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Most believers appreciate having a clearer understanding of the Scriptures from a Jewish perspective. Explore more about our faith in Jesus from this angle and other topics, including evangelism, Israel, antisemitism, biblical festivals, the international Jewish community, Jewish roots of Christianity, personal testimonies, and prophecy.
Matthew did not write in a vacuum. He communicated to and about Israel in a way that is consistent with what is found throughout the entire Bible. As with the prophets of old, Yeshua’s rebukes were either directed at individuals, at groups or at the nation as a whole. And…
We are about to observe the civil Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, which literally means, “head of the year.” This festival is one of the seven great festivals of the Lord described in the Hebrew Scriptures. It is appointed by God to be celebrated on the first day of the…
For most followers of Jesus, their first trip to Israel will include visits to numerous biblical sites. If you are in Jerusalem, you will see the Old City or the Mount of Olives. Similarly, traveling through the Galilee, you will likely visit Capernaum. It would be hard to forego at…
Melchizedek, Abraham and Jerusalem We read in the book of Genesis that Abraham is approached by a mysterious priest of the most high God whose name means “the righteous king.” In itself, this is intriguing, but it is where he is from that is so interesting to us. He is…
Hanukkah is in the Old Testament, right? Actually, the only time Hanukkah is mentioned in the Bible is in the New Testament. Since Hanukkah took place after the Old Testament was canonized, it is not included therein. The story of Hanukkah takes place in 166-160 BC when the land of…
Jewish New Testament scholar Amy-Jill Levine writes, “[Neither] Jesus, Paul nor the New Testament is anti-Semitic.” She’s right! It’s illogical to think that a movement which was comprised originally of only Jewish Jesus-followers could be antisemitic. Historically, some followers of Jesus have combined the anti-Jewish sentiments of the times in which they…
Many of us find the horror and scope of the Holocaust inconceivable, even though we know it happened. Humanity’s capacity for cruelty is hard to grasp—harder still to imagine being subjected to it. Where was God? How could God allow this? Does God even exist? These are very difficult and…
Chapter 6 of Hebrews ends with the statement that Jesus was “a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” Now, in chapter 7, the writer of Hebrews returns to the subject he described earlier as “solid food,” the subject of the significance of Melchizedek. Why was Melchizedek significant?…
The prophet Isaiah predicted the death of the Messiah as a sacrifice for our sins in Isaiah chapter 53, where he wrote, 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…
The recent conflict between Israel and Hamas has left a devastating impact on the Middle East. Israelis are facing immense suffering and tragic loss of life, and Palestinians in Gaza are caught between a terrorist organization and a nation fighting for their right to exist. This crisis began on Saturday,…
Beyond a yearly calendar of holy convocations, the Levitical Feasts (Leviticus 23) as a whole point the reader to a deeper understanding of the God of Israel.
Q: What does the word Purim mean? A: The word Purim literally means “lots.” The holiday is named Purim because it looks back to a time in Jewish history when the “lot was cast” and the fate of the Jewish nation literally hung in the balance. Q: What is the historical background to…