Landsmann, missionary to Jews, debates Rabbi (1/5)

      While processing the Der Lutheraner volumes into digitized text, I ran across an article by a missionary to the Jews in America.  The title alone caused me to take extra time to polish the text so that the best DeepL machine translation into English would come out of it.  And O! was I treated to one of the more remarkable testimonies in Der Lutheraner.  In his article we will walk with Daniel Landsmann, an (Old German) Missouri Synod missionary, into a room full of zealous Jews with a learned "competent" Jewish Rabbi as his opponent in a disputation.  More will be revealed about Landsmann later, but I begin this series with Part 1 of a 5-part series presenting the full English translation, with added hyperlinks and pictures, of his article from Der Lutheraner, vol. 42 (May 1, 1886), pages 65-67 [EN] [German text here]:

Rabbi (later Pastor) Daniel Landsmann

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(Submitted.)

From our mission to the Jews.

[by Daniel Landsmann] 

Since I had the good fortune, especially on February 8, to be able to testify about Jesus before a crowd of Jews, and to drive them into a corner by their own Talmud, a movement has arisen among them. Some have fallen in with me and respect me, but some are filled with resentment and bitterness toward me, avoid me, and speak all kinds of evil against me. But those who are well-disposed toward me defended me and did not allow any evil to come upon me. — A few days ago there was a wedding; and because many [pg 66] of those Jews with whom I had talked were also invited, the talk also came upon me. Some zealots have said that I myself do not believe what I speak, I rather speak thus because I take salary, or I have been baptized because I want to marry a goy, Christian [Landsmann had been a Jew], and the like.  

Pinsk - Russian Jewish area

My compatriots from Pinsk [Russia, now in Belarus], however, did not let all this come up against me and defended me to the best of their ability. Those who were hostile to me said: “The Meshumad, the renegade (they did not pronounce my name), had to do with us unlearned people at that time, and he was victorious. But if a competent Rabbi had been present at that time, he would have gone away in disgrace. My compatriots said: “Well, that can be tested. Mr. Landsmann will not refuse an invitation to a disputation.” Others said: “He will beware; he is clever enough and will not come!” My friends replied: “Mr. L. has often assured us: the more learned a Jew is, and the better he knows the Talmud, the easier it is to convince him that Jesus is the Messiah. We are sure that Mr. L. will gladly come. By the way, should he really refuse to come, then woe to him, we would announce it in all the newspapers, and he would have to be ashamed”, etc. — That helped! Now they were discussing who would be the right man to dispute with me. — I knew nothing of all this. Only I noticed that in some families they no longer liked to see me, but gave me short shrift. That hurt me very much.

The day before yesterday (March 18) three friends came to me in the morning, told me what had happened, invited me to a meeting and asked me if I would accept the invitation. I, delighted with the beautiful and rare opportunity to testify of Christ, thanked them for their mediation and said: "It is my duty as a Christian, but especially as a missionary, to give an answer. I showed them Ezk. 3:17—21, where God demanded this of me, and woe to me if I did not want to do it. They went on to say: “Do you also know who the man is with whom you will have to deal?

I answered: “I am coming, and in the name of my God I will cast the net! Do you think we Christians are afraid of your Jewish sophistry? Our faith stands on the Word of God. I promised to be at the appointed place at 2 o'clock in the afternoon.” —

When I got there, the house was full of Jews. They had really got a man who was a good Hebrew, and an even better Talmudist and Kabbalist. Also, as it seems, he was not unversed in the New Testament. It was a pleasure to talk with him. —

The Rabbi took out a Hebrew New Testament and told me to read and translate Heb. 1:3. I did: “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person,” etc. —

“Who is that?” the Rabbi asked me triumphantly, “that should be the Messiah? How can you prove that to us?” —

I: “This is the Messiah, and this is exactly how the Messiah of the Bible should and must be; otherwise He could not redeem us apostate people! He must, if He is to redeem us from sin, death and hell, be the reflection of God's glory and the very image of His being!

Before I could explain further, the Rabbi said: ““We do not want to believe you, where is it written among us?” —

I replied: “In your Kabbalah!!!” A silence fell,…  

- - - - - - - - - - - - -  Continued in Part 2  - - - - - - - - - - - 

In the next Part 2 we find out what happened after the "silence fell" among the Jews. There were several periods during this debate where the Jews "fell silent".

- - - - - - - - -  Table of Contents  - - - - - - - - - 

Part 1: This introductory blog

Part 2: Landsmann uses Jewish prayer book against objection; Schem Hamphoras 

Part 3: Landsmann proves Talmud a lie, Schem Hamphoras powerless

Part 4: Jesus and the power to do miracles

Part 5: Jesus's sacrifice does not count? (Scapegoat, red heifer, serpent in wilderness)