Welcome and thank you again for taking a bible break to test your knowledge of God's word. This week's question:

Abraham was given a promise that through his seed all nations would be blessed (Genesis 2:3) The "seed" was Christ as we see in Galatians 3:16 and of course "all nations" includes Jew and gentile alike "for there is no partiality with God" (Romans 2:11) :

Galatians 3:28-29 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither

male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's

descendants, heirs according to the promise.

So we understand that the barrier has been removed (Ephesians 2:11-22) and that we are all fellow heirs of the promise. But, during the days that Jesus walked upon this earth, the question at hand is this, did the Jews understand the gentiles were to be ushered in with the New Testament scriptures? Tidbits will open the window of their thinking as we look into a few scriptures and see the pride of being the chosen people of this earth as we see when Jesus goes back to His hometown and after reading in Isaiah in Luke 4:14-30 as Jesus says that the prophecy is being fulfilled that day and the people wonder at the gracious words falling from His lips but when He reminds them that there were many widows during the day of Elijah, but only a widow of Sidon was helped and then there were many Jewish lepers but only Naaman, a Syrian, was healed of his leprosy and it was only then that the Jewish community of Nazareth was caught up in a rage about these words then try to kill Him!

Jesus also tells the officers who were sent to seize Him that He would go where they could not go and they wondered if He intended to go among the Greeks and teach them (John 7:30-35). And again when He says that He has "other sheep which are not of this fold" (John 10:14-21) they chare Him with being insane.

But for our answer to today's question let us turn to Acts chapter 10 and there we see a devout gentile of the Italian cohort and an angel of God tells him to send men to Joppa and bring a man named Peter (Acts 10:1-5). While that is happening, Peter is seeing a vision of unclean animals lowered an a sheet and is told to "kill and eat" but peter will not eat what he feels is unclean according to Old Testament Law. A voice then says, "What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy." (Acts 10:15) When the men from Cornelius arrive to take Peter, he also has other Jews go with him. When they arrive at the household of Cornelius, Peter begins by first saying:

Acts 10:34-35 Opening his mouth, Peter said, "I most certainly understand now that God is not one to

show Partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him."

And from that point, Peter begins preaching Jesus to them and then the Holy Spirit falls upon the listeners,Cornelius and his group, which amazes the Jews that had traveled with Peter "because the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the gentiles also." (Acts 10:45) Then the believers were baptized into Christ. In Acts Chapter eleven Peter recounts the story to Jews who had heard that the gentiles had received the word of God (Acts 11:1), Peter talked to those that took issue with the gentiles being taught the gospel (Acts 11:2-4). When he finished by telling them that they witnessed the Holy Spirit falling upon them, the Jews then said, "Well then, God has granted to the gentiles also the repentance that leads to life." (Acts 11:18).

So for our answer to the question, did the Jews understood that the gentiles were to receive the words of the gospel, there is no doubt that at first they did not. Even the apostles did not comprehend it until Peter was shown the sheet of unclean animals that were now clean and he finally understands when he is requested to go to the household of Cornelius and his Jewish friends then witness the Holy Spirit falling upon the gentiles and become believers also which also converts the other Jews who did not witness the event and contended with Peter until the story is recounted to them.

Let us remember that there is no partiality with God and always be ready to teach to any soul upon this earth no matter their ethnicity.