A Walk Through Salvation History (part 1): “Salvation is from the Jews”

I wanted to begin a series of posts on Salvation history, for I find it all to be very fascinating. Perhaps what thrills me the most is the way in which God really has been (and continues to be) the author of history, despite all of the sins and shortcomings of his children. This was certainly true of the Jews, of their history plagued by many sins and failures to live up to the demands of the covenants that God made with Israel; and yet God was always there, maintaining his presence in their pilgrimages, preparing the way for the Messiah. This is still true today, since the Messiah's coming: God still leads his people, and saves them. No doubt the history of our Salvation is a history of very many atrocious sins and crimes against God. But through it all, God is still the author of history – and the author of our Salvation. And this is what I find to be most fascinating: God does this in ways that only God can.

“Salvation is from the Jews” (John 4:22).

Salvation history does not begin with the birth of Christianity. The words quoted above are from Jesus, upon speaking with the Samaritan woman at the well. In no uncertain terms, he tells the woman the importance of the Jewish people in Salvation history. Jesus explains to her how the Father seeks true worshippers, “in spirit and in truth” (see John 4:21-21). The woman, in turn, relays to Jesus her understanding of the expectation of the Messiah: “I know the Messiah (called Christ) is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”

“Then Jesus declared to her, ‘I who speak to you am he’” (John 4:25-26).

“Salvation is from the Jews.” What does this mean? It means that Salvation history begins with the history of the Jewish people. It is Israel’s history that prepares the way for the Lord – and for us. This preparation is perhaps best seen through the different covenants that God made with humanity in history. This is important because at the culmination of these covenants is our covenant with God through Jesus Christ:

“Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. This is the blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins’” (Matthew 26:27-28).

In a very real sense, these words of Jesus, which were spoken at the Last Supper, already have a rich history and meaning for Israel. They are reminiscent of the “blood of the covenant” at Sinai (Exodus 24:8). Here at the Last Supper, however, Jesus is instituting a New Covenant (see Luke 202:20; 1 Corinthians 11:25), which fulfills this old covenant (cf. Hebrews 8:13, 9:15). So it is therefore necessary for us to view Salvation history in the light of these great covenants that God made with his people – that will be the task of my succeeding posts.