We're gonna go straight to the Word, so grab
your Bibles. Let's turn to the book of Acts,
chapter one. Good morning, by the way. Good morning,
good morning. Welcome officially to Advent season
here at Oak Hill, as Grant introduced so well.
This is one of our favorite seasons on the calendar.
We get to come together as a church family and
count down the weeks until our traditional celebration
of Christmas. As you can see on the screen, we
have a series title called Savior for the Nations.
And that is, by design, a foundational concept
that was chosen specifically by our elder team
out of this passage in Acts chapter 1. Now, you've
already heard the primary passage for the whole
series read this morning by Grant in our call
to worship. Let me highlight the key verses from
that passage, which you can find in your Bible.
I'll also put them on the screen. They're verses
6 through 8. So you can look in your Bibles,
you can look at the screen. We're going to break
this down, verses 6 through 8 in Acts chapter
1. Here's what God says. So when they, and that
is the remaining 11 disciples, correct? When
they had come together, they were asking him,
Jesus, saying, Lord, is it at this time that
you are restoring the kingdom to Israel? Now,
that is not only an important question to ask,
but a very logical one as well. In fact, I'm
guessing that if any of us had been in that moment
with Jesus at that time, we would have asked
the very same question. Remember what's going
on here. They're standing there with the resurrected
Lord. He had been crucified. He was physically
dead. And yet here he was now standing with them,
speaking to them. So there's no longer any question
in the minds of the disciples. that this is Israel's
Messiah. He is the king who would sit on the
throne of David forever as prophesied in the
Hebrew scriptures. And by the way, at this point
Luke tells us, Jesus had been risen from the
dead and with his disciples for 40 days, specifically
talking about the matter at hand, which is the
kingdom of God. So it's entirely logical for
us to see this. Sometimes we make fun of the
disciples for being clueless, but this is totally
logical. Is it now, Lord? After 40 days, is it
now? Is this the moment when you are going to
restore the kingdom to Israel? Verse 7 says,
Notice in that what Jesus doesn't say. He doesn't
deny that a restoration of the kingdom in Israel
will come at some future point. He only warns
them, don't get caught up in the timing of all
this. That's the Father's prerogative. And then
he redirects their focus, not to the distant
future, but to the immediate future, to the mission
that lays before them, the spreading of the gospel.
Verse eight, but you will receive power when
the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall
be my witnesses, both in Jerusalem and all Judea
and Samaria, even to the remotest part. So look
at those locations for a second. Jerusalem and
Judea, that's where they were standing in this
very moment, right? Samaria, which is the territory
just to the north of Judea, and then this massive
leap from lands nearby to the very ends of the
earth. Imagine for a second I got up here and
I say, guys, I have an instruction for you. We
are going to all go out and be missionaries together
in Santa Clarita, in the San Fernando Valley,
and all the way to India. You'd be like, whoa,
Jeff, calm down. Slow down. All the way to India,
that's kind of a big jump. But that's the point.
This is a big mission that Jesus is laying before
his guys. In that moment, it was a simple way
for him to communicate to these 11 novices, soon
to be missionaries, that God has a heart for
every nation on the globe. It's a big mission.
God has a heart for every nation of the world,
not just for Jews, not just for Samaritans and
Gentiles, the whole world. In fact, he has in
mind, because he's God in the flesh, people groups
that the disciples couldn't even fathom in their
minds, where they were located, what they're
called, what languages they speak, but people
from every land, every tribe, and every language
across the globe. That's what Jesus has in mind
here, even if the disciples can't process all
that in this moment. Now, at Christmas time,
we naturally turn our attention to the incarnation,
and rightfully so. Because along with the cross
and the empty tomb, the incarnation sits at the
very center point of human history. And at the
center of the incarnation is this concept of
God giving a gift to mankind. This is why we
exchange gifts at Christmastime, right? Because
God is the greatest giver. He gives a gift to
mankind. This is what Isaiah talked about. We
know this passage, but look at the language.
A child will be born to us, he prophesies. A
son will be given. to us as a gift. He'll be
given to mankind. And then later, John famously
confirms that very truth in John 3, 16. For God
so loved the world that he gave to us his one
and only son. And so the old and the new connect
here in this gift that God gives to us. And if
you think about it, this is an amazing thing
that God has a love for this fallen world that
is filled with people who have completely turned
their back on him. who live in rebellion. But
this is the wonder of the gospel. This is what
makes the gift so amazing, that into such a place
of rebellion, the father was not only willing,
but pleased to send his son on a rescue mission.
Don't lose sight of that, ever, and especially
at Christmas. This is the heart of the gospel
that we celebrate every Christmas, God's heart
for the nations. By the way, this was not a new
teaching for the Jewish men that were listening
to Jesus in that moment. We look at the Psalms.
We see Psalm 96 .3, for example, says, tell of
his glory among the nations, not just Jerusalem,
not just Israel, among the nations, his wonderful
deeds among all the peoples. And in Psalm 67
.4, let the nations be glad and sing for joy.
For you, Yahweh, will judge the peoples with
uprightness and you will guide the nations on
the earth. This is an Old Testament teaching
as well. But in that moment in Acts 1, when the
disciples are in this mode of, okay, is the kingdom
starting right now? Jesus needs to refocus them
and let them know, look, the kingdom is so much
bigger than you can imagine. It's so much bigger
than what's in front of you. My love for the
nations is so much greater than you can even
fathom. So here's what I want you to do. Stay
in Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit's gonna come upon
you soon, and then you will be empowered by him
to do something you cannot do on your own, to
go out and be my witnesses to the goodness of
the gospel all across the world, to every nation.
This is a foundational passage, you guys. You
should know this passage in Acts chapter one.
So as Grant said this morning and over the next
three weeks until Christmas Day, we're going
to walk through God's heart for the groups of
people described in this passage. Each one of
them is unique, right? Jews, Samaritans, Gentiles,
and ultimately we're going to go beyond that
and we will talk about life beyond this world.
Life with Christ in eternity in the heavenly
realms. But today we're going to start in this
foundational place, to the very place that Jesus
is talking to the disciples in Acts chapter 1
in Jerusalem and Judea, and we'll talk about
God's heart for the Jewish people. Flip over
in your Bibles to Romans chapter 1. Romans chapter
1, and I want you to find verse 16. Very important
verse. In Romans 1, the Apostle Paul is writing
about the good news of salvation, the very salvation
that the disciples were now going to take into
the world. And in verse 16, he writes something
very important. I'll put it on the screen, or
you can look at it in your lap there. In verse
16, he writes this. I'm not ashamed of the gospel,
Paul says, and there's no question that in the
Greek world, he was being mocked. for the fact
that his Messiah, his Savior, had been crucified
on a cross, which in the Greek world was a shame.
But he says, I'm not ashamed of the gospel, for
it's the power of God for salvation to what?
To everyone who believes. Good, everyone. That
means all people groups, all nations, all who
believe. But then look at the peculiar phrase
he puts at the end. To the Jew first, and also
to the Greek. The power of God, To salvation,
to the Jew first. What does he mean by that?
What did he mean? And what are the implications
of it as we look at the scriptures and look at
the gospel? Well, the word first there in Greek
is the word proton, and it has two standard meanings.
It can mean first in sequence or time. That's
one meaning. Or first in rank or honor. So Paul
could be speaking of first, well, this is a sequential
thing that historically, chronologically, the
gospel of salvation goes out to the Jewish people
first, and then it moves on to the Gentiles.
And that is historically true, right? The earliest
followers of Jesus were Jewish. The earliest
converts were Jewish. The early church was mostly
Jewish. So it could be said that Paul is saying,
well, look, the gospel of salvation goes to the
Jews first and then sequentially goes out to
the Greeks. But there's actually a problem with
that interpretation, and this is why you have
to have hermeneutical principles when you look
at Scripture, because Scripture interprets Scripture.
There are two other places where we see this
phrase, and they're found in the second chapter
of Romans, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
And in those two places, it does not mean sequential.
It does not mean time. Let's take a look at this.
Flip over to chapter 2, verses 9 and 10. So again,
this is the very next chapter. So back then,
Paul was writing a letter. There weren't chapter
divisions. This is all one flow of thought that
he has here. Verses nine and 10, it says, there
will be tribulation and distress for every soul
of man who does evil of the Jew first and also
of the Greek. That is not sequential. But glory
and honor and peace to everyone who does good
to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Paul's
using this phrase, he's not speaking merely about
sequence, he's talking about honor or prominence.
That the gospel of salvation goes out especially
to the Jews, and we'll find out why in just a
second, but also to the Greeks. But to be consistent
in our interpretation, we have to say two things
are true then. The gospel is especially for the
Jew, it goes first there, and also the Gentile,
but also judgment goes first to the Jew and then
to the Greek. And what that means is God has
declared that the Jewish people are, A, especially
privileged, but also especially accountable before
him. That's what he's saying in Romans chapter
2. Now, why? Well, for a whole series of reasons,
beginning with this. Because, first of all, they're
unique calling. That goes back to the Torah,
goes back to the prophets. Listen to the language
in Deuteronomy 14 too. Speaking through Moses,
Yahweh says to Israel, you are a holy people
to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen
you to be a people for his own possession out
of all the peoples who are on the face of the
earth. He could have chosen anyone he wanted,
but he's chosen you. So this is Israel's covenantal
status as being uniquely chosen by God. And Paul's
statement in Romans 1, I believe, is an affirmation
of the irrevocable nature of that divine choice
that God made. Even the point he makes about
judgment in Romans 2 speaks to that unique standing.
There is still an ongoing covenantal relationship
between Israel and Yahweh that will play out
even at the judgment seat of Christ. This principle
then gets confirmed by the prophet Amos, where
Yahweh says to the sons of Israel, look at this,
you only, you only have I chosen among all the
families of the earth. Romans 1, but look at,
he says next, therefore, therefore, I will punish
you for your iniquities. Because judgment begins
at the household of God, doesn't it? That lines
up with Romans 2, because of Israel's unique
calling, there will be tribulation and distress.
for those who do evil, first for the Jew and
also for the Greek. So God is consistent in this
prominence, this honor throughout Scripture from
the old to the new. The second reason why the
Jews are especially accountable to God is because
of all the advantages they've been given over
the Gentiles. And Paul talks about this also
in the book of Romans. Starting in chapter 3,
he says, what advantage has the Jew? Great in
every respect. First of all, he says, they were
entrusted with the oracles of God. They were
the unique possessors and guardians of God's
revelation in the Old Testament scriptures. They
had the Torah. They had the prophets. They had
the writings. All of the shapes and shadows that
pointed them forward toward the coming of Messiah.
They had that. They were drilled in it. And even
more, in Romans 9, Paul lays out even more advantages.
He talks about who are Israelites to whom belong
the adoption as sons, the covenants, the giving
of the law, the temple service, the promises,
and the fathers or the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob. Look at all those advantages. that
had been given to the Jew. What's really significant
there in Romans 9 is that Paul doesn't use the
past tense. He doesn't say all these things that
once belonged to you. He uses the present tense.
Who are Israelites to whom belong these advantages?
Present tense. So more than any other people
group on the earth, the Jews, even today, are
without excuse. Make sense? But let's leave Romans
2 and go back to the honor and prominence that
Paul ascribes to the Jews in Romans 1. The gospel
of salvation is first for them. Why? Well, obviously
the promise of Messiah is coming and the salvation
that he brings with him was communicated to them
first in the Hebrew scriptures. Right? They got
the word about the coming of Messiah. And in
case you didn't know this, Jesus was Jewish.
Jesus was, you know what? It's funny, on Twitter,
that's become controversial. Because of the post
-truth world we live in, that's actually on social
media become controversial. Do not, just don't
go on there. In case you didn't know that, he
was Jewish. The Son of God became flesh as a
Jewish man born of a Jewish woman, right? When
you look at the Christmas narratives in Matthew
1 and 2 and Luke 1 and 2, everything about the
stories about Christmas is thoroughly Jewish.
The setting, the language, the people involved,
the customs, all the allusions to Old Testament
scripture being fulfilled, it's all Jewish. Jesus
was born, raised, he lived as a Jew under the
law. Virtually all of his public ministry took
place within the boundaries of Israel. He chose
disciples that were all Jewish. He taught in
Jewish synagogues. He went up to the temple to
celebrate the Jewish feasts and festivals. All
the titles that he has, Messiah, Son of David,
Son of Man, all come out of the Jewish scriptures.
It's thoroughly Jewish. But it even goes beyond
those obvious things. Here's a prime example
of God's heart for the Jewish people. Jesus explicitly
said that his mission in coming to the earth
was uniquely for who? The lost sheep of the house
of Israel. He said that. Especially to the Jew.
And the Greek. But especially to the Jew. Jesus
said it himself. In fact, in Matthew 10, he looked
at the 12 before sending them out and he said,
don't go in the way of the Gentiles. Don't go
in the way of the Gentiles. And do not enter
any city of the Samaritans, but rather, I want
you to go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
To the Jew first. and also to the Greek. So his
focus during his earthly ministry was the Jewish
people. They were his priority. And I think you
see the reason for this. When Jesus does come
into contact with a Samaritan woman in John 4,
the woman at the well, he says to her what? He
says, you worship what you don't know, Samaritans.
We Jews worship what we do know, for salvation
is from the Jews. Honor and prominence. Jesus
came especially for the house of Israel. Salvation
is from the Jews. He said it himself. And the
anti -Semites in the church today need to hear
that loud and clear. Salvation is from who? It's
from the Jews. The Jews are the stream and the
vehicle by which God's revelation about salvation
has come to the rest of the world. Without that
Jewish foundation, we would not be here as Gentiles.
Israel is, as Paul will tell us in Romans 11,
the olive tree and the root into which all non
-Jews are grafted into so that they can be saved.
The Jews are the natural branches of that tree,
Paul's going to say. So they have the honored
first position when it comes to the gospel of
salvation. And by the way, I think this is the
only way that you can explain how Paul operates
on his missionary journeys. Remember, Paul was
sent out into the Greek world, right, to Asia
Minor and to Greece, and he's called the apostle
to the Gentiles. And yet, where does he go first
every time he comes to a new city? To the synagogue.
But wait, you're the apostle to the Gentiles.
What are you doing that for? To the Jew first.
And it says in Acts 17, this was his custom,
to go first to the synagogue. Now, was he rejected
every time? It appears that way. But he kept
going first to the synagogue. That's his custom.
We see it in Acts chapter 13, 14, 17, 18, 19,
and 28, in case you wondered. So, first to the
Jew, prominence, honor. Also prominence and honor
in judgment, accountability, because of the advantages
that they have. This is how God has approached
his people Israel. We should know that, even
as Gentiles. Okay, I wanna spend some time this
morning in my favorite Christmas verse that also
talks about God's heart for the Jewish people,
and it's not found in the Gospels. It's actually
found in Galatians chapter four. So I want you
to turn over there. Galatians chapter four. We're
gonna work through this verse very slowly. We're
gonna break it down phrase by phrase because
This verse is carefully worded by Paul, and it's
filled with Christmas theology that we should
all be aware of at this time of year. Now, I
can't explain the first, I don't have time to
explain this whole pericope here. I want to look
specifically at verse four and break down these
phrases. The first one is this. When the fullness
of the time came, what did God do? He sent forth
his son. Now, there's so much in that statement
about God. First of all, he's sovereign over
the ages. He knows the beginning from the end.
He is the author of earthly history. He is the
guider and director of earthly history. And when
he was satisfied that he had prepared the world
in just the right way, put all the right conditions
in place, in his infinite mind, the appointed
time had arrived, and he sent forth his son.
Again, look at what's not being said here. He
doesn't say in the fullness of time Christ was
born. It says in the fullness of time he was
sent forth. That is a specific statement by Paul
that points to the preexistence of God the Son.
He was sent forth. He already was. And he was
sent forth into time. In the beginning, before
anything existed, God the Son was, John tells
us, right? He was. He was with God. He was God
before anything. Anything came into being. But
in this moment of time, in the fullness of time,
he is now sent forth by the Father. Not like
a prophet, not like an angel. God had already
sent prophets and angels to his people. This
is different. This is unique. This is a one -time
thing, his one and only son. And if he's a son,
if he's a son, then he's a divine being himself
because the son reflects the essence and attributes
of his father. That's what's going on here. Now,
the idea of this, that God has an eternal son,
was a difficult proposition for Jews of that
day. That's one of the reasons why we see so
much rejection. But it shouldn't have been because
Isaiah told them about this, didn't he? He said,
a son will be given to us. And you might stop
there and go, okay, good, a baby's born. No,
this is not just a regular son because he goes
on to say, this son is going to be called, wonderful
counselor, mighty God. Mighty God, eternal father,
prince of peace. Names and titles reserved only
for Yahweh. So he left the heavenly glory that
he enjoyed with the father in eternity past to
go on this mission from the father in the fullness
of time. And he was what? Born of a woman. One
of the great mysteries of scripture, right? The
conception in the womb of the virgin by the Holy
Spirit. God experiences a human birth. Think
about that. And in that process, he assumes a
second nature. He already has a divine nature
from eternity past. He assumes a human nature
that he derives from Mary. And this was necessary
for several reasons. First of all, it fulfills
the prophecy in Genesis 3 .15, the seed of the
woman who's gonna crush the head of the serpent.
And of course, the incarnation, so that Christ
could die for man as a man. And that's essential,
right? He represents us as a man, as our perfect
substitute on the cross. And so Jesus is born
the only one of his kind. He might say, he's
a unicorn. There is nothing else. He is the God
-man. And so when people try to say, well, is
he God or is he man? We say, He's both. He's
true God and true man. He is the one and only
God man. Just keep that phrase together so that
you don't get into error on either side. He is
the God man. True God and true man. The born
of a woman and then what? Born under the law.
So here we see the uniquely Jewish aspect of
the Christmas story. He is born a Jewish man
to a Jewish mother and responsible for carrying
out the law of Moses. Like any Jewish man. But
like no man before him or after him, he obeyed
it perfectly. The Bible says he was without sin.
And therefore, he's able to bear the curse that
the law brings, right? Isn't that important?
He bears the curse of the law on the cross. He
qualifies as our perfect sacrifice, a lamb without
spot or blemish, and therefore able to take away
your sin. If he's just another sinner who died
2 ,000 years ago on a cross, just a man just
like you and I, he cannot represent you. But
as the perfect lamb of God, he can. He can bear
that curse. And by trusting in him, we can have
his righteousness credited to our account. So
he's got to be. born of a woman, born under the
law. Here's the purpose. So that, so that he
might redeem those under the law. The law is
a burden, isn't it? It can't be kept. So this
idea of redemption is a commercial term that's
used to buying a slave out of an ancient slave
market. This is what Christ has done for us.
He came to purchase men and women like you and
I who were locked in slavery to sin. And he came
to set us free from that slavery. Now, if there
had been another way that we could have done
it, if we could have done this ourselves and
just gritted our teeth and fulfilled the law,
then we wouldn't need a savior. But the reality
is, is we couldn't do it. We were helpless. We
were dead in our sins. And so he becomes the
curse for us. He comes, thick picture this now,
he comes to the slavery auction block of the
earth and buys us. by his body, and by his blood.
He purchases us out of the slave market. He redeems
us. Amazing. That we might receive the adoption
as sons. We talked about this a couple weeks
ago. It would be enough that we were redeemed,
but God goes so far beyond that. He adopts us
as his children. No longer are you helpless before
the law. No longer are you a slave to sin. No
longer, listen now, do you have to grit your
teeth and morally perform in order to try to
earn God's love. You are a son and a daughter.
Hear that clearly. You are now a son or a daughter.
You've gone from being a slave to being an heir.
There's no greater status you can enjoy in this
life or the life to come. It's greater than any
status an angel has. It comes with all the rights
and privileges of God's family and inheritance
beyond what you can imagine. These are the things
we have to remember at Christmastime, right?
What a beautiful statement. Galatians 4 .4 is
such a great statement for God's heart for the
Jewish people. A savior sent forth by the father
to rescue and redeem his people who were suffering
under the burden of the law of Moses. Now, We
know how that turned out in the way the Jews
did not receive him. So let's tackle one last
thing, and it's not a small one. Let's flip back
to the book of Romans and go to Romans 11. We're
gonna work our way through, we're not gonna read
the whole thing, but we're gonna work our way
through the logic of this chapter. I will reference
certain verses, so just keep it open on your
lap. But here's what we need to remember. We
know from the scriptures what it says about the
Jewish people from ancient times. The whole story
of the Old Testament is what? Rebellion. They're
constantly called a stiff -necked people, refusing
to submit to Yahweh's commands. But more importantly,
what we find out is the Jews have stumbled over
their own Messiah. They have failed to receive
the one whom God sent forth to free them. They
failed to receive him. But when we look closer
at scripture, and this is the thing that blows
our minds, we see that it was actually prophesied
to happen that way. Both Paul and Peter quote
Isaiah 700 years before the coming of Christ.
They quote Isaiah in this. Behold, God says,
I, God, lay in Zion, in Jerusalem, a stumbling
stone and a rock of offense in the person of
Christ. I do that, God says. And Peter then adds
this statement, they stumble because they're
disobedient to God's word and to this doom they
were appointed. That's heavy stuff, isn't it?
But the point is, God isn't surprised by the
rejection. He's not surprised by any of it. So
the Jewish people... They see Jesus. They listen
to Jesus. They say, no, thank you. They stumble
in their pride and disobedience. Everybody acknowledges
that. There's no controversy in that statement.
In fact, even today, even today, the remnant
of Jewish believers in Jesus is a relatively
small number of people. It's still happening.
Less than 1 % of Israelis today are Messianic
believers who trusted in Christ. Less than 1%.
The question we want to ask in this is in light
of that truth, of the stiff -necked nature, the
rebellious nature of the Jewish people, the question
is, does God still have a heart for them? Does
God still have a heart for the Jewish people?
Or we could ask it the way you see on the screen,
is there still a future for ethnic and national
Israel in God's plan? This has become a political
hot potato, hasn't it? in light of world events
right now. So we should know exactly what is
said about this subject. In order to answer that
question, what we have to do is answer some key
questions about the stumbling. Here are the two
key questions. First of all, have they stumbled
temporarily for a time or forever? And secondly,
for what purpose did they stumble? God has a
plan in all of it, but for what was the reason?
What was the purpose for it? And what's great
is we have the answers to those questions in
a single chapter. In the most, what I would call
the most theologically significant book in the
New Testament. In Romans 11. There's so many
people today say, I don't want to read it. I
just want to hold my opinion about Israel. I
don't want to read this chapter. Because it answers
the question. I'm amazed at how many people out
there are claiming that the Jews don't matter
to God anymore. They've been rejected forever,
and they don't look at what Paul clearly says
in Romans 11. So we're going to walk through
this. The very first verse in the chapter says
this. I say then, God has not rejected his people,
has he? Paul answers, may it never be. Is there
anything unclear about that? God has not rejected
his people. Right? The last conclusion that we
should come to is that God's purpose in the stumbling
of Israel was a permanent fall into destruction.
Now, the objection that's often raised to this
is that, well, maybe Paul's talking about spiritual
Israel here or believing Israel, not ethnic Israel.
But Paul's concern throughout the book of Romans,
and especially in chapters 9 through 11, has
been ethnic Israel. In fact, he calls them his
kinsmen according to the flesh. And in this very
verse, in Romans 11, 1, he describes who he's
talking about by listing his own ethnic heritage.
He says, I'm an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham
of the tribe of Benjamin. I'm talking about ethnic
Israel. And God has not rejected ethnic Israel.
May it never be. And then he repeats the truth.
Of verse one and verse two, he says it very clearly.
God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew.
In the Greek, that word prognosko in the Greek
is a very powerful word. It doesn't just mean
foreknowledge. It means to be foreloved. It's
talking about election because I chose them.
God says, I've not rejected them. I foreknew
them. I foreloved them. I put my mark of love
on them back in the day. That has not changed.
Now, those Jews who have been chosen as part
of the believing remnant, Paul says in chapter
11, they've taken hold of the salvation in Christ.
Praise the Lord for that. But for the rest, he
says, their hearts have been hardened. Their
hearts have been hardened. It's God who gives
them, it says, a spirit of stupor, Paul writes.
It's God who gives them eyes that... cannot see
and ears that will not hear. He saved his remnant,
but for the most of them, their hearts have been
hardened. And then just in case you haven't been
paying attention, for the third time, Paul says
in verse 11, they did not stumble so as to fall,
did they? May it never be. May it never be. So
he's cleared up the first question. Is the stumbling
of Israel temporary or is it permanent? It's
temporary. He's been very clear about this. Now
here's where we get to the purpose. So if that's
true, if Israel has stumbled temporarily, why?
What is God doing here? Well, Paul tells us this
has been his plan from the beginning. Through
the stumbling of the Jews, salvation has done
what? It's gone out to Gentiles like me. Thank
you, Lord. I would be helpless without it. I'd
be lost in my sin without it. That's what he
says. But that's not all. There's a circular
process here. That salvation, going to the Gentile
world, is part of God's ultimate plan to bring
the Jews back front and center in his program.
Paul recognizes that the Jewish people in that
moment are hard -hearted. Everywhere he has gone
in the Greek world, he has experienced it personally.
Rejection after rejection. There's nothing but
rejection. and they are bitter towards the believing
church. Paul has seen it, but here was his hope.
Are you ready? As the beauty of the gospel is
revealed in the church, it's his heart that the
Jews would see that and become jealous for it.
I want that. If God would open their eyes, they
would see the beauty of the gospel and even the
Gentile church and say, that's what I want for
my life, that he would make them jealous. You
hear Paul's desperation. for this in chapter
11, the heart for his fellow Jews, that they
would be jealous of this, that he could break
through those barriers and save more of his people.
And then he adds this hope in verse 12. There
it is, to make the Jews jealous. He adds this
in verse 12. He says, if their transgression,
if the Jews' stumbling is riches for the world,
and if their failure in rejecting Jesus is riches
for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment
be? Did you catch it? He's presuming that a restoration
is coming. How much greater will it be when they
come around? He's presuming that this is gonna
happen. If God gives this amazing gift to the
Gentiles out of Israel's failure, how great will
their restoration be someday? Do you see the
argument? It'll be nothing short of, he says,
Life from the dead. Oh, wait, that was us too.
We were dead in our sins and trespasses until
God made us alive. Oh, life from the dead, which
is, if you're a Jew, you understand what Paul's
referring to here, right? This is Ezekiel 37,
the valley of dry bones, where God looks at Ezekiel
and says, he says, look at this horrible place
of death, nothing but dry bones. He says, son
of man, can these bones live again? And what
happens? Suddenly the bones start to rattle and
they come to life and flesh comes up and muscle
and sinew and tissue and all that. Out of death
comes life. That's what Paul's expecting in Israel's
future, is life from death. And then he turns
to the example of the olive tree, which is such
an obvious example of Israel. If you've been
to Israel, you know this. The olive tree is the
strongest, most durable, most valuable tree in
all the land of Israel. In fact, its roots are
so deep that tour guides will point to certain
trees and go, that tree's 300 years old, 400
years old. Olive trees are super meaningful in
Israel. And the natural branches of the olive
tree, he says, it's the Jewish people, obviously.
But Paul acknowledges in verse 17, he says it's
true that many of those branches, those natural
branches, they've been broken off. They've been
thrown into the fire, just as Jesus said they
would be. And then Paul talks about a mystery,
something that was hidden from view but now has
been revealed. Look at verse 25. He says, I don't
want you to be ignorant about this. Ignorance
leads to error. Ignorance leads to ungodliness.
He says, I don't want you to be without knowledge
in this, so listen carefully. I'm telling you
this so that you don't become wise in your own
eyes and trust in your own opinion or the opinions
of a podcaster somewhere, but that you'll trust
in what I say in God's word because that's what
matters. So lean in and listen, he says. The
hardening of the Jewish people, is God's will.
But there's a termination date to it. A change
is coming. Until when, you ask? Verse 25, until
the fullness of the Gentiles has come into the
kingdom. That is the saturation point. When every
single chosen Gentile has believed, then God's
relationship with ethnic Israel will shift again.
and the stupor will be lifted, and the eyes will
see, and the ears will hear. They will look upon
the one that they've pierced, it says in Zechariah,
and they will mourn, and they will repent. And
as Paul puts it in verse 26, all Israel will
be saved. What a beautiful truth. This harkens
back. In chapters eight and nine of Romans, Paul
talks about the Jews in light of this everlasting
covenant that God made with Israel, their divine
election as a people. And I want you to hear
this loud and clear this morning, friends. God
doesn't turn his back on those things. Don't
you dare think that God abandons his covenants.
In verses 28 and 29 of 11 here, Paul says, and
I'll paraphrase, the Jews may be hostile to the
believing church right now, but because God chose
them, they are still beloved. They're still beloved.
When we get to the Gentiles, we'll talk about
how we should approach this. That's a future
message. For the sake of the promises Yahweh
made to the patriarchs, he writes here, the gifts
and the calling of God on the Jewish people are
irrevocable. It cannot be revoked. Cannot be.
And I'm telling you guys, this should be one
of the most comforting passages in all of the
New Testament. Think about this. When the Lord
gives a gift, it's irrevocable. When he calls
a person to salvation, the calling is final.
He doesn't take it back. He doesn't fail to fulfill
his promises. So I would say, woe to any Christian.
And there's so many of them out there right now.
Woe to any Christian who arrogantly says, well,
look, I've been called, I've been chosen, and
now nothing can separate me from God's love,
but then turns around and says, yeah, Israel
was at one time chosen, and they were at one
time called by God, but now they've fallen away
from God's love. Do you see the inconsistency?
God does not give up on his promises. He made
promises to his people Israel. For the sake of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, he gave them amazing
gifts. We've already looked at what those gifts
were, right? The oracles of God, the adoption
of sons, the covenants, the temple service, all
of those things. And so he is a people after
God's own possession, and those gifts and calling
are irrevocable. And so Yahweh will one day bring
his mercy to this disobedient and stiff -necked
people and he will save them. That's his promise
in verse 26. For his own glory and according
to his redemptive plan, what does he say? I will
remove ungodliness from Jacob. Do you doubt God
can do that? Oh, but I look at the world, Jeff,
and I don't understand how they can possibly
be saved. God says, I will come and I will remove
ungodliness. From Jacob. How? By what means?
Verse 26. My deliverer, Jesus, Israel's savior,
will come out of Zion and he will do this. He
will remove ungodliness from Jacob. He won't
come from Gentile lands. He ain't coming from
America. He comes from Zion. So just in case
you thought the land didn't matter. Make sure
you see this. The same place where the stumbling
stone was placed by God in Zion, the city that
he loves, the city he's chosen for himself, that
is where Jesus will return to remove ungodliness
from Jacob. And look at the reason why he will
do this. Verse 27. Why? Because of the covenant
that he made with Jacob, a covenant to take away
their sins. It's right there in black and white.
That's why. The covenant. So yeah, it's true.
Today, Jacob lives in disobedience, but God is
going to turn them back at some point in the
future. Why? Because they're owed a second chance?
No. No. Because of God's mercy, because of the
covenant, because of the promises, because of
God's electing grace. And the same is true of
us. The only reason you're found in Christ is
for those very same reasons, because of God's
promises, because of his electing grace. So how
dare we say, oh, we got that, we've received
that, but Israel can't. The Jews can't. They're
done away with. And so all Israel will be saved,
Paul says. Does that mean every, by the way,
does it mean every single Jew in the whole wide
world is gonna see Jesus, repent, and believe?
No, I don't think so. You guys know this, we've
talked about it before. The word all in scripture
can be tricky to handle. It doesn't mean the
same thing oftentimes that we mean in English
when we say each and every person. What I believe
is happening here is there's going to be a mass
outpouring of salvation upon ethnic Jews living
in the land when Jesus returns. Every individual
whom God has chosen, Jew and Gentile, will be
redeemed. But in that day, and I believe the
rapture will have already happened at this point,
the tribulation, the purpose of the tribulation
is to refine God's people Israel. And when Christ
finally returns, that's when Zechariah gets poured
out. They will look on the one that they pierced
and they'll go, we missed it the first time.
And there will be this great outpouring of salvation.
God has a heart for the Jewish people. Even today,
folks, please don't let the anti -Semitism that's
floating around in the church impact you. Reject
that stuff. Now, I want to clear up some misconceptions
as well. Because sometimes evangelicals get carried
away about Israel. So let me wrap up our time
together this morning by saying, if we hold to
this view of Israel, there's some pits that we
can fall into and we should avoid these things.
Number one, and I said this several months ago
in another sermon, I'll say it again today because
it's a hot button issue. Because we see a future
for Israel in the scriptures, that does not mean
that we have to unconditionally support everything
that Israel does. or everything that the Israeli
government chooses to do. Israel is just as capable
of being wicked as any other nation. In fact,
they're a nation of unbelievers. Less than 1
% trust in Christ. They are a wicked nation,
as we are. They're just as capable of wickedness
as America is. So we don't just go, oh, well,
there's a future for Israel. Therefore, whatever
Israel does is fine. That's not true because
on the side of good and evil, we're on the side
of God, not any country. We're on the side of
what God's word says. So, oh, and by the way,
it's not automatically anti -Semitic to say Israel's
doing wicked things. It might be, by the way,
it might be. That's why we check our hearts,
right? It's about the heart motivation. But it's
not automatically anti -Semitic to say, I condemn
what Israel's doing right now. Come talk to me
afterwards. Adam's going to be like, really?
Yeah. Second thing, and this is pretty straightforward,
but it should be said out loud. Being ethnically
Jewish does not give someone greater merit in
God's eyes. As Paul says in Romans 3, there is,
No distinction. All have fallen short of the
glory of God. That puts Jews and Gentiles on
an equal footing before God and in equal need
of redemption. Third thing, and this should be
obvious, but sometimes we are unfairly attacked
for believing that Jews, just by being ethnically
Jewish, have a different path to salvation than
Gentiles, like a simpler path because they're
ethnically Jewish. Nothing could be further from
the truth. All of humanity are saved by God's
grace and by faith alone in Jesus Christ. No
one, Jew or Gentile, comes to the Father except
through him. There are not two paths. There is
one path for Jew and Gentile. Make sense? Last
thing, number four, we need to be careful about
seeing the Jewish people as nothing more than
a practical stepping stone to ushering in the
end times. Okay? It's so easy to see the restoring
of Israel in 1948 and the return of so many ethnic
Jews to the land, and then we turn on the TV
and watch the news and we start plugging things
into Scripture. Be careful. God is clearly at
work in the land of Israel. The land matters
to him. 1948 was important. I think it was because
God's starting to put things in place. Now, we
don't know when Christ is returning. It could
be next week. It could be 100 years from now.
I don't know, but God is always putting things
in place for his ultimate plan, right? So it
matters. But if Paul is rightly describing Israel
in Romans 11, we should expect that Israel today
would be a hard -hearted, unbelieving nation,
which it is. Wouldn't it make sense for God to
say, I'm putting my people back in the land.
They're going to still be stiff -necked. They're
still going to be unbelievers. There's still
going to be wickedness in order to prepare them
for the coming of their Messiah the second time.
It makes sense. That's what they are today. So
in light of all this, I'm sorry, if you sense
my frustration, I've had so many of these conversations
in the last few months with people. So I don't
mean to be impatient. We just, we need to get
this right. In light of all this, here's my exhortation
I'll close with. Have a heart for the Jewish
people that matches the heart that God has for
them. Have a heart for the Jewish people that
matches the heart God has for them. That means
a number of things. First of all, it means, yes,
rejecting true anti -Semitism. First, in your
own heart, if it's there. Second, if you see
it pop up. True anti -Semitism, confront that.
It means affirming the principle of to the Jew
first, recognizing God's ongoing covenant love
for Israel and for the land in spite of their
disobedience. And it means remembering that God
is always faithful to his promises, his gifts,
and his calling. And to know that those promises
given to Israel to this moment are irrevocable.
Finally, friends, it means praying for the Jewish
people. Right? Sometimes, again, we see them,
well, that's just a step to getting Jesus back.
No, these are people with souls. We need to pray
for the Jewish people. We need to pray that the
gospel reaches those hard hearts, not just in
Israel. but Jews in America and all over the
world. The good news of the gospel about Jesus,
the Messiah, it started right here in Jerusalem
and Judea. May it continue to ring out to every
nation of the world and may, let's just say it,
may Jesus return to Zion quickly and remove ungodliness
from Jacob in that day. Amen? Let's bow our heads.
Father, these are confusing times that we live
in, and sometimes when we read a difficult book
like Romans, and especially in this section of
9 through 11, Lord, it can be hard to navigate
through. So my prayer for myself and for my brothers
and sisters this morning is that you will continue
to enlighten us by your Spirit, make things clear
for us so that we have a right posture towards
the world, so that we have a right mindset towards
our Jewish friends, that we have a right concept
of what you're doing in the land of Israel right
now and that we would stay biblical on this and
not allow politics and the chaos of this world
to infect our thinking. Father, thank you for
laying these things out for us. When we need
that truth, God, you always come through and
you say, don't be wise in your own eyes. Take
a look at what I've declared. And so we can do
that. And so we thank you for the time to be
able to do that this morning together. Lord,
as we start to think more about Christmas, we
think about your heart for the nations, for Jews,
Samaritans, for us Gentiles. Lord, continue to
show us what you want us to see in this preaching
series. And may you be glorified by all that
we pray in Christ's name.