The people of the secular world wonder why Christians are so evangelistic, always presenting the Gospel to them. Quite simply, they are commanded to by Jesus Himself. It is called the Great Commission, Because of the Great Commission, thousands of missionaries have canvassed the globe to share the Good News. As a result, millions of people have been converted from sin to become believers in Jesus.

Some are wondering why I am interested in reaching out to the secular Jew. Why do I have such a focus on that particular group of people? For one thing, I used to be one myself. I know what it is like to be searching for some kind of spiritual fulfillment, only to come up empty handed.

Another reason is that, in my spirit, I have felt the Lord leading me to minister to those like me and I have been commissioned, both in the New Testament and in the Old Testament.

First, I will present the New Testament commission, the one with which most Christian people are familiar.

The Great Commission

Matthew 28:16-20

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Mark 16:14-20

Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.
He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well."
After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.

Clearly, Jesus has instructed all Christians to go to all nations and spread the Good News of Salvation instead of condemnation, life instead of death.

Now we come to the Old Testament Commission. This passage of Scripture confirmed to me the need to share God’s message specifically with unsaved, secular Jewish people. Most people are not familiar with this Old Testament commission. I have highlighted in bold print the points of greatest interest.

Ezekiel 3:1-27

And he said to me, "Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the house of Israel." So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat. Then he said to me, "Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it." So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth. He then said to me: "Son of man, go now to the house of Israel and speak my words to them. You are not being sent to a people of obscure speech and difficult language, but to the house of Israel- not to many peoples of obscure speech and difficult language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you. But the house of Israel is not willing to listen to you because they are not willing to listen to me, for the whole house of Israel is hardened and obstinate. But I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are. I will make your forehead like the hardest stone, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious house."
And he said to me, "Son of man, listen carefully and take to heart all the words I speak to you. Go now to your countrymen in exile and speak to them. Say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says,' whether they listen or fail to listen."
Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a loud rumbling sound-May the glory of the LORD be praised in his dwelling place!- the sound of the wings of the living creatures brushing against each other and the sound of the wheels beside them, a loud rumbling sound. The Spirit then lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the LORD upon me. I came to the exiles who lived at Tel Abib near the Kebar River. And there, where they were living, I sat among them for seven days-overwhelmed.

Warning to Israel

At the end of seven days the word of the LORD came to me: "Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to a wicked man, 'You will surely die,' and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will have saved yourself.
"Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and does evil, and I put a stumbling block before him, he will die. Since you did not warn him, he will die for his sin. The righteous things he did will not be remembered, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the righteous man not to sin and he does not sin, he will surely live because he took warning, and you will have saved yourself."
The hand of the LORD was upon me there, and he said to me, "Get up and go out to the plain, and there I will speak to you." So I got up and went out to the plain. And the glory of the LORD was standing there, like the glory I had seen by the Kebar River, and I fell face down.
Then the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet. He spoke to me and said: "Go, shut yourself inside your house. And you, son of man, they will tie with ropes; you will be bound so that you cannot go out among the people. I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be silent and unable to rebuke them, though they are a rebellious house. But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth and you shall say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says.' Whoever will listen let him listen, and whoever will refuse let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house. (NIV)

The above text had a profound effect on me. It was a commission from the Lord to Ezekiel directly and also a prophecy of the ministry of Jesus in His first appearance 2000 years ago. In addition, I believe that it is a model for contemporary Jewish Christians to reach non believing Jews with the message of the Gospel. Ezekiel was commanded by the Lord to proclaim the truth to the stubborn Jewish nation, that truth being that they will either die if they are sinful and wicked, or live if they are obedient to the Word of the Lord. This is the main theme of the Gospel as well, death without Jesus versus eternal life with Jesus. It goes further to say that if Ezekiel does nothing to share this message of Salvation and the nonbelievers die in their sin, their death is on his hands. Using this model, it is every believer in Y’shua’s responsibility to deliver the facts to a hardened and unbelieving people.

Notice that the Lord first commands the Son of Man to eat the scroll. He is in fact prophesying the New Testament. Instead of Laws written on stone, the Word will first be living inside the Messiah and then eventually in believers. The last paragraph is a prophecy of the death of Jesus and the rebellion against His commands by a Jewish nation.

Since Jesus commands all of His disciples to spread God’s Word in the Great Commission, I have concluded that the message in Ezekiel chapter 3 must be an integral part of this Vision Outreach. The Son of Man reference is made of Jesus throughout the Gospels. Since the Son of Man Himself has told believers to spread the Word, I am spreading the Gospel and this particular message to the Jewish people, especially those who have walked away from the religion of Judaism.

Clearly the warning in chapter 3 is that this task will not be easy and there will be extreme resistance. Since they resisted Jesus and His disciples, the same will hold true today.

But the house of Israel is not willing to listen to you because they are not willing to listen to me, for the whole house of Israel is hardened and obstinate. But I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are. I will make your forehead like the hardest stone, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious house.

It appears that those who disagree and I are going to butt heads a bit. It also seems that I am directed to be as stubborn as they are. I am stubborn by nature anyway, so that should not be too difficult. At least I am stubborn on the right side, the side of the Lord.

In closing, I have this to say to the Jewish nonbeliever in Jesus. I encourage you to not take the message of Ezekiel 3 lightly. Your response to that message is a matter of life and death. You must choose, so choose wisely. Ignoring the choice is, by default, a denial of the Lord. There is no neutral position in the eyes of the Great Judge, the Lord. Do you choose life or death? Choose Life. Choose Jesus.