What if Israel had accepted Jesus as their Lord? (Catholic perspective)

score:3

Accepted answer

This question reminds me of the "felix culpa" ("happy fault [of Adam]")¹ question of whether Christ would have become incarnate had Adam not sinned. If Adam had not sinned, how could've God worked greater goods?

Similarly in the case of the fall of the Jews: If the Jews had not fallen, how could there be "the salvation of the Gentiles by means of the death of Christ, the rejection of the apostles, and the subsequent Jewish Diaspora…[or] [t]he shedding of Christ's blood, the apostles' preaching mission to the Gentiles after a largely unsuccessful Jewish mission, and the spread of the books and prophecies concerning the Christ",² great goods St. Thomas Aquinas lists in his Commentary on Romans³ §881?

St. Thomas Aquinas also states, in Commentary on Romans⁴ §884:

…si Deus propter utilitatem totius mundi permisit Iudaeos delinquere et diminui, multo magis implebit ruinas eorum propter totius mundi utilitatem…
[…if God, on account of the benefit (utilitatem) for the whole world permitted the Jews to be wanting and to diminish, much more will he fulfill their downfalls on account of the benefit for the whole world…]³

Sources:

  1. St. Thomas writes: "in the blessing of the Paschal candle, we say: 'O happy fault, that merited such and so great a Redeemer!'"
  2. Boguslawski, Steven C. Thomas Aquinas on the Jews: Insights into His Commentary on Romans 9-11. Mahwah, N.J.: Paulist Press, 2008. p. 115fn74.
  3. Thomas, Fabian R Larcher, John Mortensen, and Enrique Alarcón. Commentary on the letter of Saint Paul to the Romans. Lander, Wyo.: Aquinas Institute for the Study of Sacred Doctrine, 2012. (Latin only version) ch. 11, lecture 2
  4. translation from Boguslawski p. 98, § "Fall of the Jews"

Upvote:1 

Israel could not have accepted Christ as their King because it was not written that way.

Yet Israel does accept Christ as their King, true Israel in the calling of all the disciples and all Who Loved him (Acts chapter 2) and the subsequent thousands that believed by their word even unto this very day.

They are God's New Creation. They accept Christ as their King as we are true Israel brought forth as a child of promise from God's a new heavens. (Rev.12)
This might help, from Acts 3:23

anyone who does not listen to him (Christ) will be completely cut off from among his people.

In conclusion there would be two groups: those who accept Christ who are the new creation, and those who do not accept Christ and are completely cut off.

More post

Search Posts

Related post