Johan Malan, Mossel Bay, South Africa (February 2014)
The New Testament is introduced by four versions of the gospel of Jesus Christ. These narratives supplement one another and together they constitute a comprehensive account with which various groups of people can identify. The first three Gospels contain a synopsis of the life and works of Jesus (the so-called “Synoptic Gospels”), in which the spiritual needs and eschatological expectations of Jews are addressed in Matthew, those of the Gentile nations in Luke, while Mark does not have a particular group orientation. In the Gospel of John the emphasis is on the deity and eternal self-existence of Jesus.
The most prominent characteristics of Matthew’s message to Israel will be reviewed in this article.
Because of Matthew’s strong Jewish orientation, his Gospel was initially only distributed in Israel. In the very first verse of Matthew, Jesus is introduced as “the son of David, the son of Abraham”. From this Jewish genealogy it is evident that He is the promised Messiah and King of Israel. Compare this introduction of Jesus with the one in Luke’s Gospel, which was written for a Gentile audience, and in which the genealogy of Jesus is reckoned further back to the first man, Adam. Luke describes Jesus as the Son of Man who has come to save all the lost descendants of Adam. Luke also refers to the times of the Gentiles (Luke 21:24), but Matthew makes no such reference as his discourse is primarily focussed on Israel, mainly with the view to introducing the Messiah to them.
The Messianic approach in Matthew is the reason for the specific emphasis on facts such as the virgin birth and naming of Jesus, His temporary stay in Egypt and subsequent settlement in Nazareth, the fact that He would heal people, speak in parables, enter Jerusalem by riding on a donkey, and would ultimately be deserted by His disciples, “that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet(s)” (1:21-22; 2:15, 23; 8:17; 12:17; 13:35; 21:4; 26:54). Other important details such as His birth in Bethlehem, the unbelief of the Jewish people, the fact that even His followers would be offended because of Him, as well as His betrayal for 30 pieces of silver, are also linked to Old Testament prophecies (2:5-6; 13:14-15; 26:31; 27:9). These quotations and evidence from the Old Testament are not prominent characteristics of the other Gospels.
Events shortly prior to and also during the birth of Jesus unmistakably conveyed a message of divine intervention. An angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and informed him that the Child in his pregnant wife was conceived by the Holy Spirit. The angel told him that the Son’s name would be Jesus (Heb. Yeshua – God is Salvation): “... and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). Matthew also quotes a prophecy in Isaiah 7:14: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, God with us” (Matt. 1:23). Jesus is God (cf. Isa. 9:6), and His first objective was, and still is, to reconcile Israel to God, as that is a precondition of being King over them.
Matthew also tells the story of the wise men from the East who came to worship the King of the Jews (Matt. 2:1-12). They followed a star which eventually stood over a specific house in Bethlehem. There they found the Child and worshipped Him. Throughout the centuries, countless people from all nations would be led to Jesus and bow down before Him in worship and adoration. What Israel initially refused to do, i.e. to recognise and worship Jesus as Saviour, would be done by millions of Gentiles.
Before the public ministry of Jesus, John the Baptist prepared the way for Him (Matt. 3:1-12). He said that Jesus would baptise His followers with the Holy Spirit, and that He would thoroughly purge His threshing-floor and burn the chaff with fire (Matt. 3:11-12). His first priority would be to cleanse people’s hearts and establish His people on the way of holiness. The chaff that would be burnt alludes to the judgement of unrepentant sinners. Should Israel fail to fully repent from their sinful ways and become dedicated disciples of the Messiah, they would not enjoy a prosperous future existence as God’s people but instead become subjects of His wrath. In Israel, the righteous would be separated from the unrighteous.
Matthew mainly elaborates on the consequences which the first and second comings of Jesus had for Israel, particularly in the light of their rejection of His Messiahship. In His Olivet Discourse, Christ describes Israel’s suffering during the tribulation period, without offering the unbelieving nation the promise of the rapture as a means of escaping God’s judgements. However, the small minority of Messianic Jews are encouraged to remain faithful to Jesus. Their sudden disappearance together with the true church of Christ will serve as a sign to the majority of unbelieving Jews in the end-time that the true Messiah has come for His bride. Those who prefer to ignore this sign will become followers of the false messiah.
In Matthew, Israel is confronted by the fact that throughout the centuries they were unfaithful to the Lord and even persecuted His prophets. With the exception of a small group of faithful ones they preferred the way of sin above the righteousness of God. In Matthew 23, the Lord Jesus addresses the apostate leaders of the nation and in no uncertain terms informed them that their rejection of Himself as Messiah was their final act of rebellion against God: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Matt. 23:37-39). In these few verses the great tragedy of Israel’s national rejection of the Messiah is described. It would, among others, have the following consequences:
· Israel’s house would become desolate – that includes Jerusalem as the religious and political hub of their national life. Thousands of years ago the Lord had already warned them against the consequences of persistent apostasy: “They shall besiege you at all your gates until your high and fortified walls, in which you trust, come down throughout all your land. ... Then the Lord will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods” (Deut. 28:52, 64). During their international dispersion, the persecution of Jews would continue and their land would become unfit for habitation: “I will scatter you among the nations and draw out a sword after you; your land shall be desolate and your cities waste” (Lev. 26:33). These prophecies were all fulfilled during the first century AD, after Israel had rejected their Messiah and also attempted to destroy the early Christian church. This was followed by many centuries of continued Jewish persecution among the Gentiles.
· Israel were informed that for a very long time they would not see the Messiah but ultimately He would again return to them. In the meantime, the throne of David in Jerusalem would be in a fallen state because of the absence of the Messiah-King. This state of affairs would continue right through the church dispensation while the nations are afforded the opportunity to accept Jesus as Messiah and Saviour. After His rejection by Israel as well as His crucifixion and resurrection, the Lord Jesus commissioned His disciples to evangelise all nations (Matt. 28:19; Luke 24:46-49).
· A very explicit promise is made to Israel that their rejection and dispersion would not be final but that Jesus would return to Jerusalem as Messiah-King, and that they will accept Him on that occasion: “... you shall see Me no more till you say, Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Matt. 23:39). This promise stands firm, and with a view to its fulfilment the Lord Jesus said: “After this I will return and will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will set it up; so that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who are called by My name, says the Lord who does all these things” (Acts 15:16-17). However, great anxiety and extreme deception are awaiting unsaved Israel before the blessed reunion with their Messiah.
Because the spiritual leaders of Israel have rejected Jesus as Messiah, the nation were not only physically exiled but also spiritually – far away from the truth. In the absence of a temple, their legalistic religion with its prescribed sacrifices could not function; consequently, they either turned their backs upon religion or continued with a watered-down form of Torah oriented rituals in their synagogues. They still cherished the hope that the Messiah would come to restore Israel’s national life and temple service.
However, to this day, the great majority of Jews do not see Jesus in the role as Jewish Messiah, and even regard Jews who worship Him as traitors of their own nation who are following after the gods of the Gentiles. This disposition leads to only one logical end and that is that Israel will receive an impostor as Messiah – someone who pretends to be a great friend and saviour of Israel. Jesus warned them against this turn of events: “I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive” (John 5:43).
In Christ’s Olivet Discourse in Matthew He mentioned spiritual deception as the single most important sign of the end-time. The disciples asked Him: “What will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” (Matt. 24:3). This question relates to the situation that will prevail towards the end of the period between the first and second coming of Christ. After that, the reign of the Messiah will be established.
Jesus says the following on spiritual deception at the end of this dispensation: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, I am the Christ [‘I am the Messiah’] and will deceive many” (Matt. 24:4-5). Many false prophets will be employed to deceive the nation: “Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. ... For false christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect” (Matt. 24:11, 24).
When the ultimate false messiah appears, he will be accepted by Israel as Messiah. They will conclude a covenant with him, which will include the right to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem and reinstitute the sacrificial service (Dan. 9:27). This development will perfectly suit the plans of the false messiah as the Orthodox Jews’ resumption of the Old Testament’s sacrificial service will ensure their continued rejection of Jesus and His once for all sacrifice on the cross. Judaism will experience a time of revival, but it won’t be long before the Jews fall victim to even more extreme forms of deception.
To Israel, the first few years under the reign of the false messiah will be the fulfilment of a long-cherished ideal – the temple will be built and dedicated under the leadership of the “Messiah” himself. But their joy will be short-lived, as suddenly the Antichrist will set up an image of himself in the Most Holy Place of the temple and declare himself to be God (2 Thess. 2:4; Rev. 13:15). When that happens, Israel will realise that they have been deceived by an impostor, and immediately revoke their covenant with the self-imposed “Messiah”. The Antichrist will take quick revenge and order the genocide of all Jews. Israelis will be forced to flee from Jerusalem and its surroundings in great haste as that will be the beginning of the great tribulation – that is the second half of the Antichrist’s reign when he will be a military dictator who will subdue his adversaries by force:
“Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (whoever reads, let him understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened” (Matt. 24:15-22).
The desecration of the temple in the middle of the tribulation period is specifically linked to the fulfilment of Daniel’s prophecies. With reference to the Antichrist, Daniel said: “Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate” (Dan. 9:27). The termination of the sacrificial service will be ordered because the Antichrist will forbid the Jews to offer any further sacrifices to Yahweh. The sacrifices will be replaced by the forced worship of the Antichrist (and his image) as God. A military decree to this effect will be issued:
“And forces shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation. Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery. ... Then the king shall do according to his own will: he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished; for what has been determined shall be done. He shall regard neither the God of his fathers ... for he shall exalt himself above them all” (Dan. 11:31-32, 36-37).
This is the prophetic background of Christ’s prophecy on this dramatic event in the middle of the tribulation period. Please note that this is a typical Jewish scenario which does not relate to the church at all. Jews will flee by foot from Jerusalem to the mountains – probably in the direction of the Dead Sea. The sign for their sudden flight will be the profaning of the temple in Jerusalem, as well as the Antichrist’s demand that he be globally worshipped as God. The haste in which this operation is performed will be critically important, lest the pursuing armies of the Antichrist overtake and kill them. The Jews will even have to pray that their flight is not delayed by cold weather or the nursing of babies. They will also pray that their journey would not occur on the Sabbath, as the Sabbath laws forbid any journey in excess of the distance between the Temple Mount and the Mount of Olives, which is less than two kilometres (Acts 1:12). Laws of this nature only apply to Orthodox (Torah observing) Jews in Israel.
Through this prophecy the Lord wishes to ensure that a remnant in Israel will be preserved during the dark days of the great tribulation, so they can be reconciled to Him on the day of His second coming (cf. Zech. 12:10). The purpose with the anxiety which Israel will experience during the tribulation is that they will spiritually awaken to understand the basic reasons for their sorrows. When that happens, they will study the book of Daniel, where they will get a clear indication of the time when the true Messiah will come: “And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days” (Dan. 12:11-12).
The year-weeks in Daniel 9 are composed of prophetic years of 360 days each, in which every month has 30 days. The seven years may be divided into two halves of 1 260 days each (cf. Rev. 11:2-3; 12:6; 13:5). These prophetic years can therefore be used to arrive at a specific date on both the Gregorian calendar and the lunar calendar of the Jews. The following timeline is evident from Daniel 12:11-12:
· From the time when the false messiah abolishes and prohibits the sacrificial offerings and defiles the temple by placing an image of himself in the Holy of Holies, 1 260 days will pass before the advent of the Messiah on the Mount of Olives (Dan. 9:27; Rev 13:5). At the end of that year-week, the Jews who fled to the mountains will return to Jerusalem to await the coming of the Messiah, after having been in exile in the wilderness for 42 months. After a further 30 days of mourning, the spiritual reconciliation between the Messiah and the remnant of Israel will be complete. By then, 1 290 days will have elapsed since that dark day of open rebellion against the kingdom of heaven when the false messiah declared himself to be God in the temple.
· Another 45 days will be taken up by the marriage feast of the Lamb, the restoration of the throne of David and the judgement of the nations (Rev. 19:7-9, Acts 15:16-17, Matt. 25:31-32). By then, 1 335 very dramatic days will have elapsed since the very evil day when the false messiah declared himself to be God in the temple and instituted his satanic reign of terror. After 1 335 days, the Son of the living God will have crushed the evil powers and established His kingdom of peace. The Jews who survive the terrible onslaught during the 1 260 days of great tribulation, will witness the return of the Messiah. After 1 290 days they will be spiritually restored, and after 1 335 days they will enter the Messiah’s kingdom.
In His Olivet Discourse, the Lord Jesus not only describes the future path of unbelieving Israel through the great tribulation, but He also refers to the important role of the minority Messianic Jews who do believe in Him. The golden thread of Israel’s history runs through the events in their lives despite the fact that they have always been on a collision course against the legalistic majority who only have a form of godliness.
In Matthew 24:36-44, Christ compares the judgements of the end-time tribulation to the Flood in Noah’s time. The people of that time were apathetic about the approaching judgements, and continued with their materialistic and immoral lives as if nothing would ever happen. They were struck by God’s judgements at a moment when nobody expected it. Only those who feared God were protected and did not perish. The same intervention by God will be repeated in the end-time when believers will be removed before the wicked are judged: “Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming” (Matt. 24:40-42).
On the one hand, this scripture extends a warning to wicked people who ignore God’s judgements, while on the other hand believers are exhorted to be ready for the sudden coming of the heavenly Bridegroom. Those who are conducting their lives with a view to the second coming fully realise their responsibilities and accountability towards the Lord for everything they do. Those who lose sight of His second coming will tend to only pursue their selfish interests, thereby indulging in an irresponsible and carnal lifestyle: “But if that evil servant says in his heart, My master is delaying his coming, and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, ... and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites” (Matt. 24:48-51).
In a subsequent parable on the ten virgins, believers are once more earnestly admonished to be ready for the coming of the Bridegroom (Matt. 25:1-13). In this parable the Lord Jesus emphasises the fact that many people who think that they belong to Him are in fact not ready to meet Him. The lamps of their witness go out because they are not filled with the Holy Spirit – they are unsaved conformists.
There is also another reason why this typical Jewish parable is presented. It is based on traditional marriage practices in Israel when the prospective bridegroom first paid the full dowry for his future bride, after which he left for a long time to go and prepare a place for them to stay at his father’s house. After completing this task he returned – usually between 6 pm and midnight – to take his bride to their new home. At Christ’s first coming He paid the full price for His bride (1 Cor. 6:20; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; Rev. 5:9-10). He then returned to His Father’s house to go and prepare a place for us (John 14:2-3). After these preparations He will return and catch away His bride to her heavenly home (1 Thess. 4:16-17).
When a large group of Messianic believers suddenly disappear during the rapture, many of the remaining Jews will know that Jesus is the true Messiah and heavenly Bridegroom. They will then accept Him as Saviour and be redeemed. The 144 000 Jewish evangelists of Revelation 7:1-8 will emerge from this awakening. The large majority of Jews, however, will not heed this sign but in obedience to their newly-found “Messiah” (the Antichrist) they will continue to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. Great tension and open hostility will arise between the followers of the true Messiah and the false messiah. The Lord Jesus encourages faithful (Messianic) Jews to serve Him with dedicated hearts and promises them rewards in His kingdom (Matt. 25:14-30).
When Christ returns in power and glory, many of those who survived the great tribulation will turn to Him with repentant hearts: “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matt. 24:29-30). Among these converts will also be the entire remnant of Israel (Zech. 12:10; Jer. 31:31-34). They will welcome Him with the words: “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Matt. 23:39).
All those who have come through the tribulation, will then appear before Christ’s throne of glory where the unbelievers will be judged before the institution of Christ’s government of righteousness. Only believers will inherit this kingdom: “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matt. 25:31-34).
Among the blessed ones who will inherit the kingdom of heaven will be members of both Israel and the Gentile nations. Although the kingdom was initially (in Old Testament times) only offered to Israel, their disobedience gave rise to the fact that, in New Testament times, members of all nations in the world were invited to enter into the Lord’s kingdom. The kingdom of God will be revealed on earth when the King comes. It was with reference to this fact that Jesus said to Israel: “And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 8:11-12). For Jews (“the sons”) who did not recognise and receive the Lord Jesus there will be no place in His kingdom.
During the church dispensation it is not the people of Israel who are the blessed of the Lord, since they have been in dispersion most of the time and not in contact with Jesus Christ who is the Source of all blessing. During this dispensation, the special blessing of the Lord rests upon His faithful disciples who constitute the true church among all nations. Together with the Great Commission they received the following promise: “... and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20).
In the book of Matthew, three different forms and periods of evangelisation are referred to:
· Jesus initially only came to Israel as their promised Messiah-King. Should Israel have accepted Him by fully turning away form their sin and unbelief, He would have restored Israel’s kingdom and ruled from the throne of David. The saved Israel would subsequently have been His witnesses among the nations. In view of this possibility, His apostles were initially only sent to Israel to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, ... but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 10:5-7). However, Israel did not accept the message on the Messiahship of Jesus, and for that reason their kingdom was not restored at His first coming. They disqualified themselves as a nation to be His witnesses among the Gentiles.
· After the rejection and crucifixion of Jesus, the judgements upon unbelieving Jerusalem were unavoidable (Matt. 23:37-38). The small group of Jesus’ disciples were then commissioned to evangelise the entire Gentile word: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:19-20). During this long period the gospel of the grace of God is to be proclaimed (Acts 20:24). During the course of this dispensation the Israel-based kingdom of the heaven would not be restored but remain a mystery, being not of this world. All Christians would have to learn how to remain spiritually steadfast in a world which, during this entire dispensation, lies under the sway of the Wicked One (2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 2:2; 6:12; 1 John 5:19).
· After the church dispensation has been concluded by way of the rapture, the partially restored Israel will begin awakening spiritually to become disciples of the true Messiah (cf. Rev. 7:1-8). Although the majority of the Jews will be followers of the false messiah during this early stage of the tribulation, the 144 000 disciples of the true Messiah will take over the task of world evangelisation from the church which has been taken away. These Jewish evangelists will specifically proclaim the gospel of the kingdom among all nations during the brief opportunity they will have to do so. It was with reference to their ministry that the Lord Jesus said in His prophetic discourse: “And the gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matt. 24:14).
When the kingdom of heaven (Christ’s reign of peace) has been finally instituted, the entire remnant of Israel will be saved: “No more shall every man teach his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more” (Jer. 31:34). During the kingdom dispensation they will be Christ’s witnesses in the world: “Those who come He shall cause to take root in Jacob; Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit” (Isa. 27:6). A marvellous future awaits this nation after they have bowed down before Jesus at His second coming, when they will say from their hearts: “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!”