But You Don't Understand!

One of the most common lines I hear from Messianic missionaries goes something like, "Jews just don't understand. Jews are just being stubborn, that is why they don't accept Jesus." I find this line amusing as some of the most avid leaders of the counter-missionary movement are former missionaries and members of the Messianic movement.

Rabbi Binyamin Kluger is one of the leaders of Yad L'Achim, an Israeli counter-missionary organization. Rabbi Kluger is a convert to Judaism. He was born Christian and worked as a missionary to the Jewish people. Rabbi Kluger eventually rejected Jesus, converted to Judaism and became a rabbi.

Penina Taylor was born Jewish but became a Christian in her teens. As an adult, she and her family created a Messianic congregation in Maryland. It was after 17 years as a Christian and Messianic leader that she returned to Judaism. She is now the director of the Israeli counter-missionary organization Shomrei Emet.

Julius Ciss is the Director of Jews for Judaism in Toronto. Like Penina, he was born Jewish but eventually joined the Messianic movement. With his knack for art, Julius became a popular artist for many Messianic congregations and organizations. After five years in the Messianic movement, Julius returned to Judaism.

Do they understand? Of course they do, they were missionaries and messianics, leaders and Christian worshippers. For many years, each contributed their time and energies to convert Jews to Christianity. The idea that Jews reject Jesus because they are stubborn is simply not true. The reason why Jews reject Jesus is that he failed to lived up to Biblical Messianic prophecy and because Christianity (including the Messianic movement) holds beliefs in direct contradiction to the Bible.