Tony Simmons: Why Our Jewish Roots Matter

I confessed that I had not thought about Israel, the land and the people until 2018 when Melinda and I made the trip to Israel. When you walked where Jesus walked and see the places discussed in scripture, the Bible comes alive in a way that makes you want to dive deeper. I know it seems strange to say this, but it feels like home. After our experience, we came home wanting to learn as much as we could and we read thru scripture with a different lens. I felt almost like the demon possessed man when Jesus healed him.  He desired to go with Jesus, but Jesus said no, go back home and tell everyone what has been done for you. That is how I felt, I just want to share how it sent me on this path of seeking and searching for Him.

Four Critical Points

1.       Salvation is from the Jews. John 4:22. We discussed briefly Jesus speaking with the Samaritan woman at the well when he said “You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.” Notice the You and the We and how Jesus most definitely identified with the Jews. Also, the most precious gift we will ever receive which is our salvation which is from the Jews. We also went to Romans 3:2 where it states the Jews have been entrusted with the very words of God. Continuing in 9:4-5 theirs is the adoption to sonship, the divine glory (his presence), the covenants which are everlasting, the receiving of the law, the temple worship, the Patriarchs, and from them the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all.  A declaration that Jesus is God!

2.       We are supported by the root. We went to Romans 11 where it clearly indicates God has not rejected his people. Salvation has come to the Gentiles to make the Jews jealous. We do not support them, they support us! His call is IRREVOCABLE! How much greater will their inclusion be but life from the dead! We talked about how Paul was Jewish (Philippians 3:5-6). Romans 9:3 states “for I wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, the people of Israel. WOW! That is amazing that he could say that and it shows the love he had for his people. It compared to Moses in Exodus 32 when the people made the golden calf and Moses said forgive them but if not then blot me out of the book you have written. We owe so much to the Jews that Romans 15:27 says “For is the Gentiles have shared in the Jews Spiritual Blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings.”  

3.       Israel matters in the end times. We talked about Zechariah 12:1-10.  How nations will come against Israel but God will protect his people and the weakest will be as mighty as David. He will do this in such a supernatural way that the people of Israel will turn to the Messiah and the wonderful statement in Romans 11:26 that All Israel will be saved will come true.

4.       Finally Scripture makes more sense when read through the Jewish Lens. I referred to a rabbinical tradition that says there are seventy layers of meaning to scripture called the seventy faces of Torah and we only dabble in the first few. Simply meaning there is much to learn when you dive deeper. I referenced the Jewish Festivals and how we are not obligated to observe them but we are not prohibited either, but at the very least we should know more about them. Each of these “Appointed Times” give us a way to connect with Jesus. They are about elevated holiness, set aside for prayer, study and worship. Why we would not? Four of the seven feasts are EXACT dress rehearsals of Jesus’ death and resurrection, followed by Pentecost and the birth of the Church, The three other feasts foreshadow the rapture of the church (which some believe and some do not), the Lord’s return, and the bringing home of a harvest of Souls.

Jeremiah 31:35-37 “This is what the Lord says, he who appoints the sun to shine by day, who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar-the Lord Almighty is his name: Only if these decrees vanish from my sight, declares the Lord will Israel ever cease being a nation before me. This is what the Lord says: Only if the heavens above can be measured and the foundations of the earth below be search out will I reject all the descendants of Israel because of all they have done, declares the Lord.”

The book I read about Jewish Festivals is entitled:  The Holy Days: Returning the Biblical Festivals to the Disciples of Jesus, by D. Thomas Lancaster.