Christ Came To His Own

By Richard Govier

Was Christ sent just to the House of Israel? What does the Bible mean when it says: "He came unto His own, and his own received Him not" (John 1:11)? To what extent did Christ's parables apply just to the House of Israel, and no one else? Why did Christ tell His disciples: "Go not in the way of the Gentiles...."? What did Jesus mean, as he wept over Jerusalem, "Your house is left unto you desolate"?

Richard O. Govier (1928-2018) was a Protestant pastor and missionary and travelled the world in that capacity. He planted a number of churches as well as training pastors who served in Brazil, Chile, Argentina and across the United States.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Richard Govier
• Release date: Jul 24, 2019
• ISBN: 9781370003532

Richard Govier

Richard O. Govier (1928-2018) was a Protestant pastor and missionary and travelled the world in that capacity. He planted a number of churches as well as training pastors who served in Brazil, Chile, Argentina and across the United States.After his marriage to his lifetime sweetheart, Christine Ann Golfis, at the Bethesda Missionary College in Portland, Oregon, he attended extension classes at Pierce College and the Portland State college. Touched by the Latter Rain revival that began in the Northwest, the call of God rested continually on their hearts and they were forever seeking means of preaching the Gospel to their generation. They bought a small trailer and began an evangelistic trek across the United States, preaching in small churches that were open to the work and moving of the Holy Spirit. They criss-crossed the United States from Los Angeles to New York and finally settled down in Los Angeles where they both got jobs and attended a church in Long Beach, California. While serving in that church their son, Jeffrey Lee, was born on November 4, 1963.God had spoken through prophetic words that they would be going to a land whose language they would not understand. Going through a dry period in their lives, Richard loaded up a small tent and made a trip to Mount Palomar, to wait on God. After a week of prayer and fasting, the Holy Spirit spoke to his heart that it was time to fulfill the call to a foreign land. Richard, Christine, and Jeff, set out for Brazil. They had no financial support for this until the night they boarded the ship. God sent a local Christian businessman who committed himself to their support for two years, just enough time to attend language school.It was while attending the Brazilian language school that a missionary visited and introduced Richard to one of Brazil's most notable guitar players, who had recently converted to Christianity. Richard played with him on the banjo and the two began a ministry together that took them to Brazil, Argentina, and Chile. Richard taught pastors in afternoon meetings, while accompanying his Brazilian friend in large city-wide evangelistic campaigns in the evenings.After serving for ten years in South America, Richard and Christine returned to the United States, primarily to get Jeff into an English-speaking school. Richard pastored churches in York, Pennsylvania, and later in Brooksville, New Jersey. The family eventually moved to Florida where Richard went to work for Piper Aircraft and Page Avjet.Richard loved studying the word of God and, in his retirement years, wrote over thirty books about the unfolding revelations of God in human history. His son, Jeff, published these books one year after his father passed away.

Book preview

CHRIST CAME TO HIS OWN

Richard O. Govier

Copyright © 2019 by Jeff Govier

Bible quotations unless otherwise identified are taken from

the King James Version with emendations by the author.

Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible®,

Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995

by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

~~~~~~~~~~

After reading this book and finding it of value to you, please consider sending a small donation for the the costs of advertising my father's work. Send all donations either by Paypal account name [e-mail] or by mail to:

Jeff Govier, 5511 Lorraine St., Lakeland, FL 33810.

~~~~~~~~~~

CONTENTS

Introduction

Was Christ Sent Just To Israel?

Did Christ's Parables Apply Just For Jews?

Go Not In The Way Of The Gentiles

Your House Is Left Unto You Desolate

Does Old Testament Prophecy Apply Today?

Are Jews, By Right Of Birth, God's People?

What About Israel's Claim To Jerusalem?

Who Are God's Covenant People Today?

Will Reconciliation Be Possible?

About the Author

Introduction of Questions

Was Christ sent just to the House of Israel? What does the Bible mean when it says: He came unto His own, and his own received Him not (John 1:11)? To what extent did Christ's parables apply just to the House of Israel, and no one else? Why did Christ tell His disciples: Go not in the way of the Gentiles….? What did Jesus mean, as he wept over Jerusalem, Your house is left unto you desolate?

These are just a few of the questions that I will be discussing. There were certain promises made to the Patriarchs and through the Prophets. Jesus came to fulfill all the promises made to Abraham and his descendants under the Old Covenant. So in this respect Christ came unto His own. He was, in the flesh, a linear descendant of Abraham, as well as being a linear descendant of David.

But the big question that arises is: to what extent does Old Testament prophecy still apply today? Are Jews, by right of birth, God's Covenant People today? What about their claim to Jerusalem on the basis of Old Testament promises? Who are God's Covenant People today? Can there ever be a reconciliation between Covenant People and Israel on the basis of the Old Covenant?

I am sure that I shall not answer all of these questions to satisfaction of everyone. I shall only attempt to present the facts as I see them. To those who do not agree, I hold no animosity. We all see in part. But I do hope to raise some questions that may throw some light on the subject.

I. WAS CHRIST SENT JUST TO ISRAEL?

A. He Came Unto His Own, And His Own Received Him Not

Jesus was not sent by God to just anyone. He was sent to His own. The label His own implies relationship, His own kindred according to the flesh. That is why the genealogies of Matthew and Luke are so careful to link Jesus with the House of Abraham and the House of David. Jesus was, according to the flesh, a linear descendant of the House of David through which the Messianic promise came. Collectively, Jesus was sent to the whole House of Israel, but apparently not to all the House of Abraham (at least not under the Old Covenant made to the House of Israel). There were many nations that came out of Abraham that practiced circumcision, but they were never a part of the community of Israel that came out of Egypt.

The House of Israel is therefore defined as those people, along with their proselytes, who came out of Egypt. It was to them and to them alone, that God gave the Law on Sinai. This was God's Covenant Community of the Old Testament. All other nations were excluded. It was to these people that God gave the ordinance of Passover, a prototype of Jesus and His sacrificial offering on the cross. If there was any one nation that should have known the meaning of the sacrifice of Jesus, it was Israel with their ordinance of Passover. Yet they missed their day of visitation and the oracle that was designed to foreshadow the day of His coming had been turned into a ritual observance with no power or light.

B. Jesus Implied The Way Of Salvation Was Through Israel

With all of their faults and failures, the Jewish heritage was the only one that Jesus recognized as a true herald of Salvation. This was because the Jewish Law holds, in its Feast Days and Festivals, God's plan of Salvation through Jesus Christ the Lamb of God. This truth was brought out by Jesus Himself while making Himself known to the Samaritan women. This woman, though a women of the street, was deep down religious and apparently worshiped God at a Temple built on Mount Gerizim in Samaria. This temple was a split off from the Temple service at Jerusalem where the Jews worshiped. The point raised by the Samaritan women was: Our fathers worshiped in this mountain; and ye say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship (John 4:20).

It is interesting to see how Jesus responded to this. Jesus knew full well that the center at Jerusalem would soon be destroyed by the Romans. Therefore, Jesus did not sanction either the temple on Mount Gerizim or the one at Jerusalem. Neither did He put His