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Jews, Judaism And Christianity - Part 4 of 5

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• I want you to open your Bibles today, if you would, please, to the book of John, chapter 4. John, chapter 4. And we're just going to actually read verse 22, believe it or not. And we will come back to that verse before we finish today. So John, chapter 4 and verse 22. This happens to be the fourth message in the five-part series, which I entitled "Jews, Judaism and Christianity." So look in John 4 and verse 22, our Lord is speaking to the Samaritan woman and He says this, "You worship, you know not what. We know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews."

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• Now the last three weeks we've gone over a large amount of scripture, and of course we're not through yet. I've pointed out several important truths concerning Christ and His apostles. And we need to remember how the word "Jew" or "Jews" or "Judahite" is used in the scripture. If we understand the usage of the word, we're not going to be confused when we read through the scripture. I pointed out in the first message how Jesus Christ was not a Jew. He was a Judahite.

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• He was from the tribe of Judah, and He was actually born in the land of Judea, but He was conceived in the northern kingdom in Nazareth, and that is exactly where He grew up. He is indeed the King of the Jews, but I pointed out He's not King of the Jews simply because He lived a few years in Judea. He's King of the Jews because He is the true Son of David. And the Bible says in Matthew 1:1, "The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham." And our Lord said in Luke chapter 1 that He was going to give unto Him the throne of His father David. And then of course we saw in Psalm 2 where God said that He has set His King upon His holy hill of Zion. So Jesus Christ is not just simply King of the Jews. He's King of Israel, everyone and everything, because He's King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Now, let me remind you how the word "Jew" or "Jews" is used.

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• in the Old Testament. The Hebrew word is "Yehudi" and it literally means a Judahite or a descendant of Judah or someone from the land of Judah. Thus it's usually used to describe a person or persons from the tribe of Judah or the kingdom of Judah or the land of Judah or Judea, the nation of Judah or the house of Judah. So it refers then to anyone belonging to the tribe or to the land in any way whatsoever. When you get to the New Testament, the Greek word is "Ioudaios," which simply means a Judahite or someone from the land of Judea. So based upon the Hebrew and the Greek words for Jews, we understand that there are limitations to that word. We also understood how that the word is used to refer to a Jewish religion as well, which I'll point out again just momentarily. And also in the second message, we pointed out that none of the apostles were Jews or Judahites, with the exception of Judas Iscariot.

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• He's from Kiriath, which is below Hebron, which is pointing down toward Edom. He was from the southern kingdom. All the rest of the apostles were Galileans. They were from the northern kingdom. In fact, in Acts chapter 2, they ask, "Are not all these Galileans which we hear speaking in our own tongues the wonderful words of God?" Then when we looked in Galatians chapter 2, we saw how the apostle Paul then admonished Peter and confronted Peter to his face and accused Peter of becoming a Jew. How in the world could that be if Peter was a Galilean? And the answer is he was becoming a Jew by his unbiblical conduct, his erroneous conduct and action. He was separating himself from others when this group came from James from Jerusalem and acting like a Jew in the sense of observing rituals and customs and traditions and things like this.

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• May I remind you that Judaism is a religion, it is not a race. For instance, I pointed out last week how the black entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. became a Jew. He certainly did not change races. He was still black, but he embraced Judaism. And of course, then in Esther 8:17, and I read this verse last week, "And in every province and every city, whithersoever the king's commandment and his decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a good day. And many of the people of the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews fell upon them." And so the land there, of course, is talking about Persia and all the other areas there that Ahasuerus controlled and he even controlled India. So obviously they did not change races. They did not change ethnicity. They simply embraced Judaism. So Paul himself spoke of the Jews' religion a number of times. The clearest passage is in Galatians 1:13-14. He said, "For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it." Now let me just stop

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• right there. That shows you the opposition between Judaism and Christianity. He went on to say, "And profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers." So a lot to do with Judaism deals with customs and traditions as well. Our Lord attacked the traditions of Judaism in Matthew 15, in Mark 7, and other passages as well. When they came to our Lord and asked Him, "Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders?" Our Lord then turned around in Matthew 15:6 and He says, "Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition." In other words, why are you violating God's law with your tradition? So they had a lot to do with tradition. Now think about this: customs, traditions, religion, rites, rituals are necessary to control a populace. When you stop and think, it is that which unifies the people. What does? Their religion, their rites, their rituals, their customs, their traditions.

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• It is that which unifies the people and cements the authority and the control over the traditions and the customs and the religion. All you have to do is witness the Roman Catholic Church. Who is it that has control over all the rituals, all the ceremonies? It would be the priests, the cardinals, and ultimately the pope as well. So, you have to understand that those who are in power and in authority have a vested interest in maintaining that authority and that power. If you understand that, I want you to look in John 11 and you will see it more clearly. Look in John 11 very quickly. Notice if you would who came together and what they said. John 11 and look if you would please at verse 47. John 11:47, "Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? For this man doeth many miracles. If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation." So we're going to lose our power. Now I want you to note then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council. The chief priests, the priesthood was usually made up of Sadducees. I want

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• you to look in your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 5 and verse 17. Acts 5:17. Remember now, the Pharisees have joined there with the Sadducees. There's the Sanhedrin. Notice if you would please in Acts chapter 5 and verse 17, here is what the Word of God says, Acts 5:17, "Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation." So the high priesthood happened to be that of Sadducees and of course the Sadducees therefore had control of the temple because that was the priesthood. The Pharisees were the fundamentalists of the day. They had control of the people.

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• So the ranking elite among both parties made up the ruling council or the ruling class. They're the ones that call the shots.

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• Now, there was another group that's mentioned in the New Testament, and I've talked about them before, but those are the Herodians. The Herodians were supporters of the policies and government of the Herodian family. They were more political than religious, but they were made up both of Pharisees and Sadducees. And this group of Herodians were genuinely friendly to Herod the Great and to his dynasty. I want to give you two quotes.

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• The first one is by Kenan Cook and he says this. He's describing the Herodians and he says, "They were that party among the Jews who were supporters of the Herodian family as the last hope of retaining for the Jews a fragment of national government, as distinguished from absolute dependence upon Rome as a province of the empire." So he's saying these Herodians, which were made up of Jews, were clinging to Herod and his dynasty thinking that they could retain basically a little vestige of their own national identity. Easton's Bible Dictionary defines the Herodians as follows, listen, "A Jewish political party who sympathized with the Herodian rulers in their general policy of government and in the social customs which they introduced from Rome. They were at one with the Sadducees in holding the duty of submission to Rome and of supporting the Herods on the throne." So the Sadducees generally, of course, agreed with submission to Rome, but they also were holding with the Herodians so they could keep that last little vestige of power and not become just simply a province of the Roman Empire.

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• So it was the Sadducees and the Pharisees and the Herodians who tried to entrap and crucify Jesus Christ. It didn't matter which group they were, they all persecuted Jesus Christ, and they all sought His death. Each of these parties wanted Jesus Christ out of the way. So, each party then, Sadducee, Pharisee, and Herodian, all wanted power, control, and rule. And each party had their power elite and sought to maintain that power and authority, and each party was a Jewish party, and each one was against Christ. Now to go further today, it's important to note several truths in regard to Scripture.

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• And I'm going to show you this from the Bible. It may be, I trust, eye-opening for some of you. But first, I want you to note that God does not specifically address the inhabitants of the land as the Jews. Never will you find God addressing the inhabitants of the land as Jews. Secondly, usually, when the apostles speak of the Jews, it is in derogatory terms or in terms which designates them as in opposition to the gospel. They do not even address the people as the Jews. So I want to begin at the beginning and show you this.

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• I hope you understand there is an entire book in the New Testament that's called the book of Hebrews. There's never a book of the Jews. Okay, in fact the word "Jew" or "Jews" is never even mentioned in the book of Hebrews. So I want to show you how God addresses the people. If you would begin in your Bibles, you can hold John for we will come back there before we end. But look at Matthew 1:21. We're going to look at a lot of scriptures today. Matthew 1:21. Notice if you would what the Bible says in this passage. Matthew 1:21, the angel is talking to Joseph and he says this, "And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins." Not saving the Jews, but "his people from their sins." So he speaks about "his people." Look in Matthew 2:4.

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• Here is where Herod had convened the elders together and the scribes to find out where Christ was to be born. Matthew 2:3, "When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel." It's interesting so far God either refers to the people as "the people" or "his people" or "the people of Israel" or "Israel." Look in Matthew chapter 4 and let's begin reading there verse 14. Matthew 4:14. Here is another prophecy concerning Jesus Christ, "That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by

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• Isaiah the prophet, saying, The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up." Notice "the people." If you would turn in your Bibles to the book of Luke, chapter 1. Luke chapter 1 and let's notice there verses 16 and 17. Just showing you it's interesting that God never refers to the people just simply as "the Jews." He does not. Luke chapter 1 verse 16.

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• And here we're talking about John the Baptist. God is telling Zacharias exactly what is going to happen in the life of John the Baptist. Watch verse 16. "And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." So the Bible says in verse 16, "and many of the children of Israel." And then in verse 17, he talks about making "a people ready for the Lord." Look in Luke 1:54. Luke 1:54. Zacharias is saying—actually that is Mary. This is the Magnificat. Mary is saying, "He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy." Look in verse 68, "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath

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• visited and redeemed his people." And look if you would please in verse 76. Now we're talking about John the Baptist again. "And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways; To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins." Over and over God just simply refers to the people of the land either as "his people" or "Israel" or "the children of Israel." Turning your Bibles to Luke 20 and look at verse 1. Luke 20:1. "And it came to pass, that on one of those days"—and by the way, I've often said, and I've said to myself, I've threatened to do this a number of times. I just haven't done it. I'm gonna preach a message and I'm just going to entitle it, "One of Those Days." Our Lord had them too. Watch that. "And it came to pass, that on one of those days, as he taught the people in the temple, and preached the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes came upon him with the elders."

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• Note, if you would, "it came to pass on one of those days as he taught" who? Not the Jews. He taught "the people." If you would turn over in your Bible to Acts chapter 9. Acts chapter 9. God has saved Saul of Tarsus, turned him into the mighty Apostle Paul. He's now speaking to Ananias. And he's telling Ananias to go and lay his hands upon the eyes of the Apostle Paul that he might receive his sight. And look what he says concerning Paul. Acts chapter 9 verse 15. "But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel." Never has he mentioned the Jews. If you would look in Acts chapter 26. Acts 26 and notice if you would beginning there with verse 15. Acts 26:15. The Apostle Paul is here giving his testimony to Festus and look what he says. Acts 26:15, "And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I

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• have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me." That's interesting. He said, "Delivering thee from the people." Wow. You remember Matthew 16 and also in Luke 9:18. The Bible says this concerning Christ, "And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him: and he asked them, saying, Whom say the people that I am?" He didn't ask, "Who do the Jews say that I am?" He asks, "Who do the people say that I am?"

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• Now, I could multiply scriptures, but I think you are beginning to see a principle. God always refers to His people as simply "His people," or "Israel," or "the Israel of God." He does not refer to them as "the Jews." Interestingly enough, even the Jews—and I am using this term to classify a ruling elite—they always referred to the people of which they had control as "the people." They did not even refer to the people as Jews. For instance, look in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 26. Matthew 26. This is interesting. Matthew 26. Look if you would please there at verse 5. Matthew 26:5. In fact, I'll show you several passages. Matthew 26:5. In fact, let's begin with verse 3 just so you can see who this is.

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• "Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, And consulted that they might take Jesus by subtilty, and kill him." Now watch, "But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar among the people." Not among the Jews, but among the people. Look in your Bibles to the book of Mark chapter 11 and verse 18. Mark 11:18. Here it is. Mark 11:18, "And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him, because all the people was astonished at his doctrine." All the people, not all the Jews. All the people. And this is the Lord's enemies. Look in Mark 12:12. Mark 12:12, "And they sought to lay hold on him, but feared the people: for they knew that he had

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• spoken the parable against them: and they left him, and went their way." Wow. Then if you would turn right on over to Luke 20 and look at verse 6. Luke 20:6. Now it's important that you see this and you'll understand why just shortly. Look in Luke 20:6. In fact, let's begin reading with verse 6. "And he answered and said unto them, I will also ask you one thing; and answer me: The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then believed ye him not? But and if we say, Of men; all the people will stone us: for they be persuaded that John was a prophet." It's interesting, they never say, "All the Jews will stone us." They always say, "All the people will stone us." Look in Luke 22:2, "And the chief priests and scribes sought how they might kill him; for they feared the people." Wow. Now I want you to note something. God never addressed His people as "the Jews."

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• Even the Jews who had control never addressed the people as fellow Jews. They just referred to them basically as "the people."

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• Thirdly, it is important to note, listen carefully, that none of the apostles ever began their sermons, their dissertations, their counsels, their warnings, their writings—they never began anything with these words: "Hey, you Jews." Never, never. You must remember, listen carefully, that here is all of Israel: the southern kingdom and the northern kingdom. It was only the southern kingdom that were known as Jews or Judahites. The northern kingdom was known as Israel. It is true that you could have some Judahites who were Israelites, but not all Israelites were Judahites. They did not live in the southern kingdom. Now let me just show you how some of the apostles did. First of all, I want to show you concerning Jesus Christ. Look in Luke 6 if you would please and verse 17. Then we'll look at some of the apostles, but look in Luke 6:17. Luke 6:17. Here's an interesting thing. "And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judaea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to

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• be healed of their diseases." Now look, here's a great opportunity to say this but it's not said in Scripture. Now watch, "and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of the Jews"—is it that who lived in Jerusalem and Judea? But he didn't say that. He says, "a great multitude of people out of all Judaea and Jerusalem." And then he says, "from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon." Well, Tyre and Sidon, of course, was in the northern kingdom. But Jerusalem and Judea would be the southern kingdom. And our Lord just simply says, "the people came out of Judea and out of Jerusalem." So, why did He not say "Jews"?

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• He could have, but He certainly did not. Now, turn in your Bibles to Acts chapter 2. Let me show you some of the preaching of the apostles and how the apostles always addressed their hearers. Watch this, Acts chapter 2 and verse 22. The Apostle Peter speaking and he says this, "Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know." Now let me ask you a question. Where was Peter preaching when he said this? It was the day of Pentecost. He was in Jerusalem. He didn't say, "You men of Judah and Jerusalem." He didn't say, "Hey, you Jews." He said, "You men of Israel, hear these words." Look in verse 36 of the same chapter. Acts 2:36, "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ." Look in Acts 3:12.

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• Acts 3:12. "And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?" Note, if you would, he keeps saying, "Ye men of Israel." Look in chapter 4 and verse 8. Acts 4:8, "Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel." Note: "Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel," not "Ye rulers of the Jews." "Ye rulers of the people." Look in Acts 4:10. He said, "Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole." But no, he says, "Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel." Look in Romans 10:1. Romans 10:1. Now as you're turning to Romans 10, let me ask you a question. Do you remember which tribe the Apostle Paul was from?

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• Someone tell me. Benjamin. Where was Benjamin? In the southern kingdom, right? Now watch. Romans 10:1, the Apostle Paul writes, "Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved." He did not say, "Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Jews is, that they might be saved," or "the Judeans." He said, "for Israel." Why? Because there's more to Israel than the southern kingdom. Look in verse 19. Romans 10:19, "But I say, Did not Israel know?" Not the Jews, but "Did not Israel know?" First Moses saith, "I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you." Now skip down to verse 21, "But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people."

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• So you can read through the New Testament and you're going to discover if you read carefully how each apostle addressed his hearers. Not one of them ever began a sermon or an address with "to the Jews." Not one.

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• Now, it is true that many of the first believers, many of the first Christians were from Jerusalem and from the land of Judea. But there is a reason as to why the apostles never address their hearers as "to the Jews." Well, there are several good reasons. The first one is this. Help me with this if you would in Matthew 15:24. The Bible says this, our Lord said, "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel." Not to the Jews, but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. I'm pointing out Israel consisted of more than the southern kingdom. And so obviously they did not just simply say, "Hey, you Jews," because they understood that God's people were more than the southern kingdom. Also, I want you to understand that there is another reason. And that reason is they recognize that Christianity and Judaism were opposites.

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• It is impossible to be Jewish and to be a Christian. You will either be one or you will be the other. It may be possible to be a Hebrew Christian or an Israelite Christian, but not a Jewish Christian, because Judaism is a religion and Christianity is a religion, and they're absolutely opposite.

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• Now, let me just tell you. I mentioned this I think in the first message and I'm going to tell it to you again just to emphasize this point and give you some additional information as well. Years ago when I first started preaching, which was over 50 years ago, I was in college at the time and in our church was a man by the name of Dr. Edgar Wolfram. Dr. Edgar Wolfram. And as you can tell, that would be a Jewish name. Dr. Edgar Wolfram had five earned doctorates.

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• One of them was in physics. I forget, Alice, you may remember, I don't know, but he spoke a number of different languages. I tend to think the number was 11. I'm not sure. But he was a very, very brilliant man. Dr. Wolfram was a member of Boulevard Baptist Church. But he had been raised in Judaism. He left Judaism, converted to Christianity. He still wanted to reach the Jewish people, so he had a mission and he named the mission Beth Sar Shalom, "the House of the Prince of Peace." I preached there a number of times. And in this little mission, he had a room and a little bathroom back there where basically he lived, and a little kitchen as well. And there was a little foyer where he had couches and chairs where people could just go there and sit and talk and drink coffee if they wanted to. But then there was a room, probably a little bit larger than this room, where the gospel was preached.

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• There was no menorah there. There were no Jewish symbols there. There was nothing except a place to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now if you ever heard Dr. Wolfram's story, it is a tremendous testimony. Wolfram, as brilliant as he was, was born and raised in Germany. When Hitler was in power, he tried to force Wolfram to work for him since Wolfram was a physicist, and Wolfram refused.

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• So to punish him and to make him change his mind, he had Edgar suspended in a cage in a dungeon. And Edgar was cramped. He could not stand up and he could not sit down. He was like this. The cage was small purposely to cramp him where he couldn't stand up and he couldn't sit down. The only light he had, the only air he had was from just a little small window way up above his head. Interestingly, while some of the Nazis were out there tearing up Bibles and other books and burning them, the wind picked up one sliver of paper and the wind blew it right through that little window and it landed in his cage. And he was able to take two fingers and pick up that one little piece of paper. And when he got it up to his eyes, it was the passage Isaiah 53, and he read it over and over and over.

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• And God used that and converted him. Now, the story I told was this. I met a lady whom Alice and I knew all of our lives. Her husband was Jewish. She was not originally that, but she converted to Judaism since her husband was Jewish. And I met her on the street and I was going to try to witness to her. And I said, "Let me tell you about Dr. Edgar Wolfram, a converted Jew."

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• And it looked like I'd slapped her. And she said, "Let me tell you something. There's no such thing as a converted Jew. You're either Jewish or you're Christian. There's no in-between. There are no Jewish Christians." And she was right. She was dead right. I learned that very quickly because she straightened me out. But I want you to understand something. Even in the New Testament, the apostles knew the difference. Let me show you something. I want you to turn in your Bibles to John chapter 1 and I tell you what, go ahead and find Luke chapter 1 as well. Okay, get Luke chapter 1 because we will go back there in just a moment. John chapter 1, Luke chapter 1. And I want you to watch this. Look in John chapter 1 if you would please and let's begin reading there verse 19. John 1:19. Watch carefully. "And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?" Now, I want you to think about this. Here's a new way this word "Jews" is used.

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• I mean, it's not new to the Bible. It's being used over and over in the Bible, which I'm going to show you next week. But he says, "This is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem." Well, were not those priests and Levites Jewish? Well, you would think so. Well, let me ask you a question. Who has the authority to send priests and Levites out?

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• I guess only the high priest, right? Okay, now watch this. "And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet?" (from Deuteronomy 18). He answered, "I am not." Then said they unto him, "Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?"

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• And he said, "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias. And they which were sent were of the Pharisees." Now wait a minute. They which were sent were of the Pharisees. Well, go back up in your Bibles, if you would please, to verse 19. "This is the record," he says, "of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites." Wow.

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• We remember in Acts chapter 5, it was the Sadducees that had control of the temple. But you have to remember, the Pharisees and the Sadducees made up the Sanhedrin. They made up the council.

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• Now, here's the thing that got my attention. "And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?" Well, here's my question. Was John the Baptist a Jew or Judahite? Well, let me show you something. Look in your Bible to Luke chapter 1. Luke chapter 1. Notice if you would beginning there in verse 5. Luke 1:5.

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• "There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth." Now, if Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, was a Levite and his mother was of the order of Aaron which was a Levite, what tribe do you think John would have been from? Levi, right? Now do you remember the Levites had no inheritance in the land? They were scattered throughout all of Israel. Well, where was John the Baptist raised? Where did he live?

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• Well, let's look in our Bibles to the book of Luke chapter 1 and notice if you would please in verse 36 what the angel Gabriel is telling Mary. Watch. "And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her." Watch, "And Mary arose in those days."

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• Remember, she was in Nazareth in the northern kingdom. "And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda; And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth." So where did John and Zacharias and Elizabeth live? In Judah. So he would have been a Judahite by virtue of the fact that he lived in Judea, right? But the Jews didn't count him as you. The Jews sent and said, "Who are you?" Well now, wait a minute. If John lived in Judah, and he would have been a Judahite, who are these people that are sending and demanding to know who he was? Why would they challenge John? Well, we're going to find out more next week, the answer to that. For now, please note, they that were sent were of the Pharisees. And of course, you remember, the Sadducees had control of the high priesthood as well. Let me show you John's estimation of these Jews.

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• Look in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 3. Matthew chapter 3. Remember now, these are the Jews. They're demanding of John, "Who is he?" Watch what John says in Matthew 3:7. "But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance."

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• "And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham." What did he call them? "You generation of vipers," you bunch of snakes. He is talking to the Jews. Do you understand, and I'm going to show you more next week who these Jews were, but it was the Jews who always tried to kill Christ, to kill the Apostle Paul, and all the other apostles.

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• For instance, go in your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 23. Acts 23, and notice if you would please beginning there with verse 15. They're trying to tear the Apostle Paul apart in this particular instance. But watch this. Let me show you now Acts chapter 23 in verse 15. "Now therefore ye with the council." Now, we're talking about the ruling council. We're talking about the Sanhedrin. We're talking about the Sadducees and the Pharisees.

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• "Now therefore ye with the council signify to the chief captain that he bring him down unto you to morrow, as though ye would enquire something more perfectly concerning him: and we, or ever he come near, are ready to kill him." So here's the Jewish council now who are saying, "We're going to pretend like we really want some more answers from Paul, and when the chief captain sends him, we've got 40 men who've bound themselves with an oath that they're going to murder the Apostle Paul." Look in Acts chapter 25 and verse 3. And it's interesting. Acts 25:3, and let's read verse 2. In fact, go back to verse 1. Watch carefully. Acts 25:1, "Now when Festus was come into the province, after three days he ascended from Caesarea to Jerusalem. Then the high priest and the chief of the Jews informed him against Paul, and besought him, And desired favour against him, that he would send for him to Jerusalem, laying wait in the way to kill him." Now who is it?

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• It's wanting to kill the Apostle Paul? The high priest and the chief of the Jews. Wow. Look in Acts 26 if you would, and the Apostle Paul is giving his defense and he says this in verse 21. Acts 26:21, "For these causes the Jews caught me in the temple, and went about to kill me." Now wait a minute. The Jews caught him. It's not that the people caught him. And you have to remember Paul was a Benjamite and the Benjamites had their inheritance in the southern kingdom. But now Paul says, "I'm not one of them. It's the Jews and they are trying to kill me." Hmm. Well, who are these Jews? Look at John 7:1. I gave you this verse once before but I want you to see it again. John 7:1. Look what the Bible says. John 7:1, "After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him." Wait a minute. The Jews sought to kill him. Now how could Jesus Christ be a Jew if the Jews are trying to kill him? Obviously he is not a Jew.

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• That's why they're trying to kill him. He may have been from the tribe of Judah. He may have been born in Judea, but he was not a religious Jew. That's why they were trying to kill him. Now here's my question. What did Christ think of these Jews? What was His attitude? Well, look in Matthew chapter 12 if you would please. Matthew 12:34. In fact, before we read verse 34, let's go down to verse 24. Watch Matthew 12:24. "But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils." Skip down to verse 34. Now you know who he is talking to.

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• And our Lord says, "O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." Just like John the Baptist, he called them a bunch of vipers.

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• Now, look in your Bibles to Matthew 23 and verse 33, and then we're going back to verse 13. I'm just going to show you what Christ thought of these Jews. Notice, if you would, Matthew 23:33. We'll come back here. Our Lord says to the Jews, "Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?" Well, who is he talking to? Let's go back to verse 13.

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• "But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon.

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• And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon. Woe 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.

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• Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. Woe 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. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.

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• Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?"

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• Now let me ask you a question, do you think that Jesus Christ is speaking complimentary to these people? Of course not! Vipers, serpents, whited sepulchres, rotten on the inside, blind guides, fools. He didn't think too highly of them. Now, who were these people and why is Christ condemning them so? You have to understand this: there were indeed some godly Judahites and Judeans. And we are told that Aquila and Priscilla were believing Judahites. The Bible tells us in Acts chapter 18 verses 1-3, "After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth; And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla." And of course he abode with them, because they were tentmakers. Paul was a tentmaker. But here was Aquila and Priscilla. And then of course there was Apollos who was another godly Jew because in Acts 18:24 the Bible tells us there that he was a mighty orator and mighty in the scripture and he convinced many that Jesus Christ was indeed the Messiah.

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• So the point that I'm trying to make is this. There were godly believers from Judah and Jerusalem. There's no two ways about that. But these godly believers are always distinguished from the Jews. Wow. If you ask me who were these Jews, I'm gonna answer this next week for you. But let me tell you, the answer is these Jews that our Lord is condemning to hell, John the Baptist is calling a bunch of vipers—these Jews

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• were the ones who caused all the trouble and heartache to Christ and His apostles in the New Testament. Listen carefully, and they're the same group today who are causing the same problems in our world. They are the elite. They are the clique. They are the powerful. It hasn't changed. Now listen, our Lord told His disciples in Acts 1:8 before He ascended into Heaven, He said, "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea,

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• and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." The Gospel began in Jerusalem and Judea, but thankfully it did not end there. And listen, the gospel is not the gospel of the Jews. The gospel is the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Savior of His people. And let me point out, I do not care who you are. I don't care if you're a Jew or a Judahite or a Judean. I don't care who you are or what you say. There is absolutely no one that will ever be saved apart from the person and work of Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone.

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• Our Lord said it plainly in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." Christ is the only way. Now I began this message with John 4:22 where Jesus looked at that Samaritan woman and said, "Salvation is of the Jews." Now, what did He mean? Actually, He said salvation is of the Judahites. And was He a Judahite? Yes. Was He from the tribe of Judah? Yes. What does He say? "Salvation is of the Judahites." Here I am. I am salvation. I am the Lion of the tribe of Judah, and I have brought salvation. Do you realize that all of the covenants of the fathers were confirmed and ratified in Jesus Christ? Listen carefully, in Romans 15:8, "Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers." So Jesus Christ confirmed them all, He fulfilled them all, He ratified them all, He worked them out.

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• Here is John Calvin's comment on John 4:22. When Christ said, "Salvation is of the Jews," Calvin comments and he says this: "By these words he means that they have the superiority in this respect, that God had made with them a covenant of eternal salvation. Some restrict this to Christ who was descended from the Judahites, and indeed since all the promises of God were confirmed and ratified in him, there is no salvation but in him." And that is true.

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• One last passage, I want you to look in 2 Corinthians 1. 2 Corinthians 1. Here is what the scripture teaches concerning Christ. 2 Corinthians 1. Notice if you would please beginning there with verse 19. 2 Corinthians 1:19. The Apostle Paul says, "For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea. For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us." What did Christ do? He confirmed, He ratified all the promises of God, and everything in Christ Jesus is yea and amen. And what did the Apostle Paul say in Ephesians 1? That God hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Jesus Christ is Lord. Jesus Christ is God. And there is a distinction in the Bible between the Jews and those who believed the gospel of Jesus Christ.

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• Father, we ask that you help us today. We ask that you teach us, build us up in the most holy faith. Give us your grace. Give us your mercy. Help us, deliver us, we pray in Christ's name. Amen.

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T22:44:21Z