The Outreach Constraints

Jesus operated within certain constraints. We have mentioned some of these constraints in previous posts. We called them “disclaimers.” For example, we talked about his “identity” constraint. That is, Jesus “managed” his identity as “the Christ.” The fact that he is “the Christ, the Son of the living God” is the bedrock of Christianity. But this essential fact was not proclaimed or widely known until after his death. In fact, the disciples were told not to even mention it. (Matthew 16:17-20) We also talked about his “doctrinal” constraints. He came not to destroy the Law of Moses. Instead he was a “man of the book.” He put extreme emphasis on what was “written.” He also emphasized such qualities as judgment, mercy and faith which were the “weightier matters” of the law. However, we noticed that he did have some problems with some of the “Oral Traditions” of the Pharisees. (Matthew 5ff., Matthew 15ff., Mark 7ff. and Matthew 23ff.) We also noticed that some Christians interpret these problems, which he had with the traditions of the Pharisees, as problems that he had with Law of Moses. Therefore, we noticed some of the serious implications of this too, such as making Jesus a sinner, making him “least in the kingdom” and making him a destroyer of the Law. (Matthew 5:17-20) Because of these serious implications, we contended that he never violated this doctrinal constraint.

In this post we want to talk about “outreach constraints.” That is, Jesus, as the Messiah, and his disciples were not free to go into “all the world.” Therefore, Jesus operated within the Jewish community. His outreach to the Gentiles came after his death through his disciples after he gave them the “great commission.” (Matthew 28:18-20) However, there are notable exceptions to Jesus' strictly Jewish outreach. And Jesus used these notable exceptions to explain that the Gentiles would soon come into his kingdom.

For example, “...when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.” (Matthew 8:5-13) This centurion was a Gentile who would not have normally been part of Jesus' target audience. However, he had such a great amount of faith that he was even a witness against Israel's great lack of faith. Jesus exclaimed: “I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.” Jesus had come first to the children of Israel; but eventually those from the east and the west (Gentiles) would be invited into his kingdom. The Jews or the “children of the kingdom” would be cast out because they would reject him. Therefore, just as John had said: “He came unto his own and his own received him not.” (John 1:11) They did not receive Jesus; and Jesus would not receive them either.

On another occasion it says: “Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.” (Matthew 15:21-28)

If we are animal lovers, we might resent the seemingly low opinion the Jews had of dogs. (However, Jesus likely said this in a kind way to this woman of Canaan. It would have been uncharacteristic of him to have been unkind.) Others may be offended by the fact that Jesus had clearly focused his outreach on the “lost sheep of the house of Israel”; and, therefore, he was reluctant to “take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.” This may seem unfair to some; but it highlights Jesus' goal of coming to his own people first. Jesus did not lack mercy just because he was working according to a plan and preaching according to a standard. He also was testing the faith and the perspective of this Gentile woman, who would not be deterred by anything that Jesus said because she was fighting for her daughter's life. She also had great faith in Jesus. Therefore, she humbly confessed, “Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.” Jesus was amazed by her faith and by her humility, so he did what she asked. He made an exception. But the fact still remains that the primary thrust of Jesus was “unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” This “woman of Canaan” had not changed that. But the attitude she exhibited in her request was a great contrast to the attitude of the Pharisees, who had previously tried to impose their Jewish traditions upon his disciples in the the first part of Matthew 15. Jesus, as a rule, did not go to the Pharisees either because of their confrontational behavior, their traditions and their firm belief that they were the legitimate leaders of Israel. He tried to avoid them. Therefore, Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 15:13-14: “Every plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.” Their movement, with all of its traditions, was evidently not planted by God. Therefore, it would be removed. But after the destruction of Jerusalem it was morphed and revived into another form of Pharisaism that still exists today in the form of Talmudic Judaism.

The “woman at the well” (John 4) is another example of Jesus going to someone outside the confines of mainstream Judaism. She was a Samaritan woman and practiced a hybrid form of worship based on a special version of what Christians might call the Old Testament. Therefore, she was not completely removed from the Jewish religion. But she was not a legitimate worshiper either. Her worship was not according to the will of God. (This is a strong argument against the idea that well-intentioned worship is sufficient. Some people do worship they “know not what.” Worship can be unauthorized.) After Pentecost, in Acts 8, Philip the evangelist was not prevented by Jewish Christians from going to the Samaritans. In fact, Peter and John were sent to the Samaritans by the Jerusalem church so that the Samaritans could receive the Holy Ghost. (Acts 8:15) But Peter was questioned by the Jewish Christians for going to the household of Cornelius in the coastal area of Caesarea. Peter was also very reluctant to go to the Gentiles. Therefore, God arranged a special vision for Peter about eating unclean food. This vision occurred three times. (Acts 10:10-16) The Jews definitely considered Cornelius to be a Gentile. Therefore, Peter took some fellow Jews along to witness the fact that Gentiles were not out of bounds like the Jews had supposed.

In John 4, Jesus took the opportunity to let the Samaritan woman know that worship was going to change dramatically. The woman asked about worship at Mount Gerizim where the Samaritans worshipped. “Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.” (John 4:20-22) In this passage, Jesus identifies himself with the Jews and their legitimate worship because he said: “...we know what we worship....” However, for all those who may think that Jesus will come back some day and establish a special place of worship in Jerusalem, they ought to notice what Jesus said to this Samaritan woman. Jesus said that people will not worship at Jerusalem. In fact, the temple was destroyed so that people could not worship there even if they wanted to worship there. Will God now come back and revive Old Testament worship on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem? No, centralized worship at Jerusalem was removed just as Jesus predicted. (Matthew 24:1-2) Although some still worship at Mount Gerizim in Samaria, this too has been eliminated. As Jesus said, it was never a legitimate place to worship God anyway. Jesus said: “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:23-24) True worship has been decentralized. Now it is not associated with any particular location nor is it offered by any special hierarchy of priests. People can worship in “spirit and in truth” wherever they can assemble for that purpose. Therefore, the emphasis has been changed from the right place of worship to the right kind of worship. This is an indictment against all “holy ground” sites where people desire to approach God such as the “Western Wall”, “St. Peter's Basilica”, Mecca, Medina or the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Men often desire to make such sites as the place of the crucifixion, Jesus' tomb and the place where Jesus was born in Bethlehem “holy”, but God has intentionally left these places unsanctioned and unidentified. There is no “holy ground.”

What is sometimes called the “Limited Commission” in Matthew 10 and Luke 9 is a good example of Jesus' disciples operating within his outreach constraints. “These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.” (Matthew 10:5-8) In this commission, we notice several important ideas. First, their audience was limited to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (the Jews). Second, the message was limited to “the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” In previous posts, we have emphasized that John the Baptist and Jesus both preached this limited gospel message of the “imminence” of the kingdom. This is not the message that was later preached by Peter and the eleven on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2 when the kingdom was established. We read in Acts 2:41: “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.” They were added “unto them” (the kingdom or the church). “...And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. ” (Acts 2:47) Therefore, we do not preach the gospel message that Jesus and John preached before the cross; and we do not preach the gospel message the disciples preached in the “Limited Commission.” Third, a distinction is made between the classes of people that were excluded by the “Limited Commission.” Jesus distinguished between the “Gentiles” and the “Samaritans.” As we mentioned earlier, differences were made between these two classes. The Samaritans had many historical events and doctrinal ideas in common with the Jews. On the other hand, the Gentiles had very little in common with the Jews. Fourth, miracles were performed to alleviate their suffering and to cause the Jews to believe.

The “Limited Commission” is often contrasted with the “Great Commission.” The great commission says: “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:18-20) A contrast of these two commissions might look something like this:

Limited Commission	Great Commission
1) Given before the cross.	1) Given after the cross.
2) Jesus had limited power on earth.	2) Jesus had all power in heaven and earth.
3) Disciples sent to Israel. (Local Outreach)	3) Disciples sent to the world. (World Outreach)
4) Disciples taught the “imminence” of the kingdom. (Local Message)	4) Disciples taught the kingdom existed; and the Lord added the baptized believers to his church. (Universal Message)
5) It was a temporary commission.	5) It was a permanent commission or “until the end of the world.”

　

We notice that on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, Peter used “the keys of the kingdom”, promised to him in Matthew 16:19, to open the kingdom and invite people to come into it. Keys are used to open the doors (or gates) and give people entrance into the kingdom. But still, the outreach at this time was just to the Jews. Since Pentecost was a great feast where the “first fruits” were offered to God, Jews “out of every nation under heaven” were present. (Acts 2:5) Therefore, about three thousand souls responded to the gospel message in which Jesus, whom they had crucified, was proclaimed to be their king and glorified at the right hand of God on the throne of David. After hearing this “church doctrine” or “apostles' doctrine” it says: “...they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” (Acts 2:37-39) Notice, Peter did not say “the kingdom of heaven is at hand” like he did when Jesus commissioned him in the “Limited Commission.”

One of the greatest dividing lines for the “Limited Commission” and the “Great Commission” was the death of Jesus upon the cross. Paul often referred to this dividing line in his ministry to the “uncircumcised” (Gentiles). Paul often had to fight Judaizers who wanted Gentiles to keep the Law of Moses. Therefore, he often referred to the fact that the Law of Moses ended. For example, in Romans 7, he plainly said the Law of Moses ended at the cross with the death of Jesus. Therefore, as Gentiles, we do not have to worry about the Law of Moses. To prove his point, he used the marriage bond as an analogy. Since he was speaking to those “who knew the law” about marriage, he thought they would understand his analogy. Sometimes in the epistle to the Romans, Paul did not qualify the nature of “law.” For example, he did not always say the “Law of Moses”, the “Law of Christ”, the “Law of the Conscience”, “Law of the Spirit” or “the law of her husband.” We have to get the qualification from the text, the context or what we may consider to be good reasoning. We do not believe Paul is primarily giving the people of Rome a lesson about the “marriage question.” Therefore, we do not believe that it is necessary to completely “harden the categories” on the kind of law that they “knew.” However, Paul is giving them a lesson about the end of the law of Moses. They all understood that, as a general rule, marriage is indissoluble. (Even under the Law of Moses, man was not allowed to indiscriminately divorce his wife. Although some Jews made rules out of exceptions, the general rule among them was no divorce.) Therefore, Paul was arguing from what was plainly understood under law (the permanent nature of marriage) to a conclusion that was perhaps not so well understood (the end of the Law of Moses). Of course, people are still subject to “civil laws” under the Law of Christ unless those civil laws violate the laws of God. Therefore, Paul was not speaking about the end of “civil law.” Paul said: “Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man. Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ (death on the cross—my insertion); that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.” (Romans 7:-5) We must admit that there is a qualification in the first part of this analogy. Paul said “the law of her husband.” In the beginning, God made them male and female. This was the marriage law from the very beginning. We may call it the “law of her husband” if we think that is reasonable. However, we believe that in the conclusion of his analogy Paul is definitely referring to the Law of Moses and the death of Jesus upon the cross. In general, we believe that Paul, given his Jewish “frame of reference” and his continual fight against Judaization, is referring to the Law of Moses throughout the entire seventh chapter. Furthermore, there are other places where Paul speaks about the end of the Law of Moses.

One such place is Galatians. We should understand that in Galatians Paul was fighting Judaization. Obviously, Paul did not want the Galatians to keep the Law of Moses. Some may not understand what Paul meant when he referred to “another gospel.” (Galatians 1:6) However, it is obvious that Paul meant Judaization. There was more than one gospel. There was the gospel which was proclaimed by the Jewish arm of the church in Jerusalem. (James was one of the main leaders at the church in Jerusalem.) And there was the gospel which was proclaimed by the Gentile Christian arm of the church. One gospel said that you could be a practicing Jew and also be a Christian. The other gospel said you must be a Christian without practicing Judaism. One was the gospel to the “circumcision” (Jews). The other was the gospel to the “uncircumcision” (Gentiles). (Galatians 2:7) Paul was a minister to the uncircumcision.

However, as a Jew, Paul encountered criticism from the Jews when he preached a Gospel which released the Gentiles from Judaism. This was a very controversial effort. The Jews accused him of being inconsistent and hypocritical. Paul got a bad reputation. Paul explained: “For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. And this I do for the gospel's sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you.” (1 Corinthians 9:19-23) Was Paul being deceptive? Romans 3:8 indicates that some thought that he was: “...(as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just.” Some accused Paul of believing that the end justifies the means. But Paul did not believe this. Obviously, it was not wrong for him, as a Jew, to practice Judaism and, as a Christian, to practice Christianity. He did both.

Acts 21 proves that Paul practiced Judaism. “And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present. And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry. And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law: And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs. What is it therefore? the multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that thou art come. Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them; Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law. As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication.” (Acts 21:17-25) In this passage, James states: “...the multitude must needs come together....” Therefore, if for no other reasons than practical reasons, Paul submitted to their request to prove to the multitude that he walked orderly and kept the law of Moses.

However, Paul did his best to make sure that the Gentiles understood that they were justified by Christ and not the Law of Moses. This is why that Paul stressed that the Law of Moses ended at the cross. Paul said: “For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” (Galatians 2:18-21) Of course, Paul was crucified with Christ when Jesus became dead to the law at the cross.

All practical means of keeping the Law of Moses was eliminated by the destruction of the Temple. It seems almost symbolic that, according to some history, James the brother of Jesus and the leader of the church in Jerusalem, was martyred by being cast from the pinnacle of the temple. Therefore, God physically removed Judaism. (Unfortunately, it was revived in another form by the Talmud.)

Hegesippus says they came, therefore, in a body to James, and said: "We entreat thee, restrain the people: for they are gone astray in their opinions about Jesus, as if he were the Christ. We entreat thee to persuade all who have come hither for the day of the passover, concerning Jesus. For we all listen to thy persuasion; since we, as well as all the people, bear thee testimony that thou art just, and showest partiality to none. Do thou, therefore, persuade the people not to entertain erroneous opinions concerning Jesus: for all the people, and we also, listen to thy persuasion. Take thy stand, then, upon the summit of the temple, that from that elevated spot thou mayest be clearly seen, and thy words may be plainly audible to all the people. For, in order to attend the passover, all the tribes have congregated hither, and some of the Gentiles also." To the scribes' and Pharisees' dismay, James boldly testified that Christ "Himself sitteth in heaven, at the right hand of the Great Power, and shall come on the clouds of heaven." The scribes and pharisees then said to themselves, "We have not done well in procuring this testimony to Jesus. But let us go up and throw him down, that they may be afraid, and not believe him." Fragments from Acts of the Church says that they: ...threw down the just man... [and] began to stone him: for he was not killed by the fall; but he turned, and kneeled down, and said: "I beseech Thee, Lord God our Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." And, while they were thus stoning him to death, one of the priests, the sons of Rechab, the son of Rechabim, to whom testimony is borne by Jeremiah the prophet, began to cry aloud, saying: "Cease, what do ye? The just man is praying for us." But one among them, one of the fullers, took the staff with which he was accustomed to wring out the garments he dyed, and hurled it at the head of the just man. And so he suffered martyrdom; and they buried him on the spot, and the pillar erected to his memory still remains, close by the temple. This man was a true witness to both Jews and Greeks that Jesus is the Christ. [Wikipedia - James the Just]