This episode reiterates the main theme of the last several episodes, that belief in Christ as the Messiah is essential if one were to consider himself/herself a true Jew. Almost all early Christians (30-42 A.D.) were Jewish, and they would not have maintained that their belief in Christ was a peculiarly Christian contribution, as opposed to the god of the Jews. The God of Abraham and the God of Moses pointed to the second person of the Trinity. The New Testament authors and Christ Himself affirmed that true Jewishness required accepting Christ as the Messiah, Paul even arguing that physical circumcision without the circumcision of the Spirit accounted for nothing, and one's claim to be a Jew was spurious. (Romans 2:28-29, 1 Corinthians 7:19) The last part of the episode addresses the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity. Ezekiel had predicted that future believers would receive the Spirit and consequently keep God's law. (Ezekiel 36:27) Christ spoke of this regeneration as necessary for entering into the kingdom of God. (John 3:6)
True Jews Believe in Christ
The series so far has mostly emphasized the continuity of the Old and New Testaments regarding belief in the one God revealed in the Scriptures. This and subsequent episodes however press home the discontinuity between the God of the Jews and the God of Christians. This discontinuity becomes obvious in the gospels where Christ's messiahship, deity and exclusive mediatorial role are affirmed. Christ said that "all things have been handed over to Me by My Father." (Matthew 11:27) He told the Jews "unless you believe that I am He (a declaration of his messiahship and deity), you will die in your sins." (John 8:24) John later declares that "whoever denies the Son does not have the Father." (1 John 2:23) Once the Son is raised from the dead, faith in Christ as the divine Messiah and only mediator between God and man is absolutely necessary for salvation. Faith in Christ is moreover the natural response of any who are TRUE sons of Abraham and Moses. Abraham saw Christ's day and was glad. (John 8:56) Moses prophesied of the coming Messiah and made obedience to His authority the very essence of true Judaism. (Deuteronomy18:18-19) Peter said that any Jew who rejected Christ would be "cut off from His people." (Acts 3:23, NIV) A fair conclusion of all these Scriptures is that Jews who reject Christ are not children of Abraham or true Jews, and Christians and Jews do NOT believe in the same God.
Sons of Abraham Follow His Example
This episode spells out the significance of the covenant God made with Abraham in Genesis 15, in light of the rest of the Scriptures. The previous episode noted that Abraham was justified by faith (Genesis 15:6), and Abraham rejoiced when he saw his perfect representative in Christ. (John 8:56) God did not make a covenant with Abraham directly but made it through his representative. These foundational planks of Judaism help answer the question "do Jews and Christians believe in the same God?' To the extent that Jews continue to relate to God in the manner of Abraham, they believe in the same God as Christians. Christ came 2,000 years ago, perfectly fulfilling the hope of Abraham, who saw Christ's day and was glad. (John 8:56) Just as Abraham believed and saw his perfect representative in Christ, albeit in types of a "smoking oven" or a "flaming torch," believers in Christ become sons of Abraham when they put their faith in the second Adam.(Galatians 3:7) The emergence of the distinctive traits of Judaism in the father of Judaism, Abraham, point to their full development and expression in Christianity, highlighting the continuity between the Old and New Testaments.