Why have we accepted ideas that are contrary to the Bible? It’s because God’s revelation has been filtered through a pagan mindset. I’m convinced that our walk with God is hindered in ways we cannot even imagine because our pagan Gentile mindset blinds us to much of God’s revelation.
If the pagan mind has such a difficult time understanding the truth of God, how can the world come to know Him? God’s solution to this problem was to raise up a priestly nation, specially trained to understand and communicate the truth of God. His plan was to choose a people and prepare them, like an athlete in training, putting them through difficult situations and placing on them stringent requirements to instill in them the ways of God. They would be equipped to serve as lights to the nations, to communicate the things of God to the rest of mankind.
That’s why God created the Jewish people. He took the offspring of Abraham and for 2000 years He shaped their culture and understanding to bring them into line with His truth. He gave them a revelation of His nature… that there is only one God, that He is a jealous God, that He will not share His glory with pagan idols. He revealed that He is a holy God, a loving God, and a righteous God.
He gave them a prophetic view of history. They learned where history started, where it’s headed, and what Messiah would come to do.
Through His Torah, He shaped the daily lives of the people. He taught them about holiness: holy days, holy people, and holy places. He taught them about righteousness and repentance. He divided their world into clean and unclean to teach them the defilement of sin and what it means to be set apart to God. He taught them about sacrifice and about blood covenant. Many ancient peoples knew something about blood covenant, but they didn’t know it like the Jews did!
God instilled in them a biblical cycle of life. The Sabbaths and the feasts formed a rich tapestry against which life was played out, teaching and reminding them each year of the central principles of life with God.
God gave them practical wisdom for success. He taught them how to prosper, to demonstrate to the world the blessing of being God’s people.
Through repeated chastening and correction, He hammered into their minds what is required of those who would walk with God.
Then after two thousand years of preparation, Messiah came. Because of the foundation God had built into the Jewish people, they knew who He was and what He would accomplish.
When John the Baptist introduced Jesus, he did not have to spend three hours describing who Jesus was and what He came to do. He just said, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” They knew what he meant! They knew what a sacrificial lamb was, and what Messiah would do. (Interestingly, most of the Jews who rejected Jesus were those who had turned from their own Jewish roots and became enamored with pagan Greek philosophy!)
Throughout their history God revealed that He had chosen the Jews to be a nation of priests, a people specially prepared to communicate His truth to the Gentile nations. When God first brought the Israelites out of Egypt, He told them, “You will be for me a kingdom of priests” (Ex. 19:6). As the Levitical priests ministered the things of God to Israel, so the nation of Israel would minister the truth of God to the Gentiles.
God promised the Jews that, “Nations (Gentiles) will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn” (Isa. 60:3), and “You will be called priests of the Lord, you will be named ministers of our God” (Isa. 61:6).
In Zechariah, God spoke of a future time when “ten men from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, ‘Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you’” (Zech 8:23).
God called the Jewish people to be a light to the Gentile nations. God placed them in the truths we need to know if we are to walk with God. That’s the rich sap from the olive root!
Many have assumed when Paul announced, “I’m going to the Gentiles!” that it was a rejection of his Judaism. Far from it! It was the fulfillment of his Judaism! He was saying, “I’m pressing on to fulfill the call of our people, to be a light to the Gentiles.”
Wherever he went, he ministered first to the Jews. Those were the ones prepared by God to receive his message. The first Gentiles saved were usually those already attending Synagogue, who had already gained some understanding of God. Wherever possible, Paul started each church with a core of Messianic Jews. They were to be the leadership of the early church. Their duty as members of God’s priestly nation was to communicate the ways of God to the Gentile converts. (end excerpt)
Jesus Himself said "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen. (Matthew 28:19-20)
16 Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, "And to seeds," as of many, but as of one, "And to your Seed," who is Christ … 28 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. 29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Gal. 3)Anyone who ignores the NT when formulating their conclusions about the true “Seed” of Abraham is bound to get it wrong. It’s not about genetics, my friend.
GREAT POINTS.
EXCELLENT TEXT.
THANKS.