Steve Conover: Thank you for joining us today for The Friends of Israel Today. I'm Steve Conover, executive director here at The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry. I'd like to encourage you all to visit foiradio.org. There you can connect with us, we have over a decade of content on the site and it features Chris Katulka's insightful teaching and various interview guests. Again, that's foiradio.org. Today, our teacher, Chris Katulka, begins a new three-part series on The Lord's Prayer. You may be like me, you've known this prayer for years and can probably say it by heart, but today Chris is going to help us see it from a different perspective. What it meant to the Jewish people when Jesus first taught it. I think you'll really appreciate this look at a familiar passage. 

But first in the news, a senior Iraqi militia commander is under arrest, charged with plotting nearly 20 attacks targeting Jews and Americans across the US, Europe, and Canada on Iran's behalf. Mohammad Al-Saadi, linked to both the Hezbollah terror group and Iran's Revolutionary Guard, “was out to kill Americans and Jews at home and abroad,” according to US acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.

We should thank God that the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force was able to stop Al-Saadi before any of these attacks could be carried out. It’s a sobering reminder that threats against Jewish communities and Americans are not distant, but very real. And as Iran’s regime continues to weaken, it becomes all the more important that our intelligence agencies remain vigilant, staying a step ahead of lingering terror cells that seek to harm innocent people.

Chris Katulka: Well, I'm glad that you're here with us today because over the next three weeks, we're going to do something that I think is going to change the way that you read one of the most familiar passages in all of Scripture. We're going to look at the Lord's Prayer. Not as a devotional exercise or as a bedtime prayer, but as what it actually was the day Jesus spoke it. A national call, a covenant summons, a prayer, a prayer aimed at the heart of a people on edge of their greatest promised restoration. Now, I know what you're thinking. I grew up saying the Lord's Prayer. I know the Lord's Prayer. And listen, you might. But here's the question. Do you know who Jesus was saying it to and what he was saying through it? Because there's a layer to this prayer that most of us in the Western church have simply never seen.

And once you see it, you can't unsee it. So let's get started. Turn with me in your Bibles to Matthew chapter six, where Jesus is in the middle of the sermon on the mount. He has crowds that have gathered. They're Jewish crowds. They're the sons and daughters of Abraham, people who carry in their bones the weight of centuries of covenant promises, centuries of exile, centuries of longing for God to make good on what he said through the prophets. And as Jesus says, “Teach your disciples to pray like this: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Now let's stop right there because “Our Father in heaven,” we're just two words into this prayer and we are already standing in deeply Jewish territory. This is not a phrase Jesus invented. This is covenant language.

This is straight from the Jewish Scriptures. This is the language of a people who understood themselves to be in a specific binding relationship with the God of Israel. In fact, and I want you to hear this clearly, the modern state of Israel actually has an official prayer for the nation. A prayer recited in synagogues and Israeli state ceremonies. And do you know how it opens? It opens like this, “Our Father in heaven.” Avinu Shebashamayim, Our Father who is in heaven. That's how you say it in Hebrew. And see, this isn't a coincidence because this is the continuity that we see here. Jesus is not introducing a new God. He is calling Israel back to their God. He is standing in the tradition of every prophet that stood before him and looked at the people and said what? Return to me. Come back to me.

The Father is still there on his throne in heaven. But here's where it gets extraordinary because the next phrase, “Hallowed be thy name” or in a more modern way of saying “sanctify your name.” This isn't just polite religious expressions. This is a direct reference, a very specific intentional reference actually back to an Old Testament prophet, Ezekiel. And if you've not read Ezekiel chapter 36, I want to encourage you to go read it. Read the whole chapter because what you will find there is one of the most stunning passages of restoration promise in all of the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament. God is speaking and he is speaking about his name and what's connected to a name? Well, your reputation. So he's talking about his reputation. His shem. In Hebrew, shem is the name. And so he's talking about his name, his reputation, and how Israel's use of God's name and his reputation impacts the nations around him.

And that's why he says this, "I had concern for my Holy Name." God says in Ezekiel chapter 36, "Which the house of Israel profaned among the nations wherever they went. Therefore, say to the house of Israel, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: "It's not for your sake, house of Israel, that I'm going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name."” And then this is the breathtaking part. He says, "I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations and the nations will know that I am the Lord when I have proved myself holy through you before their very eyes. Hallowed be thy name." Do you hear it? Jesus is not just offering a nice opening line for a prayer here. He is pulling on a thread of Ezekiel 36 and he says, ‘God, do what you promised. Sanctify your name. Do it now. Do it through us. Do it in Israel and let the nations see.’

Now, let me pull back for a moment and give you the full picture because context is everything. Jesus has been walking through the towns and villages of Israel with one central message. Mark records it in Mark chapter one. Jesus comes into Galilee proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom of God saying the time is fulfilled. The kingdom of God is at hand. And what does he call them to do? Repent and believe in the good news. The time is fulfilled. The kingdom is at hand. Did you hear that? This is not just general spiritual advice for Israel. That is a prophetic announcement that dates back, goes back to the prophets of the Old Testament. And Jesus is telling Israel everything that the prophets had told you was coming and it's here now.

The moment has arrived, the kingdom your fathers prayed for, the restoration your grandparents wept over the promise that kept your people alive through exile of Babylon, Assyria, Greece, Rome. It's at hand. Here it is. But there's a condition. There has always been a condition. “Repent,” he says. Turn and come back. See, God can never release his relationship with Israel, but he requires them to repent. And let me tell you something, this isn't new theology. This is Deuteronomy. This is the covenant God told Israel at the very beginning, "If you walk in my ways, you will dwell in the land and it will go well with you. If you turn away, you'll be scattered. But if you return, if you truly return, I will gather you. Return to repent and turn back to God. If you do that, I will restore you. I will bring you back." And here is Jesus standing in that exact tradition.

He is the fulfillment of that tradition and he is issuing the altar call moment. I had an altar call moment. I was in seventh grade. I wasn't a bad kid. I wasn't rebellious against my parents or authority figures in my life. I could have been more diligent to get my schoolwork done on time. I lied to my parents. But in seventh grade, the pastor of my church in Philadelphia shared his testimony, how God saved him out of drugs and alcohol and a life that was going nowhere fast. So my pastor shared that after he had heard that Jesus died for him, he confessed his sin, he repented and turned to God. And because of that, God granted him eternal life by his grace through faith. And as I was listening to him, I knew in that moment, even as a seventh grader, I could never save myself.

I could never earn my way into heaven, even if I wasn't that bad of a kid. And that day, my pastor invited those who wanted to receive Jesus as their Savior to walk down the aisle. Prompted by the Spirit, I took that challenge. I went, I walked the aisle in the church and even as a seventh grader, can I tell you I could feel the weight of sin lift off my shoulders. When I arrived at the front of the church, my pastor invited me into a prayer of salvation where I publicly, in front of a thousand people, confessed that I'm a sinner and God is holy and I need Jesus to wash away my sins. See, the Lord's Prayer is Israel's version of their altar call prayer. So what does Ezekiel 36 actually promise? Because I think it's worth spending a moment here because this is the passage Jesus is reaching for when he teaches them “Hallowed be thy name.”

God speaks to the prophet Ezekiel and he makes three important promises to the house of Israel and they're kind of interlocking here. First, he promises Israel that he would restore them to the land. Even though they were banished into the nations, he says in Ezekiel 36, "I will bring you out of the nations. I will gather you from all the countries and I will bring you back into your own land." Physical restoration, national restoration, a land promise renewed. You're seeing this happen right before your very eyes as Jewish people are immigrating back to Israel even to this very day. Second, he promises to give them his Spirit. I'll give you a new heart and put a new Spirit in you and I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees.

See, this is the transformation that happens from the inside out. Not just a return to a geography, a location, Israel, that's very important. But even more important to stay in the land of Israel is a return to God, a spiritual renewal, a salvation that changes the very nature of God's Chosen People. And third, and this is the one Jesus is pulling on here, his promise to sanctify his name, to hallow his name. What does that mean? To vindicate God's holy reputation among Israel and among the nations of the earth. The restoration of Israel was not merely political. It was biblical. It was about the name of God being magnified, glorified, proven true in the sight of the world. So when Jesus says, "Hallowed be thy name," he's saying, "Father, fulfill Ezekiel 36. Restore your people, give them your spirit and let your name be sanctified, hallowed before the nations." That is the prayer and that's the weight of it.

Now, when we come back, we want to answer kind of an important question here. We want to find out really what does this have to do with us today as we think about Ezekiel 36 and how this prayer that means so much to us, the Lord's Prayer, hallowed be thy name? How does all of this apply to us, whether you're Jewish or not? So stick around.

Steve Conover: Chris, we talk a lot about sharing our faith here, but sometimes it can feel discouraging when people just aren't open to hearing about Jesus.

Chris Katulka: So true, Steve, that's exactly the reason why our friends, Tom and Lorna Simcox, wrote the powerful story called That You May Know. It tells the story of Saul Greenberg, who's a man who wanted nothing to do with Jesus or Christians, but see, God had other plans.

Steve Conover: So glad he did. Through faithful friendship, real life trials, and consistent love, God slowly softened Saul's heart to the truth of Jesus. It's a reminder that God is always at work, even when we don't see it. And I think that's what makes this story so impactful. It encourages us to keep going, to keep sharing the gospel and trusting the Lord with the results.

Chris Katulka: See, Steve, you never really know when God might awaken someone's heart.

Steve Conover: If you've ever felt hesitant or discouraged in sharing your faith, this book will strengthen and encourage you. You can find out more or order your copy of That You May Know today at foiradio.org. Again, that's foiradio.org.

Chris Katulka: Well, welcome back everybody. We are in the middle of kind of our first section here on looking at the Lord's Prayer, but kind of looking at it through the view of Israel as an altar call prayer. Because this is Jesus speaking to his people, the disciples, the daughters and sons of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And so here's a question I want to leave you today as we've been going through and seeing “hallowed thy name,” how it's connected to a prophecy from Ezekiel chapter 36, where God sanctifies his holy name among Israel and among the nations. 

And we have to ask, how does this apply to us, whether you're Jewish or Gentile, whether you grew up in the church or you're just exploring all of this for the very first time? Well, Jesus came to offer the kingdom. He came offering the fulfillment of every promise God made to Israel. The restoration was available. The name of God was already being sanctified before the nations through a renewed and restored people. There was work that was happening that Jesus was doing as the king is there, the kingdom is there as well. But see, there was a response that was required here. See, repentance is not a minor footnote in the gospel. Can I really make this clear? Repentance is something that when you're sharing your testimony, repentance should be at the heart of your testimony, that you recognize that you are a sinner and in need of a Savior and that you confess and repent to God that you're a sinner in need of a savior. The repentance is such a crucial part of your testimony. It's the doorway. It's the altar call, and it was and is the call to return to the Father, our Father. The One in heaven who has not forgotten his covenant, who has not abandoned his people and who looks out over the horizon as the father did in the parable, watching for his son to come up the road.

Over the next two weeks, we're going to continue through this prayer and we're going to look at “Your kingdom come, your will be done” and what the kingdom of God actually looked like in the context of Israel's national hope and salvation. And we're going to look at the closing doxology, “for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.” And what did that mean for God's name to finally fully be sanctified, hallowed on this earth? But today I just want you to sit with this. The Lord's prayer is not a ritual. It's a cry. It's Israel's cry and through Israel, humanities’ cry. Father, you are in heaven. Sanctify your name. Keep your Word. Let what you've promised be true. Let the world know who you are. And the answer to that prayer is the one who taught it, Jesus. 

Let's pray. Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. We come today recognizing that you are a covenant keeping, promise keeping God. That your promises to Israel were not accidents of history, but the architecture of redemption. We pray, as your Son taught us to pray, that your name should be sanctified in Israel and by being sanctified in Israel, it's sanctified among the nations. I love, Lord, that you've always thought about the nations whenever you think about Israel and in that way it's in our own hearts. Yes, this is what connects us to these promises that go back to Ezekiel chapter 36 and we ask you to continue to open our eyes to the fullness of what your Word contains.

Steve Conover: Israel on the verge of becoming a state, a teenaged Holocaust survivor arrives on her shores alone. His name is Zvi Kalisher. Little did he know his search for a new life in the Holy Land would lead him to the Messiah. Zvi, enthusiastic to share his faith, engaged others in spiritual conversations, many of which can be found in our magazine, Israel My Glory. While Zvi is now in the presence of His Savior, his collected writings from well over 50 years of ministry continue to encourage believers worldwide. Now, Apples of Gold, a dramatic reading from the life of Zvi.

Mike Kellogg: Since suffering a heart attack several years ago, I must go to the doctor every four months for a checkup. On my last visit, an ultra-Orthodox man sat next to me, shouting the Psalms.

After a while, I said to him, “I do not mind you reading the Psalms, but would you please lower your voice? If this is from your heart, God will hear even if you read silently.”

He asked, “How are you so sure He will hear me?”

Then he began to stare at me intently and said, “I know you! Your name is Zvi. Were you in Cyprus in 1947?”

“Yes,” I replied.

“We were in the same camp,” he said, “in the same shack for eight months.”

“Now that I see you closely, I remember you,” I said.

He asked why I was in the doctor’s office, and I told him about my heart attack. He asked many questions, as anyone would upon meeting an old friend after 44 years. I then asked him what he had been doing since arriving in Israel in 1948, and he replied, “I have become a real Jew. I study the Talmud in a yeshiva all the time.”

I told him, “I can see what a good Jew you are. You spent years studying and let others fight. I fought in all the wars up to 1973. Now my children are in the military.”

He replied, “I want to know more about you. Do you go to the synagogue even once a week?”

I replied, “I do not pray so others will hear and see me. I pray to the living God, and I know He answers my prayers. I can go to the Lord anytime, anywhere, and pray in His name, and I know His Holy Spirit is there.”

He then said, “You were not so serious at Cyprus. What changed?”

I replied, “I have learned to whom I belong.”

Many others were listening to our conversation.

One man asked, “What are you trying to say?”

I could not quickly say I believe in Jesus. In Israel, you must go slowly.

I told him, “I have never studied in a yeshiva. I came to know the Lord through reading the Bible and praying. I found what most of you will never find, even after spending a lifetime studying rabbinic writings. Also, I have never boycotted the Word of God, as you are doing.”

One yelled, “We have never boycotted the Bible!”

Then I read to them Isaiah 53.

I asked, “Why is this chapter never read in the synagogue? It is part of the Bible and was written by the Holy Spirit of God.”

As soon as I said that, another man said, “Now I know who you are. I would tell them, but I do not want to cause you trouble.”

I responded, “I will be happy if you tell them.”

He asked, “Are you not afraid?”

“No,” I replied.

So he started to whisper into the people’s ears.

I asked, “Why are you being so quiet about it? I am proud of who I am. I am not ashamed of the testimony of our Lord.”

I then said in a strong voice––“I believe in Yeshua Hamashiach, Jesus Christ!”

No one made any derogatory remarks, and just then I was called into the doctor’s office.

I was grateful to the Lord for the opportunities I had that day. All of those who were in the waiting room have problems with their physical health, as I do. But they have a more serious problem than mine––they are spiritually dead.

Please pray that what they heard in the doctor’s office will drive them to their knees before the Great Physician and that they will recognize and accept Him as their Messiah and Savior.

Chris Katulka: The impact of Zvi's life and ministry in Israel, it didn't end when he went home to be with the Lord. In fact, Zvi's legacy lives on. Our Friends of Israel Ministry representatives continue to share the gospel in Jerusalem, Israel, and really all throughout the world. We also serve Holocaust survivors and their families. We provide free food, medicine, and clothing, and we even promote the safety and security of the state of Israel and the Jewish people everywhere. So, when you give to The Friends of Israel, your donation actually allows us to advance the gospel of our Messiah, Jesus. You can give online by visiting foiradio.org. Again, that's foiradio.org. You can click right there on our donate link. Also, be sure to let us know where you listen when you contact us.

Steve Conover: Thank you for joining us for today's episode of The Friends of Israel Today. Don't forget to order your copy of Tom and Lorna Simcox's book, That You May Know at foiradio.org. Join us next week. We continue part two in our series on Israel's Altar Call, a unique perspective on the Lord's Prayer. As mentioned, our web address is foiradio.org. Again, that's foiradio.org. Our mailing address is FOI Radio, PO Box 914, Bellmawr, New Jersey, 08099. Again, that's FOI Radio, PO Box 914, Bellmawr, New Jersey, 08099. You can call our listener line. That number is 888-343-6940. Again, that's 888-343-6940. Today's program was engineered by Bob Beebe. Edited by Jeremy Strong, who also composed and performs our theme music. Our executive producer is Lisa Small. Our associate producer is Sarah Fern. The late Mike Kellogg read Apples of Gold. Our host and teacher is Chris Katulka. And I'm Steve Conover, executive director of The Friends of Israel. The Friends of Israel Today is a production of The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry. Passion for God's Word. Compassion for God's Chosen People.