Were the Jews mostly obedient when Jesus came the first time?
No. At Christ's first advent, only a small remnant of Jews were true believers, including Zacharias and Elizabeth, Joseph and Mary. The rest had only a dead religion, cloaked in outward form without spiritual life, which is why Jesus called them whited sepulchers.
Les explains that just as in Elijah's day, when God told Elijah there were still 7,000 who had not bowed the knee to Baal, that number out of a few million was only a little remnant. The same pattern continued to Christ's first advent. Though many assume the Jews were mostly obedient, only a few were left as true believers—Zacharias and Elizabeth, Joseph and Mary. The rest were cloaked in nothing more than religion, a dead religion with no spiritual life, which is why Jesus called them whited sepulchers.
More Questions
Were the Jews at the time of Christ's first advent mostly obedient to God?
At Christ's first advent, the Jews were not for the most part an obedient people, contrary to what most people think.