The ministry of our blessed Lord had respect,
1. Primarily, to the Jews —
[Jesus was himself born a Jew ; and he submitted to cir- cumcision, which was the initiatory rite whereby the Jews were received into covenant with God. When he entered upon his ministerial office, he addressed himself exclusively to those of the circumcision : when solicited to confer his blessings on a Syro-phenician woman, he refused ; saying, that he was " sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel ;" and that " he could not take the children's bread and cast it unto dogsb:" though, for the encouragement of all future supplicants, of whatever nation or character, he afterwards granted her re- quest0. When he sent forth his Disciples into all the cities, towns, and villages, he expressly forbade them to enter into any city of the Gentiles or Samaritans'1. Even after his resur- rection, he enjoined his Disciples to make the first overtures of mercy to the Jews, notwithstanding they had so recently imbrued their hands in his blood e. And though he gave them a commission to carry his Gospel into all the world f, they still retained their prejudice respecting the exclusive privileges of the Jews : the people who were scattered abroad on the perse- cution of Stephen, went every where speaking the word to none but Jews onlyg: and when, after the space of six years, this prejudice was opposed by the miraculous interposition, and incontrovertible attestation, of God himself, the Apostles with difficulty acquiesced, saying, "Then hath God unto the Gentiles also granted repentance unto life*1." Even St. Paul himself, who from his first conversion was constituted more especially the minister of the uncircumcision, laboured first to convince the Jews, and turned not to the Gentiles, till the invincible obstinacy of the Jews rendered his further attempts to instruct them altogether hopeless1.
In all this the Lord Jesus consulted " the truth of God, and confirmed the promises made to the fathers;" which, though they comprehended all the spiritual seed of Abraham, had doubtless respect to those in the first place who should also be found among his lineal descendants k.]
2. Ultimately, to the Gentiles also —
[In the very promises made to Abraham, the Gentile nations were expressly included1. But, to confirm this truth, St. Paul brings passages out of all the different parts of the Old
b Matt. xv. 23—26. c Matt. xv. 28. d Matt. x. 5.
e Luke xxiv. 47. f Mark xvi. 15. s Acts xi. 19.
h Actsxi. 18. » Acts xiii. 46, 47. k Gen.xvii. 1 — 8.
1 Rom. iv. 16—18. Gal. iii. 7—9, 28, 29.