Hello, and welcome back to Nations 4 Jesus. Today I want to tackle a topic that's both foundational to understanding missions and increasingly controversial in our current cultural moment. It's a question I wrestled with as a Christian for years: Why the Jews? What made them so special that they were called God's chosen people? Are not all people loved by God? What did they do to deserve this distinction?
It's only been recently that I've begun to recognize that they really didn't do anything to be called God's chosen people. God did the choosing—not them. God spoke to Abraham first. And God chose them for a very specific purpose.
But before we explore that purpose, I need to address something happening in our culture right now that deeply concerns me—a rising tide of anti-Semitism that's affecting even some corners of the church. We need to think clearly and biblically about this, because as Bible-believing Christians, anti-Semitism is something we absolutely cannot embrace.
[The current moment - rising anti-Semitism]
Let me be direct: Anti-Semitism is on the rise worldwide. According to the Anti-Defamation League, anti-Semitic incidents in the United States reached an all-time high in 2023, with over 8,800 reported incidents—a 140% increase from the previous year. Globally, attacks on Jewish people and institutions have surged since October 2023.
What's particularly troubling is that some of this anti-Semitism is finding a home in unexpected places. High-profile figures, including commentators like Tucker Carlson, have platformed guests who've made anti-Semitic statements or promoted conspiracy theories about Jewish influence. This has sparked significant controversy and concern.
The church itself is divided on questions related to Israel. Some denominations hold to what's called "Replacement Theology"—the view that the church has permanently replaced Israel in God's plan and that the Jewish people no longer have any special role in God's purposes. Others hold to forms of Dispensationalism that see Israel as central to end-times prophecy. Still others fall somewhere in between, trying to honor both the Jewish roots of Christianity and the universal scope of the Gospel.
These theological disagreements have real-world implications for how Christians view the modern state of Israel, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and Jewish people in general.
[What is Replacement Theology?]
Let me briefly explain Replacement Theology, also called Supersessionism. This is the view that the Christian church has replaced or superseded Israel as God's chosen people. Proponents argue that because Israel rejected Jesus as Messiah, God's covenant promises to Israel have been transferred to the church. The church becomes the "new Israel," and ethnic Israel no longer has any special place in God's plan.
This view has been held by many church fathers and continues in various forms in Catholic, Orthodox, and many Protestant traditions. It's not a fringe position—it's been mainstream Christian theology for much of church history.
However, other Christians—particularly many evangelicals—believe that God's covenant promises to Israel remain valid and that ethnic Israel still has a role in God's prophetic plan. They point to passages like Romans 11, where Paul says God has not rejected His people and that "all Israel will be saved" when "the fullness of the Gentiles has come in."
I'm not going to resolve this debate today—it's a genuine disagreement among sincere, Bible-believing Christians. But I do want to make one thing absolutely clear: Regardless of where you land on these theological questions, anti-Semitism is sin. Full stop.
[Why anti-Semitism is incompatible with Christianity]
Let me give you several reasons why anti-Semitism is absolutely incompatible with biblical Christianity.
First, Jesus was Jewish. Our Savior was born to a Jewish mother, circumcised on the eighth day, raised in Jewish traditions, taught in synagogues, celebrated Jewish feasts, and was called "Rabbi." To hate Jewish people is to hate the ethnicity of our Lord.
Second, the apostles were Jewish. Peter, John, James, Paul—all Jewish. The early church was entirely Jewish before Gentiles were grafted in. The New Testament was written almost entirely by Jews. Our faith came to us through Jewish people.
Third, the Bible came through the Jews. Romans 3:2 says the Jews were "entrusted with the very words of God." We have the Scriptures because of God's work through the Jewish people.
Fourth, salvation came through the Jews. Jesus said in John 4:22, "Salvation is from the Jews." The Gospel went "to the Jew first, and also to the Greek" (Romans 1:16).
Fifth, God still loves the Jewish people. Romans 11:28-29 says, "As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies for your sake; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God's gifts and his call are irrevocable."
Even if you hold to Replacement Theology—even if you believe the church has superseded Israel in God's plan—none of that justifies hatred, discrimination, or violence against Jewish people. That's a complete non sequitur. You can believe God's covenant has been transferred to the church while still loving Jewish people and opposing anti-Semitism.
[The tragedy of Christian anti-Semitism]
Tragically, the church has often failed here. Throughout history, Christians have persecuted Jews—from the Crusades to the Inquisition to the pogroms of Eastern Europe. Even the Holocaust happened in "Christian" Europe, and some perpetrators used theological language to justify their evil.
This history should bring us to our knees in repentance. It should make us hypervigilant against any form of anti-Semitism creeping into our churches, our conversations, or our hearts. We cannot repeat the sins of the past.
So when we see anti-Semitism rising in our culture—when we hear conspiracy theories about Jewish people controlling banks or media or governments—we must reject it completely. When public figures platform anti-Semitic voices, we must call it out. When people in our churches make anti-Semitic comments, we must lovingly but firmly correct them.
This isn't about politics or the modern state of Israel. You can have concerns about Israeli government policies without being anti-Semitic—just as you can criticize any government. But hatred of Jewish people as a group, conspiracy theories about Jewish influence, denial of the Holocaust, or calls for violence against Jews—these are evil, and Christians must oppose them.
[Now - the biblical story of blessing]
With that foundation laid, let me turn to the question I started with: Why did God choose Israel? And what does this mean for our mission today?
Let me share the biblical story as theologian Ralph Winter explained it. We were created to glorify God and to worship and love Him forever. The first humans did this for a time, but given free will, they chose to know evil and caused a curse to fall on all creation.
From that point, tremendous evil flooded humanity—murder, idolatry, worship of created things—to the point that God, looking at all He had made, was grieved and filled with pain (Genesis 6:6). Noah alone was fulfilling his purpose and found favor with God. He became the forefather of the renewed human race.
After the flood, humanity again chose to worship themselves and created things, culminating in the Tower of Babel. God intervened, scattered them, and formed the different nations. Then one man, Abraham, was singled out and called by God.
[The covenant - blessed to be a blessing]
Abraham obeyed, and he was blessed by God in the covenant promises of Genesis 12:2-3:
"I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."
Here's what God has shown me: This covenant promise to Abraham was not just for him and his children—it was for every nation! "All peoples on earth will be blessed through you." God was intervening and calling Abraham out from the rest of the nations, not just to bless Abraham and his descendants alone, but to extend His blessing, through Abraham and the Jewish nation, to all nations.
God was never exclusively for the Jews. He chose them for a purpose—to be the vehicle through which blessing would flow to all peoples. They were blessed to be a blessing.
[Throughout the Old Testament - drawing the nations]
Following Genesis 12, God gradually draws people from other nations to Himself through His miraculous interventions on Israel's behalf and through His show of power. In the process, people of other nations are drawn to Him—Rahab the Canaanite, Ruth the Moabite, the people of Nineveh, Egyptians who left with Israel in the Exodus.
Throughout the Old Testament, God is seen countering Satan's evil reign with His presence, blessings, and intervention on behalf of Israel—for the nations. Israel received the primary blessing, but they were expected to share that blessing with the nations around them.
When Israel stopped sharing God with the nations and instead worshiped the gods of the nations, God scattered them in the diaspora. But even this scattering had a purpose—it resulted in Jewish communities throughout the ancient world, bringing the message of one sovereign God to polytheistic cultures.
[Jesus - the ultimate blessing to the nations]
This counter-attack to Satan's kingdom culminated in the birth of Jesus Christ. The arrival of God in human flesh, His life among people, His atoning death and triumphant resurrection resulted in victory for God and for the human race.
Jesus was the ultimate blessing to the nations! It is through belief in Him that all nations can be grafted into Abraham's family tree and receive the free gift of salvation. Galatians 3:29 says, "If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."
[The Great Commission - our responsibility]
As believers in Christ witnessed His return to heaven, Jesus assured them of His continued presence through the Holy Spirit. But He also charged them with a responsibility that went along with the blessing. Like the Hebrews, they were blessed to be a blessing to all nations.
In the Great Commission, they—and all Christians since—are directed to go into all the world and preach the good news of Jesus to everyone. For each person that receives Christ as Savior, Satan loses ground.
[Application for today - blessed to be a blessing]
So God's singling out of the Jewish nation as His chosen people was not only for Abraham and his blood descendants, but for all of us and for all nations. The same holds true today for nations like America, Korea, England, and others who have been greatly blessed by God—both in prosperity but more importantly, in Christian growth.
We are blessed not so that we can keep it to ourselves, enjoying our prosperity while failing to bring those blessings to the nations of the earth. No! We are blessed to be a blessing. We are to take the Gospel to the far corners of the world, to spread the fragrance of the knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 2:14).
We have been grafted into God's chosen people, not because of anything we've done to earn this, but because He has chosen us to be a blessing to others.
[The challenge - don't keep Jesus to ourselves]
So here's my challenge: May we not keep Jesus to ourselves but share Him with the world. In the words of famous Olympian and missionary Eric Liddell: "Christ for the world; for the world needs Christ."
And as we go to the world with Christ, let us go with love for all peoples—including the Jewish people through whom our Savior came. Let us reject anti-Semitism in all its forms. Let us honor our Jewish roots while embracing God's heart for all nations. Let us be what God called Abraham to be: blessed to be a blessing.
Until next time, remember—keep your eyes on the nations, and remember: You are blessed to be a blessing.
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