"People who came before Jesus only needed to have faith in a coming Messiah and the Jews today still have faith in a coming Messiah. If so, how can I spread the gospel so they would understand?"This is a very good question. Jewish people today, like their ancestors, reject Jesus because He failed to do what they expected their Messiah to do - namely to destroy evil and their enemies and establish a kingdom where Israel as a victorious, preeminent nation in the world.
Why is this the case? We must remember that Jesus did not deliver them from Roman occupation! Additionally, he was eventually arrested and crucified, at which point many Jews stopped believing in Him as the promised Messiah. Moreover, in the Gospel according to Luke, we actually find that it was the Jews there that demanded his crucifixion (Luke 23: 18-25). From their perspective, Jesus was both undermining orderly Roman rule (e.g. forbidding taxes, claiming to be king, stirring up the people) AND seducing the Jewish people to abandon their religion (e.g. changing the way people thought about keeping the Sabbath, offering sacrifices in the temple, separating themselves from “sinners”).
This is why they rejected him; they could not accept the fact that God had a different plan of redeeming Israel and the rest of the world through the Messiahship of Jesus.
The Apostle Paul talks about the spiritual blindness of Israel in his letter to the Romans (chapters 9-11). For hundreds of years, Israel had been the one nation that looked to God, while other nations rejected Him. Yet when the Messiah came, they were the ones that rejected Him. As Paul explains, this hardening of the hearts of Jewish people lead to the blessing of other nations who would believe in Jesus as Messiah; as Lord and Savior. Summarily, it is clear from the Scriptures that - because Jesus, the prophesied Messiah of the Old Testament, came - it is only through Him that a person is saved (John 14:6, Acts 4:11-12).
That being said, the 2nd part of your question is about evangelizing Jews. Before I continue, I want to point out that I grew up in Thornhill, and most of my friends were Jews, so I can relate to this question well. In general, my Jewish friends would identity themselves as Jews, but would not consider themselves "religious." They would see their Jewish heritage much like how I would see my Asian one. Most of my friends did not identify with any Jewish movement, and much Jewish theology is foreign to them.
Thus, to evangelize Jews, it is important to first understand exactly what they believe, and what their objections are toward faith in Christ. For some, it may be the history of Jewish persecution at the hands of Christians, or the Church. For others, it could be the fact that by accepting Jesus, they would be turning their back on their entire culture. Still, for others, the objection could be they do not feel like they truly need a savior. For your orthodox Jewish friends, I would think they simply reject Jesus because they do not believe He was the true Messiah. So, the first step would be to figure this out. The second would be to talk about Jesus and the gospel in terms that make sense to them. For instance, if your friend rejects Jesus as a false Messiah, you will have to explain how Jesus did in fact come as the prophesied Messiah of the Scriptures. The group, Jews for Jesus, have many resources that may help. Third, remember to bathe your evangelism in prayer (as only God can truly change a heart!) and do it in love, gentleness, sensitivity, compassion and with a listening, non-judging heart.
Hope this helps.
[Answered by Pastor HM, who still keeps in contact with some of his Jewish friends from elementary school]
