First, I am a grocery clerk and I have access to many customers from various of background. If you read the wheel story, I recently learn that being a grocery clerk has it's perks...God perks. Yesterday, I saw an rabbi that I known from the local temple near my employment. We spoke and exchange words and went on with our daily lives. In my work station a man appears and I greeted him with a Good Morning and How are you doing? He was honest, he responded "not so well". I don't know why, but my response was for him to read the Gospel of Matthews. Matthews was on my mind, because it was on my to do list of many. I had just finished reading the first book of the series "The French Twist" by Sandra Byrd. She integrated Matthews gospel into her novel, They Can Eat Cake, a very good book by the way. However, I was taken back from the response from the man and even more to my response. He said, " I don't know about that", I am a Jew. I smile and said great, then read Isaiah 52:12, For you shall not go out in haste and you shall not go in flight, for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard." I told him that no matter what our situation may be today, we have an advantage, we have scriptures to turn and support us. I then let him know that what we call Old Testament was their Torah and writings and I address it in his own language of the word of God. I continue to further explained Isaiah scripture where the Lord of Host is at the head and God is at the tail of the Israelites, as they move throughout the regions, as the Lord leads and God himself protects them from behind. I then said that the Jewish people laid the foundation for us all. We continue to talk and he said that he has a Bible, but had not use it for sometime and he loved Isaiah, he would have to take a look at that verse. We ended our conversation and as he was leaving, he turned around and said, he was glad we talked. I asked if he attended the local temple nearby, remembering the rabbi I just saw moments earlier. He said no, he was more a conservative Jew, I thank him for the conversation that we both shared.
Why I did not evangelize this Jewish man towards Christianity, or continue to address the Gospel of Matthew? I did..... I spoke his language, for if you remember any parts of Isaiah.... that Jewish text, announces the coming of our Lord, Immanuel!
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