In the Old Testament God spoke to us through His Old
Testament prophets about being kind to the "stranger (Hebrew "ger")
within the gate."[1] The Hebrew
word "ger" came to be applied to those who had chosen to
identify themselves with Yahweh and adopt Judaism's ceremonial law.[2] The
aliens were to be included in family religious rituals and in responsibility
before the law.[3]
Aliens were also allowed to participate in the presentation of sacrifices to
Yahweh and in celebrating the Passover.[4] "You and the alien shall be the same
before the Lord: The same laws and regulations will apply both to you and to
the alien living among you" (Num. 15: 15b-16).
God's love and inclusion was extended impartially to
Israelite and alien alike, "For the
Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and
awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of
the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and
clothing" (Deut. 10:17-18). God then charged Israel to love the alien
in the same way He loves them.[5]
The most important passage which Jesus uses is the one He
reads to characterize the purpose of His ministry: "The Spirit of the
Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news
to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom
for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the
year of the Lord's favor..."[6] This passage
ties together with the second great commandment to answer the question,
"Who is my neighbor?"[7] Blessedness,
righteousness and loving our neighbor as seen by Jesus seem to be something
independent of nationality, culture, or gender.
Jesus gave us the Great Commission to, "Go and make
disciples of all nations (pan ethne, or all peoples)." He meant we
were to evangelize anyone and anywhere the opportunity presents itself.
In Acts, we see how Peter was being instructed to include
the Gentiles,[8]
as full participants in the salvation of the Kingdom of God.
We read later that this was not only to be in separation,
because it became a reality in the church at Antioch. We are told (Acts 13:1)
that there were Christians from several continents in authority in that
congregation. Barnabas was a Cyprian Jew. Some scholars suggest that Simeon could
easily have been a black African. Lucius of Cyrene we know was a North African
and probably a Roman citizen. Manaen was either a friend or a colleague of
royalty of unknown ancestry, and Saul was a staunch Jewish Pharisee who formerly
persecuted the church.
And it was this church that first sent out missionaries to the Gentile world!
We have seen, in a previous post, that the Roman world
was similar to our world. The Early Church included all equally, “Jew and
Gentile, male and female, slave and free.” The culture embraced the concept,
and the Church grew very rapidly. There is every reason to believe that our culture
would also embrace a biblical church that includes everyone, as well.
What
do you think?
If
the culture will embrace it, will the Church as well?
Would
an inclusive Church like this be attractive to the MTV-generation?
[1]"Do not mistreat
an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt" (Ex. 22:21). "Do not go over your vineyard a second
time or pick up the grapes that have fallen.
Leave them for the poor and the alien" (Lev. 19:10)
[2]"An alien living
among you who wants to celebrate the Lord's Passover must have all the males in
his household circumcised; then he may take part like one born in the
land" (Ex. 12:48)
[3]"on the tenth day
of the seventh month you must deny yourselves and not do any work--whether
native-born or an alien living among you--because on this day atonement will be
made for you to cleanse you" (Lev. 16:29-30).
[4]"If any of
you--either an Israelite or an alien living in Israel--presents a gift or a
burnt offering to the Lord, either to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering,
you must present a male without defect from the cattle, sheep or goats in order
that it may be accepted on your behalf"
(Lev. 22:18-19).
“An alien living among
you who wants to celebrate the Lord's Passover must do so in accordance with
its rules and regulations. You must have
the same regulations for the alien and the native-born" (Num. 9:14).
[5]"And you are to
love those who are aliens, for you yourselves were aliens in Egypt" (Deut.
10:19).
[6]This is the extent of
Jesus' quotation, but the Isaiah passage goes on, "...and the day of
vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and to provide for those who
grieve in Zion--to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil
of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of
despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor" (Is. 61:2b-3).
[7] Luke 10:30-38.
[8]Acts 10:9-23.
No comments:
Post a Comment