Topic(s): Salvation, Jesus

Bob Prichard

God’s purpose for the Jews is revealed in His command to Abraham: “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 12:1-3). The physical descendants of Abraham have blessed the earth in many ways, but the primary focus of this prophecy is on Jesus Christ, the One who would truly bless all the earth. All scripture points to His coming to bless all the earth.

The genealogical records of ancient Israel were preserved primarily so that the lineage of the Messiah could be demonstrated. Matthew (1:1-16) traced the legal descent of heirship to the throne of David through Joseph, showing Jesus as king. Luke (3:23-38) traced the physical descent of Jesus through Mary, emphasizing His humanity. With the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, the records were lost. No Jew of today knows his tribe, and it would be impossible to trace the lineage of a present day Messiah. Through the power and providence of God, the Jews gave the world the Messiah, Jesus the Christ.

Jesus is the only way to be saved. After telling the disciples of His plans to depart to prepare heaven for His followers, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). Thus every person who wishes to be saved must come to Him and obey Him. Paul warned that “the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power” (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9). Whether Jew or Gentile, male or female, those that do not obey the gospel of Christ will face everlasting destruction.

But didn’t Paul say that “all Israel shall be saved” (Romans 11:26)? Does he mean that all Jews will be saved? If Paul meant that every Jew will be saved, regardless of his obedience to Christ, why did he say in the same epistle, “I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh” (Romans 9:2-3). He then lamented that Israel had a zeal for God, “but not according to knowledge,” because they substituted their own righteousness for God’s righteousness (Romans 10:1-3).

When Paul says that “all Israel shall be saved,” he speaks not of the nation of Israel, or all Jews, but those who are the spiritual descendants of Abraham, those who have obeyed the gospel of Christ, whether Jew or Gentile. “For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God” (Romans 2:28-29). Neither the Jew nor the Gentile has an advantage before God. All must obey Christ.