This past weekend I had the honor of being invited by my dear friend, Pastor Israel Pochtar, as a guest speaker at Beit Hallel Congregation’s mass evangelism event held in Nazareth. I welcomed hundreds of Jewish Israelis to Nazareth and shared the spiritual and prophetic significance of the hometown of Jesus Christ with them. I also wanted to bless them by explaining the love that Christian Arabs have for the people of Israel, and how important reconciliation and salvation in Jesus Christ is for us as an Israeli Arab community of believers.
People were in shock to hear about the unity that exists between Israeli Arabs and Jews as one new man in Jesus Christ. People are so used to the narrative that the world media is spouting, that they just accept that Jews and Arabs don’t see eye to eye. However, in Christ, we are new creations, and reborn from the inside out, and we as Israeli Arabs and Jews love each other with the love of Christ. It was a tremendous testimony to all in attendance, with many people visibly touched to see this reality reflected in my words.
I continued by wishing everybody a blessed Shabbat, after which I began singing the well-known Jewish song “Shalom Aleichem” (peace be upon you all). Initially, people were caught by surprise to hear an Arab Pastor blessing them through the words of this song which every Jewish person grows up hearing. Very soon the worship leaders joined in, as well as many of those in attendance. Afterward, many people came up to me, many of them new immigrants, who just wanted to shake my hand and tell me how grateful they were for my words and love towards them. Praise the Lord!