A Targum* for my children based on Romans 3:21-31
But now, and here’s the point- God’s faithfulness has been revealed apart from the sphere of the covenant he established with Israel. It had to be this way in order to fulfill the promise made in the Writings of the Old Oath regarding what God would do for the whole world. While Israel failed in its calling, God was faithful through the faithfulness of Israel’s representative King. What Israel failed to do for the world, King Joshua did for the world…by what he did for his people Israel. This was done for the benefit of all who believe.
Again, there is no distinction of any consequence between those who are by birth Jew or Gentile. Both have sinned and fail to reflect the glory of their creator, and both are declared to be in right standing with God purely by grace- as his gift.
Again, there is no distinction of any consequence between those who are by birth Jew or Gentile. Both have sinned and fail to reflect the glory of their creator, and both are declared to be in right standing with God purely by grace- as his gift.
A new Exodus has occurred, and a new people have been created. This exodus from the slavery of sin was effected by the sacrifice of Israel’s’ Martyr King, Joshua. It is allegiance to this king, not the ethnic markers of the Torah, that identify this new Israel.
Every parent knows that if we love our children, we will despise the actions, diseases, or circumstances that work to destroy them. Our Father God had been merciful in the past by overlooking our sins, but he judged them for what they are in the death of the King. Joshua’s crucifixion was God’s terrifying roar against everything that would keep us from the life that he had always intended for his creation. He can now assure his helpless and guilty people that things are truly alright between him and them, and he can do so without making their sins a matter of indifference.
There is no room for ethnic boasting. If you’ll think about it you’ll see that things had to happen in this way. In order for God’s promises to be fulfilled, the divisions that the Torah created between Jew and Gentile had to be done away with.
Every parent knows that if we love our children, we will despise the actions, diseases, or circumstances that work to destroy them. Our Father God had been merciful in the past by overlooking our sins, but he judged them for what they are in the death of the King. Joshua’s crucifixion was God’s terrifying roar against everything that would keep us from the life that he had always intended for his creation. He can now assure his helpless and guilty people that things are truly alright between him and them, and he can do so without making their sins a matter of indifference.
There is no room for ethnic boasting. If you’ll think about it you’ll see that things had to happen in this way. In order for God’s promises to be fulfilled, the divisions that the Torah created between Jew and Gentile had to be done away with.
The Old Oath had a statement that summarized all that Israel believed. It was called The Shema, and it began like this: God is one!
Doesn’t it follow then, that there can be only one people of God. God isn’t the God of Jews only. He is the God of all the peoples of the Earth. His one people- whether Jew or Gentile by nature- are marked out by their allegiance to King Joshua and not by any ethnic, racial or cultural distinctive- including the Torah.
Now, be careful. This doesn't mean that we condemn the Torah because it created these cultural and ethnic distinctions between Jew and Greek. No way. The Torah had a very significant role to play in this whole story, and so we must uphold its importance.
*A Targum was an expanded paraphrase of the Hebrew Scriptures composed by Rabbis during the diaspora to aid the understanding of their “Hebrew challenged” congregations. I thought something similar might be of help to my kids. So I’ve started with Paul’s Epistle to the Romans.
No comments:
Post a Comment