CHRIST IN THE PSALMS

 

All the Psalms celebrate Christ in one way or another. Athanasius, commented regarding the Psalms, “While the entire Holy Scripture is a teacher of virtues and of the truths of faith, the book of Psalms possesses somehow the perfect image of the soul’s course of life.[1]”

There is no doubt that the New Testament makes extensive use of the Psalms, as an indication that both testaments testify of the same things, and especially of the same person – Jesus Christ. For example, Peter, during his Pentecost sermon, quoted two Psalms and went on to preach to the people gathered in Jerusalem “God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ” (Act 2:36). On the other hand, Paul, reasoning from the Scriptures of the Old Testament, demonstrated that the Christ had to suffer and rise again, saying, “This Jesus, whom I preach to you, is the Christ” (Act 17:2-3).  The book of Hebrews may be regarded as sermon drawn from Psalm 110. It is knit together through the Psalms showing us that Jesus is the “son of man” of Psalm 8 who was made “for a little while lower than the angels” through the incarnation but now has been crowned “with glory and honor” through his resurrection and ascension (Heb 2:5-9)

In a nutshell, the Messianic Psalms brings much to bear on Christ. Consider the table below that provides this data as well as show where these psalms are quoted in the New Testament:

Table 2 Messianic Psalms quoted in the New Testament

Passage in Psalm	Quotation in the New Testament
2:1-2	Acts 4:25-28
2:7	Acts 13:33; Hebrews 1:5; 5:5
2:9	Revelation 2:26-27; 12:5; 19:15
8:2	Matthew 21:16
8:4-6	1Corinthians 15:25-28; Hebrews 2:5-10
16:8-11	Acts 2:25-32; 13:34-37
22:1	Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34
22:7-8	Matthew 27:39,43; Luke 23:35
22:18	Matthew 27:35; Mark 15:24; Luke 23:34; John 19:23-24
22:22	Hebrews 2:11-12
40:6-8	Hebrews 10:5-10
41:9	John 13:18
45:6-7	Hebrews 1:8-9
68:18	Ephesians 4:8
69:4	John 15:25
69:9	John 2:17; Romans 15:3
69:21	Matthew 27:34; John 19:28-29
69:22-23	Romans 11:9-10
69:25	Acts 1:20
78:2	Matthew 13:35
78:24	John 6:31
97:7	Hebrews 1:6
102:25-27	Hebrews 1:10-12
110:1	Matthew 22:44; Mark 12:36; Luke 20:42; Acts 2:34; Hebrews 1:13
110:4	Hebrews 5:6; 6:20; 7:17,21
118:6	Hebrews 13:6
118:22-23	Matthew 21:42; Mark 12:10-11; Luke 20:17; Acts 4:11; Ephesians2:20; 1Peter 2:7
118:26	Matthew 21:9; 23:39; Mark 11:9; Luke 13:35, Luke 19:38; John 12:13

                               

Throughout the New Testament, you notice that the Psalms were very useful in the life of the early church. Matthew’s gospel unveils the Psalms as the key that Jesus used often. Beginning with Satan’s quotation of Psalm 91to Jesus, upon the cross of agony, going through his suffering through the sieve of Psalm 22: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” All these beautifully demonstrate Christ’s own use of the Psalms. Christ’s own ministry shows that Psalms had a big place in his heart as he spoke of himself from Psalm 118:22, as “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.”

In conclusion, there is not enough space to relate how 11 Psalms celebrate the person and work of the coming Messiah. He would be rejected (Ps 118), and betrayed (Ps 69, 109), die and be resurrected (Ps 22, 16), he would come as conqueror and enthroned Ruler (Ps 2, 110), as planner and groom (Ps 40, 45), and as the triumphant King (Ps 68, 72).

---

[1] Nick Batzig, “Discovering Christ in the Old Testament,” The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals: The Christward Collective, July 18, 2017, Accessed November 28, 2018, http://www.alliancenet.org/christward/discovering-christ-in-the-psalms#.XCM-21wzbIV

CHRIST IN THE PROPHETS

 

The Redeemer is Christ.  Jesus is the Kinsman Redeemer typified by Boaz in the book of Ruth. He is the one of whom Job declared, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that at the last he will stand upon the earth.” (Job 19:25). He is the Rock, the LORD/Yahweh (Ps 19:14; 78:35). Solomon speaks of him in Proverbs 23:11 as the strong Redeemer who plead their cause. Christ is the Friend who loves at all times and sticks closer than a brother (17:17).  Isaiah has a lot to say of the Redeemer, the holy one of Israel (Is 41:14; 43:14); the Redeemer who is the Lord of hosts (Is 47:4; 48:17). He unveils him as the Redeemer who will come to Zion (Is 60:20). He is the Servant of the Lord (see all the Servant Songs - Isaiah 42,43, 50, 51 & 53. Who can this be but Jesus Christ? He is the ‘angel of his presence’ regarded as the one who “redeemed them” and “lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.” (Isa 63:9). Clearly, the Lord Jesus came to the earth to help his people in and perhaps out of their distress and their need for guidance. That Christ is the only Redeemer of God’s elect is clear from the NT for he paid the ransom by his own blood. He gave his life as ransom (Mark 10:45) to redeem or purchase us. See Zechariah’s song celebrating the birth of Jesus in Luke 1:68 – “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people, and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David.” There was no doubt in his mind that the OT passages of a deliverer have been fulfilled in Christ. Paul in 1 Timothy 2:5-6 and Titus 2:13-14 makes it abundantly clear that the One Mediator is none other than Jesus Christ who gave himself as a ransom for all. He is the great God and Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness. Peter simply tell us that, “… knowing that we were ransomed from futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.” (1 Pet 1:18-19) (Cf. Gal. 3:13; Rev. 14:3, 4).

The Anointed one, that is, the Messiah/Christ is none other than Jesus Christ. He is seen as the “Anointed” one in 1 Samuel 2:1-10 and the “faithful Priest” in 1 Samuel 2:35-36. But the most outstanding text is the Davidic Covenant text found in 2 Samuel 7, which is repeated in 1 Chronicles 17 and is further expounded in Psalm 132, which pointed to the dynasty/house of David as the place where God would establish his throne and kingdom forever. The promise given to David was so astounding that David cried out in 2 Samuel 7:19c that “This is the instruction (law/charter) for mankind.” This is the same as saying that God had just now conferred on David an amplification of the promise he had originally made with Abraham. The Lord confirmed that he is the Anointed one at the beginning of his ministry when he read from the scroll in Isaiah 61:1,2 as Luke records it in 4:18-19.

The Promised Messiah is Christ. There are at least thirty nine direct/express predictions of the Messiah in the Old Testament prophets. It was predicted that the Messiah would be born of a virgin (Isa 7:14; cf. Matt 1:33). His birthplace would be Bethlehem (Mic 5:2; cf. Mt 2:1, 6), and John the Baptist would be his forerunner (Isa 40:3-5; Mal 3:1; cf. Mt 3:3, Mk 1:3; Lk 3:4-6). The Messiah would return to the earth a second time (Daniel 7:13; cf Mk 13:26; Lk 21:27).

The Humble King is none other than Christ. He is the Anointed King who rules from Zion as stated in the second Psalm. His rule is greater than David’s reign, since he was both David’s son, yet David’s Lord (Ps 110). He would one day rule in the city of Jerusalem as the King of kings, as the nations would go up to the mountain of the Lord to be taught his ways, never more to “learn war any more” (Isa 2:3-4). It was further announced by Zechariah that Messiah would triumphantly enter Jerusalem as the crowd shouted “Hosanna” (Zech 9:9-10; Ps 118:25-26; cf. Mt 21:9; Mk 11:9; Lk 19:38; Jn 12:13).

The suffering servant is Jesus. There is an astounding accuracy of the fact that Jesus would be killed with the “wicked” ones, being numbered with them (Isa 53:9a, note the plural noun in Hebrew) [as he hung between two thieves], yet he would be buried with the rich one (Isa 53:9b, note its singular form in the Hebrew). Then he would be betrayed by one of his own (Ps 69:25; cf. Acts 1:20). His side would be pierced (Zech 12:10; cf. Jn 19:37), and he would suffer vicariously for the sins of the world (Isa 53:6, 9, 12; cf. I Pt 2:21-25; Rom 4:25).

Commenting on the correspondence of the person and work of Christ in the prophets and specifically in the book of Isaiah, O Palmer Robertson rightly concludes this subject for when he writes,

Without even considering other predictions f the documents of the old covenant to which the life and ministry of Jesus correspond, the relationship of his person and work to the predictions about the individual servant in the book of Isaiah is remarkable enough for the world to take note.[1]

---

[1] Robertson, O Palmer, Christ of the Prophets (Philipsburg: Presbyterian & Reformed, 2004), 482.

CHRIST IN THE LAW

 

From the beginning of the book of Genesis, Christ is introduced as the Creator God. The opening statement in Genesis 1:1 is, ‘In the beginning God…’ The word translated ‘God’ is, (El ohim), which is in plural and which introduces the aspect of the mystic plurality of God in Trinity. That is God is one being, and exists eternally as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit as He reveals himself to us in the entirety of the Scriptures.

Therefore, it begs the question, who was the divine agent in creation? John 1 responds, “All things were made through Him, and without him was not anything made that was made… He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:3,10–14, ESV)” And Colossians 1:16 adds, “For by Him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things were created through Him and for Him.” Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God became Man and so was and continues to be God and Man in two distinct natures and one Person forever – this is the Agent of creation in the Godhead.

Reading on, reveals that Jesus Christ is the Seed of woman in Genesis 3:15. He will one day crush Satan and conquer the ancient dragon (Rev 12:9; 20:2). He is the serpent-crusher, Satan killer. He is the all-conquering King of kings who reigns forever in heaven and on earth and there is no one who can thwart his purposes, even Satan cannot stop him. He became curse for us (Gal. 3:13).

Adam was a type of Christ. This is something expressly stated by Paul in Romans 5:14. Vos explains what type means when he writes, “A typical thing is prospective; it relates to what will become real or applicable in the future. In the New Testament the word ‘type’ occurs only once (Rom 5:14) where Adam is said to have been a ‘type of Christ.”[1]

The Angel of the Lord is Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus is first seen in the Old Testament as the person who appeared as “the Angel of the Lord” in his confrontation with Hagar (Gen 16:7). He then appeared every now and then in Genesis, for example, to Abraham (Gen 22:11,15) to Moses in the flame of fire in Exodus 3:2. These manifestations of Christ are called theophanies. These were convincing but temporary revelations of Christ’s person and work to the Old Testament saints in a human form, much before his final incarnation as a baby in the Bethlehem manger. There is no doubt that the “Angel of the LORD” is called and is addressed often as “the LORD/Yahweh” himself (Gen 12:7; 17:1; 19:1; etc.) indicating that Christophany, that is, the temporary appearance of Christ in the Old Testament, was a pointer to his incarnation

In Exodus there are many types of Christ. For example, in the story of the Passover Lamb, Christ is the sacrificial Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (Jn 1:29, 36). He is the tabernacle – as Immanuel (Matt 1:23), God dwelling with his people. Poythress commenting on this matter simply states, “The Old Testament tabernacle is full of meaning because it is a symbol of the Messiah and his salvation.”[2]

In Leviticus the high priests makes sacrifices for the people. Christ being human was qualified to be our priest, for every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. (Heb. 5:1) Christ has become is the great High Priest (Heb 4:14), making the perfect sacrifice to atone for the sins of his people.

The book of Numbers is full of Christ. Just as the bronze serpent had to be lifted up in the wilderness (Num 21:9) the Lord states that the reality of this is in himself in John 3:14-15.  In Numbers 12:3 Moses was very meek, but could he have been meeker than Christ? Consider that Christ’s invitation to take his yoke and learn from him for he is gentle and lowly in heart (Matt 12:29). Compare his meekness with what Paul says of him in Philippians 2:6-8.

In Deuteronomy Moses prophesied of a prophet who would come from among the Hebrews and be greater than him (Deut 18:15, 18-19) and Peter makes an inspired interpretation and conclusion that this is none other Jesus in Acts 3:22). Jesus is that Great Prophet. Who is the city of refuge (Deut 4:21) but Christ (Heb 6:18)? The cursed man must hang on a tree, in Deuteronomy 21:23 and this finds its fulfilment in Christ as Paul writes to the Galatians 3:13.

Time and space fails to write about all the types of Christ in the Pentateuch that speaks of Christ. But the reality is that all the promises of the new covenant are only found in Christ and only those in him will obtain every single blessing that he has promised.

But one more important thing to consider is the uses of the law, the Decalogue or the Ten Commandments commonly called the moral law. The law is one of the most important tools of driving us to Christ. We know that every sinner is under the condemnation of the law, since none is righteous no not one. This is because no mere man since the fall is able to perfectly obey the law of God but does continually break it in thought, word and deed. But Christ was born under the law (Gal. 4:4), he perfectly obeyed the law of God and fulfilled all righteousness. He pleased God perfectly. He obeyed God perfectly. He satisfied all the demands of the law perfectly. He fulfilled all the laws of God whether ceremonial or civil or moral. He fulfilled and obeyed them for us. So that when any sinner believes in Christ, all the righteousness of Christ is credited to him and all his sins are credited or imputed to Christ for which he died on the cross. Our inability to perfectly obey the law of God drives us to Christ for forgiveness and for righteousness. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Cor. 5:21)

Are you in Christ? Do you believe in Him? Do you call upon his name? Have you found full forgiveness in him? Are you bound to him? He is our refuge, our Deliverer, the Captain of our salvation, the only Saviour of our souls! Run to him today and you will be eternally secure in Him!

---

[1] Geerhardus Vos, Biblical Theology: Old and New Testament, (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth Trust, 1975), 144.

[2] Vern Poythress, The Shadow of Christ in the Law of Moses, (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian & Reformed, 1991), 10.

CHRIST IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

 

Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”  

(Luke 24:44)

Introduction

Christ is the essence and substance of the whole corpus of the Scriptures (The Old & The New Testaments) and we must strive to see him as such. This article is one such humble attempt to help everyone to see Christ clearly in all the pages of the Old Testament.

The Bible is a divine story and has a unified objective truth. But how do we unlock it? Christ himself is the key that unlocks the riches of the Old Testament.[1] One of the greatest interpretive problems in Christendom is failure to see the relationship between the Old and the New Testaments. It can be arguably said that most of the doctrinal differences we witness today emanate from this hermeneutical problem.

There is both progression from the Old to the New or continuity as well discontinuity, where certain aspects of the Old find their fulfilment in Christ, e.g. animal sacrifice, priesthood and eventually the temple.

The Bible has one message – the gospel. The gospel is the good news about Jesus Christ as Philip told the Ethiopian Eunuch in Acts 8:35. “Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus.” [Emphasis mine]. Therefore, the good news regards the Son of God, the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Thus, Jesus Christ, the Word, is ‘the main character’ of the redemptive story.

Christ taught about Christ in the OT! 

This is exactly what Christ taught, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they (the Scriptures) that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.” (John 5:39-40, Emphasis added). This is what he told Cleopas and his companion on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:27).

The Lord himself gave this Key to his disciples in Luke 24:44, of those things concerning Christ in the Old Testament beginning from Moses, i.e. the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms. For as the Lord said, “these things must be fulfilled.” Indeed they have been fulfilled in and through Christ. But the wonder of the passages quoted from the OT by the Lord himself, is that Jesus taught about Jesus in the OT!

But how is Christ in the Old Testament?

He is in the Old Testament through:

1.    Types like the animal sacrifices, the temple, the bronze serpent, and many others. He is in the Old Testament.

2.    Predictions such as the seed of the woman who shall crush the head of the serpent (Gen 3:15), the king from the lineage of Judah, who shall sit on the throne of David to reign forever (2 Sam 7:12-13).

3.    Christophanies such as the Angel of the Lord or the Commander of the Lord’s army (Joshua 5:13-15).

4.    Figures. There are many Old Testament figures that point to Christ like Melchizedek, Joseph, David among others.

5.    Perfect righteousness! Finally, reading the Old Testament should bring sinners to the foot of the cross of Christ. For example, when the law is read, it is a reminder that “no mere man since the fall is able in this life to keep the commandments of God (Ecc 7:20; 1 Jn 1:8,10; Gal 5:17), but does daily break them in thought, word or deed (Gen 6:5; 8:21; Rom 3:9-21; Jam 3:2-13).[2]

Therefore, Christ is in the Old Testament more than many Christians realize and my purpose is to show this reality.

 

---

[1] Vern Poythress, The Shadow of Christ in the Law of Moses, (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian & Reformed, 1991), 5.

[2] The Baptist Confession of Faith & The Baptist Catechism: Q. 87, (Vestavia Hills, AL: Solid Ground Christian Books, 2010), 114.

All Israel will be Saved

 

Romans 11:16-24                    

Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written,

“The Deliverer will come from Zion,

he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”;

“and this will be my covenant with them

when I take away their sins.”

The text before us is one of the most controversial regarding the Jews and ethnic Israel. The big question is not simply how will the Jews be saved? It is particularly, how will all Israel be saved? Here is the mystery of all Israel’s salvation. There are three main interpretations to answer that question. But the main question is to ask, who is “all Israel”? Because this forms the basis for the three major views.

1)   ‘All Israel’ is the mass of all Jews living on earth when Christ shall return. It is said that the full number of the elect Gentiles will be saved and gathered in after that a mass of the Jews – Israel on a large scale will be saved at the time of Christ’s return. This is the most popular view adopted by most and especially dispensationalists.

2)   ‘All israel’ is the total number of elect Jews, the total number of all Israel’s remnant, and this is the parallel of the term, ‘the fullness of Gentiles” in verse 25. William Hendricksen and many others hold to this view.

3)   ‘All israel’ is the sum total of the elect of God throughout history from among the Jews and Gentiles, in the Old and the New Testaments. John Calvin who holds this position states, “I extend the word Israel to all the people of God, according to this meaning: when the Gentiles shall come in, and thus will be completed the salvation of the whole Israel of God, which must be gathered from both…”

Which of these views do you regard as the most plausible? Let us just follow the leading of the passage before us to come to a conclusion on which of these views is the most biblical in light of the truths of God’s word before us. But the question remains, How will all Israel be saved?

We must rejoice that the text is clear that “all Israel will be saved.” None will be left out of the great salvation. All within the term Israel will be saved. This is shows that our Saviour is Great… Halleluiah, what a Saviour!

1.   There is a Partial Hardening upon Israel (v.25)

Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. Lest you be wise in your own eyes, directed at the Gentiles (in Rome) is meant to tell them “Lest ye proudly imagine that your own ideas of the destiny of the Jews are correct; or Lest ye be proud and elated, as though you were better and more highly favoured than the Jews.” The former is perhaps the most preferable in accordance with the literal meaning of the words.[1]

1)   Warning to the Gentiles: Do not be wise in your own eyes. This is addressed to the Gentiles brothers, beginning with his readers in the church of Rome. They must neither be arrogant nor ignorant. And as we approach this text, the same warning is given to us because we are equally brothers. Paul calls the Roman Christians brothers, very fondly and affectionately. We must not approach these verses with conceit, with arrogance, with ‘know it all’ attitude, with a prideful heart. He wants us to take to heart what God has for us in his word.

2)   Exhortation to the Gentiles: I want you to understand. The Lord will not want us ignorant, instead He wants us to understand. The Lord does not want us to be unaware or uninformed of this mystery. There is a high possibility of jumping into conclusions ignorantly and proudly. But the Spirit says through Paul, “Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers.” We must not come to the text with preconceived ideas and notions. We must come to the Word of God with eagerness to learn and be guided in the right direction.

3)   Truth about Jews: A partial hardening upon Israel. This truth is called the mystery. There is a mystery connected with what follows regarding the Jews. Mystery does not mean something secret or hidden or incomprehensible to the human mind. Rather it is something that was once hidden but is now revealed. We Gentile Christians need to especially know, so that we do not entertain our own folly or end up with a wrong attitude regarding the Jews. No one of us should rejoice this morning because Iran has joined the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Their drones were shot down by the American soldiers earlier today. There is nothing to rejoice about this sad and tragic developments in the Middle East. But this text is not about that – it is that there is a spiritual hardening against.

The truth is that a partial hardening has come upon Israel. This partial hardening can also be translated as temporary hardening and fractional hardening. This hardening is temporary in that it has come upon Israel. There was a time when it was not there.

This hardening is partial in that is not absolute. For this petrification is not absolute and unqualified – there is always a saved remnant. This partial hardening was true in the past, is true now, will still be in the future but it is not absolute in that there has always been Israelites who were saved. Israel’s rejection is not absolute but partial, and temporary not final. Israel has experienced a partial hardening (v. 25b) see verse 7. It is God who hardens as a judicial process/act (9:18). This is the veil in 2 Cor. 3:14.

It is partial in that it is fractional not whole. Not all the Jews have been hardened but there is the remnant saved by grace. Partial hardening which is described in Mark 3:5, “And he (the Lord Jesus) looked round at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart…” This hardness of heart or blindness  is partial in its extent, and will continue partially, and temporarily or for a while! The blindness of Israelites is to continue until something else happens – until the fullness of the Gentiles come in.

4)   Question to us: How long is the hardening upon Israel? Remember what has already been said, Israel as a nation stumbled and was rejected because of their unbelief, since they would not believe in Christ Jesus and be saved. Christ is a stumbling block to the Jews (1 Cor. 1:23). The gospel is proclaimed to all the Gentiles and the elect Gentiles embrace Jesus Christ who is freely offered in the gospel and these believing Gentiles are saved. Then God will use the salvation of the Gentiles to make the Jews envious. The result is that the elect Jewish remnant embraces Christ, in accordance to the eternal purpose and plan of God. Through their trespass, salvation has come to the Gentiles (11:11). This seems to be the divine process that the Lord has planned – that the ethnic Israel will harden their hearts in rebellion (even as the Lord judiciously hardens them).

How long will their hardening be?

5)   Answer from the Bible: Until the Fullness of Gentiles has come in. Until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. it is for a while, demarcated by the word, ‘until’. The hardening of Israel will not last forever – it is temporal and for this we praise the Lord! But, sadly, this hardening will continue to for a while, until the full number of the elect Gentiles has been gathered into the flock of Christ. It is a reality that more Gentiles are embracing Jesus Christ offered in the gospel more than the Jews. It is a reality that many Jews are viciously opposed to the gospel of Jesus Christ, even though He is their son according to the flesh. Even though Jesus Christ is descended from David and is the promised Messiah of the Old Testament… yet they reject and so stumble in their unbelief.

And when will this be? Clearly, until the glorious return of Christ, for this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (Matt. 24:14). There is no time when the gospel will cease to be proclaimed throughout the whole world of both Jews and Gentiles until Christ returns, and then the end will come. The Jews and the Gentiles will ever have the testimony of Christ as their Saviour. And as long as the gospel is proclaimed, the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes is unleashed. It is good news to know that the fullness of Gentiles will come into the Kingdom of Christ. It is good news to know that the Jews will not be hardened for ever but that it will come a time when their hardening will be melted by the grace of God.

Does this mean that in the future there will be a mass conversions of the Jews? Is this the full number? We hope that there will come a time when many Jews will embrace Christ and submit to his rule. We pray and long for it. Yet, even if this was to be the case, this can barely be called “all Israel”. Does this mean that all Israel is the fullness of all the elect Jews? Maybe!

6)   The Fact: And in this way all Israel will be saved… Partial (ethnic) Israel + Fullness of the Gentiles = ALL ISRAEL! If there is a misunderstanding of the opening clause in verse 26, for some translate it, “And so” (KJV, NRSV, Darby, etc.) but the best translation is, “And in this way (or manner)” The way in which all Israel is saved is, through this partial hardening of Israel, and the conversion of the fullness of the Gentiles, leading to the envy of the Jews, and leading to conversion of the Jews and in this way, all Israel is saved. So there is a possibility that the Jews will indeed get to a point where their envy will lead to a good number of them, perhaps most, (if not all the living Jews) to salvation! But what Paul has been saying is that there will always be a remnant chosen by grace (11:5). It will always be grace not works, or blood or lineage – grace alone, out of faith alone and in Christ alone and for God’s glory alone.

If 11:26 teaches mass conversion of the Jews at the end, would it not seem as if Paul is saying, “Forget what I told you previously?” Further if Paul is here predicting such a future mass conversion of Jews, is he not contradicting, if not the letter, the spirit of, of his earlier statement found in 1 Thess. 2:14b-16[2]: For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews, who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved—so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them at last!

Will all the Jews living at the time of Christ’s return be converted? In response to this position, Lenski responding to Meyer says, (if) “when Christ comes to judgment, he will not find a single unconverted person, Gentile or Jew! Christ was, then mistaken when he asked, “When the Son of Man comes, shall he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8; Matt. 24:11-14). According to Meyer he will find nothing but faith. A few advance beyond Meyer. Does not “All Israel” include also all the dead hardened Jews? So they, too, will be converted, being raised up for this very purpose when that final univesal Jewish conversion takes place.

We must remember that the term Israel has already been explained in 9:6-8 as follows; But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “through Isaac shall your offspring be named”. This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. Therefore, the term Israel (though mostly used to refer to ethnic Israelites or Jews in this text) refers to the elect in this verse just as in 9:6. The remnant chosen by grace, the Israel of God (Gal. 6:16) = all the people of God, both Jews and Gentiles. Granted that the term Israel is used here mostly to refer to the ethnic Israelites (Jews), yet there is a compelling reason to adopt this interpretation because the phrase, “And in this way all Israel is saved” includes both the fullness of the Gentiles and the remnant Jews who are both and equally the elect of God and therefore the people of God.

It should makes us praise God to know that God is no respecter of persons – He is just and holy. And holy and true are all his ways. He shows no partiality on the basis of anything in any human being – Jews and Gentiles alike. It should encourage our hearts and enliven our souls to know that none of the elect Jew or Gentile will be forgotten. It should encourage us to know that He is not just the God of the Jews, He is also the God of the Gentiles too. He is therefore the Saviour of all (both Jews and Greeks) who have faith in Jesus Christ.

What is the outcome of this salvation?

“The Deliverer will come from Zion,

he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”;

“and this will be my covenant with them

when I take away their sins.”

The Deliverer is the Saviour and the Saviour is Jesus Christ who is the eternal Son of God. He, the Son of God became man and so was and continues to be God and man in two distinct natures yet one person forever. He is the only Mediator between God,  and men. He will come from Zion, not the earthly Zion but the glorious Zion for He left the glory to come to his elect on earth in order to save them from their sins. He came from Zion because He came from Israel and was descended from the lineage of Judah through to David. "From their race according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed for ever. Amen!" (Romans 9:5)

The Deliverer will do the following;

a) He will banish ungodliness from Jacob: Christ came to be the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. The reason why the Son of Man appeared was to save people from their sins. He came to deal with lawlessness and iniquity and transgression and sin. He came and lived a perfect life on earth. He obeyed the law of God perfectly and fulfilled all righteousness. But then He also died our death. For he took our place and by his death propitiated our sins. He assuaged the wrath of God having satisfied all the demands of the law of God. No sin will remain for He promised, "I will take away their sins!" So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. (Hebrews 9:28). 

b) He made the new covenant with us. Hear his promise, "This will be my covenant with them..." The Lord has brought us to be in covenant with him! He took the cup after supper saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood!" His blood sealed the covenant of grace and of life and of salvation and of eternal blessing. As it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second...

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel

after those days, declares the Lord:

I will put my laws into their minds,

and write them on their hearts,

and I will be their God,

and they shall be my people.

And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor

and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’

for they shall all know me,

from the least of them to the greatest.

For I will be merciful toward their iniquities,

and I will remember their sins no more.” (Hebrews 8:6–7, 10-12)

Therefore the sign of being in the new covenant is law-abiding. Obeying the law of the King of kings is a clear evidence of being in his kingdom. We are in the covenant and enjoy all the blessings and privileges of the king.

Conclusion

I rebuke those who think that our God is biased or partial. I reproof them for assigning God a wrong doing. You should repent for attributing evil to God – He is the one who chose the Israelites as a nation to accomplish his purpose of election. He now includes the Gentiles, not because of anything better with the Gentiles than with the Jews, but only because He chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise. God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. (1 Cor. 1:27-29).

O you proud, abase yourself to the Lord. Humble yourself because you did not deserve salvation – none deserves salvation – not me; not you; not anyone; ever! Pride and salvation cannot sleep on the same bed. This has already been said so clearly in Romans 3:27–31 “Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.”

This also means that doubting Thomases have to believe and receive the word of God with meekness. To doubt the decrees of God is the same as murmuring at his wise decrees or complaining against God’s prerogatives. It is God to determine what is the best for his people – He made us all, we all bear his image and though we fell into sin with Adam, yet Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, even doubters, even liars, even criminals. Anyone who will sincerely plead with the Lord of salvation will be saved. Do not remain as a Jew in unbelief because the main character of most Jews is unbelief. Doubting that Christ is the Saviour of sinners is the same as remaing like a Jew who though have the light of the gospel in the Scriptures they insist that Christ is not the Saviour against all reason. Turn to Christ. Believe in him. Trust in Him. Confess your sins of unbelief to Him now!

 

---

[1] Charles Hodge,  Epistle to the Romans, Geneva Commentary Series, Banner of Truth, P. 373

[2] William Hendricksen, Romans, Banner of Truth, p 378