That's what our New Testament actually says to us Gentiles. Here's Ephesians 2:11-22 (verse 11 tells you how to read it): Therefore
remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called the uncircumcision
by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands -- 12
remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the
commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no
hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were
far off have been brought near in the blood of Christ. 14 For he is our peace,
who has made us both one, and has broken down the dividing wall of hostility,
15 by abolishing in his flesh the law of commandments and ordinances, that he
might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16
and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby
bringing the hostility to an end. 17 And he came and preached peace to you who
were far off and peace to those who were near; 18 for through him we both have
access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and
sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the
household of God, 20 built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure is
joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; 22 in whom you also
are built into it for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
Did you catch that? This whole passage tells us that we Gentiles are beneficiaries of the realization of Jewish messianic hope. It's not about us; we're just here for the party. He cancelled some of the ordinances to make it easier for us, not because he didn't mean what he said before. See verse 15? It's right there. He says it again in verse 19 in case we missed it; we're the ones who would have missed the boat without a huge help. That's probably why God called St. Paul in the first place.
The whole discussion in Romans 14 about food is a Jew-Gentile problem. The Jewish members of the church have been observing the whole Law their entire lives. These Gentiles come in, and they have it easy! That would tick me off. Moreover, they got a little arrogant about it. Why are you still keeping those old customs? Jesus has come! Yeah, but we're Jews. We've always been Jews, and we're gonna stay Jews, came the reply. St. Paul basically says to do whatever keeps the peace. He emphatically does not tell the Jewish Christians to stop keeping the laws if they want. Nor, obviously, does he impose it on the Gentiles.
That's the read of Galatians 2. Paul opposed Peter because Peter was trying to impose the Law on the Gentile Christians, not to mention treat them as second-citizens in the Kingdom. But verse 15 controls that whole final section of this chapter: "works of the Law" means the Mosaic Law. Same thing in Romans 2-3, but we'll get to that. Verse 18 proves that there is a godly striving after holiness in the Spirit which we can impose on ourselves, so long as we keep in view that we live by mercy. The Jewish leadership understood the striving, (on some level) but not the mercy and hope, which was part of the covenant from the beginning.
Here's a juicy text from the book of Ezekiel, chapter 36:
But I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel caused to be profaned among the nations to which they came. 22 "Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. 23 And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them; and the nations will know that I am the LORD, says the Lord GOD, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. 24 For I will take you from the nations, and gather you from all the countries, and bring you into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances. 28 You shall dwell in the land which I gave to your fathers; and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. 29 And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses; and I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you. 30 I will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations. 31 Then you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good; and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominable deeds. 32 It is not for your sake that I will act, says the Lord GOD; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel. 33 "Thus says the Lord GOD: On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt.
Israel's sin. Israel's shattered covenant with God. His promises. Their hope in his mercy. This is a New Covenant promise, right here. But I don't see any Gentiles, beyond the ones they had scandalized with their sins. That's because it's not about us, like I said before. Every page of both testaments is Jewish to the core. We just missed it because we're racist. Or sloppy. Or mad at the Church. And crazy Uncle Marty hit the trifecta. Yikes. I digress. [Although I find this characterization offensive, you would know about crazy uncles.--ed.] I know, right?
Given that Mercy came in the flesh, for them, first and foremost, is it any wonder He wept as he said this, as recorded by St. Matthew, in what we mark as the 23rd chapter:
Thus you witness against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. 33 You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? 34 Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, 35 that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of innocent Abel to the blood of Zechari'ah the son of Barachi'ah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 Truly, I say to you, all this will come upon this generation. 37 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! 38 Behold, your house is forsaken and desolate. 39 For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, `Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'"
Look at verse 37. That kills me every time. There's a similar theme in Luke's Gospel. Dudes, once we start seeing this, that distant, dusty Old Testament isn't quite so distant. Would it help you to know that the New Testament authors quoted mostly from the 'Minor Prophets,' (the shorter ones, not less important) and that the prophets preached to the people in exile, after Jerusalem was destroyed? No wonder the apostles jumped out of their shoes! God is coming back to the temple? Our long night is over? This is the Messiah! Read John 1 like a Jew would, and good luck not freaking out. I don't blame them.
One of the answers to our struggles and sins is to realize that God has caught us up in a big, long, amazing story that we're actually lucky to be part of, and through the sacraments, he can make us into the people we need to be. It's for his own name he's doing it, so we just have to be willing to come back to Him if we break the commandments. There will be a fiercer judgment for us who break this final covenant, because Jesus is with us, and his sacred signs realize the promises he made to his people long ago. Especially we Gentiles should tremble and know our blessing, because we didn't have to wait centuries, or abstain from eating bacon, among other things. Thank you, Lord, for today, and for your faithfulness to David and your people Israel! Amen.
Did you catch that? This whole passage tells us that we Gentiles are beneficiaries of the realization of Jewish messianic hope. It's not about us; we're just here for the party. He cancelled some of the ordinances to make it easier for us, not because he didn't mean what he said before. See verse 15? It's right there. He says it again in verse 19 in case we missed it; we're the ones who would have missed the boat without a huge help. That's probably why God called St. Paul in the first place.
The whole discussion in Romans 14 about food is a Jew-Gentile problem. The Jewish members of the church have been observing the whole Law their entire lives. These Gentiles come in, and they have it easy! That would tick me off. Moreover, they got a little arrogant about it. Why are you still keeping those old customs? Jesus has come! Yeah, but we're Jews. We've always been Jews, and we're gonna stay Jews, came the reply. St. Paul basically says to do whatever keeps the peace. He emphatically does not tell the Jewish Christians to stop keeping the laws if they want. Nor, obviously, does he impose it on the Gentiles.
That's the read of Galatians 2. Paul opposed Peter because Peter was trying to impose the Law on the Gentile Christians, not to mention treat them as second-citizens in the Kingdom. But verse 15 controls that whole final section of this chapter: "works of the Law" means the Mosaic Law. Same thing in Romans 2-3, but we'll get to that. Verse 18 proves that there is a godly striving after holiness in the Spirit which we can impose on ourselves, so long as we keep in view that we live by mercy. The Jewish leadership understood the striving, (on some level) but not the mercy and hope, which was part of the covenant from the beginning.
Here's a juicy text from the book of Ezekiel, chapter 36:
But I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel caused to be profaned among the nations to which they came. 22 "Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. 23 And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them; and the nations will know that I am the LORD, says the Lord GOD, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. 24 For I will take you from the nations, and gather you from all the countries, and bring you into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances. 28 You shall dwell in the land which I gave to your fathers; and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. 29 And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses; and I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you. 30 I will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations. 31 Then you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good; and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominable deeds. 32 It is not for your sake that I will act, says the Lord GOD; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel. 33 "Thus says the Lord GOD: On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt.
Israel's sin. Israel's shattered covenant with God. His promises. Their hope in his mercy. This is a New Covenant promise, right here. But I don't see any Gentiles, beyond the ones they had scandalized with their sins. That's because it's not about us, like I said before. Every page of both testaments is Jewish to the core. We just missed it because we're racist. Or sloppy. Or mad at the Church. And crazy Uncle Marty hit the trifecta. Yikes. I digress. [Although I find this characterization offensive, you would know about crazy uncles.--ed.] I know, right?
Given that Mercy came in the flesh, for them, first and foremost, is it any wonder He wept as he said this, as recorded by St. Matthew, in what we mark as the 23rd chapter:
Thus you witness against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. 33 You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? 34 Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, 35 that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of innocent Abel to the blood of Zechari'ah the son of Barachi'ah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 Truly, I say to you, all this will come upon this generation. 37 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! 38 Behold, your house is forsaken and desolate. 39 For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, `Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'"
Look at verse 37. That kills me every time. There's a similar theme in Luke's Gospel. Dudes, once we start seeing this, that distant, dusty Old Testament isn't quite so distant. Would it help you to know that the New Testament authors quoted mostly from the 'Minor Prophets,' (the shorter ones, not less important) and that the prophets preached to the people in exile, after Jerusalem was destroyed? No wonder the apostles jumped out of their shoes! God is coming back to the temple? Our long night is over? This is the Messiah! Read John 1 like a Jew would, and good luck not freaking out. I don't blame them.
One of the answers to our struggles and sins is to realize that God has caught us up in a big, long, amazing story that we're actually lucky to be part of, and through the sacraments, he can make us into the people we need to be. It's for his own name he's doing it, so we just have to be willing to come back to Him if we break the commandments. There will be a fiercer judgment for us who break this final covenant, because Jesus is with us, and his sacred signs realize the promises he made to his people long ago. Especially we Gentiles should tremble and know our blessing, because we didn't have to wait centuries, or abstain from eating bacon, among other things. Thank you, Lord, for today, and for your faithfulness to David and your people Israel! Amen.
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