Many people are surprised to learn just how much the Hebrew Scriptures point directly to the Messiah. I want to thank everyone who prayed for the release of my new book, Does the Jewish Bible Point to Jesus? 12 Key Prophecies that Unfold God’s Plan. While I wrote it with Jewish seekers in mind, I pray it engages and strengthens the faith of believers like you and helps you share your faith with Jewish and Gentile friends.

Below is an excerpt from the book and a behind-the-scenes look at my approach to writing about Messianic prophecy. I’ve also shared a favorite story about how we’ve seen God use the book and some specific prayer requests for its continuing impact.

When Ellen, a Jewish musician, attended a concert of Handel’s Messiah, she found herself surprisingly moved. She was eager to discuss her experience with Laura Barron, a long-time member of our staff.

“You should go hear Handel’s Messiah,” Ellen told Laura. “I think you’d like it because it’s all about Jesus, based on the New Testament.”

Laura smiled, “What if I told you that more than half the lyrics to that piece are from the Jewish Bible [also known as the Hebrew Scriptures or Old Testament]?”

“But they must be from the New Testament! I know the piece is about Jesus; it was so specific and detailed.”

“You’re right,” Laura agreed, “it is about Jesus, and some of the words are from the New Testament. But Handel’s Messiah includes even more passages from the Jewish Bible—from Isaiah 7, Isaiah 53, Psalm 2, and Psalm 22—just to name a few!”

As Laura went through several of the passages with her, Ellen was astounded. Not only had it never occurred to her that the Jewish Bible would be pointing to Yeshua (Jesus), but its predictions about who the Messiah would be and what he would do were positively mind boggling.

Like Ellen, many Jewish people today, whether secular or religious, haven’t engaged directly with the Scriptures. Some see it as outdated; others rely on religious traditions and rabbinical commentaries to interpret it for them. We wanted people to see for themselves that not only is the Jewish Bible surprisingly relevant to the situations we face today, but that it unfolds God’s plans for the Jewish people and for the restoration of this broken world. And in doing so, it points directly to Jesus.

Even Jesus’ own disciples struggled to see how Scripture pointed to him, until he opened their eyes. It wasn’t until he died and was resurrected that Jesus opened their minds to the meaning and fulfillment of God’s life-changing promises. We don’t know which passages Jesus talked about, but we do know from Luke 24:44–45 that he was referring to the Tanakh. Tanakh is an acrostic for the three portions of the Hebrew Scriptures: the Torah (Law of Moses), the Nevi’im (Prophets), and the Ketuvim (Writings, which includes books such as the Psalms).

This book walks readers through a sampling of 12 prophecies from those three groupings of Scripture, including those that Laura mentioned to Ellen in the above excerpt. Theirs is one of many personal stories I’ve included in the book. But our main focus is the 12 prophecies and how they point to the amazing love and grace God offers us in Jesus.

Why does God so often bring hope in unexpected ways? What if the Messiah looked different than expected, yet was exactly as prophesied? As we unpack these passages, two patterns emerge. First, God’s promise to redeem and heal a broken world shines hope in the darkest of times. Second, God’s promises are full of surprises—some might say paradoxes—that paint a far more detailed and compelling portrait of the Messiah than any person or group of people would dare to imagine. But how can we show God’s amazing plan to people who might not be inclined to pick up a Bible?

The best “coach” we can find is Jesus, because he is the king of communication. He often used stories to make his point, he met people where they were at, and he used what they already knew to point to what they had yet to see. He also asked questions to help people reflect on where their hearts were at and where they needed to be. I wanted to follow his example. So, in addition to unpacking 12 key prophecies, I included numerous stories collected over the course of many years in ministry. And while my own belief in Jesus is clearly stated, I was very intentional in addressing readers without any assumptions about what they do or don’t believe. The writing style is clear and straightforward and includes explanations of alternate translations of commonly disputed passages. Each chapter ends with a brief section titled “And You?” inviting readers to reflect and interact with what they’ve read. And for those who want to do a deeper dive, I included the following appendixes: “Theophanies: When God Makes Appearances” and “Types: Pictures of Messiah in the Jewish Bible.”

It’s been fun for me to interact with people at a number of “book launch” events, one of which gave me a lot of nachas (a Jewish word that expresses one’s “pride and joy,” often in a loved one).

My son, Isaac, leads our Los Angeles branch, and he and the team organized a breakfast that gave me an informal time to talk and answer questions about the book. My 10-year-old granddaughter, Nora, was there, as was one of her friends who’d come with her father, a local pastor.

I was especially delighted that Nora’s friend, a believer, wanted a copy of the book. She actually brought it on the bus to read en route to a school field trip. When the kids next to her asked what she was reading, she was able to share her faith with her classmates—one of whom was Jewish! Please pray for God to nurture the gospel seeds that were planted.

I’m grateful to the many Christian friends who attended these launches and purchased multiple copies of this book to share with Jewish friends. What’s even more encouraging is hearing about Jewish people who have paused mid-conversation with our missionaries to pull out their phones and order the book for themselves!

I know that prayers of friends like you made a huge difference to me and my colleagues as we worked on producing this book, and we still need your prayers now that it is done. Please pray that

• the logistics and timeline to translate the book into other languages, particularly Hebrew and French, will fall into place;
• God will touch the hearts of many more Christians (like you) to read and share this book with unbelieving friends;
• we’ll have wisdom to know how to best continue reaching out to unbelievers about the book; and
• everyone who receives or purchases this book will be drawn to Jesus.

Does the Jewish Bible Point to Jesus? can be purchased here.