Did God reject the Jewish people?
In the first eight chapters of Romans, Paul presented the objective truth of the gospel logically and systematically. The objective gospel consists of what God accomplished on behalf of sinful humankind while he was in the body here on earth. The objective truth of the gospel includes the creation of new humankind in Jesus Christ. Jesus is the representative, Adam, of the new humankind. In chapters twelve through fifteen of Romans, Paul presented the subjective gospel. The subjective truth of the gospel is the believer’s response to the objective truth of the gospel. The subjective truth of the gospel does not exist without the objective gospel.
God acted first and unilaterally on behalf of the helpless humankind. Not only did God’s objective acts create new humankind, but he also enabled it to respond subjectively to what he accomplished in Jesus Christ. God enabled the new humankind to, through its daily experience, demonstrates the objective truth of the gospel. The daily demonstration of the objective gospel also reveals the nature of the born-again believers. The subjective human experience cannot facilitate the objective truths of the gospel. The objective truth of the gospel is God’s selfless gift to humankind. Therefore, believers must have priority in order. The objective first, then the subjective. The Israelites failed on this point. They reversed the priority. They did their best in the subjective performance without accepting the objective truths of the gospel. They had God’s irrevocable promise of the objective truth of the gospel in the Messiah. They failed to understand it. Such a misplacement of priority persists even today among those who profess Jesus Christ.
The Jews put their hope and trust in the shadow rather than what it pointed to. They failed to recognize that the Messiah, the God with us, is the fulfillment of everything the shadow announced. The objective truth of the gospel became a reality in the Messiah, Christ Jesus. Therefore, what God accomplished in the Messiah on behalf of humankind brought everything found in the shadow to an end. With its priesthood, law, regulations, and rituals, the earthly temple was superseded with the coming of the Messiah, the High Priest of a new order. This truth was difficult to accept by Jews and is difficult to accept by some of the believers today. This is an unfortunate but deadly self-deception.
Continued in the next blog.
