Joel of Jerusalem Feb/Mar 1978
Now we are near the Passover, and the people are beginning to clean their homes of leaven or yeast which is a symbol of sin. While I was visiting in the home of a fellow worker, who is very religious, he and his wife inquired, “Has your wife begun to clean your house for the holidays?” I answered, “My wife cleans our house every day, not only for the holidays. But it is more important to have a clean heart. We should have a clean heart one to another, but even more so to the Lord. Too many of us celebrate the holidays without feeling from the heart. We lead good lives only on the days of celebration.” “What do you want us to do, be sad,” they asked. “No,” I replied, “the holidays should be a happy time because the Lord brought us out from under the burden of the Egyptians. But more than that, He is the One through whose blood we are saved. He forgives our sin and saves us from death because the Bible says, ‘The soul that sinneth, it shall die.’ If you want me to show you where these things are written in the Bible I will. I will show you that you can receive everlasting life by turning to the Lord, not as before, but by a new heart, a new spirit and a new covenant (New Testament).”
His wife, being an orthodox Jewess, argued, “But the New Testament is a Christian book.” I replied, “But our prophets said in Jeremiah 31:31-35 there would be a new covenant, and we must not follow after our fathers. What they did, we should not do.” She told me, “You are not good because you do not want to follow after your father’s tradition.” I asked her, “If my father was a sinner, should I be a sinner also? Or if my father was a religious Jew who prayed every day from the prayer books, but without knowing about salvation or forgiveness of sin, should I follow after his ways?” She replied, “I cannot say because I do not know your father. My father was really a man who followed after God!” “Are you sure?” I questioned. “What is he doing?” She replied, “He is a businessman.” Her husband said to me, “He is involved in the black market and is a money changer.” I asked her if she was ready to follow, with closed eyes, after the sin of her father. With some hesitancy she replied, “I’m not sure, but he is my father. He wants good for me. He would do anything for me.”
After this I showed her the way to be free from sin. I read for them Ezekiel, chapter 18. After our conversation my friend’s wife thanked me for my visit and the interesting discussion.
Please pray for this couple that they might see their need for faith in Messiah Jesus.
