Christian Mission to Gentiles

The first Christians were ALL Jewish.

The Jesus movement was a Jewish messianic sect.

Jesus did not preach to Gentiles:

• See Gerasene Demoniac
• See Canaanite Woman
• See Centurion's Servant

There was no organized plan for "converting" Gentiles. It came only as the result of a gradual process.

The question at the beginning was not whether Gentiles should "convert" but whether they were the recipient of the gift of justification. Jesus had preached only to "the lost sheep of the House of Israel" and say the justification of Gentiles as an exception.

First, some Hellenistic Jews joined the Church. They had already established contact with Gentiles, as Gentiles were welcomed as "God-fearers" in Hellenistic-Jewish communities.

Some Gentiles asked to be baptized (i.e. justified). Some opposed the practice but at the end the majority accepted it (see Council of Jerusalem).

The problem was then the relation between Jews and Gentiles in the Christian community.

The distinction between Jews and Gentiles stood in Hellenistic-Jewish Communities. The Jews are the "priests" of humankind.

James and the Church of Jerusalem followed the same model.

For Paul "the apostle of Gentiles", there is complete equality between Jewish and Christian believers within the Church.

Thanks to Paul, Christianity understood the gift of Justification as a universal gift given equally to the lost sheep of the House of Israel and the lost sheep among the nations.

Christians became a missionary religion, open to all nations.

The problem, however, arose with the question: Should people be justified in order to be saved. Once justification became a necessary prerequisite for salvation, it became more difficult to Christians to accept the idea of salvation outside the boundaries of their religious community. An "inclusive" community open to everybody became an "exclusive" community in terms of salvation. Everybody is accepted but everybody who does not join the community is doomed to perdition.