`Salvation is of the
Jews'
We read in John's gospel record how Jesus entered
into a discussion with a Samaritan woman about the true worship of God. He
said to her: `Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for
salvation is of the Jews.' (John 4.22) When Jesus spoke these words to the
woman at the well (See Picture) in Samaria, we know that he was not saying
these things out of nationalistic pride. Jesus was trying to direct the
woman's attention to the fact that God's salvation had been channelled
through the nation of Israel. Not only were the Jews God's chosen people,
but God's plan to offer salvation to the Gentiles required that the
Gentiles appreciate the Jewish character of the Gospel (the good news of
the kingdom of God). Jesus emphasised this aspect of God's truth and after
Jesus' ascension into heaven, the apostles also preached the same message.
The Apostle Paul, for instance, referred to the `hope of Israel' (Acts
28.20) for which he was bound in chains. It is this hope of Israel which
we shall see is the essence of the good news of the kingdom of God which
was preached by Jesus and the apostles in the first century.
THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO ABRAHAM
The Apostle Paul wrote to the Galatians that the
gospel was preached `unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be
blessed.' (Galatians 3.8) God told Abraham:
`...Get thee out of thy country, and from thy
kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make
thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that
bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all
families of the earth be blessed.' (Genesis 12.1-3)
Abraham was a faithful man who left behind an
idolatrous lifestyle in Ur of the Chaldees to obey the commandments of
God. He was commanded to leave his country and kindred and to journey to a
land which God promised He would afterwards give him for an inheritance.
God elaborated on these promises as we read in several references
throughout the book of Genesis. The promises included blessings for
himself, his descendants and all families of the earth (Genesis 15.5), a
promised land of defined parameters (Genesis 13.14-17; 15.18-21; 17.1-8),
and a special seed who would make all these promises a reality, for God
said to him:
`...in blessing I will bless thee, and in
multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as
the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the
gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth
be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.' (Genesis 22.17,18)
JESUS IS THE SEED OF ABRAHAM
Paul confirms that the `seed' of Abraham referred to
in Genesis, is one person. He wrote to the Galatians:
`Now to Abraham and his seed were the
promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one,
And to thy seed, which is Christ.' (Galatians 3.16)
The Lord Jesus Christ is therefore central to this
entire concept that `salvation is of the Jews.' It is he that will bring
the blessings upon Abraham and his descendants and upon all nations.
Jesus, the seed of Abraham, is also the son of David, king of Israel. This
is because Jesus was born of the virgin Mary, a descendant of David. God
also made some very important promises to king David. They are recorded in
the second book of Samuel chapter seven. The entire chapter is well worth
reading, of which the following is a summary:
The time would come when the nation of Israel would
dwell safely in their own land for ever and not be persecuted by their
enemies.
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God would make David an house. (descendants)
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David's seed (descendant) would be
established upon his throne for ever.
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This seed of David would have God as his
father.
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David's throne would be established for ever
before him (ie in his sight) and therefore David must be raised from
the dead.
THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN THE PAST
One thing to bear in mind is that the kingdom of God
had already existed upon the earth in Old Testament times. When God set
men like Saul, David and Solomon upon the throne of Israel, they were
actually ruling for God - it was the kingdom of God upon the earth. The
territory of the Kingdom (the Promised Land) had been determined by God;
the subjects of the Kingdom, the Jews, had been redeemed from Egypt by
God. The laws of the Kingdom were God's laws. The rulers of this Kingdom
were set up by God. David and Solomon recognized this fact. David himself
said:
`And of all my sons, (for the LORD hath
given me many sons,) he hath chosen Solomon my son to sit upon the
throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel.' (1 Chronicles 28.5)
God's intention was that
the nation of Israel should act as a light to draw all nations to God's
truth and the blessings associated with it. (Deuteronomy 4.5-9)
The nation of Israel failed miserably in this
respect and because of the great wickedness of its kings, priests and
people alike, God overturned the kingdom. The prophet Ezekiel addressed
these words to the last king, Zedekiah:
`And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel,
whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end, Thus saith the Lord
GOD; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the
same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. I will
overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come
whose right it is; and I will give it him.' (Ezekiel 21.25-27)
THE HEIR TO DAVID'S THRONE
This overturning of the throne of David we note, was
to last until `he come whose right it is'. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
one whose right it is to be king over the kingdom of Israel. We read in
Luke's gospel record how the angel Gabriel was sent to the virgin Mary. He
told her what manner of child would be born to her as a result of the
miraculous power of God working upon her. This child was to be called
Jesus, a name which means the salvation of God. The angel also told Mary:
`He shall be great, and shall be called the
Son of the Highest: (remember the promises made to king David). and the
Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he
shall reign over the house of Jacob (Israel) for ever; and of his
kingdom there shall be no end.' (Luke 1.32,33)
Now whilst Jesus was born to be king of the Jews and
was crucified with a sign over his head in three languages proclaiming
that he was indeed the king of the Jews, we know that he never did reign
on David's throne as king of Israel. After three days Jesus rose from the
dead and after a further forty days he ascended into heaven where he sits
on the right hand of God. He will not sit upon his own throne, (the throne
of his father David) until his second coming in power and glory. At that
time he will take the throne promised him and rule over the nation of
Israel, and eventually, over all the earth.
THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN THE FUTURE
The apostles of Jesus spent those forty days after
Jesus' resurrection from the dead, listening to him instructing them about
the kingdom of God. (Acts 1.3) Having a good understanding of what Jesus
meant when he spoke of the Kingdom, they asked him: `wilt thou at this
time restore again the kingdom to Israel?' (Acts 1.6) Jesus replied that
it was not for them to know the times and the seasons which God had put in
His own power. But notice that Jesus did not correct them in their
expectation that the Kingdom was to be restored to Israel. He did not
correct them because their expectations were exactly right. All the
prophets had spoken of that certainty of the restoration and the apostles
had learned from Jesus to expect it. They only lacked an appreciation of
the time which would elapse between Jesus' resurrection and the
establishment of the Kingdom.
The angels who were present at Jesus' ascension into
heaven told the apostles who were there that this same Jesus, who they saw
go into heaven, would so return as they saw him go. (Acts 1.11) Jesus
would return, as many other New Testament references affirm. That he would
return to restore the ancient kingdom to Israel, is demonstrated in the
words of the Apostle Peter to the Jews in Jerusalem:
`But those things, which God before had
shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he
hath so fulfilled. Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins
may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the
presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was
preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive UNTIL the times of
restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his
holy prophets since the world began.' (Acts 3.18-21)
The restitution of all
things concerns the `restoration' (Revised version translation) of the
kingdom of Israel, upon the actual territory promised to Abraham, and,
with the greater son of David (the Lord Jesus Christ) as its king. It is
this restoration which is spoken of so often in both Old and New
Testaments. God's dealings with mankind have almost exclusively been
with the nation of Israel - the Jews. The involvement of Gentiles up
until the New Testament time period was only incidental, though
significant. Everything concerning God's plan with the earth, His offer
of life to man and His requirements for those who desire eternal life
have come through the nation of Israel. Jesus himself said, during his
ministry, that he was not sent unto the Gentiles `but unto the lost
sheep of the house of Israel.' (Matthew 15.24)
Only later, when the gospel message had been
rejected by the Jews themselves, did the apostles turn to the Gentiles and
extend the good news of the Kingdom to them. Even then the apostles taught
the Gentiles that they stood related to the stock of Israel and that they
were being figuratively grafted into the good stock of Israel as wild
olive branches. (Romans 11.17-21) It is this grafting of the Gentiles into
the stock of Israel which lies at the heart of Jesus' words that
`salvation is of the Jews.' In that same chapter in Paul's letter to the
Romans he confirmed that God has not cast off his people Israel (Romans
11.2) but that the day would come when the Jews would be brought back into
covenant relationship with God. Also, Jew and Gentile alike would partake
of the blessings with Christ in the age to come. In the meantime the
Gentiles are being invited to share the hope which previously had been
almost exclusively offered to Jews. (Romans 11.23,24,26-32) Jesus' words
to the Samaritan woman at the well are as relevant today, almost 2000
years later, as they were then.
It is only when we understand the Jewish nature of
the gospel message preached by Jesus and the apostles, that we can
appreciate what the good news of the kingdom of God is all about. When we
understand that God's plan, to bless all families of the earth, has its
roots in the ancient history of the people of Israel, and still revolves
around them, then the basic message of the Bible becomes clear to us. The
promises made to Abraham, the father of the Jewish people, become
meaningful to us only when we understand these things. We do well to
consider the words of the Apostle Paul:
`...if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's
seed, and heirs according to the promise.' (Galatians 3.29)
A true understanding of Jesus'
words to the Samaritan woman is therefore essential if we are concerned
about our own salvation. |
