Are we full or joint heirs of the Jewish promises and prophecies? Do Jews, including today's Jews, have a special position based on the Bible? By Kai Mester

Many Christians and Adventists tend to see themselves as legitimate heirs to Judaism. The Jews had rejected the Messiah and should therefore no longer claim the promises of the Bible for themselves. The promises that God made to Israel would now apply to the Christian church and in particular to the Adventist Church as spiritual Israel today.

Due to this attitude, one speaks of the Jews rather pejoratively, smiles at - at best with pity - their way of keeping the law and above all the Sabbath. Oh, if only they would accept Jesus and become Christians!

In fact, we believe that through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the biblical promises gradually became and are becoming available to all peoples and tongues. But we should not forget that Jesus saw himself as the King of the Jews.

Do we love the King of the Jews?

Pilate asked Jesus directly, "Are you the king of the Jews?" Jesus said to him: You say so!« (Matthew 27,11:21,39) Jesus is a Jew and his apostles were also Jews until their death. Paul confessed, "I am a Jewish man from Tarsus." (Acts XNUMX:XNUMX) Do we love Jesus? Then our relationship with the Jews would have to be a particularly close one. Has it ever happened to you that you got a completely different relationship to a country, its people, its language after you became close friends with a person from this country?

Where is our humility?

The wise men from the East came and said, "Where is the king of the Jews who was born? For we have seen his star in the east and have come to worship him!« (Matthew 2,2:XNUMX Elberfelder) Let us have the same humility as these descendants of Abraham and confess that we are not direct descendants of Jacob, do not belong to the chosen generation and yet come to pay homage to the King of the Jews?

Where is our gratitude?

Wouldn't it be more "Christian" instead of feeling better than the Jews and looking down on them if we showed them special gratitude? Because Jesus himself once pointed out to a non-Jew and thus actually to us as well: »Salvation comes from the Jews.« (John 4,22:XNUMX) The Ten Commandments, the vivid sanctuary service, the history of salvation and Jesus, the Messiah and Redeemer, all that we owe not only to God, but also to the Jews who allowed themselves to be used by God to give us gifts. Surely the Jews turned away from God again and again and were disobedient. But a look at Christian history shows that we have not been better. But we have the chance to learn from Israel's mistakes. So we can be grateful to the Jews in many ways.

The right order!

“I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for the power of God is salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, then to the Greek.” (Romans 1,16:XNUMX) Who is the gospel for? For Jews and Gentiles. But first for the Jews. This sentence is usually understood chronologically. Of course: First Jesus came to the Jews and only later did the gospel also go to the Gentiles. But have we really gotten the full meaning of this Bible verse? no

The gospel is always and everywhere first for the Jews. Why? No other people has so many prerequisites for understanding the gospel. The whole Old Testament, the whole Jewish religion is centered on the Messiah. The law and the prophets, the sanctuary ministry, the men of faith—everything points to him, even God's dealings with Israel in history are contained in the gospel. No wonder it was first preached to the Jews. No wonder Jews could take the gospel to the Gentiles like no other people.

Let's not forget that in the beginning the early church consisted almost entirely of Jews! So the Jews as a whole had not rejected the Messiah at all, only a part.

Does this change our attitude towards Judaism? Does our love for this people grow?

More blessings, more curses, more blessings

“Trouble and anguish upon every human soul that does evil, first upon the Jew, then also upon the Greek; But glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and then to the Greek.” (Romans 2,9:10-XNUMX)

The law of blessing and cursing that Moses preached to the people of Israel in the desert applies to all people. But it hits the Jews first because the knowledge about it seems to them first. The rejection of the Messiah had dire consequences for the Jewish people, but no less for us. Because we all nailed Jesus to the cross with our sins. »For with God there is no respect of persons.« (Romans 2,11:XNUMX) Except that the Jews understand the principle of cause and effect like no other people and therefore experience it first. But not just a curse, but also a blessing.

Jewish history is full of suffering to this day. A glance at the Middle East is enough to confirm this. And yet Jewish history is also full of blessings. What small people on earth can look back on such a long history? Which people have preserved their identity so well? Which people have contributed so much to world heritage, scientific knowledge and progress? Judaism and Israel are unique and have always emerged stronger from all enemy attacks. Glory, honor and peace first to the Jews who do good.

Has God rejected his people?

“Now I ask: Has God rejected his people? Far be it! For I too am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God did not reject his people, whom he foresaw beforehand.« (Romans 11,1.2:XNUMX)

But doesn't the parable of the vinedressers say, "The kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who bring forth its fruit" (Matthew 21,43:XNUMX)?

Well, Paul himself explains this seeming contradiction: 'Did they stumble that they should fall? Far be it! But through their fall salvation came to the Gentiles, to provoke them to jealousy.” (Romans 11,11:XNUMX)

Ultimately, Israel has not lost its supremacy. The fact that the gospel has come to the Gentiles is supposed to help Israel to be saved again; for the gospel is for the Jews first. “Unless they continue in unbelief, [they] will be grafted in again; for God is able to graft them in again. For if you were cut out of the naturally wild olive tree and grafted against nature into the noble olive tree, how much sooner can these natural [branches] be grafted back into their own olive tree!” (Romans 11,23:24-XNUMX )

Is God Unfair?

Some might wonder if it isn't somehow unfair that the Jews have this primacy. Why does God deal with them differently than with the rest of the world when there is no respect for persons with him?

Paul declares: “As to the gospel they are enemies for your sakes, but as to election they are beloved for the fathers' sake. For God's gifts and calling cannot repent him.« (Romans 11,28.29:XNUMX) God loves her for the sake of the fathers. Because he loved Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, he bestows blessings on them abundantly. Yet her freedom to refuse this boon holds the potential of a terrible curse.

Or is it the elimination of national differences?

But doesn't Paul say himself: »There is no difference between Jews and Greeks: all have the same Lord, who is rich for everyone who calls on him.« (Romans 10,12:3,11) »There is no longer Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, non-Greek, Scythian, slave, free, but Christ all and in all” (Colossians 84:XNUMX Luther XNUMX)?

Shouldn't we not care about our descent and just stop talking about Jews and non-Jews? The gospel is for everyone, everyone can accept it and become a Christian or an Adventist?

With this logic, we should also join the modern, so-called gender mainstreaming, which propagates the absolute equality of both sexes. For Paul also said: »There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.« (Galatians 3,28:XNUMX) However, Paul by no means meant the absolute equality of the sexes, as can be seen from other statements made by him. Gender identity is as important to the Bible as the identity of the Jewish people in contrast to the Gentile peoples.

"But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, [we preach] Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God." (1 Corinthians 1,24:XNUMX)

Both are called, Jews and Gentiles. Both have their special role and task.

Become a Jew to the Jew

However, Paul shows us that we should not only provoke the Jews to jealousy by experiencing salvation in our own bodies and also radiating it. He taught us something else too:

"For though I am free from all, yet I have made myself a slave to all, in order to win the more [people]. To the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win the Jews.« (1 Corinthians 9,19:20-XNUMX)

When encountering Jews, are we ready to integrate Jewish elements into our lives ourselves? Or even consciously looking for Jews, going to the synagogue, celebrating their festivals in order to introduce Jews to their own Messiah?

tact for Jews

Paul gives us another piece of advice: "Do not offend the Jews, nor the Greeks, nor the church of God, just as I also live in every way to please everyone, seeking not my own benefit, but that of the many, that they may be saved." (1 Corinthians 10,32:33-XNUMX)

Are we willing to give up things that repel Jews? For example, many Christian traditions that are not based on any biblical commandment. Making and hanging up signs of the cross reminding Jews of Christian persecution and intolerance; the celebration of Christmas and Easter, which are based on the unbiblical solar calendar and are interspersed with many customs derived from paganism; pronouncing the name of God YHWH, although the exact pronunciation is no longer known; the use of the Greek-derived term "Christ" instead of the Hebrew-derived and thus more original term "Messiah." That may suffice as an example.

Does the New Testament paint the Jews in a bad light?

But it is noticeable that in the New Testament the word »Jew« is very often used in a negative way.

Well, this is especially the case in the Gospel of John, which arguably was written primarily to Gentiles. But what is meant in the New Testament is always the "unbelieving Jews" who rejected the gospel that was proclaimed to them by fellow Jews in the synagogue. This is shown, for example, by the following passage from the Acts of the Apostles: “Now it happened in Iconium that they went back into the synagogue of the Jews and preached in such a way that a large number of Jews and Greeks believed. But the Jews who remained unbelievers stirred up trouble and incited the souls of the Gentiles against their brothers.« (Acts 14,1:2-XNUMX)

The Old Testament about the future of the Jews

Hosea once prophesied: 'You shall remain for a long time without fornicating and without belonging to a man, and I will not enter into you either. For a long time will the Israelites remain without a king and without rulers, without sacrifices, without a stone, without an Ephod and without a household god.« (Hosea 3,3:4-84 Luther XNUMX) After the Babylonian exile the Jews were cured of idolatry, but they stayed without a king, did not recognize their king when he first came.

“After this the children of Israel shall return, and seek Jehovah their God, and David their king; and they will tremble and flee to the LORD and to his goodness at the end of the days.« (Hosea 3,5:XNUMX) Then there will be a great awakening among the Jews. If you take a closer look, something is already happening. Never before have so many Jews accepted Jesus as their Messiah. Some of them may be inspired by a false Pentecostal spirit. But the sincere among them will recognize this in due time.

Converting Jews and Christians to one another

Do we want to devote ourselves to the work of End times Elijah connect? “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet, before the great and terrible day of the LORD comes; And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that when I come I will not have to smite the land with destruction! (Malachi 3,23:24-XNUMX) It is our task as Adventists to bring the Messiah to the Jews (the fathers) and the Sabbath to the Christians (the children). Let’s learn from the Apostle Paul! Let's change our attitude towards the Jews! Let us no longer try to make them Christians when they already belong to the religion of their King and Messiah. They may be more likely to recognize their Messiah and accept and understand the Advent message if we restore to them the respect and love that God has intended for them to this day. As Jews, you have a right to claim the promises to which we also refer for yourself personally.

Addition in February 2016:

There is a view that many of today's Jews are not actually descendants of Abraham. Therefore, the Bible verses listed cannot be related to them at all. However, this does not take into account the fact that the Jews have never been a genetically pure ethnic group. Over the course of history, many strangers joined the people. Anyone could always become a Jew if they identified themselves enough with Judaism and converted. Even Jesus had ancestors in his family tree who were non-Jews, such as Rahab the Canaanite and Ruth the Moabite. Anyone who joined the Jewish people or belonged to it from birth, even if their ancestors were not descended from Jacob, was subject to all the promises and prophecies that God gave to Israel. Nothing has changed to this day. Even if the Khazars today provide a large part of the genes of Ashkenazi (German) Judaism, this may have been God's way of preserving Judaism in its important position in world politics to this day. However, the Ashkenazi Jews also demonstrably have other roots. However, about a third of today's Jews are Sephardic (Iberian) and Mizrahi (Oriental) Jews. In addition, there are Indian, Ethiopian and Chinese Jews, to name just a few, all of whom certainly have nothing to do with the Khazars. In Israel, these identities are increasingly merging.

First appeared in day of atonement, January 2012.
http://www.hoffnung-weltweit.de/UfF2012/Januar/juden.pdf