Steve Conover: Hi, I’m Steve Conover, executive director here at The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry and you’re listening to The Friends of Israel Today. What you’re about to hear is a rebroadcast of a program we believe is just as meaningful today as when it first aired. Thanks for listening.

Chris Katulka: Today we're going to answer a very important question, especially for the time that we live in today. As the hatred of the Jewish people is on the rise around the world and the hatred of Israel is being screamed from the mouths of protesters on college campuses, the question is this, was Jesus a Zionist? Well, maybe you're saying to yourself, what in the world is a Zionist? Well, let's start there so then we can give some more definition to the question that we have to answer.

A Zionist is one who believes that the Jewish people have a right to live in the land of Israel. So if you believe the Jewish people have a right to live in their ancestral homeland, which is Israel, then that makes you a Zionist. It's the belief that the land of Israel and the Jewish people are connected together and cannot be separated. And if they are separated, well then because of what the scriptures teach, they will at some point come back together. They will at some point return.

Now, this understanding of Zionism can be worked out in two ways. First, you could look at as a political endeavor, which many people do, the political aspirations of the Jewish people to live in their homeland after being kicked out several thousand years ago. The early Jewish Zionists of the late 19th century had political aspirations to reestablish a Jewish homeland in Israel. Men like Theodor Herzl, a secular Jewish man, saw the rise of anti-Semitism in Europe in the late 1800s and determined to establish a Jewish state in their ancestral homeland so they could defend themselves when countries where Jewish people lived actually would turn against them, which is also called anti-Semitism. Herzl is called the father of modern Zionism. Even in the late 1800s, Herzl saw the Holocaust coming on the horizon. He dedicated the remaining years of his life to the political side of Zionism. He appealed to world leaders to allow the Jewish people to return to their land, not by force, but through a strategy that the world nations would approve.

Now, the other side of Zionism is the one that I'm on and the friends of Israel is on. Of course, politically I believe Zionism matters, but my basis for understanding Zionism isn't grounded in the politics. It's actually grounded in the Scriptures. I believe the Bible shows that God has a plan for Israel and the Jewish people, that his chosen people matter, and the land he promised them is significant to his plan of salvation.

So I guess my goal today is to show you from the Gospel accounts that Jesus actually, he was in fact a Zionist. He believed the land God promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob mattered. So here, let me show you. When Jesus was teaching his disciples and leading them throughout the land of Israel, he gave them strict instructions on who to minister to and where to minister. Okay, so first, Jesus tells his disciples in Matthew chapter 10, "'Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel.' When Jesus sent out his disciples, he sent them out to minister to the Jewish people. The message of repentance and the nearness of the coming kingdom was given, right there it says, "to the Jewish people first."

Look, that doesn't mean Jesus ignored other people. He constantly hinted at a broader mission to the world. When the Syrophoenician woman approaches Jesus to be healed, Jesus tells her that his mission is to Israel. He says this in Matthew 15, he says, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel." But then she testifies to Jesus that he is the Jewish Messiah and that even the dogs eat from the crumbs that fall from the Master's table, submitting herself as a Gentile to the promised Messiah. Her faith and acknowledgement of Israel's position and God's plan compelled Jesus to heal her. It was her faith. He did that to other Gentiles as well throughout the gospel accounts. But Jesus highlights that his message is to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Now, you might be saying, okay, but that still highlights the people and not the land. Well, if you dig a little bit deeper into the text, when Jesus says in Matthew chapter 10 that this message is for the lost sheep of the house of Israel, he also places geographical boundaries on where they should go. Listen to the two verses on both the who and where the disciples were to go minister. Matthew 10:5, it says, "These twelve, Jesus sent out with the following instructions. 'Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, proclaim this message, the kingdom of heaven has come near, heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, and drive out demons. Freely you have received. Freely give.'" Did you hear Jesus go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel? Do not go among the Gentiles and do not enter the town of the Samaritans.

Now remember in Jesus's day 2000 years ago, there wasn't much commingling among peoples of different backgrounds or religions. The Samaritans didn't mingle with the Jewish people. The Jewish people didn't mingle with the pagans or the Gentiles. They all lived in the land of Israel that was promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but they lived in isolated communities from one another for the most part.

Now remember when Jesus did go to Samaria to minister to the Samaritan woman at the well in John chapter four, the Samaritan, if you remember her, that woman was shocked to find that a Jewish man was in Samaria. Why? Because Jews didn't go through Samaria, but Jesus did to let the woman know, watch this, salvation is coming and salvation is of the Jews, but that's an entirely different message that we're going to have to do another time. The point was that Jesus put geographical boundaries on who and where the disciples were to minister because the land and the people matter, the land still matters to Jesus.

In fact, when Jesus is giving the Beatitudes, he says in Matthew chapter five, "Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth." Well, there are some scholars that actually believe the word, the Greek word earth is misused here. It actually would be better translated as land. Why? Well, because that Beatitude is actually grounded in Psalm 37:11 when the Psalmist writes, "But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity." The Hebrew word used in Psalm 37 for land is Eretz, which often refers to the land of Israel. Even today, Israelis call Israel Eretz Israel, the Land of Israel. Earlier the psalmist tells readers, "Trust in the Lord and do good, dwell in the Eretz," dwell in the land, that's Israel, "and enjoy safe pasture.

So clearly the psalmist is thinking about the land of Israel. So when Jesus uses Psalm 37:11 and his Beatitudes, he's not saying that the meek will inherit the whole earth. He's saying the meek will inherit the heart, the land of Israel. Who was he talking to when he gave the Beatitudes? He was talking to the Jewish people at the Sermon on the Mount. And I believe the land of Israel was always on Jesus' mind. Why? Well, he was proclaiming to be the king of Israel, the son of David, the Messiah. Jesus claimed to be the king of Israel who is in the line of David grounding himself in a promise that God made to King David in 2 Samuel 7, which is rooted where? In the land. God promised David that he would one day have a descendant who would rule over David's throne on a kingdom.

And earlier God says to David in 2 Samuel 7, "I will provide a place for my people Israel and plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed." Do you know what God is talking about there in this amazing promise to King David, God is saying, he's talking about planting His chosen people in His chosen land, the Land of Israel. So Jesus being born the Son of David, according to what Matthew teaches, is revealing his concern for the land where God would plant his people forever. See, Jesus didn't come to nullify the purpose of the land of Israel. He came to fulfill it. And we're going to take a quick break. So I want you to stick around to hear more about Jesus' approach to the land of Israel from the Bible and why I believe as Jesus walked this earth and walked the land, he was certainly a Zionist.

Now listen, we're actually featuring a very important resource here at The Friends of Israel, the resource is called It Is No Dream by our former executive director, Dr. Elwood McQuaid. Dr. McQuaid wrote this book, It Is No Dream, in order to show Christians the value of Israel, the land and the people according to the promise that God made to Abraham. In this newly designed It Is No Dream, you will get not only amazing information from Dr. Elwood, McQuaid about Israel and its importance and its restoration and resurrection from Ezekiel 37, but you'll also get a fantastic layout that highlights incredible pictures of great quality about the upcoming land of Israel in 1948. Its history and also its future. I want to encourage you to get It Is No Dream by Dr. Elwood McQuaid, a fantastic resource to dive deeper into the importance of Israel and the Jewish people.

Steve Conover: How we understand the Bible really matters. And a big part of that is how we view Israel in God's plan.

Chris Katulka: Yes, Steve, exactly. And Israel plays such an important role in the Scriptures and that's why at this year's Friends of Israel's PROCLAIM Conference, we're going to be looking at A Biblical Case for Zionism. We're going to be asking a crucial question. Why should Christians care about Israel today? Because see, how you view Israel actually impacts how you understand all of Scripture.

Steve Conover: And I'm excited about this conference because it isn't just about current events or politics.

Chris Katulka: No, actually it's all about God's promises. See, if God keeps his promises to Israel, we can trust him to keep his promises to us. And that's why this issue matters so deeply, not just for us here at Friends of Israel, but for every believer.

Steve Conover: It truly comes down to knowing God, rightly knowing his Word and responding to what he loves.

Chris Katulka: And that's why we want you to join us as we study A Biblical Case for Zionism, July 17th and 18th in Winona Lake, Indiana, August 14th and 15th in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, or October 16th and 17th in Richmond, Virginia.

Steve Conover: If you've missed those dates, don't fear. You can find out more about our PROCLAIM conferences and check those dates at foiradio.org. Again, that's foiradio.org.

Chris Katulka: Welcome back everyone. We're asking a question today that deserves a discussion. Was Jesus a Zionist? Now, if you're tuning in, we've discussed in the earlier segment of the program that a Zionist is someone who believes the Jewish people have a right to exist in the land that God promised them. I personally consider myself a Christian Zionist. I believe the Jewish people today have a right to exist in their ancient homeland. Why? Because of what the Bible teaches.

Now, what we're seeing on college campuses, which is students protesting against Israel, this is called anti-Zionism. These students and protesters are actually taught to hate Israel and they scream chants like from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free. Which is really just another way of saying down with Zionism, there should be no Jewish people in the land. That's what they're saying. Why? Because the river is the Jordan River and the sea is the Mediterranean Sea. What exists between those two bodies of water is the land of Israel, the Jewish state where Jewish people live. These people are anti-Zionists.

Look, you can even see Christians undoing the importance of the land of Israel in the Bible. The promise that God made to Abraham and his descendants in the beginning of the Bible, which was given to the chosen people, a land, the Land of Israel, you can read about it in Genesis 12 and 15. But instead of valuing the promise and seeing Jesus's heart for his people and the land, Christian scholars teach that God is through with the national promises to Israel. And with that goes the land too.

Scholar Kenneth Gentry has a new commentary out on the book of Revelation, and do you know what it's called? It's so fascinating. It's called The Divorce of Israel. Listen to the description of this book. "The Divorce of Israel presents a redemptive historical approach to Revelation. In it, John presents a forensic drama wherein God is divorcing his old covenant wife Israel so that he can take a new wife, the new covenant Israel of God composed of Jew and Gentile alike. Thus, Revelation presents the vitally important redemptive historical transition from the land-based, ethnically focused temple dominated old covenant economy to its worldwide pan-ethnic, spiritual, new covenant fulfillment. And it does so by highlighting God's judgment upon first century geopolitical Israel.

"Ay. But see, when Jesus and his disciples," watch this, "were making their trip down to Jerusalem, the one that would be Jesus's final trip to Jerusalem and the gospels, the disciples admit to Jesus that they had left everything behind to follow him. And Peter asks this of Jesus, 'What then will there be for us?' And Jesus responds to Peter, "Truly, I tell you at the renewal of all things, when the Son of man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on 12 thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel.'"

People, you who have followed me will sit on 12 thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel. First Jesus is saying when he sits on his glorious throne, well, what is that glorious throne Jesus is talking about? It's the promised throne that goes again, back to David in 2 Samuel 7 when one of David's descendants, that's Jesus, would sit on his throne. Well, where was David's throne? It was in the capital of the Land of Israel, Jerusalem. So Jesus is saying, "When I sit on my throne as the King of Israel, you 12 disciples will rule and judge next to me," over what? The 12 tribes of Israel. Friends, all the literary gymnastics people do to try to undo that statement will make you dizzy. Jesus just said that when he returns to rule from Jerusalem, the Jewish apostles will rule and judge the 12 tribes of Israel.

You can't spiritualize that. Jesus is not only talking about the 12 tribes as not only the people of Israel, but also the land allotments given to them that go back to the Torah, the first five books of Moses. Was Jesus a Zionist in the gospels? I certainly would say so. Look, he even wept over the city of Jerusalem and the people. So the land and the people he's weeping over. Why? Because he knew the peace, the shalom that would've come if they would've accepted their king, the Messiah, Jesus. But does Jesus divorce Israel and the promises of God? No. Instead, he's weeping and he cries out.

Earlier in Luke, Jesus says this to Israel, "Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." Yes, Jesus judges Israel, but did Jesus abandon the promise of God, which includes the land? Never. In fact, he tells the nation of Israel, "You will not see me again until you say blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord," from Psalm 118. Jesus's way of saying God's not through with the nation of Israel, the land and the people. In fact, do you know what he's saying? He's saying, I'll be back.

Steve Conover: Chris, we believe he will be back. One thing I've been thinking a lot about since October 7th is that if the promises of the land were everlasting and literal, how we should think of as Christians, we don't doubt when Jesus tells us that we have everlasting life as Christians, we don't doubt that our salvation's everlasting. So if the game were to change for Israel, why would we think it wouldn't change for us?

Chris Katulka: That's the whole point, is that the promises are grounded in Genesis 12 and Genesis 15, not in actually a covenant that God makes with Abraham like shaking a hand. It's actually a promise that God makes against himself. It's a promise that can't be undone because it's his name that is upheld. He had nothing else to sign or anything else that's greater than his own name. So that's why he was the only one who wrote his name on the promise that God made to Abraham. So Abraham could fail, Isaac could fail, Jacob would fail, all the failures of the Old Testament, it doesn't matter. Do you know why? Because God's name is what's routed back to that original promise. It's all grounded on his reputation, not Israel's reputation. And for my salvation, not my reputation, it's all grounded in grace in His reputation.

Steve Conover: Now, Apples of Gold, a dramatic reading from the life and ministry of Holocaust survivor, Zvi Kalisher.

Mike Kellogg: Israel is a small country and at times we feel as if we are sheep among wolves. But even though we are small, we remain strong because the Lord is with us. Most people living in Israel, both Jews and Arabs, do not know the Lord. We believers are God's witnesses to tell them of that love. One day some of my Arab neighbors came to my home extremely upset, saying, "How can we receive Bibles when they include the New Testament?" And were very confused. So I said, "Before you receive the Bible, I will explain it to you if you wish." They agreed and appreciated my help.

I then opened my New Testament and told them how to put their faith in the Lord Jesus. The mention of that name surprised them and they asked, "How can you speak about Jesus? You are a Jew." So began a long discussion about faith in the Lord Jesus and the difference between faith by the sword and faith by love. I told them, "Your faith comes by the sword. And those who do not believe as you do are killed. God has given freedom to every creature. He has said, 'I have loved you with an everlasting love.' Jeremiah 31."

One Arab remarked, "God said that only to the people of Israel." I quickly turned to John 3:16 to prove that God's love is available to all nations, including the Arabs. It is written, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," Mark 12:31. It does not say love the Jew or the American, but not the Arab. Then they wanted to know how I came to believe in the Lord since I am Jewish, I replied, "Our faith did not come from propaganda literature or by force, but by God's mercy and love. You as Arabs came to me a Jew, and I received you as my best friends, even though I know you hate me with all your hearts. But the Lord said we're to love those who hate us and pray for them because love is of God."

Still not understanding what I meant one asked, "Why do you serve in the army if you love your enemies?" I explained, "I serve because I'm a citizen of Israel. Even Jesus had rendered to Caesar the things that are Caesars and to God the things that are God's." Matthew 22:21. I then related an incident that occurred during the 1967 Six-Day War. I went to the home of a wealthy Arab family and found gold and diamonds worth millions of dollars. The owners were afraid I would take their possessions, but I assured them I am only looking for guns and ammunition. But if a soldier who was not a believer had come to search your home, your possessions would've been taken.

As I finished my story, I explained to my guests, "This is the big difference between those who believe in Jesus and those who do not, and it does not matter if they're Jews, Arabs, or any other nationality." They did not believe my story. So I offered to take them to the home of this Arab family so that they could ask them about it themselves. But they finally accepted the fact that even war cannot break our love for our enemy because the love of our Savior is in us. Please pray that these Arab neighbors and the thousands of other Arabs in Israel will be reached with the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Steve Conover: Thank you for joining us for today's episode of The Friends of Israel Today. Next week we'll continue our series. Chris, where are we headed?

Chris Katulka: Yeah, so this week we looked at “was Jesus' Zionist?” So we looked at just a few biblical texts, just a handful. Next week we're going to look at “is Jesus's Zionist?” in the Church age. That was the Gospels. But now Jesus is sitting at the right hand of the Father. What does the New Testament say about the Land of Israel and the promises that God made through the Prophet? So is Jesus a Zionist even today as he's sitting at the right hand of the Father? We'll have to take a look and see.

Steve Conover: Yeah, that's a great question. We hope you join us next week. Our host and teacher is Chris Katulka. Today's program was produced by Tom Gallione, engineered by Bob Beebe, edited by Jeremy Strong, who also composed and performs our theme music. Mike Kellogg read Apples of Gold, and I'm Steve Conover, executive producer. Our mailing address is FOI Radio PO Box 914, Bellmawr, New Jersey 08099. Again, that's FOI Radio PO Box 914, Bellmawr, New Jersey 08099. Our web address is foiradio.org Again, that's foiradio.org. Or you can call our listener line. That number is 888-343-6940. Again, that's 888-343-6940. The Friends of Israel Today is a production of The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry. We are a worldwide evangelical ministry, proclaiming biblical truth about Israel and the Messiah, while bringing physical and spiritual comfort to the Jewish people.