^(p248) 19. In our teaching them we would always impress this fact upon them: That the Messiah had come, this Messiah was Jesus of Nazareth, and that He was soon coming again. He did not come to destroy the law, but He fulfilled it all, and told His followers to do the same. If we could only get their ears long enough to listen to part of the gospel, we felt sure that they would hear all the way through. (a)

20. Some of the evenings of the week were given over to question meetings, and the questions they would ask would certainly puzzle a lawyer or philosopher. We were glad that we had the promise of the Holy Spirit to help us out, and there never was a time when any question arose but that the blessed Lord would always help us so that we could show them from Moses and the prophets that all the words of God were fulfilled in Jesus. We here give an illustration or two of some of their questions:

Jew. — “Mr. Missionary, you say you believe the word of God, the T’nach; do you?”

Speaker. — “Yes, I do.”

Jew. — “Well, I should like to ask you this question.”

Speaker. — “What is the question?”

Jew. — “You say that God has a Son. This Jesus that you preach about is God’s Son. How can God have a Son?”

Speaker. — “Do you believe, my Jewish brother, the word of God, the T’nach?”

Jew. — “Yes, the T’nach, and the T’nach only. You know we Jews do not believe in the New Testament.”

Speaker. — “Yes, I mean the Old Testament. Did you ever read the second psalm, and the seventh verse? Did you ever read Proverbs 30:4? What do you make out of these texts? ^(p249) Here it plainly says that God has a Son. Do you believe the Bible? If you do, you see that God must have a Son.”

21. And the Jew is surprised and puzzled, and sits down very quietly and meekly. Though he often is convinced against his will, he may be of the same opinion still, but his question is answered. While his question is being answered, there may be six or a dozen persons preparing other questions; and many a night it has been eleven and twelve o’clock before we could leave the mission, and they would stay even later if we allowed them to remain, asking and answering questions. It was very hard and tiresome labor, and at times it seemed all wasted; but occasionally we would hear some words dropped or see some things done that would indicate that the Spirit of God was work­ing upon the hearts of the Jews, and they were thinking seriously about what they had heard.

22. We had one Jew, especially, who was very troublesome to us in the mission. He would never miss a meeting, and he seemed to be a thorn in the flesh. He was always ready to ask questions, and every chance he had he seemed to take delight in breaking up the services if possible. Finally one day he came to me and said:

“Mr. Gilbert, do you wish to know why I come to these meetings, and why I am so regular? I love to hear you talk about the law. It is such good instruction, and it really does my heart good. I do not mean to make a disturbance, but you know it is sometimes hard to listen to this Jesus. But I love to hear the law, for you know we think Moses was such a great man. ^(p250) You just keep right on teaching the word of God, and you are doing a lot of good.”

23. We took the opportunity to open up more to him why we taught Moses, it was only to show that Moses wrote much of Jesus. But it was an encouragement to me that the word of God was making an impression upon the hearts of some of the people, and some time the dear Lord would bring results, when He saw fit. Since we have moved the mission from that section of the city, the man has met me many times, and he repeatedly asks that more services be held there, as there are many Jews who wish to come and hear; and if the meetings were continued again they would behave differently.

24. We had some very interesting times with the little folk. We felt that we must have the lambs of the fold hear the story, and if we could only succeed in getting them to come, we felt sure, with the blessing of the Lord, that some good would be accomplished. The Lord gave us some consecrated Christians who were willing to work for the children, and who had great patience with them. Then there were other good sisters who volunteered part of their time, and in this way we had a good working force for the lambs of the fold. It should be remembered that the children are taught early in life that this Jesus was a bad man, as far as the effect that He had and His name upon the Jewish people. So in taking up the work with them, we instructed the teachers that while we would conduct with them a sewing school, we would at the same time sow the seed of truth.

25. Adjoining the rear of the mission was a large public-school building, and at this school there were in attendance about fourteen hundred Jewish children. ^(p251) This gave us a splendid mission field, and we tried to improve the opportunity. The first meeting that was held with them, we gathered in between fifty and sixty. We opened the meeting with a song, and the strangest sight imaginable met the gaze of our workers. As soon as we expressed in the hymn the word, Jesus, the children, simultaneously, as though done by magic, placed their fingers in their ears, and refused either to sing or to listen. Some of them began to hiss, and some of them decided not to stay. They were shocked, they were horrified, and some were ready even to weep and to run home. The teachers were puzzled and perplexed. But we kept on singing; and, after a little, the children would gradually withdraw their fingers from their ears and listen. When they recognized that the word Jesus was not being expressed, they would keep their fingers out till we came to that word, and again that performance was gone through with. This was rather amusing to the instructors, as well as puzzling. But we decided to stay right by the work, and with the grace of God overcome it. We had a season of prayer, but of course the Jews never kneel in prayer. This seemed almost blasphemy to the children. It was a terrible thing to be in a place where a Jew was kneeling in prayer, and using Jewish words without wearing any hat.

26. At first there seemed to be quite a commotion, but we continued our service, as we knew that sooner or later a change would come. ^{(p253 - p252 is an illustration)} If we started right, we felt that with the blessing of God we could have the consciousness that we were doing the right and proper thing, and soon we should find out who really wished to come, and who did not care to be with us.

27. After coming a few times, the children apparently changed, and became dearly attached to their teachers. They then not only wanted to come to the sewing school, but wished to be at the mission most of the time when they were not attending school. We could see such a difference in some of the little folks, for now many of them were beginning to enjoy the gospel songs. Some of the songs that they especially enjoyed were, “Oh There’ll be Joy When the Work is Done;” “What a Friend We Have in Jesus;” “I Love to Tell the Story;” “I have Found a Friend in Jesus,” etc.

28. We began this work for the children in April, 1906. In the month of June, that same year, through the kindness of the management of the New England Sanitarium, at Melrose, Massachusetts, we were privileged to take the children to the sanitarium grounds for an outing. We might add that the sanitarium friends were very kind and helpful to us in our work when we started our efforts at the mission. For nearly two and a half years they sent us a nurse every month, and at times furnished us other medical assistance. Through their aid and ministrations, many poor, sick Jews were helped and blessed. We also had the free use of one or more of their physicians at any time we needed, when they could be relieved from the duties of the institution. We appreciated very much their kindness and generosity, and they manifested on several occasions a very helpful and kind spirit toward this work for the Jews. ^(p256) Several of the Jewish young men who made a start in the Christian life were employed at the institution, and we always found the management there very kind, and willing to lend a helping hand to the poor Jews. May the rich blessing of the Lord attend them for their kindness to the brethren of Jesus. They will surely be rewarded in the final reckoning.

29. A special car was chartered to carry the children and the teachers, and about sixty in all went to the day’s outing. It was decided by the children that we should have some singing during the trolley ride. In order to reach our destination, we were obliged to pass several of the Jewish Ghettos, and you would have been much interested to hear these little Jewish children, who only a few months before were disgusted at the very name of the Saviour, now singing as loudly and as lustily as they were able (while hundreds of Jews were looking on) the beautiful songs of Zion, as interestedly and as earnestly as any Christian child could exalt the name of Jesus. It was precious indeed to hear them sing through the Ghettos, “What a Friend We Have In Jesus,” and when they came to the word Jesus it seemed so dear to many of them. Yes, God can work wonderful changes in the Jewish life, when the pure gospel is taught now as it was in the days when the Saviour and the apostles of Christ taught it in its purity. (b)

30. We believe that the work for the children was not in vain, as we shall have occasion to mention some interesting experiences in the next chapter. They would come to the meetings in the mission; they would go so far sometimes as to bring their friends and relatives, and they liked to hear the word of God preached. ^(p257) There were some of the relatives who were bitter, and at times these persons would manifest their displeasure in a very marked way. This was because they were ignorant of what we were trying to do for these children. But though treated cruelly, the children seemed to get so much comfort coming to the mission, that they would not stay away. One case in particular comes to mind. There was a girl of about fourteen, who was a regular attendant at the sewing school, and who would occasionally come to the meetings. Her life had been a very sad one, as her countenance indicated. She seemed like a very nice girl, and much enjoyed coming to the services. But her brother discovered that she was coming to the mission, and he planned to keep her away. He finally came to the mission one day to see if she were there. Not knowing the nature of his errand, the workers admitted him to talk with his sister. Finding her there, he chased her from her seat, hitting her as she was trying to get away from him, knocking her down, and hurting her badly. Not being content with this, he kicked her on the floor, and almost kicked her into the street. By the time the workers got to her, he had disappeared. In spite of all this, she would come to the mission when she could, and seemed very glad to know that there were people who really loved the Jewish children.

31. We had some interesting experiences in visiting among the sick people. This was a very difficult part of the work, still it had its encouragements. Some things were most perplexing to our workers when they began to visit among the Jews, and one day one of the nurses came to the home with a very strange tale, having had a peculiar experience. ^(p258) She called at a house, and inquired if there were any Jews in the house sick. The woman, an elderly matron, opened the door just wide enough to see who was there. She could not talk English very well, and so answered the nurse in a rather broken way. Upon inquiring why this caller asked a question of this character, she was informed that the girl was looking for sick Jewish people, peradventure she might be able to help and to relieve them. Several questions were asked and answered. The old lady finally asked the nurse:

“Why do you wish to know if there are Jews sick? Who are you and what do you want?”

The nurse then informed the woman very kindly that she was a Christian nurse, and wished to do something for the poor sick Jews. At that the old lady slammed the door, and said,

“You get out of here; I kick you downstairs. You come spy us out here like they do in Russia. Go way from here.”

With that the woman dismissed the nurse and went into the house.

“Why, Brother Gilbert,” asked the girl, “what does this mean? Isn’t it strange for people to act this way? Why did she do that? I was very kind to her, and tried to help her, yet she talked to me in that way.”

32. I then explained to the nurse that in Russia these supposedly friendly Christians will sometimes find sick people among the Jews, some of whom perhaps have been bitterly persecuted. ^(p259) They will bring them back to life only to act as inquisitors during their recovery, in order that these nurses or Christian friends may report to the police or to the authorities that they have learned that there are other Jews in hiding who were not massacred. Perhaps within twenty-four hours another massacre will take place, when the very persons who have been reported as in hiding will be among the dead. Thus the Jews have come to distrust Christian nurses, until they learn that there are people who are really friendly.

33. Then again the Jews are afraid that if a nurse should come into their homes, and relieve them of their suffering, they might brand them with a cross; for the Jews believe that the sign of the cross is everything to the Christian. In Russia the stores, the streets, and the market-places are covered with crosses, and the professed Christians, the members of the Greek Catholic church, cross themselves whenever they find one of these crosses. This is another reason why the Jews are so suspicions of Christian nurses and Christian doctors, till they become acquainted with them.

34. It is generally known and recognized that most of the persecutions in Russia are carried on by the government in connection with the church. There are times when, in the Ghettos of the Jews, there are Christian merchants who carry on business. The civil authorities do not wish to kill any of the loyal Russian subjects. Therefore, before any of these massacres takes place, a warning is sent out by the police authorities to tell the Christians (?) that on a certain day and at a certain hour they should put a small cross in the shop window. ^(p260) They tell them no more; for the Christians (?) have all the information they need. In the time of a horrible massacre the Christians, whose shops are right in the midst of the pillage and the plunder, are able to escape, while every Jewish shop is rummaged, and every Jewish store is ruined. This the Jews have learned by sad experience, and so they believe in a peculiar sense that the cross is an awful thing to them; and they want nothing to do with people who believe in the cross, and carry it on their person.

35. But the nurses persevered in their work, until they found their way into the hearts of many of the Jews. Many a time would the nurse hear:

“Thank you, God bless you, you have helped me so much.”

“If it were not for you people at the mission, my child would have been dead.”

“You people have been better to us than our own Jewish people.”

“If you go to the Jewish Association to help you, they treat you as though you were dogs. But you people treat us kindly.”

“Come in. I am so glad to see you. It always makes me feel better when you come.”

“Oh, I do wish you would come to see me. Mrs. ——— said you helped her so much.”

“The Christians are so much better than the Jews. The Jews would not do for us what you Christians have done.”

“Oh, God is good; He sent you here; your doctor did more for my child than had been done all through its illness before.”

^(p261) 36. The work was not thrown away. Much prejudice was broken down; many a door and many a heart, which had been stoutly barred, opened, and we saw a strong drawing towards the gospel, and a breaking up of the fallow ground. We felt that some little good was being accomplished, and much evil thought was being destroyed.

37. What with preaching the gospel in the mission and outdoors, with the work for the children, with the treating of the sick, with the scattering of the literature, we were gaining assurance that a work of giving the gospel to the Jews had begun. True, much remained to be done, but we could see that the sentiment was changing both among the Jews and among the Gentiles. We visited many cities. We held open-air meetings, not only in Boston, but in other cities of New England. In every place we found bitter prejudice existing, but we knew that with the help of God this bitter feeling could and would be destroyed from the hearts of many, when they learned what the true gospel of the Lord Jesus is.

38. On one occasion, while holding an outdoor service at New Haven, Connecticut, with some of the Christian young men of Yale University in attendance as helpers, we had a very narrow escape from receiving bodily injury. But the Lord worked for us. Before we left there were many people who followed us, asking us to come again and preach more to them.

39. Thus we found that what was needed, is to preach and to teach the pure gospel of the Son of God which is able to save the Jewish heart as well as the Gentile soul, and to lead the poor wandering sheep of Israel back to their own Messiah, Jesus. ^(p262) The literature also played an interesting part in the work, and we distributed thousands of pages of tracts, and gave away hundreds of the New Testaments. The word of God will do its work, and the day must surely come when souls will take their stand for the truth of God.

On to chapter twenty

EXPLANATORY NOTES.

paragraph 19 (a). — From a long experience, I have concluded that one strong reason why the Jews will create such a demonstration and will make such terrible noises, is that they hope in this way to discourage the speaker from telling what he wishes to say, and at the same time they hope they will not hear the name of Jesus. It is this name that seems so abhorrent to them. They feel that so much hurt has been done to them through this name, they can scarcely hear the word expressed.  Back

paragraph 29 (b). — The Jews have for centuries been taught that the Jewish people are expressed in the Bible as being God’s son. There are many texts they use to prove this, but the most conspicuous one they refer to is Exodus 4: 22, 23.[5] They endeavor to prove from this that when God speaks concerning His Son, He means the Jewish people. They do not realize that the Lord used that people as an object lesson, and that they were simply a means to an end. This will explain why it is that they are so bitter when you tell them that Jesus is God’s Son in a different sense from any other person who ever lived.

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