“Rabbi Lichenstein and the Discarded New Testament”

Born on April 11, 1825, Orthodox Rabbi Isaac Lichtenstein served as district rabbi of Tapio-Szele in Hungary for more than 35 years. At age 60 he publicly declared his belief that Yeshua (Jesus) was the Jewish Messiah. In his last several years as district rabbi, he openly shared that conviction with his congregation. Rather than forcing their rabbi out, his congregants fought for him to stay!

A secret desire arose in [Rabbi Lichtenstein’s] soul to investigate for himself the principles of Christianity…. One day, looking over his library, he came across the old and long-forgotten book which he had taken in anger from the teacher thirty years before. He began to read, at first in fear and trembling, his heart full of prejudice.3

But Lichtenstein described his own experience as he continued to read:

I have branded the New Testament as the muddiest source of pride, of overweening selfishness, of hate, of the worst kind of violence; but… I felt myself peculiarly and wonderfully taken possession of. A sudden clearness, a light flashed through my soul; my eyes gazed astonished into the distance, as when through an electric shock the scales fall from the eyes of a blind man. It was to me as encouraging as health to one in sore sickness, as freedom to a prisoner in fetters; for I looked for thorns and gathered roses, I discovered pearls instead of pebbles—heavenly treasure; instead of hate, love; instead of vengeance, forgiveness; instead of bondage, freedom; instead of pride, humility; instead of enmity, reconciliation; instead of death, life—salvation, resurrection.4

Very similar to Paul’s conversion...............

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