To me, the story indicates that Gentiles are tangential to Jesus primary mission: saving Israel.
I wouldn't necessarily say His plan for the Gentiles was tangential, perhaps from one perspective it can be viewed that way, but I believe God's plan was sequential within a Divine order of precedence; just as Day 5 of creation was a necessarily precedential before God's 6th Day of creation, wherein He created mankind.
- The Messiah (the seed) promised that would deliver mankind and crush the cancerous sin at the head of the Fall. Gen 3:15
- Abraham promised the Godly Progeny the great nation of Israel- Gen 12:2-3; fleshly progeny of Abraham
- All the nations will be blessed through Abraham (the Gentiles not excluded) Gen 22:15-18 spiritual progeny of Abraham
- The 12 tribes of Israel derived from Jacob's DNA, Abraham's grandson in the flesh.
- The Law and Prophets establish the spiritual nation of Israel via God working through Moses.
- Jesus chooses His Apostles from Abraham's fleshly progeny - all were Israelites. Luke 6:13
- Salvation comes from the knowledge of God vested in the Jews (John 4:22)
- Israel's fall into unbelief in the promised Messiah prophesied by Jesus (Matt 23:37-38 & Luke 13:34-35)
- Jesus prophesies that Israel will be scattered among the nations until the Age of the Gentiles is completed (The Age ends when the Gospel to the ends of the earth) Luke 21:24
I think the Day of the Gentiles, is all over the prophecies of the Old Testament but it is also clear there was a precendent in the way it would unfold as we unpack it.
Isaiah the Prophet regarding Jesus in Matthew 12 said:
“Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen,
My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased! I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He will declare justice to the Gentiles. He will not quarrel nor cry out, nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets. A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench, till He sends forth justice to victory; and in His name Gentiles will trust.”
The Day or the Age remains active in Christ, even two milennia later.
The Body of Christ are believers and in whomever He indwells. We are on mission with Jesus, who commissioned us to go into all the world with His message that all people would have the opportunity to repent, share in His atonement, be empowered by His Spirit, and be raised no longer as a member of fallen mankind but a member of the incorruptible body of Christ who loved us and gave Himself for us. This not only goes out to all nations but circles back to Israel as the completion of His Will and Plan.
[quote="Jesus in Matthew 18:18-20]
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “
All authority has been
given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and
make disciples of all the nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and
Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen
[/quote]
On this Inauguration day I would encourage us all to pray for our new President Donald John Trump as he is now the pivotal leader of the free world and the new leader of our United States America.
May God provide him with wisdom, and wholesome conscience in order to guide and lead my beloved country. And may we as Christians propagate Christ's message to all the world, just as the generations that went before us have, and may we do so freely giving our all, just as we have been freely given, with all the love and heart that Jesus had for lost mankind, desiring to know Him in the glory of His salvation and be saved from the corrupting influence of evil that has been with us all since th fall of man. May all learn to hope in our great Savior who has the power to transform each one of us.
In Jesus Name I pray. Amen