When Opposition Amplifies the Message

We have been praying and strategising about how we might use our social media platforms to reach more Jewish people with the message and hope of the gospel.

We never expected the answer to come through an anti-Semitic comments section.

Typically, our online posts are seen by hundreds, with a handful of interactions. Then, through one seemingly ordinary post, something shifted. In a post calling Christians to stand against anti-Semitism, we shared a quote by Corrie ten Boom: ‘You can’t love God without loving the Jewish people.’ The post went viral, reaching more than 60,000 people and gathering hundreds of comments in just a few days.

Ironically, many of the interactions were negative, and some were vehemently anti-Semitic. Normally, this would be deeply upsetting and discouraging; however, the increase in engagement drove the message further and caused the post to reach people far beyond our usual audience. This alone would have been worth celebrating, but then something even more encouraging happened: Christians joined the conversation and began challenging the hatred and anti-Semitism, sharing the gospel and the truth of Scripture.

We could never have planned or strategised for this to happen, but ultimately, the purposes of the Lord that will stand (Proverbs 19:21). What at first looked like opposition and hostility became an opportunity for both Jew and Gentile to encounter the truth of Messiah in love.

In a world where comment sections have become incredibly toxic, it is all too easy to mirror the hatred and hostility behind the anti-Semitism. But as sons and daughters of our Father in heaven, we are called to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44-45) – whether Jew or Gentile.

A simple post, much like many others we have shared before, unexpectedly showed us that the comment section had become the mission field. Perhaps we will never truly comprehend the impact of a post like this, where thousands of Jews and Gentiles – those open to the gospel and those hostile to it – had an opportunity to encounter the Jewish Messiah. Our prayer is that the Lord will water every seed sown and that, perhaps one day, we will be able to see the fruit.

In the God of the unexpected,

Rob Berman
And the Jews for Jesus South Africa Team

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