Jesus had come to his people, the Jews, but how did Jesus respond to Gentiles he encountered. There are several passages where Gentiles came to Jesus that on the surface looks like he was not very receptive of them. However, he turned these seemingly awkward encounters into teaching opportunities:

Jesus traveled to the region of Tyre and Sidon (Mt 15:21). These are cities in Phoenicia which was considered part of Syria at that time. Therefore, Jesus was in Gentile territory. It would be uncommon for a Gentile woman to approach him. However, the woman was quite desperate. Jesus at first did not speak to her and ignored her. The English translation of scripture sounds as if He was being rude. Yet, He was likely forcing an awkward situation to draw attention to it so that it could be a teachable moment. His words seem harsh, but the woman is persistent and seemed to understand his point. Jesus stated that his current mission was to Israel. The woman replied that she understood that and sticking to Jesus’ analogy stated that even dogs get to eat crumbs. Jesus commended her on her faith and, as requested, her daughter was healed (Mt 15:22-28).

Surprisingly, it seems the Gentiles were more anxious to receive the message Jesus had come to preach to his own people. Christ’s gospel message at this time was to repent because the Kingdom of God was nigh, meaning their acceptance of him would usher in His reign on earth with them which many of the Old Testament prophets spoke about and which all Jews were looking forward to. They believed in the prophecy, just not that it would come true in their lifetime. That would mean they had to decide to change; many were not prepared to do so. It is likely Jesus was using these Gentile conversions at this time to bring his own people to be envious and see the truth (Mt 11:20; Ro 10:19, 11:11).

To understand why the Gentiles were eager to accept, one needs to understand why the Jewish leaders were not. The Jewish leaders were at odds with Jesus because, to them, Jesus' teachings were radical. They may at first seem opposed to the Jewish laws of the day, but upon closer inspection they were not as radical as one may think. Jesus spoke about the heart; the Jewish leaders spoke about action and deed. Many of the Jewish leaders would tithe not only what the Law required but also tithed from the very spices they had (Lk 11:42). Jesus taught that getting the heart right gets the deed right. Jesus criticized them of neglecting justice and love when they obeyed the letter of the law (Lk 11:42). The Jewish leaders ignored the heart and focused on the deed. Jesus understood that getting the deed right does not necessarily get the heart right. Many Old Testament prophets had also taught similarly:

• to obey is better than sacrifice (1Sa 15:22);

• the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit (Ps 51:17)

• rend your heart and not your garments (Jl 2:13)

• I hate, I despise your feast days (Am 5:21)

• Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you (Ml 1:10).

The truth stung because it meant they had to change their world view and how they measured their own righteousness. They had a hard time with that. The Gentiles, however, did not have a pre-established sense of righteousness and so Christ’s words rang true to them, and many were ready for its acceptance. That is likely why the gospel spread so quickly once it reached the Gentiles.

However, this is not to say that Christ ignored the Gentiles. He loved them. After all, he told Nicodemus that he came because God loved the world (Jn 3:16). He often visited the predominant Gentile areas: in Gadara he healed demoniacs (Mt 8:28-34; Mk 5:1-16), he went through the Decapolis healing and teaching (Mk 7:31-35), as well as in Syria (Mt 15:21-28). People from these regions also sought him out for healing and listened to him speak (Mt 4:24-25; Mk 3:8).

I think this shows how inclusive Christ was of everyone. The Jews believed themselves to be God’s people, and rightly so, but they believed it to the exclusion of everyone else. Christ came for the Jews but did not reject the Gentiles. His true mission was our heart. Changing the heart changes everything. It still does.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens