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Did
Isa Al-Massih Come Only to Bani Israel?
My friend in Jordan, you
have asked a wonderful question that would normally require many pages to
answer. I will try my best to
condense my response.
Both Scripture and history
provide answers to this question.
In the Injil according to John, chapter 1, verse 11 and 12, we read
"He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive
him. Yet to all who received him,
to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of
God."
The Scripture further reveals
that one of the great prophets of the first century A.D., Paul the apostle
struggled with this same questions.
Paul speaks clearly in Ephesians 3:2 about the mystery made known to him
by revelation. Paul identified that
mystery in verse 6 when he says, "This mystery is that through the gospel
the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and
sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus (Isa Al-Masih)". And in verse 8 he continues, "Although I am less than
the least of all God's people, this grace was given me; to preach to the
Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ (Al-Masih)." Of course, in general the word
"Gentiles" simply refers to those who are not of Bani-Israel.
Part of the
"revelation" that Paul the Apostle refers to in Ephesians 3:2 came to
him as he traveled from Jerusalem
to Damascus. In the Acts of the
Apostles 26:13-14 the Scripture records that Paul fell to the ground as the
result of a light from heaven. And
in verses 15 to 18, it says that he heard the following words: "I am Jesus (Isa), whom you
are persecuting…..Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you, to appoint you as a servant and as a
witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. I will rescue you from your own
(Jewish) people and from the Gentiles.
I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness
to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive
forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in
me."
The Apostle Paul was so
convinced that Isaiah had come to all humankind that in Romans 10:11-13 he said
"…..the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be
put to shame; for there is no difference between Jew and Gentile - the same
Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him for "Everyone
who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved…"
Second, history itself shows
us that Isa Al-Masih did not come only to Bani-Israel. While for the most part the Jewish
people have rejected Isa Al-Masih, millions and millions of Gentiles have
discovered his "unsearchable riches.".
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