The struggle is real for Orthodox Jews who are drawn to Jesus

by Jews for Jesus |September 27 2018

Yes, some Orthodox Jews do believe in Jesus. Their struggle is real and they need lots of prayer support. The following story from Larry Dubin, gives you a glimpse of how to pray:

“Shmuly, an Orthodox Jewish man, began his contact with Jews for Jesus in 2012, as he’d visit our website and interact with many staff and volunteers through LiveChat. Sometimes he’d leave a question and wait eagerly for a response.

“My journey with Shmuly started in June 2018 when I began to answer several of his online questions. When I realized that he was trying to understand the gospel story, I emailed him my telephone number and asked if it would be okay for me to call. He responded and the conversation has been intense and almost non-stop ever since.

“During the first month of our conversations, we discussed several messianic passages from the Jewish Bible. Every conversation, email, and text created more questions that Shmuly and I needed to discuss.

“At the conclusion of a two-hour conversation in July, Shmuly acknowledged that Yeshua (Jesus) was the promised Messiah of Israel, the final atonement for sin and his King and Savior. He received the free gift of salvation. It was an incredible moment!

“Shmuly and I decided to start reading the Gospel of John together. But after only two lessons, he had so many questions and found it so hard to continue following Yeshua that he decided to return to his Orthodox synagogue and Judaism as he had known it before opening his heart to the Messiah.

“Yet, Shmuly was still drawn to the Jews for Jesus website. He continued to speak with me by phone, text, and email as he struggled with biblical truth about Yeshua and the gospel story. After three months of conversations, I had nothing else to share with Shmuly. I continued to remind him of previous interactions and suggested that he allow the God of Israel to speak to his heart.

“During Rosh Hashanah 5779 (2018), Shmuly celebrated with the religious community. During the days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, he and I exchanged a few texts and a phone call. Then on Yom Kippur, the most holy day on the religious Jewish calendar, I received a text from Shmuly. ‘I got it,’ he said. He then explained that he’d been meditating upon the blood-atoning rituals of Yom Kippur (Leviticus 16) as well as Isaiah 53. He contrasted that with the Orthodox ritual that (for those who are very religious) utilizes the blood of a chicken as an atonement. ‘The chicken is not sufficient,’ Shmuly admitted. ‘Yeshua was the sacrifice that Moses and Isaiah wrote about.’ He reaffirmed that Jesus is his Messiah, Savior and King.

“Shmuly and I intend to read and study the Gospel of John together. Please pray that God will give him the grace to stay on the path, and that he will grow in his faith.”

Names are changed to protect privacy.