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By James Quansah
In a previous article, I examined four key reasons why the majority of the people of Israel rejected Jesus Christ as the promised Messiah.
We discussed how Jesus challenged the religious traditions and practices of the Jewish leaders and how He did not lead a military rebellion against the Roman occupation to liberate the Israelites from oppression.
Furthermore, Jesus challenged the misuse of wealth and the commercialisation of religion, while some of His teachings were difficult for His hearers to understand and accept.
However, a careful study of the Bible reveals a deeper spiritual problem that contributed to Israel’s rejection of Jesus, even though a remnant believed in Him and received salvation.
Specifically, Israel’s rejection of Jesus was rooted in spiritual blindness and the hardening of their hearts. In Romans 11, the apostle Paul explains that many Israelites failed to recognise Jesus because they had been hardened and given a spirit of stupor, which made them spiritually insensitive and unable to perceive the truth.
Paul writes:
“Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, as it is written, ‘God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day.’” (Romans 11:7–8).
We must understand that this partial hardening of Israel was not without divine purpose. Rather, it formed part of God’s plan to extend the gift of salvation to the Gentile nations through the preaching of the gospel.
Paul further explains this divine mystery:
“Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” (Romans 11:25).
Clearly, Paul’s explanation reveals that Israel’s rejection of Jesus was connected to spiritual blindness and the hardening of their hearts. Consequently, many Israelites could not recognise Jesus as the promised Messiah, despite the prophecies concerning Him and the signs that accompanied His ministry.
Nevertheless, this hardening was only partial, as some Israelites believed in Jesus and became part of the community of believers. More importantly, it served God’s greater purpose of making salvation available to the Gentiles while leaving room for Israel’s eventual restoration, as Paul goes on to explain in Romans 11:26.
