Our Common Burden

Dear friends of the Jewish people,

Shalom! I pray this letter finds you enjoying a restful and joyful summer. Our staff has been especially busy holding children’s camps and conducting evangelistic campaigns in London, New York City, and San Francisco. Our Israel team has also taken advantage of these relatively peaceful moments by stepping up their evangelistic activities and holding outreach concerts, Sabbath dinners, and discipleship conferences throughout the summer months. Praise the Lord as well for the new Israeli Jewish believers coming to faith in Japan, New Zealand, and other locations where we host traveling Israelis!

We truly live in exciting times. The hearts of Jewish people are more open to the gospel than we have seen in years. We all know that when circumstances on earth grow difficult, people tend to look toward heaven for answers. And we are seeing this happen at this very moment.

So, we need your prayers, your financial support, and most of all, your understanding of why we are so passionate and driven to see our fellow Jewish people come to know Jesus as their Messiah and Savior.

At the beginning of the summer, we held a small conference in England for the leaders of those serving with our global ministries in twenty different countries. Our Australian director captured the heart and sentiment of our worldwide staff in a brief message to our team. It was so moving that I asked him if I could pass it along to you. 

I believe what he said will echo your own feelings about why we must bring the gospel to the Jewish people. Jesus is the Light that helps us see truth and gives us hope in what has been, especially for the Jewish people, a very difficult few years since October 7, 2023.

Please take a moment to read what my dear brother, Lawrence Hirsch,* has written. May it stir your soul as it did mine!

The Message

Wherever we serve or partner with Chosen People Ministries, we are part of something much larger than ourselves. Across nations, cultures, languages, and ministry contexts, we are united by a shared calling and a shared burden.

A Sabbath dinner at our partner hostel in Japan.

Whether preaching, discipling, hosting Israelis, leading congregations, serving behind the scenes, raising support, or praying faithfully in the background, we are united by our overriding desire to see Jewish people come to know Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah. 

Indeed, our burden for Jewish people is only a reflection of Messiah’s burden for His Jewish people. When we feel the weight of ministry, when we grieve over hard hearts, when we long for breakthrough, when we rejoice over even one Jewish person who comes to faith, we are sharing the heart of Yeshua Himself.

The Mission of Messiah

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus repeatedly connects His mission to His identity: “the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10).

The Messiah did not come merely to teach morality or to establish a new religious movement. He came on a rescue mission, sent from the Father, seeking those who were far from God.

What is remarkable is that He did not wait for the lost to find Him. He entered their villages, synagogues, homes, and lives. He crossed barriers, broke expectations, and extended grace.

Our Savior pursues the lost. The Messiah who sought the lost in Galilee is still seeking the lost in Melbourne, Sydney, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, New York, London, and every place where Jewish people live.

He invites us to join Him in that mission.

The Lost Sheep of the House of Israel

Perhaps nowhere is Yeshua’s focus more clearly stated than in Matthew 15:24: “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” These words remind us that the Jewish people occupy a unique place in God’s redemptive purposes. The Messiah came first to His own people because God is faithful to His promises.

Every time we share the gospel with a Jewish person, we participate in the continual unfolding of God’s covenant faithfulness. We are joining Messiah in His love for the lost sheep of Israel.

Calling Sinners to Repentance

Yeshua also declared: “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32). This statement reveals something profound about ministry.

Our task is not to convince people that they are good, win arguments, or produce religious activity. Our calling is to point people toward repentance and reconciliation with God. Jewish people, like all people, need forgiveness. Our people need the Messiah. Sometimes we encounter tremendous openness. Other times, we encounter resistance, suspicion, or indifference. Yet our message remains the same.

We lovingly and respectfully call people to turn to God and trust in the One whom He has sent. We sow, water, and trust God for the harvest.

The Shepherd’s Heart

Perhaps the most beautiful picture of our calling is found in the parable of the lost sheep.

Yeshua tells the story of a shepherd who has one hundred sheep. When one goes missing, he leaves the ninety-nine and goes searching for the one that is lost. When he finds it, he places it on his shoulders and rejoices.

The story reveals the extraordinary value God places upon a single lost person. He does not say, “Ninety-nine is enough.” He goes after the one. 

When the Burden Feels Heavy

There are times in ministry when the burden feels especially heavy.

We may wonder whether our efforts are making any difference. We often face rejection, grow weary, or pray for years without seeing the fruit we long for. At such times, it is important to remember that the burden ultimately belongs to the Lord. The salvation and restoration of Israel was God’s idea before it was ours.

The Good Shepherd loves the sheep more than we ever could. The God who called Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has not forgotten His people. The Messiah who wept over Jerusalem still loves Jerusalem. The Spirit who convicts hearts is still at work. Therefore, we labor, pray, preach, and serve in hope, knowing that God’s purposes will prevail.

Paul’s Great Burden

Perhaps no one, apart from Yeshua Himself, expressed a deeper burden for Jewish people than the apostle Paul:

I am telling the truth in Messiah, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Messiah for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh (Romans 9:1–3). 

These are astonishing words. Paul is willing to be cursed and cut off from Messiah—become an anathema—for the sake of his people. Paul is saying he is willing to go to hell if his people Israel could go to heaven. 

This burden reflects the very heart of Yeshua—who was cursed for our salvation. We may not all serve in the same role or have the same gifts. But we share the same longing—that Jewish people would follow Yeshua the Messiah.

A Call to Persevere

As we continue together in this calling, may we never lose sight of the heart behind the mission. We serve a Shepherd who came to seek and save the lost. We proclaim a Savior who calls sinners to repentance. And we carry, in some small measure, the burden that burned in the hearts of both Yeshua and Paul.

May God renew our strength, deepen our compassion, and increase our faith. And may we remain faithful until the day when many more of the lost sheep of the house of Israel are gathered safely into the fold of their Messiah.

A Prayer for Us All

Avinu Malkeinu (our Father and our King),

We thank You for the privilege of participating in Your redemptive purposes for the Jewish people. Give us the heart of our Good Shepherd. Fill us with compassion for the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Help us to love as You love, to pray as You pray, and to serve as faithful ambassadors of Messiah.

We boldly ask for a great spiritual awakening among Jewish people throughout Australia, the United States, Israel, and all the nations. Open our eyes to see Yeshua. Open our hearts to receive Him. And may we be found faithful until the day when all Israel sees her Messiah and declares, Baruch Haba B’Shem Adonai (“Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord”).

Amen.

Our Gratitude for You

One more word from me—thank you for your very faithful prayers and support at this time. Our Tel Aviv Messianic Center, which was damaged a year ago by an Iranian missile, costs $350,000 to repair. We have established a challenge grant of $175,000, which will effectively double your gift to help with these repair costs. 

Thank you for sharing in Jesus’s burden for the salvation of Israel.

Your brother,

Mitch

*Lawrence and Louise Hirsch formed Celebrate Messiah, a partner of Chosen People Global Ministries, in 1995. You can write to Lawrence at [email protected].

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