Don't Ephesians 2, Matthew 21, and 1 Peter 2 transfer Israel's place?

The short answer Settled

None of the three says so. Christ makes Jew and Gentile one new man, but Paul never calls that new man Israel. The kingdom is taken from the leaders Jesus was addressing, while the vineyard stays with its owner. Peter gives his readers Israel's priestly and national titles, but never says Israel lost them or that her promises changed hands.

One new man, not named Israel

Paul reminds his Gentile readers that they were once "Gentiles in the flesh," distinct from "the Circumcision" (Ephesians 2:11), "being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise" (Ephesians 2:12). Then he says what Christ has done: "you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ" (Ephesians 2:13). Christ has "made both one" (Ephesians 2:14), "so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace" (Ephesians 2:15).

Paul names what that unity brings. Christ reconciles "them both to God in one body through the cross" (Ephesians 2:16). Both "have access by one Spirit to the Father" (Ephesians 2:18). The Gentile readers are now "fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God" (Ephesians 2:19), built together into a dwelling place of God (Ephesians 2:22). Those are great things. None of them is the name Israel, and nothing in the passage says Israel's covenants changed hands.

The vineyard stays with its owner

In Jesus' parable, wicked vinedressers kill the owner's servants and then his son. Asked what the owner will do, the listeners answer, "He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons" (Matthew 21:41). The owner keeps the vineyard. He replaces the people entrusted with it.

Jesus then applies the parable: "the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it" (Matthew 21:43). Matthew says who "you" were: "when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them" (Matthew 21:45). The one mark Jesus gives the new recipient is that it bears fruit. The passage says nothing about Israel's covenants or land being handed to the church.

A holy nation, and what Peter says it means

At Sinai God called the children of Israel "a special treasure to Me above all people" and "a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Exodus 19:5-6). Peter uses the same kind of language for his readers: "you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people" (1 Peter 2:9). The shared language is real and should not be played down.

Peter also says what it means for them. They are "being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 2:5). They are to "proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9). They "had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy" (1 Peter 2:10). Neither Peter nor Exodus says that using these titles for Peter's readers cancels Israel's identity or moves Israel's covenants, land, and restoration promises to someone else.

The usual objection

Each passage is read as the moment Israel was replaced. The broken wall in Ephesians means the church is now Israel. "A nation bearing the fruits" in Matthew means the church receives Israel's covenants and land. And Israel's titles in 1 Peter mean the church has taken Israel's place.

In each case the passage says something true and important: unity in Christ, judgment on faithless leaders, a new people called to God's praise. In each case the replacement and the transfer are added to the words, not found in them.

The words behind it