Christians have a problem with Israel

Most of the Bible is addressed to Israel, to Israel’s prophets, and also Jesus and all the apostles were Jews and therefore part of the people of Israel. So anyone who believes in the God of the Bible as a gentile reads about Israel all the time, but who is meant now? Is God really talking about Israel or does he “actually” mean something else, namely “me”? However, Israel is rarely the subject of discussion. In doing so, one could learn a lot from the development of biblical history. For, both Israel and the other nations have their own place in the biblical narrative.

Here are a few typical reactions on the subject of Israel in the Christian environment:

1. Israel is blanked out
2. In places, the church still sees itself as the “true Israel”
3. Israel is hyped as “the sign of God in the world”.
4. Israel to be the first nation to be missionized

These are all very problematic views. Why? In order:

1. If you leave out Israel, you do not understand what today’s church is.
2. Is Replacement Theology Anti-Semitism in Disguise?
3. Those who put Israel on the pedestal are not celebrating the Bible, but only their own piety
4. Missionary work is a problem because it disregards the gospel for today

As a result of all these views, one has an image of Israel that probably does not correspond much with reality or with the Bible. However, the helplessness is not new. In the first communities, people were already struggling with this. This is the reason that Paul takes up the subject in the Letter to the Romans. What about Israel now?

Seeing, Feeling, Touching – Israel as a Projection Surface

A concrete problem with Christianity is that much of it is very abstract. This is true at least for the currents that emerged from the Reformation, but can be observed elsewhere as well. Faith is something that takes place in thinking, in “holding for-true.” Faith has thus become something completely different from what is described in the Bible. The result is that much Christian theology is so abstract that contact with the world has been somewhat lost.

Of course, this can be countered by looking for “visible signs of God in the world.” Doesn’t Israel lend itself perfectly to this? Israel is both mentioned in the Bible and is an existing nation in its own land. Extraordinary that the nation was raised again and Israel exists as a country today. “This is God’s work!” And may it be so, it becomes thereby also a perfect projection surface for all possible (and impossible) opinions.

If this observation is true, then the lack of “seeing, feeling, touching” in Christianity leads to the search for other projection surfaces. Israel lends itself to this. Sober, of course, is not, but who cares? Some begin to observe the Old Testament rules, or equivalents from today’s Jewish culture: eating kosher, keeping the Sabbath, celebrating Jewish festivals, and the like. They are things that (strictly speaking) were never given to the nations. Israel seems to be almost the better church for some Christians. I don’t want to put this up for discussion here, but keep in mind that Israel is a very special point of attraction for many Christians.

There is even a term for extreme Israel-focused people. In contrast to anti-Semites, they are called philosemites. Of course, there are other variants here. In summary, I would like to state: Christians often have a less than sober view of Israel. There is also a lack of active engagement across the board and it is rarely part of the community culture to think about it, even though there are excellent theological arguments (from both the Jewish and Christian sides).

The controversy in the New Testament

However, the argument does not begin in our time. It can already be traced in the New Testament. There you read already in the first chapter from the first book:

“She will bear a son, and you shall give Him the name “Jesus”; for He will save His people from their sins.”
Mt 1,21

This is the announcement of the birth of Jesus. His name Jesus corresponds to the Hebrew Yeshuah, the root of which means “to save”. He will “save” His people from their sins. This is already included in the name. His people, that is Israel. The church is still out of sight. It is about Israel and only Israel’s expectation (cf. Rom 15:8).

After that, a lot of things happen. Jesus is born and recognized by many as the Messiah. The story takes its course. For many long years, today’s church of all nations is not a topic in the New Testament. There is no church in the Gospels. That comes later.

When much later Paul is called as “apostle to the nations” (Rom 11:13, Rom 1:1 and 1:5, cf. Eph 3:2-3 etc.) and as a result of his work many people from the non-Jewish peoples come to faith, a new situation arises. If you read along with the history of the New Testament, you will notice that on the one hand there is a Jewish community in Jerusalem, and on the other hand there are many non-Jewish (or mixed) communities outside of Israel. This is a recurring theme.

Indeed, it is amazing that the promises to Israel spoke of the rest of the nations being blessed via Israel (through Israel). With Paul, however, all distinctions between Israel and the nations are abolished for the church and something new comes into being. Nation-believers would have direct access to God without the mediation of Israel. Paul writes forcefully about this in Ephesians 2:13-18).

If you read carefully, you can see the change in history. In Romans, Paul points this out when he writes:

“For if their present rejection of the world is reconciliation, what will their reacceptance be but life from the dead?”
Rom 11:15

This is a radical departure from the assumptions of the prophets that salvation, salvation, salvation comes via Israel. In this article we will not explain this statement further. We will come back to this later. What stands out, however, is this change in relationship from Israel’s position to the nations. It wasn’t like that from the beginning, but it evolved that way. Paul addresses this. Paul is trying to clarify what is unclear in the churches.

The position of Israel in comparison with the other nations is unclear. Also unclear is the relationship between Israel on the one hand and the believers from all nations on the other. This needs to be put on the table. Paul does this in detail in the next chapters of Romans. Romans 9 through Romans 11, he speaks at length about Israel.

Paul and Israel

In several places in the New Testament we find detailed assessments of Israel by the apostle Paul. Here, in the Letter to the Romans, the ninth chapter begins with the following words:

“Truth I speak in Christ (I do not lie, my conscience testifies to me in holy spirit):
Great sorrow is in me and unceasing pain in my heart – for I wish to be banished even from Christ – for my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh, who are Israelites …”
Rom 9:1-4

Paul is affected. He wants to present his view here, explain how it is with Israel and with the nations. The next chapters will talk about this. It is a very exciting story in which many opinions about Israel are radically cleared up. In this sense, it is a wholesome story, with a good outlook, both for Israel and for the nations and the entire world.

“For God includes all [Juden und Nichtjuden] together in contumacy, that He may have mercy on all.”
Rom 11:32