Christ Against All Unbelief: A Biblical View of the Current Jewish Conflict

Why is there so much discussion in Christian America about “the Jews”? The answer is not complex: many Christians have been taught that ethnic Jews remain God’s chosen people in a covenantal sense, regardless of their rejection of Jesus Christ. This produces an unusual religious attachment to a people who, at the level of their confession, deny the only Messiah. But Jesus Christ Himself removes all ambiguity about where lines are drawn. “Whoever is not with Me is against Me,” He declares in Matthew 12:30. And again, “He who hates Me hates My Father also,” in John 15:23. The Lord does not divide humanity (or the new humanity) by ethnicity, ancestry, or national heritage. Rather, He divides it by allegiance to Himself. Fidelity to Christ—and to Christ alone—determines one’s standing before God.

In the Gospels, unbelieving Jews repeatedly asserted that they were the true heirs of Abraham because of their lineage, but Christ directly contradicted this claim. In John 8, Jesus tells them plainly, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did.” Instead, He says, they reflect the works of another father, their true father: “You are of your father the devil.” This is, in no uncertain terms, an insult against the Jewish people, as a people for they were all—less a remnant—unrighteous. This condemnation of Christ is a spiritual judgment on their unbelief, as a people. Scripture, however, levels this same judgment on any people—Jew or Gentile—who reject the Lord’s Word. John the Baptist reinforces the same truth when he warns the Jews not to presume upon their lineage, declaring that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from stones (Matthew 3:9). Therefore, heritage, by itself, has no covenantal power, hence why Jesus was adamant to condemn the Jewish one.

The apostle Paul takes up the same theme with unmistakable clarity. For him, the children of Abraham are not those who share Abraham’s bloodline, but those who share his faith-line of Abraham. He writes that “those of faith are the sons of Abraham” (Galatians 3:7) and that “not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel” (Romans 9:6). The true people of God, according to Paul, are the “children of the promise” (Romans 9:8), not the children of the flesh. He concludes decisively in Galatians 3 that those who belong to Christ—whether Jew or Gentile—are Abraham’s offspring and heirs according to the promise. They are the true Jews because they are attached to the ultimate Jew: Jesus (John 15:1-2; Romans 11:17ff). In other words, the Church, united to Jesus Christ the true Son of Israel, is the true Israel of God and the only ones to whom the name “Israel” may be rightly given. Hosea’s prophecy (Hosea 11:1) and Matthew’s application (Matthew 2:15) of Israel’s typology to Christ Himself underscore this point: the Messiah is the center of Israel, and all those, and only those who are united to Him share in Israel’s identity.

Much of the confusion in American Christianity arises from a prophetic scheme inherited from the last century, which assumes that ethnic Israel remains God’s covenant nation even apart from Christ. This creates an odd and untenable tension in which many believers feel compelled to “bless Israel” in a geopolitical sense, as though the modern nation-state holds an automatic biblical significance. But Scripture never commands Christians to devote spiritual allegiance to an earthly polity that rejects Christ. To bless Israel, in the biblical sense, is to honor the Messiah and to support His body, the Church. If a nation truly wanted to bless Israel so that it may subsequently be blessed, it would support, defend, love, and promote the Christian church in the world.

The standard Christ applies is universal. Jesus opposes all who oppose Him, and He welcomes all who come to Him, whether Jew or Greek. The dividing wall of ethnicity has been abolished (Ephesians 2:12-13). What matters now is union with the Savior, and only those in union with Him can rightly and biblically be considered Jews (Galatians 6:16). The only distinction that carries any weight, both temporal and eternal, is the distinction between faith and unbelief. Ethnic privilege, covenantal heritage, and cultural history cannot bridge that divide. Only Christ can.

In light of this, Christians should desire the salvation of the Jewish people just as Paul did, praying earnestly for their conversion. But such a desire does not require pretending that unbelief constitutes covenant faithfulness or that Israel is any more special than the French or the Malagasies. God’s chosen people are those who have bowed the knee to Jesus Christ, an Israelite is someone who trust in Him for salvation, and a Jew is one who walks in the faith of Abraham. The people of God are defined by Christ, gathered under His Lordship, and united in His body. This is the Israel that Scripture blesses—and it is the only Israel that endures forever.