Today I was not with my brother. I was instead taking one of the more standard, pop tours in the old city of Jerusalem, led by a young, Israeli tour guide, trained to discuss Jewish, Christian and Muslim interests. He offered a friendly disclaimer at the beginning of the tour:
“I am not here to critique the claims of these religions. I am merely pointing out what they believe and why these particular sites are considered holy.”
We walked through the stations of the cross, highlighting Jesus’ trial before Pontius Pilate, the route to Golgotha, the place where Jesus fell, etc. Eventually we came to an Armenian Church building allegedly built where the house of Jesus’ Last Supper once stood. Our guide began talking about the Last Supper as it was recorded in the Gospel of Mark. He referred to Mark as “a disciple of Jesus.”
In time, we began talking. He asked if this was my first visit to Israel and that, of course, led to a discussion of my own testimony. Like the other guide, Jacob (who took me to so many places on a private tour, and who also asked about my conversion story), this younger fellow seemed every bit as interested. Quite frankly, I expected more hostility from Israelis, not because I was a Christian, but because I was a Jewish-Christian (a term most Jews do not like or accept). Much to my surprise, neither guide seemed bothered. They were separated by many years and opposite beliefs. Jacob was in his seventies, a French survivor of the holocaust and a very religious Jew. Today’s tour guide was in his twenties, born in Israel, and completely agnostic as far as religious doctrine is concerned. I suppose the common denominator is that both men are used to meeting the widest variety of people, including Jews of all persuasions, from Orthodox to Atheist to “heretics” like myself who dared to blend the terms Christian and Jew together.
Toward the end of the tour, I said to my young acquaintance: “You’re doing a great job. I do want to point out just one small thing. Mark was not actually a disciple of Jesus. It’s true that he wrote a gospel, so it’s an easy mistake to make, but actually, Mark was a scribe who wrote down the words of Peter. This is because Peter was not very literate. It’s no big deal, and it doesn’t take away from the main points you were making in your talk, which is why I didn’t say anything in front of the group. The only reason I bring it up now, is that sooner or later some other Christians on your tour will probably say something and they may not say it as nicely. So, this is just a word to the wise.”
He smiled with sincerity: “Thank you so much for pointing that out. I really appreciate it.”
I am grateful that he received my correction with such humility. More often then not, I meet people who know absolutely nothing about Christianity and yet they think they know everything about it. The bias of our universities and easy access to anti-Christian websites make arrogant ignorance ever so more accessible. How refreshing to meet a sincere skeptic, who is willing to listen to what I know about my own faith. A lesser man would have proudly told me what Christians believe instead of asking me.
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