Matthew vs Luke; Did Jesus think he came to minister to Jews only, or Jews and non-Jews before the resurrection?

[Sean99]

Hallo. I'm a Christian. I've been studying Luke's gospel and thinking through the evidence for its robust historical accuracy and reliability about Jesus. But, it's recently made me doubt Matthew's integrity in comparison. And I've been reading some articles while looking into it. A common answer to why Matthew depicts Jesus saying he wasn't sent to anyone except the lost sheep of the house of Israel, is to say that before Jesus rose from the dead, he ministered only to Israel. After his resurrection, he sent the disciples to the nations. It makes sense. But, I don't see how it really holds up once we compare that with Luke.

In Luke 4:18-27, Jesus declares himself to be the Messiah and publicly tells the jews that just like how Elijah and Elisha ministered to gentiles over Jews in their time, so Jesus would too. Later in Luke 9:51-56, he sends his disciples to a Samaritan village to prepare for his arrival there as he preaches toward Jerusalem. And when it rejects him, he has to rebuke his disciples for wanting to destroy them. And then he singles out the one Samaritan Leper who came back to thank him after he had healed 10. All throughout Luke, Jesus is portrayed as welcoming non Jews and half-Jews like Samaritans from the getgo. Matthew has the opposite. He forbids his discipes from going into Samaritan and gentile towns and instead he sends them to preach to the house of Israel in chapter 10. He doesn't rebuke them for pushing a Canaanite woman away, instead he repeats that he is only for the house of Israel, and only barely heals her daughter because she doesn't take his no for an answer in chapter 15. So, did Jesus think he was sent to Jews and non Jews when he began his ministry, before the resurrection, or not? It's about how Jesus perceived himself and his mission as Messiah. And I think that's a fundamental question for integrity, to say the least. Does anyone here have any resources that I can read through with that specifically? And what are your thoughts? And should I reject Matthew?

 

[Matthias]

Welcome to the forum.

Don’t reject Matthew. Look to harmonize the Synoptic Gospels.



P.S.

Which commentaries have you consulted?

 

[pwg_jonathan]

Welcome, and honestly props for digging into it instead of just brushing it off. When I hit stuff like this I used to feel my whole trust in the Bible wobble, but it helped me to ask what each writer was emphasizing before assuming they contradict. Matthew 15:24 lines up with Jesus's priority on Israel first, and Matthew also ends with the Great Commission, so both Gospels keep the same arc. Romans 15:8-9 puts it simply: Christ served the circumcised to confirm the promises, and the Gentiles glorify God for mercy. If doubts are weighing on you, this page might help: Bible Verses for Doubt, When Faith Feels Distant

 

[ScottA]

Hallo. I'm a Christian. I've been studying Luke's gospel and thinking through the evidence for its robust historical accuracy and reliability about Jesus. But, it's recently made me doubt Matthew's integrity in comparison. And I've been reading some articles while looking into it. A common answer to why Matthew depicts Jesus saying he wasn't sent to anyone except the lost sheep of the house of Israel, is to say that before Jesus rose from the dead, he ministered only to Israel. After his resurrection, he sent the disciples to the nations. It makes sense. But, I don't see how it really holds up once we compare that with Luke.

In Luke 4:18-27, Jesus declares himself to be the Messiah and publicly tells the jews that just like how Elijah and Elisha ministered to gentiles over Jews in their time, so Jesus would too. Later in Luke 9:51-56, he sends his disciples to a Samaritan village to prepare for his arrival there as he preaches toward Jerusalem. And when it rejects him, he has to rebuke his disciples for wanting to destroy them. And then he singles out the one Samaritan Leper who came back to thank him after he had healed 10. All throughout Luke, Jesus is portrayed as welcoming non Jews and half-Jews like Samaritans from the getgo. Matthew has the opposite. He forbids his discipes from going into Samaritan and gentile towns and instead he sends them to preach to the house of Israel in chapter 10. He doesn't rebuke them for pushing a Canaanite woman away, instead he repeats that he is only for the house of Israel, and only barely heals her daughter because she doesn't take his no for an answer in chapter 15. So, did Jesus think he was sent to Jews and non Jews when he began his ministry, before the resurrection, or not? It's about how Jesus perceived himself and his mission as Messiah. And I think that's a fundamental question for integrity, to say the least. Does anyone here have any resources that I can read through with that specifically? And what are your thoughts? And should I reject Matthew?

Hello Sean,

You have all the resource you need. The difference is but one of perspective, alluding to Jesus making the two One in Him, "to the Jew first, and also to the Greek (gentile)" as Paul explained (Romans 1:16).

 

[Sean99]

Welcome, and honestly props for digging into it instead of just brushing it off. When I hit stuff like this I used to feel my whole trust in the Bible wobble, but it helped me to ask what each writer was emphasizing before assuming they contradict. Matthew 15:24 lines up with Jesus's priority on Israel first, and Matthew also ends with the Great Commission, so both Gospels keep the same arc. Romans 15:8-9 puts it simply: Christ served the circumcised to confirm the promises, and the Gentiles glorify God for mercy. If doubts are weighing on you, this page might help: Bible Verses for Doubt, When Faith Feels Distant

Thanks for replying. But "Israel first, then the Great Commission" is the explanation I mentioned in my post and said doesn't hold up once you compare it with Luke. My question is about Luke 4:18–27, 9:51–56 and 17:11–19, where Jesus reaches toward Gentiles and Samaritans before the resurrection from the start of his ministry years, while Matthew 10:5–6 and 15:24 have him forbidding it. Saying both Gospels share the same arc assumes the position I'm asking about. How do I read those Luke passages next to Matthew's?

 

[Sean99]

Hello Sean,

You have all the resource you need. The difference is but one of perspective, alluding to Jesus making the two One in Him, "to the Jew first, and also to the Greek (gentile)" as Paul explained (Romans 1:16).

Thanks. "To the Jew first, and also to the Greek" fits Luke well, but I don't think it fits Matthew. Matthew 10:5–6 doesn't say "first," it forbids going to Gentiles and Samaritans. And 15:24 says Jesus was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel, with no "also." So it seems like more than a difference in perspective to me. How should I square Luke 4:25–27, where Jesus points to Elijah and Elisha going to outsiders at the very start of his ministry, with Matthew's "not sent except to Israel"?

 

[ScottA]

Thanks. "To the Jew first, and also to the Greek" fits Luke well, but I don't think it fits Matthew. Matthew 10:5–6 doesn't say "first," it forbids going to Gentiles and Samaritans. And 15:24 says Jesus was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel, with no "also." So it seems like more than a difference in perspective to me. How should I square Luke 4:25–27, where Jesus points to Elijah and Elisha going to outsiders at the very start of his ministry, with Matthew's "not sent except to Israel"?

The correct perspective is ultimately spiritual--the words are spirit. "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit" (John 6:63).

So, the forbidding speaks to Jesus "first" coming for the house of Israel...in the flesh. While "also" refers to Him coming to the gentiles...in spirit. As "the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual" (1 Corinthians 15:46).

As for Elijah and Elisha, this refers to the greater promise to Abraham (Genesis 12:3). Which Jesus referred to because of a lack of faith in Israel that would bring about salvation going out to the gentiles. The Elijah, Elisha accounts were a foreshadowing of those latter events of Christ, a prophecy of the times that were being fulfilled with His coming, confirmed by Christ in Luke.