It doesn’t take much serious Bible study to understand that Israel was chosen by Almighty God to be his Covenant Nation. But what should our relationship with Israel be? Clifford Denton opens up a new study series...
The Tanakh (Old Testament) bears witness to Israel's chosen status, and follows its history through all of its phases. When the Nation was divided after the time of King Solomon (2 Chron 10), and following the exile of the Northern Kingdom (2 Kings 17), Judah, just one of the Twelve Tribes, came into prominence.
Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Messiah) came from this Tribe of Judah, and thus from the background of both Israel and Judah. When the Gospel went out across the whole world, Gentiles were called by faith into the Covenant family.
Parting of the Ways
For nearly 2000 years, since the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, the Jews have been dispersed across the world, but have not lost their national identity. Meanwhile, however, various Christian theologies have emerged which have re-positioned the Christian Church as a distinct entity from the Jewish world, severing links between them.
The faith of Jesus and the Apostles was solidly based on the Hebrew Scriptures and Second Temple Judaism. Earliest Christianity was one among the many Judaisms of the first century. Neither Jesus nor the apostles attempted to break away from their heritage and form a new, different, religion. Indeed, the break of the Church from its true roots has had immense consequences, as we shall see in future studies.
"Neither Jesus nor his apostles attempted to break away from their heritage and form a new, different, religion."
The end of the 20th Century and beginning of the 21st have marked a new era of re-discovery. Israel has become a territorial nation again and so Christianity’s roots are being re-assessed. Was the break from the Jewish world unnecessary? If so, in what way is the Church linked to Israel and the Jews?
It is the purpose of this study series to explore this issue, considering some of the reasons for the break and opening up the agenda for re-considering the relationship between Christians and the Jewish world.
Many Topics to Consider
The list of topics to study on this subject is wide-ranging. They include aspects of history, theology, inter-faith dialogue, Hebrew background to Scripture, Judaism through history, the history and consequences of anti-Semitism, the Jewish background to the times of Jesus and the Apostles, and the relevance of Christianity’s Hebraic heritage to family and community life.
God has preserved the Jewish people despite the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, and all the pogroms, anti-Semitism and even the Holocaust of recent history. God has been faithful to his Covenant promises, and biblical prophecies relating to Israel and the Tribe of Judah are being fulfilled before us today.
Now more than ever, we have both the need and the opportunity for Christianity to restore its true roots.
The Church was never intended to divorce itself from its roots, which go down deep into the biblical soil of Israel’s history and formative influences on its culture.
Return to Roots
In our weekly studies, the intention is to open out foundational issues relating to the restoration of the Christian Church to its true roots.
The departure of the Church from these roots has had serious consequences over the years. One is that distance has grown between Christians and Jews, so much so that, whether by default or design, Christians have contributed to the anguish of Jews over the centuries. One consequence of the Christian Church restoring its true roots is that Jewish/Christian relationships will be strengthened again. This is not the only reason for this course of study but it could be a major fruit.
When we study the separation of the Church from the Synagogue and enter into the issue of Jewish/Christian relations, many will find that their old assumptions and pre-conceptions suddenly need to be reconsidered.
For some it is a wake-up call, for others a prompt to repentance, but chiefly it is an opportunity to go forward more securely to the time of the Messiah’s return, conscious of our place in the Olive Tree of Romans 11 and the One New Man of Ephesians 2.
Next week we will look more fully at the metaphor of the Olive Tree.
For study and discussion: read Romans 11 and consider ways in which the Christian Church might be better identified with Israel.
These studies are developed from the course 'Christianity’s Relationship with Israel and the Jews', first prepared for Tishrei Bible School.
