For many dispensationalists, suggesting that Jesus is the ‘true Israel’ raises immediate suspicion. It’s a concept that makes us cautious. We just sense that we’re standing on the edge of the slippery slope that leads to the land of covenant theology.
But an overly cautious approach to theology can be a two-edged sword. Sometimes it keeps us safe; but sometimes it keeps us ignorant. It’s a hard balance to find, but in this instance, I’m suggesting that we want to avoid the latter.
In this article I’m arguing that Jesus’ identification with Israel is an innocuous covenantal concept that actually lays the foundation for an essential aspect of dispensational theology. And while I do acknowledge that there are still some legitimate concerns we need to navigate, they shouldn’t deter us from pressing forward.
What is the biblical basis?
The most explicit passage of scripture is found in Isaiah 49:3. Here, God the Father simply refers to Jesus as ‘Israel’.
“You are my servant, Israel”
Now, given that this text finds itself in the second of the four Servant Songs, it should be beyond doubt that the servant refers to Jesus. And given that Jesus is referred to as Israel, we can understand why Dispensationalist Michael Vlach can say,
“Dispensationalists agree with non-dispensationalists on the identity of Jesus as “Israel”.[1]
Which is where I want to gently say to my dispensational brothers – let that sink in. The bible does in fact identify Jesus with Israel.
But what does this mean?
To say it succinctly, it means that Jesus is the representative of his people. It means that when God the Father looks at Jesus, he sees him representing his people. Specifically, Isaiah 49:3 means that Jesus is the covenant head of Israel. This explanation is affirmed in Isaiah 49:8, where only a few verses later the concept of covenantal representation is explicitly mentioned as God the Father says to Jesus,
“I will keep You and give You [The one] for a covenant of the people [The many]”
If we were to trace the trajectory of the four Servant Songs, this is the theological theme that ties them all together.
In the first Servant Song, Jesus is introduced as the servant of the Lord that is tasked with undertaking everything that is required in the great work of redemption (42:1). Cyrus, as an anticipatory pattern of the greater servant of the Lord[2] fades into the background, Isaiah adjusts the prophetic lens to bring the future into focus, and Jesus steps onto the stage of redemptive history.
In the second Servant Song, Jesus is identified as the representative of his people (49:3,8). That’s the key idea. If he is successful, his people are successful. What he does will count for them. Israel is the initial focus (49:3,8), but the gentile nations are also included (49:6)[3].
The third Servant Song flows out of the second and the concept of representation is carried with it. The servant is now understood as a representative servant. In this pericope we see Jesus perfectly obey the precepts of God’s law. The focus is on his active obedience. Here, the critical concept is that Jesus is vindicated (50:8) by his obedience (50:5). He is justified by his works. The necessary consequence is that his people are also justified. Through faith alone, we are counted righteous in Him.
In the fourth Servant Song, we come to the climactic 53rd of Isaiah. Here, the emphasis is on Jesus’ passive obedience. Here, our great representative receives the penalty for our violations of God’s law. Here, Isaiah continues with the concept of representation by saying, “He was pierced through for our transgressions” (53:5). And it is here, that the concept of ‘the one and the many’ comes to its most developed expression in the Old Testament. Here we learn one of the most profound truths in all of scripture, that “the Righteous One… will justify the many” (53:11).
In short, the four servant songs teach us that the doctrine of justification hangs on our prior commitment to this innocuous little covenantal concept of representative headship. It is essential for us to acknowledge that Jesus is identified with his people.
But what makes this a Dispensational Federalism?
So far, we have only considered part of Isaiah 49:8, “I will keep You and give You for a covenant of the people”, but that isn’t the end of the matter. The covenantal content of this passage goes deeper, and the verse continues in a distinctly dispensational direction by adding, “To restore the land, to make them (or cause them) to inherit the desolate heritages”
This is no small detail.
And as it turns out, Jesus’ representation of Israel is now presented as the very foundation of their future salvation (note the reference to the new covenant), and their future restoration (note the reference to land and the recovery of their fallen heritage).
Michael Vlach makes this same observation by saying, “Because Christ identifies himself with Israel and is Israel’s corporate Head, He is able to restore the nation that currently is undergoing a temporary hardening and rejection”[4]
Further, he adds,
“Critics of dispensationalism are claiming that Jesus’ identification with Israel rules out a restoration of the nation Israel. My understanding, though, is that Jesus’ representation of Israel is the basis for the restoration of the nation.”[5]
And he is dead right.
Jesus’ identification with Israel isn’t a concept we need to shy away from. The reality is that this innocuous little covenantal concept of representative headship not only undergirds our doctrine of justification, but it also undergirds our dispensational eschatology. There is no future for Israel without it. This aspect of dispensationalism is directly derived from our covenant theology!
I trust this brief article adds another small plank in the construction of a distinctly Dispensational Federalism.
[1] MSJ 23/1 (Spring 2012) 43-54, Michael Vlach, What does Christ as “true Israel” mean for the nation Israel: A critique of the non-dispensational understanding.
[2] Cyrus is referred to in Isaiah as God’s ‘anointed’ which means ‘messiah’. He is described as ‘the coming one’ who will redeem his people from their bondage in Babylon. God calls Cyrus ‘my shepherd’, ‘The servant of the Lord’, and says that Cyrus ‘will perform all my desire’. God sent a message of good news saying, ‘Do not fear, I will help you’ and in anticipating the gospel of grace, God said of Cyrus that ‘He will… let my exiles go free, without payment and reward’ (Isa. 45:13).
[3] Isaiah 49:6, “He says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel;
I will also make You a light of the nations”
[4] MSJ 23/1 (Spring 2012) 43-54, Michael Vlach, What does Christ as “true Israel” mean for the nation Israel: A critique of the non-dispensational understanding.
[5] Ibid.
Dispensational Federalism 