MY TESTIMONY:
I’m a Jewish guy, born in New York City and raised in Connecticut. Jews, if they believe in a Messiah at all, will generally say that he has not arrived. Most won’t talk about “Messiah”. There is some notion, in the Old Testament, that when the Messiah arrives there will be “peace on Earth” and since there is not peace now, then, ipso facto, there is no Messiah, yet.
In Jewish tradition there are different beliefs as to exactly who or what the Messiah is. There is certainly no consensus that He is the Son of God.
As a kid I did go to synagogue (Jewish church) to some extent, but I never did my bar mitzvah at age 13 as some of my friends and most of my cousins. I did not take the study of Hebrew seriously so my family decided not to spend the money on the bar mitzvah. Bar Mitzvahs can be very expensive.
Nonetheless, I always believed in God. To me it was fighting words if someone said that He did not exist. I never thought that life or anything for that matter could exist without God. Nothing made sense if there was no God. I remember lying on my bed, looking up at the ceiling and thinking, “I know You’re out there, somewhere, but I don’t know You.” I was speaking to and about God. I believed in Him, but didn’t know Him. Believe me, there is a difference.
In 1971 I went to Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas – it’s a long story how a Jewish kid from New York and Connecticut got to TCU – a story for another time. I immediately started meeting people who wanted to talk to me about Jesus. They said he was the Messiah. They wanted to know if I was “saved”. At first this talk seemed amusing and later disturbing and I eventually avoided it.
I got mononucleosis and stayed in the infirmary for two weeks. I met the head nurse Helen Williamson. One day she asked me point blank, “are you happy David?” I said “no”. She said “you need Jesus”. I said, “no I don’t.” She said, “why don’t you come over my house for dinner tonight and meet my family”. I said, “If you make brownies you got a deal.” I accepted the invitation to dinner.
That night I saw the most loving and caring family I have ever seen – her husband, Charles, and children, Nate, Rod and Clay. I grew up in a family that loved each other also, but there was something different about this family.
Rocky Freeman, a Jewish evangelist also came for dinner. Rocky and I mostly argued for about two hours about Jesus. I was not convinced by the time dinner was over.
Nate, who I had actually known from TCU, gave me a ride back to my dorm room. I thought and thought about how someone or something had made this family so good and loving toward each other. I knew when I got in my room that I would do something and I did.
I got into my room. My roommate was gone. I looked into the small mirror above the sink and said, “Jesus Christ, if you’re the Son of God, I give you the opportunity to prove it to me right now.” Jesus was standing behind me and He put His arms around me. I did not see Him. But He was there and the experience was real. I have not doubted since then. That was December 16, 1971.
From that moment forward I have known God in a personal way. The moment I received Jesus into my heart by faith I knew God.
A Mark Goodson - Bill Todman Production
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