Matthew 12:21 And in his name the Gentiles will hope.
This short little verse is a quotation from Isaiah that Matthew uses to talk about Jesus. It's nothing really special I guess by itself. But it gives me a moment and an excuse to talk about the word Gentiles and the hope that is Jesus. Gentiles just means "the nations"... as in ALL the nations... all the ethnic groups...all the people of the world. It's often used in the Bible to contrast Israel... like, there's Israel on one side and the Gentiles on the other. They talk about it that way because God chose Israel out of the nations, out of the Gentiles, to be special. But really Gentiles just means all the nations.
Jesus was sent to the world not just for Israel, but for the Gentiles... for ALL the Gentiles... for ALL the nations. This is one of those religious concepts that we say over and over so we've lost the radical nature of it. Jesus wasn't sent just for one group, for one kind of person. Jesus was sent to be the hope of all the nations. Jesus doesn't belong to Israel; Jesus doesn't belong to Western Europe or North America. Jesus was sent to bring hope to Tanzania; Jesus was sent to bring hope to Iran; Jesus was sent to bring hope to Moldovia; Jesus was sent to bring hope to Myanmar. Jesus was even sent to bring hope to Canada. A radical truth that I don't think we've really digested these 2000 years on.
In Christ,
Pastor Seth
Calendars and lots of information can be found at http://www.allsaintspalatine.org Also there are registration forms for "Pandamania' Vacation Bible School the first week of August.
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