The first commission to the twelve.
When Jesus called the twelve apostles and sent them out to preach His word, He gave them these instructions, "Go not in the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand." Evidently, then, the apostles were not to trouble to deliver the glad message of the Gospel to any who were not purely of the house of Israel. They were to "heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils;" but none of these good works were they to do amongst the Gentiles, nor in the land of the Samaritans. It seemed almost that Jesus did not want those not of Israel to enjoy the privileges and blessings of His great redemption.
The leaven of the Gospel.
But such an intention was only apparent; it was not real. All men, of whatever race or color, are the children of God; and the great atoning sacrifice was made for the Gentiles as well as for the Jews. Said Jesus once in a parable, "The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened." The whole world is to be leavened with the Gospel of Jesus Christ; indeed, the Savior's last charge to His apostles was that they should go into all the world, and preach the word of God. Only when the Gospel has been heard by every nation, tongue, and people, will the end come.
{292} The kingdom to the Gentiles.
The apostles were slow, however, to understand this truth, though Jesus taught it to them plainly. It was right, of course, that they should minister first to the children of Israel. Israel constituted the chosen people. From them, and through them, had come to the world the knowledge of the one great God—the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob. From them, too, had come now the Messiah, by whom was to be wrought the salvation of the world. What the apostles did not appreciate, however, was that the Jews would prove themselves unworthy of their Savior. Yet, Jesus taught this, too; and in teaching this truth, He declared further that the Gospel would be given to others. To the woman of Samaria, Jesus declared, "Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him." No longer, after the ministry of Jesus, should Jerusalem be the center of divine worship. The world over, men should learn to worship God in spirit and in truth. Not only so; but Jesus asserted also that because of the unbelief of the Jews, the privileges of His Church should be taken away from them and given to others. "Did ye never read in the scriptures," Jesus asked of the Jews, "The stone which the builders rejected, the same has become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes? {293} Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof." And, indeed, such a transfer of privilege and responsibility was almost necessary to fulfill the ancient prophecy, "Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon Him, and He shall shew judgment to the Gentiles. . . . And in His name shall the Gentiles trust."
The case of Cornelius.
When the apostles were left to themselves, however, they continued still to minister only to the Jews. It required a special revelation from heaven, to arouse them to the fact that the Gospel was for the Gentiles also. There lived in Caesarea a Roman centurion named Cornelius. Cornelius was a devout and God-fearing man, though a Gentile, and prayed much that he might learn what to do to gain eternal life. One day an angel appeared to him, and instructed him to send messengers to Joppa for one Simon, surnamed Peter, who should tell Cornelius what to do. Cornelius sent two of his men immediately to seek out Peter. Meanwhile, Peter, at Joppa, "went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour: and he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance, and saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: wherein were all manner of four-footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And there came a voice to him. Rise, Peter, kill and eat. But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have {294} never eaten anything that is common or unclean. And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common." This vision appeared to Peter three times; and while he was pondering on the meaning of it the messengers of Cornelius arrived. Peter hurried to Caesarea to minister to Cornelius; and when he saw that God had blessed Cornelius, Peter understood the meaning of the vision. "Of a truth," said he, "I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: but in every nation he that feareth Him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him."
The preaching of Barnabas and Paul.
Thenceforth, the apostles preached to the Gentiles as well as to the Jews. Paul and Barnabas told the truth fearlessly to the Jews themselves. "It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldst be for salvation unto the ends of the earth. And when the Gentiles heard this they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life were saved."
"Other sheep."
Thus was the word of God carried to the Gentiles. But Jesus did not Himself minister to them during his earth-life. While yet ministering to those who followed Him in the Holy Land, however, Jesus uttered a strange declaration. He sai............