Matthew 21:43 says that God will take His kingdom away from those who reject His Son. Some people use that verse to argue that Israel is no longer God’s chosen people. Is that what it means? Let’s look at the verse in context:
Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”
Matthew 21:42–44
This comes right after a parable Jesus told about tenants in a vineyard who kill the owner’s son in order to steal his inheritance. The point: to reject God’s Son leads to being rejected by God.
The Kingdom of God, not the nation of Israel
Notice that it says the Kingdom of God will be taken from these people, not the kingdom or nation of Israel. Right now, those are two different things, and it’s important not to confuse them. This passage isn’t specifically about Israel, but because it applies to all mankind, Israel is absolutely included in the warning. They don’t get a free pass.
Let me be clear: rejecting Christ means the Kingdom of God, Heaven and the future New Jerusalem, is taken from you. That applies to everyone, no matter your genealogy or DNA: Americans, Jews, Greeks, Italians, anyone. There is only one way to God, and that is through Yeshua HaMashiach, Jesus the Messiah.
That’s what I believe the verse means. But using it to claim that the Jews are no longer God’s chosen people misunderstands several things.
Faith has always been the way
First, the Jews being chosen has never, at any point in history, even under the Old Covenant, meant they inherited eternal salvation through their bloodline. It has always been faith that saved, not DNA or ancestry. Even of Abraham himself the Bible says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” (I go deeper into this in Are Jews Still God’s Chosen People?)
In the Old Testament, those who were saved expressed their faith by following the commands God gave through Moses. They trusted that offering sacrifices the way God instructed would place them in right standing with Him. If they didn’t have faith and didn’t follow God’s commands, they weren’t saved simply by being Jewish. In the New Testament, we express our faith by believing in and submitting to Christ instead of the law.
When the Old Testament saints died, they went to Paradise, Abraham’s bosom, where they waited in peace and comfort for the promised Messiah. After Jesus died, He went there and proclaimed the good news of His sacrifice, and then He led the Old Testament saints out of Paradise and into Heaven.
What “chosen” means: past and future
In the past, the Jewish people were chosen to receive the oracles and revelation of God and share them with the world. They were the people through whom God revealed Himself, the ones He partnered with to carry out His plan to save all mankind. In that way, they were the family of God. God’s Son was physically born as a man through this people. Jesus’ own family, His mother, brothers, cousins, were Jewish. And they were the only people chosen to inherit a piece of land forever, and a nation that would last until Christ returns.
In the future, they have been chosen to receive salvation. As a whole, although there are many Jewish Christians, that hasn’t happened yet. But the Bible says that when Christ returns, Israel will look on Him and mourn for what they’ve done (Zechariah 12:10), and that all Israel will be saved (Romans 11:26). No other nation or people has that promise. They are uniquely chosen for future redemption. Christ will also rule over all nations from Israel, so Israel is chosen as the host and leading nation when the returning Messiah sets up His earthly kingdom. And then, when the New Jerusalem comes, that will be the Kingdom of God.
It’s very important to note that, because of Jesus, anyone who receives Christ becomes a spiritual Jew and is adopted into God’s family, Abraham’s family. Every promise the Jews have, we now inherit as children of God and the Bride of Christ. The promises are for all of us, which was the plan all along and the reason God partnered with Abraham in the first place. Even the future home of Christian believers is the New Jerusalem.
An abuse of Scripture
So yes, the Kingdom of God is taken away from anyone who rejects Christ, Jews included. But the physical nation of Israel is not taken from them. Their ownership of the land and their right to exist as a nation are covenant promises tied to their ancestry, along with prophetic guarantees that they will endure as a nation.
So when people use Matthew 21:43 to say things like “Israel should be destroyed,” or “Palestinians should take their land,” or, like Hitler, “We need to rid the world of the Jews,” that is completely out of line and a complete abuse of Scripture.
These views are demonically inspired racism, and they are gaining momentum. Some popular voices are now saying there will never be peace in the world while Israel exists. Is that a call for genocide? A call for Jews to hand their nation to people who have said they want to murder all Jews? It’s crazy, yet these ideas are spreading.
Why Satan attacks Israel
Satan attacks Israel so relentlessly because he knows that if he could wipe out the nation of Israel, he would discredit the Bible and make God out to be a liar who breaks His promises. If God breaks His promises to the Jews, then He could break His promises to Christians.
Satan wants to destroy Israel to destroy trust in God and the Bible, and to wipe out the nation that will host the return of the Messiah. That is why I’m so vocal in my support for the Jewish people and the nation of Israel. It is God’s will and unalterable plan for them to endure, and I want to align myself with Him.
