The Road to Emmaus Ministry Update

And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures ?

Luke 24:32

January 2019 Ministry Update

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Shalom Aleichem,

The Road to Emmaus

As we finish the first month of 2019 it causes us to refocus our vision and purpose of the call on our lives here in Israel. The moniker of our mission and the name of our congregation is The Road to Emmaus which is taken from the story of the disciples walking on the way to the town of Emmaus with Jesus in the gospel of Luke 24:13-35 . In this narrative, there are two disciples who were walking back from Jerusalem after the death, burial, and (unbeknownst to them) the resurrection of our Messiah Yeshua. They were talking among themselves about all that had gone on when Jesus came and joined them on their journey. The Scripture tells us in verse 16 “ But their eyes were holden that they should not know him ” which is the key verse of application for us today. Although their eyes where hid from knowing Jesus in the beginning of the journey, by the end of the story they will not only recognize Him as the Messiah, but their hearts will long to hear more of the Scriptures which speak of Him.

Essentially, we see a couple of disciples who knew Peter and the other Apostles and thus must have spent much time with them and our Lord. They were devoted Jews who were justifiably looking for the Prophet who would come after Moses ( Deut. 18:15-22 ); understood that Jesus was wrongly accused and put to death; they hoped He would be the One who would have redeemed Israel; they heard about His resurrection from the vision of the women who were part of their company; and yet they were still sad because of unbelief.

Three days had passed, and they felt like they may have pinned their trust on the wrong person. They knew the Scriptures which speak of a reigning Messiah who would destroy their enemies and bring the scattered Jewish people back to the land where righteousness and peace resides forever. Their hopes were apparently dashed! In verses 25-27 Yeshua tells them they were “ slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken ” Our Lord goes on to say what they should have already known that “ Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and (then) to enter into His glory? ” Jesus went on to teach them beginning at Moses and all the prophets in all the Scriptures concerning Himself…

Remember, these were devout Jews who know the Hebrew Scriptures, were with the Apostles and Jesus Himself, and yet they missed this most important fact – the Messiah had to first suffer and die for the people’s sins before the hope of the restoration of the Kingdom would come to pass . It wasn’t until the Lord broke bread with them that the revelation came. “ And their eyes were opened and they knew Him ”.

The point of the story for us, as we minister the gospel to the Jewish people in 2019, is to continue to have patience and empathy for the lost house of Israel who are still God’s covenanted people according to Romans 9:4-5 “ Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises; Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen .”

We need to remember that even though the Jewish people are still referred to as the “people of the Book, the covenants, the law, and the promises” doesn’t mean they can know that Jesus is the Messiah without a revelation of the heart! The disciples, in our story of Luke 24, had been with Yeshua and the Apostles, saw many miracles, were devout Jewish people who knew the Torah, and yet still didn’t know that the suffering Servant was also the long awaited for Messiah. Yeshua was not only the Suffering Servant but also the Holy One of Israel and Lion of Judea that will one day rule, reign, and make all things right. They, like the Jewish people here today, needed a revelation of the heart from the Holy Spirit to see that Jesus is the Christ -- Yeshua Ha’Mashiach. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight . Luke 24:31 .

Please pray for us as we sow the seed of the gospel to the Jewish people here in Jerusalem this year, that we might see fruit from our labor. We need patience, empathy, and prayer to wait on the Holy Spirit to open their hearts and reveal Himself to them like He did to the disciples on the road to Emmaus. It is our prayer that we will see many souls saved and brought to a knowledge of Him leading them to say: “ Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures ?” Luke 24:32 .

Bibles all organized with the help of our Maui Brethren.

Snow at the Wailing Wall!

A time of prayer during Hanukah.

Beth taking the opportunity to show kindness with the Gospel.

Gospel Opportunities

Outreach

Gospel outreach is the main purpose of our work here in Israel. As we live our everyday life here in the Land, we pray for divine appointments. Whether walking to the bank, post office, grocery shopping, or specifically on an outreach mission we see the hand of the Lord working to provide many opportunities. We have several encounters each month but for the sake of time and space we can only share a few here.

Shauel and Susie – In the Old City

One of the blessings we have with the Ministry House is to have the guests not only be a part of our ministry but also to provide more opportunities for ministry especially after they leave. For example, one guest, Susie, was able to pass out a tract and get into a conversation with a Rabbinic Jew named Shauel. Susie was able to make the initial contact and I was able to meet him while she was here and also after she left. Shauel lives in the Old City and is studying Torah & Talmud. We have had some lively conversations with him as well as his landlords who are both Jewish. The greatest challenge Shauel and other Rabbinics have is to answer the questions about the atonement without a temple. We continue to have friendly and productive conversations regarding the Messiah and His work.

Alon and family – at Chorazin

On one of our tours with a group from our home church in Hawaii we went to the city of Chorazin that was cursed in Luke 10:13 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! When touring the ruins of this city cursed by our Lord due to unbelief, we couldn’t help but look for an opportunity to share our faith. That day in Chorazin was just such a day. I saw an orthodox Jewish man name Alon trying to take a picture of himself, his wife, and baby. I was able to go and in my broken Hebrew ask if he needed help with his picture and he accepted. Beth was with me and she was able to hold their baby and encourage the young mother. Looking for ways to help others with something so simple as taking a picture gave us the opportunity to ask about their lives; Alon asked what I knew about the history of Chorazin which lead me to giving him a full Hebrew Bible (OT & NT) and a tract showing many Scriptures pointing out who the Messiah is. Maybe this divine appointment will lead to someone coming to faith in a city who was cursed because of unbelief.

Elie and family – at the Promenade

One of the things we like to do on Shabbat (Sabbath) before we meet with our congregation is take a walk as many Jewish people are out walking since they don’t work or drive. One day we walked to a beautiful spot close to the US Embassy called the Promenade. We prayed for divine appointment, as we always do, and God didn’t disappoint. We met a family that was from Tel Aviv asking about the view. As the conversation would go, we were able to ask if they were observant Jews which lead us to tell them about our faith. They assumed since we believed in Jesus, we were Catholic with all the paganism and idolatry that comes with it. It was very near Christmas time and they were asking us about why Christians worship a tree and Santa Clause. I was able to explain to them we were Jewish believers in the Jewish Messiah – which they understood as Yehudim Meshechim. I went on to explain that we didn’t follow the Catholic traditions, but we followed the Bible alone. I was able to give him a whole Bible (OT&NT) which he had never seen before. I gave a tract that showed the Messiah in the Tanach and the fulfilment in the New Testament. He was so excited to have the Bible and realize one could believe in Yeshua without giving up their Jewishness. I explained a Jew who believes in Yeshua is now a truly completed Jew in God’s eyes ( Romans 2:28-29 ). I was able to show how it was the same thing Abraham did in believing in a coming Messiah by faith.

Pinchas and Rachel – at the Temple Institute

One evening while waiting for a group to finish a tour in the Old City Abby, David, Kenny (from our congregation), and I were able to have a discussion with a Jewish man (Pinchas) and his daughter Rachel. Abby was able to speak with Rachel and David, Kenny, and I were able to speak with Pinchas. Pinchas quickly realized we were believers and started asking me some very pointed questions. I was able to point out in the Bible verse by verse very clear answers to his questions ( 1 Peter 3:15 ). The more questions he asked the more he got frustrated until he was finally stumped and said he needed to study more. (Hebrews 4:12 ). This is where we always hope to get people to at least ask themselves if they really believe what they think they believe. We exchanged numbers and we agreed to meet again. We have since sent messages back and forth and are still trying to get together. Pray that the Spirit would lead Pinchas and Rachel to continue to ask more questions and to come to know Jesus as their Messiah.

Giving Elie a Bible at the Promenade

Life in the Land and Friedman Family Happenings

David’s swear-in ceremony

David made it through his third portion of his basic training for his army service. He is now officially sworn in as a soldier for the Armored Corp, tank division. The ceremony took place at Abigail’s base and she was able to be the official photographer and get some special pictures. David swore in on a whole English Bible provided by the IDF because he is known as one of the very few Jewish believers in the Army. The fact that the Israeli Army would provide a full Bible with the New Testament is a huge miracle! God has already used David in a mighty way, and we pray will continue to do so as he progresses in his advanced training to operate a Merkava 3 tank in defense of the country.

Hanukkah

We were blessed to be able to celebrate Hanukkah, the feast of dedication, remembering the preservation of the Jewish people preserving the nation and the line of the Messiah. We enjoyed latkas, doughnuts, and candle lighting with a group from a church in New York and our friends from our church in Maui. We also got to see our fellow workers Geert & Martien from Holland during Hanukkah.

Organizing Bibles for distribution

With the help of our guests from Maui we were able to build shelves and organize the Bibles from many languages to have for outreach, especially when groups come to help evangelize.

Mark & Levi

Mark turned 13 on December 26 and Levi turned 11 on January 15. We are so thankful God gave us these two young men who are best friends and help us a lot in the ministry.

Our Congregation

The Road to Emmaus Congregation continues grow and meet weekly for services. Over the past couple of months, we have had the privilege of meeting Jewish believers (a couple from America and single man from England) who made citizenship a while ago but have been looking for a congregation that stands on the Word of God as its sole authority. We are thankful God has brought them our way to be a part of the body in order to be equipped to go out in the community with the gospel.

Our letter wouldn’t be complete without mentioning we had snow in Jerusalem this past month! Snow is not unheard of in Jerusalem, but it is not common either. The beautiful white snow didn’t last but an evening but was around long enough to remind us of the promise to the nation in Isaiah 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool .

Again, we would like to give a special thank you to each one of you who continue to support and pray for us and our ministry. We are very grateful!

Love and Blessings in the Messiah,

Scott, Beth, Abigail, David, Mark, Levi

לוי ,מארק ,דוד ,אביגיל ,ג'יין ,סקוט

“There can be no happiness if the things we believe in are different from the things we do. ”

Freya Stark --Explorer & Writer

To make a donation to our ministry please press here:

IBJM On-Line Giving Link or call IBJM at (423) 876-8150 or mail to IBJM PO Box 1386 Hixson,TN 37343 and mark support for Scott & Beth Friedman

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Prayer Requests

Continue to pray for Beth's sister Dawn as she battles cancer. She has had a surgery to replace her colon and remove the remaining cancer on her liver which they believed would not have been possible in the beginning diagnosis. As of right now Dawn's tumors are all gone but they want her to continue three more months of chemotherapy as a precaution. We are praising God for the victory so far but Dawn will still need a lot of prayer to fully recover and be completely healed.

Pray for the salvation of those who God has appointed for us to meet. We especially want to be able to see the fruit of our labors in new believers coming to faith.

Pray for our congregation to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Especially for new believers.

Pray for those coming, especially for IDF Soldiers, to our Shabbat Meal time to hear the gospel.

Pray for our adult children back in America that they would continue strong in the faith.

P ray for our daughter-in-law Ashley her baby is due in March .

Pray for Abby and David as they serve in the IDF and work to be a great witness and light of the gospel; for Mark and Levi as they play with the neighbor children.

Pray for Hebrew studies for all of us including Mark & Levi. I, Scott, will be starting a new class in February and Mark & Levi just started theirs this month.

Pray for me that I will represent our Messiah properly in the teaching of the Word and the preaching of the gospel as we gather together with our congregation, as I walk the streets, and spend time at the Western Wall.

Please continue to pray for rain. We had a good start to the season but it has slowed down recently.

Pray that the Lord will continue to keep us healthy and provide for our monthly financial needs.

As always, pray for the peace of Jerusalem, especially now with all that is going on with the surrounding nations

-- Sha’alu Shalom Yerushalim Psalm 122:6

Isaiah 55:11

So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it .

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