12/3/23
Apostles to the Jews, Paul to the Gentiles, Part 1.
Jesus commanded the apostles the following, Matthew 10:5, “These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them saying, go not into the way of the Gentiles, and any city of the Samaritans enter ye not.”
But there appears to be several contradictions concerning this command to them in other verses, but they are not.
Acts 8:5, Philip (not the apostle, one of 7 deacons, Acts 6:2) went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ unto them.”
Acts 8:25, “And they (Philip and Simon) when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.
Mark 16:15, Jesus said, “Go you into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”
Acts 1:8, Jesus speaking to apostles, “You shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
Let’s begin with the first two verses, Acts 8:5-25. The apostles obeyed Christ by not entering Samaria, as many believe they may have.
Acts 8:25, “And they (Philip and Simon) when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.
The early church often confused Philip the Evangelist with Philip the Apostle. The person Philip spoke of in Acts 8:5-8 was not the apostle Philip. Philip’s name does not occur in the Gospels, but his story is told in the Book of Acts. He was one of the famous seven deacons, said to be men of good repute, full of the Holy Spirit and of wisdom, Acts 6:2.
Here in Acts 8:25, Simon is not Simon Peter, but Simon Magus, a sorcerer at Samaria, with great power and influence among the people Acts 8:9-13. He came to believe as the result of Philip’s preaching there, although his faith’s real nature is unclear, as his subsequent actions reveal. So, the apostles obeyed the Lord.
Some claim that the Centurion, who was a Gentile, and the Woman at the well, who was a Samaritan, received the gospel.
Jesus and the apostles had minimal contact with individuals who were not Jews. So, the question is, did Jesus or the apostles teach these non-Jews the gospel? The Centurion was shown a miracle, but the gospel was not. Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well of her past marriages. And about something future concerning worshipping the Messiah, but these few incidents had nothing to do with Gentiles receiving the gospel.
Jesus commands the apostles in Mark 16:15, “Go you into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” So, did Jesus’ counter his first command with the one here in Mark?
In Matthew 28:19, let’s compare “Go not” with “Go, teach all nations.”
To teach here means to disciple anyone. To train as a disciple, to instruct. It’s a verb that expresses an action limited to an agent.
The Greek word “teaching,” used in Matthew 28:19-20, means to instruct. So, the question remains: could the apostles obey Matthew 10 when Jesus commands them not to go to the Gentiles, and yet command them to go and instruct, or teach all nations, and to observe all things whatsoever He commanded them?
“Go not in the way of the Gentiles.” The Greek word “way” is used metonymically: this is when one word is used for another—way, meaning the whole region of the Gentiles or throughout the country of the Gentiles. In verse 6, Jesus said, “But go rather to the lost sheep of the house (meaning all the tribes) of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Jesus said, “Go not into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not.” Cities here mean any (walled or fortified) cities of the Samaritans. We find no evidence that the apostles went throughout any Gentile land or into any walled city of the Samaritans to teach the gospel.
So how were the apostles to spread the gospel to the whole world?
Pentecost a holy day for all Jews.
Acts 2:5, “There were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.”
There were Jews from Parthians and Medes from the nation of Media, whose boundaries varied. Elamites were on the East side of the Tigris River opposite Babylonia. Jews from Judea dwell in the province of the old Persian Empire. Jews from Cappadocia, a large inland region of Asia Minor. Jews from Pontus, a large area of northern Asia Minor. Jews from Asia, the tremendous western promontory of Asia bounded by the Black, Aegean, and Mediterranean Sea.
Some Jews were from Phrygia, an inland SW Asia Minor province. Others were from Pamphylia, a small Roman province of southern Asia Minor. Jews came from Egypt, Libya, and Cyrene, nations located in North Africa. Others came from Rome, Arabia, and Crete, an island in the Mediterranean Sea.
All these Jews had come to Israel for the feast of Pentecost. So, when Peter and the other apostles began to speak in their particular language, quoting prophets like Joel and teaching them about Jesus being raised from the dead, taken into heaven, and now sitting at the Father’s right hand.
Some 3000 Jews from all the Gentile nations of the known world had now received the gospel of Jesus Christ in their language; they believed, sold their possessions, and then departed to their own countries as new disciples of Jesus Christ and to spread the message of the gospel to other Jews in every nation.
Yes, the apostles went to Gentile cities, but they went to the Jews who lived in these Gentile cities. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and, for the most part, John were written to the Jews. They contain the history of Jesus’ earthly ministry to the Jews.
After Peter was given the vision of the sheets, he met with Paul twenty-one years after Christ died. Peter then understood that the Gentiles would be adopted into the Jewish promises. Peter then passed this news on to the other apostles and Jewish disciples.
Phil LaSpinowww. seekfirstwisdom.com