IN A WAY, one would have to answer Yes to the question "Do we owe a debt to the Jew?" But we must remember that "God is no respecter of persons" (Acts 10:34). The apostle Paul regarded himself
as "debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians" (Rom. 1:14), and certainly to his own people, Israel (Rom. 9:2, 3). Like Paul, we also are debtors to all men, irrespective of race or nationality, to present to them the gospel of the grace of God, which is for all mankind. We have been told that— God holds you as His debtor, and also as debtor to your fellow men who have not the light and truth.—Testimonies, vol. 4, p. 52.
Nevertheless, it must be recognized that God did choose the Jewish people in ancient days, and made them the depository of His sacred oracles. This was a solemn trust and a wonderful honor. The faith we believe we call Christianity, but we must not forget that this was not a new religion. It really grew out of the religion of Israel. We read:
The New Testament does not present a new religion; the Old Testament does not present a religion to be superseded by the New. The New Testament is only the advancement and unfolding of the 01d. -Ibid., vol. 6, p. 392.
Let us list a few of the things in which the Christian faith is indebted to the Jewish people.
1. They preserved for us the Bible.
Specifically, they gave us what we now call the Old Testament, and the Jew even today calls this, and this alone, the Bible. And what a wonderful treasure it is! Think of the history it gives us of God's dealing with His ancient people. Think of the remarkable promises of God it contains, promises we can claim today, promises that are just as applicable to us as they were to Abraham, to David, and to others of the saints of a bygone age. Think of the prophecies foretold in the Old Testament and pointing forward to the Coming One—the Messiah, which we know were fulfilled in the life and ministry of our Lord. These oracles were "committed" to Israel (Rom. 3:2); they "received" them from God (Acts 7:38). How true, reliable, and authoritative they must have been is seen in the use made of them by our Lord Jesus Christ. Right at the beginning of His ministry He appealed to them when He went into the synagogue and read from the prophecy of Isaiah. Then at the conclusion He could say, "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears" (Luke 4:21). He often appealed to "the scripture" (John 7:38), and then He made the statement that should impress us all in our relationship to the Divine Oracle—that "the scripture cannot be broken" (John 10:35).
Some years ago Dean F. W. Farrar wrote:
"They were entrusted with the oracles of God." The result of that advantage was that the Jew stood at a higher stage of religious consciousness than the Gentile. Judaism was the religion of revelation, and therefore the religion of the promise; and therefore the religion which typically and symbolically contained the elements of Christianity; and the religion of the idea which in Christianity was realized. Christianity was, indeed, spiritualized Judaism.—The Life and Work of St. Paul, p. 471.
Yes, truly the Scriptures of truth came to us from the Jewish people.
2. They preserved for us the Decalogue —the Ten Commandments.
This really is part of the previous consideration, but it is worthy of specific reference. The Ten Commandment law is God's revelation to His people of the basic law of the universe. This law is the foundation of God's government, and hence in its nature it is eternal. This is emphasized in the words of the psalmist, "For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven" (Ps. 119: 89). Rabbi J. H. Hertz, one of the leading spokesmen of Israel remarked:
No religious document has exercised a greater influence on the moral and social life of man than the Divine Proclamation of Human Duty, known as the Decalogue. These few brief commands—only 120 Hebrew words in all—cover the whole sphere of conduct, not only of outer actions, but also of the secret thoughts of the heart. In simple, unforgettable form, this unique code of codes lays down the fundamental rules of Worship and of Right for all time and for all men.—The Pentateuch and Haftorahs, p. 400.
In later years the seers of God were permitted to look into the wonders of heaven, and John the revelator saw "the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony" (Rev. 15:5); he saw also "the ark of his testament" (Rev. 11:19). It is no wonder then that the chosen people of God, even in these Christian days, are called upon to "keep the commandments of God" (Rev. 14:12; 12:17) as were the people in the days of old. This is confirmed in a recent article in Christianity Today in which the writer states:
"Christians generally understand that the Ten Commandments and the Law of Love (Ex. 20:3-17 and Luke 10:27) constitute a brief summary of God's holy, moral law for man."—J. Oliver Buswell, Jr., "The Nature and Origin of Sin," Aug. 26, 1961.
This code of precepts, then, was not given to Israel to apply to and for them alone. True, they were the repository for this divine treasure, hut they were to make known to the nations around them what God had revealed to them. They were to "declare his glory among the heathen; his marvellous works among all nations" (1 Chron. 16:24). This was God's law for all mankind.
Should we not thank the Jewish people for preserving this heritage for us?
3. They bequeathed to us the wonderful principles of salvation.
Our Lord in His conversation with the woman of Samaria remarked, "Salvation is of the Jews" (John 4:22). This means the only salvation by which man is saved from sin. The Greek text has the definite article preceding the word salvation, and this indicates that there is no other. The teachings of Buddhism, Islamism, Confucianism, Zoroastrianism, et cetera, will not avail. There is no other salvation, just as there is no other name by which we can be saved.
4. They gave us the New Testament.
The New Testament did not come so much from the Jewish people as such, for these writings had not been committed to them, as were the "oracles of God" referred to in Romans 3:2. It remains a truth, however, that nearly all the writers of the New Testament were Jews. The one possible exception was Luke, who is generally recognized as a Gentile, belonging, as tradition indicates, to Antioch in Syria. So we see that the four Gospels—the history of the early church as recorded in the book of Acts and the letters of Peter, Paul, James, and John—came to us from those who were by birth Jews, or who had espoused the faith and identified themselves with them.
5. They gave us the twelve apostles.
Again we must remark that the Jewish people did not give us these ministers of Christ. However, it would be true to say that the apostles came from the Jewish people, for all of them were Jews who were converted by the message of Messiah, Jesus.
6. They gave us the wonderful Jewish heritage.
Think of what they gave us as recorded in Romans 9:4. Let us note the rendering of this text as given by Conybeare and Howson:
The seed of Israel, whom God adopted for His children, whose were the glory of the Shekinah, and the covenants, and the Lawgiving, and the service of the temple, and the promises of blessing.
What a heritage the Christian church has received from our friends the Jewish people! Observe some facets of this heritage:
The Adoption. Israel became the son of God by adoption. We read in Exodus 4:22, "Israel is my son, even my firstborn."
This principle of adoption now applies to believers in Christ. We also are called sons of God (Rom. 8:1-15). Truly a wonderful privilege! But there is even more.
"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:2).
The Covenants. The basic covenant of God is the "everlasting covenant." Aspects of this as they applied to the people of God in different periods of their history were confirmed to them in the covenant made with Noah—the one with Abraham —later with Isaac and Jacob. The covenant made at Sinai was part of this plan, as were other aspects indicated at other times in the long history of the Jews. Some of these covenants were summed up in the term "old covenant," which gave way to the new covenant relationship in Christ our Lord. By this new covenant we are brought into intimate fellowship with Jesus and are saved "through the blood of the everlasting covenant" (Heb. 13:20).
The Service of God. The services of the tabernacle and the Temple in days of old are a meaningful heritage to us not only in the Sabbath worship services but also in the service each one of us may render to the Lord in witnessing to others of His grace.
The Promises. Messianic promises are many and are scattered all through the books of the Old Testament. But there are other promises of our God that are just as applicable to us as they were to the people to whom they were originally given. How precious are the promises as found in Isaiah 40 and 41:
"They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and thev shall walk, and not faint" (Isa. 40:31).
"Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness" (Isa. 41:10).
These promises are also a part of the wonderful heritage to which we have become heir.
The Glory. The glory of the Shekinah meant a great deal to Israel, for it was a visible evidence that God was with them. To us it has the same significance, for the presence of God is ever with His faithful people. But it has an even greater significance, for the glory of the new covenant greatly exceeds the glory of the old covenant (see 2 Cor. 3), and that is understandable when we think of the fact that this "glory" is seen in the person of our blessed Lord. James uses the same Greek word for "glory" when he makes reference to Jesus as "the Lord of glory." This brings us to our last point, the most wonderful gift the Jewish people unconsciously made to the world. This gift was the Messiah.
7. They gave us our blessed Lord.
Jesus, the Messiah, was the Son of God: He was "sent" of the Father. He came from eternity to time, and He became one with the human race by clothing His deity with the robe of our humanity. This human garb He received through Mary. The occasion of His birth was remarkable, for while He came forth from the womb as any of the sons and daughters of Adam, He had no human father—He had a foster father, yes, but the incipient processes leading to His prenatal experience were not of man, but of God.
He was also the "son of Abraham" (Matt. 1:1); He was the "seed of David" (John 7:42; Rom. 1:3), and Paul states the matter well when he speaks of "the fathers, ... of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever" (Rom. 9:5). Our Lord was born a Jew; He identified Himself with them (John 4:22). He lived and dressed like them, but all the while He was here as the Son of man, He was the Son of God (see Testimonies, vol. 8, p. 202).
Again we can thank the Jewish people for giving to us our wonderful Lord.
With all this in mind, what a message we have to give to God's ancient people, and yet how few there are who carry this as a burden on their hearts.
This year, on Sabbath, March 17, in all our churches there will be a special ten-minute missionary service featuring this particular phase of our work. All our leaders should present this to our people. We have much in common with the Jewish people, and many of them are our neighbors and friends.
If we feel that a direct approach is difficult, why not try the literature plan? There is the quarterly journal Israelite, which can go into their homes four times a year. It costs only one dollar for the four issues. Subscribe for yourself, and then subscribe for your neighbors and friends. Remember that this work of love and sacrifice will not go unrewarded, for we have the assurance that "when this gospel shall be presented in its fulness to the Jews, many will accept Christ as the Messiah."—Gospel Workers, p. 398.
