the following message is by pastor john piper more information from desiring god ministries is available at www.desiringgod.org i invite you to take your bible and turn with me to romans chapter 1 verse 16. for the third message on this verse god has done some interesting correlating two weeks ago or was it three i can't remember when we did the praise procession the sermon not by any plan of my own [Music] fell on the words i am not ashamed of the gospel so we went out of here twelve hundred strong onto the streets unashamedly waving our banner for jesus today the sermon falls on the words to the jew first and also to the greek at the end of verse 16 and next sunday our guest preacher is moshi rosen the founder of jews for jesus and we invited him before i even knew i was going to start a series on romans and so i asked aaron to fax him tomorrow my sermon so that when he comes next sunday he will know how unbelievably relevant today's message is for ministry to jews now he's already told us what he's going to talk about so he may not make any connection at all but it's remarkable to me that a man coming in who is a converted jew is going to minister after i deliver this word this morning based on the words to the jew first and also to the greek so god i believe is in this and i hope that you'll look for his hand this morning on your own life let me read this verse once more as we get it in context here for i am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of god for salvation to everyone who believes to the jew first and also to the greek now before i get into that last phrase i want to exalt with you in the word everyone don't miss it the gospel is the power of god unto salvation to everyone who believes which is unbelievably exhilarating news for those of us who come into this room carrying something that we feel will keep us from getting it wrong family wrong moral track record wrong tradition wrong sexual preference wrong ethnic connections wrong socio economic level wrong political affiliation wrong wrong wrong and therefore no hope for me in this religious place and so the word lands with tremendous exhilaration on me everyone who believes one thing only need keep you away from salvation unbelief nothing else needs to keep you away you can let it keep you away you can say he won't take somebody like that that's just you that's not god or maybe it's the devil doing a thing but don't let it be put the word of god against it the bible says the word of god is like a sword so here comes the word saying not you you're not in the everyone just juke that word judy and send him flying i love that word everyone which means that this next phrase just kind of jars me a little bit everyone to the jew first [Music] you said why do you have that where did that come from what's this priority business to the jew first and also to the greek i think greek there doesn't just mean the inhabitants of greece it's it's a it's a word for gentile that was the language everybody spoke that was kind of the epitome of the gentile culture it's everybody else besides jews you can tell that from the wider context of the way paul uses it so he's talking about most of us in this room there may be a few jewish people here among us i hope so and then he's talking about jews and he says them first in this and then us maybe second i don't know he didn't to the jew first and also to the greek so here's my question i got three questions this morning and they go fairly quickly the first one is what is this priority that jews have in the power of god and salvation and secondly what priority don't they have if we're going to say what priority do they have is there any priority they don't have i got six of the one and three of the other and then the last question is why do you say this what effect on this room this people gathered here what effect does he want these little words jew first then greek to have on you this morning what are you supposed to take out of here is that relevant at all to your holiday weekend so that's the plan let's do them first question what is this priority to the jew first number one jews have priority over gentiles as the chosen people of god historically genesis 12 remember abraham the father of jews he's chosen freely nehemiah 9 7 says god chose abram and brought him out of earth the chaldeas he just chose him he just looked around and freely he didn't look for a meritorious person in fact he was a moon worshiper we found out in joshua he just chose him freely made him his own and set a whole history in motion deuteronomy 14 2 the lord has chosen you to be a people for his own possession out of all the peoples who are on the earth now this is really offensive this is big time politically incorrect he has chosen you out of all the peoples to focus some historical attention on for a long time and lets the nations go their own way it says in acts 14. this is really troubling amos 3 2 you only have i chosen among all the families of the earth romans 11 28 and 29 from the standpoint of the gospel the jews are enemies for your sake but from the standpoint of election or god's choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers for the gifts and calling of god are irrevocable so the jews have a priority in history as the people whom god chose to focus his redemptive work on for a long time couple thousand years and he did it freely not because they were any more meritorious than all the other moon worshipers in er of the childis the lord listen to this deuteronomy 7 7 the lord did not set his love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the other peoples you were the fewest of all the peoples the lord loved you and kept the oath which he swore to your fathers second the jews have a priority over gentiles as the guardians of god's special revelation the old testament scriptures i get this straight out of romans 3 1-2 you can even see it there with me if you want romans 3 1-2 paul asked our question what advantage has the jew or what is the benefit of circumcision and he answers his own question verse two great in every way first of all they were entrusted with the oracles of god so there it is the first thing he mentions that's all he mentions here he's going to get back to it in chapter 9 and finish his list is that they have been entrusted with the bible the old testament the prophets moses the law the writings he says in chapter 9 verse 4 they are israelites to whom belong the covenants the giving of the law and the promises the second way they have priority is that god did not go sprinkling his revelation among all the peoples he take he took one people and he gave them the law he gave them the prophets he gave them the writings he gave them all the prophecies that were coming about messiah he gave his special revelation to one people and entrusted it into a book which is now the first part of our christian bible third priority the jews have a priority over the gentiles in that the messiah himself jesus came as a jew to jews romans 9 5 continuing on in that list it comes to a climax like this from the jews is the christ or the messiah according to the flesh who is over all god blessed forever amen in other words the pinnacle of the benefits and the privileges of being a jew is that the messiah the son of god was born a jew he came to the jews and he came during his earthly life almost entirely to the jews listen to matthew 10 6 when he sends out the 12 not on their last mission after the resurrection or their earthly mission while he's here he says do not go in the way of the gentiles and do not enter any city of the samaritans but go to the lost sheep of the house of israel matthew 10 6 or matthew 15 24 you remember when that woman wanted help jesus said verse 24 of chapter 15 i was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of israel and she comes back well even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the children's table and he says for that you're saved we're going to get to that in a minute but almost entirely while he's on the earth he's saying go to the lost sheep of the house of israel don't go here don't go there and then when the work is done on calvary and the great commission is given it's a very different word go make disciples of who all nations okay number three oh that was three wasn't it number four the jews have a priority over the gentiles in that salvation is from the jews now that's a quote from john 4 22 where jesus is with this woman at the well and jesus samaritan and they're talking about where to worship and he says you worship what you do not know we worship what we know for salvation is from the jews which is simply i believe a summary statement of the jews were chosen as god's special people the jews were given the law and the prophets which described the way of salvation into the messiah the messiah himself comes [Music] makes atonement for sin as a jew for jews and then he says and salvation even for you samaritans is from the jews now i want you to go with me to a picture of this in romans 11. you want to turn there with me if you have your bible and you want to turn with me to romans 11. i'm gonna in my strategy of preaching through romans i'm gonna jump around in romans as much as i can to elucidate the verse that we're on so that you don't have to wait four years to get to romans 11 because the reason he says to the jew first and also to the greek is explained in romans 9 to 11. that's what romans 9 11 is all about the place of israel in redemptive history well we're not going to get there for another three or four years and so it won't work for you say for me to say oh you'll find out what verse 16 means in three years so we have to jump around and one of the pictures i want you to see as we jump now into chapter 11 is this picture of the olive tree in verses 17 to 24. i want you to have this in your head make this part of your stock understanding of how god has worked in the world there's an analogy being drawn here between an olive tree and the people of israel and wild olive trees and gentiles and the picture is that some of the branches on the natural olive tree jewishness have been broken off that's unbelieving jews are broken off and they're not benefiting from the covenant promises made to abraham because they're broken off through unbelief and some of these wild olive branches these johnny come lately gentiles are being carefully and nurturingly grafted in so that the sap which gives eternal life coming through the promises made to abraham comes right into these branches and they are saved [Music] now let's read verses 17 and 18 and you can see how it works if some of the branches were broken off and you being a wild olive were grafted in among them and became a partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree now the rich root of the olive tree is the abrahamic covenant if that sounds like a big scary religious word to you just sing means this god made promises to abraham that he and all the families of the world in him would be blessed by god and if you want to be a part of the blessing of abraham you've got to be grafted in to the promises of abraham verse 18 if that's true if you get the sap of salvation through abraham by being grafted into judaism and its promises don't be arrogant verse 18 says don't be arrogant toward the branches but if you are arrogant remember it is not you who supports the root but the root supports you that's a word to almost everybody in this room this morning do you realize how jewish our salvation is do you realize salvation is from the jews and that the only way you get saved is by being grafted into jewish privileges do you realize you do not support the root the root is abraham and his promises the root supports you you have life if you have life at all you have life because promises were made to a jew and god is keeping his promises made to abraham isaac jacob and through the prophets and you as a gentile with no merit upon this jewish covenant at all are freely by faith united to that stream of life that's the only way anybody gets saved is that not a mega offense in the world go preach that in saudi arabia or phillips neighborhood this is this is the offense of particularity jews are chosen and all salvation comes through jews and the rest of us say well baloney then i don't care i don't want anything to do with it because i'm not becoming a jew and you can go to hell if that's the way you feel and you will [Music] the only way any gentile gets saved is by humbling himself and saying if god has ordained to save by a combination of par particularity and universalism saved only through jewishness but everyone who believes everyone who believes is grafted in and benefits from galatians 3 7 [Music] those who have the faith of abraham are the children of abraham isn't that great now if you don't like it you really need to pray for humility i'm going to end on this in just a minute that the reason this verse is in the bible this little piece of this verse to the jew first and also the greek is to knock our feet out from under us and leave us flat on the ground beholden to semites and to slaughter anti-semitism any jew haters in this room you are in big trouble mega trouble with almighty god salvation is from the jews and i repent and grieve over what christians have done to jews number five jews have a priority over gentiles in that the paul in that paul evangelized jews first every time he went to a new city or a new region acts 13 46 paul is preaching in the city of antioch anti-occupancy and he says when they re reject him it was necessary that the word of god be spoken to you first since you repudiated and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life behold we are turning to the gentiles there's a certain kind of necessity here that if god has chosen them if he's given them the scriptures if he's given the messiah if if salvation is from the jews that when we evangelize the world every time we come into a new city or come into a new people group or region we should have our antennas up are there jews here [Music] is there a pocket of the chosen people here where i can declare the messiah that's the way paul did it in every city he chose the synagogue first finally number six the jews have a priority over gentiles shockingly in final judgment and final blessing back to chapter 2 verses 9 and 10 you might want to look at this it's so stunning romans 2 9 and 10 paul says to my amazement there will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil of the jew first and also the greek first into judgment and then the next verse turns it around unless we get uppity but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good to the jew first and also to the greek [Music] if a jew squanders and rejects the birthright of the messiah faith in jesus they go first into judgment and if a jew humbly receives messiah they go first into blessing from everyone who has been given much much will be required so the summary number one first in being chosen first in being given the scriptures first in having the messiah come to them and the messiah being a jew first in salvation being from the jews so that all other salvation has to be in connection with judaism first in evangelism and first in judgment and blessing now next question what are they not first in is there any sense in which there's not a priority for the jewish people and there are three senses in which they are not first number one jews do not have priority in righteousness or merit neither do gentiles i get this from chapter three verse nine paul says what then are we jews better than they gentiles answer not at all for we have already charged that both jews and greeks are all under sin so there's our equality you like equality you got it we're all sinners and undeserving of life or again romans 3 22 down the page a little bit there is no distinction for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of god so jews do not have priority in righteousness or merit or worth they cannot commend themselves to god by any more than a gentile can when it comes to virtue second way they're not prior jews don't have priority in how they are saved we're all saved the same way i get this from chapter 3 verses 29 and 30. is god the god of the jews only is he not the god of gentiles also yes of gentiles also and the god god he is the god who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith so there again equality both sinners and both have one access to god namely faith in jesus christ not two ways of salvation there's not a jewish way in a gentile way there's one way through christ or again in romans 10 12 same thing there is no distinction between jew and greek for the same lord is lord of all abounding in riches for all who call upon him for whoever will call upon the name of the lord will be saved there's that great everyone again jew and gentile whoever calls upon the name of the lord will be saved thirdly and lastly in this sequence they don't have any priority in full participation in covenant blessings now this is beautiful and you can turn with me or you can just listen in ephesians chapter 2 verses 12 and 13 listen as i read you gentiles paul says we're separated from the messiah the christ excluded from the commonwealth of israel this is because god chose the jews and he didn't choose the gentiles and so we're excluded we're separated we are strangers to the covenants of promise paul says having no hope without god in the world that's the condition of not being a jew now verse 13 the glorious gospel but now in christ jesus you who were formerly far off have been brought near by the blood of christ now verse 18 of ephesians 2. for through him we both notice now we're coming together we're coming together the wall is being torn down unions being created by the spirit through him we both have access in one spirit to the father there's one father there's one spirit there's one access there's one messiah there's one faith verse 19 so then you are no longer strangers so be relieved gentiles that was a devastating word in verse 12 absolutely devastating separated alienated cut off no hope no god and now the good news reversing it all in verse 19 so then you are no longer strangers you are no longer aliens you are wonder of wonders paul calls it a mystery in the following verses you are fellow citizens with the saints and are of god's household that's good news to me i'm a gentile and i am part of the household of god look at it again in chapter 3 of ephesians just feel the force of this feel how this would land on gentiles who knew just a little bit of the unique claim of jewish people meeting in their synagogues saying salvation is of us you people eat ham and you're a bunch of dogs and you're uncircumcised and unclean you don't have the law you don't know a clue about the true god let's imagine the animosity that existed in community after community as gentiles and jews faced off and now you read in ephesians 3 4 when you read this you can understand my insight into the mystery of christ what's the mystery what's the mystery of christ verse 5 namely that the gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body and fellow partakers of the promise of messiah jesus through the gospel the jews don't have any priority when it comes to full participation in the covenant blessings of abraham we are fellow heirs now that just leaves me very briefly with a closing question why did he say this why in verse 16 at the end of the verse having said the gospel is the power of god unto salvation to everyone who believes why did he add for these gentiles and jews in rome why did he add to the jew first and also to the greek why do you say that in other words what does he want us to walk out of here with in just a minute what effect is this supposed to have because he just left that off and we would have all said amen everyone everyone let's go tell everyone and he and he adds this to the jew first and just introduces a whole huge issue of redemptive history and 2 000 years of god dealing with jews and the messiah is a jew and paul preached in synagogues and promises were made to abraham and it just seems to complicate everything why now there are reasons god has his reasons for why he runs the world the way he does but here i believe and i'm basing this on verses 17 to 32 of chapter 11. you can read the whole section but here's my bottom line reason and this is what i want you to leave with i believe that he put this in there for gentiles and jews [Music] to cut all ethnocentrism out from under us and make us fall absolutely humbled and devastated as sinners on the mercy of god alone and no ethnic background no educational background no social background no financial background no intellectual background no connections with family no connections with tradition we fall flat now how how did that work well if you're a jew he would have said listen [Music] what i'm saying to you is also to the greeks meaning every benefit you've ever loved every promise you've ever cherished every uniqueness you've ever held onto has given you meaning in the world belongs to the dogs under the table by faith in your messiah you've got to bow and let that happen you gotta love that you gotta love that and to the gentiles us outside cut off alienated he says now look you've hated jews long enough salvation is from the jews i chose the jews i love the jews i work with the jews i was incarnate of it as a jew all my apostles were jews i preached in synagogues first now listen you gentiles you've got to humble yourself and realize the rich root of the olive tree through which the sap of eternal life flows is the only place you're going to get hope so by faith in a jewish messiah believe and be grafted in to judaism i would not have run redemptive history this way feels way too dangerous certainly doesn't fit the 20th century especially the 90s and yet this is the way he did it so that he would have his own unique way of humbling the jews his own unique way of humbling the gentiles we would all be on our faces with our pride saying we're not worthy and then hopefully by grace and mercy rise up embracing one another and saying let's get this job done together let's evangelize together let's love the jews let's love every brand and stripe of gentile and let's declare that's not in the ethnicity it's not in the tradition it's in jesus and we're all in a common footing of sin before him let's pray together oh god oh god oh god would you please open hearts in this room right now to humble themselves and receive jewish salvation [Music] i pray father that we would be freed from anti-semitism or any kind of ethnocentrism and we would be radically [Music] christ-centered and god exalting lord work salvation and work reconciliation i pray in this room in jesus name amen [Music] thank you for listening to this message by john piper pastor for preaching at bethlehem baptist church in minneapolis minnesota feel free to make copies of this message to give to others but please do not charge for those copies or alter the content in any way without permission we invite you to visit desiring god online at www.desiringgod.org there you'll find hundreds of sermons articles radio broadcasts and much more all available to you at no charge our online store carries all of pastor john's books audio and video resources you can also stay up to date on what's new at desiring god again our website is www.desiringgod.org or call us toll free at 1 888 forty seven hundred our mailing address is desiring god 2601 east franklin avenue minneapolis minnesota five five four zero six desiring god exists to help you make god your treasure because god is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him