The Bloods are a notorious street gang that originated in California in the 1960s. Now spread across America, it is considered one of the most violent, criminal gangs in America.
The New York Post recently shared a story on how a former member of the ruthless gang, Enrique Rodriguez, is now singing Gospel music to patients at Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Rodriguez accepted Christ and left the Bloods in 2012 after two unsuccessful attempts to kill his mother by rival gang members.
He now has a job as a phlebotomist at the hospital and post videos on TikTok where he is singing to the critically ill patients at the hospital.
Though he has received some pushback from the hospital management, Rodriguez told the NY Post:
“I have done a lot of bad things and mixed with a lot of bad people. I’m just grateful God looked out for me and my family.”
“Jesus put us on this Earth to help people, to love people and to preach the gospel.
“Jesus told me, ‘Use your voice to love others and bring joy and peace. So [as] long as there’s air in my lungs, I’ll do just that.”
READ: Ex-Bloods gang member goes viral singing gospel to hospital patients
This is not the first time we have heard of gang members coming to Christ. We even saw it happening in the gospels.
One of Christ’s disciples, Simon, is referred to as a zealot (Mark 3:18). Many suspect his designation suggests he was the member of a Jewish terrorist group, the Zealot Party, that was fighting for independence from Rome.
And when Jesus suggested that the disciples might need to purchase swords to protect themselves, the disciples quickly showed Christ that they already had two (Luke 22:38), leading some to speculate they may have belonged to Simon or perhaps Judas.
Because, within the Zealot Party there was a secretive organization called the Sicarri, that was made up of assassins who killed anyone who was collaborating with Rome, including Jews.
Judas Iscariot’s odd last name is very similar to the Greek word Sicarri, suggesting it was a play on words, indicating he was once connected to this group of assassins.
This would explain why Judas was so willing to betray Jesus, once Judas realized the Lord was not going to lead a revolt against Rome.
OpentheWord.org 