For many Christians, the divide between the church and the Jewish people feels ancient and immovable. But every divide has a story - and far too often, it’s a story Christians never heard.

In this episode, we sit down with long-time friend and ministry leader Murray Tilles of Light of Messiah Ministries to uncover why Jesus remains such a point of pain for many Jewish families, and why the church’s calling toward Israel is more urgent than ever.

Murray shares his own journey from a deeply religious Jewish upbringing in North Carolina to the moment he prayed “in Jesus’ name” - words he never imagined he would say.

His story isn’t abstract.

It’s threaded with family tension, synagogue life, anti-Semitism, and the surprising power of Scripture to reshape identity. And it’s a window into the very real barriers Jewish people face when confronted with a “Christian” Jesus who feels historically disconnected from their people.

Together, we explore why the New Testament is far more Jewish than most Christians realize, why Paul’s “to the Jew first” mission still matters today, and how today’s rising anti-Semitism is creating unexpected openness among Jewish communities - if the church knows how to build trust.

Murray helps believers move from abstract support to real relational bridge-building, from sentiment to substance, from generic evangelism to meaningful connection rooted in God’s covenant faithfulness.

• Many Jewish people associate Jesus with centuries of suffering done “in His name,” making belief in Him feel like a betrayal of their people.
• Murray’s journey began not with pressure but with Scripture - especially Isaiah 53 - leading him into a relationship with Israel’s own Messiah.
• Paul’s model was never “either Israel or the nations.” His strategy was always “to the Jew first,” expecting the church to carry that mantle.
• Replacement theology remains one of the biggest obstacles preventing Christians from seeing Scripture as one unified story.
• Today’s cultural moment - including post-October 7 Jewish vulnerability - has opened new doors for relationship and witness.
• Simple gestures - apples and honey, Hanukkah blessings, relationship-first approaches - create space for meaningful spiritual conversations.
• The continued existence of the Jewish people is itself a testimony to God’s covenant promises and ongoing plan for Israel and the world.

00:00 – Welcome & Introduction 00:19 – Meeting Murray & Ministry Connections 00:58 – Growing Up in a Religious Jewish Home 03:15 – Encountering Scripture for the First Time 04:19 – Discovering Jesus in the New Testament 05:28 – Family Tension, Cost, and Reconciliation 07:43 – Why Jesus Is Hard for Jewish People 09:57 – Anti-Semitism, History, and Misunderstanding 14:37 – The Jewishness of Jesus 17:39 – The Church’s Calling “To the Jew First” 22:51 – How Light of Messiah Reaches Jewish People 26:56 – Openness Since October 7 30:22 – Conspiracy Theories & Rising Confusion 33:06 – God’s Faithfulness to Preserve Israel 36:22 – How to Connect With Murray & Next Steps

Explore more resources, episodes, and guides at thejewishroad.com.

Connect with Murray Tilles and Light of Messiah Ministries at LightofMessiah.org and on Instagram @LightOfMessiahATL.

Learn about the Lausanne Consultation on Jewish Evangelism at lcje-na.org, including the upcoming Atlanta conference.

Become one of The Few who stand with us and help advance this work at thejewishroad.com.

In a world where Israel is headline news every day, most people are trying to interpret events through a fog of bias, misinformation, and instant reaction culture.

We sat down with longtime Jerusalem-based journalist Nicole Jansezian to ask a simple question that’s not simple at all:

How do we know what’s actually true?

What unfolded was an inside look at the fractured media landscape inside Israel and the ideological forces shaping the region.

Nicole helps us slow down and understand why the Middle East defies the easy categories most Westerners reach for.

Israel’s political divisions don’t map onto America’s left-right spectrum. Palestinian society is not monolithic. And both sides live with historic, cultural, and religious dynamics that rarely show up in the headlines.

When we oversimplify, we miss the deeper story - and the deeper human reality.

This conversation is for anyone who wants discernment in an age of propaganda. We explore why speed has replaced accuracy, why influencers often outrun truth, and why we need a long view shaped by Scripture, not by algorithms.

For Christians seeking to understand Israel, this isn’t just geopolitics - it’s about returning to the story God has been telling since Genesis and learning to see the world the way He sees it.

• Israel’s internal political spectrum is far more complex than the American left–right divide.
• Headlines often frame events without context, leading to widespread misunderstanding.
• Influencer-driven “news” prioritizes speed and virality over verification.
• Propaganda is not always overt; sometimes it’s subtle, soft influence that shapes perception.
• Ideology - religious, historic, territorial - drives Middle Eastern decisions more than economics.
• The media environment inside Israel is deeply divided, with competing narratives shaping public opinion.
• Christians must pursue discernment by slowing down, asking better questions, and grounding their understanding in Scripture.

00:00 – Welcome and introduction from Jerusalem 01:20 – Nicole’s story: from Queens to the Middle East 04:00 – Why Israeli politics don’t mirror America 08:30 – Divisions inside Israel after October 7 13:45 – How to read news with discernment 16:45 – The rise of influencers and the loss of verification 21:00 – Why analysis is disappearing from modern news 23:00 – Ideological drivers of the Middle East 30:20 – Propaganda and soft influence 37:00 – Where to follow Nicole’s reporting

To go deeper into conversations that reconnect the whole Bible and illuminate God’s ongoing story with Israel and the nations, explore more resources at thejewishroad.com, join us on an upcoming trip to Israel, consider becoming one of The Few who support this work regularly, and follow today’s guest at nicjan.com and on her YouTube channel for on-the-ground reporting from Jerusalem.

Most of us learned the Lord’s Prayer before we understood what it was doing. It became a ritual, something recited rather than lived.

But when Jesus’ words are returned to their original world - the Jewish people under Roman rule, the long ache for redemption, the hope of a coming kingdom - the prayer opens up in ways most modern readers have never seen. It becomes less a mantra and more a mission.

In this conversation with Brad Gray and Brad Nelson of Walking the Text, we explore why context is not a luxury but a lifeline.

Jesus wasn’t offering a poetic devotional. He was giving His disciples a framework for partnering with God, joining the story that began in the Exodus, and learning to embody the kingdom He announced.

Every line reaches back to Israel’s history and forward to God’s future, shaping a people who would carry His reign into the world.

From the clash of kingdoms under Rome, to the Jewish practice of communal prayer, to the way the early disciples finally recognized the kingdom at Shavuot, this episode invites us to see the prayer not as ancient words but as a daily blueprint.

This is what it means to bring heaven here - to live as a people formed by the Father, trusting His provision, forgiving like He forgives, and resisting the powers that distort His world.

• Context is not extra; it’s everything. Jesus assumed His listeners knew the Jewish, historical, and literary world behind His words.
• The Lord’s Prayer sits at the “center of the center” of the Sermon on the Mount - Matthew’s way of spotlighting Jesus’ mission.
• Every phrase echoes the Exodus story and frames Jesus as the new Moses leading a new Exodus.
• “Daily bread” held layers: Israel’s wilderness manna, Rome’s grain system, and the hope of Messiah’s provision.
• Ancient Jewish prayer was communal, formational, and participatory - not merely expressive.
• Jesus’ kingdom message is not about escaping earth but joining God’s work of renewing it.
• Salvation isn’t the finish line; it’s the starting point for disciples who bring God’s reign into the world.

00:00 — Why Context Changes Everything 01:20 — What the Biblical Writers Assumed We Knew 04:20 — Discovering the Bible in “Technicolor” 06:15 — When the Lord’s Prayer Becomes Personal 09:00 — The Prayer’s Literary Center and the New Exodus 10:20 — Rome, Herod, and the Clash of Kingdoms 14:45 — Why the Disciples Needed to Be Taught to Pray 18:40 — What Jesus Is Really Forming Through This Prayer 21:00 — Kingdom, Salvation, and the Mission of Disciples 26:30 — The Phrase That Transformed Everything 29:00 — Why “For Thine Is the Kingdom…” Isn’t Original 31:50 — The Film, the Book, and the Global Project 38:00 — The Vision Behind Bringing Heaven Here

Explore more resources, teachings, and Israel study opportunities at https://thejewishroad.com.

To connect with Brad Gray and Brad Nelson, and to find the film The Lord’s Prayer and the book Bringing Heaven Here, visit https://thelordsprayer.com - your one-stop hub for the film, book, and upcoming series.