Abraham is one of the towering figures of the New Testament. Indeed, the report of the history of Jesus in the Gospels starts with him: Record “of the genealogy of Jesus, the Messiah, son of David, son of Abraham: Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac was the father of Jacob, Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah was the father of Perez" (Matthew 1:1–3).
For the Gospel, to declare Jesus to be Ben Abraham (“son of Abraham”) is to identify him truly as a Jew of the lineage of Israel. By the time of the Second Temple, a great deal of effort was put forth by the Sanhedrin (the Jewish supreme court) to keep genealogy lists of Jewish families and individuals of the time. This practice was needed in view of the fact that many Jews had contracted marriages with foreigners during the time of the Babylonian Exile. This fact rendered them ineligible to assume certain positions and functions within the Jewish religious and social context. A cohen (priest), for example, could not exercise his priestly functions if his genealogy could not be verified or was stained by mixed marriage. By establishing Jesus’ genealogical lineage to David, both through his father’s and mother’s sides (see Matthew 1:1–17; Luke 3:23–32), and thereby to Abraham, the Gospels firmly declare that he was indeed the Messiah Ben David and a Jew without question.
In early Judaism, the merits of Abraham’s faith and his willingness to sacrifice Isaac were believed to extend to his descendants, the “sons and daughters of Abraham,” the benefits of God’s favor and grace. The Halachic Midrash on Exodus 14:15 stated that it was on the reckoning of Abraham’s merits that the Red Sea was divided and Israel was rescued from its enemies. It was indeed expected that the children of Abraham, commonly referred to in Rabbinic literature as “all Israel,” would have a part in the “world to come.”1 A similar idea can be found in a number of New Testament passages: Once Jesus argued with some of his contemporaries in a synagogue that to set a crippled Jewish woman free of her illness was a religious duty, even if it would need to be done on the Sabbath day, for she was a “daughter of Abraham” (Luke 13:10–17), and he accordingly did so. In another time, while he was in the city of Jericho, Jesus accepted to go to the home of such an unpopular and hated person as Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector.2 At Zacchaeus’s home, Jesus welcomed his repentance (teshuvah) and recognized him worthy of salvation, for he too was a “son of Abraham,” a lost sheep of Israel that was in need of being sought and saved (Luke 19:1–9).
In both ancient Judaism and the New Testament, Abraham’s fatherhood is understood as not only encompassing the faithful Israelite, but it reaches out to any man, from any ethnic background, who embraces the same spiritual attitude. Indeed, the Talmud states, “Abram is the same as Abraham. At first, he became a father to Aram [Ab-Aram], but in the end, he became a father to the whole world. Similarly, Sarai is the same as Sarah. At first she became a princess to her own people, but later she became a princess to all the world” (Berachot 13a). The Talmud says furthermore: “R. Isaac said: He who perfects himself, the Holy One, blessed be He, deals uprightly with him, as it is written, ‘With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful, and with the upright thou wilt shew thyself upright’ (2 Sam. 22:26). R. Hoshaia said: If one perfects himself, good fortune will be his, as it is written, ‘Walk before me and be thou perfect’ (Gn. 17:1); and it is further written, ‘And thou shalt be a father of many nations’ (ibid. 17:4)."(Nedarim 32a). God’s blessing over Abraham was understood as extended to all humanity: “R. Eleazar further stated: What is meant by the text, ‘And in thee shall the families of the earth be blessed’ (Gn 12:3)? The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Abraham, ‘I have two goodly shoots to engraft on you: Ruth the Moabitess and Naamah the Ammonitess.’ All the families of the earth, even the other families who live on the earth, are blessed only for Israel’s sake. All the nations of the earth, even the ships that go from Gaul to Spain, are blessed only for Israel’s sake” (Yevamoth 63a).
In a very close way, in the New Testament, Paul stated in Romans 3:29–4:12, 16–17: “Is God the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, since indeed God Who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is One [Ehad]. Do we then nullify the law [Torah] through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we uphold the law [Torah]. What then shall we say that Abraham, our father according to flesh, has found? For if Abraham was justified by his works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? ‘And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness’ [Genesis 15:6]. To the one who works, his wage is not reckoned as a favor but as what is due. But to the one who does not work but believes in Him Who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing upon a man to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works: ‘Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven and whose sins have been covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account’ [Psalm 32:1-2]. Is this blessing then upon the circumcised only, or upon the uncircumcised also? For we say, ‘Faith was reckoned to Abraham as righteousness.’ How then was it reckoned? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised; and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be reckoned to them, and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision but who also follow in the steps of the faith of our Father Abraham which he had while uncircumcised. For this reason, it is by faith that it might be in accordance with grace, in order that the promise may be certain to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the Father of Us All, as it is written: ‘A Father of many nations have I made you’ [Genesis 17:5].”
1Talmud, Sanhedrin 90a: “All of Israel has a portion in the World to Come, as it is stated: ‘Your people also shall be all righteous; they shall inherit the land forever; they shall be the branch of My planting, the work of My hands to be glorified’ (Isaiah 60:21).”
2Tax collectors were usually profoundly disliked and despised by their fellow Jews, for they worked for the oppressive Roman government, and usually took advantage of their position for illicit and quick building-up of their personal fortunes.