co-heirs.
The Bible was written by Jewish people, about Jewish people, for Jewish people.
Anyone that knows me knows that I have a huge passion for Israel and the Jewish people. Here is why I do, and why you should too.
I might step on some toes with this one. If you’re reading this, you most likely have my phone number. So… just text me.
Let’s take a deep dive into scripture (because we are going to cover a lot).
In Genesis 1, we witness God both carry out His creation plan and begin His redemption plan. A plan to restore the Earth, mankind, and relationship with Him. We continuously witness the FAITHFULNESS of God towards a FAITHLESS man. First off…. THE PATIENCE!!! Time and time again, mankind fails. Yet, God still chooses us. Except this time, in Genesis 12, He chooses one family. And through this one family, the whole world will be redeemed.
Abraham.
Genesis 12:1
12 Then The LORD said to Abram,
“Get going out from your land,
and from your relatives,
and from your father’s house,
to the land that I will show you.
2 My heart’s desire is to make you into a great nation, to bless you,
to make your name great so that you may be a blessing.
3 My desire is to bless those who bless you,
but whoever curses you I will curse,
and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
God then put Abraham to sleep, walking between the carcasses of the dead animals by himself. Through this action, GOD WAS MAKING A COVENANT. A forever bond between two people.
This past summer I witnessed a pastor near and dear to my heart, David Blease, preach on this exact topic. In fact, I am rereading each note (and relistening to voice memos) I took during the sermon to write this post. And David said this about a covenant:
Covenants are different from contracts, because contracts are made because of distrust in another person. They limit responsibility and they are embedded with opt out clauses. A covenant is fully embracing. Complete responsibility is based upon trust, and is intended to be forever.
God made a covenant. A promise. As direct descendants of Abraham, the Jewish people were now under the covenant of circumcision.
This is the primary narrative throughout the rest of scripture. From Abraham to Issac and to Jacob. From Joseph to Moses and David to Solomon and later, JESUS!
In the world that we live in today, we do not like the fact that God CHOSE Israel. We do not like that He chose ONE family that would save that whole world. We like democracy and equality and fairness. But the God we serve is not Democratic. He is a King. And He has a Chosen people and Chosen Land. The Jewish people and the Holy Land of Israel.
Deuteronomy 7:6
“For you [Israel] are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.”
In Genesis 12, we can see that God’s intention is to bless each person on Earth; yet He intentionally chose to bless them THROUGH this family (Abraham). In this scripture, we see God refer to Israel as His treasured possession.
Within this treasured possession (and the Bible), there are two people groups. There are Jews and there are Gentiles. In other words, we have Israel and the Nations. If you are not a Jew, you are a Gentile. And God chose the Jewish people as His Chosen people.
The Jewish people are precious to God. They are continuously referred to throughout scripture as God’s “Firstborn” (Exodus 4:22). “The Apple of His Eye” (Zechariah 2). And “His special Treasure” (Deuteronomy 7:6.)
And for a lot of people, that is a hard thing to stomach. We have always understood the fact that Jesus died for the ENTIRE WORLD. Which is 1000000% true. Don’t get me wrong. I live my life purely based on that fact. However, the ministry of Jesus was not to the world. The ministry of Jesus on this Earth was for ONE group of people. In Matthew, Jesus says the following:
Matthew 15:24
But He (Jesus) responded, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
So… Jesus’ ministry is for the Jewish people? Why?
All along, the plan was to save the world through this family. Through Abraham’s family, all the nations of the Earth will be blessed.
Within the life and ministry of Jesus, it is such an interesting thing that Jesus CHOSE when His time had come. And, the reason WHY His time had finally come is arguably more interesting. Throughout scripture, we see Jesus continually say “My time has not yet come.”
John 2:4
And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come.”
John 7:6
So Jesus said to them, “My time is not yet here, but your time is always opportune.”
John 7:30
“So they were seeking to seize Him; and no man laid his hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come.”
In John 12, we get our answer.
John 12:20
“Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast.
21 Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”
22 Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus.
23 But Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.”
His time had come because Greeks (Gentiles!!! You and me!!!!) were wanting to enter into the family. Jesus knew that in order for the Gentiles to enter into this family, He would have to walk through the pieces alone- in other words, fulfill the covenant. God knew that man would not be able to hold up their end of the covenant, and through Abraham and his lineage, we received Jesus. The carpenter from Nazareth that would fulfill the covenant, allowing the whole world to be saved by His death. Thus, adopting Gentiles into the previously exclusive family of Jews.
However, after Jesus’ death and resurrection, many come to faith. Yet, most of His followers are Jewish, meaning that at this time, the Church is Jewish…
Acts 10 throws all of that out the window.
Back then, in order to follow the God of Israel, you had to become Jewish. However, in Acts 10, a man named Cornelius (who was a part of the Italian Regime) comes into the picture. Cornelius knew that the God of Israel was the true God. He feared God; yet, he was not Jewish. We see an angel come to Cornelius and tell him to go to Joppa to see Peter, meanwhile Peter receives a vision to eat unclean animals. God tells him “don’t call what I’ve made clean”. Through this, we see Peter interpret this vision as Gentiles are no longer to be regarded as unclean. As Cornelius arrives in Joppa, Peter allows Cornelius- a gentile- within his house and later shares the Gospel with him. Cornelius then begins to speak in tongues! He had received the Holy Spirit! Previously, Gentiles couldn’t do that… now they can. Peter is absolutely shocked, yet receives this revelation:
Acts 10:34
“I truly understand that God is not one to show favoritism, but in every nation the one who fears Him and does what is right is acceptable to Him.”
Absolutely revolutionary. God shows no partiality. God is no longer exclusive to the Jewish people. Gentiles can come into the family of God. Jews and Gentiles are equal in God’s eyes…. That isn’t something that seems extremely revolutionary; yet, that is simply something that was unheard of for thousands of years.
While Peter is witnessing Gentiles coming to faith in Jesus, Paul is witnessing the same thing. It was still something that most Jewish people are still skeptical of because for thousands of years, if you wanted to come into the covenant of Abraham, you HAD to become JEWISH. That included entering into a covenant faith with the laws of the Torah (ie. being circumcised, eating kosher, obeying the laws of the old testament). Because of this new drastic change that was taking place within the Gentiles, it led to much debate within the Jewish church regarding that new faith.
The Council of Jerusalem met to answer this question: Do Gentiles have to become Jewish and obey the entire law and be circumcised or… Can they stay Gentile?
At the council of Jerusalem, in Acts 15, the Church, which was entirely Jewish (being led by James), made the decision to allow you and I to remain Gentile and still be a part of the covenant of Abraham through Jesus. In this council, the Church (which was made up of Jewish people) made the decision that Gentiles are able to enter into a covenant faith in Jesus without having to become Jewish. Thus acknowledging and solidifying the fact that Gentiles are now adopted into the family. You and I are able to be in that family. Jesus brought the church together, through His fulfillment of the covenant, to save the WHOLE world. Everyone was now capable of joining the family.
Here is where we are at now: Gentiles were adopted into the Jewish family (through the fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant by Jesus) all the while remaining Gentiles. We are one family TOGETHER.
God did not create a new covenant. He renewed the covenant.
Being Jew and being Gentile is in some ways just like being male and being female. They are both very continuous distinctions that God both created and honors. When male and female enter into a new covenant- marriage- the two become one flesh according to scripture. Now, that is not to say that now the woman becomes a male or the male becomes a woman because they are now one. They stay within their respective distinction, yet they walk hand in hand in new unity. They serve one another and serve humbly. They challenge each other and grind gears. Men and women think, talk, walk, serve, and act differently. And when male and female do these things within a marriage covenant- in the words of David Blease- “it is freaking beautiful. They are stronger together.” On the same note, when Gentiles were grafted into this covenant with the Jews, they became- as scripture says- “not as one flesh, but one new man”. However, it is not this third race theology that Jews and Gentiles all of the sudden do not exist and there is just one graft. Those distinctions- those God given distinctions- are honored.
Some refer to Galations 3, where it states:
Galatians 3:28
“There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.”
Which, yes, true. But that also says that there is no longer male and female. Which is not true. It is not referring to the erasing of distinction between the two. It is referring to the renewed covenant that states that There is no partiality. God shows no partiality. The Jewish people do not have to abandon their Jewish identity to believe in Jesus. The Gentile people do not have to become Jewish to enter into a covenantal faith with God. For a thousand years, Scripture has been twisted to negate this distinction.
When Jew and Gentile enter into this covenant together and become one new man, they remain Jew and they remain Gentile. Just like man and female become one flesh. Jews and Gentiles think differently. They walk and practice faith and talk and live differently. They cause friction with one another, but they are supposed to serve one another in this covenant. And when they do, again in the words of David Blease, “it is freaking beautiful.”
So why should we love the Jewish people? Because they are our covenant partners.
This is why Paul- while writing his letters- gave specific distinctions of who he is talking to (as there are now two distinctions of people within the church, both equally and distinctly honored by God).
-Hebrews - Written to Jews
-Corinthians - written to Gentiles
-Romans - written to Jews and Gentiles (written for the cohabitation and worship by Jews and Gentiles together)
Romans 8:15
“You received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. And if children, also heirs—heirs of God and joint-heirs with Messiah—if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”
This scripture is not saying that we are heirs with the Messiah… we are not linking arms with JESUS. That is not what the verse is saying. We are joint heirs… meaning we are partners- Jews and Gentiles- WITH JESUS. We are covenant partners under Christ.
Later, Paul states the exact same thing.
Ephesians 3:2
“2 Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. 4 In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. 6 This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.”
That mystery is the fact that Israel is heirs TOGETHER with the Gentiles. We are sharers. We are covenant partners. Why should Christians love the Jewish people? To that I ask, Why should husbands love their wives?
Because they are in a covenant together.
As Christians, we have said to our Jewish brothers and sisters, “You read this Jewish book. You now believe in a Jewish messiah. But you can’t be Jewish… you have to be Christian…” Which has led to many Jews either rejecting the Church or laying down their God given Jewish identity to follow Yeshua.
However, that honored distinction remains. God did not give up on the Jewish people. He did not leave the Jewish people for us. In fact, we have a mandate from God to bring the Jewish people back home… to their inheritance… as our co-heir.
ROMANS 11:11
The next question is, "Are they down for the count? Are they out of this for good?" And the answer is a clear-cut no. Ironically when they walked out, they left the door open and the outsiders walked in. But the next thing you know, the Jews were starting to wonder if perhaps they had walked out on a good thing. Now, if their leaving triggered this worldwide coming of non-Jewish outsiders to God's kingdom, just imagine the effect of their coming back! What a homecoming!”
What a HOMECOMING!
Paul then goes on…
Romans 11:17
“But if some of the branches were broken off and you—being a wild olive—were grafted in among them and became a partaker of the root of the olive tree with its richness, do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, it is not you who support the root but the root supports you.”
We- Gentiles- have been “grafted in” to the family. We have been ADOPTED into the family! A family that was all about Israel has now adopted new members. We are the branches that extend from the root. And we must not boast- or negate- the roots that we have. We must not negate the original members of the family. We must not negate the God given mandate- through the covenant fulfilled with Jesus- to worship alongside our co-heirs. How sick of the enemy to make us go through centuries battling one another, rather than live out our faith in unity.
So- Why should Christians love the Jewish people? Because they are our covenant partners. Why should we pray for Israel and the peace of Jerusalem? Because we have been grafted into the covenant that gives us eternity with Jesus. Why should we love the Jewish people and love Israel? Because God does. God is IN LOVE with the Jewish people and His Holy nation. God is passionate about their salvation and their return home. God loves- oh so deeply- His children and the nation He has been faithful to for generations upon generations. If we are going to love God, we are called to be in love with the things He is in love with. He calls our hearts to break at the things that break His. We are called to love the Jewish people and to worship alongside them, not just as a friend and “hope they find Jesus’’, but with a deep infatuation as covenantal co-heirs of His Kingdom.
So… pray. Pray for Israel. Pray for the lost sheep of Israel to return home. And welcome them with open arms. Pray for your Jewish brothers and sisters to recognize their holiness given to them by the blood of Jesus while in the Holy Land. Pray for God to bring peace within Jerusalem and for violence to cease. Pray for the wisdom of their leaders. Pray for the kidnapped and broken. Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem.
