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Background for Ephesians 2:11-3:12

The Jews and the Gentiles
We are about to begin a section of Pauls general letter that deals particularly with the Gentile believers.
Who are the Gentiles? They are people of any nation other than the nation of Israel the Jewish nation.
Paul has already spoken of the Jewish and Gentile believers in the beginning of his letter. He mentioned
them separately in terms of them both responding to the gospel (Eph 1:12-13). And we have seen that Paul
mentioned both Jewish and Gentile believers again in chapter 2, when he spoke of their wretched condition
in the past, their present salvation in Christ, and their glorious reflection of God in the future age.
Through the remainder of chapter 2, Paul will be considering the case of the Gentiles specifically; and he
will continue to write of them through most of chapter 3, and a part of chapter 4.
Why do you suppose that Paul is so occupied with the Gentiles in this letter? Well first, we need to
remember that this was a general letter, at least circulated among the churches in Asia, possibly to those in
Europe as well.
Who then would have been the recipients of this letter would it have been primarily Jews, or Gentiles?
Gentiles, by far. There were certainly some Jews in the Asian and European cities in which Paul preached,
but they were by far the minority in those cities; most of the residents were Gentiles.
In addition, the Gentiles responded in greater numbers when they heard the preaching of the gospel. The
churches in Asia and Europe were all predominantly Gentile churches. And to whom was Paul the apostle?
He was the apostle to the Gentiles; specifically appointed by the Lord Jesus to carry the gospel to the
Gentiles.
So through his ministry, Paul had, of course, become particularly aware of issues with the Gentiles, and
resolving them. And one of the greatest issues was that, in the world, Jews and Gentiles ordinarily didnt
mix; like water and oil. In fact, it was worse than water and oil; Jews and Gentiles tended to be completely
separated from each other, all the time; they were, in fact, at enmity with one another.
Let me give you some examples of this separation and enmity. Jews would not eat with Gentiles, because
they believed doing so rendered them ceremonially unclean. For the same reason, they would not even
enter the house of a Gentile.
For three days before and after a pagan festival, it was unlawful for a Jew to transact any business with
Gentiles, to pay money to or receive it from them.
When a Jew reentered Judea he would of the shake the dust off his sandals and clothing so as not to
contaminate the Holy Land with Gentile dust.
Some Jewish women refused to help a non-Jewish woman given birth, because to do so would make them
responsible for bringing another despised Gentile into the world.
If a Jew married a Gentile, the family of the Jew would have a funeral service, symbolizing the death of
their child as far as they were concerned.
Daily, in prayer, the Jew thanked God that he had not been born a Gentile.

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Many Jews believed that God loved Israel and hated every other nation; some even believed that God
created the Gentiles to use as fuel for hell.
The prejudice of the Jews against the Gentiles was such that it caused the historian Tacitus and others to
call the Jews enemies of the human race. Naturally, the Gentiles were prone to reciprocate the animosity
that the Jews directed at them. On their part, most of the Gentiles despised the Jews, with their one and
only God and their many religious restrictions.
Where did this enmity come from? It came from the heart of men; but there was an underlying reason for
the enmity between Jews and Gentiles. To understand it, we need to go back in history a few millennia.
Turn to Genesis chapter 1. After God created mankind, He blessed them. We read of this in verse 28.
[Genesis 1:28] But before the first man and woman could fulfill Gods words, they sinned, and brought
death into the world (Rm 5:12). When they sinned, their understanding became darkened (Eph 4:18).
Without the Light of Gods thinking, they did not have the wisdom to rule over Gods creation; as Gods
appointed representatives.
Later, the first man and woman began to be fruitful and multiply, procreating children in their image; dust
bodies, that would return to the dust (Gen 3:19), due to the first couples sin.
Adam and Eve each chose to receive the redemption through the Coming One, the Christ, as revealed to
them by the LORD God (Gen 3:21), and so received Life everlasting. The righteousness of God through
faith in the Coming Christ was made known by them to their children, and then their childrens children,
and so on revealed from faith to faith (Rm 1:16-17).
But the wickedness of mankind as a whole was great on the earth, and every intent of the thoughts of their
hearts was only evil continually (Gen 6:5). All flesh had corrupted their way on the earth (Gen 6:12), with
the exception of one man, Noah. Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD (Gen 3:8), having become
righteous in His Coming Christ, by faith.
God had to act to stay the corruption on the earth, lest mankind destroy himself. So God wiped the earth
clean with a flood, preserving Noah, his family, and the animal creation in the ark.
Turn to Genesis chapter 9. Noah, his family and the animals went out of the ark after the floodwaters
receded, and Noah offered burnt offerings to the LORD. Afterwards, God blessed Noah and his sons.
[Genesis 9:1, 8-17]
v. 1 So we see the first part of Adam and Eves blessing here: Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.
What part of Adam and Eves blessing is not here? To subdue the earth, and have dominion. That was lost
when the first couple brought sin into the world.
In the next several verses, we read that God gave Noah and his sons the animals for food, in addition to the
plants they already eat. It is likely that this was because mankind needed a concentrated source of energy
due to a more hostile living environment, following the flood. Mankinds decline in longevity after the
flood supports this.
Noah and his sons were not to consume the blood of the animals, however. The life of the physical body is
in the blood. The thought reflected here in not consuming the blood is that life is sacred to God set apart
to God, who gave it.

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At this time, God also instituted capital punishment; whoever sheds mans blood, by man his blood shall
be shed. This was to serve as a deterrent on murder, showing the preciousness of each individual to God,
with their potential to become one of His sons, in His image.
We continue in verse 8.
v. 8-11 In verse 9, the Hebrew literally reads, I am establishing My covenant with you and with your
seed after you. Noah is the first man to whom God spoke of His covenant. The initial mention of it is
before the flood; at that time, God had said that He will establish His covenant with Noah (Gen 6:18).
Here we see that, after the flood, God is actually doing it; He is establishing His covenant; He is initiating
it. Now, a covenant is an agreement between two parties. Each of the parties has a part in the covenant.
But this is Gods covenant; God is covenanting with Himself: Father, Son and Spirit. No one else had any
part in this covenant, in bringing it to pass; it is an unconditional covenant, dependent on God alone.
And with whom does God initiate His covenant? With Noah and his seed after him. Who is descended
from Noah? Everybody. So this covenant is with all mankind. But what else is the covenant with? With
every living creature. This is a covenant with all created beings on the earth.
And what does God promise, in His covenant? Never again to destroy the earth with a flood. All living
beings man and animal that were not on the ark had been destroyed by the flood, which was a judgment
on mankind for their corruption, to cleanse the earth. Here God is promising that the waters shall never
again become a flood to destroy all flesh. This is a vow to preserve life, the promise of a compassionate
God.
And God gave Noah and his sons a sign of His covenant.
v. 12-17 Now, a sign in Scripture is a mark of something other than itself; it is symbolic. A sign from God
is an indicator which points out some aspect of Gods purposes, for men, that God is choosing to reveal in
the sign; a heavenly message, in picture form.
On the fourth day, God put the lights in the heavens to be for signs and seasons (Gen 1:14); we know that
the heavens declare the glory of God, in the gospel in the stars. The stars are signs; their names are
indicators, pointing out different aspects of the person and work of the Coming Christ.
What did we read is the sign of this covenant, with Noah, and every living thing with him, for perpetual
generations? A rainbow, set in the cloud. The rainbow in the cloud, then, is a symbolic indicator that
points out some aspect of Gods purposes for men.
In particular here, it is a indicator pertaining to Gods covenant that He is establishing, with mankind and
all other living beings. And in verse 16, what word qualifies the word covenant? Everlasting. This is
the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth. Lets
consider this sign, and its meaning.
What does a cloud bring? Rain. It had just rained for forty days and forty nights on the earth, as God
poured out His judgment on the wicked, who had corrupted their way upon the earth. In the cloud, then, we
see the righteous justice of God.

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But now God has set His rainbow in the cloud. What is a rainbow? It is a manifestation of light. Can you
ordinarily see light? No; light is invisible; but a rainbow makes the invisible light visible.
When sunlight comes in contact with a drop of rain, the light is refracted into its visible components there
are actually seven colors, in light. As the light strikes many droplets of rain, and is refracted, it is perceived
by us as a rainbow in the sky. A full rainbow, as perceived from the earth, appears as a half-circle, with the
bow rising up into the heavens.
The rainbow in the cloud, the sign of the covenant, is a symbolic indicator that points to the Coming Christ.
The rainbow makes the invisible light visible. God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all (1 Jn 1:5). Yet
no one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He had
declared Him (Jn 1:18); that is, He has revealed the Father. Jesus is the image of the invisible God (Col
1:15); He makes the invisible God visible.
It is possible to see all seven colors, the complete components of invisible light, in a rainbow. In seeing
Jesus, we see the Father (Jn 14:9); Jesus and the Father are One (Jn 10:30). In Jesus dwells all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily (Col 2:9).
As the rainbow points to Jesus Himself, its path points to His work. A rainbow, when seen in the most
complete state possible from the earth, appears to stretch from the earth, reaching into the heavens, and
returning once again to the earth.
The invisible God was first made visible to those on earth in His incarnation as the Son of Man. In His first
coming to the earth, the Son of God made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant the
Servant of Jehovah coming in the likeness of men. Jesus was obedient to death even the death of the
cross.
Therefore God has highly exalted Jesus exalted out of death in His resurrection; exalted back to heaven,
in His ascension, exalted to the right hand of the Father, where He shares His throne the highest place in
the universe.
And God has given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should
bow, of those in heaven and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and every tongue should
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil 2:7-11).
And when will every knee bow? When Jesus returns, in His Second Coming to the earth, as the King of
kings, and Lord of lords. The work of Christ, through which the Father is seen, follows the pattern that can
be seen in a rainbow; seen in His First Coming; seen in His exaltation; seen in His Second Coming.
The sign of the covenant, between God and the earth, was Gods rainbow, set in the cloud MY rainbow
(Gen 9:13). The sign is a picture of the Coming Christ, the Mediator between God and man, through whom
God can extend mercy to save out of the midst of His righteous judgment.
We can easily see the picture for mankind, saved from the judgment of death through Christ; but what of
the animal creation? Their destiny is tied in to that of mankind.
We know from Pauls letter to the Romans that the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of
corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God, when Gods sons are revealed in their glorified
bodies (Rm 8:19-23). So the redemption of mankind, accomplished by Jesus, results in the redemption of
the creation from the curse of death.

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All of mankind was included in Gods everlasting covenant that He was establishing with Noah and his
sons. Would God have explained the sign to them? He certainly would have, or its meaning would not
have been clear at that time.
All the seed of Noah were included in that covenant, for perpetual generations. The seed of Noah would
eventually become the nations of the earth. And within each nation, surely those who believed God for His
sign would have taught it to their children, so that each generation could know that Gods justice was
tempered by His mercy, in the Coming Christ. And so the righteousness of God continued to be revealed
from faith to faith.
Turn to Genesis chapter 11. As men multiplied on the earth, there came to be families of men. In the third
generation from Noah, the families of the earth united in rebellion against the LORD God. This was the
generation of Nimrod, whose name means, We will rebel. Nimrod was a mighty leader, establishing the
first world empire on the earth (Gen 10:8-12). At this time, all men spoke the same language.
[Genesis 11:1-9]
v. 1-2 They refers back to verse 32 of chapter 10; remember there are no divisions in the Hebrew text.
Who were they? The families of the sons of Noah; Moses had just recorded their genealogy in chapter
10, which goes well past the time of chapter 11. So we have here a detailed account of the key event which
led to the families of the earth being divided on the earth, after the flood. As mentioned, this happened in
the third generation from Noah.
Shinar was the land where Nimrod began his kingdom (Gen 10:10). In extratestamental literature, it is
recorded that Nimrod was the wicked leader of the rebellion against the LORD at Babel.
v. 3 What would bricks be used for? To build. Now, the bricks used in building would ordinarily be set
into the sun to dry them. But the families burnt their brick thoroughly. Why? It increases their
durability. Archaeologists have actually found some ancient buildings made with bricks, still intact, from
thousands of years ago. The mortar that the families used to secure their bricks to one another was
probably bitumen, which seeps up from the earth in that region.
Now we see what the families intended to build.
v. 4 a city, a tower, and a name lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the earth. What had God told
Noah? To be fruitful, and multiply, and to fill the earth. What are the families doing? They are disobeying
God. The families didnt want to fill the earth; they were determined to stay in one place, and establish
themselves, in a city. And they intended that city to be a permanent residence; they burnt their bricks
thoroughly.
The people also were determined to build a tower, with its top in the heavens. This describes ancient
temples built in this region known as ziggurats. These temples were used for the worship of the stars of the
heavens. The top of these temples contained a pagan shrine, inscribed with the signs of the zodiac.
This star worship was a perversion of the gospel that God planted in the stars on the fourth day of creation,
which tells the story of the Coming Christ. Instead of worshiping the One of whom the star names spoke,
the families of the earth were intent on worshiping the stars themselves; a false worship.

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Finally, we read that the families were determined to make a name for themselves. Men who refuse to
worship the true and Living God will always worship something in His place; for man was made to
worship. But since there is only one true God, anything men worship in His place is false; it has no reality,
as God.
Any god that men put in the place of the true God is always a reflection of themselves; for men who will
not submit themselves to the true God exalt themselves in His place. The families of the earth had
determined to exalt themselves in the place of the true God, the LORD, the only One worthy to be praised.
What they were intent on building was their own renown. This was the glorification of man as a god unto
himself right in the face of the LORD. And it was an organized, unified rebellion.
The LORD could not permit such evil.
v. 5-9 The LORD came down to see what it was that the sons of men had built. These men, with their hearts
as hardened to God as their bricks, had built themselves up in the face of the LORD, in rebellion against
Him.
Now, the LORD was willing to let them have their freedom of choice, to reject Him. But the LORD could not
allow them to deprive others of their freedom to believe into Him, and the unity of the families threatened
to do exactly that. So for the sake of mankind, the LORD confused their language, and scattered the families
abroad over the face of the earth.
This is when the LORD established the families of the earth into their various geographic locations, with
their differing languages (Gen 10:5, 20, 31). And there, the families grew into nations.
The national and linguistic barriers continue to serve to keep the people of the earth from uniting as one
against the LORD until the end times, when they will once again unite in rebellion against the LORD and
His Christ (Ps 2:1-3). And we recognize that time is not far away in our day, with the emerging global
community and enhanced ability to communicate.
The families of the earth which grew into the nations rejected the LORD at Babel. Because the nations
had rejected Him, the LORD had to set the nations aside for a time.
But Gods plans are never thwarted. The time had come for the LORD to make a nation for Himself, a nation
through whom the LORD would bring His Christ. This nation was to serve as a witness to the righteousness
of God through faith in the Christ to the nations that rejected the LORD.
Turn to Genesis chapter 12. The LORD would make a nation for Himself from one man Abraham.
[Genesis 12:1-3] The LORD God called Abraham out from his own nation the Chaldean nation to make
him a great nation the nation Israel. Motivated by what the LORD was promising him, Abraham began to
follow the LORD.
In time, the LORD revealed the Seed that would come from Abrahams body the Christ shown to
Abraham through the gospel in the stars. Abraham believed the LORD for His Christ, and the LORD
accounted it to him for righteousness (Gen 15:1-6).

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Then the LORD cut a covenant with Abraham for seed and for the land land for the nation that was to come
of Abrahams promised son, Isaac. The LORD showed that this covenant with Abraham what the LORD was
promising him was based on the death of the Coming Christ (Gen 15) it was to be an inheritance.
Later, God established His covenant with Abraham, which we read of in Genesis chapter 17. Turn there.
Abraham is now ready to submit to what the LORD is doing; it will be the LORDs doing through Abrahams
body. This allows the LORD to now establish His covenant with Abraham. Notice what the LORD says to
Abraham in verse 7.
[Genesis 17:7-11]
v. 7 what does the LORD call this covenant? An everlasting covenant; just as he had called the covenant he
made with Noah and his sons. Is this the same covenant? On the surface of things, it might seem they are
not the same covenant.
But did the covenant established with Noah and his sons include Abraham and his seed? Yes. Is that
covenant with Noah now null and void? No; that covenant spoke of the Christ, by whom God could extend
mercy as He executes judgment. Is that null and void? Absolutely not.
That covenant is an everlasting covenant, for all mankind; that would include Abraham and his seed. So
what is this covenant? It is also the everlasting covenant a further revelation of it, that pertains
specifically to the nation the LORD made for himself Israel.
Later in Genesis, you can find the covenant the LORD made with Isaac, and then with Jacob; then in Exodus,
the covenant the LORD made with Israel; and in First Samuel the covenant the LORD made with David. They
are all the same covenant Gods everlasting covenant but each one contains a further revelation of how
the LORD is bringing His plan to pass, to bring forth His Christ, who will be the Savior of the world. God
revealed His everlasting covenant in stages.
The LORD would make the nation of Israel through Abraham, and then his son Isaac, and then his son Jacob
considered the fathers of the nation. As Israel was to be the LORDs nation, the LORD indicates here that
He will be their God. We know that this will be realized in the end times, when Israel receives Jesus as
their Messiah.
v. 8 the nation of Israel is to have an earthly inheritance the land of Canaan. Deuteronomy 32:8 tells us
that when the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, He set their boundaries based on the number of
the children of Israel. The LORD determined the land that would be need for His nation, Israel, during the
kingdom age, and He set the boundaries of the other nations accordingly. They may be shaving Israels
land down today, but the LORD will restore the land to them in the end.
v. 9-11 We see that the LORD gave Abraham a sign of the everlasting covenant that the LORD was
establishing with him and his seed after him the nation Israel. That sign was circumcision; the cutting
away of the foreskin of the male reproductive organ.
We will discuss this more when we actually begin the passage in Ephesians next time, but the sign showed
that the body of the flesh, with its works, must be put off, in order to bring forth Life everlasting (Col 2:1112).

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Again, the sign of the covenant pointed to the Christ. A man must be joined by faith to Christ in His death
crucified with Him in order to be raised up in the newness of Life everlasting. This sign was given
specifically to the nation of Israel, as a teaching tool from father to son in the flesh, in order to preserve the
truth of the Coming Christ in the Israel.
The nation Israel would be the woman who would produce the Seed that would crush the serpents head
(Gen 3:15) the Seed, Christ. But the nation Israel was to be even more than that.
To Israel, the LORD would give His Law, so that men could know His will, and His destiny for them, in
Christ. And Israel was to be the Servant of Jehovah, who would bear His witness to the nations that had
rebelled against the LORD at Babel the Gentile nations. In this way, the Light of Christ was to shine to all
men Jew and Gentile.
We find one of the first indications of this purpose of the LORD for His nation after He delivered them from
Egypt. Turn to Exodus chapter 19. This is when the LORD offered Israel His covenant the everlasting
covenant, based on His Christ. It was an offer for the nation to have a relationship with the LORD like a
husband and wife. The covenant was to be their marriage contract. The LORD is giving His words to Moses
for the people.
[Exodus 19:4-6]
v. 4 I brought you to Myself you can see how personal the LORD is with them.
v. 5 In the tenor of this, you can hear the voice of a man, proposing to the woman he has chosen: if you
will obey My voice; if you will keep My covenant, our marriage contact you will be my treasured wife.
What would it take for Israel to obey the LORD, and to watch over carefully to preserve the LORDs
covenant? It would take believing Him.
v. 6 If Israel placed their faith in the LORD their hand in His they would be His holy nation set apart
unto Him; His wife, His helpmeet. And Israel would be a kingdom of priests to the LORD. Now, a priest is
a mediator; to whom would Israel be mediator, as the LORDs nation? To the other nations; the Gentiles.
Israel was to witness to the righteousness of God through faith in His Coming Christ, to the other nations,
who had turned away from the LORD.
But Israel rejected the LORDs personal offer to her. The children of Israel preferred religious works over
having a relationship with the LORD.
So the LORD gave Moses His statutes, commandments and judgments the Law, His expressed will so
that Israel could see for themselves that it was not possible for them to keep it; that they were lawbreakers
sinners. Thats the first purpose of the Law: by the Law is the knowledge of sin (Rom 3:20).
The LORD also gave Moses the tabernacle service the ceremonial Law which revealed the way of
righteousness through the Coming Christ, who would deliver men from their sin. This is the second
purpose of the Law: it was to lead Israel to Christ (Gal 3:24).
Beside these two purposes, the Law also served the LORD in another way. In that Israel tried to keep the
letter of the Law, the Law kept Israel; it kept them separate from all the other nations. The Law was
purposed by the LORD to keep Israel separated from the world and separated unto Himself.

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Galatians 3:23 says of the Jews that they were kept under guard by the Law, kept for the faith which would
afterward be revealed that is, when Christ was revealed in His first coming to the earth the object of the
faith.
The nation had rejected the LORDs offer at Mount Sinai, and they have yet to take Him up on it. They have
not yet become the holy nation that the LORD desires them to be, and so cannot fulfill their purpose to be a
kingdom of priests, teaching the other nations about the LORD.
Since Israel did not believe in the LORD, they did not keep the truth reflected in the ceremonial Law; the
picture of Christ was marred. And they added the traditions of the fathers to the righteous requirements of
the Law, interpretations that made the Law an unbearable burden to the Jewish people. In this way, the
Law was perverted into a religious system of works Judaism.
The changes which Israel brought in to the Law also served as a means of excluding the Gentiles,
something the LORD never intended the Law to do. The Law was to keep the Jews in; it was never to keep
the Gentiles out.
But the Jews, with religious arrogance, viewed themselves as the people of God, as evidenced by the mark
in their flesh, circumcision, as well as the fact that Abraham was their father.
So instead of teaching the other nations about the LORD, most members of the nation Israel actually
withheld the good news about Him from the Gentiles either actively, or simply by virtue of their
exclusivity.
That is why Isaiah, who calls Israel the Servant of Jehovah, shows that they failed in their commission.
And Isaiah also prophesies of One who would truly be Jehovahs Servant One who would do all the will
of God. Turn to Isaiah chapter 42. First we will look at Isaiahs words concerning the nation of Israel as
the Servant of Jehovah.
[Isaiah 42:18-25]
v. 18-20 This is Israel as the Servant of Jehovah. The LORDs purpose was to send them to the other nations
as His witness; but they had never taken the truth in for themselves and believed it. They were blind to the
spiritual realities; deaf to the good news of the Coming Christ.
v. 21-22 Israel remained captives of sin and death; because they had never received their Deliverer.
v. 23-25 Israel became a casualty in the war for souls; they were deceived into believing that they could
come to God, based on their own righteousness by the Law. But there is none righteous; no not one; they
could not keep the letter of the Law; no one can.
What the LORD desired was for Israel to walk in His ways, to come to Him by faith in His Christ. But Israel
would not receive the righteousness of Christ on their behalf, and because they would not, they were in
effect choosing the LORDs judgment for themselves.
Israel failed to fulfill her purpose as the Servant of Jehovah, but they will fulfill it in the kingdom age.
Meanwhile, the LORD sent Another to be His Servant.
Turn back to the beginning of Isaiah 42. Isaiah prophecies of this One, who came as the Servant of
Jehovah, to do the will of His LORD.

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[Isaiah 42:1-7]
v.1 Who is this Servant? The Coming Christ; the Messiah. The LORD indicates that He has put His Spirit
on this Servant; this is the Anointed One of Israel, the Prophet who will speak the words of the LORD to the
people (Deut 18:15-19).
And what people are mentioned? The Gentiles. Israel had been given the Light, hid it under a bushel. This
Servant will hold the Light out to the Gentiles, that they might see their salvation Christ.
v. 2-4 Isaiah is prophesying of Christ in His first coming; in His meek submission to the will of the Father,
perfectly accomplishing the Fathers will through His death and resurrection, so that the good news of His
salvation can go out to the ends of the earth.
v. 5-7 The LORD will keep His Servant, who is willing to be kept. The Christ is the everlasting covenant
not just to the Jews, but to the Gentiles, as well. He is the Light of the world, giving men the Light of Life,
freeing them from their imprisonment to sin and death.
The enmity between Jew and Gentile comes out of the heart of man. But the reason for why the enmity
came into being is rooted in the rejection of the LORD by the nations at Babel, and the rejection of the LORD
by Israel, in favor of religion.
The LORD had made the nation Israel for Himself, to be His special treasure and to serve His purposes. But
Israel viewed their privileges with spiritual pride, thinking themselves superior to the other nations because
of it; and even going to the extreme of hating the other nations, because of it. In turn, the Gentile nations
responded in kind, despising the Jews as extreme religious zealots which was close to the truth, in most
cases.
The hatred between the two groups was palpable when Jesus came to the earth, particularly since the
Gentiles had dominion over the Jews at that time, and Rome was ruling in Judea with an iron fist. By this
time, the influence of the Pharisees was strong, with their proclivity toward ceremonial cleanliness and
separation from all that is unclean especially the Gentiles.
When Jesus came, He came to His own (Jn 1:11) the Jews. But Jesus did not hesitate to show the way to
salvation to any Gentiles He encountered. Turn to Matthew chapter 15. Jesus had left Galilee, entering the
region of Tyre and Sidon Gentile territory.
[Matthew 15:21-28]
v. 21-24 This woman was a Gentile. It was considered improper for a Jew to speak to a Gentile, and
especially a woman. Jesus gave His disciples the opportunity to speak first, and they respond as Jews of
that day would have done - they are trying to wash their hands of her, so to speak. There is no concern for
her, just for propriety.
But Jesus answers the woman, with a statement designed to test her faith. His comment implies that He has
only been sent by God to the nation Israel. But we see the woman was not shaken from her quest by this.
v. 25-26 The children here refers to the Jews they regarded themselves as the children of God. And
who are the little dogs? The Gentiles a derogatory term for them, of course. Jesus is simply using
conventional terms of the day, not reflecting any prejudice on His part, but on the part of the Jews
including His listening disciples. Notice the womans response.

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v. 27-28 Such humility on her part; and such faith. And Jesus commended her for it and gave her the
desire of her heart.
Such occasions prepared the disciples for the commission that Jesus would give them, after He rose from
the dead. Turn to Matthew chapter 28. Jesus spoke this to the eleven men whom He had appointed as
apostles, to be sent into the world with the good news of Him.
[Matthew 28:18-20] They were to make disciples of all nations the Gentile nations.
Now turn to Acts chapter 1. These were the last words Jesus spoke to His disciples.
[Acts 1:8] Their witness was to go out to the end of the earth. And who is there? The Gentiles.
The spread of the gospel followed what Jesus said here, word for word. Ten days after Jesus ascended back
into heaven, on the day of Pentecost, Jesus poured the Holy Spirit out on His Body of believers on earth.
This was the promised baptism in the Holy Spirit, the anointing of the Body of Christ for their ministry, to
reconcile men to God.
The Holy Spirit filled them with the charismata, the spiritual graces, to empower their witness, which was
manifested on Pentecost in the speaking in tongues known foreign languages.
The first witness was in Jerusalem that very day and to whom did the disciples witness? To the Jews,
including the Jewish pilgrims who came there for the feast of Pentecost. That day, 3000 souls were saved.
With time, persecution drove the believing Jews out of Jerusalem particularly the Hellenist, Greekspeaking Jews.
Turn to Acts chapter 8. Stephen has just been stoned to death the first martyr of the church. This is what
sparked the great persecution. Here we learn where the persecuted believers went.
[Acts 8:1] The apostles stayed in Jerusalem, along with other believers who lived there Hebrew Jews of
whom we read later (Acts 9:26, 12:1, 5, 12-17). It was primarily Hellenist Jews who were driven out of
Jerusalem, who would be the perfect witness in the Greek-speaking world to the Lord.
Who are the primary residents of Judea? Jews. But what about Samaria? Thats where the Samaritans
lived those who were half-Jew and half-Gentile and despised by the Jews. Yet Philip, a Hellenist Jew,
preached the gospel there, and many Samaritans believed.
When Peter and John came down from Jerusalem to see this, they witnessed the Samaritans receiving the
Holy Spirit, presumably speaking in tongues the same sign given at Pentecost. It was clearly a signal that
the Lord was including those Samaritans who believed within the church. Of course, they were halfJewish.
It was around this time that the Lord revealed Himself to Saul on the road to Damascus, appointing this
Hebrew of Hebrews as His apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15). Saul became a most ardent follower of the
Lord, even choosing to go by his Roman name Paul becoming all things to all men, that he might by all
means save some (1 Cor 9:22).
But while Paul was being taught by the Lord, the Lord needed to prepare His church who were mostly
Jews, at this time for the great change that was to come.

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The chosen vessel to introduce this change was Peter. It was to Peter that Jesus had given the keys to the
kingdom of heaven (Mt 16:19). What do keys do? They open locked doors. The keys that the Lord gave
Peter were the truths of the gospel. Peter had used the keys to open up the kingdom of heaven to the Jews
on the day of Pentecost. Now the Lord will have Peter use his keys again this time to open up the
kingdom to the Gentiles.
Turn to Acts chapter 10. Peter had been visiting the churches in Judea, and was currently staying in Joppa
at the home of one Simon the tanner. Now, tanning of animal skins leatherworking was considered an
unclean occupation by the Jews; but Peter was apparently unconcerned about any ceremonial defilement.
Peter was learning to walk by the Spirit.
In Caesarea to the north a Gentile city there was a Roman centurion named Cornelius. This man was a
God-fearer (Acts 10:2). This means that Cornelius, a Gentile, followed the God of Israel; he was not
circumcised, but he had been drawn to the true and living God, and prayed to Him. The time had come for
the Lord to answer Cornelius prayers.
Cornelius was given a vision, to send for Peter in Joppa. Meanwhile, Peter was also given a vision, which
was repeated three times for emphasis. The vision was of a white sheet, containing both clean and unclean
animals. This is what Peter was instructed in the vision.
[Acts 10:13-15] What God has cleansed, you must not call common unclean. Peter did not understand
the vision initially, but when the messengers from Cornelius arrived, and the Spirit instructed Peter to go
with them, doubting nothing, Peter put two and two together.
Peter invited them in, and lodged with them; and when he set out with them, he took six believing Jews
with him, fully knowing that they were going to be needed as witnesses. Along with Peter seven of them
the witness to the Gentile conversion would be complete.
When Peter arrived at the home of Cornelius, he entered with him; unthinkable for a religious Jew but
Peter no longer was a religious Jew, was he? In the house of Cornelius, Peter found a large gathering of the
Gentile friends of Cornelius, waiting to hear from Peter.
When Peter preached the gospel of Christ to them, they believed and the Holy Spirit was poured out on
them, and they spoke in tongues. The believing Jews with Peter were astonished, because they recognized
that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles, also (Acts 10:45-46).
Turn to Acts chapter 11. When Peter returned to Jerusalem, the believers there confronted him because
the believing Jews were still zealous for the Law, not yet realizing that Jesus had freed them of it (Gal
2:19). You might think that they were upset with Peter for sharing with the Gentiles but that was not their
principle concern.
[Acts 11:1-3, 15-18]
v. 1-3 those of the circumcision here are the formerly Jewish brethren. You can see that ceremonial
cleanliness was of paramount importance to the religious Jews and that was their former manner of life.
Peter then related the account of the Gentile conversion. Skip down to verse 15.

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v. 15-17 Peter is fully convinced in his mind. He has brought the brethren with him, who had witnessed
the event. He recognizes that the conversion of the Gentiles was the work of God. Peter had yielded to
God in the matter; what about the brethren in Jerusalem?
v. 18 They too saw it for what it was. The Lord was granting salvation to the Gentiles on the same basis
that He had for the Jews simple faith in Christ alone. The Jewish brethren recognized that the Lord was
purifying for Himself His own special people (Titus 2:14), both Jew and Gentiles. They must not call
unclean what God had cleansed.
This revelation later gave the church in Jerusalem the wisdom to see that nothing was to be added to the
gospel of grace. False brethren were trying to introduce a counterfeit gospel into the predominantly Gentile
assemblies. They were telling the Gentile brethren that they must, in addition to their faith, keep the Law
and be circumcised, in order to be saved.
Turn to Acts chapter 15. The issue was brought to the church in Jerusalem by Paul and Barnabas. Peter
spoke up on behalf of the Gentiles.
[Acts 15:7-11] After Peters words, Barnabas and Paul gave their testimony concerning the Lords
miraculous works among the Gentiles. The leader of the church in Jerusalem was James, who showed that
Scripture prophesied of the Gentiles coming to the Lord. And the whole assembly agreed on the matter,
sending a letter to the Gentile assemblies which denounced the false teachers, making it clear that the
Gentiles were saved by simple faith in Christ alone just as the Jews were.
As the apostle to the Gentiles, it fell to Paul to make it clear to both Jewish and Gentile believers were not
only saved on the same basis, but that they were equal in Christ; and further, that they were one in Christ.
This unity is what we will see emphasized by Paul as we continue next time in his letter.
For next time: read Ephesians 2 and 3.