Hi folks, in your Bibles, in the book of Romans, chapter 9. Paul, that great apostle, a Jew through and through, says something that always touches my heart.
He writes, "I tell the truth in Christ, I do not lie, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh" (Romans 9:1-3). Oh, what love! Paul had such a burden for his own people, the Jewish nation. He wasn't angry or bitter; he was broken-hearted because he knew they needed the Messiah.
Friends, if we're going to love the Jewish people as God loves them, we have to tell them the truth in love. And the truth is this, Jesus is their Messiah. He came first to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 15:24). He didn't come to start a new religion for Gentiles only, He came to fulfill the promises God made to Abraham, to David, to the prophets.
But so many of God's chosen people today have never really heard the gospel presented clearly. They need to hear that "there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). Salvation isn't through the old covenant alone anymore; it's through faith in Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah.
Now, some folks teach this idea of "dual covenant", that the Jews are saved one way through the Mosaic covenant, and Gentiles another way through Jesus. But let's be honest with the Scriptures. That just doesn't hold up. Look at Romans 1:16: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek." "For the Jew first", not optional, but priority! Paul had anguish for Israel because they needed the gospel just like anyone else.
In Romans 11, Paul talks about the olive tree, one tree, not two. The natural branches (the Jews) were broken off because of unbelief, and we Gentiles are grafted in by faith. But God can graft them back in! "And if you were grafted out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?" (Romans 11:24). There's no separate path, no side entrance. It's one Messiah, one way: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6).
Today in Israel (as we look at things in early 2026), the population is over 10 million, mostly Jewish. There are about 185,000 Christians total, but only around 30,000 Messianic Jews, believers in Yeshua who are Jewish by birth.
That's a small number, less than half a percent. Many Israelis know Jesus only as a historical figure, not as their living Saviour. It's heartbreaking, but it's also a call to prayer. Paul prayed, "Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved" (Romans 10:1). We ought to pray the same!
But here's the glorious hope: God hasn't cast away His people forever. After the rapture of the Church, when the fullness of the Gentiles comes in, God will turn again to Israel in a mighty way during the Tribulation, that time of Jacob's trouble (Jeremiah 30:7).
Paul says, "Blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved" (Romans 11:25-26). Zechariah prophesied it, “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced" (Zechariah 12:10). What a day that will be! The nation will mourn and turn to their Messiah.
So, what do we do now? We love them by sharing the truth gently but firmly. We don't replace Israel; we don't erase their identity. The gospel fulfils it!
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, support Messianic ministries, and be ready to give a reason for the hope in you (1 Peter 3:15). The Lord is coming soon, Maranatha!
May the Lord bless you and keep you, make His face shine upon you, and give you peace. Amen.
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