The Gentile Question (Part 2)

 
GO TO ALL THE NATIONS
 
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matt 28:19-20)
 
The words Jesus spoke to the apostles before His ascension foreshadowed the plan of salvation for the Gentiles. Rather than simply a command to teach Jews in the Diaspora, which I have interpreted in the past, Jesus directed his disciples to “the nations”, a common biblical reference to the Gentiles, (Duet 32:8). Although the words of Jesus seem clear in hindsight, the apostles did not immediately take the gospel to the Gentiles. The focus of the apostles in the early years was directed toward the Jews in the nation of Israel fulfilling the approach of Paul, “to the Jew first and also to the Greek,” (Rom 1:16). Jesus had provided a similar gospel sequence, “in Jerusalem, and in Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth,” (Acts 1:8).


 
After the persecution of Stephen, the gospel spread to the Samaritans, but still not to “the nations.” Even Peter resisted intermingling with Gentiles until he received a vision from the LORD. When Peter returned from Cornelius’ house to Jerusalem, he was questioned extensively by those who had not received a similar vision. Although Peter pacified “those who were circumcised,” (Acts 11:2), telling them, “The Holy Spirit fell upon them just as He did upon us at the beginning” (Acts 11:15), the long-term status of Gentiles, remained unanswered in terms of their obligation to the commandments.
 
It is not clear what status “God-fearing” Gentiles like Cornelius held in the early church prior to Acts 15. Did the apostles consider Cornelius to be part of the greater assembly or were additional steps toward Judaism still required? A greater focus on Gentiles did not occur in Acts until “men of Cyprus and Cyrene…came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks…preaching the Lord Jesus” (Acts 11:20-21), probably after A.D. 40, or up to ten years after the resurrection of Jesus.


 
(Next Part - Paul's Gospel For the Gentiles, Scott)