Thread by @RabbiHarvey

Told you I was in a teaching mood. How about we read one of the anti-Jewish passages of the New Testament that gave birth to supersessionism and replacement theology? Very interested to see how my Christian friends wrestle with these words:
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So just as a reminder, Supersessionism, also called replacement theology or fulfillment theology is a Christian theology which asserts that the New Covenant through Jesus Christ has superseded or replaced the Mosaic covenant exclusive to the Jews. /1

Supersessionist theology also holds that the universal Christian Church has succeeded ancient Israel as God's true Israel and that Christians have succeeded the ancient Israelites as the people of God. It also contains within it the idea that the Jews are "blind".../2

...to their own texts, with Christians being able to know Jewish texts better than the Jews themselves. We see all of these elements in Paul's writings within Romans, Chapter 10. I'm going to redact it of course because Paul is a bit of a long-talker 😂 /3

Romans 10: "Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. For I can testify that they have a zeal for God, but it is not based on knowledge." Let's start here. Paul is saying that Jews need to be saved, but from whom? /4

As we go on we will see that Paul believes that Jews are responsible for their own failure. The text continues:
"Not knowing the righteousness of God and seeking to establish their own, they have not submitted to God’s righteousness…."
Here Paul is saying that the Jews.../5

...are "missing" something in their understanding of God, and have no understanding of righteousness as it pertains to God.
"For 'everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.' But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed?".../6

"And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent?...But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have:"
Ah, here it is. Jews have seen but not heard/7

...in their own texts!
“Their voice has gone out to all the earth and their words to the ends of the world.” Again I ask, did Israel not understand?...But of Israel he says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.”
Ouch! Paul tells us.../8

...That not only did the Jews read their text wrong, that followers of Jesus could see the messianic elements clear as day, but that the Jews, in doing so, were disobedient and contrary, a stubborn people who, Paul says, sought to "establish their own" righteousness.../9

...a righteousness out of God's sight and creation. In other words, Paul here makes it clear that the Jews have, they themselves, distanced themselves from God and God's teachings, and their failure is entirely on them. A Christian who reads this quite possibly would then/10

...see what Paul is trying to say, that not only do Jews need to be "saved" but saved from their own disobedience!
This is just one of the MANY texts in the NT that birthed harmful messages of superessionism that exist to this day. /11
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