Making Israel Jealous

 

An unbeliever Israeli Tour Guide happens on the scene of the religious mob protesting Christians and Israeli Messianic Jews praying together for Israel on Pentecost 2023, calls the mob scene “scary”

Making Israel Jealous
by Donna Diorio

Many times I have heard Christians in ignorance and arrogance say that if the Israeli body of Messiah were really effective they would have more to show for their efforts than they do. That is the reason for this writing.

     It is different from replacement theology and mostly afflicts Christians who operate in the spiritual gifts. I will say that many are well meaning. At least they recognize that God wants Israel to come to faith in Jesus, but unfortunately they do not understand as much as they think they do or they would not dismiss the Israeli Messianic believers working in the harvest field of Israel.

     Unfortunately to believe they could do better coming into Israel for the purpose of evangelizing Israelis better than those who live there and are engaged in the work is pretty conceited. Paul called it being wise in their own eyes.

     Truth is they do not understand the Israel dynamic at all. Israel does not present the Gospel the same freedom Christians have enjoyed in Western nations. It takes something more. It also judges the entire body of believers in Israel with on an incredibly superficial level. Martin Luther also held the same kind of inflated view of himself not recognizing the timing or the plan of God to reconcile the Jews back to Himself through Israel's Messiah Yeshua. It turned him into an anti-Semite and that’s why it is good to take this kind of thinking on, to shake us loose from it.

     Almost always the Christians who think that it will be the gentile Church who go to Israel performing miracles, healings and salvation is their role in provoking Israel to "jealousy." Many saved Jews also believe this but I believe it is a misreading of what the actual biblical texts are saying about provoking this jealousy. (Deuteronomy 32:21, Romans 10:19, Romans 11:14, Romans 11:11, Acts 5:17, Acts 13:45 and Acts 17:5) In Deuteronomy God said "They have provoked My jealousy by that which is not God...their worthless idols. So I will make them jealous by those who are not a people."  Continue to read the plan of God given to Moses in song to tell the children of Israel. Pay special attention to verses 36, 39 and 43 because God clearly says when all Israel's strength is done, He "will vindicate His people" and He says the Heavens and the angels will rejoice when He does. He says, "Rejoice, O nations, with His people; for He will avenge the blood of His children...He will cleanse His land and His people."

     The main point here is about the source of jealousy: it was God who stirred up jealousy in the Jewish people whom He chose to be a people and a unique nation of God’s people. Christians are from all nations, we are a people who are not a people, we are not a nation, only our faith in Yeshua makes us a people of God. We are not a replacement of the nation God singled out for Himself but instead we are destined to be joined together with them, adopted into the family of God.

     Jealous in the New Covenant:  In Acts 5:17 the apostles were arrested when Jews from the cities around Jerusalem began to come to them “bringing the sick and those tormented by unclean spirits, and all of them were healed. Then the high priest and all his associates, who belonged to the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy.” They were made jealous by the Jews who were followers of Yeshua empowered by the Holy Spirit.

     Then in Acts 13:41-45, Paul and Barnabas went to Antioch and preached in the synagogue, when they were scoffed by some, they left but “many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and urged them to continue in the grace of God…. On the following Sabbath, nearly the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy, and they blasphemously contradicted what Paul was saying.” Again, the Jews were made jealous by Jewish believers speaking salvation to the Gentiles.

     In Acts 17:1-7 Paul goes to Thessalonica where he went first to the synagogue “as was his custom.” For three Shabbats in a row Paul taught them from the Scriptures “explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Yeshua I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah,” he declared. Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few leading women. The (other) Jews, however, became jealous.

     So they brought in some troublemakers from the marketplace, formed a mob, and sent the city into an uproar. They raided Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas, hoping to bring them out to the people. But when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have now come here, and Jason has welcomed them into his home. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, named Jesus!”

     All of the jealousy portions in Acts should remind you of current events in Israel because this is exactly what has been happening for many years – the years that there has emerged in Israel Jewish believers who are operating in the gifts of the Holy Spirit particularly and declaring Yeshua is the Messiah. This was seen on a global scale by the mob that was gathered to show up on Pentecost on the Southern Steps of the Temple to violently protest the prayers going on there for Israel. It was repeated shortly afterwards when the Messianic believers from across the land went to attend a worship concert in Jerusalem. This is what creates jealousy: Jewish believers worshipping the Messiah of Israel.

     Paul also addresses the issue of Jewish jealousy in Romans.

     Romans 11:25 says this is a mystery that Paul did not want Christians to be ignorant of BECAUSE if Christians are ignorant of this mystery, it makes us "wise in your own conceits" = thinking we are so much greater than the Jews, not failing God like Israel did. Paul's points: this is a MYSTERY because "A hardening in part has happened to Israel, until the PLEROMA of the Gentiles may come in."

     What is pleroma?  It is not a predetermined number of Christians to be saved in history, but rather it is the quality of our transformation in the likeness of Jesus! Pleroma means "repletion or completion" - The condition of being fully supplied or completely filled.

     Many in the Church think they are there, but they are not until they grasp God's plan has always involved Yeshua raising up a “living temple” in Israel made of “living stones.” That’s who the believing Jews of Israel are, the Church in the nations, who are also a living temple of the Holy Spirit of Messiah Yeshua are very much need for the Israeli part of the body of the LORD to accomplish everything God has placed in their hearts to reach Israel for salvation in Yeshua. It takes a recognition of God’s plan, purposes and timing for the restoration of Israel through Messiah. It takes humility of the Church to realize that the Holy Spirit has equipped the body of the LORD in Israel to reach their own people – the people who have the same historical obstacles to overcome regarding Jesus and who have the same experience of being an Israeli living in a land where the demonic-empowered rage of Israel’s enemies are focused on annihilating the Jewish people. Few Christians in the nations have the same experience. But as the Gospel has traveled the globe spreading West, it is the nations closest to Israel from the East who come nearest to knowing how those realities impact Israel.

     Christians have NEVER really made Israel jealous of our faith, surely not on a major scale. From the book of Acts to the current day, it is only the believing Remnant of faith in Yeshua that has made Israel SUPER JEALOUS.

     If you want to understand how you make Israel jealous of what you have, then understand they were made jealous May 28th on the Southern Steps of the Temple when worldwide Christians joined in with Messianic Jews to pray for Israel’s. This made unbelieving religious Israeli Jews insanely jealous! It flipped their jealousy on high intensity. From this point on the Messianic body of Israel will be in greater measures of targeting. We as Christians must stand with the believers in Israel in every way. That is our role to play. God wants us to understand this and support Yeshua's BODY in Israel with both prayers and practical support. 

     Or some could continue to think that the Jews are just waiting for anointed Christians to come preach salvation to them. I sincerely hope all who believe this way would be humble enough to partner with the witness Yeshua has raised up in Israel already: the Messianic Jewish ministries need us.