“Thus says the LORD, ‘Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises loving kindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,’ declares the LORD. ‘Behold, the days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘that I will punish all who are circumcised and yet uncircumcised — Egypt and Judah, and Edom and the sons of Ammon, and Moab and all those inhabiting the desert who clip the hair on their temples; for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised of heart'” (Jer 9:22-25).
At first glance, Jeremiah’s words might sound like the book of Romans — though written centuries earlier. Here, the LORD rejects all confidence in human strength and ethnic identity (v. 23). To make His point, He lists Judah alongside uncircumcised nations, declaring them uncircumcised in heart (vv. 25-26) because they boasted in ethnicity rather than in knowing Him (v. 24). The prophet was not redefining Jewishness to include everyone who knows God, but challenging the idea that being Jewish grants privilege or immunity from God’s righteous judgment.
This is why Jewish people need the gospel as much as Gentiles — because it is the good news promised long ago, that God would forgive our sins and transform us from within, giving us a circumcised heart.
Paul makes the same point in Romans 2:25-29. In Romans 1:18—3:20, he shows that all — Jew and Gentile — stand guilty before God and need the gospel, which grants God’s righteousness to those who believe. His claim that true Jewishness is about circumcision of the heart (Rom 2:28-29) is not an argument for the church replacing Israel. Rather, it is biblical proof from Moses and the Prophets that we are as sinful as the Gentiles because of our uncircumcised hearts (see Lev 26:41; Jer 6:10; 9:25).
This is why Jewish people need the gospel as much as Gentiles — because it is the good news promised long ago, that God would forgive our sins and transform us from within, giving us a circumcised heart.
“Moreover the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live…. For this commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us to get it for us and make us hear it, that we may observe it?’ Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will cross the sea for us to get it for us and make us hear it, that we may observe it?’ But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may observe it” (Deut 30:6, 11-14).
