Jewish mission marks anniversary

Christ Church Jerusalem, the city’s headquarters of the Church’s Ministry among Jewish People (CMJ) is celebrating its 175th anniversary.

Founded in London in 1809 by William Wilberforce and others, CMJ last year celebrated the bicentenary of its involvement in the Holy Land. But it was not until 1849 that Christ Church was built.

London-based Messianic Jewish leader Richard Harvey, speaking at the church, highlighted the centre’s extraordinary influence over the years in praying and working towards greater recognition among Jews of Jesus as their Messiah.

In a talk entitled ‘A Beacon of Hope in the Middle East?’ he said: ‘I know CMJ is doing all it can right now to stand with our people.’

Recounting his own journey to the Christian faith at school in Winchester, he said he faced two main obstacles. The first, of course, appeared to be the fact of his being Jewish, and then there was the question of Jesus being raised from the dead, which he couldn’t get his head around. But it was while later debating with his Christian friends that he suddenly ‘saw’ an empty tomb. ‘I knew that Jesus was not there – that he had in fact risen from the dead. Call it a dream or a vision or just my imagination running riot, but for me there was a ring of truth to it.’