Number 42

THE INHERITED LIE

The prophet Jeremiah received from the Lord God a revelation of the punishment that He would send upon the kingdom of Judah. The southern kingdom was to suffer the same experience that the ten-tribe northern kingdom had gone through a century before. They too would be cast out of their land and go into exile and captivity. The prospect was a bleak one indeed. However, at the same time Jeremiah received a revelation of their repatriation and restoration by means of a divine miracle that would outshine in glory their miraculous deliverance from the land of Egypt.

• Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be said, the LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; but, the LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all lands whither He had driven them: and I will bring them again into their own land that I gave unto their fathers. (Jer. 16:14, 15.)

This revelation of their miraculous restoration to God and to their land caused Jeremiah to burst forth in a declaration of adoration and majestic truth that is unsurpassed in the Old Testament:

• O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles (the nations) shall come unto Thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit. (Jer. 16:19.)

All who believe the Bible to be the Word of God, and who make their faith in it to be active and working by making a constant study of it, if honest, will have to make the confession that we too have inherited many lies. And it will be my purpose in this study to deal with one of these which I feel is the worst, the emptiest, and the most unprofitable lie of all.

This is the lie that the two and one-half million Israelites who lived in the land of Palestine between A.D. 1 and 33 rejected and repudiated the man Christ Jesus, refused to listen to His teachings, rejected Him as their Messiah, and finally crucified Him. Growing out of this lie is the further falsehood that for this they were severed from God as a people, that for almost 2,000 years they have constantly suffered at His hand for this sin, and that after the crucifixion Israel has no place in God’s plan.

This monumental falsehood needs to be recognized, confessed, and repudiated by all who now profess to be believers in and followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. It also needs to be exposed by having the white light of God’s Word turned upon it; and this I intend to do by means of plain, easily-understood facts from the New Testament. It will be shown from Scripture that the overwhelming majority of the Jews who then lived in Palestine became followers of Him, going as far in faith and obedience as they could possibly go at that time. Furthermore, this will be my declaration to all concerned of my complete break with the commonly-accepted, anti-Semitic interpretations of the four Gospels, the Acts, and the Pauline epistles.

When John the Baptist began his ministry as the forerunner of the Lord Jesus, he was freely accepted by the people of Israel who then lived in Palestine. Even though he made his stand in the uninhabited places of Judea, nevertheless, there "went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region round about Jordan, and were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins" (Matt. 3:5, 6; Mark 1:5). Even the Pharisees and the Sadducees did not reject him. However, he rejected them, castigating them in the strongest possible terms. These two groups made up the core of a small but influential, wealthy, and ruling class in Israel, and John’s rejection of them at this time probably started much of the malignant hatred they afterward showed toward the Lord. In spite of this, we can truly say that through the ministry of John the Baptist, a people were made ready for the Lord (Luke 1:17). And many of the sons of Israel he turned to the Lord their God (Luke 1:16). His ministry could not fail; it did not fail.

We must note that when the Lord began His earthly ministry, the Palestinian Israelites knew little about Him at that time. In all Israel only two people, Mary and Joseph, knew about His miraculous birth. Certain shepherds knew that the babe born in Bethlehem was destined to be a Savior, and that this Savior was Christ, the Lord. These men probably found personal salvation by believing the message of the angels, but they were not commissioned as heralds to lead others to the acceptance of the babe born in the city of David. However, they did make known that which was told them concerning this child and all who heard marveled at these things (Luke 2:11-20). Even their message was not rejected. The short ministry of John had produced a state of mind where God’s truth was credible to those who heard it. The people did not know much about the man Jesus; but what little they knew, they believed.

The early ministry of the Lord Jesus consisted of an announcement that the kingdom of heaven was at hand and a call to repentance (submission). There was no declaration concerning Himself (Matt. 4:17). When He called certain men (Israelites) to follow Him, not one of them hesitated or refused (Matt. 4:18-23). As He went about all Galilee teaching in their synagogues, heralding the gospel of the kingdom, and performing many miracles, His fame went throughout all Syria; and there followed Him great multitudes of people from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond Jordan (Malt. 4:23-25). The term "great multitudes" should be noted here as it appears again and again in Matthew, Mark, and Luke in regard to the response to His ministry. If ever any man on earth enjoyed a successful ministry, so far as public response is concerned, it was the Lord Jesus.

After He gave the long discourse commonly called the sermon on the mount, we are told that the people were astonished at His teaching (Matt. 7:28); but when He came down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him (Matt. 8:1). At times the number was so great that He had to move away from them (Malt. 8:18). We know from this that there was no rejection.

In Malt. 8:28-34 we find what seems to be a rejection of Him on the part of the Gergesenes (Gadarines); but this was due to ignorance and a misunderstanding which He did nothing to clear away. Following this a miracle was performed causing the multitudes to marvel and glorify "God, which had given such power unto men."

Through all of this, their acceptance is obvious; however, we need to note the increasing hostility of the Pharisees in Matt. 9:11 and 9:34. They now slandered the source of His power. But His ministry continued; and He went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, heralding the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people (Matt. 9:35). At this time He made a statement to His disciples that does much to set forth a true picture of the conditions that existed in Palestine. When He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. These people were totally without leadership or true guidance. The Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes, lawyers, and priests were in positions of influence and power; but they disdained offering any help to the common people. They fleeced the flock, but never fed them. This situation caused the Lord to declare, "The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth laborers into His harvest" (Matt. 9:37, 38).

This was done; and if we follow each step of Scripture carefully, it will be found that when we come to the end of the Acts period, the overwhelming majority of the eight million Israelites who lived in the Roman Empire were believers in the Lord Jesus as being their Savior and Messiah.

In Malt. 11:20-24 we find that Jesus upbraided the cities where most of His mighty works had been done. Common sense will tell us that this could not have been an indictment of all the people of these cities, but of its rulers and leaders. His works in them should have produced a Nineveh like repentance (Jonah 3:4-9), but it did not. However, let it be noted that there were probably very few people in these cities who knew that He was the Christ, the Son of God. This had not yet been proclaimed. But in spite of the failure of "the wise and the prudent" in these places (Malt. 11:25-26), the multitudes still followed Him. See Matt. 12:15; 13:2; 14:14; 15:29-31.

In Malt. 16:13, 14 we find that there was great confusion among men as to just Who and What He was. They can hardly be blamed for this, due to the lack of a positive declaration on His part. However, His disciples had learned with certainty and by means of a divine revelation that He was the Christ (Messiah), the Son of the living God. But they were charged that they should tell no man that He was the Christ (Matt. 16:20). And when Peter, James and John learned from the vision given on the Mount of Transfiguration that He was in reality a projection of God Himself, they were charged to tell the vision to no man until the Son of Man be risen again from the dead (Matt. 17:9). In view of all this secrecy as to Who He was and What He was, how could the mass of people be charged with repudiating and rejecting Him since they knew so very little about Him? The complete proclamation of Him had to await until after His death and resurrection.

The multitudes continued to follow Him and receive His blessings (Malt. 19:2; 20:29), even up to His entrance into Jerusalem. Upon His arrival there, all the city was stirred and asked, "Who is this?" Their question shows their scanty knowledge of Him. His followers answered, "This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee" (Malt. 21:10, 11); and the multitudes accepted and acted upon what little they knew.

It was this complete acceptance of Him by the common people that raised the ire of the oligarchy that ruled in Jerusalem. Throughout the Gospels, they are identified as the Pharisees, Sadducees, priests, scribes, and elders of the people. They were the objects of some of the most scathing denunciations ever spoken by the Lord Jesus (Matt. 23). They determined to kill the Lord Jesus; but when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitude who took Him for a prophet (Matt. 21:46).

It was this corrupt political machine that finally brought about the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus, an exceedingly wicked act with which the great majority of Israelites had nothing to do.

In view of these Biblical facts, how could a just God reject and punish the people of Israel for an act with which very few of them had anything to do? And yet, the idea that God rejected and divorced Himself from Israel because of the crucifixion of Jesus is a cardinal doctrine in the creeds of many denominations. And, while it is an idea held by most Gentiles, it is an inherited lie. I want no part of it.

INDEX

Issue no. 042