Tend the Family Tree | Miracle Workers Jesus Never Knew and Those Who Give it All for a Brother

For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel...

                                                                                          Ephesians 3:1-6

So I ask, did [the Jews] stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!

...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 themwhen I take away their sins.”

                                                                                          Romans 11:11-12, 25-26

Having walked with Jesus for many years and having a familiarity with what that walk is like, I believe I can say with certainty that something about the narrow road experience has changed, and is changing. One way to describe the sensation is with Jesus’ and the apostle, Paul’s, metaphoric language around childbirth and birth pains.[i] What has historically seemed like something akin to life in the womb (God developing his people in a growth-promoting environment over time), has been registering of late as more directional and pressurized – like braxton hicks contractions hinting at the “beginnings of birth pains,”[ii] nudging the precious cargo to start her toward the birth canal, and causing many to consider whether contractions proper are on the horizon. How long before hard labor begins? I have no idea and no intention of venturing a guess.

To put it another way, what has been a “wandering through the wilderness” experience for the Church[iii] is shifting under intensifying pressure (from natural, political, technological, cultural, informational, and spiritual sources), seemingly pushing the masses toward the “border” (between this age and the one to come), already beginning to trigger a sorting process.[iv] I can almost hear Joshua (Yeshua) shouting, “Choose this day whom you will serve!,” while crowds of people look both ways in response and drift toward the line they want to stand in.[v]

To the point: I can’t help but see the connection between the intensifying pressure on the Church and the intensifying pressure on Israel and Jews around the world. I don’t believe it’s an accident that a scattering of “voices” have come onto the global scene in recent years to instigate discussion within the Church on the subject of Israel and the Jews, their promised eternal role in the kingdom of God,[vi] and the prophesied “Jacob’s trouble” that will result in Israel’s full redemption at the end of the age.[vii]

Neither do I believe that the most recent, and quite vicious, global wave of Israel- and Jew-hatred (by the enemies of God) vs. Israel- and Jew-consciousness (for the children of God) is simply a random coincidence. And I definitely don’t believe that the gospel of the kingdom, which is currently taking deep root in surrounding and previously impenetrable North African, Central Asian, and Middle Eastern regions is happenstance. I do believe that all of these shifts belong to the revelation of the mystery of Christ – “...that the Gentiles [non-Jews] are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel,” – of which Paul spoke (Ephesians 3:6).

As I settle into my place among those who believe that Israel and the Jews, (under a partial hardening until the full number of non-Jewish children have been grafted in[viii]), do have a central role in the future kingdom on Christ on earth, and are right now returning to center stage in the unfolding plan, I recognize the ramifications of living in this time and taking this stance, and how my narrow road experience will likely be impacted. A few of those ramifications are worth mentioning here.  

On the encouraging side, having spent the past four years scrutinizing Scripture through an eschatological lens, toward equipping myself to responsibly weigh and fact-check various opposing positions regarding Israel and the end of the age, I can reaffirm that arguments (of any kind) stitched together with random bits and verses (no matter how copiously done) to defend a preferred position, rarely hold up under serious scrutiny (I’m as guilty as the next person of this). But when the Scriptures are allowed to speak as one body, from the cultural language and context in which they were written, the result is a smooth, collective but cohesive, work that tells the same story in different ways, over and over, and from end to end. Acknowledging Israel and the Jews as central characters in the entire story and as God’s first covenant people has, for me, played a significant role in bringing this kind of cohesive flow to my reading of the Scriptures. [ix]

On the sobering side, the idea of following in Jesus’ footsteps, as he exhorted us the first time he set his face toward Jerusalem, is challenging enough in terms of carrying our crosses through normal, everyday tests and trials. But to follow him as he sets his face toward Jerusalem for the second time (no predictions)... Well, let me say it this way: Jesus’ words, stories, and parables recorded in the gospels to guide us through the trials and testing of our faith, when read through the lens of “being a brother to Israel at the end of the age,” are now popping off the pages like spring-loaded reality-bombs and critical survival kits once disguised as cute little Sunday school stories.

So, what is being a brother to Israel supposed to look like in this time and environment? Any follower of Jesus willing to purposefully seek out the actual video footage and firsthand testimony of the heinous October 7th acts, that triggered all that is unfolding in Israel, in Gaza, and happening to Jews all over the world, can’t help but see the apparent contradiction of faith that we face in this storm.

On one hand, the Jews have been hunted, persecuted, absurdly slandered, and repeatedly displaced from their homeland (until 1948) for roughly 3,000 years. On top of God’s righteous discipline of his rebellious children (aren’t we all?), the cost of simply being Israeli or Jewish has been severe.[x]

On the other hand, the depth of love the Creator has for all of humanity and the lengths to which he’s gone, to make eternal life and adoption available for anyone willing to receive his gift of forgiveness in humility, are at the very core of our calling to take the gospel to every nation, tribe, and tongue on earth, including those actively working to annihilate his first children.[xi] This is a paradox beyond human comprehension. How are we to live this out?

From my humble perspective, it comes down to this:

There is a real and righteous convergence in God’s economy between 1) his eternal covenant faithfulness to his first nation, 2) his righteous and just, but agonizing, plan to bring them to repentance and redemption by any means necessary, and 3) his love made manifest in Christ crucified for all of humanity, including those who are genocidal toward his beloved family. Because this supernatural convergence reflects God’s heart, it must also be reflected in our hearts and in the practical walking out of our faith, by the power of the Holy Spirit working through us.

So, again, what does it look like to walk in this way? As I stand in the middle of my narrow road at the end of the age, in a raging world that has set itself on fire, and in the midst of a confusing tangle of broader, but artificially manufactured, paths obscuring my view, many claiming to represent Jesus and offering a variety of trite responses to that question... I am heartbroken, and yet, exceedingly grateful for Jesus clarifying statements regarding those he will claim as his own when the sorting is done, and those he never knew at all:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’  And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”

                                                                                                            Matthew 7:21-23

A statement about religious people doing “mighty” works in Jesus’ name, whom he declares he never knew, is a statement that should snap every person of faith to attention. Paradoxically, in another place, he said,

“...these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

Mark 16:17-18

Miracles done through those who know and follow Jesus; and miracles done through those whom he never knew. (The story of the exodus and Pharoah’s magicians’ showdown with Moses is a good place to read about the foreshadowing, unholy display of false miracles.[xii]) What is the defining difference between the two camps, so similar by outward appearance? Again, Jesus explains:

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

                                                                                                            Matthew 25:31-46

I am comforted by the explanation, and yet, also discomfited. Considering the coming time of trouble for our brother, Jacob (Israel), what will a right and realistic response look like when it happens? Are we prepared for it?

I know that there are many who believe the Church will be removed from the earth before the time of tribulation happens, but in case that’s mistaken thinking (and I believe the Scriptures clearly say that it is), it’s worth humoring me and considering a few important questions, isn’t it?

 What will we, the Church, do when the world turns on Israel and the Jews once again? Correction: What are we doing while the world turns on Israel and the Jews again? Are we responding in keeping with Jesus’ plan for their redemption?

The answer to these questions, I believe, will determine what we will say when we enter into judgment with Jesus. Some, who mistakenly assume they are on the narrow road based on their good works, will say, “Lord, Lord, didn’t we do mighty things in your name?”

Only those who have entered through the Narrow Gate (by grace, through faith in Christ) and walk the narrow road – through troubles, trials, suffering, persecution, and possibly death, and do it in humility and love and joy – will say when the time comes, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink, a stranger and welcome you in, naked and clothe you, sick or in prison and visit you?”  

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. 

                                                                                                            Matthew 25:24-27

Maranatha.

To be continued...                                                                               

[i] Romans 8:18-25; Matthew 24:3-8; Mark 13:3-8

[ii] Matthew 24:3-8; Mark 13:3-8

[iii] The story of the ancient Israelites’ deliverance from Egypt (see the book of Exodus) is a foreshadowing of Christ’s church moving through this present age, in dependence upon the Holy Spirit, to prepare us for the coming kingdom age with King Jesus.

[iv] Matthew 25:31-46

[v] Joshua 24:14-15

[vi] A tiny sampling from a theme that runs throughout the Scriptures. Isaiah: 44:1-5 21-23; 49, 54(esp. vv. 4-10); 61; 62; Zechariah 12 and 14; Revelation 12:1-6

[vii] Jeremiah 30:1-24

[viii] Romans 11:1-36

[ix] My initial exposure to scholarly work that demonstrates this approach to Scriptural interpretation and exegesis regarding Israel and eschatology includes Joel Richardson books and resources, Travis Snow resources, Maranatha Global Bible Studies by FAI, Eschatology in the Psalms by Nikolai Boyadjiev, Marty Solomon’s work and resources; Bill Scofield, John Harrigan, and Josh Hawkins from Apocalyptic Gospel, and First Fruits of Zion resources.

[x] For a lay-friendly read on the history of antisemitism in the Church and beyond, I recommend When a Jew Rules the World, by Joel Richardson

[xi] John 3:16; Acts 1:8

[xii] Exodus 7:8 – 8:19