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What’s
Ahead for Israel? |
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A Pocket Paper Robert J.
Morgan As we prepare to celebrate Good Friday and Easter here in America, the nation of Israel is preparing to celebrate the Passover, perhaps the oldest holiday (literally, holy day) in human history. It has been observed for over 3500 years by the Jewish nation, and it commemorates that never-to-be-forgotten night when God struck down the firstborn of Egypt but spared the homes of the Israelites which were marked by the blood of the Passover Lamb. “When I see the blood,” said the Lord, “I will pass over you.” It was a prophetic emblem of the coming Messiah. Today thousands of Jews are preparing to return to Israel to celebrate the Passover. According to news reports, many of the pilgrims are coming from Germany and France, from Europe, but fewer Americans are traveling to Israel this year because of terrorism fears and high airline prices. I wish I were able to go. There’s no nation in the world that fascinates me like Israel. One of the most remarkable events in human history has been the restoration of the State of Israel, which occurred in 1948 after nearly 2000 years of non-existence as a nation. Today we see biblical prophecy being fulfilled before our eyes, and the attention of the whole world is on the Middle East. I remember visiting Israel for the first time in the mid-1970s, and as we walked across the Temple Mount, I thought to myself, “This is the Powder Keg of world events and the crucible of world history.” Well, today, as we prepare for Passover, Good Friday, and Easter, I want to deal with the question of the Jews. What is the role of the nation of Israel in God’s program for the ages and in God’s plans for the future? That is the subject of Romans 9, 10, and 11, and it brings us to the next segment of Scripture in our wintertime series of studies from Romans. The apostle Paul has devoted eight chapters to explaining the theology behind the biblical truth of justification by faith. This sermon series is a survey of Romans, not an in-depth study; but we’ve at least seen the grand themes of the book—beginning with the utter depravity of humanity. Left to ourselves, we are utterly incapable of establishing a relationship with God or going to heaven. We can not build a ladder to take us to heaven. It is impossible for us. But a righteousness from God apart from law has been revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last. This is not a new teaching. It’s the way God has always worked. It is Plan A, and there is no Plan B. Justification by grace through faith was what saved Abraham, for the Bible says that Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. That was the subject of Romans 5. Romans 5 gave us the benefits of justification. As we saw last week, Romans 6-8 tell us that as long as we’re in this world we’ll struggle with sin; but we can be more than conquerors through our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul ends chapter 8 by saying, “For I am persuaded that neither life nor death nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in our Lord Jesus Christ.” Now Paul has one other thing to explain to us along the lines of the theology of justification. He wants to elucidate how the nation of Israel and the people of the Jews fit into God’s overall plan for the ages. He devotes three chapters to this topic, but it seems to me that these chapters are relatively simple and quite helpful. In general we can say that Romans 9 deals with Israel’s past rejection of Christ. Romans 10 deals with their present need for Christ. And Romans 11 deals with their future glory with Christ. Let me show you how these ideas work their way out. Romans 9: We Should Mourn Israel’s
Past Rejection of Christ In Romans 9, Paul tells us we
should mourn Israel’s past rejection of the Messiah. The chapter begins: I
tell you the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me
witness in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and continual grief in
my heart. For I could wish that I
myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to
the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the
covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises; of
whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came who
is over all, the eternally blessed God.
Amen. In other words, God chose Abraham and his descendents to become the human channel through whom God would provide redemption to the world. He chose them, gave them His presence and His promises, and through them brought a Redeemer into the world. But in the process, the Jewish people turned from Him. The Bible says about Christ, “He came unto His own and His own received Him not.” And Paul is grief-stricken over that. Every day he mourns Israel’s rejection of their long-awaited Redeemer. What went wrong? Well, Paul went on to say that the problem wasn’t with God. It isn’t that God’s promises failed. In fact, it’s possible to see all this as a part of God’s brilliant plan for world history. Let’s continue reading with verse 6. But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of
Israel, nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but
“In Isaac your seed shall be called.” That is, those who are the children of
the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the
promises are counted as the seed.
For this is the world of promise:
“At this time I will come and Sarah shall have a
son.” And not only this,
but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even by our father Isaac (for
the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the
purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who
calls), it was said to her “The older shall serve the
younger.” As it is written,
Jacob I have loved (chosen), but Esau I have hated (rejected). What shall we say then?
Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! For He says to Moses, “I will
have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on
whomever I will have compassion.”
So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God
who shows mercy. Here’s what Paul is saying. God wanted to establish a family, a lineage, a channel through whom He would bring into the world a great Redeemer, the God-Man, Jesus Christ. In His sovereignty He chose one man—Abraham. That man had two sons: Isaac and Ishmael. Ishmael was rejected, and Isaac was chosen as the son through whom the seed would come. Isaac had two sons—Jacob and Esau. Esau was rejected, and Jacob was chosen as the son through whom the seed would come. God, in His sovereignty, established a family tree for the Messiah. The next several verses say, in effect, “Was God unfair in doing this? No. He is God, and He can do whatever He wants.” So He chose a certain nation and a certain family, and through them came the Messiah. But when the Messiah came, He was rejected by the very family God had appointed as His lineage. He was rejected by the very nation chosen by God as His kinsman. Look at verse 30: What shall we say then?
That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to
righteousness, even the righteousness of faith; but Israel, pursuing the law
of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. Why? Because they did not seek it by faith,
but as it were, by the works of the law.
For they stumbled at that stumbling stone. As it is written: “Behold, I lay in Zion a
stumbling stone and rock of offense, and whoever believes on Him will not be
put to shame. This is one of the saddest realities in the annals of humanity. God chose a man, raised up a nation, and through this man and this nation, He brought forth His only begotten Son, the Messiah. But He came unto His own and His own received Him not. He was rejected and despised, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and we hid as it were our eyes from him. Oh, the sorrow! Oh, the tragic irony! We should be deeply burdened for God’s people, the Jews—Israel. Romans 10: We Should Evangelize Because of
Israel’s Current Need for Christ Moving on to chapter 10, we see
the natural outcome of such a burden.
We’re to evangelize the Jews because of Israel’s current
need for Christ. Look at the way
he begins: Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is
that they may be saved. For I
bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to
knowledge. For they being
ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own
righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for
righteousness to everyone who believes. What does Israel need to
do? Well, what do any of us need
to do if we’re going to establish a relationship with God? What is the greatest need for any
person in the world today? Look
at verse 9ff: If you confess with your mouth the Lord
Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will
be saved. For with the heart one
believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto
salvation. For the Scripture
says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between
Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon
Him. For “whoever calls on
the name of the Lord shall be saved.” We need to evangelize the
Jewish people. Look at verse
14: How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of
whom they have not heard? And how
shall they hear without a preacher? While this is true for all the nations of the world, the specific context is that of Jewish evangelism. Paul says that is why I am stopping at every synagogue I come to and sharing the Messiah with them. Now, this is a controversial subject today. We live in such a post-modern, pluralistic society that it is considered impolite to try to evangelize anyone. By seeking to evangelize another person, we are implying that our faith is superior to someone else’s faith. We’re implying that we have a corner on the truth. We’re implying that our religion is better. The world screams about that. They ask: How can you be so arrogant and intolerant? Don’t you know it isn’t politically correct? Don’t you know that it’s offensive? Don’t you know it is arrogant and unacceptable? Recently Jewish leaders in consultation with the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops forged a document on this subject. It contained this sentence: “Targeting Jews for conversion to Christianity is no longer theologically acceptable in the Catholic Church.” A group of leading mainline church leaders known as the Scholars’ Group, made up primarily of leaders from Lutheran, Methodist, and Episcopalian denominations, put out a similar document called “A Sacred Obligation Rethinking Christian Faith in Relation to Judaism and the Jewish People.” It said in part: “In view of our conviction that Jews are in an eternal covenant with God, we renounce missionary efforts directed at converted Jews.” That is more-or-less what they said to Simon Peter after the resurrection and ascension of our Lord, as he stood before the Jewish ruling counsel. His reply rings out through history, and it’s all the answer I need: We should obey God rather than man. Whether it is right or not, you be the judge; but we cannot help but speak of the things we have seen and heard. There is no other name given under heaven among men whereby we must be saved!” One of the interesting developments of the last several years have been the number of Jews coming to Christ and converting as Messianic Jews. Messianic Jewish congregations are flourishing around the world. Just this week I read about astronomer David Block, who was professor of Applied Mathematics and Astronomy at a major university in Johannesburg, South Africa. Growing up in an Orthodox Jewish home in South Africa, he was an active practicing Jew. When he enrolled in the university, he became friendly with a professor named Dr. Lewis Hurst, and the professor agreed to give the young student private lessons in astronomy. Week after week, they discussed the cosmos, and David Block began asking his mentor certain philosophical questions: Why are we here? What’s the meaning of such insignificant life on such a tiny planet in such an immense universe? One day Dr. Lewis said, “David, there is an answer to all your questions.” He went on to say, “I know that you come from an Orthodox Jewish family, but would you be willing to meet with a dear friend of mine (who was a Christian minister)?” David Block consented, and in his meeting, the Christian minister turned to Romans 9 and read from our text where Paul says that Y’shua (Jesus) is a stumbling block to the Jewish people but that those who believe in Him will never be put to shame. As the young astronomy student continued to study it all began to make sense. He began to realize how remarkably Y’shua-Jesus had fulfilled the messianic prophecies in the Hebrew Scriptures, and day David Block gave his life to Christ and found His Messiah. He went on to become one of South Africa’s leading scientists and astronomers. There is a steady stream of Jewish conversions to Christ, and I think we’ll see more and more as the age draws to a close. Perhaps you have the same need. It doesn’t matter what your race or background or ethnicity—everyone in the world needs the forgiveness and eternal life that Y’shua-Jesus offers, and if you will confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 11: We Should Anticipate Israel’s
Future Glory in Christ So we should mourn
Israel’s past rejection of Christ, and we should evangelize because of
Israel’s current need for Christ.
But now I want to briefly touch on Romans 11 which tells us we should
anticipate Israel’s future glory in Christ. Look at verse 1: I
say then, has God cast away His people?
Certainly not! For I also
am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not cast away His people whom
He foreknew. He goes on to
give us two truths about this.
First, there is a remnant of Jewish believers in our own day, that
steady stream of converts who are the firstfruits of the great coming harvest
of evangelism that will occur among the Jewish people. Verse 5 says: Even
so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of
grace. The second truth is seen later
in the passage. Let’s skip down
to verse 25: For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this
mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part
has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it
is written: “The Deliverer
will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; for this
is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins.” In other words, there is coming a day in which God will bring the nation of Israel en mass to Himself. When will that be? It is pictured for us vividly and prophetically in one place in the Bible, in the book of Zechariah, chapters 12 through 14. At the climax of the Great Tribulation period, when the armies of the antichrist are surrounding Jerusalem and the Battle of Armageddon is about to be joined, and the Jewish nation is facing ultimate annihilation, look at what will happen: And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of
Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me
whom they pierced. Do you realize this was written about 520 B.C.? Five centuries before Messiah came? It is all predicted here in advance. And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem
the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they
pierced. Yes, they will mourn for
them as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a
firstborn… In that day a
fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness.
“It shall be in that day,” says the Lord of hosts,
“that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they
shall no longer be remembered… And look at chapter 14:3: Then
the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as He fights on the
day of battle. And in that day
His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the
east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west… Do you realize that Jesus ascended back to heaven from the Mount of Olives while the disciples watched with astounded, upturned faces? And do you realize that two angels appeared to those disciples telling them that this same Jesus would so return in like manner. In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces
Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from
east to west… It shall come to pass in that day that there will be no light; the
lights will diminish. It shall be
one day which is known to the Lord—neither day nor night. But at evening time it shall happen
that it will be light. And in
that day it shall be that living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, half of
them toward the eastern sea and half of them toward the western sea; in both
summer and winter it shall occur.
And the Lord shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall
be—“The Lord is one,” and His name one. Jesus Messiah shall usher in His millennial reign and for a thousand years all the great promises made to Israel will be fulfilled on this earth. And so, Paul says, all Israel shall be saved. So God wants us to grieve over Israel’s past rejection of the Messiah. That’s the point of Romans 9. He wants us to evangelize Israel and the world during this present season of opportunity. That’s the subject of Romans 10. And He wants us to anticipate the future as he gives it to us in chapter 10. Do you have a burden, not only for the lost of Israel but a world-burden and a world-vision for the lost and dying everywhere? Are you doing what you can to reach others? And is your face turned upward in glorious anticipation of the future? If so, there’s something about all that which leads to praise. Notice how the passage ends. Paul closes this section and the entire first portion of his book of Romans with a great doxological burst of praise and worship: Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor? Or who has first given to Him and it shall be repaid to him? For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen! Copyright StatementWe grant permission for any edition of The Pocket Paper to be photocopied for use in a local congregation or classroom, provided no more than 1,000 copies are made, the material is distributed free, and the copies include the notice: "Copyright (year) The Donelson Fellowship."For any other use, advance permission must be obtained from The Donelson Fellowship church office. |
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