Opus 2026-328: A New Step

Why do I spend so much time listening to others talk and debate?  Why do I always seek out books of interest?  It is because I intend to always be a learner and you never know when or how something new will develop.  Sometimes it is totally new and other times it is a reminder of what has slipped your mind.  On occasion it is expressing something you know in a better way.  Listening to the debate between Steve Gregg and James White on Calvinism was the last type.

During the debate White trotted out one of his proof texts, quoted it and said, “So there.”  For most people that would be solid because it said what he said it said.  You would think that would decide the issue.  The problem is that Gregg was able to bring out another passage which was a little longer and those few words changed the whole meaning.

If you are a Bible student and discuss things with people of strong conviction you have run into this.  For instance take the account of Jesus and the gentile woman.

(Mat 15:24 KJV)  But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

My dispensationalist friend is always quoting this because one of his articles of faith is that the message of Jesus was just for the Jews and He only came to the Jews.  Since Jesus was born in Bethlehem, raised in Nazareth and did all of His teaching to Jews that seems to make sense to some people.

For some reason he never quotes the parallel verse in Mark,

(Mar 7:27 KJV)  But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.

Notice that the concept of “first” is inserted.  That means that yes, Jesus came to a Jewish culture but that His message will go beyond that.  Is it significant?  It is if you believe John 3:16 means that Jesus came to the whole world but if you are convinced that He only came to the Jews you don’t want anyone to read the second part.

Steve Gregg used a different example but his point was that when you have two verses that are expressing generally the same basic thought, one of the principles of hermeneutics, or interpretation, is that the extra is a deeper explanation of the shorter passage.  You can’t just ignore one and only teach the other.

You will find many places where the different gospels or prophets express things differently.  Your job as a believer with your brain connected is to put them together in a meaningful and consistent way.  It is not to ignore the one that doesn’t fit your system.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-052: Gentiles in the Life of Jesus

One of the points that has been shared with me from dispensationalist sources is the claim that Jesus only came for the Jews.  I’ve heard it stated so strongly that one guy said Jesus only died for the Jews.  This is a combination of obvious truth with obvious nonsense.

My contact person has told me repeatedly that Jesus only came for the Jews.  He will have a couple of quotations he likes to throw in and never wants to listen to my response.  Let me give you an example. He likes to quote this out of Matthew.

Matthew 15:24 (KJV) But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

He claims that this clearly teaches Jesus did not come for the Gentiles.  If I had a one verse Bible I would agree, but I like to share with him that Mark has the same story, but with one extra word which he doesn’t like to include,

Mark 7:27 (KJV) But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.

Notice the word “first”.  What Mark added is that Jesus may have come first to the Jews, but that did not rule out the Gentiles.

What evidence do we have that Jesus had anything to do with non-Jews? Let’s look at a few examples.

Start with the Wise men.
Herod was not considered Jewish.
The woman at the well was the Samarian.  And Jesus went to her village to teach.
The Syrophoenician woman was a gentile.
The centurion was a gentile
Pilate was a gentile.
The soldiers who executed him were gentiles
One of the 10 lepers was Samarian.

Now, obviously, some of these, like Pilate were not Gentiles that He was ministering to or reaching out to, but if you look at the whole list you can see that there are cases where Jesus got involved with non-Jews.

It is obvious that Jesus was ministering to the Jews.  He was a Jew born in Israel.  He was raised in Israel.  Most of His ministry was spent in Israel.  He was speaking in Hebrew and Aramaic.  But keep in mind half the truth is not the whole truth.  Sometimes half the truth will get you where you need to go, other times it will stop you in the middle of the bridge.

homo unius libri