Can the MYSTERY of the Jews who do not believe in Jesus be explained?
Is it not a MYSTERY that only a tiny percentage of Jews believe in the testimony of Jesus Christ and the rest have stumbled, bearing in mind that it was with Israel that God made a covenant and promises with, to them were given the word (oracles) of God through the law of Moses and the prophets and to them God revealed his glory. Furthermore, the first christians were Jews who are credited with the spread of christianity to other peoples (gentiles). So should the unbelief of the Jews concern Muslims and Christians (Gentiles)?
The prophet Isaiah prophesied of the hardening of the Jews because of their wickedness and rebelliousness:
‘And He [God] said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ “Make the heart of this people dull, And their ears heavy, And shut their eyes; Lest they see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart, And return and be healed.”
Isaiah 6:9-10 NKJV
The prophet Isaiah further prophesied that the Jews would reject Jesus. He would be a STUMBLING STONE and they would fall because of him. That is the case even today:
“And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a STONE of STUMBLING and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be BROKEN, and be snared, and be taken.”
Isaiah 8:14-15 KJV.
After the Jews largely rejected him as Messiah Jesus said to them:
“Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this STONE shall be BROKEN: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.”
Matthew 21:43-44 KJV
According to Jesus, the unbelief of the Jews has translated into a blessing for us Gentiles. We’ve become beneficiaries of his Kingdom.
The grace available to us Gentiles to enter the kingdom of God is at the expense of the falling away of the Jews.
“For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this MYSTERY, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, And shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, When I shall take away their sins. As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes.”
Romans 11:11-12, 15, 25-28 KJV
2. Did the Messiah come at the right time but was he dismissed as the wrong one? Or did the Jews get the timing wrong even when the prophecies about the timing of his coming were given by the PROPHETS? Or did they get the timing right but found that he was not the kingly savior like the conquering David they were hoping for?
“But thou, Beth-lehem Ephrathah, which art little to be among the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall one come forth unto Me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth are from of old, from ancient days.”
Tanakh Jewish Bible Micah 5:2
Through his 70 week prophecy (483 years from the order by King Artaxerxes to rebuild Jerusalem in 457 BC – a day for a year), Daniel was even precise regarding the timing of the ministry and crucifixion of the Messiah (which means ‘anointed one’ )
“Know therefore and discern, that from the going forth of the word to restore and to build Jerusalem unto ONE ANOINTED, a prince, shall be seven weeks; and for threescore and two weeks, it shall be built again, with broad place and moat, but in troublous times.”
Tanakh Bible Daniel 9:25
“And after the threescore and two weeks shall an anointed one be CUT OFF, and be no more; and the people of a prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; but his end shall be with a flood; and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.”
Tanakh Hebrew Bible Daniel 9:26
So Daniel accurately foretold the ministry of Jesus and the destruction of Jerusalem and the sanctuary (temple) in AD 70 by the Roman prince, Titus.
The Jews refused to accept the Messiah when he revealed himself to them because they expected a conquering and mighty military king who would free them from their oppressors (Roman rule) and restore Israel to the glory days of King David.
After his triumphant entry on a donkey into Jerusalem accompanied with shouts of hosanna ( It refers to a cry expressing an appeal for divine help or means ‘free us!’) he turned left to the temple and drove the money changers away instead of turning right towards the seat of Roman power and driving the Romans out!
His attitude not to interfere with the Roman oppression of Israel was further revealed when he was asked a trick question: is it lawful to pay taxes to Ceasar?
‘Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Cæsar the things which are Cæsar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.’
Matthew 22:21 KJV
3. When Jesus began his ministry, he was just a LOWLY villager from the unpopular valley in Nazareth, a location that would not have been regarded highly by the Jews. This was in fulfillment of the prophecy by Isaiah which expected that the Jews would not BELIEVE the testimony of ‘arm of the Lord’—Jesus—when he is REVEALED to them :
“‘Who would have BELIEVED our report? And to whom hath the ARM of the LORD been REVEALED? For he shot up right forth as a sapling, and as a root out of a dry ground; he had no form nor comeliness, that we should look upon him, nor beauty that we should delight in him.”
Tanakh Jewish Bible Isaiah 53:1-2
When Jesus started his ministry, Philip saw Nathaniel (disciples), and Philip told him he had found the one whom Moses in the law and the prophets spoke of:
“And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.”
John 1:46 KJV
Jesus’ entrance in Jerusalem as Messiah, as prophesied by Daniel, was not the stuff of majestic earthly kings but was a low key event: he came riding on a (ass) donkey! This is the old testament prophecy given by the prophet Zechariah on Jesus going to Jerusalem:
‘Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion, shout, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold, thy king cometh unto thee, he is triumphant, and victorious, LOWLY, and riding upon an ass, even upon a colt the foal of an ass.”
Tanakh Bible Zechariah 9:9
And when Messiah made his triumphant entry into Jerusalem, as prophesied, he came sitting on an donkey ‘And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying,” Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.”
Matthew 21:1-5, 9-11 KJV
4. Did the Jews expect Jesus to come and set up a heavenly kingdom OR a political and earthly one (a CALIPHATE!)? The Jews expected him to establish a political and earthly kingdom and rule as King from Jerusalem! The Jews and their Rabbi’s rejected Messiah then and still do today.
The Jews RIGHTLY believed that the Messiah was to be King and everlasting
Jesus said
“And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” This He said, signifying by what death He would die. The people answered Him, “We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’ ? Who is this Son of Man?”
John 12:32-34 NKJV
However, what they did not factor in was that Jesus, the ARM of God, was first going to come and bring SALVATION from the CURSE of the LAW of Moses through the COVERNANT of GRACE.
“And He [God] saw that there was no MAN, and was ASTONISHED that there was no INTERCESSOR; therefore His OWN ARM brought SALVATION unto Him; and His righteousness, it sustained Him;”
Tanakh Jewish Bible Isaiah 59:16
Jesus would confirm a NEW COVENANT of GRACE so that they could enter the kingdom of heaven through it.
“Behold, I send My messenger, and he shall clear the way before Me; and the Lord, whom ye seek, will suddenly come to His temple, and the messenger of the COVENANT, whom ye delight in, behold, he cometh, saith the LORD of hosts.”
Tanakh Hebrew Bible Micah 3:1
God is speaking in the above verse through the prophet Micah and John the Baptist was to be the messenger to clear the way before God (‘Me’ ‘the Lord’). The Lord is ‘the messenger of the COVENANT (of GRACE).
The new COVENANT of GRACE would be an improvement on the OLD COVENANT of the LAW of Moses which the Jews could not keep. The OLD COVENANT was ACCUSATORY and a CURSE: instead of righteousness, it caused sin to increase!
“For the LAW was given by Moses, but GRACE and truth came by Jesus Christ.”
John 1:17 KJV
Jesus said
“Do not think that I will ACCUSE you to the Father: there is one that ACCUSETH you, even Moses, in whom ye trust.
John 5:45 KJV
‘Christ redeemed us from the CURSE OF THE LAW , having become a curse for us—for it is written, “CURSED be every one who hangs on a tree”
Galatians 3:13
All COVENANTS under the law of Moses were made effective with the shedding of blood. [The Hebrew meaning for the word ‘COVENANT’ (בְּרִית bĕriyth) is “TO CUT AND SHED BLOOD.”] Even the COVENANT of the Law of Moses was effected with the shedding and sprinkling of blood.
“And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said: ‘Behold the BLOOD of the COVENANT, which the LORD hath made with you in agreement with all these words.'”
Tanakh Hebrew Bible Exodus 24:8
Without the shedding of blood (of a spotless lamb) there was no forgiveness of sins.
The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith,” Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”
John 1:29 KJV
The COVENANT of Jesus’ (his crucifixion for the salvation of many) and resurrection (as prophesied in Jonah and by David in Psalms 22 and in Isaiah 53) was part of God’s plan for the salvation of mankind through GRACE rather than through the Law of Moses.
However, the death of their savior—who was supposed to free them from the oppression of the Romans—was something the Jews could not believe.
‘But although He had done so many signs before them, they DID NOT BELIEVE in Him, that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: “Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the ARM OF THE LORD been revealed?” Therefore they COULD NOT BELIEVE, because Isaiah said again: “He has BLINDED their eyes and hardened their hearts, Lest they should see with their eyes, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.”
John 12:37-40
Before his stoning to death by a council of Jewish priests, Stephen rebuked the Jews for their unbelief: “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.”
Acts 7:51-53
The prophet Isaiah wrote that the Jews’ unbelief would not last forever but that it is God’s plan and eventually they would be saved.
“O Israel, that art saved by the LORD with an everlasting salvation; ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end.”
Tanakh Hebrew Bible Isaiah 45:17
ON THE DAY OF THE APPEARING OF CHRIST IN THE END OF DAYS, according to the prophet Zechariah, there will be great mourning among the Jews when they are faced with the sudden realization that they rejected and crucified him:
“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of compassion and supplication, so that, when they look on him whom they have PIERCED, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a first-born.
Zechariah 12:10
Thankfully many Jewish Christian organizations now turning many Jews in Israel and the world over to Christ as prophesied by Isaiah 45:17.
1. Check the channel ONE FOR ISRAELfor the growing church in Israel. https://youtu.be/X6UfxZbQDSE
2. WATCH reaction of these two JEWS to the new testament and crucifixion
https://youtu.be/5sMEkGoojbg
https://youtu.be/eu4BaZyweuE