There are more Jewish believers in Jesus than you think
Nearly 2 million Americans with Jewish background, according to Pew
After a church conference in Virginia last month, I stopped at a grocery store to pick up some wine for Sabbath. I struck up a conversation with the cashier. I asked him how I could pray for him, and he said, "I pray. I'm a Muslim."
As we talked, he revealed he was from Eritrea and had studied Islam at university. He had read the Hebrew Bible and New Testament and bragged to me that he had talked Christians out of their faith.
So I asked him a question.
"I understand when Islam says Muhammad is The Prophet, you mean the Prophet like Moses (Deut 18:15ff). Is that correct?" "Yes," he replied.
"The Gospel writers, particularly Matthew, show that Jesus is the the Prophet like Moses, "I continued. "That is what Christianity believes."
"Which verse?" he asked defiantly, ready to refute me.
"Not one verse," I said, "but the whole book of Matthew shows Jesus as the Prophet like Moses."
"No. Jesus is a prophet but not The Prophet," the cashier replied. "And, besides, Jews have not believed in Jesus."
"There are Jews who believe in Jesus," I told him. "Not all of them, but their are Jews who believe in Jesus as Messiah." He didn't believe me.
I encouraged him to read Matthew with fresh eyes. We blessed each other and parted with a handshake.
There are indeed Jewish believers in Jesus, more than we may believe.
In 2020, Pew Research released their report on Jewish Americans. In it, they found that there are 5.8 million Jewish adults in the United States and another 2.8 million Americans who have Jewish background (one Jewish parent but weren't raised Jewish).
Of the nearly 6 million Jewish adults, 27 percent were raised Jewish but now consider themselves something else. Of those, 19 percent say they are Christians. That's nearly 300,000 Jewish believers in Jesus.
Of the 2.8 million Americans who have Jewish background (but were not considered Jewish in the report), 52 percent are Christian, 4 percent are Messianic Jews, and 1 percent consider themselves both Jewish and Christian. That totals 1.6 million Jewish-background Americans who believe in Jesus.
That's nearly 2 million followers of Jesus who have Jewish DNA, just in the United States.
So next time some one tells you, "Jews don't believe in Jesus," let them know that at least 1.9 million people disagree.
Invite us to speak on the history of Jewish believers in Jesus!
Blessed by this post? Ready to sow into the work of CMJ? No gift is too small. we are blessed by your partnership.
