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When Jesus was approached in Capernaum by the distraught centurion (Roman Soldier), He was greatly impressed. In fact, He was so impressed that He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 8.10-12). By speaking in this manner, Jesus not only uttered a timeless compliment to the man, He also uttered four great truths as regards the kingdom, its subjects, its nature, and its finality.

Previously we looked at the fact that the Kingdom's subjects would not be limited to Israel because effectual faith did not terminate at the outer edges of Israel's borders; in addition we noted that not all of Israel, God's chosen people, remained in His grace. We deduced these facts from the statements made in the quoted text as well as from the inferences involved in the Sermon on the Mount when Jesus said, “...unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5.20). Today we look at a second of these principles from Matthew 8 and the occasion of the centurion's meeting with Jesus.

The next great truth to be gleaned from this occasion is the fact that many (not a few) would come from outside of Israel and participate with full rights and privileges in the Kingdom of Heaven. The Jew's ideas directly clashed with these truths. They verily thought that the focus of the kingdom would eternally be on them and any grace that spilled over to other people would be as if by accident! Yet Jesus said many would come from outside the nation of Israel. These statements completely correspond with those made to Abraham when it was promised that all nations of the earth would be blessed through his seed [Jesus Christ] (see Genesis 12.3 & Genesis 22.18). They are also consistent with the predictions of Isaiah and Micah when they prophesied of the Kingdom and the fact that “all nations will flow into it.” (see Isaiah 2.1-5 and Micah 4.1-4). Of those who pressed into the Lord's House [His Kingdom] there would be no distinction made between Jew and Gentile as had been so typical of the process of proselyting Gentiles so they could have the “crumbs that fell from the master's table.”

Contrariwise, when the Kingdom came in its fullness, Paul made this statement: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3.28-29). Upon whom were these promises bestowed? Let Paul answer this question! “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” (Galatians 3.27). It was not a few; rather is was “as many... as were baptized into Jesus Christ.” There were no second class citizens and no religious hierarchy in which rank was claimed when it came to the blessings of the Gospel!

Not all of Israel would be saved; that was a sad reality. On the other hand, any and all who came to Jesus on His terms could be fully and completely blessed according to the terms of the Gospel and the Kingdom of Heaven!

Questions:

1. What was the process of proselytizing? Were there privileges and blessing in which the Jewish proselyte could not participate?

2. Could faith outside of Israel save a person? Could an Israelite be saved without faith?

3. How many did Paul say had “put on Christ”? Is “putting on Christ” equivalent to being saved? Why or why not?

4. Can a Gentile in the flesh become a child of Abraham spiritually? If yes, how and what blessings result from such a relationship?

"Voice of Inspiration" from Andy Castro

Treason