First, a little Biblical housecleaning: Does it say in the OT that God wants the gentiles to be saved? The answer is in Isaiah 49:6, where God says to Isaiah, “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” And where was that pursuit of salvation meant to originate? Isaiah 59:20 says “And a Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who turn from transgression,” declares the LORD.”
If there is any doubt that this redeemer will originate from Zion, as far as the Gentiles go, this Verse is quoted in Romans 11:25-26 which says, “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” Zion is generally understood as being in Jerusalem, which in turn is associated with the Jews. Someday, though, in the context of Isaiah 59:20 and Romans 11:25-26 it is hoped that what Zion stands for will spread to and enshrine everyone who has yet to see the light or, for various reasons, struggles to see it.
But in the physical area of Zion in the NT era, there is an issue: How can the Deliverer from Zion show the rest of mankind the way when the Jews, who otherwise would be in a position to spread the word if not for corrupt leaders including many of the Pharisees and Sadducees? In Jesus’ time, they led their congregants astray, to the point where the Jewish temples of worship seemed to also be used to worship gold and the things that give way to gold? Such was the rage of Jesus as he entered one such temple when Passover was at hand, as reported in John 2:13–22 And in Matthew 23:16, Jesus says “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’” And in Verse 22, he says ““Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.”
Be honest…How could Zion in Jerusalem set the stage for salvation when those who have made themselves the standard bearer of the Bible have turned away from it, leaving its congregants in confusion and ignorance? The challenge has been posed on Jesus and his followers to spread the pure word of the Lord, and everything that Word stands for, to the Gentiles. For without them, if Jerusalem has trouble seeing the light, how could the gentiles be expected to see it?
The Gentiles, in a certain sense and in different contexts, are the ‘strangers’ God refers to in Leviticus 19:34, when He says to Moses, “You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.” There is a strong indication that the Lord wants that it would be nice if those strangers who live among those Hebrews worship Him as the Hebrews of that pre-Pharisees and Sadducees era do. It can be seen as the start of opening the door to the Gentiles, if only the Jews did not go astray by falling in with their corrupt leaders.
Seems that through the ages, the Jews have been persecuted by those who moved to hold them accountable for straying from the Lord and following leaders who “neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness.” In that sense, many whose origins came from what is known as Zion have turned at least one blind eye to the Lord, invariably putting a cover over the light that the rest of the world could have seen. And many may wonder how a people who are so small in population could invite such wrath.
If there is any doubt that this redeemer will originate from Zion, as far as the Gentiles go, this Verse is quoted in Romans 11:25-26 which says, “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” Zion is generally understood as being in Jerusalem, which in turn is associated with the Jews. Someday, though, in the context of Isaiah 59:20 and Romans 11:25-26 it is hoped that what Zion stands for will spread to and enshrine everyone who has yet to see the light or, for various reasons, struggles to see it.
But in the physical area of Zion in the NT era, there is an issue: How can the Deliverer from Zion show the rest of mankind the way when the Jews, who otherwise would be in a position to spread the word if not for corrupt leaders including many of the Pharisees and Sadducees? In Jesus’ time, they led their congregants astray, to the point where the Jewish temples of worship seemed to also be used to worship gold and the things that give way to gold? Such was the rage of Jesus as he entered one such temple when Passover was at hand, as reported in John 2:13–22 And in Matthew 23:16, Jesus says “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’” And in Verse 22, he says ““Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.”
Be honest…How could Zion in Jerusalem set the stage for salvation when those who have made themselves the standard bearer of the Bible have turned away from it, leaving its congregants in confusion and ignorance? The challenge has been posed on Jesus and his followers to spread the pure word of the Lord, and everything that Word stands for, to the Gentiles. For without them, if Jerusalem has trouble seeing the light, how could the gentiles be expected to see it?
The Gentiles, in a certain sense and in different contexts, are the ‘strangers’ God refers to in Leviticus 19:34, when He says to Moses, “You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.” There is a strong indication that the Lord wants that it would be nice if those strangers who live among those Hebrews worship Him as the Hebrews of that pre-Pharisees and Sadducees era do. It can be seen as the start of opening the door to the Gentiles, if only the Jews did not go astray by falling in with their corrupt leaders.
Seems that through the ages, the Jews have been persecuted by those who moved to hold them accountable for straying from the Lord and following leaders who “neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness.” In that sense, many whose origins came from what is known as Zion have turned at least one blind eye to the Lord, invariably putting a cover over the light that the rest of the world could have seen. And many may wonder how a people who are so small in population could invite such wrath.
