John 5 - Steve Wiggins Daily Devotional

“I do not accept glory from men, but I know you – that you have no love for G_d within you. I have come in My Father’s name, yet you don’t accept Me. If someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe? While accepting glory from one another, you don’t seek the glory that comes only from G_d. Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, because he wrote about Me. But if you don’t believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” John 5:41-47

I admit it. I’m not a really smart guy. I went to public school in Arkansas. But even I know that Moses is BIG for Judaism!

I have mentioned before that my wife & I try to go to Israel every year. This past spring will be my 10th trip in as many years. People ask me if it ever gets old, seeing all the same sights. To be honest, there are only 2 sites that I’m excited about seeing, anymore, in Israel: The sight of people experiencing Israel for the 1st time, and the sight of seeing Israelis understanding the gospel.

A young lady who attends my Riverside “Living Room Study” Bible study recently shared about a conversation she had with a Jewish schoolmate. She invited her Jewish friend to the Living Room Study, but her friend said, “You can’t be Jewish and believe in Jesus.”

In essence, this girl was saying, “Moses and Jesus don’t mix.”

This is an obvious misconception that Jews have…as well as many “Christians”. The standard Jewish argument is that you have to be either Jewish or “Christian”. I could argue this point all day, but the real answer lies in Yeshua’s words, not mine.

Yeshua is telling Israel’s religious leaders (and us today) that the most Jewish thing they could do is believe in Him (the Messiah)! Going further to prove His point, Yeshua adds that it will be Moses who judges Jews who refuse to believe in Y’shua ha Mashiach (aka: Jesus the Christ).

He is also saying that if Jews don’t follow Him, then not only do they not receive His atonement, but they don’t even understand Moses!

My advice to the girl in our study,(the one with the Jewish friend) is that she continue sharing her faith, even though her friend has articulated a so-called “intellectual conundrum” about reckoning her Jewish-ness with following Yeshua. The most anti Semitic thing you can do is withhold Messiah from a Jewish person. Press on with the gospel, in truth and love. Pray the Ruach (Spirit) will open the eyes of the hearts of the Jewish community (and beyond!). Pray for revival in our day!

Blessings,
~Steve Wiggins, Assistant Rabbi
Shuvah Yisrael
Daily Devotional, Monday, July 1, 2013