o you know the singlestrongest source of Jewishidentity for most Jewish

people in the world today—more thanthe state of Israel, the Holy Scripturesor any other aspect of Jewish life andpractice? The Holocaust. And thegreatest obstacle for many Jewishpeople when it comes to hearing thegospel? Again, the Holocaust—which is commonly believed tohave been perpetrated byChristians. Sadly, many Christianshave responded to thecatastrophic impact of theHolocaust in the worst possibleway. The official evangelicalchurch in Germany has recently issuedthe following statement:

We cannot and will notevangelize Jewish women andmen. The Christian confessionthat Jesus died for all people mustnot lead to the deduction thatJewish women and men lackedanything for their salvation.

—Evangelische Kirchentag

In fact, many who call themselvesevangelical Christians say (publicly orprivately) that we should not speakwith Jewish people about Jesusunless they specifically ask (and inextreme cases, not even then). Theybelieve we don’t have the right to doso because of the Holocaust. Nothingcould be further from the truth! Thechoice between purposing to bring

the gospel to Jewish people orrefusing to do so is a watershedissue; it either confirms orundermines the most importantdoctrine of our Christian faith: theresurrection of Jesus from the dead.

Especially poignant, yet ironic, is thismonth’s juxtaposition of

Resurrection Sunday on April 5thand Yom HaShoah (HolocaustRemembrance Day) on April 15. I seea profound disconnect amongChristians who celebrate Christ’sresurrection this very month, yet alsobelieve they must not tell Jews aboutJesus because of the Holocaust.

The apostle Paul underscored themeaning of Christ’s resurrection bydescribing what life would bewithout it: “And if Christ is not risen,then our preaching is empty and yourfaith is also empty” (1 Corinthians15:14). Paul would have beenwasting his breath and the CorinthianChristians would have been wasting

their lives—if Jesus had not risenfrom the dead. But because He didconquer death we know the gospel isthe power of God to salvation . . . tothe Jew first (Romans 1:16).

If the gospel should be withheld fromJews because of the Holocaust, whatwould that mean? It would mean

that we are wasting ourbreath and Christianity isa not-so-clever fraud. Itwould mean the gospelis not really the power ofsalvation. It would meana grotesque triumph ofevil. It would mean Hitlerwins. Thank God, noneof that is true!

The resurrection of JesusChrist demonstrated

God’s ability to bring life from the

If Christ is risen, then . . . by David Brickner, executive director

D

In this editionApril 2015

Why the Holocaust should never

keep us from reaching out to Jewish

people with the gospel . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Holy Land tour, prayer prompters

and cartoon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Bits from the branches in New York

City, Israel, Chicago and cyberspace . . . 4

Paris update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

What we can learn

from Passover plagues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

The resurrection of Jesus Christ demonstratedGod’s ability to bring life from the dead.

dead. I have seen the horrors of theHolocaust overcome in many Jewishhearts by the power of Messiah’snow indestructible life. He hastriumphed over evil and the grave,over Hitler and the Holocaust.

The gospel is the only message withthe power to transform and heallives that have been destroyed byHitler’s evil, or the evil of the risingtide of Jew hatred demonstrated allover the world.

In light of the rising tide of anti-Semitism in Europe and the MiddleEast, it’s even more important thanever for Christians to show love forand solidarity with Jewish people.The greatest demonstration of God’slove is found in the person of Jesus.And when His love is tangibly andtruthfully presented, miracles canhappen. Let me tell you my personalfavorite story to illustrate this:I was standing out on a street cornerwearing my Jews for Jesus T-shirtwhen a well-dressed woman in herlate 60s came up to me. She wasshaking with rage [as] she said,“You’re trying to complete the workthat Hitler began.” Then she rolledup the sleeve of her dress to showme numbers on her arm. Ruth is a survivor of the notoriousconcentration camp at Auschwitz.

I understood her anger. But there wasvery little I could say.

So imagine my surprise when monthslater at our Friday evening service inNew York City, who should walk

through the door but Ruth. . . . I saidto her, “OK, Ruth, so what are youdoing here?” She answered, “I havean open mind.” Indeed she did,because she kept coming back everyFriday night, and then to our Tuesdayevening Bible studies. Imagine my joywhen one Friday evening, Ruthresponded and prayed with me toreceive the Lord Jesus.

How did a heart so broken by theHolocaust open up to receive lifefrom Jesus? It’s one of manyexamples of God bringing life fromthe dead—a true miracle.

The generation of Holocaust survivorsis dying, which is all the more reasonto do as much as we can to offerthese dear people the hope ofheaven in Jesus Christ. Largepopulations of survivors still live inSouth Florida, New York City, Israel,Budapest and even Sydney—allplaces where Jews for Jesus hasactive ministries.

In addition to our regular branchministry, we have some annualspecial events. Our newsletter lastApril told about “Two Sons of theHolocaust,” an outreach in Germany,where one staffer, Barry Barnett, whois the son of Holocaust survivors,shares the platform with a former SSguard who has become a follower ofChrist. Side by side they are a visualrepresentation of the reconciliation,the love, the healing that can onlycome about through the power ofChrist’s resurrection. Just last monthwe mentioned our DVD Survivor

Stories, that chronicles the stories ofseven Holocaust survivors who cameto Christ. We’ve had public showingsof the film in various cities. Lastsummer we held one during ourBudapest campaign. The woman wehad hired to do the voiceover for theHungarian version of the film isherself a survivor of the Holocaust.She came to the showing and prayedthat very night to receive the Lord.Another miracle!

Maybe you don’t know anyHolocaust survivors, but here issomething to consider: If God is ableto bring Holocaust survivors to faith in Christ through theproclamation of the gospel, thendon’t you think He can do the samefor your friends and loved ones nomatter what they have suffered?And, if God can take a heart thatsuffered the unspeakable atrocitiesof the concentration camps,replacing the bitterness, grief andloss with love, forgiveness, graceand kindness . . . then don’t youthink He can heal your broken heart,or mine . . . or so many others weknow and love who need His touch?

My dear friends, if Christ be risen fromthe dead, why wouldn’t we offer thehope of His gospel to every single soulwe have the opportunity to reach?Indeed, how can we not do so?

David Brickner is also an author, publicspeaker and avid hiker. For more aboutDavid, his writings, speaking scheduleand possible availability to speak at yourchurch, see j4j.co/dbr4.

We exist to make the messiahship of Jesus an unavoidable issue to our Jewish people worldwide.

Jews for Jesus international headquarters: 60 Haight Street, San Francisco, CA 94102-5895; phone: (415) 864-2600;

email: jfj@jewsforjesus.org; web: jewsforjesus.org; also working in: Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Russia,

South Africa, Switzerland, Ukraine and the United Kingdom; editor: Ruth Rosen; art director: Paige Saunders;

design and illustration: David Yapp; ISSN 0740-5901 Volume 8:5775, April 2015; ©2015

onlinextrasThis month’s online edition at j4j.co/extras0415 includes:

• more about the “Two Sons of the Holocaust” presentations Davidmentioned, as well as an update on a salvation story from the Survivor Stories showing in Budapest

• A video of our European Director, Avi Snyder, telling more about our“Life from the Dead” outreaches

• Ten days of devotionals in connection with Passover

• “Hello Israel,” your Holy Land fact-of-the-month

• “So what?” to help you apply this month’s newsletter to your own lifeand witness

Please pray for:

more and more Christians tocare enough for Jewishpeople to share the gospeleven when it is notconsidered politically correct

salvation for David, the IsraeliHolocaust survivor Odedministers to in Israel, as well asAvner; also for Chaim, Lisaand Daniel who’ve attendedour Chicago Shabbat dinners

grace and strength for newJewish believers Gabi inFlorida (whom Shoshannahled to the Lord by phone fromFlorida); Micah, whom Tzachiled to the Lord in Israel andJosette, whom Chantale led to the Lord in Paris

God’s special blessing over our entire Paris branch,especially as plans are inprogress for Chantale to leadour witnessing campaignthere this June

continued fruit and goodfollow up from our live chatson the Internet, and that moreand more staff will becomeadept at this

God’s grace and purposesfulfilled in the lives of the nextgeneration of Jews for Jesus

35

HLP Tours8116 Arlington Blvd., #302Falls Church, VA 22042or call 703-280-1114

Be sure to inquire about earlydeposit discounts!You can also download a tourbrochure at mcleanbible.org.

Tour the Holy Land This tour is hosted by Lon Solomon, who is Jewish and has believed inJesus for 45 years. He’s also pastored McLean Bible Church for 35 yearsand has served as a valued member of the Jews for Jesus board of directorsfor 29 years. This will be his 41st tour of Israel!

Dates of Pastor Lon’s tour:October 12-20, 2015 (Israel only) and October 19-23, 2015 (extensions to Mt. Sinai and Petra).The cost includes all five-star deluxe hotels and twomeals a day. In addition to the usual activities, you will hear from Israelibelievers, meet our Jews for Jesus staff in Israel and hear devotions by Lon atevery site visited. For a brochure and full details, please write to:

This month's banner photo shows Chantale Onona Madras (from our Parisbranch) on a summer outreach in NYC. (Photo ©Karen Myers)

life. We will keep in touch and I willcontinue to help him understand theBible and find a congregation.”

From our Cyber Branch:

Okay, so we don’texactly have acyber branch,though we hope and expect to beforelong. But maybe you’ve noticed in ournewsletter, we are ministering to moreand more people through initialInternet contact. That is all the moretrue since we upgraded the live chatoption on our website. We’ve alreadyhad a few people pray with us toreceive Yeshua via live chat, and praisereports should be forthcoming oncewe are able to see that these folks arewilling to receive follow-up ministryfrom us or others who might live closer

to them. We hope youwill point your Jewishfriends to our websiteat jewsforjesus.org,where they will findabundant ways toexplore why we believeJesus is the Messiah.But we wanted to takethis opportunity to letyou know that if youdirect your friends tothe website there is anexcellent chance thatone of our missionariesor trained volunteerswill invite him or her to chat.

Arielle Randle reports from Chicago:

“God has really been blessing ourChicago branch weekly Shabbatdinners! One exciting newdevelopment is that we have beenposting the dinners on a websitecalled Meetup.com. At our first2015 Shabbat dinner, a group ofthree Jewish people came afterbeing invited through a ‘meet-up.’Two of them, Chaim* and Lisa,*returned for Shabbat the next week,and we had six Jewish people whoare not yet for Jesus around ourtable that night.

Chaim’s family is partof the ultra-Orthodoxcommunity, althoughhe himself is notreligiously observant.He told me that hehad once visited a MessianicCongregation, andthat he had read partof the New Testamentbut found it too hardto understand. He said that he wasn’tinterested in religion,

but he asked several questions aboutthe Bible. Pray that Chaim would bewilling to give the New Testamentanother shot!

Daniel,* another Shabbat dinnerguest, is a college student whoseparents (both Jewish) divorced manyyears ago after his mother became abeliever in Jesus. Daniel is veryinvolved with the Jewish groups on hiscampus and says that he is searchingfor his identity within Judaism. Pleasepray for Daniel, that he will come tofaith and find his identity as a Jew inthe Messiah of Israel!

*not their real names

Shoshannah Weinisch reports fromNew York:

“I had a visit with Deborah, a Jewishbeliever, in the common lounge in myapartment building. When weentered the lounge, I noticed a manworking on the heating unit. Therewere also a number of people in thelounge, working on computers. Westrategically sat at the end of thelounge so as not to aggravate anyonewith our conversation, but spokequite openly about the Lord. Afterspending some time in the Word, weprayed together.

“As we were scheduling our next visit,the man working on the heating unitapproached us. ‘Hi, my name is John. Iam an engineer hired by your buildingto test the heat and air system.’ Johncontinued, ‘I want to tell you how

encouraging it is to see believersstudying the Bible and praying in apublic space.’ After introductions,John briefly shared the story of hisfaith journey with us. He had becomea believer in Jesus just three years ago.Deborah explained that she had cometo faith just one year ago, throughstudying the Bible with me. I gaveJohn a copy of my testimony alongwith my Jews for Jesus business card.

“Fast forward 3 weeks: I receivedthe following text message: ‘Myname is Craig. You met my friendfrom church, John, at your apartmentbuilding. I have a Jewish relative whoneeds to receive Jesus. She lives inFlorida; will you call her?’

“After a few texts back and forth, Icalled Gabi. We did a study onPsalm 23 and spoke about Jesusbeing the good shepherd. Gabiresponded quickly. She wanted tobe under the care of Jesus. We hada total of four phone visits and shewas ready to receive Jesus as herMessiah. Since that time I have putGabi in touch with Lisa Smolowitzwho serves in our South Floridabranch. They had already had twovisits when Gabi called me to checkin and catch me up on what God isdoing in her life. It is amazing what

God will do whenChristian friends putus in touch withJewish friends andfamily who need toknow Jesus.”

Oded Orban andTzachi Danor reportfrom Israel:

Oded: “Please prayfor David,* an 87-year-old Holocaustsurvivor, to receiveYeshua in his heart. In

our last meeting, when I asked himto pray with me for God to give himthe answers to all his questions, heyelled, ‘No! I don’t want any answerfrom God!’ I was in shock for asecond, because in our previousmeetings he seemed so glad to talkabout God’s love. Please pray thatwhat David suffered through will notprevent him from receiving new lifein Jesus.

“As I was callingpeople from thephone book, Ifound a mannamed Avner* wholistened as I sharedthe gospel withhim and said hewas interested inreceiving ourY’shua book. Wewill keep in touch.Please pray for himto be saved.”

Tzachi: “Two weeksago my wife and Idiscovered that somebody haddistributed flyers around ourneighborhood speaking against usbecause of our faith in Yeshua. Oneof our neighbors showed ourlandlord the flyer a week before itwas time to renew our lease on theapartment where we live. When I metwith him to sign our lease for nextyears rent, he asked me about theflyer. I explained to him who webelieve Yeshua is, and why. Helistened to what I had to say andreplied, ‘I don’t have a problem withthat at all and I don’t have a problemwith you. You will stay in theapartment.’ Before we finishedmeeting, I gave him the Y’shua book.“A young man named Micah* ordereda book through our website. I called tofollow up and found he had read thebook. After a short conversation, hewas ready to receive Yeshua into his

4

BRANCHESbits from the

55

For more about Shoshannah (left) go to j4j.co/sw1

Photo ©Jews for Jesus/Rachel Friedlander

Oded is one of our Israeli interns

Photo ©Jews for Jesus

For more about Tzachi (right) go to j4j.co/td

Photo ©Jews for Jesus

For more about Arielle (right) go to j4j.co/ar

Photo ©Jews for Jesus

Where to turn?by Joshua TurnilA couple of years ago, Josette waslooking for something more than whather Orthodox Jewish tradition hadoffered. She began a search on theInternet, and many different optionspopped up, including “Jews for

Jesus.”Fascinated, sheactually pickedup the phoneto call us, buthung up whensomeone onthe other endsaid, “Shalom,Jews for Jesus.”

A couple ofyears later,Josette’sdaughter,Hélène was inthe hospital,

dying of cancer. Josette did not knowwhere to turn, and she rememberedJews for Jesus. Again she picked up thephone but this time did not hang up. Ireceived the call asking if I would visitHélène. I asked my wife, Delphine, topray that Hélène would be awake, andwas on my way to the hospital withinfifteen minutes. I arrived to find Hélènenot only conscious, but staring right atme. I introduced myself and explainedwhy I was there:

“In a few minutes, I will leave thisroom. Going out the door, I will turn

left, take the elevator to the garage,get in my car and go home. Soon,you will also leave this room. Do youknow where you are going? You CANknow.” Then I explained the gospeland invited her to repeat the prayerof repentance and salvation. Shestruggled to speak, but she clearlyunderstood and made the effort torepeat the prayer. At the end, shemustered all her strength and gave aresounding “AMEN!” I added aprayer and a blessing and as Iprepared to leave, she again madeanother huge effort, and lifted herhand. As I gave her mine in return,she squeezed it hard.

The following week Josette attendedour Hanukkah event. During theevening, she heard the gospel andasked several questions. That verynight, she too prayed to receive Christin her heart. But there is more. . . .

Apart from the leading of God’s Spirit,I can’t explain what prompted me tobring Josette to a specific church thatI’d had very little contact with. When Icalled the pastor and explainedJosette’s situation, he told me of awoman that he wanted Josette tomeet. A retired teacher, Irène hadknown and loved many Jewish pupilsand often prayed for their salvation.

When Josette and I arrived at thechurch, the pastor and his wife, alongwith an older woman, greeted us atthe door.

Josette whispered, “I know thatwoman!” The two women fell intoeach other’s arms and cried. Thepastor and I looked at each other,perplexed. We later learned that Irènehad taught all of Josette’s childrenwhen they were young! As soon asIrène saw Josette she realized that thelittle Hélène she cherished as a childwas in the hospital, dying. After theworship service, she and Irène spentthe day together. Josette is in goodhands with this congregation.

Meanwhile, as the family beganpreparing themselves for Hélène’sdemise, Josette asked me to officiateat the funeral. Other family memberswere opposed, even though they’dseen a change in Hélène. In fact, her father said to Josette, “She isluminous! What happened?” Whathappened? God brought eternal lifeto a woman on her deathbed—praiseGod that He can bring life from thedead! But there’s more.

I was flying to the U.S. for a Jewsfor Jesus leadership meeting whenthe call came that Hélène hadpassed peacefully into the Lord’spresence. I felt torn not being withthe family, though I was sure Iwould not have been allowed toofficiate at the funeral. However,the day I returned home, anothermessage awaited me. The funeralhad been postponed, and the rabbihad backed out of officiating.Perhaps he had even heard that

Did you know that Paris is often referred to as “the missionary graveyard”? Yet our Paris team is privilegedto be part of His redemptive work in that very difficult city.

6 7

Find out more about Josh(above) at j4j.co/jt1 andabout Karl (Banner, topleft) at j4j.co/kd1

Hélène had been associating withJews for Jesus. Josette was not surewhere to turn. I had just enoughtime to get home, shower and makeit to the graveside, where I wasallowed to conduct the service afterall. I chanted the customary liturgyand prayers. Then, as I spoke aboutHélène experiencing a dramaticchange that brought her peace,heads nodded, and I was able togive a clear gospel presentation.Please keep this family in yourprayers, that God will continue Hiswork in their hearts.

For another example of how Godbrings life from the dead, checkthis out: Last year Joshuacompleted (as director andproducer) a DVD project aboutRuth Gottlieb, a Jewish believer inJesus who fought in the FrenchResistance, survived Auschwitz andultimately came to faith inJesus. As of this month,the DVD of Ruth’s story is now available atj4j.co/ruthgdvd(45 minutes long, in French with English subtitles).

Prince of Peace in ParisJesus’ words, “I am the way, thetruth and the life” were neededmore desperately than ever on thestreets of Paris last January. You’llrecall how a jihadist-motivatedmassacre tore through the offices ofa French satirical magazine . . . soon followed by hostages taken andmurdered at a kosher grocery . . .

and the slayingof a police officer during a traffic stop.

When wecontacted our Parisbranch leader, JoshuaTurnil, to see how ourstaff and their familieswere doing, he said,

“Three attacks were within 15–20minutes of our office but we are allwell. We ask not for protection, butfor opportunities to minister and tobe available to our people, and to allpeople that need the peace thatpasses all understanding.

“All the Jewish shops and places ofworship closed their doors as asecurity measure, and riot policearmed to the teeth were walking back and forth in our

neighborhood. Yes, our officehas been a target in the past.

“Many of our friends and supportersasked us to close down the office;they are worried about us. Oneobserved, ‘Of all the Jewish shops andbuildings, you guys are the only onesthat have the word “JEWS” printed in big letters over your window.’Notwithstanding the situation, one ofour core values is ‘stepping out incourageous faith and taking risks forGod.’ I felt that if ever we needed toremain open, it was now.

“We put up a sign in our window:‘Peace I leave with you; My peace I

give to you; not as theworld gives do I give toyou. Do not let yourheart be troubled, norlet it be fearful.’”

You may recallthat followingthese events,there were massiverallies in Paris. The

slogan “I am Charlie” became a callfor unity and freedom of speech. OurParis team took to the streets andeach of our missionaries handed outone of three titles of new literatureprepared to invite people to considerJesus’ “I AM” statements in theGospel of John: “I am the way,” “Iam the truth” and “I am the life.”

To see a brief on-the-street video ofour Paris missionaries in action, useour onlinextras link on page 3.

In addition to reaching out tounsaved people on the street, KarlDeSouza found the situation to be ateachable moment for his own son.Again, our onlinextras link will pointyou to his story.

When you pray for our ministryin Paris, in addition to therequests in the stories you justread, pray for strength andencouragement for each of ourstaff and their families, and forall the details to come togetherfor Chantale, as she plans (andwill be leading) a witnessingcampaign in Paris this June.

Find out more about Chantale (right) at j4j.co/co1

Photos ©Jews for Jesus and istockphoto

Every year at Passover we recite the ten plagues thatGod unleashed on the land of Egypt. The secondof four cups at the seder meal is filled to represent

the complete joy of the Lord we read about in the Psalms.Before anyone drinks from the cup, each participantempties one drop of wine from their cup for each of theten plagues. We recite a plague for each drop thatsplatters onto our plates as a symbol of mourning theEgyptians’ suffering. Our cups are no longer full as weremember their loss.

It may seem strange that we chooseto chant, “blood, frogs, gnats, flies,death of livestock, boils, hail, locusts,darkness and death of the firstborn”right before we dig in to our festivemeal. Is this unsavory recitation ofdestruction appetizing? On thecontrary, the plagues are a powerfulreminder of a sovereign God whokeeps His promises to His people. Theplagues were sent to redeem theIsraelites out of slavery and bring themto the Promised Land. We learn thatGod saves us through judgment andkeeps His covenant forever.

Each blow that struck Egypt from the hand of God had adirect correlation to the false gods they worshiped. TheEgyptians revered the Nile and it was turned to blood. Thewater became unsustainable for frogs and they filled theland. Frogs were a symbol of fertility and their deathbecame an unclean stench in every home. As aconsequence, insects abounded and brought pestilence toanimals and people. In a land that rarely saw rain, Godthundered hail and fire from the sky.

Their gods could no longer provide their needs as locustsdevoured their land. Darkness was an obvious encounterwith Ra, the sun god they worshiped, and with Pharaohwho was seen as the incarnation of the light. Egyptianscould not help but notice that God withheld the plagues

from touching the people of Goshen. The Egyptians surelysaw this as divine judgment.

When it came to the last plague, the death of the firstborn,everyone living in Egypt was affected. The children of Israelparticipated through their obedience to God’s command toplace the blood of the lamb on the doorposts of theirhomes so that death would pass over them on that night.By now, there were those in Egypt who took to heart God’sword and were saved by the blood as well. There weremany others who left Egypt with the Hebrews. God was

extending His plan of redemption throughHis people to all nations.

Pharaoh asked Moses, “Who is this Lordthat I should obey him?” God answeredhis question definitively through theplagues. He didn’t wipe out Pharaoh andhis court with one inexplicable strike. Godtook the time to demonstrate His powerand authority over all His creation and Hegave Pharaoh several opportunities to setaside his pretense of divinity and choosethe one true God.

Our God desired and still desires that allwould be saved through the knowledge of Him. OnCalvary’s cross, Jesus our Messiah took all the plagues ofearth on His body for us. He was the Lamb of God whocame to take away the sin of the world. Darkness coveredthe land as God’s firstborn Son, the Light of the world,confronted the Destroyer for us. He loved us so much thatwhile we were still lost in sin, He died for us. We havereceived the ultimate gift of God—His blood on thedoorposts of our hearts that brings us eternal life.

Editor: This is a summary of Laura Barron’s devotionalthoughts on what we can learn from the PassoverPlagues. If you would like to take a more in-depth look atthis topic, Laura has prepared ten days of brief, Bible-based devotions on this topic. Use our onlinextras link onpage 3 to access them.

Why would a good God send

plagues at Passover?

Photos by istockphoto