Q: Did the Gentiles become Jews? —Cassandra
A: Israel is the name God gave Jacob on the night he wrestled with the angel (Genesis 32:28). His sons, along with the 12 tribes that descended from them, inherited the name. Although Israel always accepted proselytes, it was at first largely made up of people physically descended from Abraham through Isaac and Jacob. Eventually the term “Israelite” was replaced by the term “Jew” (Yehudi), derived from the kingdom of Judah (Yehuda)—the southern Israelite kingdom that retained its independence for approximately 135 years after Assyria conquered the northern kingdom and took its leading citizens into captivity.
During the intertestamental period (the time period between the writing of the Old and New Testaments), many Gentiles accepted the faith of Israel and became Jews (See Shlomo Sand, The Invention of the Jewish People). When the gospel was given and the church established by Jesus Christ (Matthew 16:18), however, both Jewish and Gentile believers became members of one body (Romans 11:11-24; Ephesians 2:13-17; 3:6).
Although Gentiles are not Jews, believing Gentiles and believing Jews both are the seed of Abraham, and inheritors of the promise given to him (Galatians 3:1-7, 29).
Since God established the church, there has no longer been a need for Gentiles to become Jews. —Dan VanderLugt
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mike wittmer on October 24, 2013 at 8:41 am
Amen! The wonder of the gospel is that God accepts us in Christ just as we are. So we Gentiles no longer need to become Jews, now that Christ has come. In Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek! (Gal. 3:28)