Jesus Appears to Jewish Man Three Times!
It is such a privilege to be a part of what God is doing in the lives of our Jewish people, wherever they may be on their journey of faith in Messiah.
Aryeh*, in his thirties and raised secular and atheist-Jewish, contacted our office in Tel Aviv because he recently became a believer in Jesus. He ordered a Hebrew New Testament and wanted to know what his next steps should be. Our missionary, Annie, took Aryeh’s call and was astonished to hear how Jesus appeared to him through dreams and visions three times before he fell to his knees in repentance. Praise God!
He then began to read the Tanakh (Old Testament) and the Brit Hadashah (New Testament) online. He watched YouTube videos from various ministries, including ours, which prompted him to reach out.
Annie connected Aryeh to a local congregation near his home and continued to follow up and study the Bible with him. Over the next few months, Aryeh flourished in his congregation, and it wasn’t long before he asked to be baptised.
Annie was thrilled to be invited to Aryeh’s baptism in the Jordan River. Annie says, ‘Aryeh was baptised exactly three months after he first contacted us. It was an amazing time with the Lord. It was clear that Aryeh was truly born again in Messiah. Hallelujah! He even told me that one day he would like to become a street preacher!’
Aryeh has become so full of life and the joy of the Lord that everyone sees a noticeable change in him. Shortly after contacting us, he began sharing the gospel with some of his friends, including a young, secular Israeli, Eitan*. Eitan was struck by the changes he saw in his friend and was intrigued by what Aryeh was saying. It wasn’t long before Eitan also became a believer in Messiah and was baptised on the same day as Aryeh.
Aryeh invited many of his unbelieving friends and family to his baptism, which was a moving experience. Many of them were touched by his powerful testimony, which opened the door for future gospel conversations.
Aryeh’s transformation has impacted his parents the most. They live across the country from him, but he phones them regularly to check in. In every conversation, he would share the gospel with them and read the Scriptures to show them how Yeshua is the promised Messiah. One day, his mother told him she believed that Yeshua is truly Messiah, and she felt the need to repent. Just over a month after his baptism, Aryeh led his mother in prayer to repent of her sins and receive Yeshua in her heart.
Aryeh continues to share the gospel with his Jewish-atheist father and has noticed a softening in his father’s heart. Pray that Aryeh’s father also receives Messiah’s love.
Meanwhile, Aryeh’s neighbourhood had been suffering under massive rocket fire. Because of that, Aryeh’s prayer life flourished. He would constantly pray for the peace and protection of those around him, and in these moments of turmoil, he experienced a deep sense of God’s peace. That peace was noticed by another friend, Gil*, who has since also received Messiah because of Aryeh’s testimony. Gil has already visited Aryeh’s congregation twice. Praise God!
Since becoming a believer, Aryeh’s business has been growing rapidly with new clients and employees. This gives him an even wider network of people to share the gospel with, which he continues to do at every opportunity. Aryeh is clearly on fire for God, and we couldn’t be more thrilled.
Annie is in touch with Aryeh regularly for discipleship and is always amazed at what the Lord is doing in his life and how He is using him. Thank you for making it possible for us to serve new Jewish believers in Messiah and help them come into their calling.
Pray that Aryeh will continue to grow into his call to evangelism as he deepens his knowledge of God’s word. Pray for Aryeh’s mother and the others who received Yeshua because of his testimony and that their roots of faith would go deep. And finally, pray that the Lord would raise up more Jewish believers like Aryeh, who can’t help but share Messiah’s good news everywhere they go!