proclaiming the gospel to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Shalom and welcome to the Everlasting Nation, a radio ministry of International Board of Jewish Missions. I'm your host Aaron Broughton and I want to thank you for joining me on today's program. We've been talking about the history of Jewish missions and yesterday we talked about George Mueller and we're going to talk today about one of the men that he influenced. Let's talk about Romans 1-16, as I believe has been the very foundational verse for IBJM since its inception by Dr. Jacob Gardenhouse in 1949. I believe it is also the foundation for the missions program for every local church. The gospel that we proclaim is nothing to be ashamed of. As the verse says, it is the power of God unto salvation, to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. I love what the Old Testament scholar Franz Delitzsch said concerning Jewish missions. He said, For the church to evangelize the world without thinking of the Jews is like a bird trying to fly with one broken wing. The Apostle Paul went on to teach concerning the makeup of the local church, consisting of both Jew and Gentile, the middle wall partition has been broken down according to Ephesians chapters 2 and 3. The Book of Acts, the New Testament epistles, as well as the study of the very early church history, shows that this pattern was evident in local churches, Jew and Gentile, one in Messiah. But when we take a broad look at the history of the church through the centuries, the attitude towards the Jews changed, especially by the effects of beliefs such as replacement theology. The fallout from this was anti-Semitic attitudes, that even persecution of the Jewish people came out of this. When we further study the history of worldwide missions, very little has been mentioned concerning Jewish missions and the obedience of the call of Romans 1.16. Dr. Gardenhouse used to tell his preacher boys by saying, it's either to the Jew first or to the Jew last. Somehow we need to reach them with the gospel. Even though little has been written concerning Jewish missions in the history of modern missions, that is not to say there was no history of Jewish missions. One name that comes up in the history of missions that is familiar to us is James Hudson Taylor, the famous missionary to China and the founder of Chinlet Indian Mission, now the Overseas Missionary Fellowship. Taylor was born in Yorkshire, England in 1832 in a Methodist home. He committed his life to Christ at the age of 17 after reading a tract entitled Poor Richard. Hudson Taylor was called of the Lord to the country of China shortly thereafter. After years of study as a medical assistant, he finally sailed to China. His goal was to press the gospel into the interior of China. He was not well received even though he offered medical services. Taylor then changed his appearance and is well known for dressing as the Chinese, which was controversial at the time. Through many hardships, he, as well as the mission team, worked hard to lay the groundwork for the spread of the gospel in China. His influence affected so many people, including Amy Carmichael and C.T. Studd. One thing that is often overlooked in the life of Hudson Taylor was his love for the Jewish people. Taylor had a dear friend in John Wilkinson, who was the director of Mildmay Missions to the Jews. Mrs. Howard Taylor, Hudson Taylor's daughter-in-law, wrote of this unique friendship in the book, The Growth of a Work of God, which was published in 1918, which said, Work among God's ancient people occupied a special place in the prayerful sympathy of both Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, and Mr. John Wilkinson, founder of Mildmay Missions to the Jews, recalled an interesting phase of their long friendship. Taking advantage of a New Year's Day spent at home in 1897, Mr. Taylor went round to Mr. Wilkinson's house with a brotherly note enclosing a gift for the mission. To the Jew first were the words with which the check was accompanied. Mr. Wilkinson's heart was touched and he immediately wrote a brotherly reply enclosing his own check for the same amount with the words and also to the Gentile. This helpful exchange of sympathy was kept up ever after, the only change being that each doubled the amount of their contribution. Truly, Hudson Taylor took the words of Romans 116 to heart. He longed to see both Jew and Gentile saved. His yearly practice of giving and praying for Jewish missions should encourage us to also be involved in this often neglected mission work. May we have a heart for the Jewish people and diligently do what we can to share the gospel with them. Let us not allow the Jewish people to become the great omission of the local church. And thinking about Hudson Taylor and Romans 116, I would like to close this program with the words of Hudson Taylor who famously said, the Great Commission is not an option to be considered, it is a command to be obeyed. Let us take these words to heart and remember these as we remember the history of Jewish missions. You've been listening to The Everlasting Nation, a ministry of International Board of Jewish Missions. For more information, you can contact us at 423-876-8150 or go online to ibjm.org. Until next time, may God bless and Shalom!