Who is a Jew? 30 pages. In Romans 2:28, 29 Paul tells us who IS a Jew and who is NOT a Jew. God's answer to this question cannot be obtained by looking at one's genetics, but by the lawful requirements of citizenship in a tribe of Israel. This shows how those Jews who accepted Christ and all others who accept Him as King-Messiah have legally joined the tribe of Judah and are thus "Jews". On the other hand, those who have rejected Him are NOT Jews at all, because they have revolted against the King of Judah and have forfeited their citizenship in Judah. • Chapter 1: The Two Fig Trees of Judah • Chapter 2: Genealogical and Converted Jews Chapter 1 The Two Fig Trees of Judah There are essentially two definitions of the term “Jew.” There is man’s definition, and there is God’s definition. Of course, even Jews today have differences of opinion on how to define a Jew—whether it is a racial, cultural, or a religious term. Some argue that a person is a Jew if their mother is a Jew; others say a person is a Jew if either parent is one. There are also many “secular Jews,” who do not even believe in God, but share a cultural heritage. Religious Jews debate about whether these secular Jews are really Jews or not. Further, Judaism is divided into three main divisions: Orthodox, Reformed, and Conservative. Many claim that they must be of their denomination to be a true Jew. Such a debate is not much different from Christian denominations, many of whom do not recognize other sects as being true Christians. Man’s definitions of a “Jew” must be taken seriously, but the real issue before us is how God defines a Jew. The clearest statement in the New Testament on this question is found in Romans 2:28, 29, 28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly; neither is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. 29 But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God. Here Paul tells us pointedly who IS a Jew and who IS NOT a Jew. He does not base his definition upon men’s views, for most men in his day considered a Jew to be one who followed the leaders of the temple in Jerusalem, who had rejected Jesus. Paul’s opinion would have been hotly contested by the temple priests. They defined a Jew in terms of outward circumcision—that is, according to the sign of the Old Covenant that the people had broken and which had been made null and void. Paul knew this, because he had been raised and educated in that viewpoint. So it is particularly significant that Paul rejected this definition of a Jew. He said that a Jew was one who had the circumcision of the heart—the sign of the New Covenant. Paul did NOT say that a Jew was one with outward circumcision, while a Christian was one with the inward circumcision. Not at all. He said clearly, “he is a Jew who is one inwardly.” To a temple priest, this was rank heresy, of course. It was a genuine difference of opinion. We do not expect such “Jews” then or today to accept Paul’s definition. But Christians who claim to believe the New Testament ought not to disagree with Paul. We understand that Paul’s definition was based purely upon biblical law—the very law that the temple priests claimed to believe, but which, in fact, they had violated. But before we can understand how the divine law itself defines a biblical Jew, we must again give the background material that Paul had studied. Jeremiah’s Revelation The tribe of Judah consisted of two types of Judahites: good and bad. The good side of Judah was to receive the dominion mandate, while the bad side was to be rejected by God. This picture fully emerges in the prophecies of Jeremiah. The main portrait of these two “trees” is found in Jeremiah 24, which speaks of the nation of Judah being like two baskets of figs. One basket contained very good figs; the other contained very rotten figs that could not be eaten. Jeremiah tells us of these in the first verses of Jeremiah 24, 1 After Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the officials of Judah with the craftsmen and smiths from Jerusalem and had brought them to Babylon, the Lord showed me: behold, two baskets of figs set before the temple of the Lord! 2 One basket had very good figs, like first-ripe figs; and the other basket had very bad figs, which could not be eaten due to rottenness. God then told the prophet the explanation of this revelation. The nation had long been in rebellion against God, even while hypocritically worshipping in the temple. God had sent prophets to them, but they had refused to listen and even stoned many of them for giving words of correction. So God pronounced a sentence of judgment upon the nation in Jeremiah 7:1-15, saying that He was going to reject Jerusalem even as He had previously rejected Shiloh. Shiloh was the place that God forsook in the days of Eli the high priest. On the day that the Philistines captured the Ark of the Covenant, Eli’s daughter-in-law gave birth to a son, who was named Ichabod, “the glory has departed” (1 Sam. 3:22)). God’s presence departed from Shiloh and never returned. The Ark was later taken to Jerusalem, where the glory returned in the days of Solomon (2 Chron. 5:13, 14). Two centuries later, God told the prophet Jeremiah that because the people had turned Solomon’s temple into a den of robbers, He was going to forsake Jerusalem like He had forsaken Shiloh. (This was fulfilled in Ezekiel 10:18 and 11:22, 23.) God then tells Jeremiah in verse 16, 16 As for you, do not pray for this people, and do not lift up cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with Me; for I do not hear you. Once the sentence of judgment has been rendered in the Divine Court, there can be no reversal of judgment. If Jeremiah had continued to pray or intercede for Judah, he would have shown himself to be in disagreement with God. This did not mean that he could not pray that more individual people be spared in the judgment to come. But he could no longer pray that the nation itself would be spared from destruction, nor could he pray that the glory of God would return to a physical temple in Jerusalem. With this background, we come to Jeremiah 24, where we see the revelation of God showing the different types of judgment that He would mete toward two kinds of individual Judahites. The basket of good figs were those men of Judah who submitted to the judgment of God and who went to Babylon into captivity. Their judgment was for a good end, because they submitted to the decision of the Divine Court. God said that He would bring them back to the land and “give them a heart to know Me” (24:7). The basket of bad figs, however, represented those men of Judah who refused to submit to the king of Babylon—that is, they refused to submit to the judgment of God. God said of these bad figs, 8 But like the bad figs which cannot be eaten due to rottenness—indeed, thus says the Lord—so I will abandon Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials, and the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and the ones who dwell in the land of Egypt. 9 And I will make them a terror and an evil for all the kingdoms of the earth, as a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse in all places where I shall scatter them. 10 And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence upon them until they are destroyed from the land which I gave to them and to their forefathers. What a contrast! The fig tree was, of course, the symbol of the nation of Judah. But it is apparent that the two baskets of figs came from two different fig trees. Jesus clearly saw both types of Judahites in His day, for He said in Matt. 7:17-20, 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit; but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So then, you will know them by their fruits. The good tree brought forth good fruit; the bad tree bore bad fruit. Both are of Judah, but there was a clear division between the people represented by these trees. The good figs were those who submitted to His judgment—the Babylonian captivity—rather than fight. The bad figs, however, rejected God’s judgment and refused to view Nebuchadnezzar as God’s “servant” (Jer. 27:6). This is clear from a simple reading of Jeremiah 24 through chapter 30. It is, of course, no surprise that Judah would consist of believers (good figs) and rebellious unbelievers (evil figs).