The continuation of the believing Israeli flock, and its morphing into the New Testament congregation, confirmed the expansion of faithful Israel in the new covenant period. It also explains the Israeli identify of the new covenant people of God and demonstrates the sense of continuity that existed between both covenant eras. Gentiles were now to be corralled into faithful Israel in extraordinary numbers. They trusted in Israel’s Messiah, they joined the old covenant flock, and became the New Testament people of God. This was a radical overhaul for even the most open-minded of Christ’s disciples. We saw that in their parochial response to Christ’s kingdom teaching in Acts 1:6 and with their struggle in the book of Acts to come to terms with accommodating Gentiles joining the congregation (ekklesia) on an equal basis to that of Jews.
Jesus brought a radical revolutionary message to the early Jewish disciples. He told them that there are others that are not of this flock (namely not of the Jewish race) that belong to Him, who will be integrated into His sheepfold. He was talking here of the Gentiles. What is more, He describes how these two peoples (both Jews and Gentiles) would be united together in Him and become one flock! Jesus is here acknowledging that salvation would not be limited to the Jewish race. He was predicting that the Gospel would expand out and embrace the nations. He explains that there would then be a fusion of the believing element of both ethnic groups into one cohesive believing sheepfold – with Him as a Shepherd. This indeed happened 2000 years ago.
Christ was informing these Jewish believers that grace was going to be widened outside of Israel’s borders. The Gentiles were about to be brought into the same harmonious fold of grace as the Jewish believers. The mentioning of two groupings within the body didn’t indicate “two folds” any more than references to male and female, rich and poor, free and bond in the New Testament represented multiple folds amongst the people of God. Rather it simply showed the variety of members within the one godly flock. Jewish and Gentile believers in Jesus become one in the Messiah to an extent not seen under the Mosaic Covenant. While Christians may retain their natural identity when they come to Christ (whether that is racial, social standing or gender), these groupings carry no spiritual distinction, special favor or difference religious under the new covenant.
Matthew 4:13-16 records: “leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles [Gr. ethnos]; The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.”
In Matthew 12 we see the religious Jews rejecting Christ. Matthew 12:18 & 21 records, “I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles [Gr. ethnos] … in his name shall the Gentiles [Gr. ethnos] trust.”
Luke 2:30-32 says: “For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; A light to lighten the Gentiles [Gr. ethnos], and the glory of thy people Israel."
Christ came “to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace” (Luke 1:67-79).
The empowerment for the Church came at Pentecost as Christ promised in Acts 1:8. The passage records, “ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” This ‘kicked in’ after Pentecost, after the heavenly power to perform such arrived.
Matthew’s account in Matthew 28:19 says, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations [Gr. ethnos], baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”
The actual point in history that saw the great realization of the Church taking (in obedience with the great commission) the Gospel to, and being received by, the Gentiles occurred after Peter’s supernatural vision in Acts chapter 10. It was only then that the first awakening occurred after Calvary among the Gentiles, who were previously outside of grace.
Whilst it is clear that the disciples were fully aware of the Lord’s great commission to take the Gospel to all nations, and even knew of the powerful devil defeating nature of Christ’s death at Calvary, and had felt (at first hand) the supernatural enabling power of Pentecost for them to undertake such an awesome task, they still hadn’t experientially entered into the outworking of this call prior to Peter’s supernatural revelation.
