“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”
Matthew 5:17
For many Christians today, the Hebrew Bible (most commonly known as “Old Testament”) feels like an outdated, even problematic, part of Scripture. It seems full of strange laws, harsh judgments, and ancient rituals. “That was for Israel,” we think. “Now we have Jesus.”
But what if that assumption is not only misguided, it’s dangerous? What if our modern Christian theology, shaped by centuries of replacement thinking, is part of the reason hostility toward the Jewish people is once again rising, even within the Church? What if, in trying to detach Jesus from His Jewish story, we've lost the very power and beauty of the gospel He preached?
JESUS LOVED THE HEBREW BIBLE. YOU SHOULD TOO.
The New Testament is not a clean break from the Hebrew Bible, it is its continuation. Jesus didn’t launch a new religion. He came as the Messiah foretold in the Scriptures, to walk in the path of Israel’s story, and to proclaim the kingdom that is still to come (Luke 4:43), and calling them to repentance (Matthew 4:17). Jesus didn’t reject the story of Israel. He walked in it, preached it, and pointed forward to its fulfillment.
You can’t understand what Jesus meant by “kingdom,” “resurrection,” or “eternal life” without knowing the story He was living in. A story rooted in covenant, exile, prophetic warning, and the hope of final restoration.
The apostle Paul says it plainly:
“I am standing trial for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers… the resurrection of the dead.”
Acts 26:6–8
HOW MODERN THEOLOGY FEEDS CONTEMPT FOR THE JEWISH PEOPLE
For centuries, many Christians have been taught that the Church replaced Israel, that God was “done” with the Jewish people. This idea, called replacement theology, teaches that Israel’s disobedience led to their rejection, and that the Church has inherited all their promises (minus the curses for disobedience that is)
The problem? Jesus never taught that. Paul rejected it outright.
“Has God rejected His people? By no means!”
Romans 11:1
“The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”
Romans 11:29
And yet, this view has fueled centuries of Christian anti-Jewish attitudes, from early Church fathers, to Martin Luther’s venomous writings (e.g. On the Jews and Their Lies), to modern theologies that erase Israel’s role in the redemptive story. Even now, subtle forms of disdain continue to shape the way many believers view “Jewish things.”
As John Harrigan of the Apocalyptic Gospel Podcast notes:
“When we reinterpret the promises to Israel as spiritual metaphors for the Church, we rob the Jewish people of their story and open the door to subtle contempt.”
John Harrigan
This isn’t just theological error, it’s a moral and relational fracture. It leaves the Jewish people alienated from their own Scriptures and promotes a distorted view of God's faithfulness.
IT’S TIME TO GO BACK TO THE ORIGIN
We need to repent, not just of anti-Jewish attitudes, but of the theological systems that enable them.
We need to return to the original gospel the apostles preached:
A gospel that is rooted in the Hebrew Bible.
A gospel that looks forward to a future Day of the Lord, when God will judge the wicked, vindicate the righteous, raise the dead, restore Israel, and renew the whole earth.
As Second Temple literature affirms:
“The Most High will arise from His throne, and the earth will quake… and the righteous dead will awaken from their sleep.”
1 Enoch 51:1-2, ca. 1st century BCE
This is the hope of the prophets. This is the hope of the apostles. And this is the hope Jesus confirmed by His resurrection. Not as its fulfillment, but as the guarantee of what is to come (Acts 17:31).
THE GOSPEL ISN’T A REPLACEMENT—IT’S A PROMISE GUARANTEED
The gospel is not about God abandoning Israel and starting fresh. It’s about God keeping His promises. Jesus’ death and resurrection vindicated His identity as Israel’s Messiah, the one through whom God will ultimately bring about the resurrection of the dead, the restoration of Israel, and judgment on the Day of the Lord. This guaranteed that all of God’s promises will be fulfilled.
“God has fixed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom He has appointed; and of this He has given assurance to all by raising Him from the dead.”
Acts 17:31
That includes:
- A real Son of David who will reign from Jerusalem (Isaiah 9:6–7; Luke 1:32–33)
- A literal resurrection of the dead (Daniel 12:2; 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17)
- A climactic Day of the Lord (Joel 2; Malachi 4; 2 Thessalonians 1:7–10)
- The full restoration of Israel and the inclusion of the nations (Jeremiah 31; Romans 11; Zechariah 14)
As scholar Richard Hays notes,
“The earliest Christian proclamation is not the announcement of a new religion but the declaration that God is fulfilling His promises to Israel through Jesus the Messiah.”
DON’T THROW AWAY YOUR ROOTS
This isn’t just about theology, it’s about faithfulness. You cannot truly follow Jesus while rejecting the story He lived in and the promises He pointed toward. You cannot embrace the Jewish Messiah while dismissing the Jewish people and their Scriptures.
Paul warns Gentile believers not to grow arrogant:
“Do not be arrogant toward the branches… remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you.”
Romans 11:18
What we need now is not a more modern gospel. We need the ancient one, the one that was proclaimed in Galilee and Jerusalem, rooted in the Hebrew Bible, and pointing toward the age to come.
Are You Ready to Reconsider?
If something in your heart is stirring. If you’re realizing that maybe you’ve missed the bigger picture, it’s not too late.
Open your Bible. Re-read the prophets. Wrestle with Paul. Ask God to show you the beauty of His purposes for Israel and the nations. And fix your hope not on going to heaven after death, but on the return of the King, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal life.
It’s time to go back to the origin. Back to the faith of Abraham, the hope of the prophets, and the message Jesus actually preached.
That’s the hope the apostles lived for. It’s the hope the early church died for. And it’s the hope we’re called to reclaim today.
Maranatha. Come, Lord
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