Even though most Jewish people don’t believe in Jesus today, it is helpful to remember the historical fact that he came into the world as one of them

5 min read

But in spite of this, there is hope for Israel.

Ezra 10:2

This post is written for the Christian who is trying to make some sense of current world events, particularly the ongoing conflict in Israel.

Most believers understand that Israel is the land of the Bible, but they are hard pressed to know what that has to do with the present crisis. There are strong opinions coming at them from all different directions and it is, well, confusing.

But as with any issue, we want to think biblically about it. We want to let the same Book that tells us how Jesus loves us and died for us be the Book that also helps us frame our response to what’s going on in the world today.

As followers of Jesus, our worldview is developed by looking at everything through the lens of Scripture. Rather than depending only on our human sensibilities, we always have the Bible as our first point of reference. After all, the reason we regularly search the Scriptures is because we believe them to be the most proven and reliable measure of what is right, real, and true in this world.

Rather than letting a social media feed make up our mind for us, we’re better off if our first step on a regular basis is to crack open God’s Word and gain wisdom from above.

So, applying this concept to Israel and the Jewish people, it may help us to think more deeply and biblically about the situation. Otherwise, we will miss some indispensable pieces of the larger conversation.

Delivery Service

Way back in time, God promised Abraham, the patriarch of the Jews, “…in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:2-4). At least in part, this was a veiled reference to Abraham’s ultimate descendent – Jesus the Messiah. The whole earth would be blessed by Abraham because it would be his distant offspring, Jesus, who would provide redemption and salvation not just for the Jew, but for the whole world. As Jesus himself would later put it,

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

You see, God chose Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and their descendants (i.e., Israel) to be the vessel through which He would send his Son to the world. What an honor for them! Such an honor, in fact, that God also said to Abraham that he would “bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt” (Genesis 12:3, NLT).

Just like you choose which delivery service you will use to send a package to its destination (FedEX, UPS, DHL, USPS, etc.), so God the Father chose whom he would use to deliver the ultimate package – His Son – from Heaven to Earth. He chose Israel. As Jesus explained to a non-Jewish woman, “…salvation comes through the Jews.” (John 4:22). They are the chosen instrumentality by which God would introduce Immanuel to the world.

Upon his humble yet safe delivery by way of a Jewish mother a little over 2,000 years ago, Immanuel, the Son of God would do what only He as the God-man could do: lay down his life as a perfect sacrifice to atone for our sins and thereby make it possible for us to be reconciled back to God (Isaiah 53:4-6; 2 Corinthians 5:18-21; 1 Peter 3:17-18; Hebrews 10:11-13).

It is in this sense that Israel is God’s chosen people. Not because they were big and powerful, mind you. Not because they were any more righteous than anyone else either, because clearly they are not. It was simply God’s call, and He chose them.

A woman and a dragon

There is a scene in John’s Revelation that vividly tells the story of the age-old violence against Israel. The imagery explains it all. In the vision described in Revelation 12, John sees a woman who is pregnant. Nearby is a large red dragon poised to devour the child as soon as it is born. Most Bible scholars agree that the multi-headed dragon represents Satan and the forthcoming child is none other than Jesus.

Okay, that’s the easy part.

But what about the identity of the woman in John’s vision? Who does she represent? The fact that she is wearing a crown of twelve stars on her head (Israel was divided into 12 tribes) is probably an important clue. Also, if you add the fact that Jesus was born to a woman of Jewish ethnicity in the little town of Bethlehem, Israel, it becomes apparent that the mysterious woman in Revelation is most likely the nation of Israel.

Of course, we know that the dragon was unsuccessful in killing the child at birth, as the mother escaped with the infant to Egypt. Angry that he was not able to destroy the child immediately, “the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring” (Revelation 12:17).

And there you have it. The dragon (Satan) became furious with the woman (Israel) and declared war against her and her offspring. But why? Simply because Israel was the vessel chosen by God to deliver the Holy One to the world. In a sense, Israel is the mother of Jesus and because she is, Satan hates her.

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.

-Paul, Romans 9:4-5

Could it be that underneath all anti-Semitism is the reality that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came into this world by way of Israel as a Jewish person? Is it possible that the historic antagonism has something to do with Jesus? Indeed.

Even though modern Israel, by and large, does not believe that Jesus is the true Messiah, nevertheless she is still the means that God chose to send him to our broken world. Because of this, the chief antagonist hates her.

Pray for the peace of Israel

Sadly, the dragon continues to effectively nurture hatred in the hearts of people toward Israel. Politically, the conversation may be about land rights, statehood, and who has the right to live where. But don’t be mistaken, at its root the animosity toward Israel is because it is Israel that gave us Jesus, the very same Jesus that defeated Satan through his death and resurrection and the same Jesus who is Hope incarnate for all who place their trust in him.

This same Jesus, the Prince of Peace, promises to one day permanently resolve the conflict and put the dragon in his place forever.

Until then, let’s continue praying for the peace of war-torn Israel.

It’s a new day with God. Run with it.