What advantage then has the Jew, Part 1

Paul's answer to that, in Romans 2, was, "much in every way, for they are the oracles of God". Paul even went so far as to say, "I would rather be condemned for my brethren, Israel's sake".

As for the apostles, well suffice to say that they agonized over their Jewish roots. Peter had a vision that led him to the gentiles, but he could not go that far without offending his loyalty to the Jews. That resulted in a major rift between Peter and Paul, which led to a conference presided over by James, the brother of Jesus. After much debate, James pronounced that there could be no doubting G-d's desire to reach out to the Gentiles, but in doing so, he instructed that the same Gentiles should be obliged to live lives that were sensitive to Jewish culture, in terms of clean living and noble conduct.

Later in Romans, Paul makes the point that the Gentiles were grafted into the root stock. We were never the original root-stock of the olive tree, the Jews were. We are not natural branches, they are. We were grafted in, they were always there. I could go on. Jesus expressly came for lost house of Israel and he was actually disinclined to help gentiles. He also defended the ordinary Jew from Pharisaic excesses, and in His death He meticulously honored every jot and tittle of the law and prophets.

The book of Hebrews, written to and for the Hebrews, is a sensitive treatise on the basic limitations of the law, which by virtue of the weakness of the flesh was unable to resolve the conscience. Jews may deem it to be anti-Semitic, but it is anything but. The writer's entire defense is rooted and grounded in Jewish history. In so doing he vindicates and honors what went before but then builds on that to arrive at a logical conclusion.

As for me, well I am but a Gentile dog. I have oft envied Jews and their families, knowing that they have the history, values, culture and mystique that drove Ruth to stake her own claim on Abraham's dynasty. They, unlike us, honor their festivals, keep their Sabbaths, love family, defend their flag and country and raise their children in holy traditions. Why then do some interpret the New Testament as anti-Semitic and the Christian agenda as an act of assimilation, in the way that has now prompted me to write this apologetic?

(c) Peter Eleazar @ http://www.4u2live.net/
Part 2: http://www.4u2live.net/2010/07/what-advantage-then-has-jew-part-2.html