Messianic Jews are Jewish people from all walks of life who have come to believe in Yeshua (Jesus) as the promised Jewish Messiah of Israel. The name Yeshua itself means "salvation" in Hebrew. Since the establishment of the first Messianic synagogue in 1967, tens of thousands of believers have joined congregations in every major city in the US. Presently, there may be as many as 100,000 Messianic Jews in the US alone, with many thousands more joining congregations in Canada, England, Israel, and a number of republics of the former Soviet Union. In a very short time Messianic Judaism has become a worldwide movement and is experiencing rapid growth throughout western civilization.

From the Book of Acts in the New Testament and from historical evidence as well, many believe there were hundreds of thousands of Messianic Jews in the First Century. Their many synagogues were scattered throughout the Roman Empire and beyond. These First Century Messianic Jews remained highly loyal to their land and to their people.

Whether it was Jewish or not to believe in Yeshua was never an issue to them. Of course, it was! What else could it be?

The Big Question

The big question back then was whether or not Yeshua was also for the Gentiles. But God showed the Messianic Jews that He was the Messiah for both Jew and Gentile alike, and Gentiles from every nation began to pour into this Jewish faith.

Throughout the years, as the numbers of Gentile believers increased, they began to predominate in this Messianic faith; and with the passing of the Jewish apostles, the Jewish roots of the faith were totally lost. This “de-Judaizing” process continued until, in one of the greatest paradoxes in history, it became alien for a Jew to believe in Yeshua as his Messiah.

The Real Issue

Today, believers are trying to restore the Messiah to his proper Biblical and Jewish context. Messianic Judaism is in a sense a spiritual renaissance. It is a revival... an attempt to return to the pure and simple faith held in the First Century that was unencumbered by "tradition". It is a return to a fresh faith that was based upon having a living, vibrant and personal relationship with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, through the Messiah Yeshua.

The real issue today is not whether or not it is Jewish to believe in Yeshua, but whether or not Yeshua is the true Messiah. If he is, then it is the most Jewish thing in the world to believe in him. If he is not, then we should not follow him.
Historically, this appears to be self-evident. But the only true test is to go back to the Jewish Scriptures themselves and study the Messianic prophecies. According to the Tenach (Old Testament), the Messiah was to come twice. The first time to suffer and die, and the second time to usher in the Messianic era of peace upon the earth.

The Answers

Why did He have to die the first time? The Jewish prophet Isaiah answered this question when he said, “All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way. And the Lord has lain upon him (the Messiah) the sin of us all.” (Is. 53:6).
Without God there is no hope for mankind. When we view the ever-worsening situation in the world today, It appears painfully obvious that man has become separated from God. That is why he sent his son, Yeshua, as the Messiah, to deliver us from the chains of ours sins and to bring us into a new life in Him.
For thousands of us today, we know that we have found the Messiah who said, “I am the resurrection and the life. . . and I have come that you might have life and that more abundantly.” We would like to encourage you to read and study the Scriptures yourself and find out if Yeshua is truly the one of whom the prophets spoke. And before you research the Bible, please pray... and ask God to guide you, and show you his truth.