Peter, Paul, and Charlie

Ever since Pentecost in Jerusalem 2000 years ago that we read about in Acts Chapter 2, when Peter stood up among the other disciples and shared the message of the resurrected Messiah with thousands of Jews who gathered at the Temple for Shavuot (Pentecost), G-D has been making interesting and surprising choices of who He would use to share His word. 

Just think about Peter, who only weeks before he denied even knowing Yeshua, G-D chose Peter out of all of the Disciples to be the one who spoke after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the 120 who had gathered in the Upper Room. Peter’s message resulted in thousands of Jewish people repenting and being immersed into faith in Yeshua. Years later, G-D chose Paul, a man who had been persecuting and killing believers, to share the Good News of Yeshua with Jews and Gentiles in nations all around the Roman Empire. Paul even shared the message directly with the Emperor in Rome.

I am certain that G-D’s choice to use both Peter and Paul was somewhat shocking to the other disciples. The choice to use Paul clearly caused an emotional earthquake among the Jewish believers first in Damascus and later in other places he travelled to.  

Because I have come to terms with the fact that history is filled with examples of G-D using “unique” people as vessels to share his word. I was neither astonished nor dismayed when G-D recently used a professing Christian man to share about the “Jewish” Sabbath (Friday evening through Saturday evening) with millions of people around the world.  

I have been a rabbi for more than thirty years and have been teaching about the blessings and benefits of the Shabbat at my synagogue, at conferences, on the internet through videos and blogs, as well as covering the topic in many of the books that I’ve written. Yet, I have never yet been chosen by G-D to share the message of the Sabbath (or any other Biblical message) with millions of people in less than 14 days. The truth is that I don’t know of a single rabbi in history who has been able to share a message of the blessings of Sabbath with as many people in such a short time as this one Christian man has been able to.

The message he shared about Sabbath was not focused on legalism or works. His message was one that focused on freedom, joy, peace, rest, family, worship, and community. It wasn’t a message about things you can’t do, but rather a message about things you can do. His words were not condemning or judging, but encouraging and uplifting.

Unlike Peter who denied knowing Yeshua and Paul who had Yeshua followers executed, G-D's choice of Charlie Kirk wasn’t surprising because of past failures or sins, but simply because Charlie was not a Jew, He was a Christian. When you consider that there are Millions of Sabbath observing Jews and thousands of Jewish rabbis and scholars around the world, what a surprise it was that G-D chose Charlie Kirk to tell millions about the blessing of what Charlie referred to as the Jewish Sabbath.

The truth is that I don’t know why G-D chose Charlie Kirk, a Christian, instead of a Jewish Rabbi to share this message about the joy and fulfillment one finds in keeping one of G-D’s Appointed Times and Holy Days. Furthermore, I don’t know why G-D chose Charlie Kirk, instead of a Rabbi, to reach millions of Jews and non-Jews with this message about the Sabbath. 

What I do know is that historically when G-D makes a choice to use a surprising messenger, the results have been supernatural and spiritually explosive. Peter’s message turned Jerusalem upside down. Paul’s message turned the Roman Empire upside down. My prayer is that Charlie’s message of the blessings and spiritual impact of the Seventh Day Sabbath will also turn our world upside down. 

In closing, let’s remember the words of another messenger, Yeshua, that was a surprise to the Jewish people: “Then He said to them, “Shabbat was made for man, and not man for Shabbat. So the Son of Man is Lord even of Shabbat.”” ‭‭Mark‬ ‭2‬:‭27‬-‭28‬ ‭TLV‬‬