by jimwalton » Sun Jun 18, 2023 1:36 am
> Who are the many who will come? Gentiles?
Yes, it is Gentiles. A Roman centurion has approached Jesus for help. Jesus, of course, is glad to help him and finds that he has more perception than many of the Jewish religious leaders. Jesus uses the opportunity, as He always does, to teach deeper than the person's questions and deeper than the events at hand. He applauds the man for his faith (Mt. 8.10), and then follows that statement with the idea that many more Gentiles will follow in that same faith. He uses the man as an archetype of a coming great ingathering.
> What is the significance of eating with the Patriarchs? Why not eat with the Messiah?
Jesus is speaking to a Jewish audience, who had the concept that the great eschatological banquet would be in the presence of the patriarchs, just as they perceived that the dead would rest in Abraham's bosom. In this case the particulars don't matter. His point is that the righteous (those of child-like faith) will rest in the kingdom of heaven, but those who thought to get by on the merits of their birth (Mt. 8.12) will be thrown out. It's about relationship, not religion.
> Why do the many come join the Patriarchs only after the kingdom-banquet has begun? Gentiles joined themselves to Israel's covenant long before the kingdom came.
Jesus is not painting a chronological sequence. His saying is parabolic and proverbial in nature. His point is that those with true faith (no matter Jew or Gentile, male or female, slave or free) gain entrance to the kingdom, while those without true faith (the religious hypocrites are his particular target here) will find themselves left out. That's his only point.
It's true that Gentiles had been joining in since the very beginning, but Jesus's thrust here is that there will be a great ingathering, which indeed came true during Paul's ministry and has been happening ever since.
The great news is that one doesn't have to become a Jew to follow Christ. He is available to all, just as you are.
Last bumped by Anonymous on Sun Jun 18, 2023 1:36 am.