Witnessing Unique to Christianity

29 July 2026  Jeremiah 15:10,16-21

“And I will make you toward this people a wall of solid brass.”

(Jeremiah 15:20)

A “wall of solid brass” is a sloppy translation, mostly because brass didn’t exist in ancient Israel. The word in Hebrew most likely refers to bronze, and every time you see the word “bronze” in the Old Testament, it points to the most difficult problem of the Israelites.

Christianity, which never really sought to become a religion separate from Judaism, and to this day regards the Jews as kinds of older siblings, was unique among the religious movements of classical antiquity for its insistence on witness and making disciples.

Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin (about 88% copper, 12% tin). Copper the Israelites had, but tin (and pretty much every other metal) had to be traded for, and that involved them in business with their deadliest enemies – the Philistines, the Assyrians, and the Babylonians – who happened to control all the commerce in all the metals the Israelites needed: tin, gold, silver, lead, and iron.

The Israelites were in a weak position, so they compromised their religious identity to make sweeter metallurgical deals. First the Judges, then the Prophets told them over and over again that such business practices demonstrated a profound lack of trust in God, who wanted them to be the kind of holy people that other nations would look up to: “I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 49:6); “All the families of the earth will find blessing in you” (Genesis 12:3). Instead the Israelites built altars, monuments, and sacred groves to the gods of other nations in order to make better deals on iron and tin.

Any time you see the word “bronze” in the Old Testament, it points to Israel’s biggest problem – the Jews didn’t consistently own the global intentions of their God. For a short time in the first century A.D. it seemed that they might. They even created a sort of half-way house for Gentiles who were attracted to the monotheism and moral seriousness of Judaism – these were the “God-Fearers” of the New Testament (cf. Acts 10:2, 10:22, 13:16 et al.). The Roman historian Tacitus even complained that too many Romans were converting to Judaism and becoming bad Romans: “Those who are converted to their ways follow the same practice, and the earliest lesson they receive is to despise the gods, to disown their country, and to regard their parents, children, and brothers as of little account” (Histories 5:5). After the disastrous Jewish War of A.D. 66-70, however, Judaism abandoned such overtures to Gentiles, and to this day are not much known for trying to make converts to Judaism.

Christianity, which never really sought to become a religion separate from Judaism, and to this day regards the Jews as kinds of older siblings, was unique among the religious movements of classical antiquity for its insistence on witness and making disciples. Greek and Roman religion wasn’t at all exclusive, but Christianity was (still is). Christian witnesses and evangelists actively tried to persuade people to reject the false gods of paganism, and to accept the living God in Jesus, warning them that their eternal destiny was at stake. Judaism was an exception to pagan inclusivity, but only partially so – they rejected the gods of Greece and Rome, but didn’t care very much about persuading Greeks and Romans to become Jews. Christians emphatically tried to make Greek and Roman believers, to the point that Roman authorities came to regard Christians as “atheists” and “misanthropes” for their rejection of pagan religion. This became the basis of official persecution of Christianity in the 2nd-4th centuries. The New Testament not only embraced the Old Testament view that Christians were to be a society whose holiness attracted pagans, but extended it by requiring active and vigorous evangelization: “Go and make disciples of all nations….” (cf. Matthew 28:19-20).

The Bible’s message requires active, serious witnesses. The biggest problems for all the people of God arise when we lose sight of that.