Essay Eleven
Go to the Lost Sheep of the House of Israel
In Matthew 10:5 Jesus instructs his disciples, “Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” In Romans 11:13 the apostle Paul proclaims that he was an apostle of the Gentiles. “For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles.” It is generally thought that these Gentiles were non-Israel people.
Did the apostle Paul disobey Jesus’ instructions to go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel? Did Christ change his commission to go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and instead instruct them to go to the Gentiles? Many believe Christ’s commission in Matthew 28:19 did just that. ”Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:”
Christ did not change his commission in Matthew 10:5, and we shall see that the apostles were unwaveringly faithful to their calling. In Romans 9:2-3 the apostle Paul declares, “That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh: Who are Israelites.” How could Paul say he could wish himself accursed from Christ for his brethren, and then direct his ministry to a non-Israel people? Paul’s burden for his brethren reminds us of Moses’ intercessory prayer to God on behalf of Israel in Exodus 32:32. “Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin -; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.”
Can you imagine a husband declaring to his wife, “Honey, I love you. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. But I’ve decided to leave you and the kids and run away with another woman.” What hypocrisy!
The Lost Sheep of the House of Israel were Gentiles
Before Christ Redeemed them at Calvary
Let us search the scriptures to get a better understanding of whom Paul was referring to as Gentiles. In Acts 9:15 the Lord told Ananias, “Go thy way, for he (Paul) is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel.” The Greek word for Gentile used here, and in Christ’s commission in Matthew 28:19 is ‘Ethnos’, meaning nation, race or tribe.
The ninth chapter of Romans deals with God’s election of the ‘children of promise’ through the seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In Romans 9:23-26 Paul explains who these Gentiles were. “And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy (seed of promise), which he had afore prepared unto glory, Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews (house of Judah) only, but also of the Gentiles (house of Israel). As he saith in Hosea, I will call them my people, which are not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved. And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.”
Ye are the Sons of the Living God
In Hosea 1:9-10 the prophet addresses the ten-tribe house of Israel, who were given a bill of divorcement because of their idolatry. “Then said God, Call his name Loammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God. Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered; and it shall come to pass that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.”
For a Small Moment I have Forsaken Thee
God divorced Israel because of her adultery, as explained in Jeremiah 3:8. “And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery, I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.” During this estranged period of history, Israel - meaning prince with God, could not be called by her former name, but rather is referred to as forsaken of God. In Isaiah 54:7, God says, “For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.”
The ten-tribe house of Israel was dispersed among the heathen about 717 BC. “And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries: according to their way and according to their doings I judged them.” (Ezekiel 36:19) They were looked upon by the house of Judah as outcasts, Gentiles, aliens from the commonwealth of Israel. “That at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world.” (Ephesians 2:12)
The Jews who had returned from their Babylonian captivity to Jerusalem were well aware of these lost sheep. In John 7:35 they said unto themselves, “Will he (Jesus) go unto the dispersed among the Gentiles, and teach the Gentiles?”
The house of Israel was the prodigal son in the parable of Luke 15:11-24. “For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.” The promise unto backsliding Israel was that, “In the place where it was said unto them ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.” (Romans 9:26)
The House of Israel was Redeemed by Christ at Calvary
The lost sheep of the house of Israel, dispersed among the nations, were regarded by God as Gentiles (not my people) after he gave them a bill of divorce. Christ had to shed his blood in order to redeem them. “For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.” (Hebrews 8:8) “And for this cause he is mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.” (Hebrews 9:15-16) After Calvary the lost sheep of the house of Israel were no longer known by God as, not my people. After Calvary they are known as, sons of the living God (Christians).
Peter Preaches the Gospel
to the Lost Sheep of the House of Israel
In Acts 15:7 we read, “Peter rose up, and said unto them, men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.” If Peter was called to preach to a non-Israel people, why did he address his first epistle to the lost sheep of the house of Israel? In I Peter 1:1 we read, “to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the father, through sanctification of the Spirit.” In I Peter 2:9-10 he further identifies these lost sheep, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.”
Jesus Saith to Peter - Feed My Sheep
In John 21:16, Jesus Christ commanded Peter to feed his sheep. “He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, feed my sheep.” Like Paul, Peter was never confused about Christ’s commission to “go not but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Why did Jesus specifically target the lost sheep of the house of Israel to first hear the Gospel? It was because they were chosen as a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people who were called to be ministers of the reconciliation.
The Restoration of the Houses of Israel & Judah
In Acts 15:13-17 we read, “And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me: Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. And to this agree the prophets; as it is written, After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down, and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up; That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called.” Acts 15:16 is a quote from Amos 9:11 describing the restoration of Israel.
In Amos 9:9 we read, “For lo, I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.” In Zechariah 8:11-13 we read, “But now I will not be unto the residue of this people as in the former days, saith the Lord of hosts. For the seed shall be prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. And it shall come to pass, that as ye were a curse among the heathen, O house of Judah, and house of Israel; so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing: fear not, but let your hands be strong.”
Christ Came to Confirm the Promises to the Fathers
In Romans 15:8 we read, “Now I (Paul) say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers.” If we read the letters of the apostles with the understanding that they were written to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, we will see the confirmation of the promises made to our fathers and our hearts will be established in faith, rather than in doubt and confusion.