A Jewish Christian Finds an Adventist Home

The day David[*] married the love of his life was the day he lost his family. That day also marked the start of his journey to Jesus, and to a surprise gift that could come only from the heart of God.

David was a successful civil engineer from a conservative Jewish family. When he married a non-Jewish woman, his relationship with his family ruptured, and he was separated from the Jewish community he had grown up in. 

Rejection by family and friends, loss of social acceptance, and exclusion from one’s community are among the greatest challenges faced by those who choose to follow God and accept Jesus as Savior. This struggle is especially intense where religion is closely tied to ethnic, cultural, and national identity. For David the emotional impact was severe, and for years he struggled with depression. Unfortunately, for him this was only the beginning of a series of heartbreaking experiences.

In time David and his wife and children connected with a Christian church movement where they found community, purpose, and a relationship with Christ. The depression lifted, and it seemed the pain was in the past. But as years went by, corruption, scandals, and extreme attitudes within the movement led him to long for his Jewish roots and identity. He dreamed of reconnecting with his heritage and of making it a meaningful part of his life again.

Around this time David discovered that there were Jewish believers in Jesus who maintained their Jewish identity while following the Messiah. Learning about these people opened a new horizon before him.

When he spoke openly in his church about his Jewish identity and about Jewish believers in Jesus, however, the response shocked him. Instead of understanding, he encountered hostility and rejection. Some members declared that the Jewish people had been rejected by God. Others insisted that if he still considered himself Jewish, then he had never truly become a Christian. Once again David experienced the pain of rejection and exclusion. In the end he and his family had to leave the congregation they had faithfully loved and served for more than two decades. 

Hope in Spite of Disappointment

Sadly, it is not at all uncommon for Jewish people to face attitudes and comments such as those David faced at his church. But the suggestions that Jewish people are rejected by God are not founded on Scripture. To the contrary, we find Paul reminding the Christian church that he was praying for the people of Israel (Rom. 10:1), and in very pointed words he said, “I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means!” (Rom. 11:1, NIV).

Paul longed for the people of Israel to know Christ, and Adventists must share that loving concern. With a deep respect for the hand of God in Jewish history, an interest in Jewish perspectives on the Scriptures, and an appreciation for a 4,000-year-old rich cultural heritage, we can warmly welcome Jewish visitors, praying that through God’s Word and our reflection of Jesus’ love, they may also come to know and love Him.

David and I met during this painful period of his life. Through a mutual friend I visited David and his wife in their home. Their children were now adults living independently, and the couple was searching for spiritual peace and direction.

Together we spoke about faith in God and in Jesus the Messiah, as well as about Jewish-Adventist congregations within the Seventh-day Adventist Church—communities in which Jewish believers in Jesus could embrace both their faith in the Messiah and their Jewish identity.

David was deeply moved by the idea that he did not have to abandon his Jewish heritage in order to follow Jesus, and his wife was happy to find a family of faith where both of them could be fully accepted and loved. They began attending our Sabbath worship services and Bible study meetings regularly. Very quickly they became part of the community and developed close friendships with its members.

After some time they decided to publicly express their commitment to God through tevilah—the Hebrew word for baptism, meaning “immersion.” David and his wife had found a spiritual home and looked forward to making that commitment.

Shortly before their baptism, David and his wife took a trip to New York. While there, David tried to reconnect with a cousin who had grown up with him, almost like a sister. They had not seen each other for many years. She had married a religious Jewish man and was living in the United States, and David was eager to renew contact with her. Imagine his pain when she refused to meet with him or even speak with him on the phone. What a disappointment to learn that she had neither accepted his mixed marriage nor his faith in Jesus! David returned to Brazil heartbroken. Once again he felt the pain of rejection from someone he deeply loved.

David had once lost both his Jewish family connections and his Christian spiritual community. Yet when he chose to follow God faithfully according to the light he had received, God returned to him far more than he had lost.

Many New Testament believers struggled in a similar way. Many believed in Jesus but feared public rejection (John 12:42). Even Peter, out of fear, denied Jesus during His trial. Within this context Jesus declared: “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 10:32). He also warned that following Him could bring division, even within families: “A man’s enemies will be those of his own household” (verse 36).

Yet Jesus spoke not only of loss. He promised that those who sacrifice for His sake will truly find life (verse 39), and that whoever leaves family or home for the kingdom of God will receive far more in this life and eternal life in the age to come (Luke 18:29, 30). Jesus assured His followers that God would never abandon those who suffer loss for His sake.

Though feeling keenly the sting of yet another rejection, David’s trust in Jesus was unwavering, and shortly after that trip to New York he and his wife were baptized and officially became part of our community of faith. Here they found acceptance, support, friendship, and love.

God’s Abundant Blessings

Perhaps, if God had given them this new spiritual family and had done nothing more, it would have been enough. And yet, in His abundance, God had prepared an unexpected blessing for David—one far beyond anything he could have imagined.

A brief report about David’s tevilah was published in a newsletter of the World Jewish Adventist Friendship Center (WJAFC), the former name of what is now the Center for Adventist-Jewish Relations. The newsletter was edited and published by Richard Elofer, then director of WJAFC and president of the Israel Field of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Around that same time, some relatives of David, living in the United States, were searching online for the Brazilian branch of their Jewish family. These relatives were descendants of David’s uncle who had immigrated to the United States from Eastern Europe while David’s branch of the family had settled in Brazil. Through the years, all contact between the two branches had been lost.

While searching the internet, they came across Richard Elofer’s newsletter article about David and his wife. Recognizing the unusual family name, they contacted Elofer in Israel to ask whether this Brazilian family might actually be related to them.

David soon discovered that they were indeed relatives! These newly rediscovered cousins invited David and his wife to California so they could finally meet in person.

The reunion was extraordinary. David and his wife were warmly received and fully accepted by this part of the Jewish family—not only as a mixed-marriage couple, but also as believers in Jesus. What David feared would become another painful rejection instead became an experience of healing, restoration, and joy. The families soon developed a close and loving relationship.

David had once lost both his Jewish family connections and his Christian spiritual community. Yet when he chose to follow God faithfully according to the light he had received, God returned to him far more than he had lost.

In a way he never could have imagined, David rediscovered family, community, belonging, and peace. Through this experience the promise of Jesus became real in his life: Those who lose much for the kingdom of God may one day discover that God, in His grace, gives back far more than they ever expected.

[*] A pseudonym