GOD LOVES JEWS!

What does God think of Israel? How should Christians view the Jews today? Are they second-class citizens? Are they cursed by God?

There are so many declarations of God's love for Israel in the prophets, there's no way I can quote them all, but here are two:

Thus says the LORD:
"The people who survived the sword
found grace in the wilderness;
when Israel sought for rest,
the LORD appeared to him from far away.
I have loved you with an everlasting love;
therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.
Again I will build you, and you shall be built,
O virgin Israel!
Again you shall adorn yourself with tambourines
and shall go forth in the dance of the merrymakers. (Jeremiah 31:2-4)

Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth;
break forth, O mountains, into singing!
for the LORD has comforted his people
and will have compassion on his afflicted.
But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me;
my Lord has forgotten me."
"Can a woman forget her nursing child,
that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget,
yet I will not forget you.
Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are continually before me. (Isaiah 49:13-16)

God was the one who sent the oppressing heathen nations to destroy Jerusalem and take the Jews into captivity (see Isaiah 48)... but God always promised that Israel's repentance would result in restoration, because of His love for His people. I chastise my son when he does wrong, but throwing him out of my house... totally unimaginable. And if I feel that way, how could you measure the devotion of my wife to our son -- and God's devotion surely goes way beyond that. So is the nation God is addressing here, one especially earmarked for God's wrath?

Jesus was a Jew. Jesus' father Joseph was a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, David, and all the Davidic kings of Israel. Matthew and Luke went to great pains to establish that. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, circumcised on the eighth day according to the law of Moses, and lived his entire life in Israel. So right off the bat, God has chosen the Jewish nation above all others to bring the Savior of Mankind into the world. Christians see the entire Jewish Bible as the story of God creating and preserving a people through which he can bring salvation to every nation. Quite an honor; and makes the idea that America has somehow usurped Israel's position as God's Chosen sound a bit silly, on top of having no foundation in scripture.

And he [Jesus] called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, "Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And proclaim as you go, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. Acquire no gold nor silver nor copper for your belts, no bag for your journey, nor two tunics nor sandals nor a staff, for the laborer deserves his food. And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. As you enter the house, greet it. And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town. (Matthew10:1-15)

Jesus was the Jewish Messiah. He was sent by God primarily to the people of Israel. He did have several notable interchanges with Gentiles, even breaking customs to do so, but he came to the Jews first. Note that the warning against those who would reject the disciples' message does not include an injuction to torture them until they come around, or to burn down their synagogues, or to do anything in retaliation -- God will deal with them at the appropriate time. We are to simply move on, pray, and make sure as many people as possible get to hear the message.

And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon." But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, "Send her away, for she is crying out after us." He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me." And he answered, "It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." Then Jesus answered her, "O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire." And her daughter was healed instantly. (Matthew 15:21-28)

Again, the divine mission is to reach the Jews first. Note that the Jews needed a savior in the first place. As described in the Old Testament, although Israel is the chosen nation, God will in no wise cast out foreigners who reach out for Him. The Gentiles' opportunity for full inclusion will come later. Did you catch the metaphor Jesus used to describe those outside the house of Israel? They are the children, we goyim are the dogs. We get the scraps. Jesus said it, not me.

Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called "the uncircumcision" by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands-- remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. (Ephesians 2:11-21 ESV)

Now we live in the post-Passion era. It is finished. Now at last the other nations of the earth can have a right relationship with God, and are no longer excluded. Before, we were strangers outside the gates, but now not only are we invited in as guests, we've been made part of the family, with full rights and benefits. Amazing.

I am speaking the truth in Christ--I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit-- that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen. (Romans 9:1-5 ESV)

Here Paul expresses how today's Christians should think of Jews. Through them God has given us the real deal concerning creation, the Law, the partriarchs, the Prophets -- in other words, everything important -- including the Christ. What do you owe a nation that has played such a role in your relationship with God? However we also discover the mistake many Jews made and continue to make.

What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, as it is written, "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame." (Romans 9:30-33 ESV)

Even a cursory examination of the Law and the Prophets reveals that although Israel has been chosen for special privileges, and a special opportunity for relationship with the Creator, one's racial and/or cultural identity is not the be-all, end-all determining factor for salvation. Those who trust in citizenship and/or self-righteousness, have lost the opportunity given to them. Of course Paul does not mean that because of the events depicted in the Gospels, all Jews are under a curse. Every individual, whether Jew or Gentile, has his/her own choice to make, whether to pursue righteousness by faith (which would lead to God's Son), or by birth or by works (which has always lead to failure, since throughout history salvation by works alone has been impossible). Those who trust in their own ability to keep the law have been cut off. Christ's finished work is the only means to justification no matter one's ethnicity.

I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? "Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life." But what is God's reply to him? "I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal." So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.
What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, as it is written,
"God gave them a spirit of stupor,
eyes that would not see
and ears that would not hear,
down to this very day." (Romans 11:1-7)

The apostle comes right out and says it: GOD HAS NOT REJECTED HIS PEOPLE. But many Jews stumbled on the rock of offense: salvation by grace alone, through Christ's sacrifice.

So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!
Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.
But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. Then you will say, "Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in." That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but stand in awe. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree. (Romans 11:11-24 ESV)

If you think you stand, take heed lest ye fall. Pride goes before a fall. God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. We Gentiles must see ourselves as the wild olive branches that God has ingrafted. We owe such an incredible debt to the people of Israel; to think that we have the inside track to divine love and acceptance while Israel has been singled out for a special dose of rejection, can only be a rejection of God's word. That's a perilous place to be. And it means we will miss out on what Paul says is one of the crowning events of human history: a sweeping revival of Christianity among the Jewish people. "Life from the dead." When God's chosen people experience God's Messiah to the full, the result can only be Resurrection.