Sid Roth - This Obscure Bible Verse Led Me to Jesus
Sid Roth: Welcome, Holy Spirit. You're our most important guests. Go and flow. My guest, Richard Frieden, grew up in a reformed Jewish family. His heart's desire is to restore hope, supernatural hope in every area of your life. Well, Richard, I was raised in an Orthodox Jewish family.
Richard Frieden: Yeah.
Sid Roth: You were raised in a reformed Jewish family. What was life like growing up at home?
Richard Frieden: Life growing up at home was actually very blessed. Life was dynamic. In fact, I have to, I'm compelled to say, "Thank You, God for giving me life. And thank You, God for giving me my parents who gave me life. And thank You God for giving me new life". Our home life with six siblings and a Jewish upbringing. A reformed Jewish upbringing which means we did not throw the baby out with the bathwater. We had a faith and a trust in God. We went to synagogue. My parents were involved in synagogue...
Sid Roth: My father wasn't too thrilled about Reform Judaism. He thought the only Judaism was Orthodox. Then when I became a believer in Jesus, he said, "Reformed looks pretty good"!
Richard Frieden: Right. Right. And it is. You know, I think, you know, our Jewish upbringing and our Jewish education, you know, instilled in us the kind of moral ethics and values that I've taken with me along this journey. Um, and of course, the journey took different turns.
Sid Roth: Let's start out with wonderful Jewish family, right? Loved being a Reformed Jew, but you struggled with having a bad image because of weight.
Richard Frieden: This is true. So, for example, when my mom would take us shopping. I'm one of a set of triplets. And so when my mom took the triplets shopping, I was the chubby one. So when you're the chubby one, that was a nice way of saying you're a fat kid, you know? And so I didn't have a good self-image. I lacked self-confidence, I disdained sports, uh, likely because I didn't want to... I didn't think that I was inclined to engage in physical activity.
Sid Roth: You failed physical education. That's difficult.
Richard Frieden: I did, I actually failed P.E. in ninth grade. It was the halfway point in ninth grade and I got an F on my report card. How do you do that? It's like...
Sid Roth: Did you deal with anti-Semitism?
Richard Frieden: Anti-Semitism was a very real part of my life. At the age of ten years old, I was out at recess, elementary school, and a classmate came up to me and he pointed at me and said, "Friedan, you're a kike". And so I had a hunch that he wasn't there to befriend me.
Sid Roth: You didn't know what the word "kike" meant.
Richard Frieden: I had no idea what it meant. I went home, I spoke with my dad, and he said, "Richie, he called you a no good, dirty Jew". Now, why would a ten year old child call me a no good, dirty Jew? And so the next day, I found this boy at, at recess and and really wanted to have a discussion with him. "Why did you call me a kike? What is it with you"? And he said, "Well, you are". And he repeated what he said the day before. My response or my reaction was to beat him up. And that's exactly what I did.
Sid Roth: So you had this overweight image. Antisemitism. But you overcame a lot of this because of martial arts.
Richard Frieden: Yeah, I think having to endure a verbal abuse and also having this interior life that says you're not good enough and you're not, you know, all of this. You don't have the talents and the gifts or even physicality to engage in sports. Yeah, I think martial arts was very special. And in fact, my triplet sister was very much involved in martial arts. And I used to mock her. Everywhere she went in the house. She would, you know, practice her karate moves and all the, you know, the breathing techniques and everything. And she said to me, "You know something? I'm going to take you to a beginner's class. It's going to be this Wednesday evening. You're coming. Let's see how you respond after the class". At the end of this session, I was in the very back row with a t shirt and jeans on and and barefoot and I, you know, I just looked at the, the instructors, the black belts in front of me. I found my niche, I loved it, I loved every moment of it. And I said, "That's where I'm going to be. I will become a black belt. I will become a teacher of martial arts".
Sid Roth: So as a Jew, you're preparing for bar mitzvah. That's when a Jewish young person is introduced in manhood in Judaism. Um, and the Rabbi and part of your education takes you, for the first time in your life to a church. You've never been in a church before. It's a Catholic church. Uh...
Richard Frieden: That's right. That's right. Our rabbi announced to the bar and bat mitzvah class. He said, "we're going on a field trip. We need, uh, parental permission". The field trip would be at a Roman Catholic church. So I had fights in front of that church for the sole reason that I. That I'm Jewish.
Sid Roth: So you knew the church from the outside, but you'd never been in it.
Richard Frieden: That's it. I knew the church from the outside very well. And I sat down in the pew. The priest spoke about, uh, the confirmation rite within the Catholic Church. And he said, "You might be asking you this question: Who and what is this grotesque figure hanging on what we call a Roman Catholic Crucifix? Well, let me answer. If this is Jesus from Nazareth, King of the Jews. He's one of your people".
Sid Roth: Had you ever heard that Jesus was Jewish?
Richard Frieden: I have never heard that Jesus was Jewish. I had no idea that He was of my people. And of course, when someone says, "He's of your people, He's of Jewish heritage". And at that moment, I had a sovereign, powerful experience. Like, we're on set, we're having conversation together. There's sound, there's lights. In this moment when I heard those words, "He's of your people," everything went silent. It was as if no one was in the room. No sound. No movement. It was as if I was in a a freeze zone, but a sacred freeze zone. Sacred time and sacred space that seemed to have stopped. And I was riveted on the cross. And I began to ask myself questions. "Who? What? When? Where? Why? Of Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. I must find these answers". From that time onward, I lived a parallel Jewish life, a Jewish life, and parallel to that, a secret journey to pursue, to run after, to knock, to seek and to find Yeshua, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.
Sid Roth: But that gave you the spark to even know to pursue Him. Um, but you're still looking. Still looking for something. So you decide you're going to become a professional dancer. And did that help? Yeah. So that's interesting because as a Jewish boy, you don't go up to your dad and say, "Hey, Dad, Ma. Uh, I'd like to take ballet classes".
Richard Frieden: And so. So that just doesn't happen, at least not in my time. And but nevertheless, I was...
Sid Roth: I don't think it even happens now, but go ahead.
Richard Frieden: Right. Right. I was teaching martial arts at college and, and, and it was during the time that I was teaching karate two other students were teaching dance. And we would warm up together and they just thought that, "Hey, do you like movement"? I said, "I love movement, I love music," and they said, "Well, you know, your flexibility and your skills in martial arts. You know, you'd probably great at the dance". And I took a class with a Clara Koenig, who was a Jewish immigrant from Russia. And she says, "You know, Richard, I think we can work with you. You know, you've started late, but if you work hard, you can dance". And indeed, that's what happened. So I continued martial arts, but I also worked very, very hard to, you know, pursue the dance.
Sid Roth: But you also were getting kind of deep in thought. And you penned the question one day, which was.
Richard Frieden: Yeah, the I was journaling in Boston, Massachusetts, when I was training at the Conservatory of Music, dance and Theater, and I wrote in my journal, "Who holds the key that unlocks those cold steel bars that imprison my life"?
Sid Roth: Would you say that question again, looking in the camera?
Richard Frieden: Sure. Who holds the key that unlocks those cold steel bars that imprison my heart, my soul? And yeah, and I was further on in the journey from that time when I was...
Sid Roth: Did you have an answer when that question came to you?
Richard Frieden: I didn't yet have an answer. I didn't yet have...
Sid Roth: Did it bother you?
Richard Frieden: Of course it bothered me. I was pursuing, I had an insatiable thirst and hunger, and almost desperateness to find out who Jesus from Nazareth is, the King of the Jews, the One I've been waiting for and pursuing, and of my people. I had not yet found those answers. Though I had accomplishments in martial arts, and though I was succeeding in the dance, that was great. I felt good about myself physically. Interiorly something was void.
Sid Roth: Okay, a trip to Israel, a forgotten book, and a question that had tormented Richard for years. Then in a moment, everything changed. Be right back.
Sid Roth: Now, I'm sure you noticed Richard and I are wearing my favorite jewelry. I'm not a jewelry guy, but I saw the symbol of Israel and it's a menorah. A seven candle menorah that comes directly from the temple in Israel. It is the most... It's biblical. It's the most anointed piece of jewelry you can possibly wear. And better than all of that. I have unsaved people, unsaved Jewish people, that walk up to me and say, "That's beautiful". And I lead them to the Lord. What more could I ask for? And, uh, Richard, uh, you're Israeli, so you know about, uh, menorah, but I don't know of a more...
Richard Frieden: I love the menorah.
Sid Roth: beautiful piece of jewelry there is than this menorah. Uh, Richard, there was a point where you were living in the US and you went to Israel. Why did you go to Israel?
Richard Frieden: That's correct. My first visit to Israel was in 1982. Happened to be during a time of war. And the reason is pretty much twofold: spiritual and political. Spiritual because I was running after... After God. I was determined to find answers to those questions concerning Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews, the One who's from my people. Who is he? I must find out.
Sid Roth: Your rabbi told you these facts!
Richard Frieden: Everywhere I went, every context I found myself, I would be... And that could be in Europe. In North America. Everywhere I was, I was seeking and knocking and reading about Jesus, reading about Yeshua. And yet this intellectual pursuit was still very much active. And so in 1982... and I think the other reason was political reasons in a sense that, uh, that I was brought up Jewish. I went to a Zionist youth camp and youth group, and so I believed in the prophetic concerning the return of the people of Israel to the land of Israel and her restoration. In fact, those are some of the scriptures that I read at my bar mitzvah about the restoration of Israel.
Sid Roth: Now your sister, she became a believer in the Messiah. That's the one you're visiting in Israel.
Richard Frieden: That's correct.
Sid Roth: And she gives you a pocket Bible. According to my notes, it took you a year to crack open the book.
Richard Frieden: It's true. I met Leah at Ein Karem, which is a little village adjacent to Jerusalem. It's part of Jerusalem today and likely to be the, you know, the birthplace of John the Baptist, of all places that I had the privilege to be. And Leah would open up the Bible and read Psalms. And that really impacted my life in a profound way. I was invited to a kibbutz in the northern, northwestern region of the Galilee. I was an apprentice in a in a dance theater program, and it was there I took this small pocket Bible that my sister had given me. And... And it was a Sabbath morning. It was a Saturday morning. And I just opened up that Bible and I said, "God, I need to know. This has been a long" journey, God. I said, "I don't really know how to address You. Yes, I understand somewhat of Hebrew prayer and our scriptures, but I don't know how to address You". And I just opened up the Bible and I just sense, "Look at the Bible"! You know, "...Stupid! Look at the Bible. Open it up". I open it and opened up to chapter 12 of the book of Matthew. And we read this judicial, you know, story about Jesus being confronted by His beloved Pharisaical brothers concerning the Sabbath and the laws of the Sabbath. And in this case, Jesus was preparing food for His hungry disciples. And I thought that was a fantastic story. And I and I read more. And all of a sudden, and within the context of that story, they're challenging Him and Jesus, you know, said, "Well, you know, King David actually went into the temple and took holy bread. He took loaves of bread from the showbread. And so if you're challenging Me that I'm breaking the Sabbath laws because I'm feeding My beloved brothers, My disciples. Well, let Me tell you something. Something greater than the temple is in your midst". As I read, "If you would only understood this, that I require mercy and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the innocent, because the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath".
Sid Roth: All right, this...
Richard Frieden: Obscure as that might be.
Sid Roth: This statement had something happened inside of you when you said that statement. What happened?
Richard Frieden: That was the moment of eternity for me. That was the the door that was opening. That was the moment of faith. That was the moment where my intellect, my mind and my heart were aligned with this word. This is Jesus from Nazareth, the King of the Jews, the one I've been waiting for. That word entered my heart and gave me sustenance and gave me faith. Fed my hungry heart.
Sid Roth: Cross over from from information to revelation.
Richard Frieden: It was from information to revelation. Inspiration. Motivation. Reeducation. It was a moment of my rebirth.
Sid Roth: So that question that haunted you, "Who holds the key that unlocks the cold steel bars that imprison my soul"? You got your answer.
Richard Frieden: Finally came to the door. To the way, the truth, and the life. He opened up. He received me. He spoke to me. In a moment's time, I felt a sovereign, quiet, powerful revelation that "this is your Lord, your God, your King, your Messiah, your Shepherd, the one that you have been waiting for and running after all of your life".
Sid Roth: You know, as you're sharing what happened to you, that presence that caused you to go from facts to experience that it was a presence of God. It wasn't an intellectual thing. It was a presence of God. That same presence is radiating off of Richard and onto you right now. And if you just know a little bit about Jesus or you know a lot about Jesus, do you have your own experiential knowledge of Him? You either do or don't. It's not religion. It is intimacy and relationship and friendship. I want you to say this prayer with me and solidify that relationship wherever you are out loud. Repeat these words after me. "Dear God. I've made many mistakes in my life. For which I'm so sorry. I believe the blood of Jesus washes every mistake away. And now that I'm clean, Jesus, come and live inside of me. Thank You for saving me from my sins. I make You my Lord. Amen". If there's ever been someone that understands hopelessness not just from your own life, but you worked as a narcotics detective in Jerusalem. You saw the dark side of Jerusalem. There is a dark side to life.
Richard Frieden: Right.
Sid Roth: There is. It's a challenge to get out. And the only way you can get out is to know the Messiah of Israel. Please pray for those hopeless people like the ones you saw as a detective in Jerusalem.
Richard Frieden: Yeah, you know Jesus. The Lord promises that He transfers us from the domain of darkness into the kingdom of His beloved Son in light. In other words, if you're entrapped, if you think that you're in a place of darkness, reach out your hand and just say, "I believe. I accept You, Lord Yeshua, and I receive You". He will transfer you from this pit of darkness, from this engagement, into freedom and into new life.
Sid Roth: The choice is not God's. He's already chosen you. It's your choice. The most wonderful thing in the world. Out loud. Jesus. I make You my Lord. Amen.
Richard Frieden: Amen.