J
japhy
Guest
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” (John 12:24)
In a lengthy blog post of mine recently, I countered the heresy of dispensationalism (where the Mosaic covenant is “good enough” for those who are Jews, and the Christian covenant is necessary if you believe Jesus is the Messiah) with the consideration that – in addition to other Scriptural support for the passing-away of the Mosaic covenant with the advent of the new eternal covenant in Christ – the Mosaic covenant in its entirely is a type of Jesus: it must die and be raised to new life. Judaism is the “grain of wheat” that must fall to the earth and die so as to bear much fruit.
Another way of looking at is the idea of “seeds” that exist in cultures and religions throughout history, seeds of the Holy Spirit, preparation for the true Gospel of God in Jesus Christ. Judaism is the seed par excellance that prepared its people for the Gospel (since the first Christians were in fact faithful Jews). The seed must break open and “die” for the flower (or plant) to be revealed: the seed is at the service of the flower: while the seed remains, the flower cannot be glorified.
Judaism, the Mosaic covenant, is not worthless; nor are the Jewish scriptures. Rather, they are necessary and have a specific purpose to fulfill. And the old covenant has fulfilled its purpose: the Old Testament and the New Testament testify to this. Judaism simply is not necessary today; perhaps the destruction of the Temple in AD 70 is a testimony to that. Judaism is not necessary, but is perhaps the best preparation for the Gospel. But it is incomplete without the Gospel, without the revelation that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, True God and True Man, prophet, priest, and king. It is not complete, it is not fulfilled, it is not perfected without Jesus Christ.
In a lengthy blog post of mine recently, I countered the heresy of dispensationalism (where the Mosaic covenant is “good enough” for those who are Jews, and the Christian covenant is necessary if you believe Jesus is the Messiah) with the consideration that – in addition to other Scriptural support for the passing-away of the Mosaic covenant with the advent of the new eternal covenant in Christ – the Mosaic covenant in its entirely is a type of Jesus: it must die and be raised to new life. Judaism is the “grain of wheat” that must fall to the earth and die so as to bear much fruit.
Another way of looking at is the idea of “seeds” that exist in cultures and religions throughout history, seeds of the Holy Spirit, preparation for the true Gospel of God in Jesus Christ. Judaism is the seed par excellance that prepared its people for the Gospel (since the first Christians were in fact faithful Jews). The seed must break open and “die” for the flower (or plant) to be revealed: the seed is at the service of the flower: while the seed remains, the flower cannot be glorified.
Judaism, the Mosaic covenant, is not worthless; nor are the Jewish scriptures. Rather, they are necessary and have a specific purpose to fulfill. And the old covenant has fulfilled its purpose: the Old Testament and the New Testament testify to this. Judaism simply is not necessary today; perhaps the destruction of the Temple in AD 70 is a testimony to that. Judaism is not necessary, but is perhaps the best preparation for the Gospel. But it is incomplete without the Gospel, without the revelation that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, True God and True Man, prophet, priest, and king. It is not complete, it is not fulfilled, it is not perfected without Jesus Christ.