Christian Denominations are seeking the healing of the rift between Christian and Jew over the death of Jesus in diplomatic ways.
“Introduction to Gerald S Sloyan’s Article on Christian Persecution of Jews over the Centuries” by Rev. John T Pawlikowski, OSM, PhD.
“In the second century and beyond, many of the principal Fathers of the Church began to write of Jews as a “rejected people” who were doomed to a life of marginality and misery. Jews were to wander the world as a despised people. This image persisted in Christian preaching, art and popular teaching for centuries to come. In certain countries it often led to civil and political discrimination against Jews and in some instances to physical attacks on Jews which resulted in death. While some Popes, Bishops and Christian princes stepped up to protect Jews, they were clearly a minority. It was only in the mid-twentieth century that the Catholic Church and many Protestant denominations issued major statements repudiating this anti-Judaic theology and began a process of constructive Christian-Jewish interaction.”
A better way to the healing of the rift between Christian and Jew.
Where diplomatic co-operation is important to future generations of Christians and Jews. It’s far more important to know through God revealing the scriptures to show that it was in the foreknowledge and plan of God that the Jewish leaders and people 2,000 years ago had Jesus crucified by Gentile Roman hands. The Jewish leaders were ignorant until the disciples at and after Pentecost revealed these scriptures to them.
I believe ‘the Messiah’s Secret’ reveals the scriptures that bring to light God’s plan of salvation. God deliberately hid from Jewish leaders and teachers of the law that Jesus was the Christ, and the prophesies that related to the Messiah’s death on the cross as the final sacrifice for sin and of his resurrection.
The Messiah had to be slain at the hands of both Jews and Gentiles, because his life’s blood was shed for the sins of the whole world. God intended that Jesus the Christ He would raise from the dead in order to be the first-fruit of the resurrection. Acts 2: 25-31. 3: 17-21.4: 25-30
Jesus opened the disciple’s minds on the evening of the day of his resurrection, to understand the scriptures that spoke of the Christ’s suffering, death and resurrection
During Jesus’ ministry he did not allow the disciples to proclaim him as the Christ; ”Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.” Matthew 16: 20.
Jesus told his disciples of his future death at Jerusalem, “They will scourge him and kill him and on the third day he will rise. But they understood none of these things; this saying was hiding from them, and they could not grasp what was said.” Luke 9: 43-45. 18: 34..
The disciples asked Jesus before he ascended would he restore the kingdom to Israel? Acts 1:6 They must have thought that Israel was lost to God, The ‘other nation’ in the Bible is referred to as the Gentiles.
Jesus referred to the other nation in Matthews account were Jesus had spoken of the vineyard being taken away from them (Israel) and given to another nation (Gentiles) to produce the fruit of it. Matthew 21:43.
Pentecost was the time for Israel’s leaders to accept Jesus as their Christ
At Pentecost when the promised Holy Spirit came into the house and filled the disciples, they went onto the streets and proclaimed Jesus for the first time that He was the Christ. The prophecy of Joel had been fulfilled and those who heard, some would have known about the ministry of Jesus, his crucifixion and his resurrection.
The message going out from Pentecost through the disciples and followers proclaimed that God had allowed the Christ to suffer and be killed, God had deliberately not allowed Israel’s leaders to recognise Jesus as the Christ before his death. Acts 3: 17,
The understanding of these verses of scripture are important to discern the part the Jews played in the plan of God.
Peter speaking to the crowd at Solomon’s portico he proclaimed their Leaders and people that they had acted in ignorance when they handed Jesus to the Romans to carry out the punishment for blasphemy he said, “And now brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your rulers. But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ should suffer, he has thus fulfilled. Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus.”
The prophets had foretold of the suffering and death of the Messiah, “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him the chastisement that made us whole and with his stripes we are healed. . . . he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressor.” Isaiah 53: 1-12
Sins blotted out through repentance, sins totally deleted by the one sacrifice of Jesus ‘s life laid down paying the price demanded by God, “Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” Hebrews 9: 22. Leviticus 17: 11.
The ‘Times of Refreshing’ meaning the re-establishing the throne and land of King David. The King of Israel ruling the nations with his kingdom of priests taking out the good news of the Christ’s reign, restoring the environment and keeping the peace among the nations. This has still to take place, our young people can be assured that the destruction of the planet is not in the near future.
To the Jew first.
At Pentecost Peter standing with the eleven addressed the people: ‘Men of Judah’ and ‘Men of Israel” followed by ‘Brethren’. There were also proselytes, coverts to Judaism that are mentioned in Acts 2: 5, 10, 14, 22, 29. 3: 26. 13: 45, 46.
The expectation of Jesus’ immediate return.
The disciples were expecting Jesus to return soon after Pentecost they had been taught by Jesus mainly through parables about the kingdom of God and Jesus spoke to them about the kingdom during the forty days before his ascension. The Holy Spirit and had witnessed the prophesies about Jesus to them to prove that he was the Christ.
Jesus knew that God only knew the actual time and day of his coming. “But of that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son only the Father. Take heed watch; for you do not know the when the time will come.” Mark 13: 32, 33.
Some years later, Paul had recognised that God had hidden the death and resurrection of the Messiah from the Jewish leaders, and people. “For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not recognise him nor understand the utterances of the prophets which are read every sabbath, fulfilled these by condemning him. Though they could not charge him with anything deserving death, yet they asked Pilate to have him killed. And when they had fulfilled all that was written about him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead and for many days he appeared to those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witness to the people.” Acts 13: 23-31.
Paul’s conversion leading to his ministry to the Gentiles.
Paul had been taught the history of God’s dealings with Israel, recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures, so he was able to bring this knowledge into the light of knowing Jesus as the Christ. God gave him a ministry to the Gentiles. He foresaw the inclusion of the Gentiles would lead to Israel’s enlightenment about Jesus being the Christ.
St Paul in his letter to the Romans spoke of Israel having zeal for God, but they were not enlightened regarding Jesus. They sought the Christ through the law, Jesus created a division amongst the people because he continually broke the Sabbath Day and other laws.
Under the Law the people earned their righteousness by keeping the law, so the Pharisees, Lawyers and scribes added more stricter rules to the existing ones. Jesus was told not to heal on the Sabbath Day as there were six other days on which he could heal people. Jesus said it was right to do good on the Sabbath day. They untied their ass to water it on the sabbath day, so he had released on the sabbath a woman from her physical ailment that she had for 18 years. Luke 6: 1-11.13: 10-16.
Paul had realised that it was by faith he received Jesus as his Saviour, he quoted from Isaiah:
”But Israel have not obeyed the gospel’ for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” So faith comes from what is heard and from what is heard comes by the preaching of Christ. But, I ask have they (Israel) not heard?” Indeed they have, for “Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.” Again, I ask did not Israel understand. First Moses says, “I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation; with a foolish nation I will make you angry.” Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.” But of Israel he says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient people.”[1] Romans 10: 2, 16-21. Acts 9: 10-22.
Paul was teaching the church at Rome that Isaiah made the distinction between Israel the nation, and the Gentile nation: Israel’s national calling to accept Jesus as the Messiah, “I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation.” The Gentile people from the rest of the world who were accepting Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. Maybe Paul felt personally the jealousy that he quoted from Moses. He always went into the synagogue first on his ministry tours and shared the gospel. But only to find it was the Gentiles who were ready to accept the good news of the gospel.
“Events in Prophecy” by M.R.DeHaan (Founder of ‘Our Daily Bread’ Scriptures) writes on Romans 11: 11 page 65, “God, rejected his own chosen people and sacrificed them that we might share in their salvation.”
According to this view: the Gentiles were brought in as a result of Israel’s fall. But he doesn’t give Israel the opportunity to receive Jesus as their Christ at Pentecost as he writes they were already cut off in being the instrument and sacrifice of Christ’s death.
Tom Wright’s book “The Day the Revolution Began” page 229. He writes, “ Jesus representing Israel and the world, took upon himself the full force of the divine condemnation of sin itself; so that all those “in him” would not suffer it themselves.”
Jesus made the sacrifice for the unconfessed sin that is done in ignorance.
Jesus the ‘scapegoat’ and all Israel’s sin on the cross Leviticus 16 6-10,20-22. The two goats, one chosen by lot to be slain for the sin of Israel and the other goat bearing the sin of the Israel sent away into the wilderness – removing the burden of sin.
Healing the rift between Christian and Jews
The disciples proclaimed Jesus as the Christ for the first time at Pentecost. It was for the Israeli nation’s leaders to recognise that they had acted in ignorance in Jesus’ death, it was God’s plan of salvation for all creation. we today must realise this, it will prepare us for when Jesus calls out the church and that could be anytime soon.
2,000 years ago we read that a number of priests became followers of Jesus, but the nations leaders were not convinced. The Sadducees didn’t believe in the resurrection and the Pharisees who believed in the resurrection, but only on the last day.
Many today they look for a personal experience of God, which is of the flesh before they will reach out in faith.
Paul taught personal salvation through faith in Jesus
The call is to the individual person across the world to accept Jesus as Saviour. Paul in his letter to the Romans. “If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9.
God loves us, and his love reaches out to anyone who seeks the truth.
John the disciple wrote, “But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor the will of the flesh nor the will of man, but of God.” John 1: 12, 13.
God puts substance to our faith, in knowing Jesus in a personal way. The Holy Spirit’s ministry is to reveal Jesus to us. Quite often it’s when we discern scriptural truths that our ears, eyes and hearts are opened and adds substance to our faith.
St Andrews’s scripture for 2019 “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near.” Isaiah 55: 6