Not just for the house of Israel

Some people get into a tizzy when they read that Jesus sent the 12 out exclusively to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Mt 10). He specifically says no Gentiles and no Samaritans. That can roughly be translated, “no Gringos, no Mexicans.”

It’s tough to make a case for Jesus being a racist, and some folks who think they know everything have given it the old college try. I, however, in my impeccable wisdom, see chapter 10 as a training and dry-run chapter. It is Great Commission 101, the basics. “Here’s how it’s done, now go give it a try.”

Something new I noticed this morning is that Jesus tells the twelve they will be “dragged” before people in positions of authority for His sake. And He specifies that those leaders won’t all be Jewish (v18): “to bear witness before them and the Gentiles.”

I wonder about Mt 10.23 though. Jesus sent them exclusively to the towns of Israel, but also states that they will not even get to them all before the Son of man comes.