First, he was Jewish. Then he became a Jewish Believer in Jesus. And today, Jonathan Bernis is the President and CEO of Jewish Voice Ministries International. He’s the host of a weekly television show, an international speaker and teacher, and the author of several books.
Whoa, wait. We skipped a bunch. There’s a pretty cool story in there between being born Jewish and leading an international ministry that shares the Gospel with Jewish people. And that’s what Rabbi Jonathan Bernis shares with Carly and Ezra in this episode of A Jew and A Gentile Discuss.
You’ll see how God worked in Jonathan’s life from early on to bring him to the role he fills today. You’ll hear about:
- The driving pursuits that dominated his young life
- Some, a-hem, pretty wild college years
- Who he thought Jesus was (If you’re a Christian, you’ll at least crack a smile.)
- God’s sense of humor and how He “stacked the deck” in Jonathan’s life
- A transformation he couldn’t deny
- The surprising thing he did right after returning from the Bible study where he accepted Jesus
- What had him urgently digging through every box in his closet at his parents’ house
- What profoundly shocked him when he began reading the New Testament
- His parents’ reaction when he told them about his faith in Jesus
- The adventurous ministry road that led him to Jewish Voice Ministries
Along the way
Along the way, you’ll also learn some powerful insights into the Jewish mind and why it’s so hard for them to accept Jesus as the Messiah, including:
- What Christians did that reinforced to him as a Jew that Jesus was not for him
- Why some Jewish people respond in anger to Christians talking to them about Jesus
- A critical context for our Christian audience to grasp about Jewish people and what they believe about the New Testament
- Why not believing in Jesus is so important to Jewish people, and what it means to them when a fellow Jew does
Jonathan’s testimony was so compelling that we made it into two episodes. Now you get twice the inspiration! Tune in next week for Part 2 of “From ‘This Isn’t for Me’ to Worldwide Ministry: Rabbi Jonathan Bernis’ Faith Story.”
Words you might learn in this episode
Bar Mitzvah, Yeshua, Brit Hadashah, Shema Israel
Scriptures referenced in this episode
Isaiah 55:11, Romans 10:17, Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, Romans 10:9, Matthew 1:21, Exodus 20:12, Isaiah 53, Galatians 5:7–8
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