"And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre
and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and
cried, 'Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is
severely possessed by a demon.' But he did not answer her a word.
And his disciples came and begged him, saying, 'Send her away,
for she is crying after us.' He answered, 'I WAS SENT ONLY
TO THE LOST SHEEP OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL.' But she came and knelt
before him, saying, 'Lord, help me.' And He answered, 'It is not fair to take the children's bread and throw it to the
dogs.' She said, 'Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the
crumbs that fall from their masters' table.' Then Jesus answered
her, 'O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you
desire.' And her daughter was healed instantly."
Christ's mission is clear. He tells us himself. He says that He
"WAS SENT ONLY TO THE LOST SHEEP OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL." He
was not sent to receive the Gentiles during his earthly ministry!
The above information about Christ's earthly ministry is key in
understanding who the 'other sheep' truly are. So who is Christ referring to when He mentions the "other
Sheep" in John 10:16? In John 10:16, he is clarifying his role as Shepherd of the Jews. He
then goes on and tells His disciples of his future plans for his 'other
sheep', the Gentiles.
Christ was not the during-His-earthly-life light, and did not preach, to the Gentiles;
but
his ongoing life, sayings, and deeds will be used as "A LIGHT FOR REVELATION TO THE
GENTILES" as echoed with Simeon's statement in Luke 2:27-32:
"Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When
the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom
of the Law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God,
saying: 'Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss
your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, 32 A LIGHT FOR
REVELATION TO THE GENTILES and for glory to your people Israel.'"
Christ's earthly deeds gave the Apostles the ability to effectively
preach the Gospel to the 'other sheep'. The Gentiles heard and were
received into the Church. These events clearly took place after the
death of Christ. By the Gentiles assimilating with the Christian Jews,
the prophecy of one flock and one shepherd in John 10:16 was
fulfilled.
To fortify this claim, lets look at more supporting Biblical proof
texts
that paint a story of two separate folds:
The Gentiles were considered heathens during the life of Christ. In no
way were they considered part of God's Kingdom during that time. These
two groups of people were truly of different folds. Look at the
following verses to support this claim:
Matt 10:5-6: "These twelve Jesus sent out with the following
instructions: 'Do not go among the GENTILES or enter any town of
the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel."
Matt 18:17: "If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and
if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a
GENTILE and a tax collector."
Acts 10:28: "He said to them: 'You are well aware that it is
against our law for a Jew to associate with a GENTILE or visit him....'"
The Bible is clear on what the early Jewish Christians (all of the
very early Christians were Jews) thought of the
Gentiles. They were to be avoided. Even Jesus commands the Apostles to
tend only to the lost sheep of Israel and not to go to the Gentiles
and Samaritans. Jesus, in the fullness of time, would reveal the future
salvation plan for the Gentiles. Those plans are precisely prophesied
in John 10:16.
Only until the Holy Spirit commanded Peter to share the Word of God to
the Gentiles (Acts 10:9-48..."Peter's vision"), which took place AFTER the death of Christ,
was it then the Kingdom of God was opened to them. The following
verses show that point to be true:
Acts 13:46-48: "Then Paul and Barnabas answered them
(the challenging Jews) boldly: 'We
had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do
not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the
GENTILES. For this is what the Lord has commanded us: 'I have
made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the
ends of the earth.' When the Gentiles heard this, they were
glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed [the
Elect] for
eternal life believed.'"
Acts 14:27: "On arriving there, they gathered the church together and
reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened the
door of faith to the GENTILES."
Acts 15:7: "After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them:
'Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among
you that the GENTILES might hear from my lips the message of the
gospel and believe.'"
The above verses indicate that the Gentiles began to be admitted to the Kingdom
AFTER Christ's death...AFTER He made his statement of 'other sheep' in
John 10:16. Hence, the other sheep are the Gentiles.
Ephesians 3:6: "This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are
heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers
together in the promise in Christ Jesus."
The Jews and Gentiles had now become one fold with one Shepherd as
Christ had prophesied.
Summarizing the above; the Scriptural references show that:
(posted 18 May 2003)