It is easy to forget the amazing fact that Paul went and preached to the gentiles. The Jewish faith was a covenant with God. You couldn’t just open those doors wide open. That is unseemly. Instead, let the interested crawl on their knees to God in the hope that someday they may become Jewish and join God’s blessings.
Yet Paul took that and said, “Bah, the Lord has commanded me to tell the Good News to the Gentiles too.” He understood, like no one else at the time, how drastic the change was that Jesus instituted on the cross. Paul knew that salvation had really come and that it was absolutely nothing like anyone thought. It wasn’t about making Israel a nation again. It wasn’t about just Jews following Jesus. All of humanity had been saved with the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul knew this. He was obsessed by this.
Paul often is criticized for his hard line—that he isn’t soft around the edges. And he isn’t. But it took a man like Paul to bring the Good News to all. He wasn’t concerned what the others were thinking. Even Peter was swayed by the “Judizers.” Paul would have none of it. The man, the Pharisee, knew he had been saved. And he knew that that salvation was not just for him. And with the Holy Spirit, Paul would let no power stop the word of the Lord.
Yet Paul took that and said, “Bah, the Lord has commanded me to tell the Good News to the Gentiles too.” He understood, like no one else at the time, how drastic the change was that Jesus instituted on the cross. Paul knew that salvation had really come and that it was absolutely nothing like anyone thought. It wasn’t about making Israel a nation again. It wasn’t about just Jews following Jesus. All of humanity had been saved with the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul knew this. He was obsessed by this.
Paul often is criticized for his hard line—that he isn’t soft around the edges. And he isn’t. But it took a man like Paul to bring the Good News to all. He wasn’t concerned what the others were thinking. Even Peter was swayed by the “Judizers.” Paul would have none of it. The man, the Pharisee, knew he had been saved. And he knew that that salvation was not just for him. And with the Holy Spirit, Paul would let no power stop the word of the Lord.
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