Whether loved or hated, Israel is a magnet. Although no larger than the state of New Jersey, she draws journalists, statesmen, and tourists from all over the world to a few acres of the most contested real estate on earth.
Arriving from many nations, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim pilgrims stream through Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv to see with their own eyes the cities, mountains, and valleys that are home to some of their deepest thoughts and hopes.
The people of this land
Most of those who come to Israel discover a common bond with the people of the land. Almost everyone they find here traces their ancestry back to the same father. Although the region was occupied before and after by people of other family groups, almost everyone claims to be related through a man named Abraham. Ironically, Abraham, whose name means “father of many,” was childless until the age of 85.
Arab people see themselves as the children of Abraham’s first son, Ishmael. Jewish people trace their lineage through a second son, Isaac. And Christians see themselves as the spiritual children of Abraham (Galatians 3:7).
From within this family tree, however, God chose the line of Isaac to be the “branch” through which He would reveal Himself to the world. In time, it became apparent that this branch would bear not only the fruit of God’s blessing but the burden of Heaven’s correction as well.
The story of this land
The unfolding drama of “the chosen people” is more than the greatest story ever told. It is also the longest running show in history. For the last four thousand years the curtains of time have risen and fallen on a land that has been like a great stage positioned on a land bridge and the trade routes between Africa, Asia, and Europe.
With timeless significance the people of this land have told the story of a great King who let His own Son die in order to save the lives and future of His people.
The times and people of this story have made the land into an enormous national museum of history. Here thoughtful visitors climb steps and walk corridors carpeted with the hopes and dreams of a nation. The irony is that this national museum is not designed to showcase the treasures of a royal dynasty. Instead, its halls and steps wind their way to a main exhibit built in honor of a lowly rabbi-carpenter from Nazareth.
The Messiah of this land
There has never been another man like Him. Known in His day as a rabbi from the wrong side of town, His miraculous life, profound wisdom, premature death, and astounding resurrection have given Him a status greater than Abraham. Calendars of the world count from the year of His birth.
Jewish prophets anticipated His coming. They spoke of a King who would bring peace to the world (Isaiah 2:1-4). They foresaw that this “Anointed One” would be conceived within the womb of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14). He would be called “Mighty God” (Isaiah 9:6). He would be born in Bethlehem, the city of David (Micah 5:2). They also predicted that this Servant of God would die as a lamb led to the slaughter—to bear the wrongs of others (Isaiah 53; Daniel 9:26; Zechariah 12:10).
The witnesses of this land
In the region of Galilee’s great freshwater lake, the Jewish and Gentile people from shoreline communities met this teacher face to face. Together they saw Him heal crippled bodies. Some saw Him walk on water. They saw him feed thousands of people with a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish.
The Messiah they saw has left His impact on every generation since. His answer to our spiritual needs is what led Blaise Pascal, a 17th-century physicist, mathematician, and Christian philosopher, to say, “There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God the Creator, made known through Jesus Christ.”
The real importance of this land
The real importance of this land is that it bore the footprints of our God as He walked among us. It bore the weight of the best man who ever lived as He hung on an executioner’s cross. It gave us witnesses who reported His resurrection from the dead 3 days later. Then the cumulative evidence of this land asks us, “What are you going to do with Him?”
Each of us needs to answer this question. The witnesses of this land invite us to come closer. The Gospel writer Luke brings us close enough to overhear a conversation that occurred as the long-awaited Messiah hung dying between two criminals being executed at His side. While one of these men mocked Jesus because He was dying as they were, the other was more thoughtful and introspective. The second criminal said to the first, “We receive the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he turned to Jesus and said, “Remember me when You come into Your Kingdom.” Jesus said, “Today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43). By a simple act of trust, a condemned, dying criminal received Heaven’s pardon and everlasting life.
All of the chapters of Israel’s history point to the death and resurrection of the One who made that promise to a dying man. As the Messiah of Israel was dying, He used a condemned criminal to show all of us how we too can be with Him forever. His words were for all of us. He will bring to His eternal home all who say from their hearts, “I’ve done wrong. I believe You died for my sins. I accept You as my Savior and entrust myself to You.”
Those who make this decision understand why Israel cannot be ignored. It’s no wonder that, whether loved or hated, Israel is a magnet. Her land is the stage for the greatest story ever told. It is a national museum of history and theology. It is one great archaeological dig for the land of the Bible. This is the battlefield for our souls, our hearts, and our minds. —Mart De Haan
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