Ethiopian Jewish man finds the Messiah - Menashe’s story

ONE OF OUR MISSIONARIES IN ISRAEL, AVIEL, MET MENASHE, AN ETHIOPIAN JEWISH MAN WHO HAD EMIGRATED TO ISRAEL FROM HIS HOMELAND ON A SEARCH FOR THE MESSIAH. AFTER AVIEL TOOK MENASHE A COPY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT AND SHARED THE GOSPEL, HE WAS MOVED BY THE STORY THAT THIS YOUNG MAN TOLD HIM.

In the middle of December, I was given the details of a man called Menashe from Beit Shemesh who had requested a copy of the New Testament from our evangelistic website. When I called him, I heard the distinctive voice of a young Hebrew-speaking man with an Ethiopian accent. As I live near to Menashe, I offered to meet him and give him his copy of the New Testament in person. When we met, I asked him to share something of his life story with me. What he told me really touched my heart.

AN ONGOING SEARCH FOR MESSIAH

Menashe is a ‘Beta Israel’ (a Jewish Ethiopian) who emigrated to Israel with his parents when he was twelve ‘in order to find the Messiah’. His parents sent him to an Orthodox Jewish school and, following graduation, he went on to study Judaism’s texts and teachings full-time at a yeshiva (an Orthodox Jewish seminary).

At the yeshiva, Menashe learned all the various interpretations of the Torah made by the rabbis of the past. But the more he studied, the more he came to realise that what he was learning gave him no spiritual satisfaction. In fact, his studies seemed to be having the opposite effect on him and he began to lose his faith in God! Menashe stressed to me how hard he had tried to keep God’s commandments but how difficult this had been. His religious studies became increasingly meaningless to him and eventually he ended up rejecting Judaism and began living a secular life.

This continued until his mother became seriously ill with cancer and the doctors were unable to help her. As Menashe reached the end of himself, he remembered the Messiah of Israel whom his family had moved from Ethiopia to Israel to find. He believed that the Messiah could heal his mother so began searching once again.

He began reading all he could find on the subject and watching videos online about the Messiah. It wasn’t long before he came across a video which taught that Jesus was the true Messiah. After watching the video, he decided that he needed to read the New Testament for himself and so ordered one. When I delivered it, we immediately hit it off. On that first visit I shared the gospel with Menashe and we agreed to meet again the following week.

DEVOURING GOD’S WORD

Nothing could have prepared me for my second visit. Menashe was so excited and had read the whole of the New Testament since we had last met! I asked him what he thought about what he had read and he immediately answered that he believed it was all true. I pressed him further and asked him if he thought that Jesus was the Messiah. I was overjoyed when Menashe wonderfully replied that yes, he believed that Jesus was the Messiah whom he had been searching for since he was a child in Ethiopia.

He had some questions about the divinity of the Messiah – a common issue for many Jewish people to overcome on their journey to faith. However, I was able to answer his questions before asking him if he wanted to receive Jesus as his Lord and Saviour. It was so amazing to pray with Menashe as he repented of his sins and put his trust in Jesus for salvation.

DISCIPLESHIP AND BAPTISM

I continued to study the Scriptures with Menashe over the following months; his longing for the Lord was so evident and he constantly prayed and read the Scriptures. He had a lot of other questions but God was clearly at work in his life and we worked through these together. After seven months of discipleship and preparation for baptism I am overjoyed to report that Menashe was baptised. Praise God! Please pray for Menashe and his family, particularly for his mother as she suffers with ill health and desperately needs to meet Jesus for herself. I truly believe that through Menashe, God will open many doors to share the gospel.

Aviel helping a local pastor baptise Menashe