The mission of Jesus and the Mission of Paul:

Posted : 26 Aug, 2011 09:33 AM

I am not going to overly complicate this discussion so I will build my argument on two scriptural verses. The first one comes from Mathew and the second from Romans: First Matthew:



Jesus and the Canaanite Woman



Matthew 15:21-28



Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession."



Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, "Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us."

He answered ,"l was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel."

The woman came and knelt before him. "Lord, help me!" she said.

He replied, "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs."

"Yes, Lord," she said, "but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table."

Then Jesus answered, "Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted." And her daughter was healed from that very hour."



The KEY sentence is as follows: "l was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel." A Powerful and illuminating statement don't you think? Considering that one statement made By Jesus one has to rethink what he said and why he said it in the gospels. It seems His entire earthly ministry was directed solely to the Jews with an eye toward the future and the salvation of the entire world through the teachings of Paul.





Now on to Paul and Romans chapter15 verse 15:

"Yet I have written you quite boldly on some points to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me 16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. He gave me the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. "



So, as you can see it was Paul's duty to bring the truths that Jesus brought to the lost sheep of Israel to the gentiles. In conclusion: It is my my opinion we as gentiles must adhere to Paul's teachings or we shall not become an "offering acceptable to God".

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