The Messiah and the Covenants of Israel

The Messiah and the New Covenant

The New Covenant as it applies to the Gentiles

 

There is no ambiguity about the declaration of Jeremiah in respect of the New Covenant. It is for the Hebrew people, those of the houses of Judah and Israel. Yet the same offer of salvation under that Covenant was made to both Jew and Gentile by those commissioned to be the spokesmen of the Messiah. Did they take too much upon themselves? Did they widen the offer without authorization? Many thought so. There were large numbers in the early Church that supported those who taught that a Gentile should become a Jewish proselyte before being allowed the benefits of a Covenant relationship with God. They were mainly converted Pharisees. They believed the only door that was open was labeled ‘Jews only’. Therefore circumcision and obedience to the Law of Moses were pre-requisites for entrance into the new community. Even Peter, true Jew that he was, had difficulty in considering even the possibility of the Gentiles being admitted without first converting to Judaism. It took the personal intervention of the risen Messiah to change his mind-set.

 

Luke, in his history of the events of that period lays out three conversions that indicate the movement of the gospel from being only Jewish or Jewish/Gentile to being available to non-Jews. The first seven chapters deal with events in Jerusalem after the ascension of Jesus. It details the birth of the Christian Church, with thousands converted, all of them Jewish, and Peter at the heart of it all.  Then the history turns to those conversions that demonstrate the widening of the offer of the gospel.  In chapters 8, 9, and 10 of the Acts of the Apostles, Luke, the consummate historian, records how the gospel changed the lives of three individuals, an African statesman, a Jewish Rabbi and a Roman centurion.

 

Philip's fountain where he baptised the African statesman

The African Statesman.  Here is a man, evidently a person who had embraced the religion of the Jews, returning to Ethiopia where he held high office in government. He was in his chariot reading from the scroll of Isaiah the prophet—that is, a portion of the sacred writings of the Jews.  He had been up to Jerusalem to attend a festival, and bought the scroll while he was there.  Philip, himself a new Christian, met with him and asked if he understood what he was reading. He was reading that part of the Isaiah prophecy that said, ‘In His humiliation   He   was   deprived   of justice.   Who can speak of His descendants? For His life was taken from the earth.” (Acts 8:33,34) The Ethiopian asked Philip, “… of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?” (Acts 8:34) Philip explained Isaiah was speaking of the Messiah who was to come and die for the sins of the Jews. The Ethiopian, already educated regarding the Jewish Messiah - it had been the main subject of conversation and speculation while he had been in Jerusalem - was able to understand the principle of the substitutionary nature of the death of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God and Redeemer of Israel. He asked if he could become a Christian, and be baptized. Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” (Acts 8.37)  The African responded, not only in the affirmative, but with the formula that was declared to be the foundational doctrine of the new community, the Church of the Messiah. He said, “I believe that Jesus Christ (Messiah) is the Son of God.” (Acts 8:37) He was baptized there and then.

The Messiah and the Covenants of Israel

The New Covenant (Continued)

The Messiah and ‘This Generation’

The Messiah, who always chose His words with great care, isolated His contemporary generation from all other generations when He spoke of His rejection. “He (the Son of Man) must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.” (Luke 17.25)  It will be that single generation that will stand at the bar of God and be accused of unlawfully rejecting their Messiah, because it was with that one generation He contended. He never said, ‘all future generations’ will be under the judgment of God; He only ever said, ‘this generation’.  “The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here” (Matt.12.41,42).

Previous generations had rejected the servants of the Lord, but that one generation alone rejected the Son of God. Their own words will condemn them.[1]  This is the teaching of the parable of the vinedressers.  Having beaten, abused and sometimes killed the servants of the Lord of the vineyard, their response when the Son and Heir presented the claims of their Lord, was: “This is the heir, come let us kill him” (Matt.21.38). The judgment will be inclusive, that is, all the martyrs of the T’nach who were rejected as messengers of God, will also rise up against this generation because He was the One to whom all prophecy was pointing, for He was the greatest prophet of all (“the Word became flesh”) (John 1:14). Matthew reports the words of Jesus directly. “Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt. Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell? Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation”.Mt 23:31-36

Because of the rejection of the Messiah, the offer of the New Covenant to the nation was deferred. It will require the national leaders of Israel to call on Jesus in repentance and supplication and accept Him as Messiah and Lord. There is no guarantee that they will ever do this of their own accord, but prophecy alerts us to the time when the nation will suffer great persecution. They will be brought to the end of their resources. At that time, the Lord will pour out upon them the spirit of grace and supplication and they will repent in the words of Isaiah 53, “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all”. (Isa. 53:5-6) Then the Messiah will return with power and great glory to save them, and the New Covenant will come into its full glory. But in the meantime, as Peter indicated on the day of Pentecost, individual Israelites did not need to wait for that future day.  The blessings of the New Covenant were available immediately to them if they would reject the decision of their leaders, turn to Jesus in repentance and supplication, and take Him as Messiah and Lord. In the mercy of God these Israelites who had been involved in those events that led to the judgment of God were re-offered the opportunity to recognize Jesus as Messiah. Peter encouraged them to re-examine the evidence and escape the blanket judgment upon the nation. The preaching of the early Church leaders made the same points, that the crucified Messiah had been raised and exalted, and salvation was available for those who received Him as such, that is, as Lord and Messiah. But what about Gentiles, that is those who had not previously been Jewish proselytes?

To this subject we now turn. (BUT NEXT TIME)

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[1] Matt.23.31-36

The Messiah and the Covenants of Israel (Continued)

The Day of Pentecost

Those believers that qualified to be members of the new order, the Church, were gathered in Jerusalem at the Feast of Weeks, when the ascended Son of God sent the Spirit of God to initiate the New Covenant for them. As with the Messiah at His baptism, so now with the disciples of the Messiah, the Spirit of God descended and rested upon each of them. More than that, He indwelt them, thus fulfilling that part of the New Covenant that speaks of the law, statutes and ordinances of God being written on tablets of flesh. Spontaneous praise to God broke out and was heard and understood by many of those who were in Jerusalem for the feast, no matter which was their native language. This phenomenon drew much public attention, and gave Peter an opportunity to explain the significance of these unusual events and how they were the activity of the Man that was recently crucified, but who had been resurrected and returned to heaven to a place of honor at the throne above. In this, the first public address of the new dispensation, Peter references prophetic Scriptures to explain what had happened. He brought forward the words of Joel who spoke of the day when the New Covenant would be in play. Peter said, “… this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy.” (Acts 2:16-18) That Joel was speaking of a day when the Spirit of God will be poured out upon all flesh, that is all Jewish flesh, is supported by other writers. For example, Paul says, “all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob.” (Rom. 11:26) In that future day it will be all Jewish flesh without exception. But the T’nach regularly uses the words ‘all flesh’ to refer to the whole of humanity.[1] And, in the light of the historic events of the day of Pentecost, we must initially interpret the phrase as all flesh without distinction, that is, the young and the old, male and female, bond and free. And later events allow us to add Jew and Gentile but that is getting ahead of ourselves.

 Many of the crowd convicted by Peter’s words, no doubt because they had tacitly, if not actively, rejected the claims of Jesus, raised the question, “what shall we do?” (Acts 2.37) This prompted Peter, apostle to the Jews, and holder of the keys of the kingdom of heaven, to respond and in his response we will find the clue needed to illuminate how it would be possible for individual Jews to receive the blessings of the New Covenant. Peter said, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” (Acts 2:38-40) What is envisaged here is an offer of the blessing of the New Covenant to those who would distance themselves from the decision of the nation’s leaders and recognize Jesus as Israel’s Messiah and take Him as their Lord. Peter, in saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation” recognized that it was ‘this generation’ that was under a suspended sentence from the Son of God. Those that wish to be saved from the blanket judgment that was upon the nation were required to act then, on the day of Pentecost, in the same manner as the whole nation will be required to act sometime in the future. Indeed, any Israelite of any generation has the same opportunity, and can know the same salvation, if they fulfill the conditions that Peter laid on his listeners, to recognize Jesus as Messiah and Lord.  

More Next Time:

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[1] Gen.6.12,13,17; Job 34.15; Ps.65.2; 145.21; Isa.40.5, 6, etc

The Messiah and the Covenants of Israel

The Messiah and the New Covenant

The New Covenant as it applies to Individual Members of the Hebrew Race

 

For what has been observed so far it seems that the implementation of the New Covenant for the Hebrew nation as a whole awaits a future day when they will be brought to acknowledge Jesus as Messiah and King. How can it be implemented for individuals? It is Peter that began the process. This was to be expected – for he had been specially selected for that ministry. The record of his commissioning is in Matthew chapter 16. It took place when Peter himself was finally and completely convinced of the Messianic claims of Jesus.  He confessed - “You are the Christ (the Messiah), the Son of the living God.” (Matt. 16:16) These titles encompass the person and work of the incarnate God. Jesus indicated this was to be the foundation for a new order, a collective of people with the same conviction, that Jesus is both Messiah and Son of God. “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Matt. 16:17-19)

 

Those that have the same conviction and confession as Peter will be called out to be a new entity, the ‘ekklesia’, the called out ones, the Church. Since the ‘ekklesia’, the Church, is here spoken of as a building, the analogy is continued by the use of the image of ‘keys’. Peter is considered to be the steward with the keys to the building. His ministry, recorded by Luke in the book of Acts, includes those occasions when he opened the door to the kingdom of heaven and admitted Messianic believers into the Church.

 

The Introduction of the new ‘house rules’ that controlled entry and membership of the Church.

 

To facilitate this change to the implementation of the New Covenant, Peter is given authority to bind and loose. Within Jewish culture these words are understood to mean forbid and permit. The terms binding and loosing were in regular use in rabbinic canon-law. They represented the legislative and judicial powers of the rabbinic office. In the new age that was dawning, that is, the Church age, these powers were granted by the head of the Church, the Messiah, first to Peter, and later to the other apostles.[1] These were the ones charged to advertise the new ‘house rules’ that were to be in place in the new dispensation of grace. Holders of the apostolic office were empowered to immediately offer the benefits of the New Covenant to those individuals who qualified to enter the Church, that is, those individuals whose confession of Jesus is that He is the Messiah, the Son of God. Once the door had been opened, of course, others were permitted to enter, as long as it was on the same basis – acceptance of the person and work of the Messiah.

Next Time: The Day of Pentecost

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[1] John 20:23

The Messiah and the Covenants of Israel

The Messiah and the New Covenant

That the death of the Messiah provided the basis and ground for the implementation of the New Covenant can be ascertained from the events that took place the night before His execution. In conformity to the historic command of Moses to celebrate the Passover on the 14^th of Abib (Nisan) He hosted the remembrance meal for His disciples. The table was furnished with the roast meat of a lamb that had been killed in the Temple, and every aspect of the celebration had been meticulously followed, including the provision of unleavened bread and wine. They had drunk from the cup of thanksgiving, and eaten of the bitter herbs, dipping them in salt water, and haroset. They had feasted on the lamb, reclining at table as free men. It was when they were due to drink the third cup of wine, the cup of blessing, that the Messiah introduced a new aspect to the festival. Taking some of the unleavened bread He “gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’” (Luke 22:19) In a similar fashion “He also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you’” (Luke 22:20; see also Matt.26.28; Mark 14.24; 1 Cor.11.25). In anticipation of His execution the following morning, He informed the future leaders of the Church that His death was ground for the commencement of a new dispensation, a dispensation of grace, a dispensation that would be founded on the New Covenant. It is His death that permits the implementation of that aspect of the New Covenant that grants forgiveness for sin. And it is His resurrection that points to the implementation of the Davidic Covenant, and it is His ascension that furnishes the Holy Spirit under the terms of the New Covenant to indwell His followers.

But how can we explain the implementation of the New Covenant as it was practiced in the early Church, for it stands in contrast to the Jeremiah text which points it directly to the houses of Judah and Israel and clearly anticipates it being activated for the nation as a whole? Paul, a minister of the New Covenant[1] and apostle of the Messiah with a special remit to go to the Gentiles, offered to them the benefits of the New Covenant without requiring their conversion to Judaism. Moreover, the book of Hebrews spends a great deal of time developing the argument that the New Covenant, that had been activated by the death, resurrection and ascension of the Messiah, is substantially better that anything provided in the Mosaic Covenant.[2] On the face of it this does not present any problem, but in light of the Jeremiah prophecy, it is slightly off centre because the Hebrew letter is directed, not to the nation as a whole but to those who have individually recognized the Messianic claims of Jesus of Nazareth.

The foundation text in Jeremiah[3] speaks of the New Covenant being activated for the nation as a whole, but in the early Church it was activated for individual Jews as well as individual Gentiles.

How so? Let’s find answers to this conundrum. (Next Time)

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[1] 2 Cor.3.6

[2] See Heb.7.22; 8.6-13; 9.15; 10.16,29; 12.24; 13.20

[3] Jer.31.31-34

The Messiah and the Covenants of Israel

The Messiah and the Davidic Covenant

The Davidic Covenant promised:

1.            An eternal house (this refers to the dynasty of David; the house of David or the line of David).

2.            An eternal throne (this refers to a permanent right to reign that was to be held by the house of David).

3.            An eternal kingdom (Israel’s future is secure - there will always be subjects to protect and serve).

4.            An eternal descendent (necessary if the house, throne and kingdom are to last forever).

 

That the Davidic Covenant climaxes in the person of the Messiah is supported by Scripture. Peter references it in his address at Pentecost. “Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption.” (Acts 2:29-31) Here is the eternal One, resurrected to sit eternally on the Davidic throne.

In this address Peter draws on Psalm 16 to demonstrate that the resurrection of Jesus was predicted, and since the Psalm was Davidic it must mean that this One who has been resurrected, the Messiah of Israel, must also be the One to inherit the throne of David and reign eternally. Peter builds his case quickly and well. Since he was speaking on the anniversary of the death of David, and because the tomb of David was known to his hearers, he confidently asserted that Israel’s greatest king was both dead and buried. The unexpressed implication is that since David’s tomb remains undisturbed, his body underwent decay, so he cannot have fulfilled the prophecy spoken of in Psalm 16. And if David cannot fulfill the psalm, someone else must. Peter offers the solution in verse 30. Knowing that God had promised to seat one of his descendants on his throne, David spoke prophetically of the resurrection of the Messiah. With this statement, Peter interpreted Psalm 16 in light of God’s promise to David. The resurrection, and (by implication) the death of the Messiah, was predicted in this Psalm (vv.8–11) and are part of the fulfillment of the promise to seat one of David’s descendants on his throne. While the promise statement in verse 30 of Acts 2 is an allusion from the Septuagint translation of Psalm 132:11, it surely draws generally from the Davidic theology that most Jews would have been familiar with.[1]

A later episode is described in Acts 15. There Luke undertakes to report on the debate in Jerusalem, where the question of the admittance of the Gentiles was under discussion. He quotes James quoting Amos. “After this I will return And will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, And I will set it up; So that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, Even all the Gentiles who are called by My name, Says the Lord who does all these things.” (Acts 15:14-17; cf. Amos9.11,12) The prophecy of the rebuilding of the tabernacle (or house) of David again draws on the promise to David that his house, throne and kingdom would be established forever.[2] It appears that the early Church leaders understood the rebuilding of David’s house in this way—as a reference to the re-establishment of the Davidic dynasty accomplished through the death, resurrection and exaltation of Jesus.

Not only ‘Son of David’ but also ‘King of the Jews’

 

It was crucial to the Messianic claim of Jesus that he should have been born in David’s town of Bethlehem, of David’s line and be a true Son of David, a title that was freely accorded Him by those who recognized His Messianic credentials.[3] But beyond this is His position as ‘King of the Jews’. He was not just of royal lineage, (many others could have claimed as much), but He was the only One who would be able to fulfill the royal prophecies. He was born “King of the Jews” (Matt.2.2); He was tried as “King of the Jews”, (Matt.27.11; John 18.33) a title he readily accepted before Pilate;[4] a title that Pilate readily accepted;[5] and He was convicted and executed as “King of the Jews” (Matt.27.37; Mark 15.26; Luke 23.38; John 19.19).

At the centre of the rejection of Jesus as Messiah was the reluctance of the Sanhedrin to acknowledge this aspect of the claim of Jesus. When He entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey, deliberately fulfilling the Zechariah prophecy, “Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, Lowly, and sitting on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey,’” (Matt. 21:4-5) they complained of the crowd’s reaction when they praised the Son of David. This public display of power and popularity undoubtedly hardened their opposition and resistance. Their actions the following week where they sought opportunity to bring a political accusation against Him were partly a reaction to this event.

That Jesus had title to the Davidic throne is clear, but the time when His reign would begin is less clear. The disciples had thought it was imminent. After the resurrection and before the ascension they asked the risen Messiah, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6) Jesus’ enigmatic reply was, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.” (Acts 1:7)  It seems obvious that there will be no salvation for the nation of Israel until they acknowledge, not just the Messianic claim of Jesus, but also His Davidic claim. When He returns, He will return as King, and not just King of the Gentiles but especially King of the Jews. And He will reign from Jerusalem. Therefore it must await the time when the leaders will greet the Messiah in the same manner as the crowd did at His entry into Jerusalem on the first day of Passion week. They are required to express heartfelt delight at His appearing, fulfilling the main condition for His return; “you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’” (Matt. 23:39)

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[1] Cf. 2 Sam. 7:12–16; Ps. 89

[2] cf. 2 Sam. 7:16

[3] Matt.9.27; 12.23; 15.22; 20.30,31; 21.9; Mark 10.47,48; 18.38,39 (see also Matt.1.1; Luke 3.31)

[4] Matt.27.11

[5] Mark 15.9

The Messiah and the Covenants of Israel (Continued)

The Messiah and the Land Covenant (Continued)

The Return of the Jews to the Land

 

The obedience to the Law that was required was always predicated on faith. Mechanical obedience was never acceptable to the Lord. Not unsurprisingly, their historical obedience was never perfect and when the quality of that obedience dropped to unacceptable levels there would be a word from the throne via a prophetic spokesman to indicate an exile of the people. An examination of texts in the T’nach suggests there would be at least three dispossessions[1] and three restorations.[2] Of those, the three dispossessions have been fulfilled, so also the first and second restorations; the final restoration for which the nation waits is yet future.

 

Since the final return to the Land is conditioned on faith in God, then it will only take place when the nation accepts Jesus as their Messiah and are regenerated. It is true that there has been a return to the Land in the 20^th century, but the numbers have been relatively small, and the bulk of the population have returned in unbelief, that is, they are still not followers of Jesus, the Messiah of Israel. Therefore, they do not qualify for the full restoration of the Land. This waits for the nation as a whole to repent, embrace God’s offer of mercy, and enjoy the benefits that the New Covenant can bring to them. Only then will they occupy the territory designated in the Abrahamic Covenant which at that time will be restored to full fruitfulness.

 

Here are one or two Scriptures relating to this:

1.                  The final regathering will be when Israel returns in faith. Moses spoke of it: “But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, with their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, and that they also have walked contrary to Me  … then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham I will remember; I will remember the land …when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, nor shall I abhor them, to utterly destroy them and break My covenant with them; for I am the Lord their God. But for their sake I will remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God: I am the Lord.” (Lev. 26:40-45)

2.                  It will be a total regathering. Isaiah described it: “Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your descendants from the east, And gather you from the west; I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ And to the south, ‘Do not keep them back!’ Bring My sons from afar, And My daughters from the ends of the earth— Everyone who is called by My name, Whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him.” (Isa. 43:5-7)

3.                  The Land will be restored to its former glory. “‘I will bring back the captives of My people Israel; They shall build the waste cities and inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them; They shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them. I will plant them in their land, And no longer shall they be pulled up From the land I have given them,’ Says the Lord your God.” (Amos 9:14-15)

4.                  God will be a shepherd to Israel. “‘Hear the word of the Lord, O nations, And declare it in the isles afar off, and say, ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him, And keep him as a shepherd does his flock.’” (Jer. 31:10)

Next Time: The Messiah and the Davidic Covenant

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[1] cf.  Gen.15.13,14,16; Jer.25.11,12; Deut.28.63-68 with Deut. 30.1-3

[2] cf. Gen.15.14 with Josh.1.2-7; Dan.9.2 with Jer.25.11,12; Deut. 30.3; Jer. 23.5-8; Exek.37.21-25; Acts 15.14-17