During the time that Christ walked the earth.......the majority of Biblical Isarel was lost to history, only a remnant remained like a broken potter's Jar.........never to be made whole again as it was during the days when Israel occupied and owned the land promised by God to father Abraham. These are the times that Jesus was born into........into a nation that existed primarily in name only with a puppet government controlled by the Roman Empire.Politics may have taken precedence in the hearts of those who ruled in Jerusalem, and the entire city paid the price in 70 AD. Keep in mind that Jesus said he came to call the lost sheep of Israel; that those who were healthy had no need of a physician.
Hebrew scripture also states that a remnant is always preserved, and to this day there are Jews who live a life/spiritual life set apart. They were chosen for a special purpose and for all we know their messianic national ruler may yet appear. 'Messiah' means anointed. Jesus was anointed for one purpose; it very well might be there is to be someone anointed for yet another chosen purpose.
Book, Chapter and Verse that proves that the nation of Biblical Isarel was a broken nation during the days of Jesus.
God made a series of promises to Abraham.......the direct lineage of Biblical Israel. (Genesis 12:1-3, 15:18). There were 3 basic elements of those promises. 1. Abraham's seed would come into possession of a land promised by God. 2. Israel would become a great nation from the seed of Abraham. 3. And lastly the seed of Abraham would be a blessing to all the nations of the world.
The Bible teaches that God has fulfilled 2 of the 3 promises just as promised. 1. The land promise. 2. A great nation promise.
Some........as evidenced believe that God is yet to fulfill these promises as they were to be "forever". What they do not read is there was conditions placed upon those promises of "forever". It is the fulfillment of these promises that is evidence of God's nature in not being able to lie. (Heb. 6:13-18). This scripture concludes that "..........he (Abraham/Israel as the seed of Abraham) has obtained the promise."
The Old Scriptures agree with the author of the Book of Hebrews.
THE LAND PROMISE. Was fulfilled when God brought Isarel out of the nation of Egypt. God remembered His promise to Abraham (Exodus 6:4-8). God told Isarel to enter and take possession of all the land promised (Deut. 1:6-8). They fulfill the promise of land (Jos. 11:23), "So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord had said unto Moses."
The promise was accomplished IN ITS ENTIRETY. "And the Lord gave unto Israel all the land which He sware to give unto their fathers, AND THEY POSSESSED IT and dwelt therein...................(v.45)........there failed ought of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel........ALL CAME TO PASS." -- Joshua 21:43-45
The seed of Abraham was already granted the status of becoming a nation while Isarel dwelt inside the nation of Egypt. God had told Jacob that would be accomplished while in Egypt (Genesis 46:3). Their population increased exponentially (Exodus 1:7) until their numbers became like the starts above, to numerous to count and comprehend, just as God had promised Abraham (Deut. 1:9-11)
The final promise would come much later......during the days of Christ Jesus, and that promise is the only promise that is still ongoing. (Gal. 3;16-29) Christians are "........heirs to the promise". The remaining promise. Christianity is still growing each and every day, and becoming a blessing to the peoples of the earth. The promise of becoming a blessing was first and expressly through the peoples of Isarel in the 1st century, as Christianity was preached only to the Jews for the 1st decade of the kingdom's existence. (Acts 2:24-26).
From that first decade of the young church/kingdom's existence the promise spread to all believers of all nations (Gal. 3:8-9, 13-16, 26-29).
As recorded by Book, Chapter and Verse in the Old Testament, God made other promises to Isarel, conditions of the "Forever" promise.
God promised to destroy Israel when it disobeyed. (Lev. 26:27-39). They would be driven from the land. (Deut. 4:25-28)
They would cease to be a nation (Deut. 8:19-20).
And these things happened just as God promised when Israel did sin against God. Israel sinned "grievously" against God, despite God's longsuffering (patience). The northern tribes were removed from the land first (2 Kings 17:7-18)
When the remaining tribe sinned......it also was removed from the land. (2 Kings 23:26-27)
Yet God had mercy upon Isarel and reduced their absence from the land to only 70 years. THE WHOLE NATION WOULD NOT BE RESTORED, BUT A REMNANT WOULD BE ALLOWED TO RETURN TO THE PROMISED LAND. (Jer. 25:8-13, Isaiah 10:20-23).
A BROKEN JAR, IT (ISRAEL) WOULD BE REPAIRED BUT NEVER WHOLE LIKE IT ONCE WAS. (Jer. 19:7-13)
And these are conditions Jesus was born into..........Israel was only a remnant of its once great nation, broken and ruled over by a puppet master.....Rome.
So.......Isarel indeed was a nation of lost souls in the 1st century AD. Until it was totally destroyed in the late 1st century with its proud peoples spread throughout the world.......with only a faithful remnant finding salvation through Christ Jesus.
The rest, to this day are just as lost as any other sinner. Israel sinned "grievously" against God and their nation was taken from them and given to another in the hopes of making them jealous enough to accept the truth as delivered by Christ Jesus, God incarnate. (Rom. 11)........It would be so easy to be grafted back into the original vein because of their roots help establish the original vein, all that is required is to accept Jesus at His word...............................................................
...................."Jesus saith unto him, I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE; NO MAN COMETH UNTO THE FATHER, BUT BY ME." -- John 14:6