12/06/2025

 

Samuel Clifford

 

Many covenant theologians, also known as replacement theologians, use the Gospel of Matthew to show Israel has been replaced by the Church (Body of Christ. In this article, we will analyze these verses and their contexts to determine what they truly mean.

 

Matthew 3:7-9

 

“But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.” Matthew 3:7-9 KJV

 

Replacement Theologians use these verses in many ways to prove their theology. They state the Jews, as a whole, have become a “brood of vipers” and state that verse 9 proves Israel can be replaced because it states, “God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.” However, simple context refutes these views and doesn’t give any proof for Replacement Theology. 

 

In this context, “[many] of the Jews in the [Inter-Testamental Period] believed that if one was a descendant of ["Abraham,"] he would automatically enter Messiah's kingdom. They counted on the patriarch's righteousness as sufficient for themselves (cf. Romans 4). However, God had often pruned back the unrighteous in Israel and preserved a remnant in its history” (Thomas L. Constable, Notes on Matthew, 2022 ed., 91, https://planobiblechapel.org/tcon/notes/pdf/matthew.pdf). This will happen again during the Tribulation (Deuteronomy 4:30; Daniel 12:1; Zechariah 13:8-9). And, “[as] Matthew continued to point out in his Gospel, many of the Jews refused to humble themselves before God and instead trusted in their own righteousness. The Pharisees and Sadducees were doing that here” (same as last citation, 91-92). So, Matthew 3:7-9 is about how solely being a descendant of Abraham does not mean you will automatically be a part of the Messiah’s kingdom, which non-Replacement Theologians believe. As stated before, Israel is elected unto service, not salvation. 

 

Concerning the stones: “Those stones are a witness, a monument, to God wanting a people for His name so they can dwell in His [Land]. The Pharisees and Sadducees are completely clueless. They do not really understand what God was doing with Israel under Joshua’s command [Joshua 4]. They still do not know what God is doing with John the Baptist. They believe that as children of Abraham, they have inherent righteousness” (Shawn Brasseaux, “What Were the ‘Stones’ of Matthew 3:9?,” For What Saith the Scriptures?, August 8, 2016, https://forwhatsaiththescriptures.org/2016/08/08/stones-matthew-3-9/).

 

Matthew 8:10-12

 

“When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Matthew 8:10-12 KJV

 

While Replacement Theologians don’t use these verses that much to support their view, I believe these verses need to be explained.

 

First, we must read the surrounding passage:

 

“And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.” Matthew 8:5-9 KJV

 

“A [“centurion”] was a rank between that of an officer and a noncommissioned officer . . . It was a position of great responsibility in the Roman occupation force” (Thomas Neslon, King James Version Bible Commentary (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2005), 1191). Further, “Matthew recorded that the centurion's address to Jesus (lit. "Lord") was polite, though he probably did not intend it as a title of deity. The Greek word that the centurion used to describe his servant, pais, usually means "servant," though it can mean "son" (cf. John 4:51). This servant could have been the centurion's personal aide. Matthew did not record the cause of his paralysis. Perhaps reports of Jesus' healing of another official's son led this centurion to approach Jesus (John 4)” (Constable, Notes on Matthew, 238).

 

This Roman centurion was a Gentile whose faith in the power of Jesus as the Messiah was a severe rebuke to many of the unbelieving Jews in Israel, as shown by Matthew 8:10. This centurion’s faith provided for Jesus a springboard to comment on others who would enter the future “kingdom of heaven” on earth, as promised in the Old Testament to the nation of Israel. Jesus then strikingly contrasts these believing Gentiles with the original recipients of God’s offer of a kingdom on earth. He states, 

 

“But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth”

 

This does not apply to believing Jews, such as the Patriarchs Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, but to unbelieving Jews. It must have been shocking to Christ’s audience to hear that believing Gentiles will enter and enjoy the future Millennial Kingdom while unbelieving Jews will be excluded and cast into outer darkness. This does not mean the Church has replaced Israel as a recipient of God’s promises, only that the Church will take part in those promises. After the Tribulation, when the Church returns with Christ (cf. Zechariah 14:5), there will be a remnant of believing Israelites who will populate the Millennial Kingdom (Zechariah 14; Revelation 19-20). 

 

Matthew 21:42-44

 

“Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.” Matthew 21:42-44 KJV

 

In Matthew 21:42-44, Jesus addressed the Jewish leaders who rejected Him with these words: “Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.” According to Replacement Theologians, the entire parable of the tenants teaches the rejection of the Jews. In reality, the subject of the sentence is not the Jews themselves but rather the kingdom with which they had enjoyed a special relationship. 

 

The denial that Israel possesses the eschatological kingdom does not imply that her special covenantal relationship with God has been forgotten or terminated. D.A. Carson understands the announcement to refer to Israel’s role as an agent in the administration of the kingdom: “Strictly speaking, then, verse 43 does not speak of transferring the locus of the people of God from Jews to Gentiles, though it may hint at this insofar as that locus now extends far beyond the authority of the Jewish rulers (cf. Acts 13:46; 18:5-6; 1 Peter 2:9); instead, it speaks of the ending of the role the Jewish religious leaders played in mediating God’s authority” (D. A. Carson, “Matthew,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke, vol. 8, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1984), 454).

 

The post-resurrection mandate which Jesus entrusted to His followers spelled out the exact nature of the authority conferred upon them and their mediatorial role in the administration of God’s rule (Matthew 28:18-20). Although the Jewish people, such as, do not feature in this mandate, the overwhelming majority of the first generation of Christ’s witnesses were Israelites. Moreover, we are reminded in various parts of Acts that the Church’s role in the present administration of the kingdom must not be confused with the eschatological kingdom (Acts 1:6-8; 3:19-31; 14:21-23).