Some Jewish Witnesses For Christ

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Bernstein Aaron. Some Jewish Witnesses For Christ

PREFACE

INTRODUCTION

PART I

CHAPTER I. Apostolic Period

CHAPTER II. Sub-Apostolic or Patristic Period

CHAPTER III. The Period of the Publication of The Talmud

CHAPTER IV. Jewish Converts in the Eastern Church

CHAPTER V. Jewish Converts in the Western Church

ADDENDA. Converts in the "Domus Conversorum" in London

PART II

CHAPTER VI. Converts in the Protestant Churches

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The history of the Mission to the Jews is coeval with the history of the Christian Church. The names of Christ's disciples mentioned in the Gospels are nearly all those of Jews, and in the Epistles a great many of them are of Jewish converts. But the general reader of the New Testament does not realize the fact, because it was the fashion among the Jews at that time to assume Greek names. For instance, several of St. Paul's relatives bearing Greek names became Christians, but we should not know that they were Jews if the Apostle had not written, "Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen." Again, "Lucius, and Jason, and Sosipater, my kinsmen" (Rom. xvi. 7 and 21). Whilst where we have not this information with regard to other such names, we take it for granted that they were Gentiles. For instance, Zenas, mentioned in Titus iii. 13, is naturally taken by the general reader for a Greek, yet scholars maintain that he had formerly been a Jewish scribe or lawyer.

The aim of this work is to shew that God had at all times in the history of the Christian Church a considerable number of believing Israelites who, after their conversion to Christianity, rendered good service to their fellowmen and to the Church of Christ at large. Out of this company of "the remnant according to the election of grace," only a very few comparatively have their names recorded in history. The names of the great majority are written in the Book of Life alone. But as in the prophet Ezekiel – Noah, Job and Daniel – and as in the Epistle to the Hebrews – the short list of the Old Testament saints – are the representatives of a large number, so may the converts mentioned in this book be considered as representatives of a vast number of their brethren who had the courage and the grace given them to take up the cross and follow Jesus.

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In the year 1413, an ever memorable conference between Jewish and Christian divines was agreed upon. The meeting was convened at Tortosa, in Aragon. The Pope-Pretender, Benedict XIII., or Pedro de Luna, presided. The most renowned and famous Rabbis of the time were ranged on one side, Geronymo à Santa Fé – assisted by Andreas Baltram, a native of Valencia, another Hebrew Christian, afterwards Bishop of Barcelona – on the other side, and they met on the 7th of February, 1413, to discuss whether "Jesus, called of Nazareth, who was born at Bethlehem in the latter days of King Herod, seventy years before the destruction of the second temple, who was crucified, and died at Jerusalem, is really the true Messiah, foretold by the prophets of the Old Testament." The discussion lasted till Nov. 12, 1414. It occupied sixty-nine sessions. It was attended by the grandees of the Church and Synagogue of the day. The result was wonderful. All the Jewish disputants, with the exception of two, admitted, and signed a declaration accordingly, that they were fairly vanquished, and that utterly. Upwards of five thousand Jews made a public confession of their faith in Christ, and were baptized into the same.

There is an account of that conference in a parchment MS., consisting of 409 fols., in Sto. Lorenzo del Escorial, entitled, "Hieronymi de Santa Fide Medici Benedicti XIII. Processus rerum et tractuum et Europæ, Rabbinorum ex une parte, et Catholicorum ex alia, ad convicendos Judæos de adventu Messiæ." Contemporary Jewish writers are ominously silent about it. The story of Joshua Halorki is full of suggestive matter for serious thought for the Rabbis of modern synagogues, and for Christian ministers of modern churches.

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