Some Jewish Witnesses For Christ
soul. Merely to know the truth did not satisfy me: I felt that I must
really possess it, and live on its substance. I understood not then the
work that was going on within me; but I occasionally experienced moments
of delight arising from the conviction that divine assistance and
protection accompanied the course I was pursuing.
"One night, when reading the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah, I was so
much struck with its resemblance to the account of the sufferings of
Christ which I had read in the Gospels, that I was almost convinced I
had got another Bible instead of my own; being scarcely able to believe
that this chapter, which may be truly entitled an abstract of the
Gospel, was really in the Old Testament. 'How,' thought I, 'can any Jew,
after reading this chapter, doubt that Jesus Christ is the promised
Messiah!' Whence could this strong conviction arise? I had often read
this chapter before; but now I read it with the light of the Spirit of
God. From this moment I recognized Christ as the promised Messiah, and
this gave an entirely new character to our meditations on the Word of
God. It was the dawn of a glorious day to our souls, the light of which
increased more and more, enlightening our minds, warming our hearts, and
even then bestowing upon us unspeakable consolation. Many of the enigmas
of life, which had hitherto puzzled and distressed me, were now
explained; everything seemed to revive around me, and the object and
interest of my life were entirely changed. Happy days, thus gladdened by
a sense of the Master's presence! Never can I forget them!
"I believe it was by divine direction that my friend and I did not
disclose to any one what was passing in our minds; and that we confined
ourselves to the study of God's Word, laying aside all other books
except Heydeck's 'Defence of the Christian Faith.' This learned man had
been a Rabbi in Germany, and having embraced the Romish religion, was
made Professor of Oriental languages at Madrid. This book, written with
great talent, and much knowledge of Scripture, is a defence of
Christianity against Rationalism. Its perusal was useful to us in two
ways; we found that the powerful logic with which he combated the
reasonings of Voltaire and Rousseau, entirely deserted him when he
attempted to defend Popery against the doctrines of the Reformation.
"Whenever I had any leisure in the morning, I used to shut myself up to
read the Word of God, as I dared not peruse it in my uncle's presence.
One day I had been particularly considering the following passage in
Isa. vii. 14, 'Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall
call his name Immanuel.' On going down stairs I found a Jewish
physician, a friend of my uncle's, waiting for him in the ante-room. He
was turning over the leaves of a new edition of the Bible. 'There,' said
he, 'is a fatal passage we cannot easily wrest from the Christians.' It
was the very passage I had been meditating upon. My soul was deeply
moved, and I again perceived the guiding hand of my God. 'Why, then,' I
replied, 'should we not confess the truth?' My uncle now entered, and
enquired what subject we were discussing. The physician informed him;
and knowing my uncle to be deeply versed in the rabbinical writings,
asked him what the Rabbis say on the passage. 'Alas!' said my uncle,
'only a mass of nonsense.' With a beating heart I listened to this
admission; and inwardly thanked God for having permitted me to hear
these words from the lips of one whose rabbinical learning made him to
be considered as an authority by the Jews.
"All these various circumstances convinced me more and more that truth
is to be found in Christianity alone. I could not now be satisfied with
mere knowledge, I longed for love. Then it was that the sun of
righteousness shed abroad in our hearts, not only the light that
illuminates, but the quickening warmth that enables the soul to live the
life of God. I saw that love had led the Saviour to seek me. I perceived
also my own sinful and miserable condition; but this feeling seemed
absorbed in a sense of the divine love. In Christ I found my life,--the
centre of all my thoughts and affections,--the sole object that could
fill the void in my heart,--the key of all mysteries,--the principal of
all true philosophy, yea the _truth_ itself.
"I daily felt more and more the necessity of openly avowing my
sentiments. I can record, to the glory of God, that the certainty of
losing a considerable property, if I declared myself a Christian (which
the event has confirmed), never for a moment entered into the scruples
which made me hesitate. I dreaded the effect of the disclosures on the
kind relative who had treated me as his son; on whose choleric
temperament it might produce an impression that, at his advanced age,
might be fatal. Doubtless, had my faith been stronger, I should have
broken through every obstacle; but I could only suffer in silence, at
the same time earnestly praying to God to come to my aid, and open a way
before me.
"And the God of mercy attended to the voice of my supplication. It was
my uncle's custom to read the newspaper aloud after dinner. One day when
I was sitting opposite to him in a state of great dejection, he read
out the following news from Hamburg:--'We have just witnessed a very
interesting event. A Rabbi, after having announced to his
co-religionists in the synagogue, that an attentive examination of the
prophecies had convinced him that Messiah has already come, and having
made a confession of the Christian faith, was baptized a few days since
in this city, and received as a minister of the gospel.' On reading
this, my uncle said the following words, which the position I was then
in rendered so remarkable: 'If this man has acted from self-interest, he
is worthy of contempt: but if from conviction, he ought to be
respected.' Oh, Christians! You who can sympathize in the feelings of
those like-minded with you, need I describe to you what passed in my
mind at this solemn moment? In a transport of joy I fell on the neck of
the venerable old man, saying, 'Yes, uncle, and it is God who makes you
feel thus; know that he whom you love with the tenderness of a father,
is in the same case with this Rabbi!' I pronounced these words in such
violent agitation, and in a tone so unusual, that my poor uncle thought
I was out of my senses. He left the room for a few minutes, as if to
allow me to recover myself; and at his return began to speak on a
different subject.
"I could see that although my uncle was annoyed at what had passed, he
did not attach to my words the importance they deserved. I therefore
resolved, after having strengthened myself in God, to make the same
declaration to him the following day. He could no longer shut his eyes
to what had taken place; and a heart-rending scene followed. He beat his
breast, lamented that ever he was born, and exclaimed, in the bitterness
of his soul, that I was about to bring his grey hairs with sorrow to the
grave. His reproaches went to my heart; but the Lord strengthened and
comforted me, and enabled me to shew the dear old man such marks of
tenderness as at length somewhat soothed him.
"When the change became known to my family, they first used gentle means
with me, in the hope that these new notions might pass away; but finding
I grew bold, and ventured to preach the gospel to them, they resorted to
harsh treatment. It was a season of deep trial to my soul. This state of
things increased the ardent desire I felt publicly to confess Christ. My
family wished me to go into Germany, or some other country, for this
purpose; but to this I objected, lest it should appear as if I were
ashamed of the step I was about to take. My friend and I at length
decided on Leyden as the place where we should receive the rite of
baptism. The 20th of October, 1822, was the day so ardently desired, on
which we were admitted members of the Church of Christ. Kneeling in the
presence of the congregation, before the God of our fathers, who is the
true God--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--we had the unspeakable joy,
unworthy sinners as we were, to confess before the Christian Church, the
blessed name of that great God and Saviour who had come to seek and save
us when we were lost. Glory be to God."
Among Capadose's writings, the most noteworthy are: (1) "Aan mijne
geloofsgenooten in de Ned. Heb. Gem.," The Hague, 1843. (2)
"Overdenkingen over Israel's Roeping en Toekomst," Amsterdam, 1843. (3)
"Rome en Jerusalem," Utrecht, 1851.
CAPLAN, Rev. W. H., was a native of the Baltic provinces. He was
converted to Christianity through the reading of the New Testament,
which he received from a friend at home. He then went to London for the
purpose of being able the more easily to make a public profession of his
faith, and was baptized there about 1876. In 1877 he became assistant to
the Rev. Theodore Meyer, of the Presbyterian Mission in Whitechapel.
After a few years he studied at King's College, and was ordained to the
ministry of the Church of England in 1885. Then he became curate in
several churches in England, and finally emigrated to Canada, where he
is doing good work in the Canadian Church.
CARLTON, Rev. S. J., a native of Silesia, baptized in the Irish
Presbyterian Mission at Hamburg, about 1892. Subsequently he joined the
Church of England, studied at Ayerst Hall, Cambridge, was L.J.S.
missionary curate at St. Benet's, Stepney, then curate at St. Jude's,
Mildmay, 1901-4; St. Peter's, Cricklewood, 1904-6; St. Mary Magdalene,
Peckham, 1906-8; and vicar of All Saints, Camberwell, from 1908.
CARRET, Ludwig, a convert who lived at the beginning of the seventeenth
century, wrote a Hebrew letter giving an account of the history of his
conversion. This letter appeared in the Appendix in Buxtorf's Synagogue
Judaica (de le Roi), but not in all editions.
CARO, Pastor F., convert and missionary of the Berlin Society in 1845-8,
had the privilege of baptizing a Jewish lady in her ninetieth year, in
the presence of all her children, one of whom was the above-named
Branis.
CARO, Regierungsrath in Merseburg, is recorded as having rendered the
Government good service, especially in the educational department, in
the 19th century, and that he was a devoted Christian.
CASPARI, Carl Paul. Norway during the nineteenth century found her most
pre-eminent witness for Christ and defender of Christianity in that son
of Israel whose name is mentioned above. Carl Paul Caspari was born at
Dessau 1814. His parents were orthodox Jews, and his father was a
merchant there. In this city, which through Moses Mendelssohn has become
so celebrated, the Jewish community influenced many of its citizens in a
remarkable manner, on account of their ability and intelligence. They
established a Jewish seminary, which was called after Prince Francis,
"The Francis School." It gained a great reputation, and even attracted
Christian pupils. German services were held in the synagogue, at that
period an unheard-of innovation. The religious instruction in the school
was given in an enlightened spirit. Caspari imbibed this influence, and
when he attended the Gymnasium it obtained complete control over him. In
1834 he went to Leipsig, in order to study Oriental languages. Here he
read the Old Testament diligently, but he found in it only the teaching
he had formerly received. The New Testament he could not accept.
However, he was animated by a strong sense of duty, and he inscribed on
his desk the motto, "Thou canst, therefore thou oughtest." Yet he soon
became convinced that his will was a very feeble instrument. At this
period, Granel, who had formerly been his schoolmate at Dessau, and who
afterwards was so well known as the Superintendent of the Saxon Foreign