Joel of Jerusalem Apr/May 1977
One day a few weeks ago my son went to his music school to be tested on the saxophone, which he had only been playing for one month. The teacher gave him the choice of what he would play, and he played “Holy, Holy, Holy” . Everyone was very surprised at this. They said it was a nice song and he had played it well, but they wanted to know how he knew it. He told them it was an English song, but that he could sing it in Hebrew for them, which he did.
After this, they asked him where he had learned such a song, and he told them his father had taught it to him. They asked how his father knew it, and he replied that his father had learned it at the Assembly.
That evening his teacher came to our home. He said, “I want to tell you that your boy is a very diligent student to be able to play even Christian songs in only one month.” I said to him, “If you think it is such a nice song, why can’t it be for Jews also? Is it not true that God has forgiven our sins too, as it says in this song?” He replied, “The melody is very nice, but the words are only for Christians.” He then asked me, “Are you a Christian? You can feel free to answer me without fear.”
I answered, “I am a Jew who has accepted the Messiah promised in the Old Testament, and I believe in the promises of God and His fulfillment of them.” He was only interested in whether or not I was a Christian. I told him, “I am a Jew, and a good Jew, because I believe what Moses and the prophets wrote. Christ came to fulfill the Bible, and if you want to know more about Him, read the Bible and you will find the answers to all your questions.”
I then asked him if he would refuse to teach my son now, because of me. “Oh no,” he said, “you can be sure of that. The only thing I want to know is how you came to have this faith.” “ I came to my faith in the Lord by reading the Bible,” I replied, “and by hearing the Word of God.” He then said, “I know now that you are a believer in God, but I think there is a big difference between God and Jesus. God is God, but Jesus was just a man who claimed to be God”. I said, “If a small child had told me this, I would not be surprised, but you are a teacher, you should know better.”
He replied, “I am still interested in knowing how you came to receive in your heart this Man whom you call your Savior.” “Please take the Bible and read it,” I urged, “and the answers will come to you as they did to me and many others like me.” I then gave him my complete testimony about how I came to know the Lord and gave my heart to Him.
After this, he seemed to change his mind. He would give me no rest, but pressed me more and more about the Lord. In love, I continued to witness to him, revealing more things about Jesus, things which to him were unknown. I thank the Lord that he changed his mind, which before was full of hate, and now my son can continue to play Christian songs at the music school without fear.
