I grew up right on the beach, right on the ocean in Coney Island, right next to the boardwalk. Welcome to Connections with Rich and Bobby. Hi, I'm Bobby, Bobby Hamlin. And I'm Rich, Rich Homeris. Today we begin an extraordinary story of a young Brooklyn Jewish boy growing up right next to the boardwalk on Coney Island in New York, and how the Lord changed his heart to follow Yeshua, Jesus, as his Lord and Savior. He's Pastor Joe Jakowicz, the president and founder of First Love Ministries and the pastor of Christ Bible Church. Can you share a little bit about your background and growing up? Sure. I was born in 1955 in Brooklyn, New York, New York City, and in a conservative Jewish family. And ours was not necessarily very strict in keeping the Jewish holidays and traditions. We did observe the major Jewish holidays like Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah and Hanukkah and the like. Now, being in New York, I know that a lot of neighborhoods are dedicated to certain cultures. Now, did you live in a Jewish neighborhood? And what was that like where you lived in New York? I grew up in a time in New York City when there was a real cosmopolitan environment, especially where we lived. My closest friends were Jewish, black, and Puerto Rican. And I grew up right on the beach, right on the ocean in Coney Island. Right next to the boardwalk, there was some apartment projects. And it was literally 50 feet from the sand, from the beach. How fantastic for a child. Yes, and so I learned to get along with people from all different ethnicities and backgrounds at a very young age. In the late 50s and early 60s, it was a time in New York when you could walk around and not worry about being robbed. You still had to lock your door, okay, unlike the country. That's true more than ever right now where, you know, we do have to think about that. But in those days, a lot of people didn't lock their doors. There wasn't as much of a safety issue as there is now. But in New York, that wasn't necessarily true because there were so many different elements in the city itself. It was a world onto its own, wasn't it? Yes, there were the beginnings of certain problems that were brewing and developing, but it was still a pristine type of environment and culture in many ways. And it was a wonderful time to grow up in New York. There were gangs there, but not so many and so intense that you didn't feel comfortable walking the streets by yourself. But it was a great environment being brought up right there on the Atlantic Ocean there in New York City, right two blocks from the original Nathan's Hot Dog I was going to ask you about that if that was a temptation because it was so close. Well, the famous rides were there. The Luna Park was a famous amusement park and also steeplechase and roller coasters and kids rides and cotton candy. But like I said, the famous Nathan's hot dogs was two blocks away from my house and I would take my allowance, my 60 cents a week, and I would walk down to Nathan's two blocks away, buy some French fries, couldn't afford a hot dog, so I bought some fries, a drink, and walked right across the street and paid 35 cents to get into the Till You movie theater at nine o'clock in the morning, would stay there all day, watch movie after movie, cartoon after cartoon, three Stooges, and get out at like six o'clock at night. So for 35 cents, you were able to just stay in there all day and just keep watching. Those were the days, right? Unlike today where movie tickets are what, $12, $15, whatever they are. You know, my family lived in New York for a couple of years when I was really young. I was like between ages two and four. And yet I still have such a vivid memory. And my family loved New York. There's a certain energy there, isn't there? It's just electric. And there's so many things to do for free. Like we didn't have much money back then, but we went to museums. We went to the park. We rode the Staten Island Ferry for, what was it, a dime or something? Oh, it was very, very cheap. We would go out on the beach and just lay out all day long on the weekends and just walk 100 yards back home. And it was really nice. It was very memorable. Now, you mentioned a little bit about your family, but growing up into a Jewish home, was it a traditional? Jewish family or was it pretty legalistic in following the attributes of the Jewish faith? We were not Orthodox, which was the strictest branch of Judaism. There are many different components of Orthodox Judaism and they're all strict. They follow the dress code, they follow the kosher laws, the eating or dietary rules. And we were not kosher, we were not orthodox. Then next was the conservative Judaism, which is what we were. We followed some of the holidays. My grandparents were kosher. They only ate the food that, you know, the kosher laws required. My grandfather died when he was 98 and a half years old, and he had never eaten anything from a pig. No pork, no ham, no hot dogs. That was the Apostle Peter's situation, as we're told in Acts 10, verses 13 through 15, that says, But Peter said, not so, Lord, for I've never eaten anything common or unclean. And a voice spoke to him again the second time, what God has cleansed, you must not call common. And we'll return to our talk with Pastor Joe in just a moment. So stay with us. You're listening to Connections with Rich and Bobbi, and we'd love to connect with you. Just go to our website at Connections with Rich and Bobbi, that's all one word, and Bobbi is B-O-B-B-I dot com. That's Connections with Rich and Bobbi dot com. There, all of our podcasts are posted, along with all of our contact information. Also, you can connect with us on social media by friending us on Facebook, post on Instagram, or tweet us on Twitter. Now, let's return to our talk with Pastor Joe, Joe Jakowicz, as he talks about his Jewish background. In case people aren't real familiar with all of the traditions, you even have to eat on different dishware, don't you? Yes, the dietary laws required you to eat on certain dishware that didn't contain certain properties. And there were many, many things about the strict Judaism, Orthodox brand, you know, like you said, it's legalistic. That lifestyle of traditionalism in Orthodox Judaism did not provide peace, did not provide answers, did not satisfy the longing of the heart to know the forgiveness of one's sins. And I was empty growing up, even though I was a conservative Jew. The last branch of Judaism is reformed. They're the most liberal. They're not very religious. Many who would classify themselves as Reform Jews don't even go to a synagogue or a temple. Many of them are just secular Jews or they're Zionists. That is, they're very strong in supporting Israel as a nation, but they reject the religious part of Judaism. So even some who would consider themselves Reform Jews are atheists. They identify themselves as Jews in a cultural sense. They love the traditions and the culture and the foods, but they reject the religious part of it. But we were conservative Jews. We were right in the middle. Now, for those that are really hearing this discussion about the Jewish faith and we're talking primarily to a Christian audience, they may not really know what are some of the main differences. You know, Jews believe in Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. So do Christians. Jews believe in Moses and follow the law. So do Christians. Christians and Jews read the Psalms that David wrote. So what are the main differences between the Jewish faith and the Christian faith? Well, the main difference is the Jews reject Jesus Christ as their Messiah, but Christians accept him as their Messiah. They believe that he is not only the Jewish Messiah, but also the Savior of everyone, regardless of their background, their ethnicity. So there are other differences. The Jews reject the New Testament as the Word of God, the 27 books of the New Testament. Their canon or their Bible would end at the book of Malachi, which is the last book in the Jewish Bible. And that makes sense because not believing that Jesus is the Messiah, that's what the New Testament is all about, isn't it? Who he is, how he lived, and what he proclaimed, which is that he's the Son of God. Yes, and another difference between Jews and Christians is their view of the Messiah. The Jews, because of their blindness and rebellion and disobedience against God in the Old Testament, were given the judgment of blindness. So from 400 BC until Christ was born, their concept and understanding of the Messiah's mission and purpose was changed because of this spiritual blindness the Old Testament nevertheless did teach that there would be a suffering Messiah so that when the Messiah comes he will have to suffer and die for the sins of his people as the famous Isaiah chapter 3 predicts six to seven hundred years before Jesus was born that the Messiah would not be some kind of military dictator or ruler who would come to destroy the Jews' enemies, which was the Jewish understanding of the Messiah. But the biblical understanding always has been of the Messiah, both in the Old Testament and the New Testament, of a suffering Messiah who would bear the sins of his people and have to die in their place to pay their sin debt. And what about today, those that follow the Jewish faith? Are they still looking for the Messiah to return? Yes, they are. Romans chapter 11 is the best place to understand where the Jews have been and where they are at in terms of their messianic expectation of the coming of the Messiah. Romans 11 says that blindness in part has happened to Israel. But the veil, that veil of blindness is removed in Christ, but it continues to cover them in Moses. So we read in Romans 11, I say then in verse 1, has God cast away his people? Certainly not. For I also am an Israelite of the seed of Abraham of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not cast away his people whom he foreknew. And we read then that the Lord Jesus Christ came not only for the Gentiles but also for a portion of the Jewish people who would put their trust in Him. And the Bible predicts that the vast majority of the Jewish nation would reject the Lord Jesus Christ as we read in Isaiah chapter 6 that He will give them eyes but they won't see, they will have ears but they won't hear, they will have a heart but they won't believe. So he pours out a spirit of blindness upon them. He says the axe is laid at the root of the tree, but yet a tenth or a portion, a small remnant will return or will put their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. So the tree above the ground represents the majority of Israel, which is cut down and they are rejected as God's representative people in the world. but the root that remains, the stump in the ground, that's the small portion of remnant Jews who will be drawn to trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. And they are equal with Gentiles, for the Bible says, for in Christ there's neither Jew nor Greek, male nor female, bond nor free, for we are all one in Christ. We've been talking with Pastor Joe Jakowicz about the Jewish and Christian faith and how God looks at us all as one if we're believers in Him, the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, this is the first part of a series with Pastor Joe as he shares his testimony, an extremely compelling story that you won't want to miss. So do join us on our next podcast. And if the Lord leads, spread the word by inviting others to listen as well. Also, if you'd like to find out more about Pastor Joe Jakowicz and his ministry, just go to our website at ConnectionsWithRichAndBobby.com and click on Program Insights. That's Program Insights at ConnectionsWithRichAndBobby.com. Now you've been listening to Connections with Rich and Bobbi, and we'd love to have you subscribe to our podcast on this platform or any of the others like iTunes, Google Play, or Spotify. If you have a smart speaker, you can listen by simply saying, play the podcast Connections with Rich and Bobbi. And you can connect with us on social media, on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. So please do take a moment to let us know about you. And we'd love to hear any feedback about what you've heard on our podcasts. This is Connections, connecting with one another as Romans 1 verse 12 says, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine. So thank you for listening. And remember, tell others and spread the word, God's word. and we'll see you next time on Connections with Rich and Bobby.