Apples of Gold Nov/Dec 2024
Christmas is coming soon. So, many of the ultra-Orthodox tell me, “Have a great birthday!” They mean to insult me because they know I believe in Christ and want to provoke me. But I have many years of experience with stiff-necked people like these.
They are sure they will frustrate me, but I am not surprised and do not seek conflict with them. I come to such people only with the Word of the Lord—no fictitious stories or rabbinical traditions, as they come to me.
In Luke 10:3, Jesus said, “I send you out as lambs among wolves.” He also said in Luke 12:11–12, “When they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you should say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.” So, I am not afraid to go to them.
When I recently spoke with some of the ultra-Orthodox who insulted me, I showed them why I celebrate Christmas. They are walking in darkness, but the Lord told believers, “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden” (Mt. 5:14).
They wanted me to show them why I believe in Jesus, so I happily showed them my Bible. They were surprised to read Micah 5:2, which prophesied that the Lord will come from Bethlehem: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.”
“Read this verse for yourselves,” I told them. “But first, please verify that this is the Holy Bible, not just ‘Christian books,’ as you call them.”
They confirmed that the book I showed them was the Bible.
“Tell me, what is written here?” I asked.
The men were afraid to speak. They looked at their rabbi, waiting to see how he would respond. I told them, “Let us continue to read about this truth you have run away from as you have pursued rabbinical traditions. But you do not need to be afraid of the truth any longer.”
They looked at one another, wondering who would be brave enough to read the verse I presented to them. When no one volunteered, I read for them, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (Isa. 7:14).
“Who taught you all of this?” one of them asked.
“I believe what is written here; and because I believed, the Lord encouraged me in my faith,” I answered. “But you value your rabbinical commentaries and traditions so much that you are afraid to search further for truth.”
We had spent two hours speaking together when the rabbi asked me, “Why did you come here? Do you want to draw us away from our faith?”
“No, rabbi,” I answered. “I have not come with stacks of commentaries, only with the Holy Bible, written by the Holy Spirit of the Lord.”
He shouted at me to stop, saying, “You speak about the Holy Spirit like those Christians!”
“Was King David a Jew or a Christian?” I asked.
“A Jew, of course!” one answered.
“And what did David, this great Jew, say in his prayer?” I asked. I showed them Psalm 51:11: “Do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.”
“Was Ezekiel a Jew?” I asked.
“Yes!” they said.
I showed them how Ezekiel prophesied, “I will put My Spirit within you” (Ezek. 36:27). Then I read Isaiah’s prophecy: “I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles” (Isa. 42:1).
“If you need more evidence,” I told them, “I can spend more hours speaking with you about the Holy Spirit.”
But the rabbi said, “You have shown us enough! We have learned much.”
I pray these men will examine Scripture more deeply and receive the Holy Spirit into their hearts.
From The Friends of Israel archives
