defenseless against a lion.
The lamb must look to the Shepherd. It is the Shepherd's responsibility
to defend His lambs.
Others have spoken about Paul and how he was held back from entering the
angry crowd that day, by the other disciples who refrained him (Acts
19:30: 'And when Paul would have entered in unto the people, the
disciples allowed him not to.') But Paul was stoned once and beaten with
rods or lashes three times. Who would say that he wasn't wise?
Let me say right now that we don't go looking for these encounters. I
don't want to die, or be maimed, or be hurt. And I've seen, neither did
Yeshua:
Mark 14:36: 'And He was saying, 'Abba! (Papa!), Oh my Father! All things
are possible for You. Remove this Cup from Me. Yet not what I will, but
what You will.'
No one wants to die. The flesh or carnal nature does all it can to
justify its existence on 'just' a spiritual level. The flesh will do
just about 'everything' required of a believer, except die to self. The
carnal nature does not want to lose control of its right to control it's
life. But only as we die to self can we begin to experience the Life
that Yeshua died to give us.
When it comes to the possibility of a 'real' death in the physical
realm, my spiritual 'death to self' is seen for where it really is. If I
am not ready to die 'in His Name,' than am I really living in His Name?
Anyone can sing and praise the Lord in the midst of the congregation.
Can we sing and praise the Lord alone?, in the midst of an angry mob?
Yeshua says 'resist not evil' and 'turn the other cheek' to them after
they've already hit you (Matt. 5:39). This is not easy to walk in. It is
impossible. But it is exactly at this point that we desire to trust Him.
A Living Trust or Faith in Yeshua. In this way we are truly witnesses
for Him. And in death, who would say that Yeshua's ministry ended after
His Death?, or that Stephen died in vain?, or Paul? or Peter?
One's life is really in His Hands. These situations just emphasize that.
People might think that they are safe in their homes, or driving on the
road, or in school or in church, but how many times have we read of
people being murdered in those places? Safety can be an illusion, for in
one moment we can be dead from unforeseen events.
Let us die daily to self then, that when the opportunity comes, we too
might be like that Lamb led to slaughter who opened not His Mouth
(Isaiah 53:7). In other words, He didn't resist their evil, but left His
ultimate fate in the Hands of His Father.
My mother, who doesn't believe in Yeshua yet, after finding out about my
experience with Sam the Rock Thrower, asked me sarcastically, 'What do
you have, a martyr's complex?!' In other words, are you stupid or
something?!
At first, I 'ran' from that phrase, because of the emotional volley
against me. I didn't scrutinize it. But then I began to look at just
what a 'martyr's complex' was. Someone that has to die for some
(religious) reason. Not God's reason. Their reason. I wasn't looking to
die as some form of 'good works' or something that I thought the Lord
required of me for salvation. I love my Lord Yeshua because He has loved
me with an unfathomable Love. There isn't anything that I wouldn't do
for my Messiah. And if Yeshua calls me to be a martyr, I don't want to
turn away. I value my life, but not above Him.
Someone might say, like Peter did once, that they were 'ready' to die
for Jesus! (Matt. 26:33). But it's not in our own strength or will
power, that this happens. Peter was ready to die, his way, with the
sword in battle (Mark 14:47). But not Yeshua's Way, as a lamb. At least,
not at that time. But later he would.
In the midst of these encounters, I don't literally lay down and go
limp. I am actively walking in, and waiting upon the Holy Spirit, for
what to say and what to do, in the Name of Yeshua. It's really a place
of Shalom (the Peace of the Lord). I might say a 'heightened peace.'
At this point in time, February 2000, the Lord is leading Ruti and me to
praise Him in the midst of these encounters, in a very vocal way. And I
am praying that Yeshua will move among them, hopefully to the degree
that His Presence would be so strong, that they would fall on their
knees and cry out to Yeshua for the Living Water that He has for them!
There are many things that I would like to declare to these men. Things
like their need for repentance. To call them to accountability before
the Lord. That they need to turn to Messiah Yeshua and have their sins
forgiven and establish a living relationship with God through the
Messiah of Israel. But only when we enter into these encounters do we
see which way the Lord is leading.
In the end, the reason why I believe Yeshua is leading Ruti and me to
walk like this, is that these evil men might see the True Light, and
come to Yeshua their Messiah. For many Jewish People, Jesus is the most
vile Person that has ever lived. The reason for this is that 'in the
Name of Jesus' more Jews have been murdered, than in all other names
combined. This might be shocking to you, but that's how a Jew sees
Jesus. It's not the Jesus of the Bible they see but the Jesus of the
Church that has been anti-Semitic for 1900 years. And so to the Jewish
People, Jesus is not an option, He is a horror.
Let me share with you someone whom many in the Church world hold in
honor and esteem and let you read what he wrote about the Jewish People:
On The Jews and Their Lies:
'What shall we Christians do with this rejected and condemned people,
the Jews? Since they live among us, we dare not tolerate their conduct,
now that we are aware of their lying and reviling and blaspheming. If we
do, we become sharers in their lies, cursing, and blaspheming...I shall
give you my sincere advice:
First, to set fire to their synagogues or schools and to bury and cover
with dirt whatever will not burn, so that no man will ever again see a
stone or cinder of them. This is to be done in honor of our Lord and of
Christendom...
Second, I advise that their houses also be razed and destroyed. For they
pursue in them the same aims as in their synagogues...
Third, I advise that all their prayer books and Talmudic writings, in
which such idolatry, lies, cursing, and blasphemy are taught, be taken
from them.
Fourth, I advise that their rabbis be forbidden to teach henceforth on
pain of loss of life and limb...
Fifth, I advise that safe conduct on the highways be abolished
completely for the Jews. For they have no business in the countryside...
And you, my dear gentlemen and friends who are pastors and preachers, I
wish to remind very faithfully of your official duty, so that you too
may warn your parishioners concerning their eternal harm, as you know
how to do; namely, that they be on their guard against the Jews and
avoid them so far as possible.'
The pamphlet was written in 1543, by Martin Luther. Shocking? Yes. An
isolated incident? No. This was not foreign to Church doctrine. The
theology behind this demonic advice began in the early second century.
Hitler used these very words to establish his 'Final Solution of the
Jews.' This was the predominant attitude toward Jewish people for 1900
years, and toward anyone who would seek to dethrone it from the Church.
In 1589, a man by the name of Francis Kitt was burned at the stake by
the Catholic Church. His crime? He insisted that the Jews would one day
return to their Land; an idea he claimed to receive from the Bible. He
would not recant. Martin Luther is just one man in a long line of church
'theologians' who condemned the Jews for being Jewish.
Aside from the time of Jesus and the Apostles, and immediately
thereafter, once by a group in the fifth century, and another time in
the 18th century by another group, and some today, the Jewish people
have never had the Good News proclaimed to them in a godly manner.
Because of this, Jewish people have come to see Christianity as the
cruelest, most hate filled religion in the world. More Jewish people
have been persecuted, their lands, fortunes and family's taken away,
tortured and murdered, in the Name of Jesus, than all other 'names'
combined.
How am I to know that the Jewish men and women that confront us
physically and verbally, haven't lost their parents and many other
relatives in the Nazi Holocaust? Six million Jewish men, women and
children murdered, only because they were 'dirty Jews,' 'Christ
killers.'
The truly shocking reality is that the Nazis were only doing what the
Church had been doing for 1900 years! Part of the Nazi defense in the
Nuremburg trials was based on this. And they were telling the truth in
that! The Church has sanctioned 1900 years of Church theology that said
that the Jews were 'Christ killers.' And it was the Church in the
centuries past that led in the murder of the Jewish People. This may not
be known to you, as Church history specifically relating to the Jewish
People is not taught much in the Church today, but pick up any book on
the History of the Jewish People, and start reading from the time of
Jesus, and you'll see what has happened to the Jewish People 'in the
Name of Jesus' for the past 1900 years.
And so, when Jewish people confront us, we understand their rage. It
doesn't mean that we condone their sin, but they have never known the
Love and Forgiveness of Jesus. And this is what we want to show them,
especially in confrontational situations. Unfortunately, they believe
that what I represent, a Jew who believes in Jesus, is the worst
possible Jew there can be. One who is a traitor to his own People and
worthy of death.
There is a lot going against us in these confrontations, but the One
thing that we have is the Lord of Glory Himself. And that is enough. We
place our lives in His Hands and ask Him to use us for His Glory.
After these confrontations, Ruti and I have found that fear of the next
confrontation can be overwhelming. We have come to see that this is
'normal' as we learn to take the fear to Yeshua. The fear usually
centers around all the different possibilities of being hurt, when we
would go outside again on our daily routines, not knowing when the next,
'There he is!,' would be shouted about us.
And when I would be out and about, I'd be anxious, always looking with
fear that one of them might recognize me, and it'd start all over again
but this time it might be worse. We've come to see that fear is a plague
and we must seek to (literally) walk with Yeshua and yield to Him. When
I do this from my heart, the fear leaves. It cannot stay in the Presence
of the King of Israel.
There is a story that came across my path recently that I'd like to
share with you concerning our attitude to those who would seek to do us
harm:
How Much?
There once was a man named George Thomas, a pastor in a small New
England town. One Sunday morning he came to the Church carrying a rusty,
bent, old bird cage, and set it by the pulpit. Several eyebrows were
raised and, as if in response, Pastor Thomas began to speak. 'I was
walking through town yesterday when I saw a young boy coming toward me,
swinging this bird cage. On the bottom of the cage were three little
wild birds, shivering with cold and fright. I stopped the lad and asked,
'What you got there son?' 'Just some old birds,' came the reply.
'What are you gonna do with them?' I asked. 'Take'em home and have fun
with'em. I'm gonna tease'em and pull out their feathers to make'em
fight. I'm gonna have a real good time.' 'But you'll get tired of those
birds sooner or later. What will you do then?' 'Oh, I got some cats.
They like birds. I'll take'em to them.'
The pastor was silent for a moment. 'How much do you want for those
birds, son?' 'Huh??!!! Why, you don't want them birds, mister. They're
just plain old field birds. They don't sing and they ain't even pretty!'
'How much?' The boy sized up the pastor as if he were crazy and said,
'$10?' The pastor reached in his pocket and took out a ten dollar bill.
He placed it in the boy's hand and the boy took off.
The pastor picked up the cage and gently carried it to the end of the
alley where there was a tree and a grassy spot. Setting the cage down,
he opened the door, and by softly tapping the bars persuaded the birds
to come out, setting them free. Well, that explained the empty bird cage
on the pulpit. Then the pastor began to tell this story:
One day Satan and Yeshua were having a conversation. Satan had just come
from the Garden of Eden, and he was gloating and boasting. 'Yes, sir! I
just caught the world full of people down there. Set me a trap, used
bait I knew they couldn't resist. Got'em all!'
'What are you going to do with them?' Yeshua asked. 'Oh, I'm gonna have
some fun! I'm gonna teach them how to marry and divorce each other. How
to hate and abuse each other. How to drink and smoke and curse. How to
invent guns and bombs and kill each other. I'm really gonna have fun!'
'And what will you do when you get done with them?' Yeshua asked. 'Oh,
I'll kill'em all!'
'How much do you want for them?' 'What?! You don't want those people.
They ain't no good. Why, You'll take them and they'll just hate you.
They'll spit on you, curse you and kill you! You don't want those
people!' 'How much?' Satan looked at Jesus and sneered, 'Your Blood!'
Pastor Thomas picked up the cage, opened the latch to the door, and
smiled. The Lord has set us free people. Let's thank Him. You know any
caged 'birds'?!
The Jewish People have been in Satan's cage for many years. They don't
know the Living God and His Messiah King...yet. But that's why Ruti and
I, and others whom our God has called to Israel, and other parts of the
world where the Jewish People live, are here. We want them to know that
Yeshua has set them free. Free from their sin. Free from the sin of the
Church. Free from bitterness and anger. Free to walk with their Messiah
who is Life Eternal.
I'm finding that I don't have the strength within me to be like Yeshua
during these physical confrontations, and that's exactly what Yeshua
wants me to understand. I have to lean on Him. I have to share all my
fears and my burdens with Him, that He might give me His Grace to walk
this out.
I know that the popular definition of 'Grace' is 'unmerited favor.' But
I have come to see that God's Grace enables us to walk in Yeshua's Ways.
When a soldier is in a restaurant, he doesn't need ammunition. When he
is on the battlefield, he needs it. When I am confronted by these men, I
need Yeshua's Grace to walk in His Love for them, no matter what they
might do to me. And in this, Love will overcome hate; even if they kill
me. Thanks for your prayers. I intend to be around for a long time!
Yeshua willing!
Thanks for your prayers for Ruti and me, that He would use us to reach
all of Israel, for His Glory.
'For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this Mystery so
that you will not be wise in your own estimation that a partial
hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has
come in and so all Israel will be saved, just as it is written,
'The Savior will come from Zion. He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.'
'This is My Covenant with them when I take away their sins.'
'From the standpoint of the Gospel they are enemies for your sake, but
from the standpoint of God's choice they are beloved for the sake of the
Fathers. For the Gifts and the Calling of God are irrevocable.' (Romans
11:25-29)
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