RABBI LICHENSTEIN, when a teacher in the
Jewish
Communal School in Tapio Szele, Hungary, became
the possessor of a copy of the New Testament, and showed
it to his Rabbi, who had diligently studied the Old Testa-
ment, but had never seen the New Testament Scriptures.
As the Rabbi glanced at the title page of the Book, and
saw the words "Jesus Christ" upon it, he became
enraged,
and rebuked the teacher for possessing such a book, and
would not return it to him. The Rabbi put it away in a
corner of his library.
The book was not opened for thirty long years, till a
grave charge having been made against the Jews of killing
a Christian girl to use her blood at the Passover, a number
of innocent persons were apprehended and unrighteously
condemned. By order of the Austrian Emperor a second
trial was held, and the accusation was found to be utterly
false.
Professor
Delitzsch, of Leipsig, wrote a
pamphlet
appealing to European nations to cease persecuting the
Jews, showing how such conduct was opposed to the
teaching of Christ, and the spirit of the New Testament.
A paper with copious extracts from Dr. Delitzsch's pam-
phlet fell into the hands of Rabbi Lichtenstein. He was
deeply impressed by what he read, and became imbued
by the conviction that he ought to study the principles of
Christianity. Happening to come across the New Testa-
ment that had been stowed away for thirty years, he began
to read it.
"I had thought," he wrote, "the New Testament to be
impure, a source of pride, of overweening selfishness, of
hatred, and of the worst kind of violence; but as I opened
it I felt myself peculiarly and wonderfully taken pos-
session of. A sudden glory, a light, flashed through my
soul. I looked for thorns and
gathered roses; I discovered
pearls instead of pebbles; instead of hatred, love; instead
vengeance, forgiveness; instead
of bondage, freedom;
instead of pride, humility; instead of enmity, reconcilia-
tion; instead of death, life, salvation, resurrection--
Heavenly treasure."
As he studied the Scriptures he was led to see that Jesus
was the Christ, the Son of the Living God. By faith he
learned that He was wounded for his transgressions and
bruised for his iniquities; that the chastisement
with the
view to his peace was upon Him, and by His stripes he
was healed (Isa. 53. 5, 6). He looked and lived, he be-
lieved and was saved. The
joy of salvation filled his
heart, and the peace of God took possession of his soul.