16 But not all of them welcomed the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” 17 Consequently, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.
18 But I ask, did they not hear? Indeed they did:
“Their voice has gone out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.”19 I ask instead, did Israel not understand? First, Moses says:
“I will make you jealous by those who are not a nation;
I will make you angry by a nation without understanding.”20 And Isaiah boldly says:
“I was found by those who did not seek Me;
I revealed Myself to those who did not ask for Me.”21 But as for Israel he says:
“All day long I have held out My hands
to a disobedient and obstinate people.”
REFLECTIONS
Written by Sarah Armstrong
Today’s passage reminds us of the importance of the word of God (the Bible). In verse 17 Paul says, “Consequently, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” Believing and trusting Jesus and His word is the only way to have faith, and to be saved. That is true of all of us, Jew or Gentile.
In this passage, Paul is talking about the Jews specifically. Remember, from verse 1, he said his “heart’s desire and prayer to God” was that the Israelites would be saved. Now, Paul gives examples from the Old Testament where it was clear that the Israelites had been given many opportunities to hear and understand the word of God. Psalm 19 said that the word of God has gone into all the earth. In Isaiah, God said that he had revealed himself to those who were not seeking him, but the Israelites had shown themselves to be “a disobedient and obstinate people.”
This passage has challenged me in two ways.
First, I reread verse 21 several times. How often, like the Israelites, do I ignore the word of God and not give it the appropriate reverence? How often do I fail to take time to meditate on it and ask God to help me to actively understand what it is saying? Perhaps like me, you need to repent – but as we do, we can also thank God for his forgiveness through Jesus and remember how he continues to hold out his hand to us.
Secondly, I am reminded that God has no grandchildren. Even though the Israelites were God’s special old covenant people, not all of them are saved, but only those who have come to faith from hearing the message and believing the word about Christ. We need to be praying for our friends, family and those around us who need to hear and believe the word about Christ. But today, let’s pray specifically for our church’s young people, who are growing up hearing the word about Christ. Just like being an Israelite doesn’t guarantee salvation, being from a Christian family doesn’t mean you are saved. Our heart’s desire and prayer for these precious young people should be that they take on a personal faith in Jesus. Pray also for their parents and key Christians in their lives to love them and teach them the word about Christ.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sarah is our parish administrator.