Volume 5, Number 2
February 2007
As always, special thanks go out to Zola Levitt Ministries / T o The Jew F irst Ministry for their ongoing funding contributions To First to B’rit Hadashah Ministries, helping to make these mission trips to Israel possible.
Part 10 “They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings.” Romans 15:27
A continuation of Todd’s memoirs from the March 2006 mission trip to Israel
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aul and I went to the Dead Sea for a brief respite. While Paul floated in the Dead Sea, I noticed a lifeguard standing in his lifeguard booth. The Holy Spirit prompted me to go up and talk to him. The man’s name was Ami. He was a friendly, animated fellow. While Ami was telling me some interesting facts Todd Baker about the Dead Sea, Paul returned and we both were able to share with him the panoramic plan that God has had for Israel down through the ages. We explained how such a plan specifically involves sending a Messiah for the salvation of all peoples. This grand event was observed and recorded in history by the Jewish writers of the B’rit Hadashah. When Paul and I offered Ami the New Testament and study materials to go along with it to help him better understand Scripture, Ami happily accepted it. We assured him that when we return to Israel in the near future we Ami is a lifeguard at the Dead Sea would visit him again. On our last day in Jerusalem, Paul and I visited Ben Yehudah Street— the busiest thoroughfare in modern Jerusalem. As we left the hotel, we ran into Gil the hotel security guard we had witnessed to when we first arrived in Jerusalem. Now, we were able to add to our Gospel witness. Gil said that he had questions about the seeming contradictions between the Tenach (The Old Testament) and the B’rit Hadashah (The New Testament). We explained to Gil that there really are no contradictions between the Testaments since the one binding force that unites the two
is the divine revelation about the Person of the Messiah. The alleged contradictions, then, upon further examination, do not exist between biblical Judaism and Christianity but are complimentary features. The old fulfilling and completing the new. When we offered Gil a free copy of the B’rit Hadashah to study and discover this for himself, he eagerly accepted it, repeatedly telling us, “I will read it, I will read it.” When we arrived at Ben Yehudah Street, there was a checkpoint where two IDF soldiers were stationed making sure the area was secure from any potential terrorist activity. This was election day in Israel so there was added security throughout Jerusalem. Paul and I told both soldiers that we had been sent to Israel to encourage, pray, and share the good news of Yeshua the Messiah with the Jewish people. At this point, Paul spoke to the tall soldier, while I focused on the other soldier. His name was Tal. Tal asked me if I was Jewish. I told him that my great, great grandfather (Harry Friedman) was an Orthodox Jew who emigrated from Germany to America at the turn of the twentieth century. I then added that I am more Jewish now because I received the Jewish Messiah as revealed in the promises of God’s Word about Him. He now lives in my soul and has made Tal, an IDF soldier, accepted a copy of the me truly Jewish. B’rit Hadashah for further studying Tal and I then discussed the definition of what constitutes being Jew. He told me that this was a complicated matter that is addressed by the rabbis through Halakah. Halakah, in Judaism, is the body of law regulating all aspects of life, including religious ritual, familial and personal status, civil relations, criminal law, and relations with non-Jews. Tal concluded that circumcision is a key characteristic of being Jewish. At this point in the conversation, the Holy Spirit brought to my remembrance what the Scripture says about Abraham and the issue of circumcision (Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:3,9). I said to Tal that according to scripture God accounted Abram righteous in His sight before circumcision was required simply because Abram believed the word of God. Therefore, as important as circumcision is to being physically Jewish, the more important aspect is being spiritually Jewish. This entails having a right relationship with God which comes by showing faith in the promises God made in the Tenach about the Messiah. When the Messiah comes, our belief and acceptance of Him will make us in right standing with God. Tal was taken back by this response from me. I concluded this thoughtprovoking Gospel witness to Tal by telling him that Messiah has come in the Person of Yeshua of Nazareth, and the B’rit Hadashah is the divinely inspired record documenting the proof of this monumental event in Israel’s history. I then asked Tal if he would like to read and investigate this claim for himself. Tal accepted a copy of the New Testament in Hebrew—the Word of God that circumcises the heart and makes one truly Jewish with a heart of flesh replacing the heart of stone. This the Lord promised He would do for Israel when He returns. (see Ezekiel 36:24-27). ✞