Jesus quoted the same passage from prophecy in Matthew 13:14, 15 as Paul did in Acts 28:25-27, concerning the hardness of Israel. But when Jesus spoke on earth to Israel and Jesus spoke from heaven through Paul, he had different purposes in mind for the same passage.
Quoting from Isaiah 6:10, Jesus intended to inform his true disciples that whoever accepted him to be who he said he was, would be identified as the true children of God; that the promised kingdom would be reserved for a "little flock" who brought forth fruit according to his will, and not for the disobedient. He spoke nothing of Israel's hardness becoming the salvation of the Gentiles. To reiterate, neither Jesus nor Isaiah disclosed the mystery of what would happen through the hardening of Israel. But Paul did. Jesus taught that the hardening of Israel would amount to the salvation of the remnant of Israel: the revelation of the mystery of the kingdom. But Paul taught that the hardening of Israel would amount to the salvation of the Gentiles: the revelation of the dispensation of the grace of God. The former mystery was one found in and concerning the prophecies; the latter is applying prophecy to reveal the Gentile mystery. The former was intended to give hope to those faithful Israelites who believed on Christ as Messiah; the latter was intended to give hope to the hopeless Gentiles. Christ said from Isaiah what he did, in order to give clarity to the prophecies which spoke of unbelieving Israel; and to identify those who believed on him as the true people of God. Everything hinged on the question, "Who do you say that I am?"
But hidden in the words of select prophesies, unbeknownst to anyone but God when he spoke them, was mystery truth which would later find similar but different application than the meaning intended for its original audience and context. This is how Paul could say to the Gentiles of Israel's promises, "Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved" (2 Corinthians 7:1). But God has by no means joined the Gentiles to himself by any covenants today; nor has he taken them and joined them to the house of Israel. All blessings received today are in the body of Christ, the household of faith.
It is solely by the mystery purpose of the work accomplished at the cross that all men are drawn near, on an equal plane. But there is mystery truth for the body of Christ hidden in prophecies pertaining to the children of Israel. The prophecies do not speak of the body of Christ, they speak of and toward Israel. No one studying the Old Testament writings would ever be able to arrive on the fact that there would be a body of Christ, or that salvation would come to the Gentiles through Israel's fall. Yet, with the revelation of the mystery given to Paul, God chose to use him to draw out hidden truths from prophecies that would support this new teaching.
The mystery of the nations is an equation that has two simple elements: The falling of Israel equals the rising of the Gentiles.
Although nothing prior to Paul was recorded of the fact that salvation would be sent to the Gentiles through the fall of Israel, Paul used what was stated in prophecy--Israel's fall and the Gentiles' kingdom salvation--as a foundation upon which to build the truth of the mystery. For the Jews, once Jesus arrived on the scene as flesh and blood, whether a Jew was right before God or at fault, hinged solely upon who he believed Jesus was. This is why Peter quoted Moses, saying, "For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people" (Acts 3:22, 23). So those who rejected his identity were known by their fruits, in that, not believing who he was, they refused to obey what he said to do. This was fallen Israel, who did not "bring forth fruits meet for repentance".
Returning to the beginning of this study, Paul and Barnabas stated, "For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth" (Acts 13:47). According to Isaiah 49:6, the prophesy that is quoted here, the "thee" has the entire nation of Israel in mind, and by no means referred to one or two men. For in Isaiah 60:3, he says, "And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising." This is the end goal of Israel: that with the glory of the Lord shining unhindered upon her, the rest of the world will come to that brightness. This will come to pass when Israel is glorified in the millennial kingdom to come, but has by no means yet occurred. Not until Israel shone the light God gave her would she be a light to the world. But, in her darkness, she had no good works to prove God was with her.
Why then would Paul quote such a verse? In this we see only one of the many instances where Paul used prophecies concerning Israel, to make known the mystery for the Gentiles, just as it is recorded in Romans 16:26. He says that the mystery has been revealed, and "by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith." That is, since there are a great many parallels between what God has planned for Israel, and what he secretly planned for the Gentiles, it was "according to the commandment of the everlasting God" that passages intended for Israel be used for the Gentiles. This by no means indicates that the truths of the mystery were found in prophecy. For as I have said, essentially Paul took the liberty of violating the context of Isaiah's prophecy, in order to apply it to his office to the Gentiles. Since there is much agreement in what God has planned for the Jews and what he has planned for the Gentiles, there is application in many areas.
The mystery God introduced through Paul's preaching interrupted the prophetic timetable and promises God had with Israel. Therefore it is obvious that there would be no congruence between the two teachings. Again, there are similarities such as our mutual promise of a kingdom: yet, for the Jews it is on earth, and for the Gentiles it is in heaven. Accordingly then, Paul would have been free to quote a prophesy given to Israel concerning her earthly kingdom promise, as one for the Gentiles in their heavenly kingdom in the body of Christ, even though the prophetic promise deals with a different time frame, restoration of the earth, not heaven, etc. As long as the words of prophesy agree with the words of the mystery, they may be applied to this present dispensation, regardless of their context. Some principles of God's word are "trans-dispensational", extending throughout all ages.
We could say, in a sense, Christ set Paul to be the individual embodiment of all that he wanted for Israel. Instead of waiting for the restoration of Israel to move toward the Gentiles with the salvation she possessed, God decided to make Paul that vessel, with the preaching of "in Christ". This being so, we see things in their proper perspective. Gentiles will yet come to the brightness of Israel when Israel is brightened by the glory of Christ's second advent. But now, through the apostle to the Gentiles, the Gentiles do not have to pass through Israel to come to God as recipients of salvation. "For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father" (Ephesians 2:18). God's oracles, which he once committed to the Jews (Romans 3:1, 2), are also now to the Gentiles (Colossians 1:25-27). What is going on today, as far as the will of God is concerned, is not prophecy being fulfilled: it's the fulfillment of the mystery.
Then there is the consideration of the two olive trees.
We can glean from the eleventh chapter of Romans that Israel has been set aside at this present time. At the period when Romans was written, there were living apostles and disciples who were yet looking forward to the reception of the promised land (although I believe it soon became clear to them that the kingdom would not be given to the them in their lifetime; nevertheless, they continued to go to the Circumcision [Jews] as recorded in Galatians 2:9). During that time, Paul was also using his position as an apostle of the Gentiles, incorporating signs and wonders (something not indicative of a messenger of God today), to provoke the Jews to jealousy and save some (Romans 11:13, 14; 15:16-19). Paul using his office specifically for the salvation of Jews shows that God still was not finished with them, even though the nation was falling. Likewise, when Paul said he preached the gospel of Christ "to the Jew first", this was because, according to Paul and Barnabas, it was "necessary" to deliver this message to the Jews while they were "on the way out" so to speak, in order to snatch some of them out of their unbelief with the gospel of grace, and also to keep them without excuse until they were set aside entirely.
Ultimately, the reason it was "necessary", I believe has a few explanations:
First, it was simply because out of Israel's seed came Christ (Romans 9:5), and the gospel of grace pertained to him. The salvation Christ came to deliver was Jewish salvation until Paul revealed it to be of the Gentiles as well (Romans 15:8; 1 Timothy 2:6). And, indeed, remission of sins through his blood is the New Covenant which he gave to Israel; it is the blessing we attain to as Gentiles, without a covenant, simply by the reconciliation purpose God had in mind while he was working in Christ at the cross.
It is clear that Peter, James and John continued to minister to the Jews even after learning of Paul's distinct ministry on account of the record we have in the book of Galatians. They did not perceive the grace given to Paul and throw up their hands, saying, "Well, God's done with Israel." A gradual diminishing is certainly evident.
Second, the book of Romans being written during the time of Israel's decline, I believe, makes "to the Jew first" necessary, as time was very short--that principle would be short-lived. Yes there are Jews today. But they are not covenant Israel with all the promises, the special favor, the law of commandments and all other intrinsic blessings. God still had compassion for that Israel, as he always had and has; and to see covenant Israel falling, doubtlessly grieved him, even with the glorious mystery purpose at hand. Just as Jesus said, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!" (Matthew 23:37). So, God sought to war against their unbelief, the cause of their lapse, by provoking them to jealousy by Paul's ministry; perhaps, then, some would believe. Then, when the casting away was complete, Jews and Gentiles would be regarded the same.
Third, Paul in the body of Christ, as well as many to whom he delivered the gospel of grace, were covenant Jews (see Acts 13:43). Now, when I say "covenant Jews" I mean the nation as a whole, as distinguished by their circumcision, including those who were actually right with
God and those who were not, individually. Being circumcised according to the flesh did not save; it kept an Israelite in the company of the people whom God was with and to whom he spoke exclusively. But only circumcision according to the heart and spirit saved (Romans 2:28, 29); and so, in bringing the whole nation near, God's ultimate goal was to see each individual believe him. God's salvation, his favor, blanketed the entire nation of Israel to the exclusion of all others, covering even those within who did not believe him. God always wanted to continue to preserve a remnant of Israel; even in the time of the mystery, the time of the body of Christ when Israel is set aside. And so he has. And how blessed the election for the remnant in the body of Christ! For it was "no more of works" (Romans 11:6)!
Prior to Paul's salvation, the nation of Israel was in view. However, following the salvation of Paul, the Jews only held precedence in that the gospel of grace was sent first to them, but obviously not exclusively. Paul had liberty to go to whomever he wished at that time (for he says, "From Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ" [Romans 15:19]). But in his early ministry, he had agreement with the Holy Spirit within his conscience that the Jews should receive the truth (Romans 9:1-3). In addition to this, Paul states the benefits of being a Jew in Romans 3:1, 2 and Romans 9:4, 5, of which he makes no mention in his later epistles. For all of those things which were benefits at one time and which made Israel unique and precious, Paul says in Ephesians 2:12-16, God did away with at the cross, in order to make Jews and Gentiles one--equals with one no longer favored over the other.
The entire list in Romans 9:4, the "adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises" has been unraveled, in that these blessings are no longer Israel-exclusive. Gentiles are adopted by faith (Romans 8:15; Galatians 3:26); we were destined for glory upon believing the gospel which was sent to us (1 Corinthians 2:7; 2 Thessalonians 2:14); we are partakers of the spiritual aspects of the New Covenant (2 Corinthians 3:6; Romans 15:27); we are given the law of the Spirit of life and the law of Christ (Romans 8:2; Galatians 6:2); we are given the service of God in a new form, not of the letter, but of the Spirit (Romans 7:6; Philippians 3:3); and we are blessed with the promise of life which is reserved for us in Christ (Ephesians 3:6; 2 Timothy 1:1). God will turn to Israel again on account of "the fathers" and on account of Christ who came from their flesh (Romans 9:5). It is for their sake and for Christ's that Israel remains "beloved" despite her history of disobedience and present unbelief (Romans 11:28-31; Acts 13:23).
God always intended to bless all nations, according to the promise he gave to Abraham, "In thy seed shall all nations be blessed."
But "in thy seed" has been applied in two different ways since then. Throughout the entire history of Israel, she has been that seed. Peter said, "Ye men of Israel...Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed" (Acts 3:12, 25). This was because, in times past, God identified the seed of Abraham by the ordinance of circumcision (Genesis 17:9-14) which those who believed him would perform in order to continue in the covenant blessings God promised to those who obeyed. This limited who could be a part of that seed. But with that ordinance done away and the formation of the "one new man", the body of Christ, Paul used the revelation of the mystery to redefine the identity of the "seed". The "seed" today is Christ. "Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ" (Galatians 3:16). Therefore, we have the truth of "in Christ shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." Is this not so entirely different from how it was with Israel? For with Israel, her being the seed meant that in her, all nations of the earth would be blessed! But now has Christ become that seed, cutting out the necessity of joining to Israel for God's favor.
I conclude then, that "to the Jew first" has no bearing on the plan of God today. When the full revelation of the mystery came in, and Israel was out, the principle was rendered obsolete. In fact, to give special favor to "Israel" today (which is not God's Israel, only a reprobate nation of Jews), is against the plan of God, not for it. For "there is neither Jew, nor Gentile" in Christ. This being so, we are to have equal respect toward all men, seeing not their flesh or the works of their flesh, but instead looking at the spirit. This makes Israel-specific ministries today contrary to the will of God. In addition, having some reverence for the so-called "Holy Land" over any other place in the world is also foolish; because the land east of the Mediterranean Sea is not recognized today as "Zion". But we should not hate the Jews, nor should we think that we as Gentiles have permanently replaced them. Paul says, "For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in" (Romans 11:25). The Gentiles will be cut off and Israel shall be saved at some point in the near future. Therefore, we should not be "wise in our own conceits".
But ultimately, since Christ died for everyone without distinction, how we look at mankind should be the same. While the old program with Israel supported distinctions, because of the mystery of the cross-work of Christ, the old is gone and the new has come.
For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: and that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet henceforth know we him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 2 Corinthians 5:14-17
This concludes Part 2
