Jesus Came To All

What Did Jesus Do?

He came to his own, and his own did not receive him.
John 1.11

It is believed by many that the above captioned verse is talking about the Jews' rejection of their Messiah. While it is true that most of Israel did not receive Jesus as God's Anointed One, I believe such a view of this verse is too narrow. Remember, “all things were made through him” (John 1.3), which means not just things, but all people, Gentile as well as Jew, were made by him. So when Jesus came into the world, his own included, well, everyone. It turned out that Israel's Messiah was the world's Savior. And he came to all.

Jesus came to all, he did not restrict his ministry to the children of Israel, though they were first in line, so to speak. Jesus also came to Roman centurions, Samaritans, Canaanites, and Greeks. And among all these there were, just as with the Jews, many who did not receive him. Though many in the past refused to receive him, and many today and in the future will yet reject him, Jesus comes to all. No one will be able to stand before the Father and claim that they were treated unfairly, because the Son comes to all.

Jesus commissioned his apostles to go into all the world to make disciples of all peoples because he did not merely come to Israel, but to all. The Lord charged his disciples to be his witnesses to the Jews, yes (“...in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria”); but he also commanded them to bear witness to his own throughout all the world (“...to the end of the earth.”). Jesus comes to all.

What this means for the Church is that its witness must not be in the least exclusive or restricted. We do not get to choose who Jesus will come to, we are called to make him available to all. We are not at all responsible for who will receive the Lord, but we are charged with making sure that all his own have the opportunity to receive him, for he will come to all.

From Aborigines in Australia to Zulus in South Africa, the Lord comes to his own. From Muslims in the Middle East, to atheists in North America, the Word comes to his own. From those who live in mansions, to those who are homeless, Christ comes to his own. To the young and the old, male and female, rich and poor, black and white, he comes to his own. Jesus comes to all, but he died for those who, out of all his own, receive him.

S.D.G.

Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4