__"For I am not ashamed of the Good News, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:16-17)

The Good News of Messiah fulfills the promises that God made to the Jewish people to redeem them and the Nations (Genesis 12:3). Most conservative scholars agree that Romans 1:16-17 are the theme for the book of Romans; that is, they are the key to understanding the rest of the book. For most believers, the book of Romans provides the essence of New Covenant teaching. Likewise, followers of Yeshua (Jesus) understand that the New Covenant gives the outworking or fulfillment of the very message of the Tanakh (Old Testament). Thus, these verses provide us with a theme to understand not only the book itself, but the whole of Scripture!  Since God is faithful to His word, “to the Jew first” recognizes the unchanged reality of the Jewish people. The whole book is to be understood in Jewish terms. Romans, a book for all Gentiles from the Apostle to the Gentiles, has a “to the Jew first” message because:

• It is a fulfillment of the promises made in the prophets (Romans 1:2).
• Yeshua is David’s Son according to the flesh (Romans 1:3), and is introduced to the Nations by a redeemed Israelite (Romans 11:1, 13).
• “To the Jew first” is reiterated as principle regarding reward and judgment (Romans 2:9-10).
• Salvation by faith in Messiah is “to the Jew first” as understood through the teaching of the Tanakh and the examples of Abraham and Adam (Romans 1:17; 4; 5:12-21).

Paul wanted the Gentiles to know of their responsibility to understand and express their faith in light of God’s faithfulness to Israel. “To the Jew first” for the Gentile believers was a reminder of their calling to make Israel jealous, and to minister the mercy they had received (Romans 11:11, 31). God forbid that Gentiles should think that they had replaced Israel! No, rather Gentile believers were to be God’s reminders of His faithfulness to Israel. Any Gentile who would not go “to the Jew first” would be distorting God’s message of faithfulness in the Good News, in that he would attempt to cancel God’s promise.
We are obligated, eager, and unashamed of the Good News, because we are unashamed of His power, righteousness, faithfulness, and eternal dependability. “To the Jew first” should be the motto of all believers throughout this age as they depend upon and proclaim the Good News of Messiah.

The Good News is always “to the Jew first” because God never made a covenantal promise of redemption with any people other than the Jewish people. The covenantal promise with Abraham and his seed is the only hope of the nations, including the Jewish people. God would never righteously save anyone apart from what He promised Israel.

Relying on His Faithfulness
Single-cell bacteria propel themselves a whip-like tail connected to an outboard motor, called a “flagellum.” Top engineers study its construction and speed capabilities, with the hopes that its secrets can be applied to their own lesser nanotechnology. Biochemist Michael Behe used a term “irreducible complexity” to try to describe this wonder, among other things, like the eye and blood clotting. Irreducible complexity means that all its parts are arranged in careful dependence upon the others. Without any given part, the machine as a whole will not function. No one would have imagined even a century ago what was happening all along, in just a tiny cell! But the way in which the God of Israel demonstrates His righteousness in Messiah is similar to the way He has created these brilliant biological machines. His covenantal promises are complex, and they cannot be reduced by any one part.

The Abrahamic covenant promised blessing for the nations—that is, all the Gentiles—in Abraham’s seed. Yet this same covenant also promised Abraham a people and a land. It is one, irreducibly complex covenant. If God were to fulfill one part of the promise but nullify another part, He would break the covenant, which would be unrighteous to Abraham and his descendants. It would be dead, cancelled. If the land is no longer for them, then they need no longer be a people, and no longer any promise in blessing to all nations in his seed, Messiah. That’s true by design. Similarly, this three-fold Good News that reveals God’s righteousness in Messiah is also irreducibly complex. All the pieces matter—if indeed “therein is the righteousness of God.” If we take away even a part—whether it be that the Good News is “the power of God,” “to everyone that believes,” or “to the Jew first”—then we make the righteousness of God into unrighteousness. The only hope for the Gentile world is that the Good News of Messiah is to the Jew first. Without His power unto salvation in Yeshua, God is not saving anyone. Without His salvation received by faith in Yeshua—“to all who believe”—there would be no salvation for Jews or Gentiles, since all have free will. And apart from the Good News being to the Jew first and equally to the Gentile, God is unfaithful to His own promises and is untrustworthy for any to believe. If we remove any element then we have a different message that defames God’s righteous character; one element cannot be removed without annulling the very function of the Good News.

God’s righteousness is revealed in the Good News. The Good News is both a demonstration of God’s power and a revelation of God’s righteousness. This is exactly what Paul stated in Romans 1:17 to explain why he is unashamed of the Good News: “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed… just as it is written.” God’s righteousness is revealed through His desire to save sinners and not judge them. It is a righteous salvation because it’s by faith and to the Jew first. In other words, if it was not to the Jew first, it would not reveal His righteousness as being faithful to His word. The fulfillment of His promises is not merely seen in the various prophecies predicting Messiah, but also in the context of Yeshua being the Redeemer of Israel. What is understood as a prophecy of His rejection by Israel in Isaiah 53 is actually a prophecy that Israel will repent and trust in Messiah Yeshua.

Paul was unashamed because the Good News is the faithfulness of God to our people. The Good News is still to the Jew first, even as it is still the power of God unto salvation to all who will believe! God is faithful, and all who believe on His promised salvation in Yeshua will indeed be saved.

Get Involved, You can do it!
What can you do? Ask your pastor to consider scheduling a Word of Messiah Ministries' representative to speak at your church this year. Sign up your pastor for the free Word of Messiah Ministries newsletter, The Shmooze Letter.   Or pick up some materials from our bookstore so that your pastor will be better informed and grow in his understanding  of how to present the Gospel in its biblical and Jewish context. This way, you and your congregation can reach out to Jewish friends and neighbors and invite them to your services, where they will hear the Good News in a way they can understand it. Then they will be less confused and more open to considering Jesus as their Messiah, Savior and Lord. Thus, “to the Jew first” helps both Jew and Gentile appreciate the biblical message in a more understandable and authentic way. Let's be encouraged that the gospel is still "the power of God” that can change lives and destinies for both Jews and Gentiles alike.

_We were incredibly blessed to host a unique conference for Congregation Planting, which as the first in the new building brought together planters and from around the country to learn Biblical principles and share ministry approaches. What a wonderful way to end the year. Part of the fruits of the conference was a new book Establishing Healthy Messianic Congregations: Planters, Planting, and Planning. The following is an excerpt from the new book, on the role of prayer in a functioning congregation.  Prayer is the most important responsibility for a congregation (and a family, community, etc.). In fact, this may be the only aspect of congregational life taking place in olam haba (the world to come). In light of this, the ministry of prayer is preparing us for our future home. Prayer and worship can be considered together because, whether it is in singing or speaking, both prayer and worship are praises and supplications directed to the Lord and intended to bless and bring honor to Him. The worship itself could be in an instrumental arrangement or a cappella, even so it is all to be praise and prayer unto HaShem.
Biblical teaching must be at the heart of prayer and worship ministry. The Samaritans did not have sound teaching, and thus it was wrong even if it was sincere (John 4:22-23).
Worship has the additional by-product of further building up disciples in the truth. From a communications perspective, there are three means of carrying truth directly to the heart: humor, pathos, and music. People will often think about what they sang in worship. The worship may bring the truth of God and His salvation deeper into their souls. Therefore, sound teaching must be the basis of our prayer and worship.
Worship teams need to be prayer leaders, that is, men and women with a strong prayer life. A good voice and musical skills have value, but are no substitute for prayer. An individual’s prayer and worship life helps foster his or her healthy relationship with the Lord, and so all team members must desire deeper levels of prayer and worship. It is a matter both of personal growth and integrity before the Lord.

An Elder-Led Responsibility
God teaches that His house would be “a house of prayer” (Isaiah 56:7). This primacy of prayer is further seen in the history of our people. In Exodus 17, the first battle after Israel came out of Egypt was with the Amalekites. In this portion of Scripture we find there was a division of labor. Joshua took the army and fought the Amalekites while Moses, along with Aaron and Hur went to the top of the mountain and with arms outstretched to God, we find them praying. That prayer ministry was the key issue in the victory. Moses’ arms coming down pictured the stopping of prayer, that is, stopping our dependence on God and our abiding in Yeshua. At those times, the army of Joshua failed. Prayer was and is the essential issue in victory—for Israel, for our homes, and for our congregations. It prepared us as a people, as to how we were to live in the land. Future victories would result from prayer.
In Exodus 17:14 Moses says, “Write this down for Joshua to read.” Why is Joshua singled out? Perhaps as an action-oriented man and leader of soldiers, he would need to be reminded to pray since his natural response might be to merely fight in his own strength. When we read the book of Joshua, we see that Joshua only had two defeats. In Joshua 7, he prayed only after the defeat; and in Joshua 9, he did not pray before negotiating with an enemy. His two defeats resulted directly from a lack of prayer. A lack of prayer can also be the cause for defeat for any congregation which gets established; consequently victory comes as leaders lead in prayer.

In the New Covenant
Paul tells Timothy that in the congregation there is to be prayer “first of all” (1 Timothy 2:1). Our community life is to be a beit teflilah, house of prayer. Benedictions, supplications, intercession, praise—all types of prayer ministries are part of our prayer priority. However, elder-led prayer is biblically normative. Men everywhere were to lift holy hands in worship, and so men are normally to be leading in prayer (1 Timothy 2:8). Why would they have to be instructed to do that? Perhaps to show that prayer would be primary in how a man manages his own home (1 Timothy 3:5). If men are not leading in prayer at home, how can we expect them to lead in prayer in the congregation?
Not only do we want to make sure we are praying as a community, we want the leaders to be praying for the community. Who knows what battles our “Joshuas” are fighting at home, school and at work? In fact, one of the marks of spiritual leadership is that they lead in prayer.

Hearts for the Lord
In the Biblical picture of heaven, the elders are forever falling down on their face before God, leading in prayer. They are prayer and worship leaders. Whether in the home or in the congregation, prayer prepares us for heavenly service like nothing else.
All prayer should be from the heart. In this regard, there is no distinction between formal liturgical prayers which the congregation prays and more informal prayers. However, people need to be taught to pray. The Messianic congregation is the place for people to grow as praying disciples. As we come into a new season together we are thankful that you are offering prayers “first of all,” and hope that you will continue to stand with us in prayer.