The Jewish Jesus by David Hoffbrand

Author:David Hoffbrand
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780768411058
Publisher: Destiny Image, Inc.
Published: 2017-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 11

UNDERSTANDING GOD’S PLAN FOR ISRAEL

The very title of this chapter would create a dispute in many, if not most, churches. “Surely,” they would say, “God no longer has plans for Israel, only the church?” We have already looked at this mindset called replacement theology.

A key verse in this respect is Galatians 6:15-16. This is translated very differently depending on the authors of the translation. For instance, in the New King James Version it reads:

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.

Yet in the New Living Translation it reads:

It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation. May God’s peace and mercy be upon all who live by this principle; they are the new people of God.

Notice just how different they are. In the first translation, the idea is that our right standing in Christ isn’t determined by circumcision or affected by a lack of it. In the second, the sense is that circumcision has become completely irrelevant, and this is backed up by the translation of verse 16, which seems to suggest that God has one new people who are not interested in Jewish things such as this.

In fact, this verse is a key one many Christians have used to say that the church is “the new Israel,” but it does not say that.

The first translation of this verse actually counters that argument and strengthens the idea of a distinct Jewish group of followers of Jesus. The “Israel of God” is identified as distinct from the Gentile believers to whom the letter was primarily addressed. In that case, Paul is actually using this phrase to specifically describe the Jewish believers.

The authors of the New Living Translation (a translation that is generally beautifully written) have taken a theological position that seems to contradict the very thing Paul is saying, and this has actually been the prevailing thought in the church.

When we look through that distorted lens, we see everything that is happening in the world in relation only to the church. Yet God in fact says He rules all the nations and specifically says much prophetically about the nation of Israel, just as He does about the future of the church. The two are inextricably linked.

This doesn’t mean, as some people have mistakenly said, that Jewish people do not need Jesus. He’s their Messiah. Of course they do! It means simply that God is still concerned with them as individuals but also as a people group.

GOD HASN’T FINISHED WITH ISRAEL

One of our specialties as Christians is to take a verse that seems attractive out of context and to apply it to ourselves. In this way, we create new traditions and truths that suit us, or we apply half-truths while ignoring the other half that we are less interested in. Often, this is because it makes us feel uncomfortable.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.