Christmas in Israel 2024

In Bethlehem, a small town south of Jerusalem, the King of the Jews was born—the King who brought hope to Israel and, through Israel, hope to the world. This King, whom the Prophet Isaiah calls the “Prince of Peace” and the “Light of the World,” chose to come to a region that, throughout generations, lacked light, peace and hope; a region filled with hatred and war, where hope is a precious commodity.

Today, as we know, Israel is fighting on five fronts: in the south against Hamas, in the north against Hezbollah, in the east against both Iran and Iraq, and in the far south against the Houthis in Yemen. We hear the Israeli Air Force flying over us day and night to protect us, and citizens run in and out of shelters as missiles are launched against us.

Each day, we hear of more and more families joining the circle of bereavement with another fallen soldier—young men and fathers who set out to protect their country. 

Peace, hope and joy are rare sights on the streets of Israel’s cities.

For most of the people of Israel, in the time of Jesus until now, the Messiah was expected to bring peace. If Jesus is the Messiah, they ask, where is this promised peace? And while we believe that the Messiah first had to bring redemption from sin, our people did not fully understand the concept of a suffering Messiah. They did not understand Isaiah’s prophecy in chapter 53 about the “Servant of God” and the “Lamb of God who bears the sin of the world.”

As we know, God has a redemption plan for humanity, both Jew and non-Jew alike. God chose Abraham, and through him, He promised to bless all nations.

Abraham fathered Isaac; Isaac fathered Jacob, who, after his encounter with the angel of the Lord, was renamed Israel. Jacob chose to go down to Egypt, and the children of Israel remained there for 400 years. God then raised up a leader in Moses, and with a mighty hand, He brought Israel out of Egypt.

In the wilderness, He made a covenant with them and formed them into a people. And when He made them His chosen people, He declared that there was a purpose for this choice. The purpose was to make them a light to the nations. And as we know, He gave the Torah to the people of Israel, a tool that transformed morality across the entire world.

Later, He gave them the prophets, not only to guide the people but, more important, to reveal more and more of the hidden mysteries of the Torah, namely the Messiah.

The prophets tell us precisely when the Messiah should appear on the stage of history and where He should be born. The Prophet Micah said clearly that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem:

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times” (Micah 5:2).

In Isaiah 9:6, the prophet reveals who the Messiah will be to us: 

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

The prophets also tell us clearly that the Messiah would need to suffer and bear the sins of the world, as Isaiah says in chapter 53:5-6:

“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

As followers of the Messiah, we believe that the greatest light God brought through Israel was the light of the Messiah, who was willing to bear the wrath of this world upon His shoulders to free us, humanity, from the chains of death and Satan, and to give us eternal life.

But as we know, and as Isaiah prophesied about the Messiah, our people did not see Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah. The prophet tells us that when the people of Israel would encounter the “Servant of God,” they would see Him as “despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain” (Isaiah 53:3).

Israel as a nation rejected the Messiah, but there was a remnant in the land who put their faith in Jesus, and God used them to bring the light of the Messiah to the entire world.

Now that the name of the Messiah has been spread across the world, those who have entered God’s covenant have a responsibility toward the people of Israel. They must come and help Israel to believe in the hope and peace we possess.

We saw this during the first week of the war, as Christian believers filled with the love of God came to Israel to support and bring the light of the Messiah to the people of Israel. Among those who arrived was Samaritan’s Purse, and one of their first projects was during Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, which is close to Christmas. Last year, they brought two planes with 20,000 boxes filled with toys for children in shelters in Israel, but also for children in Palestinian territories. It was incredibly moving to see that, while rockets were falling, good Christians were distributing toys to children.

The Prophet Isaiah in chapter 40 calls on a group of people who have chosen to believe in the God of Israel and the Messiah of Israel to bring comfort to Israel. Yes, physical comfort is very important, as the Messiah instructs us to bring aid to those who suffer. But in Isaiah 40:2, after the call for comfort, he asks us to tell Zion that someone has paid double for all her sins, meaning we must tell the people of Israel that there is victory over sin, there is redemption and hope, and there is a Messiah who will redeem them.

Indeed, sharing the Good News to the people of Israel is not like preaching to other people groups. We must do exactly as the Messiah did when He revealed Himself after His resurrection on the road to Emmaus—He used the Torah and the Prophets to speak of the “Light of the World.”

We must convey the entire concept of the suffering Messiah from the Torah and the Prophets. We must convey His divinity and eternity and the fact that the Messiah was the Son of God, through whom all things were made and for whose glory they exist, as John tells us in the first 13 verses of his Gospel.

We need to show that this idea exists in the Torah and the Prophets; it’s not a new idea that John might have come up with under the Middle Eastern sun.

We also need to show that salvation is only by the grace of the Messiah, as Paul reveals to us in his epistle to the Romans.

The idea that salvation is by the grace of God through the Messiah is also something we need to show from the Torah and the Prophets—that it is not a new concept of the church but a part of God’s salvation plan for both the Jew first and also the non-Jew.

In one of my conversations with Brother Franklin Graham, we discussed how to bring the message of the Messiah to the people of Israel. He suggested creating Bibles with the Torah, Prophets and Writings, with all the prophecies about the Messiah marked in red, and distributing them freely to anyone interested.

Today, as peace is the most precious and scarce commodity in our region, I believe this is an opportunity for the Gospel of the Messiah to flourish. When people lose hope, they seek truth.

This Christmas, I invite the church to pray that God removes the veil from the eyes of Israel and brings true peace—first between the people of Israel and the God of Israel, and then true peace in a region that has suffered for so many years. ©2024 Samuel Smadja

Pray For Peace

More than ever, now is the time for us to pray for the nation of Israel and the conflict that continues to spread across the Middle East. 

Let’s pray for the families of the 254 hostages who were taken by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, and have been held hostage in terrible conditions, many of whom are imprisoned in the dark, subterranean tunnels networked throughout Gaza. The 117 hostages who have been returned have vividly described the harsh treatment received from the hands of Hamas, including physical abuse. 

Let’s pray for the Lebanese citizens who have been caught up in the crossfire as Israel seeks to root out terrorists in that country who are affiliated with Hezbollah. There are many Christians scattered across this wonderful country, and they desperately need our fervent prayers. 

Let’s pray for Palestinians, who are used as shields by Hamas so the terrorists can hide from Israeli soldiers and continue to wage their sustained terror campaign against Israel. 

Let’s pray for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President-elect Donald Trump, for God’s wisdom to formulate a framework of peace where Israel’s right to exist is fully protected from ongoing terrorist attacks by Islamic militants. 

And as the Scripture encourages us, please pray without ceasing “for the peace of Jerusalem” (Psalm 122:6).

Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. 

Samuel Smadja is regional director of TBN in Israel and president of Sar-El Tours and Conferences, which exists to help Christians around the world create and maintain ties with the land and people of Israel.