National Reception of the King and Individual Salvation: How Israel Will Accept Her Messiah

The prophetic and apostolic writings indicate that Israel's acceptance of her King involves both a national confession and individual response. It is important to distinguish these two levels and see how Scripture speaks of each.

subsection*1. A national confession required: Matthew 23:39

Jesus says in Matthew 23:39:

• "For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord."

Several points stand out:

1. The "ye" is plural. Jesus is addressing Israel collectively, not merely a few individuals.
2. The verb "shall say" is second person plural. It denotes a corporate speaking, not only scattered personal affirmations.
3. The content of the confession---"Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord"---is a national acknowledgement that Jesus is the promised One.

In other words, Jesus ties His future visible return and reception by Israel to a corporate confession. The nation must, as a nation, recognize and confess Him.

This does not mean every single Israelite must vote in favor of Him, any more than every citizen in a modern democracy must unanimously agree on a law for it to become the law of the land. It does mean that there must be a representative, official, national acknowledgment that He is the One who comes in the name of the Lord.

subsection*2. How might that national decision be expressed?

In the first century, Israel's highest religious‑legal authority was the Sanhedrin. We see this body in Acts 7, where Stephen speaks:

• He delivers a lengthy sermon rehearsing Israel's history and presenting Jesus as the Righteous One.
• He addresses the high priest and the council (Sanhedrin).
• Their response is rejection; they are "cut to the heart," gnash their teeth, cast him out of the city, and stone him (Acts 7:54--58).

This is a de facto national rejection, because:

• The Sanhedrin functioned as the supreme religious court and leadership.
• Its decisions effectively expressed the nation's stance in matters of covenant and Messiah.

By analogy, in many modern systems, a supreme court or similar body issues rulings that become the law of the land whether or not every citizen agrees. In the same way, the Sanhedrin's rejection of Jesus was more than a private opinion; it represented the nation's official position.

In a future context, Israel will again need a mechanism for corporate, official decision. Scripture does not spell out in detail whether this will be through a restored Sanhedrin, a high priestly leadership, or another form of representative body. What is clear is that:

• The nation must, in some formal, corporate way, acknowledge Jesus as Messiah and King.
• This collective turning is what fulfills "till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord."

subsection*3. Individual confession and salvation: Romans 10:9

Alongside this national confession, Scripture also speaks of individual response. Romans 10:8--9 says:

• "The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."

Here the pronouns are singular ("thou," "thy," "thine"). Paul is not describing a national corporate confession, but the personal response of an individual to the gospel message. Salvation in this sense is individual:

• Each person must personally confess with the mouth that Jesus is Lord.
• Each must personally believe in the heart that God raised Him from the dead.
• On that basis, that person ("thou") is saved.

This is different from the national confession in Matthew 23:39. There, Jesus speaks of "ye" as a group; here, Paul speaks of "thou" as an individual.

subsection*4. How the two relate

We can summarize the relationship this way:

1. Nationally Israel as a people must corporately confess Jesus as the One who comes in the name of the Lord. This fulfills Jesus' condition in Matthew 23:39 and is tied to His return and the establishment of the kingdom. However that is formally expressed---whether through some future representative body, leadership, or popular movement---it is a corporate acknowledgment.
2. Individually Each Israelite (and each Gentile) must personally confess and believe as described in Romans 10:9 in order to be saved. National confession does not mechanically save individuals, nor does individual salvation automatically constitute a national, covenantal response.

To your practical question:

• It is not a matter of a simple majority vote among Pharisees, a modern Knesset, or any single institution. Scripture does not give that level of procedural detail.
• What is required is that the nation, in its representative capacity, turn and say, "Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord," while individuals within that nation (and among the nations) personally confess and believe to receive personal salvation.

Thus, Israel accepts her King at both levels:

• Corporately, by a national act of recognition and confession that brings about the Messiah's return and the kingdom's establishment.
• Personally, by each individual's confession and faith, resulting in salvation as described in Romans 10:9.