March, 1934
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
103
fe A t L
I N T H E
T E W I S H W O R L D
B y J. A. V aus
I [The incident told on this page is one o f many which Mr. Vans could relate--—all growing out o f his experiences as director o f the Jewish Missions Course at the Bible Institute o f Los Angeles .— E ditor ,n j - i y y T he question which Pontius Pilate, they, Roman Governor, asked of the chief' priests and the elders of Israel/' “What shall I do then with Jesus which is called the Christ?” presents an ever- recurring problem to the Jewish con science. Many Jews today are in some what the same predicament as Pilate was. They too, in a sense, have Jesus “on their hands” ; they are placed in a position where they must take some decisive action re garding H im ; they are more or less con vinced of His innocence of the charges brought against H im ; but they fear to take any favorable action toward Him, lest they should incur the wrath o f the Jewish masses. Still Outside the Promised Land For centuries, the orthodox Jew has been accustomed to repeat daily one o f the thirteen articles of the Jewish faith: “I believe with a perfect faith in the coming of Messiah, and though He tarry, I will wait daily for His coming.” In spite of the lapse o f centuries, in spite of the grow ing Jewish apostasy, in spite o f reform Jewry’s liberal outlook, in spite of innu merable rejected proofs o f the Messiahship of Christ, many Jews still cherish the hope of Messiah’s coming. Their number is great in this country, but it is much larger in Europe. Rabbinical influence, early training, Gen tile persecutions of Jews, Jewish prejudice, traditional interpretation o f the Old Tes tament, and the natural blindness of the human heart all combine to keep the aver age Jew in a state of unbelief regarding Christ. It is not uncommon, as the follow ing incident illustrates, for Jewish people to spend years blindly groping in a wilder ness o f perplexity, doubt, and unbelief, before they find the way that leads to “the promised land.” 1 Talmudical Jew Visits Hebrew Class One day a Christian Jewess, who has been attending the classes o f the Jewish Missionary Training Course at the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, approached the director o f the course and asked if there would be any objection to her father’s attending some of the classes in Hebrew. This privilege was readily granted. A few days later, she spoke to the teacher again. “I expect my father to be here today,” she said. “Won’t you please go out of your way to give a little message to him ?” She was assured that this would be done gladly, if occasion permitted. During the recitation period in the. class in elementary Hebrew, the father entered the room— an elderly gentleman of distinguished ap pearance, with characteristic Jewislj feat
ures and a Van Dyke beard. Throughout the session, he gave polite attention. The teacher desired to comply with the daughter’s request; yet he found it a bit difficult to turn from a prosaic discussion 'of the rudiments of Hebrew to an imparta- tion of a Biblical message calculated to interest this Hebrew gentleman o f the old school, without making it apparent that the message was especially for him. The teacher began by commenting on the Hebrew language, the richness o f its
New Testament, which he treasures very highly today. Yiddish tracts furnished him were also carefully read and pon dered. Once he attended a meeting of the Hebrew Christian Club and was pro foundly impressed by the many Hebrew Christians who testified, but he made him self conspicuous by shouting out his ob jections. Eventually, however, he became convinced that Christ is indeed Israel’s long-promised Messiah, but when he was urged to make a definite acceptance and confession of Christ as his Saviour, he was unwilling to do so. He remarked, rather cryptically, “Maybe I will have something to say at the next Jewish Club meeting.” His daughter, in a great flutter o f excitement over the prospect o f her father’s conversion, remarked that it would be a miracle indeed were he to believe in Christ as the Messiah. His Jewish W ife Converted In the meantime, his wife, a Jewess, had been regularly attending the Jewish Mothers’ Bible Class, where she had come in contact with a number o f Hebrew Christians. A short time after attending the Hebrew Christian Club with her hus band, she was prevailed upon by, Mrs. Vaus to receive Christ as her Messiah and Saviour. A month later, husband and wife were both present at the Hebrew Christian Club banquet, which was at tended by about eighty people, most o f whom were Jews. Here the eleven mem bers o f one Jewish family gave their first public testimonies concerning their con versions which had occurred a few days before. Apparently, the combination o f united prayer and personal dealing, coupled with his wife’s conversion, his own reading, and the influence of Jewish Christian tes timonies and Bible messages, was the means used o f God to bring this man to a decision for Christ; for he arose to his feet,’ amid a most profound hush that fell upon the entire audience, and confessed his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. A Sixty-five Year Search for Messiah It would be impossible to reproduce his exact words, but these were the facts he presented. He was a man seventy-one years o f age. As a child of six, he had at tended the Jewish School (Cheder). He had shown an especial interest in religious matters in general, and in the coming of Messiah in particular. As he grew older, and commenced his Talmudical studies, his eagerness to know more o f Messiah led him to ask frequent questions o f his rabbi concerning Messiah’s coming. Evidently fearing the young man’s interest in Messiah might indicate secret leanings 'toward Christ and Christianity, the rabbi, on these occasions, would administer sharp but un- warrantee^ rebukes and would say that such queries as his were improper ques tions for Jewish boys to ask, In spite [Continued on page 127]
imagery, its ancient origin, its classical style, and its numerous biographies found in the Bible and written originally in Hebrew. He remarked that one o f the Old Testament biographies was o f particular interest to him, that of Joseph, because in it was found many striking parallels to incidents in the life of Messiah, who came to earth centuries later. Joseph, like Mes siah, was a well-beloved son, was hated by his brethren, was sold for a few paltry pieces of silver, was sent into Egypt, was falsely accused and impris oned, was later exalted, was not recog nized by his brethren on his first appear ance, but was made known to his brethren in his second appearance before them, and was finally hailed as the saviour of his people. Jewish Objections Overcome The old gentleman’s interest was aroused, and he became a frequent visitor in the classroom. After the lesson, he would enter into earnest conversation with the teacher concerning Messianic proofs and Jewish objections to them. Occasionally, he would be persuaded to take lunch with his instructor, and they would spend hours together discussing various passages in the Hebrew Bible. He was given a Yiddish
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