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Rabbi
Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, and one of
the greatest men of God who ever lived, systematically
outlines the major doctrines of the Christian
Faith in his letter to the Messianic Community
at Rome. This inspired prophet devotes 3 of the
16 chapters, chapters 9-11, to the continuing
place that the Jewish people have in the plans
of God. Obviously, this was a very important
subject that the Apostle to the Gentiles wanted
those in the capital of the Roman Empire to understand.
If the Church is to fulfill her calling, the New
Covenant Community must honor the Lord’s will
regarding the Jewish people. It is really,
really important for the Church to understand
Israel's ongoing role in God's plans.
The
Sage from Tarsus begins Romans 11 with a very
important question: "Has God rejected
His people?" For most of the past 1900
years Christian theologians have answered it with
a Replacement Theological “yes”. Yes, God has
rejected the Jews. Yes, the Church is the new
people of God, the New Israel that has replaced
the old people of God, the old Israel. Yes, Israel
is now no different from any other nation. Israel
has no special calling or future. But, that
is not how the Lord’s divinely inspired representative
answers the question. He answers his own question
with a very strong negative, may it never be!
Impossible! Unthinkable! God has most definitely
not rejected His Jewish people!
If
this was Paul's only response, it would be sufficient
and should settle once and for all whether God
has rejected the Jewish people and put an end
to Replacement Theology. However, throughout
the rest of Chapter 11, the Rabbi will give additional
reasons why God is not finished with the Jewish
people.
The
fact that Paul uses the phrase, "His
people" tells us that an ongoing
and special relationship continues to exist between
God and the nation of Israel. Paul doesn't say
that the Jewish people are "His ex-people,"
but rather "His people".
The nation of Israel still has an ongoing relationship
with God that causes us to be "His people".
Paul
himself is a great example that God has not rejected
His people. He points out that he was still part
of the people of Israel. I too am an Israeli,
a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
Being Jewish and believing in Yeshua are in no
way incompatible or mutually exclusive. Paul's
Jewish identity didn't change when he met the
King of the Jews. Once an unbeliever and a great
persecutor of the early Messianic Jewish community,
after Paul’s Damascus Road experience, he became
the greatest propagator of the Faith! If God
had rejected His people, a Jew like Paul, who
at first opposed Yeshua, would never have become
His Apostle to the Gentiles!
If
these reasons were not enough to prove that Replacement
Theology is so terribly wrong, the inspired prophet
gives us another reason based on the foreknowledge
of the eternal, all-knowing God: God has not
rejected His people whom He foreknew. The
One who knows the end of all things from the beginning
knew that the majority of His Chosen People wouldn't
receive the Messiah when He first came. The very
first prophecy was that Messiah, the Seed of the
Woman, would be bruised in His battle with the
forces of darkness. Seven hundred years before
Yeshua came, the Lord forewarned Israel that Messiah
would be "despised and rejected". God
foreknew all of this, yet He loved and chose Israel
anyway and did not reject His people!
If
these reasons were not enough to prove that God
has an ongoing relationship with the special nation
of Israel, Paul gives us yet another reason based
on the principle of the “Remnant”. The “remnant”
are "those who remain". Throughout Israel's
long history there has hardly been a time when
the majority of the Chosen People were in a right
relationship with the Lord. The majority of Israel
usually went astray, and only a faithful minority
served Him. In spite of this, the Lord never rejected
His people. Paul gives us precedents for God's
continuing faithfulness to Israel in spite of
our lack of faith, starting with the days of Elijah.
Or do you not know what the Scripture says
in the passage about Elijah, how he pleads with
God against Israel? “Lord, they have killed Your
prophets, they have torn down Your altars, and
I alone am left, and they are seeking my life”.
But what is the divine response to him? “I have
kept for Myself seven thousand men who have not
bowed the knee to Baal”. Elijah lamented he
was the only Jew left still serving God. The Lord
corrected him and informed him that there was
a faithful remnant of seven thousand who had not
worshiped Baal. God did not reject His people
in the days of Elijah.
Paul
cites three additional instances that demonstrate
the "Remnant Principle". Verse 8 refers
to passages written by both Moses in Deuteronomy
29:4 and Isaiah in Isaiah 29:10. Verses 9 and
10 refer to a passage in Psalm 69:22-23 written
by King David. Just as it is written, “God
gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes to see not
and ears to hear not, down to this very day”.
And David says, “let their table become a snare
and a trap, and a stumbling block and a retribution
to them. Let their eyes be darkened to see not,
and bend their backs forever”.
Paul's
quotation from Deuteronomy records Moses' lament
over Israel's spiritual blindness and deafness
in spite of the great signs and wonders we witnessed.
In spite of the repeated failures of the majority
of Moses’ generation, God did not reject His people
during the days of Moses. When the Three-In-One
God first called Isaiah into His service, He warned
him that Israel was spiritually asleep and would
not listen to him. But God did not reject His
people in the time of Isaiah. Paul’s quote from
Psalm 69 is part of a prayer in which David asked
the Lord to punish his enemies. The enemies David
refers to were from among his own people. God
did not reject His people because the majority
of Israel rebelled against David, God’s anointed
king.
The
"Remnant Principle" that was operative
in the days of Moses, David, Elijah and Isaiah
was still in effect in Paul's day.
In the same way then, there has also come to
be at the present time a remnant according to
God's gracious choice. The faithful remnant
of Israel in the time of Paul consisted of men
like the apostles and the three thousand Jewish
people from all over the world who believed in
Yeshua on the day of Shavuot. They quickly grew
to five thousand, and then to tens of thousands.
Just as God did not reject His people when
the majority went astray in the days of Elijah,
Moses, Isaiah and David, so the Lord has not rejected
His People even though the majority once again
went astray in the days of Messiah and of Paul.
Israel's
rejection of Messiah did not result in a permanent
fall from grace. I say then, they did not stumble
so as to fall, did they? May it never be! Israel's
stumbling is temporary and is one from which we
will most definitely rise and recover!
And
there is more! If all of these reasons were not
enough to prove that God has an ongoing relationship
with the special nation of Israel and that Replacement
Theology must be rejected, Paul gives us yet another
reason. It was the plan of God to use Israel’s
rejection of the Son of God to bring salvation
to the world. But by their transgression salvation
has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous.
God has used Israel's rejection of the Messiah
to usher in salvation for the Gentiles. As a result
of the Jewish majority's rejection of Messiah,
the doors of God's Kingdom are forever opened
to those outside of Israel. Multitudes from non-Jewish
nations have been forgiven, reconciled to God,
endowed with His Spirit and given eternal life
because of Israel's stumble over Messiah. Would
God reject His people because of something that
brought about such a wonderful result? Surely
not!
Because
of the way that God has used Israel to bring salvation
to the nations, the Gentiles owe a tremendous
debt to Israel in return. Salvation has come
to the Gentiles to make Israel jealous. Instead
of reacting with contempt toward fallen Israel,
Gentiles Christians have a special obligation
to love us and help us come into a relationship
with our Messiah, Yeshua.
And
there is more! If these reasons were not enough
to prove that God has an ongoing relationship
with the special nation of Israel and that Replacement
Theology must be rejected, Paul gives us yet another
reason based on God’s plan to bring the Jewish
people to fulfillment. Now if their transgression
be riches for the world and their failure be riches
for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment
be! For if their rejection be the reconciliation
of the world, what will their acceptance be but
life from the dead? Paul describes a time
of fulfillment and acceptance that
awaits Israel to replace transgression
and failure. There will come a time when
the entire nation of Israel, not just the faithful
remnant, will accept Messiah and reach
fulfillment.
God
used Israel's failure to receive Yeshua as Messiah
to reconcile the entire world to Himself and bring
untold spiritual riches to the Gentiles. If Israel's
opposition to God's plan resulted in reconciliation
and untold spiritual riches for the Gentiles,
Israel's acceptance of Yeshua will result in even
greater good for the whole world! The Church needs
to know this and work with God and cooperate with
the Holy Spirit toward that blessed end! The
Apostle to the Gentiles explains that the Gentiles’
future and final well-being depends on Israel's
relationship to Yeshua. For their own well-being
(if for no other reason), Gentile Christians should
strive to help the Jewish people find Messiah.
Consequently, the Gentiles' highest evangelistic
priority should be to make Israel jealous. Jewish
evangelism is very, very important!
And
there is more! If all of these reasons were not
enough to prove that God has an ongoing relationship
with the special nation of Israel and that Replacement
Theology must be rejected, Paul gives us yet another
reason based on the principle that what God starts
well, He likes to see end well, and Israel had
a very good beginning! And if the first piece
of dough is holy, the lump is also; and if the
root is holy, the branches are too. In the
Torah, Israel was instructed to set apart the
first piece of dough and give it to God. If the
first piece of bread was holy and acceptable to
God, He would provide and bless the rest of our
bread as well. When dough with good yeast is added
to a larger lump of unleavened dough, the whole
batch will eventually turn into good, usable dough.
A tree with a strong, healthy root will produce
good branches and fruit.
Paul's
analogies about dough and bread and roots and
branches refers to the nation of Israel. Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob are like the root and the first
piece of dough. The Lord gave His Chosen People
a good beginning by making gracious and wonderful
promises to the Fathers and making an eternal
covenant with the Patriarchs. Because of this
holy beginning, God has a special love for the
descendants of the Fathers and will never set
Israel aside. Gentile Christians need to know
that and be loving and humble toward the Jewish
people. But if some of the branches were broken
off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted
in among them and became partaker with them of
the rich root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant
toward the branches; but if you are arrogant,
remember that it is not you who supports the root,
but the root supports you. You will say then,
“Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted
in”. Quite right, they were broken off for their
unbelief, but you stand by your faith.
God's
covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, guaranteeing
that through them all the nations of the world
were to be blessed, made them the good root that
sprouted and became a tree of blessing and salvation
that grew branches - the Jewish people. Throughout
our history some of the branches were good and
had a relationship with God like the root. Some
of the branches were unfaithful and were broken
off, but the Jewish Olive Tree of Salvation and
Blessing was never cut down or rejected. Paul
instructs Gentile Christians to have a humble
attitude regarding the place of Israel in the
plan of God, pointing out that the Jewish root
supports the Gentiles branches, not the other
way around. Gentile Christians are to know that
they are like wild olive branches grafted into
a well-established Jewish tree. They are not to
replace all of the original branches. This
is “Grafted-In” Theology, not Replacement Theology.
The
Apostle to the Gentiles warns Gentile Christians
to avoid arrogance toward the Jewish people and
to fear God. Neither Jew nor Gentile hold a more
special place than the other in the heart of God.
Both must relate to Him on the basis of humble
faith. God can cut off Gentile branches who stray
away from a humble faith in the King of the Jews,
just as easily as He cut off unfaithful Jewish
branches from the Olive Tree of Salvation and
Blessing. Do not be conceited, but fear; for
if God did not spare the natural branches, neither
will He spare you. Behold then the kindness
and severity of God; to those who fell, severity,
but to you, God's kindness, if you continue in
His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off.
And
there is more! If all of these reasons were not
enough to prove that God has an ongoing relationship
with the special nation of Israel and that Replacement
Theology must be rejected, Paul gives us yet another
reason. The natural Jewish branches are very easy
to graft back into our own Jewish Olive Tree of
Salvation and Blessing. And they also, if they
do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted
in; for God is able to graft them in again. For
if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild
olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature
into a cultivated olive tree, how much more shall
these who are the natural branches be grafted
into their own olive tree?
This
is describing more than mere potential. It will
happen (and is happening!). The Jewish branches
will in fact be grafted back in! For I do not
want you, brothers, to be uninformed of this mystery,
lest you be wise in your own estimation, that
a partial hardening has happened to Israel until
the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and
thus all Israel will be saved; just as it is written,
“The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove
ungodliness from Jacob. And this is My covenant
with them, when I take away their sins”.
Paul
was a prophet who understood things that others
did not. Here he reveals the mystery of God's
plans for Israel. Only when Messiah arrived did
it became clear that a remnant of the Jewish people
would acknowledge the Son of God as Lord and that
the majority would reject Him. Then, only after
the resurrection did it become apparent that Gentiles
from all nations would be grafted into the commonwealth
of Israel and that most of the Jewish people wouldn't
accept Messiah until His second coming.
This
partial hardening of the Jewish people
will not last forever. Once the full number of
Gentiles from all the nations have been grafted
into the Jewish Olive Tree of Salvation and Blessing,
God's Spirit will be poured out on Israel so that
the entire nation will turn to faith in Yeshua
as the Messiah! Paul reinforces this by quoting
Isaiah's prophecy (Isaiah 59:20-21) that the Deliverer
will come from Zion and remove the sins of Jacob
(the Jewish people). All Israel will be saved
(the Jewish generation that is alive at the Second
Coming) by turning to the Savior and Deliverer,
Yeshua the Messiah!
Israel's
future salvation is a certainty because the God
who cannot lie or break a promise has guaranteed
it to Israel by covenant. This is My covenant
with them, when I take away their sins. Therefore
God cannot be finished with the nation of Israel,
and has not rejected us.
And
there is more! If all of these reasons were not
enough to prove that God has an ongoing relationship
with the special nation of Israel and that Replacement
Theology must be rejected, Paul gives us yet another
reason. For the gifts and calling of God are
irrevocable. Although it is human nature to
want to take back a gift if one has been offended,
it is not God's nature to do so. The Supreme Being
acts on His sovereign initiatives, not in response
to our treatment of Him. God does not take back
the gifts of mercy and grace and atonement and
salvation that He has given to His people, even
when they sin against Him.
Jews
and Gentiles need to understand that it is the
plan of the merciful and gracious God to use the
Jewish people to bring salvation the Gentiles,
and the Gentiles to bring salvation to the Jews.
For just as you once were disobedient to God,
but now have been shown mercy because of their
disobedience, so these also now have been disobedient,
in order that because of the mercy shown to you
they also may now be shown mercy. For God has
shut up all in disobedience that He might show
mercy to all. Gentile Christians must not
be arrogant toward the Jewish people. They
must not ignore us. They must not try to replace
us. They must not teach Replacement Theology.
They are to relate to us with wisdom and understanding,
and with love and grace and mercy, and bring us
the message of salvation. And the Jewish people
are to relate to the Gentiles with love and grace
and mercy, and bring them the message about the
King of the Jews, who loves the whole world.
In
conclusion, the Church must embrace the plain
teaching of the Word of God about the Creator's
ongoing plans and purposes for Israel!
The
Golden Rule of Interpretation (if the literal
sense makes sense seek no other sense) proves
that God has not rejected His people. The literal
sense of Israel as the Jewish people makes sense
and therefore the non-literal sense (making Israel
into the Church) must not be applied. Israel means
the Jewish people or the nation of Israel - not
the Church.
God
has not rejected His people because the great
apostle, inspired by the Holy Spirit, clearly
stated that He did not.
God
has not rejected His people because the Jewish
people are still His people!
God
has not rejected His people because He still uses
Jewish people of faith like Rabbi Paul who are
representatives of the nation of Israel.
God
has not rejected His people because He foreknew
the majority's rejection of Messiah, and He chose
us anyway!
God
has not rejected His people because of the principle
of the Remnant. God has never rejected the entire
nation of Israel just because the majority went
astray.
God
has not rejected His people because He saves individuals
and nations by His grace, and not by their works,
and He has chosen to graciously save a remnant
of Israel.
God
has not rejected His people because it was the
Lord’s plan to use Israel's rejection of the Son
of God to bring salvation to the world!
God
has not rejected His people because Israel's stumble
is a temporary fall from which we will most definitely
rise and recover!
God
has not rejected His people because a time of
fulfillment and acceptance awaits Israel that
will replace transgression and failure!
God
has not rejected His people because what God starts
well, He likes to see end well, and Israel had
a very good beginning and will have an even more
glorious and blessed finale!
God
has not rejected His people because the Jewish
natural branches are very easy to graft back into
our own Jewish Olive Tree of Salvation and Blessing,
and we will in fact be grafted in again!
God
has not rejected His people because the Lord has
a covenant with us that can’t be broken - to take
away all of our sins and save us as a nation!
God
has not rejected His people because He does not
take back the gifts that He has given to His people,
even when they sin against Him, including the
gifts of mercy and grace and atonement and salvation.
God
has not rejected His people because it was His
plan to use the rejection of the Messiah by the
Jewish majority to reach the Gentiles, and for
the Gentiles to then reach the unbelieving Jewish
majority.
The
Word of God has made it clear that God has not
rejected His people, so neither should the Church!
Replacement Theology is wrong and destructive
and must be utterly rejected!
May
more and more Christians understand the plain
teaching of the Word of God on this very important
subject, and may they understand and fulfill the
will of God about His ongoing plans and purposes
for His Jewish people, so that the Church will
be more and more obedient, faithful and blessed.
Amen!
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