Mottel Baleston
Growing up, Mottel’s only contact with Christians was with Italian Catholics; therefore, he pictured Jesus as Italian. He was shocked to discover Jesus was Jewish and the New Testament was written by Jewish men. He grew up Jewish and was told to stay away from the Christian Bible. So he did what any person does when forbidden to do something. He began reading the New Testament. He expected to find an antisemitic handbook, but was surprised it began with a statement about three Jewish men (David, Abraham and Jesus) and how one is the anticipated Messiah of Israel. The New Testament is a story about a Jewish man, living in a Jewish village, in a Jewish country, claiming to be the Jewish Messiah. Mottel’s life was changed when he discovered following Jesus was the most Jewish thing a person can do. Mordechai tapped into a powerful truth for his Jewish people.