What We Owe The Jew

Over the last two months, as war has raged in Israel, we have had growing opportunities to speak in churches, share our stories, and educate our friends. Though our hearts break over the atrocities and horrific acts of evil against Israel and Jewish people around the world, God is opening doors to answer deep questions about the people that we love. Who are the Jews? Who is Israel? Why are they fighting? Those general questions lead to deeper discussions about the complexities and the biblical context of the war. 

The war that began on October 7th has changed Israel and has affected the Jewish people deeply…forever. The evil of antisemitism has been unleashed unlike anything experienced by the Jewish people since the Holocaust. Though Israel has been at the epicenter of world conflict for thousands of years, the Lord God has preserved her and used her to bless the world. Following are just a few of those blessings:

The Bible

The Bible in its entirety was written by the nation of Israel and the Jewish people. The Jewish scriptures are called the Tanakh. The word Tanakh is an acronym for the three parts of the Old Testament: the Torah (Law), the Nevi’im (Prophets), and the Ketuvim (Writings). These were the Scriptures known by the Jewish community of old, the Jewish people of Jesus’ day, and Jewish people today. They meticulously wrote, kept, and preserved the Scriptures. 

The New Testament was written with only the context of the Old Testament in sight. In other words…the writers of the New Testament didn’t have a New Testament! The Gospels and Paul’s letters - all of the books of the New Testament - were written by Jewish authors. (There is some academic debate as to whether or not Luke was Jewish). We are indebted to the Jewish people because our Scriptures, in their entirety, except for possibly Luke/Acts, were written and preserved by them.

Paul says it this way in Romans 3:1: “What advantage, then, is there of being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? Much in every way! First of all, the Jews have been entrusted with the very words of God.”

The Church

The church began as a Jewish movement, in a Jewish land, raised up by a Jewish Messiah named Yeshua (Jesus). When Jesus gathered together his disciples, he was not only calling young Jewish men, but he was establishing the foundation of the church. After teaching them for approximately 3 years, and after his crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection, Jesus instructed them to wait for Shavuot (Pentecost) for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. On Shavuot, the Spirit descended onto the early Jewish Christians at that great festival. They were given the power to take the message of Jesus to the rest of the world. He instructed them beforehand to begin their mission in Jerusalem, then Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the world. 

The church began entirely with Jewish people. Then the Apostle Paul went on to become the greatest church planter to ever live. He was, of course, Jewish. His life and work is a testimony of the great power of church planting to reach the gentile world for the sake of the gospel and the Kingdom. 

As an “Apostle to the Gentiles” Paul always went to the synagogue first. He also pleaded with his Jewish people to know Jesus and implored the church to remember the Jewish people first in their efforts to take the message of Jesus to the world. The Jewish people began the church. Now the church is exhorted to take him back to them (Rom 11:11).

Baptism

Baptism was not invented by the Baptists! It comes from an ancient form of Jewish ritual immersion called Mikveh. By most historical accounts this practice dates back thousands of years into the Old Testament and is connected with biblical injunctions for the Levitical priests to “wash with water.” This washing and ritual immersion became connected to life events as well as rites of passage. Those events could be spiritual preparation for the Sabbath and festivals, immersion before going up to the Temple in ancient times, and cleansing from illness. It is still practiced in modern synagogues today by the religious Jewish community.

Ritual immersion was certainly practiced in New Testament times by the Jewish community. Jesus was immersed by John the Baptizer at the inauguration of his earthly ministry. All of the early Jewish believers in Jesus as well as the general Jewish population understood ritual immersion as a normal part of their weekly lives. Though born from Jewish tradition and culture, it was later adopted by the church as a symbol of transition from our old self to our new self after placing our faith in Jesus. Through the sacrament of baptism we recognize physically our immersion into Messiah and the cleansing power of his Spirit. This event came from Jewish culture and tradition.

Communion

Communion was born out of the Passover celebration and festival meal. On the night he was betrayed Jesus celebrated the Passover order of service (seder) with his disciples. It was a typical, familiar gathering. They had all experienced it before. The order of the Passover service included telling the story of the Exodus from Egypt, drinking four fillings of a wine goblet, eating unleavened bread, bitter herbs, and the festival Passover lamb.

After the Passover meal, according to the scriptures, Jesus took the cup after the meal and a piece of the unleavened bread, lifted them up and communicated to his disciples, “This bread is my body. This wine is my blood. This is all about me. I am the Passover lamb.” During that last meal, Jesus made the connection between the Passover lambs slain during the Exodus and himself. They were perfect spotless lambs. He is our perfect sinless Lamb of God. Their blood was shed to put on the doorposts of the Israelite homes to save them from death. His blood was shed to put on the doorposts of our hearts to save us for eternity.

Jesus and Salvation

Jesus was Jewish. Most know that. However the significance and the implications of his Jewish identity are lost to most. First, Jesus had to come from the line of the Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as well as David. He had to live a perfect Jewish life under the Law of the scriptures. His perfect life, as fully man and fully God, made him our savior and the ultimate sacrifice for our sin. 

By biblical definition the Messiah had to be Jewish to redeem not only Israel, but all the nations of the world. In a brief conversation with a Samaritan woman at a well Jesus had the following conversation…

“Jesus said... “Salvation is from the Jews...” The woman said, “I know that Messiah (called Christ) is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.” John 4:21-26

When Jesus said “salvation is from the Jews,” he was letting her know that she was correct, that from the Jewish people Messiah would come to the world. He then went on to tell her that he was that Savior who came from the Jewish people. His name, Yeshua in Hebrew, means “God is salvation.”

Of course, Jesus is the greatest gift we have been given through the nation of Israel and the Jewish people. As we prepare to celebrate Christmas, let’s not forget: A Jewish baby born in a manger in Bethlehem to two loving Jewish parents grew up to bring salvation to the world.