Recovering Biblical Discipleship: Why Christians Need the Land and People of Israel

We like to pride ourselves on the fact that we live in a “modern era” in which “newest is truest,” and youth culture is celebrated more than age-old wisdom. Technology has amplified what is in the human heart for good and for evil. I am able to write this article thousands of miles away from Israel on a computer. However, the modern age is also a rootless age that prides itself on anonymity and self-image. 

People in the modern era cry out for the real, the authentic, and the unchanging truths of Scripture. Returning to the biblical foundation is a good place to start for those who are caught in the lies of the modern era. 

While we live in a time that is very unique, the principles of discipleship have not changed. We may use different methods, but the underlying truths remain eternal. 

What is discipleship? A “disciple” is simply one who “learns.” The underlying word that is translated as “disciple” in both the Greek and the Hebrew gives the idea of one who learns mindsets, attitude, and actions from another. All too often, we emphasize a heavy dose of head knowledge without enough practical application.

While both are needed – head knowledge is important because holy action requires biblical thinking – we must not stop at knowledge but move into action and practice. Discipleship should be viewed more like an apprenticeship for a trade rather than a classroom in a building. “More is caught than taught,” as the saying goes, and the same is true for discipleship. 

I believe that much of discipleship today is rootless because it is disconnected from a physical place. In the Bible, Israel is the place that helps ground and grow disciples. The land of Israel acts much like a proving ground for the faith of the people in the Bible. Abraham must wander through the land of Israel based on a promise from God that his descendants will inherit it. Abraham must trust God even though he does not have any children or deeds to the land at the time (Gen. 15:1-21). 

God reassures Abraham and says to him: “After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, ‘Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you; Your reward shall be very great’” (Genesis 15:1 NASB95 emphasis added). Abraham later had a miraculous child named Isaac, and his descendants inherited the land of Israel because God is faithful to His word. 

Throughout the Scriptures, Abraham is called an example of faith to be followed (Heb. 6:13, 11:17; James 2:23). A big part of the story of Abraham that people often forget is the land element. God used the promise of the land to form and shape the discipleship journey of Abraham; so too, God uses the land of Israel in the modern day to shape our own discipleship journey.

We must connect to the land, people, and covenants of Israel. When young people connect to a literal place and people,  they will see their faith in God come alive. Young people can connect to the land by going to Israel to serve, explore, and learn.

Our faith in God comes alive (just like Abraham’s faith came alive) when we see how God is fulfilling His promise to Abraham’s descendants (the Jewish people). One of those promises is that He will make the land of Israel like the garden of Eden. Eden was a real place that was alive both physically and spiritually (Gen. 2; Ezek. 36:35).

Most modern churches tend to disconnect the promises of God from a physical location. We are embodied creatures who are designed to be connected to place. When we disconnect from a physical location, then we do a great disservice to those we are trying to disciple. Everything becomes spiritualized. I have jokingly said that those who over-spiritualize the Bible live by the motto: “when in doubt, allegorize out.” 

The human heart longs to be a part of something bigger than itself, and the Bible is a book of God’s dealings with His people. Whenever I talk with Jewish and Christian people who visit Israel and experience for themselves what God is doing in the Land, they always tell me that they are “a part of something bigger than themselves.” Christians feel a renewed sense of purpose when they connect and see firsthand God at work in the land of Israel.

In recent decades, there has been a popular resurgence in exploring the Jewishness of Jesus and the Bible in general. Books, articles, conferences, and the like have multiplied and people have become very interested in the topic of Israel and the Jewish people. I believe that this renewed interest is inspired by the Lord and is designed to bring glory to His name. The whole Bible has a redemptive arc in which God chooses to work with a particular people and family in order to bless and redeem all of humanity. 

God’s mission in the world demands more than just one individual. His mission is so noble that it requires that we sacrifice our personal visions for a greater vision. Part of this renewed vision is discipling people from within the land of Israel as part of the prophetic vision of Isaiah:

“Now it will come about that in the last days the mountain of the house of the Lord will be established as the chief of the mountains, and will be raised above the hills; and all the nations will stream to it. And many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways and that we may walk in His paths.’ For the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2:2–3 NASB95 emphasis added).

Discipleship must be centered around the city of the Great King (Ps. 47:1-9; Matt. 5:35). It is not an accident that God’s prophetic plan for discipleship is connected with the mountaintop of the LORD, the land of Israel, and the people of Israel. God desires that the whole world be full of the knowledge of Him (Hab. 2:14). He desires that all the world will come and experience His lovingkindness and great glory (Ps. 117). We must simply get on board and see where our role is in the divine mission and do it to the best of our ability. 

Israel has been in the news a lot because of the conflict with Iran and gas prices. There has been a dramatic increase in antisemitism, and unfortunately, this is also true among many who claim to believe the Bible. 

Sadly, the trend of antisemitism in church history is nothing new and goes back very early in history. The early church was born in Jewish soil and inherited so much from the Jewish people. However, with the influx of more and more Gentiles into the faith,

Christians began to lose the importance of the land, people, and covenants of Israel. Instead of joyfully accepting the privilege of being a part of the family of God with humility, many Gentiles began thinking that God rejected the Jewish people and chose them instead (Rom. 11). Paul warned about this and encouraged Gentiles to recognize their position with trepidation and humility. 

A biblical message that is bleached of Jewishness lacks the flavor and potency that God intended it to have. Does this mean that we should throw out everything in church history because of the ugly stain of antisemitism?

God forbid! I encourage Christians to read church history and to study how it interconnects with Jewish history. The church fathers and Christians throughout the ages preserved such good and godly teachings that are worth tenaciously holding to. However, we also need to recognize the failures of our spiritual forefathers.

Studying history brings us to the reality of the sinful human condition but also helps us to see how God works in spite of human failure. The key is returning again and again to the God of the Bible and the teachings of the Bible. God desires that His people walk humbly with Him, and He supplies the grace needed to walk with Him (Mic. 6:8). 

Christians today should repent of church antisemitism, past, present, and future.

However, it is not enough to simply stop the antisemitism; we must become proactive in promoting the godly cause of biblical Zionism. Such an understanding helps foster true discipleship. 

When discipleship begins aligning with what the Lord is doing, then a revitalization of faith takes place that is both hopeful and exciting. Israel is the missing piece for modern discipleship, in a day and age in which many are seeking meaning and purpose.