It was the fall of 1985. My younger brother Craig had transferred from a community college to my school in Tampa, where I was a graduating senior that year. I had moved from the dorms to a fraternity house, and I thought it was just a coincidence when I learned that my brother would occupy the same dorm room in which I had lived the previous year. Soon my friends from the dorm became Craig’s closest friends. Surely, I thought, this could not all be coincidental. Little did I know that the events of that fall semester would impact my life for eternity.

One day I visited my brother at my old room, and he was listening to some strange music. When I learned that the singer was a Christian artist, horrible thoughts immediately went through my mind. Was Craig leaving the Jewish religion to become a Gentile? I was no stranger to Gentiles who had become "born-again" Christians, but my own brother becoming a Christian would be too much to handle. I assumed that he might be in the early stages of leaving Judaism.

Later that semester, Craig informed me that he had become a Jewish believer in Jesus. My first reaction was "Why would a Jew desert his people and become a Gentile?" My mind began to rationalize the situation, and I realized that I still loved my brother, but considered him to be a traitor. I later learned that one of his roommates, who was also my friend, had trusted Jesus as his Messiah. I thought, "two down and a few million to go!" I tried to convince Craig that we had to remain in our religion so that the Jewish people could survive, but he always replied, "I'm more Jewish than you are." I thought he was crazy.

In December 1985, I graduated with a B.A. in history and moved back to our home near Hollywood, Florida, while Craig remained at the school. When I returned home, my goal was to join a Jewish group for fellowship, meet a nice Jewish girl and get married. Being Jewish was a way of life for me and I wanted to prove to my brother that being a Jew was important, although I didn't condemn him for his beliefs. I took a managerial position near Hollywood, but left after a brief time, having decided to return to school to become a certified teacher. While going back to school, I met some girls whom I casually visited and dated, but nothing serious developed. My relationship with Craig during that time was a bit strained since I was annoyed at his constant mention of the name of Jesus. He would frequently call and say, "Jesus loves you!" which I found very upsetting.

January 12, 1987, was "a date that will live in infamy" in my life. I was involved in a serious automobile accident and had to be hospitalized. I realized it could not have been mere "good luck" that I survived because of the damage to the car. During my nearly two-week stay in the hospital, Craig drove in from Tampa to visit me and gave me a Bible. Being Jewish, I hesitated to read it because it contained the New Testament, which was only for Gentiles. A rabbi visited me one day and pronounced some blessings. Later that same day, a retired man visited me and told me he was a Jew who believed in Jesus. He returned several times and found me a captive audience. I had to listen to him because I was unable to move; however, he did not convince me about his beliefs.

A few months later, I received a telephone call from Craig. He suggested that we get an apartment together in Tampa so that I could get on with my education. I had no transportation since my car had been demolished in the accident, and I had not received a settlement from my insurance company as yet, so his idea seemed too good to be true. In August 1987, Craig and I moved into our apartment. It was the first time since our high school years that we had lived together. Initially, I was so busy settling in that I did not think about his newfound faith. But when classes started and my life began to stabilize, I had to come face to face with the reality that my own brother had found a new faith.

Eventually, my curiosity got the best of me, and I began to research Craig’s new beliefs. I had a Christian friend in college who was able to enlighten me somewhat. I decided upon a course of intellectual pursuit into Christianity and spent a lot of time at the school library, but eventually I realized that I was only "reinventing the wheel" and that I would have to take a different approach. Then, my Christian friend suggested I talk with someone who had a strong grasp of the Scriptures. I decided that I wanted to speak with an educated Jewish man who believed in Jesus. Early in October 1987, I received a telephone call from that friend, who knew of a Jewish man that could answer a lot of my questions. My friend told me this man was Jess Pincus, and he represented The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry.

Obviously, this was what I had been looking for and after much consideration, I finally called Jess and we made a luncheon appointment. When we met, I saw that he was unmistakably Jewish and of Eastern European ancestry. He began to ask questions about my background, and I told him I was in my final semesters in preparation for becoming a teacher. He was trained in teaching, and I was impressed with his extensive graduate training. For the first time, I sat face to face with a mature, highly educated Jewish man who believed in Jesus. I was astounded that a man with his educational credentials believed in someone he had never seen. During our conversation, he took out a Bible, which intimidated me because I had little faith in the Bible. He then gave me a "history lesson," the likes of which I had not received in the synagogue. In fact, in all my religious training – from bar mitzvah to confirmation – I had never heard such things, although I was familiar with some of the facts he presented from my recent studies.

He told me that the early Christians were all Jews. He turned to passages in the Torah, which showed that being Jewish is a physical distinction, not just a religion. He showed me verses in Genesis, chapter 49, about the ancestors of the Jewish people. I then realized that my brother was still a Jew because he was a physical descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He pointed out another amazing fact: Many of the genealogies in the Holy Scriptures were patriarchal in nature. The rabbis say a person is a Jew, if his mother was Jewish. However, the Jewish Scriptures sometimes mention the mother, but mostly trace lineage through the father. Then, Jess showed me prophecies concerning the Messiah in the Jewish Scriptures – prophecies written by Jewish men centuries before they were fulfilled. My curiosity increased because I had been interested in prophecy throughout college. At the end of our meeting, I was very impressed with this man and his knowledge of the Scriptures, but I was also apprehensive of him and was not convinced of his beliefs. I needed a lot more evidence than he had shown me.

Researching the prophecies then became an obsession. I used the Holy Scriptures I had received at my bar mitzvah and cross-referenced the prophecies with their fulfillment in the New Testament. The New Testament no longer intimidated me now because I knew Jewish people wrote it. A few weeks later, I told Craig that if I could find definite proof that Jesus was the Messiah, I would believe in Him. Of course, I still was not convinced, so I did more research, particularly in the messianic prophecies, and discovered that there were over 300 prophecies concerning the Messiah. An unmistakable pattern emerged: Every time I found a messianic prophecy in the Old Testament, I saw its fulfillment in the New Testament. I knew I was on to something big, but I was gripped with fear. If Craig was right, then I had everything to lose. My brother’s words began to haunt me" "The only way to eternal life is to believe in Jesus Christ." I did not and could not allow myself to believe that Jesus was the Messiah. But, neither could I dismiss this great body of evidence.

Painstakingly, I continued my research into the messianic prophecies and the origin of Jesus Christ. I learned the meaning of His name: Jesus means "salvation" or "saves us from our sins," and Christ means, "anointed One" or "Messiah." I did more cross-referencing between the Old and New Testaments and came across another pattern – a disturbing one. It seemed that many Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled verbatim in the New Testament. For example, I saw from the Old Testament Prophet Micah that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, where King David had been born (Mic. 5:2). I then turned to the Book of Matthew in the New Testament and saw that Jesus had been born in Bethlehem (Mt. 2.1). This was alarming.

While I examined the Scriptures, I learned something about myself from what King Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 7:20: "For there is not a righteous man upon the earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not." After reading what King Solomon wrote, I realized that I didn’t always do the right thing, and I needed to be saved from my sins. Then, I read what Moses wrote in Leviticus 17:11: "For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that maketh atonement by the reason of the life." As I studied more about Jesus Christ, I realized that His death on a Roman cross was the ultimate blood sacrifice.

On October 18, 1987, I decided to attend the church Jess Pincus attended, although he was not present that day. At that time, intellectually I knew that it was true – Jesus was the Messiah – so what was stopping me from accepting Him in my heart? Thank God, nothing stopped me. After a long, persistent, agonizing search, I had finally found the Messiah. I accepted Jesus into my life that day – my soul was saved from eternal death, and I received eternal life.

In June 1988, shortly after I became a Jewish believer, I had the privilege of being on staff at the Wilds Christian Camp in North Carolina. It was not "luck" that placed me there with some of the best and brightest Christian people in the nation. While I was there, the chief cook began to teach me many things about the Christian life.

By September 1988, I began a one-year course of studies at the Institute of Jewish Studies (IJS) with the Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry in Deptford Township, New Jersey. I was Biblically illiterate, but willing to learn – and did I learn. I also developed some lasting friendships and had the privilege of visiting my "homeland," Israel, for intense study. I thank God and the faculty of IJS for helping me in those early times as a Jewish believer.

After my graduation from IJS in June 1989, I returned to the teaching profession. One of the most important things I learned is that you cannot "make" Jewish people believe in Jesus Christ; they have to make that decision for themselves. That was certainly true in my own life, but I thank God that He gave me the wisdom to make that decision. Now my prayer is that all Jews will see the overwhelming evidence proving Jesus is the Messiah, and heed Romans 10:9, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."