The way that leads to peace
by Hartmut Renz, Evangeliumsdienst, Germany
Threatened from the outside and split from within – that is the situation we find in Israel today. Almost two thousand years ago Jesus lamented in a similar peaceless situation: “If only you had known this day the way that leads to peace“ (Luke 19,41)! The gospels report twice that Jesus wept. At Lazarus’ tomb he wept because he was angry over the power of death (John 11:35). At his entry in Jerusalem he shed tears of pain because of the blindness of his people who as a majority had rejected him and his mission. With rejecting him it also had rejected the peace God had in mind for them.
Today Jewish voices like to reject the faith in Jesus reasoning: “If Jesus had been the Messiah, then with him the messianic redemptive age would have begun and the world would look different”. This is an intellectual shortage, because there is no messianic kingdom without the Messiah. With the Messiah Israel has also rejected the salvation he brought. Therefore it’s no wonder that the fulfilment of the end time promises of redemption given through the prophets is still to come. And it will not be fulfilled until Israel and the world will recognize, “the way that leads to peace”, that is to bow under the merciful lordship of the prince of peace sent by God, Jesus of Nazareth.
The invitation to enter into faith in Jesus is the best service we can do to Israel and the best contribution to peace we can give. The question remains: Is the salvation of Israel as much on our hearts, the Christians from the nations, as it was on the heart of Jesus. Jesus wept in pain over the spiritual blindness of Israel, but as it appears to me, most Christians can live well with that condition. Some people fundamentally contest that God expects the Jews to believe in Jesus. Others claim that Israel is not able to believe in Messiah, because God has blinded them. This blindness will only disappear when “they look upon him whom they have pierced”. (Sach. 12:10). From the lamentation of Jesus: “But now it is hidden from your sight” they follow that Jews only have the chance to believe in him when Jesus returns. That of course is in strong contrast to the promise and mission Jesus gave his disciples: “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all of Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
Jesus wept over the situation that God had hidden his salvation from those who had rejected him first and he struggled with passion so that as many as possible would open their hearts to him. I am over and over again affected deeply about how few christians let themselves set on fire by the example Jesus gave. They are as blind as the ones over whom Jesus wept. Let us continue to struggle and pray that they finally recognize what belongs to Israel’s and our peace.
Hartmut Renz
hrenz@evangeliumsdienst.de
hrenz@evangeliumsdienst.de