No, Not in Israel

"5And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, 6And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. 7And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. 8The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. 9For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. 10When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. 11And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. 12But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 13And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour." Matthew 8

In Matthew 15 Jesus stated he was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. In that context He and His disciples were being annoyed by a Canaanite women who persisted in getting his attention to heal her daughter. The disciples and Jesus were noticeably perturbed at her insistence to the point that Jesus refers to her as a dog. In today's politically correct world Jesus would be labeled a bigot and probably IS considered one by ANTIFA and BLM. Pardon my digression. But the point is that Jesus was determined to remain focused on His mission for the redemption of the house of Israel and could not ignore the persistent faith of this woman. She demonstrated her faith by her humility not her demands nor insistence upon her "rights". God will always acknowledge the truly humble (James 4:10)

The Centurions faith was also demonstrated by his humility when he said, "I am not worthy that you should come under my roof". Humility like these biblical examples is lost in this current age of people "demanding their rights". Truly, the only right we have is to die and go to hell. It is God's pure grace and mercy that anyone is even reading this right now.

The encounter with the Centurion was at the beginning of Christs ministry and already those outside the house of Israel are eager to know who this Jesus is. In fact, Christs ministry began just after His 40 day fast and temptation in the wilderness in Matthew 4. He left the wilderness and went to Northern Galilee. He was thronged there by people from Syria and the Decapolis. The Decapolis is ten ancient cities of which all but one were East of the Jordan river. Christs fame was more widespread among gentiles than Jews. The targeting of Christians in Syria by ISIS is striking at the very birthplace of Christianity. It was in Syria where the oldest sect of Christianity outside of Jerusalem arose. Aleppo was a major early Christian town. Antioch is where the term Christian was first used (Acts 11) Syrian Antioch is often referred to as the "cradle of Christianity" not Rome.

Christs appearance on earth was fulfillment of biblical prophecy. God and God alone knows the future and He knew that Abraham's seed would reject His word and ultimately the redemptive work of His Son. The Old Testament is a testimony to this endless cycle of Israel rejecting God, repenting and rejecting God again. Rabbinic Judaism came along about the same time that Old Testament prophecy ended. Rabbinic Judaism codified and interpreted biblical law or the laws of Moses in what is called the Mishna. Judaism today is based more upon this Mishna interpretation of Gods law instead of God's law itself. The Scribes and Pharisees were Christs biggest enemies because they led the Jews astray from the law of Moses. It was their adherence to mans interpretation of Gods law instead of the law itself that brought out the anger of our Lord, " 23Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. 24Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. 25Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. 26Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also." Matthew 23

The Judaism in the world today is exactly the Judaism that Jesus condemned. Judaism today is not the faith of Abraham, David or Elijah. Jesus said, "If you knew my Father then you would know me". How can we know the Father? By knowing, believing and obeying His word. "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God" Romans 10:17 Jesus said,

"17Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 19Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5

Israel today is the same Israel that cried out, "Crucify him. Release to us Barrabas". Jews are not brothers to the Christian. Jews today are not even walking in the path of Moses. Jesus prophesied in the passage above, "I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. 11And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. 12But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

Those who are truly born again, regenerate believers in the Lord Jesus Christ will be sitting down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, not post second temple Jews. Some eschatology beliefs suggest there will be a regathering of Israel and many will turn to Jesus Christ. Perhaps that may be true but do not make the mistake of counting Jews as your "brothers in the Lord". A kosher Jew today is no different than the Pharisee of the 1st century. Don't be fooled if a Jew tells you he believes Jesus "was" a prophet. We should never speak of Jesus in the past tense as though he no longer exist. He is risen. Anyone who accepts Jesus as a prophet but not as God incarnate, God in the flesh, has made Jesus a false prophet and a liar.

Just to be clear, I'm not denigrating a people, I'm attempting to expose a false notion that many evangelicals have regarding Israel and Jews. Christian, do not for one minute think that every Jew you meet is going to "see the light" and accept Christ as the Messiah. In fact, most Jews are not religious Jews. And even those who observe Passover, Yom Kippur and other Jewish feasts may do so as a custom and tradition not a religious observance. Jesus said the Jews would be cast into outer darkness and exist in torment. Naturally, there will be exceptions to this. I have met completed Jews who have been converted to Christ and acknowledge Him as the Messiah.

Jesus marveled at the faith of the gentile Centurion. May my faith rise to a marvelous level.