Rav Sha'ul Was Called to Preach to the Jews

[alon]

It is important to remember that Yisra’el can be called goyim- nations. Exodus 19:6 “and you will be a kingdom of cohanim for me, a nation set apart.' These are the words you are to speak to the people of Isra'el." The word nation here is goy. So every time we see Paul preach to the goyim he was not necessarily preaching to the Gentiles. “The church” teaching that the Jews rejected Yeshua and the Gentiles came to Him in droves is false- the early church was mostly Jewish.

H1471 גּי גּוי gôy Apparently from the same root as H1465 (in the sense of massing); a foreign nation; hence a Gentile; also (figuratively) a troop of animals, or a flight of locusts: - Gentile, heathen, nation, people. Even Strong’s got this wrong, as used in this passage goy obviously refers to Yisra’el.

Galatians 1:15-16 NAS “But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother's womb and called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood,” The word Gentiles (heathen in the KJV) is here deliberately mistranslated.

G1484 ἔθνος ethnos Probably from G1486; a race (as of the same habit), that is, a tribe; specifically a foreign (non-Jewish) one (usually by implication pagan): - Gentile, heathen, nation, people. Again Strong’s, steeped in Catholic dogma, presents the definition so as to downplay the meaning “nation, people” and present it as only Gentiles. Sha’ul was called to preach to the Jews. Preaching to Gentiles who believed and attached themselves to Yisra’el was a side benefit.

Acts 26:14 “And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.'” “The church” tells us this is when Paul received his calling to the Gentiles.

Acts 22:10-13 “And the Lord said to me, 'Get up and go on into Damascus, and there you will be told of all that has been appointed for you to do.' "But since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me and came into Damascus. "A certain Ananias, a man who was devout by the standard of the Law, and well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, came to me, and standing near said to me, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight !' And at that very time I looked up at him.” This was all after the time of Yeshua, and Sha’ul was led to a observant Jew straight away after his conversion.

Acts 9:20 NAS “and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, "He is the Son of God."” It is interesting that just after he received his calling, Sha’ul went and preached in the synagogues. He was in Damascus, a Gentile country, so he could have presumably found some Gentiles to preach to there, yet he went straight to the synagogues.

So I would conclude that trust in Yeshua is Hebraically based, even today. We do not have "Hebrew Roots," but instead are called to a distinctly Hebrew faith.

Dan C

[Deleted]

Are you saying then that Paul never preached to the Gentiles at all? Just to the Jewish people? Because this is the impression that I got from your posting.

And what translation are you using to back up what you stated?

Moriah Ruth

[alon]

Feb 22, 2014 18:04:05 GMT -8 @moriahruth7 said:

Are you saying then that Paul never preached to the Gentiles at all? Just to the Jewish people? Because this is the impression that I got from your posting.

And what translation are you using to back up what you stated?

Moriah Ruth

Mostly the New American Standard, or NAS. I didn't use the Complete Jewish Bible for all of it, since I wanted to point out the modern Christian version of scripture and the Strong's bias towards Sha'ul's new calling.

My point is summed up in the last sentence, "So I would conclude that trust in Yeshua is Hebraically based, even today. We do not have "Hebrew Roots," but instead are called to a distinctly Hebrew faith." I didn't say that Rav Sha'ul never preached to the Gentiles, and didn't mean to imply that either. He obviously did, both in the synagogues and even before pagan temples in his travels.

Act 17:23 KJV "For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you." This occurred in Athens, at the top of Mars Hill.

However he was there because the Jews of Thessalonica had sent him away (vs. 13); and before going to Mars Hill he had went to the local synagogue (vs. 17). Rav Sha'ul never missed an opportunity, even one in front of a pagan temple. But his heart and his calling was to the Jews 1st, just like it says in Rom 1:16, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek."

Dan C

[Questor]

Yeshua was always quite specific...He was in search of those who were lost, so that they could be found again. Only the Northern ten tribes of Israel were lost and dispersed to the point that they needed to be sought out.

And yet, it was not that all those of the ten tribes forgot their heritage...many of them did assimilate into the nations into which they went, and blended their blood into other tribes and peoples. But there were always merchants, and some writings dispersed abroad over the years, and so some of the Israelites did keep the commandments, and set up their own learning centers.

But Yeshua also said he was come to come to seek out the un-righteous among the Jews...those of Judah, Levi and Benjamin were also scattered abroad. Certainly there were always the un-righteous amongst the gentiles, as well as the Jews.

Everyone needed to be reached with Yeshua's message...that He was the Messiah, that He came to rescue all Believers from the human inability to keep perfectly. Certainly that included gentiles, but we were not the original focus of Yeshua. The Jews were and are....