Starting around the middle of the last century, a new theology began to take shape regarding the relationship between the Church and the Synagogue, and between Israel and the nations. This is now happening worldwide. Unfortunately, however, it has barely reached the grassroots level of the churches. It is also a shift that pastors must first fully come to terms with—if they are even willing to do so—before they can explain it to their congregants.

Nevertheless, this new theology has been the subject of international symposia (Rome 2015, Vienna 2022, Vilnius 2024), and its initial formulations can be found in official church documents. Below are two quotes that underscore this, one from a Protestant source and one from a Roman Catholic source:

The church must never forget that Jesus was a Jew, raised in the Jewish tradition, and lived according to the Tanakh. No matter how much he comes “from above,” he is at home in Israel. All his words have their point of reference in the world of Israel; outside of that context, his words quickly take on a different meaning. That is why the church is also committed to hearing from Israel itself how it lived and lives with the Tanakh, and why it wishes to learn from that. (IP memorandum of the Protestantse Kerk in the Netherlands, 2008)

The calling of the people of Israel, which they have had since the days of Abraham, is and remains; even after Christ; even if they do not recognize or accept Jesus as the Christ. The people have never been rejected by God. On the contrary, the Church must correct its view of Israel as a people who were released from their service with the death of Jesus, and realize that the people still have theological significance.(Encyclical “Nostra Aetate” 1965, and further elaborated annually since then in statements by the Pontifical Biblical Commission)