The God of Israel Is the God of All Peoples

The first followers of Jesus were mostly Jewish. But soon, whole communities of non-Jews also started following him as the Messiah and began worshiping the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This was not some oddity but a fulfillment of God’s words to Abraham in Genesis 12:3: “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” The prophets of the Tanakh also talked about a coming time when the nations of the world—the non-Jews—would worship the God of Israel. Take, for instance, Micah 4:2:

… and many nations shall come, and say:

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

When Gentiles started coming to faith in Jesus, an important question arose, specifically: Do Gentile followers of Jesus need to keep the Torah (the Law of Moses)?

Gentiles and Torah: Yes, or No?

Many Christians who are not Jewish find value in understanding the Jewish context of their faith—and rightly so. Some have even wondered whether they should be keeping the commandments of the Torah.

The same question emerged in the first century, and the book of Acts tells us about this. Although the promise of inclusion for all nations in the worship of the God of Israel is found in the Tanakh, many first-century Jewish disciples of Jesus were surprised by the number of Gentiles coming to faith—largely through the ministry of the Apostle Paul—and by the speed at which it was happening.

Many of the first non-Jews to come to faith were what are called “God-fearers”: Gentiles who appreciated Jewish traditions and worship and attended the synagogue—but hadn’t made the move to converting to Judaism. Not long after, Gentiles from more “hardcore” pagan backgrounds were also coming to believe in Jesus.

A debate arose within the ranks of Jews who were following Jesus: do these Gentiles need to become Jewish themselves (with all that is involved, including circumcision and following the commandments of the Torah)?

Paul and his coworker Barnabas brought the issue to the leadership of Jesus-following community in Jerusalem. Acts 15 records the meeting of a special council to look into this question. Peter and James, two of the leaders, argued that God had already worked among many Gentiles to bring them salvation, and that it was not necessary for them to become Jewish themselves. After all, as Peter argued, everyone received salvation by God’s grace —whether Jewish or not.

Therefore, only a few requirements were placed on the Gentile followers of Jesus, enabling Jews and Gentiles to share meals together and have intimate social contact as followers of the Messiah. The four requirements were to refrain from (1) eating anything sacrificed to idols, (2) eating blood, (3) eating any animal that had been strangled, and (4) sexual immorality. All ties to paganism were thereby severed. If Gentile believers truly followed these four requirements, they could not participate in pagan temple rituals. Such behavior would definitively set them apart and lead to spiritual unity between Jewish and Gentile followers.

Note that the Jerusalem Council did not say that Jewish followers of Jesus were to abandon the Torah. In fact, they largely continued to worship at the Temple, to participate in the holidays of Judaism, and to observe the commandments of Torah. It was only Gentiles who were told that it was unnecessary to observe Torah and become Jewish.

When Paul taught non-Jews about Jesus, in keeping with the outcome of the Jerusalem Council, he firmly disagreed with those who said Gentiles first needed to become Jewish and follow Torah commandments in order to find salvation. In his mind, Gentiles and Jews could equally become followers of Jesus—which meant that Jews remained Jews and Gentiles remained Gentiles. While we don’t know if Paul thought about this specifically, we recall God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 12: “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” The “families of the earth” are the nations—meaning the Gentiles. They received the blessing of salvation as nations, without having to first become Jewish.

What About Today?

The upshot is that Gentiles should not try to take on the role or identity of Jewish people—and vice-versa.  Jews and Gentiles remain distinct (1 Corinthians 7:18–20), but both peoples come into equal standing before God, with our distinct roles bringing each other into relationship with Him.

Yet some non-Jewish believers in Jesus today believe that they need to keep the commandments in the Torah because “God gave them.” But:

• God gave them to the Jewish people, not to the nations of the world.
• Followers of Jesus today are living under the New Covenant (see Jeremiah 31:31–34), which means some changes are to be expected from previous covenants, including the covenant at Mount Sinai at which the Torah was given.
• According to the Jerusalem Council—and even more strongly in Paul’s letters to non-Jewish churches—keeping the Law is not on the table for Gentiles who follow Jesus.

It is a good thing when Gentile Christians want to learn about the Jewishness of their faith. We encourage more non-Jewish followers of Jesus to learn about the Old Testament, about the Jewishness of Jesus, and about Jewish people today. Some Christians hold annual Passover seders (which some Jewish leaders view as cultural appropriation and others encourage—we fall into the latter category). But that is different than trying to live or identify as Jewish.

Why the World Needs Gentiles

Being a Gentile is actually a calling from God! Your calling as a Gentile is every bit as vital as the calling of a Jewish person. Paul writes that there is a special purpose in extending salvation to the Gentiles. Paul is writing that, while on the whole the Jewish people have not become followers of Jesus, yet “through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!” (Romans 11:11–12).

Jewish believer Avi Snyder had this to say in his book Jews Don’t Need Jesus & Other Misconceptions: Reflections of a Jewish Believer:

The notion that Gentile Christians can’t effectively share their faith with Jewish people simply isn’t true. But the notion that Gentile Christians are supposed to provoke us Jews to jealousy is absolutely true, and that’s what the Bible explains: “Salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them [Jews] jealous” (Rom. 11:11).
Provoking us Jews to jealousy is biblical, and it works! I know it works, because it worked in my own life. Before I surrendered my heart to Yeshua, God brought two types of believers into my life: “Jews for Jesus,” and Gentile Christians. Both types of believers confronted me with the messianic claims of the Lord. But the non-Jewish Christians did something more; they made me jealous.
But jealous of what?
Jealous of their lifestyle? No, not really. I was happy with the lifestyle that I lived, and I had no reason to envy theirs.
Jealous of their culture? Not at all. I was born a Jew and I’ll die a Jew. My Jewish culture has always been central to my very self-definition. I cherish my rich Jewish heritage.
So, what made me jealous? Simply that they had a real relationship with a living God—the God of Israel, no less!

I was jealous of that relationship and of all the advantages that came with it. The reality of God’s love. The certainty of His presence. The guarantee of His availability. The assurance of His forgiveness. The confidence of a purpose that was found in His will for their lives. And the gift of an eternal relationship with Him. I was jealous for what they had and what I lacked.1

If you identify as a Jew when you’re not, or try to take on the commandments of the Torah, the role you’re called to as a Gentile is ineffective. Only when we come together in our distinct roles does the true miracle take place (Galatians 3:28–29). What was once separated has been linked in a beautiful unity—and our shared purpose is to reconcile the rest of humanity with our Creator.

 

Endnotes

1. Avi Snyder, Jews Don’t Need Jesus & Other Misconceptions: Reflections of a Jewish Believer. Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2017, pp. 156-57 (Kindle edition).