This is the text of a tract I wrote to reach the Jewish community in my area. We divided it into a tri fold paper and added graphics to make it look good. If you can use any or all of it feel free. No need to give any credit for it, just use what you can.

Blessings Rabbi Henry



Can A Jew Believe in Jesus and still be a Jew?

Was Jesus the first Christian?

Are these the right questions to be asking?

I'm not sure these are the right questions to be asking. The reason why I say this is because if we were having this discussion 2,000 years ago in Jerusalem and I was one of the first followers of Yeshua (Jesus) these questions wouldn't have made sense. There was no such thing as a Christian then, as we perceive them today.

There were just Jews who proclaimed this Yeshua Ha Nazaret, (Jesus the Nazarene) to be the Jewish Messiah. Those Gentiles who did believe were in the absolute minority.

The first Talmidim (Disciples) dealt with this very issue in the Brit Hadasha (New Covenant) book called Acts, chapter 15 .

The Question that was asked back then was, what do we do with all these Gentiles who have come to faith in the Jewish Messiah?

I believe the real question that should be posed today is, was Yeshua the real Jewish Messiah?

The Messiah was prophesied to come from the house of David (a Jew) Isaiah 11. This Jewish Messiah's job description was very clear and is found in the Tenach (First Covenant). Some call it the Old Testament. The Book of Isaiah is the book that speaks most about the Jewish Messiah. We find in one passage (Isaiah 53) it tells us of His mission.

Isa 53:5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.
Isa 53:6 All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.

I encourage you to read the whole passage.

The work of the Messiah was to reconcile all mankind back to G-d. Jew and Gentile. The Messiah was G-d's plan of bringing Atonement and forgiveness for man's sin.

So, that means, if Yeshua is not the Messiah for the Jew, He can't be the Messiah for the Gentile.

C.S. Lewis once wrote, and I paraphrase: He is either a lunatic, liar or Messiah. This sure puts it into perspective. If He wasn't the Messiah, what possible options are left? He couldn't have been just a good man or a prophet; His claims were too exclusive.

The only way you will have a chance to know the truth is to check it out for yourself. First hand information is the only verifiable means to know the truth.

So, I challenge you to read the prophesies in the Tenach that speak of the promised Messiah. Here are a few to start: Psalms 22, Isaiah 7:14, Isaiah 53, Micah 5:2, .

Find out for yourself. If you have any questions we'll be glad to help. But just remember, you can't say He's not Messiah for the Jew for sure if you haven't first looked at the evidence.

If He is the Messiah to the Jew then it is only logical to conclude that not only can a Jew believe in Him but that the Most Jewish thing to do is to accept Him as his Messiah.

 When I look back on recent history especially the 20th century I am brought to the realization that we refuse to consult the past and the mistakes we have made. I am amazed at how blind and lazy this world is as they make their decisions and repeat the same errors over and over and over again. One can only conclude that this blindness has got to come from the very depths of their spirit and soul. It just does not make any sense that the repetition of the same behavior that nets the same negative result can be anything other that madness. If I am not mistaken I do believe that it was Benjamin Franklin who coined that definition. “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” That one statement in itself is enough to sum up almost all of world behavior. We repeat this in our personal, political, social, financial, and spiritual life. The Scripture states it like this, “Jam 4:17 Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.” I guess you could say that sin is a form of spiritual insanity. People know what is wrong yet they continue to do it and always seem to find justification. The results are always the same, “Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Yeshua Hamashiach our Lord.” yet they continue to repeat the same behavior. Sure sounds insane to me.

There is no difference in the way the Israeli government has handled their crisis with the so called Palestinians. This most recent event with the breach between Egypt and Gaza at the boarder fence is a clear example of “oops here we go again”. There has not been one successful negotiation between Israel and the Philistine wanna bees yet to this day. The attacks have increased, security has been compromised and more lives have been lost. Ben Franklin also commented on this kind of Behavior when he said, “Anyone who trades liberty for security deserves neither liberty nor security.” If I remember correctly, the American revolution was a success. This success was built on the collective wisdom of men who knew their history. Many of them were men of God and applied scriptural principles to their life and country.

It would just seem to make sense to me that we would want to consult our past failures so that we could ensure our future success. Maybe I am naive but I know one thing their way is absolutely not working.

World opinion is so determined to ignore common history. It would be different if that history were somewhere hidden in the archives of ancient libraries inaccessible to the public. But, the history of the creation of modern Israel is made available in common historical records that can be found almost instantaneously. This is why we are unable to communicate the truth about the land of Israel to people. People are spiritually blinded. This contributes to the fact that they are then unable to think straight and they continue to believe the lies of the enemy of our souls. We must never forget that this is a spiritual battle first. To deny Israel is to deny the God of Israel. To deny God is to deny His salvation to the world through the Messiah Yeshua. Satan does not want Israel to continue because he knows Israel is key in the relationship to fulfilling the prophesies that will usher in the second coming of the Messiah. What must we do? Fast and pray my brothers and sisters, fast and pray. Messiah is coming again soon and there is nothing Satan can do to stop Him.

Here is the problem as I see it from a Biblical perspective. Israel refused to drive out the Philistines from the land when God told them to.

Exo 23:31 "I will fix your boundary from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the River Euphrates; for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you will drive them out before you.
Exo 23:32 "You shall make no covenant with them or with their gods.
Exo 23:33 "They shall not live in your land, because they will make you sin against Me; for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you."


Now, they have people living in that same region for all intents and purposes under the same name. Palestine is the anglicized version of the word Philistine. It was the name given to the region By Hadrian in 130 AD as an attempt to disassociate the Jew from his land. To make matters worse it was Israel that gave the land to these Philistine wanna bees. But, there will come a time when Jerusalem will again be consecrated to the Lord alone, So, don't despair in world circumstances take hope His word will come to pass.

Zec 14:8 And in that day living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter.
Zec 14:9 And the LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be the only one, and His name the only one.
Zec 14:16 Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths.
Zec 14:21 Every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the LORD of hosts; and all who sacrifice will come and take of them and boil in them. And there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts in that day.

Shalom b"Yeshua Rabbi Henry