My story:
A few weeks ago I ordered the New Testament, and last week it arrived in the mail…
Yesterday my dad happened to ask me about it—he assumed it had just been sent to me unsolicited but I told him the truth because I wanted to be honest with him. He was very surprised and asked me how I came to the conclusion that Jesus is the Messiah, so I explained to him briefly about the biblical prophecies about the Messiah and we talked about it a bit.
He told me that at night he couldn’t sleep and would rather die than hear his son believed in Jesus.
“I could cope if you were choosing to be secular, but to stop being Jewish?”
I emphasized to him that I hadn’t stopped being Jewish at all and hadn’t changed my religion and he made a hand gesture to stop then just got up and left. Since then we have not spoken except for when he asked me if I wanted to eat. I do not know exactly what to do. I would love to hear advice from you.
What to know
- Following Jesus, or even contemplating it, is considered off-limits in Jewish Israeli society. It is seen as a betrayal of your Jewish heritage, even though Jesus was Jewish! For that reason, the anonymity of the internet is the perfect place for seekers to find the answers they’re looking for.
- The New Testament is generally considered taboo and even dangerous in Jewish circles. You cannot buy it in Israeli bookshops. When Jewish people finally get hold of a copy and dare to read it, they are usually surprised by how Jewish it is.
- Jews who accept Yeshua as their Messiah are often outcast from their family, and face social rejection.
How to Pray
- The father has since challenged his son to convince him Jesus is the Messiah from the Scriptures. They’ve agreed that if he’s convinced, they’ll both be believers, but if not, they’ll both stay away from Jesus. Please pray God would open the eyes of the father.
- Pray that this guy would be encouraged and strengthened as he seeks the truth.
- Pray that many more would get hold of the New Testament—and read it for themselves.
- Pray for us, as we support seekers and new believers who want to follow Jesus even though the cost is high.
