# Jesus Christ: God’s True Israel Part 2

- Link: https://lordjesuschristreigns.blog/2025/08/28/jesus-christ-gods-true-israel-part-2/
- Published: 2025-08-28T10:25:08-07:00
- Author: LordJesusChristReigns

This is a continuation of a previous post: [**JESUS: THE TRUE ISRAEL OF GOD**.](https://lordjesuschristreigns.blog/2025/08/27/jesus-the-true-israel-of-god-part-1/)

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## Two Israels

The prophet Isaiah mentions two Israels, the nation and a specific individual from
among them whom God sends to save the nation and the rest of the world:

> “He said to Me, ‘You are My Servant, Israel, in Whom I will show forth My beautiful
> glory.’ But I said, ‘I have toiled in vain; I have spent My might for nothing 
> and vanity; Yet surely the justice due to Me is with Yahweh, And My reward with
> My God.’ So now says Yahweh, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, To
> return Jacob back to Him, so that Israel might be gathered to Him (For I am glorified
> in the sight of Yahweh, And My God is My strength),”

Isaiah 49:3-5

The New Testament identifies this individual named Israel as Jesus Christ since 
it ascribes the language and characteristics of Isaiah 49 to him, as can be seen
from the following texts:

### Isaiah 49:1-2

> “Listen to Me, O coastlands, And pay attention, you peoples from afar. Yahweh 
> called Me from the womb; From the body of My mother He made My name to be remembered.
> He has set My mouth like a sharp sword; In the shadow of His hand He has concealed
> Me; And He has also set Me as a select arrow; He has hidden Me in His quiver.”

Revelation 1:16

> “and having in His right hand seven stars, and a sharp two-edged sword which comes
> out of His mouth, and His face was like the sun shining in its power.”

Revelation 2:12, 16

> “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: This is what the One who has
> the sharp two-edged sword says:… Therefore repent. But if not, I am coming to 
> you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth.”

Revelation 19:15, 21

> “And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the
> nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press
> of the wrath of the rage of God, the Almighty… And the rest were killed with the
> sword which came from the mouth of Him who sits on the horse, and all the birds
> were filled with their flesh.”

### Isaiah 49:6-7

> “He says, ‘It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the
> tribes of Jacob and to cause the preserved ones of Israel to return; I will also
> give You as a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of
> the earth.’ Thus says Yahweh, the Redeemer of Israel and its Holy One, To the 
> despised One, To the One abhorred by the nation, To the Servant of rulers, ‘Kings
> will see and arise, Princes will also bow down, Because of Yahweh who is faithful,
> the Holy One of Israel who has chosen You.’”

Luke 2:25-32

> “And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man 
> was righteous and devout, waiting for the comfort of Israel, and the Holy Spirit
> was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would
> not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came in the Spirit 
> into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to carry out 
> for Him the custom of the Law, then he took Him into his arms and blessed God,
> and said, ‘Now Master, You are releasing Your slave in peace, According to Your
> word. For my eyes have seen Your salvation, Which You prepared in the presence
> of all peoples, A Light for revelation to the Gentiles, And for the glory of Your
> people Israel.’”

### Isaiah 49:8

> “Thus says Yahweh, “In an acceptable time I have answered You, And in a day of
> salvation I have helped You; And I will guard You and give You for a covenant 
> of the people, To establish the land, to make them inherit the desolate inheritance;’”

Matthew 26:26-28

> “Now while they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke
> it. And giving it to the disciples, He said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body.’ And
> when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from
> it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for 
> many for forgiveness of sins.’”

Luke 22:19-20

> “And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to
> them, saying, ‘This is My body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance 
> of Me.’ And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This
> cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.’”

### Isaiah 49:9-10

> “Saying to those who are bound, ‘Go forth,’ To those who are in darkness, ‘Show
> yourselves.’ Along the roads they will feed, And their pasture will be on all 
> bare heights. They will not hunger or thirst, Nor will the scorching heat or sun
> strike them down; For He who has compassion on them will guide them And will lead
> them to springs of water.”

Revelation 7:16-17

> “They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on
> them, nor any heat; for the Lamb at the center of the throne will shepherd them
> and will guide them to springs of the water of life. And God will wipe every tear
> from their eyes.”

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## God’s True Vine

Another way that the New Testament describes Jesus as Israel is by referring to 
him as God’s true vine.

According to the Hebrew Bible, specifically Isaiah, Israel is called the vineyard
of God, with Judah being referenced as God’s very own plantation:

> “Let me sing now for my well-beloved a song of my beloved concerning His vineyard.
> My well-beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill. He dug it all around, removed
> its stones, and planted it with the choicest vine. And He built a tower in the
> middle of it and also hewed out a wine vat in it; Then He hoped for it to produce
> good grapes, but it produced only worthless ones. ‘So now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem
> and men of Judah, please judge between Me and My vineyard. What more was there
> to do for My vineyard that I have not done in it? Why, when I hoped for it to 
> produce good grapes did it produce worthless ones? So now let Me tell you what
> I am going to do to My vineyard: I will remove its hedge, and it will be consumed;
> I will break down its wall, and it will become trampled ground. I will lay it 
> waste; It will not be pruned or hoed, but briars and thorns will come up. I will
> also command the clouds to rain no rain on it.’ For the vineyard of Yahweh of 
> hosts is the house of Israel and the men of Judah His delightful plant. Thus He
> hoped for justice, but behold, bloodshed; For righteousness, but behold, a cry
> of distress.”

Isaiah 5:1-7

Christ alludes to Isaiah’s parable, prophesying the Jewish rulers’ rejection of 
him and God’s subsequent judgment upon them:

> “‘Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard and 
> put a wall around it and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and rented
> it out to vine-growers and went on a journey. Now when the harvest time approached,
> he sent his slaves to the vine-growers to receive his fruit. And the vine-growers
> took his slaves and beat one, and killed another, and stoned a third. Again he
> sent another group of slaves larger than the first; and they did the same thing
> to them. But afterward he sent his son to them, saying, “They will respect my 
> son.” But when the vine-growers saw the son, they said among themselves, “This
> is the heir; come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.” And they took him,
> and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. Therefore when the owner of 
> the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers?’ They said to Him, ‘
> He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and will rent out the vineyard
> to other vine-growers who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons.’
> “Jesus said to them, ‘Did you never read in the Scriptures, “The stone which the
> builders rejected, This has become the chief corner stone; This came about from
> the Lord, And it is marvelous in our eyes”? Therefore I say to you, the kingdom
> of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation, producing the fruit 
> of it. And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever
> it falls, it will scatter him like dust.’”

Matthew 21:33-44

The Lord Jesus picks up on this vine/vineyard imagery and applies it to himself:

> “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vine-grower. Every branch in Me that
> does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He cleans
> it so that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which
> I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit
> from itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide 
> in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, 
> he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not 
> abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up, and they gather them 
> and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words
> abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is
> glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.”

John 15:1-8

In light of Jesus being the true Israel of God, Israel as God intended the nation
to be, it should therefore come as no surprise that texts which speak about the 
nation are directly applied to Christ:

> “When Israel was a youth I loved him, And out of Egypt I called My son.”

Hosea 11:1

> “Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in
> a dream, saying, ‘Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and
> remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy
> Him.’ So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night,
> and departed for Egypt. And he remained there until the death of Herod, in order
> that what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled, 
> saying, ‘Out of Egypt I called My Son.’”

Matthew 2:13-15

Note the connection. As Israel was brought up from Egypt, so too was Jesus called
out of Egypt.

---

## Israel as God’s Uniquely Begotten and Beloved Son of God

This brings me to another point of similarity.

Israel is described as God’s uniquely begotten and beloved son, in fact, his very
firstborn son. This is because Israel is the first nation that God redeemed among
all the nations to become his cherished possession on the earth.

I cite the English translations of both the Hebrew and Greek versions of the OT 
passages in order to make the connection with the Greek NT writings more straightforward:

Exodus 4:22-23

> “Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “Israel is My son, My firstborn.
> So I said to you, ‘Let My son go that he may serve Me’; but you have refused to
> let him go. Behold, I will kill your son, your firstborn.”’”

LXX

> “And thou shalt say to Pharao, These things saith the Lord, Israel [is] my first-
> born son (hyios prototokos mou). And I said to thee, Send away my people, that
> they may serve me: now if thou wilt not send them away, see, I will slay thy first-
> born son (ton hyion sou ton prototokon).”

Jeremiah 31:9, 20

> “‘With weeping they will come, And by supplication I will lead them; I will make
> them walk by streams of waters, On a straight path in which they will not stumble;
> For I am a father to Israel, And Ephraim is My firstborn.’… Is Ephraim My dear
> son? Is he a delightful child? Indeed, as often as I have spoken against him, 
> I certainly still remember him; Therefore My inmost being yearns for him; I will
> surely have compassion on him,’ declares Yahweh.”

Jeremiah 38:9, 20 LXX

> “They went forth with weeping, and I will bring them back with consolation, causing
> them to lodge by the channels of waters in a straight way, and they shall not 
> err in it: for I am become a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first-born (prototokos
> mou estin)… Ephraim is a beloved son (hyios agapetos), a pleasing child to me:
> for because my words are in him, I will surely remember him: therefore I made 
> haste [to help] him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord.”

The next cases are found in what are known as the Jewish pseudepigraph and/or apocrypha:

Psalms of Solomon 18:4

> “And Thy love is toward the seed of Abraham, the children of Israel. Thy chastisement
> is upon us as upon a first-born, only-begotten son (hyion prototokon monogene),”

2 Esdras 6:58 – GNTA (Good News Translation with Apocrypha)

> “We are your people, and you have called us your first-born (ton prototokon), 
> your only child (ton monogene), your witness, your loved one (ton agapeton sou),
> but we have been handed over to the power of these other nations.”

The Latin has _primogenitum_ (“firstborn”) and _unigenitum_ (only-begotten).

Here are several English renderings of the above verse:

 * “But we, thy people, whom thou hast called thy first-born, thy only begotten,
   thy beloved [most dear] are given up into their hands.” (The Ezra-Apocalypse :
   being chapters 3-14 of the book Commonly Known as 4 Ezra (or II Esdras), Translated
   from a critically revised text, with critical introductions, notes and explanations;
   with a general introduction to the Apocalypse, and an Appendix containing the
   Latin text, by G.H. Box, together with a prefatory note by W. Sanday [Sir Isaac&
   Sons, Ltd., London, 1912], p. 96)
 * “But we thy people, whom thou hast called thy firstborn, thy only begotten, and
   thy fervent lover, are given into their hands.” King James Version (KJV)
 * “while we, your people, whom you have called your oldest offspring, your one 
   and only child, those who are zealous for you, your dearest ones, are handed 
   over to them.” Common English Bible (CEB)
 * “But we thy people, whom thou hast called thy first-born, only begotten, zealous
   for thee, and most dear, have been given into their hands.” Revised Standard 
   Version (RSV)
 * “But we your people, whom you have called your firstborn, only begotten, zealous
   for you, and most dear, have been given into their hands.” New Revised Standard
   Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)

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## Jesus as God’s Uniquely Begotten and Beloved Son of God

Here’s where we find a connection to Jesus.

Like Israel, Jesus is God’s uniquely begotten and beloved Son, being the Firstborn
and Heir for whom all things were created:

Mark 1:9-11

> “Now it happened that in those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was
> baptized by John in the Jordan. And immediately coming up out of the water, He
> saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him; and a
> voice came out of the heavens: ‘You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.’”

Mark 9:2-7

> “And six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John, and brought
> them up on a high mountain alone by themselves. And He was transfigured before
> them; and His garments were shining intensely white, as no launderer on earth 
> can whiten them. And Elijah appeared to them along with Moses and they were conversing
> with Jesus. And Peter answered and said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, it is good for us to
> be here; let us make three booths, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for
> Elijah.’ For he did not know what to answer; for they became terrified. Then a
> cloud formed, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud, ‘This is 
> My beloved Son, listen to Him!’”

John 1:14, 18

> “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory
> as of the only begotten _(monogenous)_ from the Father, full of grace and truth…
> No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God _(monogenes theos)_ who
> is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.”

John 3:16, 18

> “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son _(ton hyion ton
> monogene)_, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life…
> He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged 
> already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God_(
> tou monogenous hyiou tou theou)_.”

John 3:35

> “The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand.”

John 5:20

> “For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing;
> and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will marvel.”

John 17:24

> “Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am,
> so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before
> the foundation of the world.”

Romans 8:29

> “Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the
> image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn _(prototokon)_ among many 
> brothers;”

Ephesians 1:6-7

> “to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He graciously bestowed on us in
> the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our
> transgressions, according to the riches of His grace.”

Colossians 1:13-18

> “Who rescued us from the authority of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom
> of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Who
> is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn _(prototokos)_ of all creation.
> For in Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible 
> and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things
> have been created through Him and FOR HIM. And He is before all things, and in
> Him all things hold together. And He is the head of the body, the church; Who 
> is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to
> have first place in everything.”

Hebrews 1:1-3, 5-6, 8-9

> “God, having spoken long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and
> in many ways, in these last days spoke to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir
> of all things, through whom also He made the worlds, who is the radiance of His
> glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the
> word of His power; who, having accomplished cleansing for sins, sat down at the
> right hand of the Majesty on high… For to which of the angels did He ever say,‘
> You are My Son, Today I have begotten You’? And again, ‘I will be a Father to 
> Him and He shall be a Son to Me’? And when He again brings the firstborn _(ton
> prototokon)_ into the world, He says, ‘And let all the angels of God worship Him.’…
> But of the Son He says, ‘Your throne, O God _(ho theos)_, is forever and ever,
> And the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved 
> righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You
> with the oil of gladness above Your companions.’”

1 John 4:9

> “By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten
> Son _(ton hyion autou ton monogene)_ into the world so that we might live through
> Him.”

These references all point in one direction. Jesus is God’s true Israel, the Israel
whom God has set apart to be a light of salvation for the nations, bringing God’s
salvation to the ends of the earth.

_Unless indicated otherwise, scriptural citations are taken from the Legacy Standard
Bible (LSB)_

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