The Jewish Feast Of Passover And How It Points To Jesus Christ The Lamb Of God

Introduction: 

    Not too long ago I wrote a post that introduced readers to the major Jewish Feasts in the Bible here Growing Christian Resources: Introducing the Jewish Feasts, their meaning, and significance. My goal in that post was to highlight how the Jewish Feasts detailed God's relationship with His Covenant people, Israel, as well as prepare for the prophetic events surrounding the first and second comings of Jesus Christ. In that last posting on the feasts, I noted four reasons why it benefits Christians to study the Feasts of Israel:

A. To know Jesus better. 

B. Insight into Prophecy

C. Divine intervention in our lives. 

D. God keeps His promises.

    The first four feasts, the Spring feasts, point us back to Jesus’ first coming and the day of Pentecost in Acts 2. For the O.T, they commemorated the Exodus, the beginnings of the Jewish nation, the giving of the Law (Pentecost), and new spiritual beginnings. 

    The latter three Fall feasts, for New Testament truths, detailed what will be the situation of the Jews at the end of the Tribulation period prior to Christ’s return to earth. In the Old Testament, they signal the latter parts of the religious calendar and the beginning of the civil calendar. In today's post, we shall look at the Feast of Passover. I shall present major headings with comments to guide us through our discussion.

1. The Passover pointed to a saving event.

    Four main lambs in O.T. First Lamb (likely) Genesis 4:4; Passover Lamb Exodus 12; Sacrificial Lamb Exodus 29:39; Prophetic Lamb Is 53:7; The Person of the Lamb (John 1:29). As for Passover Lamb, it undergirded the other Old Testament portrayals of lambs. God used lambs to communicate the truth of substitutionary atonement. Jesus would come to fulfill all of the major meanings conveyed by the Old Testament portrayals, including the Passover Lamb. Whenever we look at the Passover's initiation in Exodus 12, we note the following characteristics and meanings of the Passover lamb. 

A. New beginning of new life. 

Exodus 12:1-2 "Now the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, 2 'This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you."

B. Selection of the lamb. 

Exodus 12:3-4 "Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, ‘On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their fathers’ households, a lamb for each household. 4 Now if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest to his house are to take one according to the number of persons in them; according to what each man should eat, you are to divide the lamb."

(1). Spotless Lamb. 

Exodus 12:5 "Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats." 

(2). Slaughtered Lamb.

Exodus 12:6 "You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight."

(3). Sprinkled blood of the Lamb. 

Exodus 12:7 "Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses in which they eat it." 

(4). Sufficient Lamb

Exodus 12:8 "They shall eat the flesh that same night, roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 9 Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water, but rather roasted with fire, both its head and its legs along with its entrails."

(5). Satisfying Lamb

Exodus 12:10 "And you shall not leave any of it over until morning, but whatever is left of it until morning, you shall burn with fire. 11 Now you shall eat it in this manner: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste—it is the Lord’s Passover." 

(6). Securing Lamb

Exodus 12:12 "For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments—I am the Lord. 13 The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt."

2. The Passover pictures our salvation. 

    In having looked at the Passover Lamb featured in the initial pronouncement of the Passover Feast, we can turn to consideration of the details of the Feast we find in the Jewish observance. Various details of the Jewish Passover or "Seder" meal includes the following components.

A. Removal of Leaven – cf 1 Cor 5:6-8 = our sanctification.

B. Elijah’s Cup (between the testaments) = Second coming

    This tradition was developed at some point in the Jewish observance of the Passover meal. Dr. Walter Kaiser explains the rite's significance:

"To this day, Judaism continues to reserve for Elijah a distinguished place and loosely to relate it to their fading expectation of the coming of the Messiah. This can best be seen in the cup of Elijah and the seat reserved for him at every Passover meal. The hope and prayer of every Jew at the conclusion of the Passover—”next year in Jerusalem”—is one piece of a larger picture of the coming Messianic era. And at the heart of it remains the open door for the new Elijah."

C. Four cups (blessing, sanctification, redemption, kingdom)

    The periodical "Israel my Glory", 2013 article on Seder (“Order”), notes how the Jews utilized the following passage from Exodus, with exposition on the meaning of the four cups. 

Exodus 6:6-8 "Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. 7 Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. 8 I will bring you to the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession; I am the Lord.’”

(1). The First Cup. This is the Cup of Sanctification. It is consumed early in the meal. Sanctification means “set apart.” Jewish people acknowledge, remember, and praise God that He selected, exalted, and set them apart by giving them His commandments. A prayer of praise is offered before the cup is drunk.

(2). The Second Cup. This is the Cup of Praise. After the story of the Exodus—the ultimate account of liberation from slavery—is read, the Cup of Praise is drunk with a prayer of praise to God for being the constant source of deliverance in every generation of Jewish history.

(3). The Third Cup. This is the Cup of Redemption. It is drunk after the meal and after the afikomen is found. (See “The Marvelous Afikomen.”) In the ancient world, redemption referred to slaves being purchased and liberated. Jewish people thank and praise God for freeing them from Egyptian bondage. Not only did God deliver them from the physical hardship of slavery but also from the constant exposure to Egypt’s false gods. No longer would the Israelites and their children be forcibly subjected to the worship practices of a pagan culture.

    The third cup also has particular significance for Christians. It is the same cup Jesus took “after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you’” (Lk. 22:20). The Cup of Redemption symbolizes what Jesus did for us: He shed His blood to redeem us from slavery to sin. That is why the apostle Paul, a highly trained Jewish scholar, wrote, “For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us” (1 Cor. 5:7).

(4). The Fourth Cup. Everyone partakes of this cup near the end of the dinner. It is called the Cup of Acceptance or the Cup of Anticipation and celebrates the relationship God desires with His Chosen People. This is the cup the Lord Jesus used to symbolize the ratification of the New Covenant and to institute communion. He did not drink it Himself, however, but said He will drink it when the Messianic Kingdom is established (Matt 26:26-29).

    Clearly the four cups in the Jewish Passover, observed when Jesus instituted the Passover to be transfigured into what we know today as the Lord's Table, only served to reinforce the connection between the Passover Lamb and Jesus Himself. We go on to note other features of the Passover meal.

D. Bitter herbs (horse radish usually, salt water), bitterness and tears in Egypt. 

E. Charoseth (apples, nuts, a claylike substance). 

F. Recounting of the Passover Narrative

G. Hiding of the Afikomen (which means “that which comes later”). Middle matzos bread (all three in a Matzah bag or linen covering. The tray is called an “echad” tray. Jews take it to mean “Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob). Once afikomen is found, the meal is done. 

    These features convey the extraordinary meaning of the Passover to Christians. As we round the corner of the homestretch of today's post, let me draw the reader to see how what I just mentioned about the Passover has explicit New Testament verses attached to its ultimate meaning.

3. Passover personified by the Savior. 

A. A new beginning = 2 Cor 5:17

B. Selection of a lamb. Rev 13:8; Is 42:7

C. Spotless lamb 1 Peter 1:18

D. Slaughtered lamb Revelation 5:6-8

E. Sprinkled blood of the Lamb. Eph 1:7

F. Sufficient Lamb John 1:29; 1 Peter 2:21-25

G. Satisfying Lamb 1 Peter 3:18

H. Securing Lamb. John 10:27-29

Closing thoughts:

    No doubt the Passover celebration pre-figured what Jesus would achieve as The Lamb of God. His commemoration of the Lord's Table in conjunction with the Passover bridges the continuation of its importance to Christians today. We learned the following today.

1. The Passover pointed to a saving event, the Exodus, which in turn would pre-figure the ultimate saving event, the crucifixion of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.

2. The Passover pictures the Christian's salvation, as it did Jewish salvation in the Old Testament. 

3. The Passover is personified in the Savior Himself, since He is the "Lamb of God". 

Taking A Closer Look At Paul's Analogy Of The Olive Tree In Romans 11:16-24

Romans 11:25 "For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in."

Introduction:

In Romans 11, we find Paul illustrating God's plan of salvation for the nations and Israel by way of an olive tree. Such an analogy is intentional on Paul's part to demonstrate how God intends to save a multitude of people from the nations (i.e gentiles) and a multitude of Jews at Christ's return. In today's post we want to explore some of the background of this analogy to discover how to best interpret Paul's overall argument of Romans 11 with respect to the olive tree.

Olive trees in the Mediterranean world, ancient Israel and the Bible

Such a tree would had been known to anyone in the Mediterranean world (Spain, Italy, Northern Africa) and those who lived in Israel. 



Baker's Encyclopedia notes the following about the oil produced from olive trees:

"Oil was symbolically associated with joy, festivity, ceremony, honor, light, and health (both spiritual and physical), while its absence spelled sorrow (Joel 1:10), and the withdrawal of all that is good in life."

Olive trees and olives in general came to be used quite frequently in scripture to refer to the nation of Israel. The first mention of anything olive is found in Genesis 8:11 to refer to the olive branch given to Noah by the dove to indicate the lessening of the flood waters of God's wrath on the earth. Olive trees and their fruit have this fundamental meaning of God's favor, redemption and the richness of his promises. 

For sake of space and focus, I won't list the scriptures associated with the following uses, but olive oil extracted from the fruits of such trees was used in: lighting lamps in homes, the temple, anointing of priests, kings and prophets, medicine, bathing oils and incense. Such wide variety of uses made olive trees and their olives vary valuable to both Jews and the surrounding nations. 

The specific meaning of olive trees and olives that is pertinent to our study, has quite a bit of reference in the Old Testament, thus meriting mention of the key texts. We find olive trees or olives to refer specifically to God's chosen people - Israel - and its land in such texts as Judges 9:8-9; 2 Kings 18:32; Ps 52:8; 128:3; Is 24:13; Jeremiah 11:16; Hosea 14:6; Zech 4:11-12. Jesus' final sermon addressing great themes of prophecy, His second coming and Israel occurs in the context of the Mount of Olives (Mt 24:3; Mk 13:3; Lk 19:29,37; 21:37). 

The theological significance of the grafting of branches and the olive tree itself

In Paul's analogy of the olive tree signifying God's plan for the nations and Israel, we find references to the grafting of branches into the olive tree. Paul wastes no time in associating the grafted-in branches as being the gentiles and the original "natural" branches representing the Jews. We read the following in Romans 11:16-21

"If the first piece of dough is holy, the lump is also; and if the root is holy, the branches are too. 17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree, 18 do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you. 19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” 20 Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; 21 for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either."

So what is the significance of taking branches from a wild olive tree and grafting them into the cultivate olive tree that represents God's plan of salvation for both Jews and the other nations? Easton's Bible Dictionary explains:

"The “olive-tree, wild by nature” (Rom. 11:24), is the shoot or cutting of the good olive-tree which, left ungrafted, grows up to be a “wild olive.” In Rom. 11:17 Paul refers to the practice of grafting shoots of the wild olive into a “good” olive which has become unfruitful."

God desires not only a redeemed people, but a redeemed people that are bearing fruit. Similar analogies of fruit-bearing, plants and God's redemptive purposes are found in such Old Testament passages as Isaiah 5 and Jeremiah 11 and then John 15:2, which states: "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit." The Easton Bible Dictionary continues on by noting:

"By such a process the sap of the good olive, by pervading the branch which is “grafted in,” makes it a good branch, bearing good olives. Thus the Gentiles, being a “wild olive,” but now “graffed in,” yield fruit, but only through the sap of the tree into which they have been grafted. This is a process “contrary to nature” (11:24)."

Thus the original or "natural branches" were not bearing fruit. So by removing them, God wanted to take branches from a wild tree (the nations) and graft them into the healthy root and trunk - which I would propose is Christ Himself (again see similar analogies in John 15). Thomas Robinson's "Studies In Romans - Expository And Homiletical", confirms this observation of the olive tree of Romans 11 being no less than Christ Himself:

"Good Olive Tree. Visible church with all its blessings. Place in Christ's church an inestimable privilege. Yet not sufficient of itself to secure salvation. Outward union with the church brings privilege, not pardon. The only tree in which salvation is certain is the true vine, John xv. 1."

Author Svetlana Khobnya notes in his article on Romans 11, "The Root In Paul's Olive Tree Metaphor (Romans 11:16-24)", volume 64:2 Tyndale Bulletin, pg 265:

"The proposal, that he uses the olive tree and the whole process of its rejuvenation to draw a picture of the restoration of Israel and the addition of the Gentiles into God’s people on the basis of God’s fulfilment of his promises in Christ, coheres with Paul’s overarching theological convictions. On this reading, Christ is the very root of the tree." 

Final Applications

Today we looked more closely at Paul's metaphor of the olive tree in Romans 11. We considered the background of such an imagery and attempted to draw some broad theological conclusions while noting the broader Old Testament backdrop. But what does all of this mean to you and me, dear reader? 

1. First an foremost, unless one is connected to Jesus Christ (the true tree or true vine) by faith, there is no spiritual life to be found nor possessed. 

2. Second, since God has pledged to restore the nation of Israel in the future, this means we can trust God to keep his promises to the believer today. 

3. Thirdly, the seeming impossibility of God's redemptive program in saving Jewish multitudes in the future ought to point to what is the seeming impossibility of anyone getting saved in the nations at this present moment. Clearly salvation is of the Lord and in this present age, the Holy Spirit is calling those persons whom God is drawing and whose hearts are opened to the truth, eliciting a free response to the Gospel. 

4. Lastly, whenever we consider even a little bit the vastness of God's reach in saving sinners - whether present among the nations or future concerning Israel - we ought to break out in praise (see Romans 11:33-36)!

P2 God's Unchanging Promises And Unthwartable Purposes - Romans 11

Romans 11:1a "I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be!"
Introduction:

Have you ever been frustrated? I have. I remember when I was growing up of having the desire to play on the high school basketball team. The first summer I had signed up for try-outs, I had high expectations. I took to heart everything the coach told us to do. I practiced every drill and even slept with the basketball! When the school year started, I was ready. It didn't take along though for me to figure out my key position on the team - bench warmer! As game after game came and went, my initial expectation turned into frustration. I knew that the reality of the situation versus my expectations were far from looking like one another. In other words, my plans and purposes were thwarted. 

Unlike many of our plans and purposes, God's purposes cannot be thwarted. Job 42:2 states about God and His purposes: “I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted." The prophet Jeremiah expresses this same idea in Jeremiah 32:17 "Ah Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You." Jesus too affirms how God's purposes are unthwartable in Mark 10:27 "Looking at them, Jesus said, “With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.”

When it comes to assessing God's character and commitment in keeping His promises, we only need to look at the nation of Israel and of course the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul's logic in Romans 11 is that since God has committed Himself to saving the nation of Israel, then the believer in Jesus Christ can rest assured that God will keep His promises to them. 


In yesterday's post, we began considering God's unchanging promises. Today we will consider a second major component of Paul's argument in Romans 11:1-15, namely God's unthwartable purposes. We will show that those who trust in Jesus can rely upon God to complete what He began, since He has pledged Himself to His chosen people – the nation of Israel. Like God’s unchanging promises, His unthwartable purposes are cause for confidence in Him. Whether talking about the past, present or future – we can trust God to come through every time.

God’s Unthwartable Purposes. Romans 11:11-15

As Paul continues to write about the prospect of God restoring Israel, the question is: has God abandoned her? The answer to this question has already been dealt with in the last post: may it never be! But now Paul deals with a second sort of concern: is there any chance that Israel will be saved and restored? The answer to this question is undoubtedly yes. Note Romans 11:11-12  "I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be! But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous. 12 Now if their transgression is riches for the world and their failure is riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be!" Paul is laying out two unthwartable purposes in these verses, both of which demonstrate that God's purposes cannot be frustrated. Let's note the first one...


a). Bring salvation to the Gentiles.     11:11-13,25

Romans 11:25 plainly states - "For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in."  God is the great Missionary. Throughout the Old Testament we see glimpses and hints of God's redemptive purposes reaching beyond the borders of Israel. Important non-Jewish people like Ruth in the book of Ruth, Job (an Edomite by lineage) and Agur in Proverbs 30 demonstrate God's redemptive purposes including all kinds of people from every nation. 

By the days of Jesus, the glimpses of Divine desire for Gentile salvation turned into full-fledged reality. In Jesus' ministry, people that flocked to hear Him were coming not only from the Jews, but the Gentiles. As one follows the thirty year history recorded of the early church in the Book of Acts, Christianity became more and more composed of Gentiles. 

Sometimes when I think of God's desire to save people from every nation, I like to consider what I call the "four 11's" in the Bible. Genesis 11 records the lineage of Abraham from Noah's son Shem following the scattering of the nations from the Tower of Babel. Genesis 11 follows Genesis 10, which records God's setting up of the so-called "Table of Nations". Clearly God's desire to save the Gentiles began before the call of Abraham. The second "11" that details God's program for Gentile salvation is Daniel 11. This highly detailed prophecy deals with how God is going to ultimately bring an end to the sin and wickedness perpetuating on planet earth. God's purposes for the nations not only entail calling forth sinners to saving faith but also exercising judgment upon those who refused His well-meant offer of salvation. The third "11" is found in John 11:51-52, where the High Priest Caiaphas unwittingly prophesies of Jesus' pending death as being on behalf of not only the Jews, but also the Gentiles. Then of course we come to Romans 11, the fourth "11", which outlines God's express desire to save the Gentiles. 

Perhaps some readers of today's post have unsaved loved ones and friends. You have been praying for their salvation - and yet, nothing has seemingly changed. Don't give up! God's purposes cannot be thwarted. This grand picture of His program to save all sorts of people from every nation applies on the individual level. To those whose hearts are open to truth and who are called by the Holy Spirit to respond to the Gospel - such persons will be saved (see John 16:8-12; Acts 4:12; Romans 10:8-10). As Jesus notes in Matthew 19:26 "And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 

b). Bring salvation to the Jews.     11:14-15,26-27,29

As Paul lays out this grand plan of God to save sinners from the Gentile nations and the Jews, He shows how God has arranged each group into an intriguing relationship. We know on the one hand that the salvation revealed by God was first give by God to the Jewish nation (see John 4:22; Romans 9:1-5). And yet on the other hand, God is using the influx of Gentile converts to stir up envy in the hearts of the Jewish people He desires to see saved. This remarkable point is spelled out plainly in Romans 11:11  "I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be! But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous." 

The ultimate outcome? Note Romans 11:25-27 

"For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; 26 and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.” 27 “This is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.” 

So in the end, God's will and purposes to save His people (as a nation, not necessarily every single Jewish person, but nevertheless a high proportion - Revelation 7:4-8; 14:1-5) will be realized. God's purposes are unthwartable. As we close out, I love what we read in Romans 11:29 "for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable."

P1 God's Unchanging Promises And Unthwartable Purposes - Romans 11:1-15

Romans 11:1-2a "I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew."

Introduction:

I will never forget the one teacher I had in elementary school. As I got to know this teacher, I became impressed with how dedicated he was to the overall success of his students. He wanted us all to know how special we were to him. Whenever we got our school pictures, my teacher to them and placed them on stained blocks of wood. As a wood-worker on the side, our teacher then shellacked the blocks and portraits to permanently protect them. When my parents saw what he had done for the whole class, my dad wrote him a thank you letter, expressing his gratitude. That teacher made an impression on me because I knew he was consistent in how he treated and regarded people both inside and outside his family.

When it comes to assessing God's character and commitment in keeping His promises, we only need to look at the nation of Israel and of course the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul's logic in Romans 11 is that since God has committed Himself to saving the nation of Israel, then the believer in Jesus Christ can rest assured that God will keep His promises to them. 

In today's post, we want to begin considering God's unchanging promises and unthwartable purposes. We will show that those who trust in Jesus can rely upon God to complete what He began, since He has pledged Himself to His chosen people – the nation of Israel. God’s unchanging promises and unthwartable purposes are cause for confidence in Him. Whether talking about the past, present or future – we can trust God to come through every time. In this post we will consider why it is that God's promises are unchanging

God’s Unchanging Promises. Romans 11:1-10

When I think of God's character, the fact of His unchanging promises comes to mind. Just like the nation of Israel in the Old Testament, God's promises are the cornerstone of His plans and purposes for the New Testament church. The Apostle Peter writes in 2 Peter 1:3-4 "seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust."

Now when we turn to Paul's remarks about God's commitment to save His chosen people, the Jews, we find certain principles that explain why His promises are trustworthy and unchanging. 

a). Undefeated Word of God. Romans 11:1-4

When you read the history of the nation of Israel, it all begins with Abraham in passages such as Genesis 12:4. God pledged His covenant with Abraham. It would be some 400 years later that God would speak to another Jewish man, Moses, concerning His people's enslavement under the lash of Pharaoh. In Exodus 3:8-9 we are reminded that God heard their cry, and thus sent Moses to be their deliverer. Or how about this passage in Joshua 21:45 "Not one of the good promises which the Lord had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass." Or again, 1 Kings 8:56 “Blessed be the Lord, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised; not one word has failed of all His good promise, which He promised through Moses His servant. 

On and on we could go, but the point is that God's unchanging promises are possible due to His undefeated Word. Hebrews 6:18 states: "so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us." So we have seen God's undefeated Word as explaining why God's promises are unchanging, but notice what else Paul writes in Romans 11:5-6.... 

b). Unbreakable grace. 11:5-6

Where would we be without God's grace. Whenever the Christian feels like God has forgotten them, they only need to look to two historic things: Jesus Christ's empty tomb and the nation of Israel. Psalm 16:11 is quoted by the Apostle Peter in Acts 2 to remind his listeners that God did not abandon Christ to "see decay". The resurrection of Jesus Christ demonstrated that all He did and all He is were true. But what about Israel? Has God still kept His commitment to her, and can I trust Him to do the same for me?

Look at Is 49:15-16 “Can a woman forget her nursing child
and have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. 16 “Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands.” Jesus makes a similar type of promises to His New Testament apostles and ultimately to all Christian in John 10:28-29 "and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. Your walls are continually before Me." We know God's promises are trustworthy and unchanging because of His undefeated Word and His unbreakable grace. Paul says as much in Romans 11:5-6. But now notice a third truth we find Paul referring to in Romans 11:1-10...
   
c). Unquestionable fairness.     11:7-10

God is not only loving and gracious, but He is also just. Oftentimes people struggle with the concept of God's hardening of people's hearts in the Bible (such as Pharaoh). However, whenever we keep two distinctions in mind, we find God is never unjust, but just. The first concept to keep in mind is that of personal hardening of the heart. This involves a person repeatedly resisting God and His efforts to win them to Himself. Whenever a person resists God's gracious overtures, they harden their own heart. 

Personal hardening leads to a second important distinction - namely judicial hardening. In Romans 11:7-10, God is giving the people what they wanted - life without Him. The remnant according to God’s choice gets grace and the resistant not wanting God get what they want and thus have justice. Genesis 18:25 states clearly God's just and fair ways of dealing with people: "Far be it from You to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?”

God deals with human beings in a form of non-justice called mercy and justice. If God only dealt in accords to His justice, none of us would have hope. There would be no cross. Nevertheless, because people are free moral agents, if they so choose to persist in resisting God, He will dispense His justice. One thing is for sure: God will either mete out non-justice (mercy) to those who by grace through faith believe on His Son or justice to those who resist Him, but God will never be guilty of injustice. So whenever we consider God's undefeated Word, unbreakable grace and unquestionable fairness, we have before us three reasons as to why His promises are unchanging. These thoughts point back to God's unchanging character. In the next post we will consider God's unthwartable purposes.

Why It Is Important To Know That God Is Not Done With Israel

Picture from operationworld.org
Romans 11:1a "I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be!"

Introduction: Lumber Full Of Knots

My father had been a carpenter by trade all his life. When I was growing up, he had decided to put on a new roof for the house. He ordered a truckload of lumber from the local lumber yard. When the lumber had been dropped off and my dad signed the release papers, the load of lumber was his. Little did he know that many of the boards in that load were full of knots, twisted and warped. The lumber had sat out in the rain for many months at the lumber yard. What was my dad to do? The lumber was his - knots and all.

My dad had decided to got forward with the roof. He grabbed his circular saw, a new rip blade and his chalk-line. He then went to that big stack and picked out the boards he needed for the project. I remember my father taking his blue chalk line, with me holding the other end, and him taking it and "snapping it", resulting in a blue line marking out a straight mark on the board. My dad made all those boards straight. He cut through knots and all to make that load of lumber fit for his use. 

God's plan in bringing about His redemptive purposes through Israel

Do you realize when God chose to manifest His plan of salvation in history - the plan had been decided before time began (2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 1:2). The Father and the Son and decided upon the plan, with the Son making the effort to come into history by way of the virgin birth and incarnating Himself as the man Jesus of Nazareth. God had also decided that in the millennia leading up to His Son's arrival, He would hand select one man (Abraham) to be the patriarch of ultimately one nation (Israel). 

The nation of Israel was God's people redeemed and paid for for the sake of bringing about what would be a people of God and ultimately the humanity of His Son. The problem with Israel was she was full of knots and twists. As a smaller picture of the much larger portrait of all humanity - Israel stood no chance, on its own, of being used by God. All of us can be so described as full of knots, twists and warpings in and through out humanity. Apart of Jesus Christ and apart from the touch of the gracious hand of Almighty God - every human being on this planet is unfit to be in God's presence. God's object lesson of grace - Israel - really is a lesson to all who would be redeemed by grace through faith.

So, God made a covenant with Israel (Exodus 12-15). He revealed His law and tabernacle to her (Exodus 20-40); raised up prophets and kings like David to lead and guide her and pleaded with her to not forsake Him (see Hosea 2). Israel's bent to walk away from God led to two historic exiles in Assyria (Isaiah 39) and Babylon (see the Book of Daniel). 

Israel, particularly the Southern Kingdom called "Judah", was set apart by God to continue on His program with His people. Judah went into exile into Babylon for some 70 years. Upon her return back to the land, men like Ezra and Nehemiah and the latter prophets Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi all urged the people to stay faithful to God. Israel was cured of her idolatry. Four centuries would pass between the closing out of the Old Testament and the arrival of Jesus Christ in Matthew's Gospel.

When one follows the saga of Jesus' life, death and resurrection - the Jewish people were instrumental in the crucifixion of Jesus. Jesus presented Himself to the nation as her King, her Messiah. In passages like Matthew 23 we find Jesus weeping over Jerusalem. Alas she had missed her opportunity. The Kingdom and its King would had been within her grasp if only she had yielded allegiance to Him. Acts 2:22-24 summarizes what we have discussed up to this point:

“Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know— 23 this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. 24 But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power."

The Big Question Needing To Be Answered About Israel In The New Testament

So did Israel jeopardize her place and role in God's redemptive purposes? As more and more Gentiles were being brought into the fold, the question ever loomed on the horizon. As the early church changed from being predominately Jewish to more Gentile - the question came to be, as so represented by the Apostle Paul in Romans 11:1 - "I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He?" The late W.A Criswell, long-time pastor at First Baptist Dallas, notes on this verse:

"But the Jew has a question to ask.  In the Book of Romans, there are questions asked all through the book. The Jew has a question to ask.  The question the Jew asks is this: “If God deals with the Gentiles according to a covenant of grace, then what about us, the children of Abraham? [Romans 9:1-5].  What about the promises to the fathers, and what about the covenant that God made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and what about the covenant that God made with David? [Romans 9:4].  And what about the promises of the prophecies?  Has God cast away the Jewish people? [Romans 11:1].  Does He not deal with us anymore as a nation, as a race, and as a people? [Romans 11:1]  What about the promises to the nation?  And what about the covenants?” [Romans 9:4]. Has God cast away the Jewish nation? Does the Jewish nation and does the Jewish people have no longer any future?"

Criswell then continues on, bringing in the relevance of this question to the Christian...

"Because God is dealing with us in this dispensation, this age under grace, through the faith in Christ Jesus, is, therefore, He through with the Jew and with the Jewish nation? [Romans 11:1]. And that is the exact question that Paul raises as he begins the first verse of the eleventh chapter of Romans, “I say then, hath God cast away His people?” [Romans 11:1].  Is God done with the Jew?  Is God through with the children of Abraham?  Hath God cast away His people?"

God is not done with Israel, and this is why...

Paul's answer to his own question on whether God is done with Israel is in the short, terse, negative: "may it never be!" God's continuing program with Israel, and its relevance to the Great commission among the nations and the church is the purpose of Romans 11. God is not done with Israel. Below we close out today's post, discover why God is not done with Israel:

a. Israel is still God's chosen people, who have been temporarily set aside (Romans 10:18-11:10).

b. God has ordained unbelieving Israel's setting aside in order to save believing Gentiles and Jews. If God had abandoned Israel, then all other peoples in every tribe, nation and tongue would had remained outside the fold of God's redemptive purposes (Romans  11:11-24).

c. God has ordained that once the full number of Gentiles (and believing Jews) are gathered in this age (this age includes the church age, rapture of church age saints, tribulation and inclusion of tribulation martyrs at Christ's return at the end of the Tribulation), Israel will then be saved at Christ's return (Zech 12:10-11; Revelation 1:7; 7; 14; Romans 11:25-32). This point is so important, since the same God that keeps His promises to Israel is the same God that keeps His promises to those who have by grace trusted in Jesus.


d. In short then, once Christ returns with His raptured saints at the end of the tribulation, Israel will be given the grace to believe on Him, and thus she will shine forth the glory of her Messiah in His Kingdom, enjoying His glory with the glorified church who is seated with Him on thrones in the Millennial Kingdom (Revelation 20:1-6). God's promises are sure and steadfast! 

God's faithfulness to preserve His people

1 Peter 2:9-12 "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 11 Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.12 Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observethem, glorify God in the day of visitation."

The visions of Ezekiel 38-39 are connected to the visions we saw in yesterday's post on Ezekiel 36-37. Although the timing of the visions are difficult to discern, their purpose is clear: God is going to restore the nation of Israel, save her and defend her against her enemies. Ezekiel 36 begins the sequence with God promising to pour out His Spirit upon Israel, resulting in a large number of Jewish people turning to Him, believing on their Messiah and being saved. Israel is God's chosen people, and His reasons for choosing her stems not from her as it does God standing by His character and love for her. Ezekiel 37 depicts then how God will prepare Israel for this massive time of her salvation, with the valley of dry bones predicting the nation being brought back to life from the brink of death, followed by her conversion to faith in her Messiah. Many have pointed out that the first stage of seeing Israel become a nation occurred in 1948 with Israel and her language being brought back from extinction - an event unheard of for any other nation or people. If we take these events to occur at the time of events leading up to Christ's second coming during the end of the Great Tribulation, then the suggested timing of Ezekiel 38-39 can be set in that same general vicinity. Ezekiel 38-39 depicts a confederation of Arab nations and perhaps Russia to the North arraying themselves against Israel, only to be defeated by the Lord. God protects His people and will not allow them to be destroyed. 

Whenever you arrive at 1 Peter 4, twice we are reminded of Christ's second coming and the judgment upon this world. Why? 1 Peter 4:1-11 is urging Christians to live their lives in the world but not of it. As Christians, we are to serve the Lord and love one another with fervent love, for time is getting shorter. Then in 1 Peter 4:12-19 we see once again a reminder that judgment's beginning starts at the threshold of the church proclaiming the Gospel. We warn sinners to flee from the wrath to come. Suffering will be the inevitable outcome for Christians who remain faithful to their Savior, however we know we can rely upon Him to see us through up to the time He returns. Like Israel, we can say that God will protect the faith of His people and that they will persevere to the end.

How Israel is relevant to the Christian

Romans 11:25 For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.

Introduction:

Why should Christians be concerned about Israel? The Apostle Paul uses his burden for his fellow Jews and the Jewish nation as a springboard for consideration of God's plans for Israel and their salvation. Such plans are interlaced with the project God has at this current moment of calling forth specific people from every nation on earth to respond to the Gospel. Unless we understand the destiny of Israel as being interconnected to one of the main reasons why people are hearing the Gospel today, we will miss out on how Great God is in saving both Jews and Gentiles. How is Israel relevant to the Christian? Consider the following thoughts from Romans 11:25-36...

1. God's Greatness is shown because of Israel. Romans 11:25-27

Israel's persistent refusal as a people group to bow the knee to Jesus Christ is being used by God in His Sovereign plan to give space for Gentiles to hear the Gospel, respond to the Spirit's calling and to result in the salvation of large numbers of people from every people group. The proportion of Jewish people believing on Jesus as their Messiah will be relatively few, and that is in ways we cannot comprehend, part of God's design. The fault of any person, Jew or Gentile, for not believing, lies of course with that person. With that said, God's main focus in this current age is the salvation of many people from all nations. As only God can do, the temporary setting aside of Israel in this current age of grace, and the salvation of many Gentiles, will be used by God to make Israel jealous and prepared to look to Jesus as Savior and Lord at His second coming. Consider Romans 11:26-27 "and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written,
“The Deliverer will come from Zion,
He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.” 27 “This is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.” It is no mystery that in showing the great of God, the greatness of God in the Person of the Son would be close by in this passage. Jesus Christ is the full revelation of God, being "The Word made flesh" (John 1:14); God manifested in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16) and the soon coming Great God and Savior, Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13). Israel's destiny in ultimately being saved is relevant because it points us to the Greatness of God. But now notice a second reason how Israel is relevant to the Christian...

2. The Gospel's Greatness is shown because of Israel. Romans 11:28-32

In Romans 11:28-32 we are given a set of binoculors through which we can gaze at the wonder of God's redemptive work. The amazing thing about binoculors is that through two eye pieces the viewer can get a closer perspective on otherwise far away objects. Each lens is designed for each eye. The way our eyes work are that each sees a portion of whatever is in front of our eyes for the sake of generating a three-dimensional view in our brains. If you take your finger and stretch out your arm and then close one eye, then another, you will witness your finger shift left, then right. Without this feature, we would lack the ability to have depth perception and things would look quite flat. Binoculors take advantage of this team work between our eyes and help magnify far-away objects so that we can see them as they really are. 

Paul is viewing Israel through two eyes pieces: the lens of the Gospel and the lens of Sovereign election. It appears through the lens of the Gospel that Israel is a total lost cause. She persists in her refusal of Jesus and her spiritual blindness and deafness to the Gospel is very evident. However, whenever we look through the second eye-piece, Sovereign election, the view is quite different. Israel is still God's chosen and elect people. Romans 11:29 states - "for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable." 

What Paul then does is view God's plan for Gentiles in this current age through both lenses to reveal a fully-three dimensional picture. Sovereign election and human responsibility in believing or refusing the Gospel are part of God's plan in saving both Jews and Gentiles. The greatness of the Gospel is that those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ can only give credit to One - God. Sadly, those who persist in unbelief can only blame one person - themselves. Romans 11:32 states - "For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all." All humanity is born into this world in unbelief - whether Jew or Gentile. God's judgment rightly falls on all men and quite frankly, He is under no obligation to save anyone. Israel is used to illustrate a small slice of the fact that despite having done nothing to commend God to her, God has so chosen to set a time and place whereby He will suddenly call individuals within the nation of Israel to respond, freely believe on Jesus and be saved at His appearing. Galatians 3:22 sheds further light by using similar wording to what we see in Romans 11:32, notice - "But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe."

The binoculors of Romans 11:28-32 shows how God is using Israel in the accomplishment of the greatness of the Gospel. If we as Christians can grasp the relevance of Israel, we will better appreciate the greatness of God and the Gospel. But now notice one final reason how Israel is relevant to the Christian...

3. Greater worship occurs when we consider God's plan for Israel. Romans 11:33-36

In writing out this post today, this writer admits that at best, only the faint outline of the tremendous richness of Romans 11:25-32 can be grasped. How God uses Israel to make room for Gentiles to respond to the Gospel, and how He in turn uses Gentile response to set the stage for what will be Israel's future salvation is amazing and mind-blowing. I suspect this is why Paul wrote his sudden explosion of worship (a doxology) in Romans 11:33-36. God's greatness is not full appreciated until it results in worship. God's purposes in the Gospel are not fully treasured until worship of God has taken place. Worship is astonishing in that on the one hand, we know full-well the God whom we praise and yet on the otherhand, barely comprehend the God Whom we are exalting. 

To illustrate the point just made, what response do you find when witnessing a beautiful sunrise or sunset? or standing in front of the ocean for the first time? how about seeing a bride come down the isle or beholding the face of your newborn child or grandchild? a person understands what they are seeing and yet cannot claim they comprehend it all in its fulness. The mystery of a new life and beholding a person never before seen in this world is all at once a reality that occurs daily and yet has the sense of being made possible by Someone whose thoughts are higher than our own. Scientists can explain the sun's refracting light through the layers of Nitrogen and Oxygen in our atmosphere to produce the sunset, and yet they cannot capture the feeling of awe and transcendance that often accommpanies such phenomena. Beholding the ocean for the first time is far different than seeing a glass of water. The ocean's immensity swallows up the viewer and elicits forth words such as "awesome" and "amazing". 

What is the point? The point is this: worship of God can only come about when we have a true vision of God's greatness and His greatness in the greatness of the Gospel. Romans 11:36 stands as one of the greatest verses in the Bible: "From Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory for ever and ever, Amen." The destiny of Israel must ever be moreso in the forefront of our minds and hearts, since God uses it to enable us to worship Him all the more. We marvel at how He ever desires to show mercy to Israel, being reminded of the fact we had done nothing at all to solicit His mercy toward us. Psalm 122:6-9 gives us the best practical way to include Israel's destiny in our daily lives - Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:“May they prosper who love you. 7 “May peace be within your walls, And prosperity within your palaces.” 8 For the sake of my brothers and my friends,
I will now say, “May peace be within you.” 9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good."

Closing thoughts:

Today we looked at Romans 11:25-36 to discover how and why Israel is relevant to the Christian. In better understanding God's destiny for Israel, we discover the following benefits and thus the relevancy of Israel to our lives:

1. God's Greatness is shown because of Israel. Romans 11:25-27

2. The Gospel's Greatness is shown because of Israel. Romans 11:28-32

3. Greater worship occurs when we consider God's plan for Israel. Romans 11:33-36

Why Israel is important to the Christian

Acts 28:20 For this reason, therefore, I requested to see you and to speak with you, for I am wearing this chain for the sake of the hope of Israel.”

Note to readers: For those wanting to prayer more specifically for Israel, the following link is excellent in guiding the reader through such an effort: http://www.operationworld.org/isra

Introduction:

As we come to the 28th chapter of the book of Acts, we find Paul finally arriving at Rome, where he will eventually make his appeal to Caesar, answer his critics and gain opportunity to share the Gospel. Even though Paul would end up under house arrest in Rome, chained to a Roman soldier for two years - the time would prove to be among the most fruitful years of Paul's ministry. As Paul leaves the Island of Malta (upon which he landed in Acts 28:1-10), he make his way to Rome. 

After some preliminary remarks about his experiences on the way to Rome, we find Paul getting an audience with some people, explaining how he had arrived at Rome, and what he expected to take place. In expounding upon his chains and being under the constant supervision of a Roman soldier, we find this interesting statement in Acts 28:20 about him being chained "for the sake of the hope of Israel". It is with that statement that I am interested in unpacking in today's post. Paul clearly saw what he was undergoing as having to do with not only God's master plan for the Gospel throughout the world, but even more specifically with God's program for Israel. Whether Christians realize it or not, God still has a plan for Israel and Israel's ultimate destinity is intimately related to our own. Today's post is all about unfolding the three hopes that are gained when the Christian pays closer attention to Israel, God's abiding interest in it and how such a focus can strengthen the Christian's hope overall. Notice what scripture has to say about the following three hopes attached to God's promises to Israel and for those who adovcate the interests of His chosen people. 

1. The hope we find in prayer.

Psalm 122:6-9 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:“May they prosper who love you. 7 “May peace be within your walls,
And prosperity within your palaces.”
8 For the sake of my brothers and my friends, I will now say, “May peace be within you.” 9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good." 

I know of a dear man of God with whom I pray with often.  Everytime that man prays, he prays for the peace of Jerusalem. There is something supernatural attached to praying for the peace of Jersualem. It is commanded and attached with a promise. The prophet Daniel models this for us in Daniel 6:10-11 "Now when Daniel knew that the document was signed, he entered his house (now in his roof chamber he had windows open toward Jerusalem); and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously. 11 Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and supplication before his God." By getting ourselves in order with what God has said in His Word, we can move on ahead in prayer. Hebrews 4:16 reminds us of the hope we find when coming to God in prayer: "Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." So Israel is important to the Christian because of the hope we can find when praying for it, but notice a second hope....

2. The hope of the Gospel.

Paul clearly attaches all that he has went through for the Gospel's sake to the destiny of Israel. Without a doubt, when Paul mentioned anything about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, oftentimes he would mention Israel. Romans 1:16-17 states:  "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealedfrom faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith.” Why is it so important to be interested in the affairs of a people with whom we may or may not have direct contact? Because the Jewish people are still God's people. Seeing Paul's burden for their lost condition reminds us of the burden we ought to have not only for them but lost people in general. Notice what he writes in Romans 9:1-5 "I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, 2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh, 4 who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises, 5 whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen." Notice the anguish of heart with which Paul writes concerning his fellow Jews. Should you and I not also have the same kind of burden for the lost - whether Jew or Gentile. Increasing our interest in the affairs of Israel makes us more sensitive to the necessity to share the hope of the Gospel. Paul expresses such hope for their salvation in Romans 11:25-26 For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of thismystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; 26 and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.” So Israel is important to the Christian for the reason of the hope it encourages us to find in prayer and the hope of the Gospel to which it points. However, notice one more hope that is associated with focusing greater attention on the spiritual warefare of Israel, namely....

3. The Hope of the Second coming.

Notice once again what Paul writes in Romans 11:26 "and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.” When the scriptures says: "all Israel will be saved", that is referring to those select Jews within the nation, a number only known to God, who by His grace will turn to the Messiah in His second coming. Scripture ties together the timing of Christ's second coming with the salvation of Israel. Zechariah 12:10 states: “I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn." Undoubtedly Zechariah's prophecy was speaking chiefly of what would take place at Christ's second coming, however this same passage finds a partial fulfillment in what Jesus achieved in His first coming. John 19:37 quotes nearly verbatim Zechariah 12:10 in reference to what Jesus was undergoing during His time on the cross. 

The Apostle John saw in the piercing of Jesus in the side by the Roman spear the intiation of a series of events that would lead to the ultimate fullfillment of Zechariah 12:10 at Christ's second coming. The cross is ever associated with the second coming, being that what Jesus achieved on the cross and in the resurrection necessarily guarantees what He will accomplish when He comes back the second time. Revelation 1:7 quotes Zechariah 12:10 in reference to Christ's second coming: "Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth willmourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen." 

Closing thoughts:

Today we have considered why Israel is important to the Christian, based off of Paul's remarks in Acts 28:20. We as Christians living in America are oftentimes so tethered to the things of this world that we rarely think about the second coming. I have found whenever I am praying for Jerusalem, immediately I am lifted in prayer from my immediate concerns to global concerns. As I pray for Jerusalem, the Spirit of God begins to deal with me regarding my role in telling others about the Gospel. Then in focusing more direct attention on the welfare of Israel, I find myself thinking more about Jesus' second coming. All three engender greater hope in the Christian, which is why Israel is important to the Christian. 

P1 Further considerations on the bride of Christ

Romans 11:25-26 "For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; 26 and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.”
27 “This is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.”

Ephesians 3:9-10  "To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; 10 so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places."

Ephesians 5:25-27 25 "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26 so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless."

Introduction:

So much of the excitement that surrounds a wedding in modern culture centers around a whole host of details: food, music and venue.  Beyond even those things, the one area that is still a perennial area of curiosity for both guests, the groom and even the bride herself concerns the dress.  What exactly will the bride's dress look like? In most contexts the bridal gown is still preferred to be kept a "mystery" from the groom and all others until the day of the wedding when what is mystery will be revealed to all.  Even when the bride has walked the isle, the other piece of her ensemble - the veil - is viewed as a further detail of excitement, being that once the couple have exchanged their vows and the pastor says to the groom: "you may kiss your bride", the veil is put back.  Now everyone can see the bride's beauty and complexion as she and her groom kiss for the first time as husband and wife. 

This little introduction serves to aid the reader in understanding what exactly is going on in the New Testament regarding God's continual unfolding of His saving purposes through Jesus Christ.  Last week we looked at a three part series that we termed: "The Wedding you must not miss".1 So much was covered in that series that I felt like we needed to take a closer look at the bride herself.  Much like the little scenario pictured above, the New Testament's chief task is to reveal to us the Groom Jesus Christ, as well as His Father's plan in sending the Holy Spirit to gather forth sinners who, in accordance to His elective purpose of grace (to use the term of the Baptist Faith and Message 2000) will freely believe and be included in the bride. 

As we think further on this subject of the bride, we will utilize the following headings to guide our thinking:

1. The calling of Bride this current age
2. The inclusion of Israel with the bride in the Kingdom age
3. The completed bride in the Eternal age

Today's post will feature the first two points.

1. The calling of Bride this current age

We can summarize the entirety of Biblical revelation as being composed of five distinct, overlapping "eras" or "ages": creation or beginning age, Old Testament age, present or church age, millennium or kingdom age, eternity or the age to come. As we saw in last week's study, Yahweh had chosen to enter into covenant with his people - Israel - likened as a husband and wife relationship. (Jeremiah 31:31-34). God chose to experience Israel's formal breaking of covenant with Him. (Isaiah 50:1-2) Despite Israel's failure, God already had in mind the prophecies of a New Covenant, a plan in which He would bring about the Messiah or Groom for the people and promises of restoration for His people. (Ezekiel 11, 36-37)

When Christ came in the Gospels, He presented Himself as the Groom for the people. (John 3:29-30) Israel of course rejected Christ and in the course of His ministry He began to give glimpses of the fact that the Gentiles outside the Jewish fold were going to get a chance to be part of the People of God. Once Christ died, raised and ascended into heaven, the book of Acts records that on the day of Pentecost, a totally new work was begun - the church.

In the Old Testament God had called Israel to be a light to the nations, calling the Gentiles, in the words of John Piper, to "come and see". However once Israel rejected the Messiah, salvation was going to be fully opened up to called Gentiles who would believe and be saved. The church's emphasis would be more in lines of "going and telling". Thus the great surprise of the New Testament entails a two-fold mystery that many people even to this day discuss quite frequently: namely the place of Israel in God's purposes and the place of the church. Romans 11 helps the reader untangle this dual mystery of what the relationship is between Israel and the bride or church in this current age.2    

2. The relationship between the calling of the bride now to the inclusion of Israel with the bride in the Kingdom age

Thus God is right now calling forth the chosen bride for the Son, composed of choice sinners who in turn freely choose Jesus Christ as their saving bridegroom.  Israel, we discover, has not been replaced by the church nor rejected absolutely by God.  To erase the distinctions between Israel and the church would be to go against such distinctions that are still retained by the New Testament. (1 Corinthians 10:32) Rather, in relationship with the church and what will be her saving relationship with Christ at His second coming, God will fulfill His promises to Israel in the millennium or Kingdom age.  

Right now the church is being gathered by the Spirit to make Israel jealous, with her setting aside orchestrated by God to make way for the gathering in of believing Gentiles (and Jews). 

Such a magnificent and admittedly mind-blowing master plan of salvation by God prompts Paul to write these words in Romans 11:33,36 (33) "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!" (36) "For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen." 

As powerful as God's master mission plan is in gathering a bride for the Son, we discover through Romans 11 that it is but a means to the greater end - God's glory.  John Piper notes: "Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn't. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man."3
To add an additional thought to Dr. Piper's insight, the church is here on this earth to do missions. In doing the great commission of her Heavenly Bridegroom, she is preparing for and bringing glory to Him. The more the church engages in missions and evangelism, the greater urgency there will be for the worship and exaltation of Jesus Christ. 

Why is it relevant to understand God's calling of a bride in this current age and the inclusion of Israel with that bride in the future Kingdom age?

Such an understanding is practical for three reasons.  First, to demonstrate that God keeps His promises. God never lies (Titus 1:2; Hebrews 6:18-20) and Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8) Second, by noting the Bible's unfolding of all these details demonstrates God's plan of salvation to be far richer and more glorious than we ever imagined.  Salvation is not ultimately about the saved, but the Savior. God's glory in both His grace to sinners who believe and justice to those who freely reject Him is emphasized again and again in scripture.  Then thirdly, knowing such truths enables us to consider what God has ultimately in store for all who believe in this church age, those martyrs who believe in the tribulation and those Jews who believe in Christ's return. Christ is worth it all and it is faith's hope in Him that drives the believer to see that in Him all of God's promises are truly yeah and amen. (2 Cor 1:20)

More tomorrow.....

Endnotes:

1. http://pastormahlon.blogspot.com/2014/01/p1-wedding-you-must-not-miss-that-is.html
http://pastormahlon.blogspot.com/2014/01/p2-wedding-you-must-not-miss-god.html
http://pastormahlon.blogspot.com/2014/01/p3-wedding-you-must-not-miss.html

2. In short, God's master program of missions in gathering forth sinners, one at a time, into the bride of Christ's in this present age, includes the following:

a. Israel is still God's chosen people, who have been temporarily set aside. 10:18-11:10

b. God has ordained unbelieving Israel's setting aside in order to save believing Gentiles and Jews. 11:11-24

c. God has ordained that once the full number of Gentiles (and believing Jews) are gathered in this age (this age includes the church age, rapture of church age saints, tribulation and inclusion of tribulation martyrs at Christ's return at the end of the Tribulation), Israel will then be saved at Christ's return. Zech 12:10-11; Revelation 1:7; 7; 14; Romans 11:25-32.

3. In short then, once Christ returns with His raptured saints at the end of the tribulation, Israel will be given the grace to believe on Him, and thus she will shine forth the glory of her Messiah in His Kingdom, enjoying His glory with the glorified church who is seated with Him on thrones in the Millennial Kingdom. (Revelation 20:1-6)