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times cited to show that Jesus did not conceive of his mission as uni
versal in scope; but the most significant part of this account is generally
lost sight of by those who use it in this manner. The most important
fact about this story is not that Jesus is represented as classifying
these Gentiles with “the dogs” but, rather, that in the end he actually
does respond to the mother’s faith and heal her daughter! Another
passage that is frequently used to show that Jesus held an exclusivist
view of his work is the Matthean version of Jesus’ missionary charge
to the twelve (Matt. 10:5-6). Matthew includes the injunction, “Go
nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans,
but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Many scholars
do not accept this prohibition as part of Jesus’ charge because it does
not appear either in the Markan or in the Lukan versions of this
incident. Even if it is accepted as authentic, however, it is nevertheless
significant that the First Gospel concludes with the narrative of a post
resurrection appearance in which Jesus is quoted as saying, “Go there
fore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28:19).
The inference is clear: even if Jesus’ missionary charge before his
death did include a directive against activity beyond the borders of
Israel, the disciples soon became convinced that this mandate was
meant to be only temporary—whatever the reason for it may have
been—and that it was now replaced by the charge to proclaim the
Gospel to all nations.
The testimony of the Gospels that Jesus’ mission and message were
universal in purpose is fully confirmed by the rest of the New Testa
ment. Agreement was soon reached among his followers that the
Church which was built upon faith in him as the Christ must be
open to people of all ethnic and social groups on the same basis
if it was to be true to its Lord. There was, to be sure, a brief but
heated debate as to whether Gentiles must first submit themselves
to the Jewish ceremonial laws before they became Christians; but,
due largely to Paul’s refusal to accept any sort of legalistic require
ments upon the believer, the Church came, within a generation after
the death of Jesus, to affirm with an almost unanimous voice that
God “shows no partiality” and that “in every nation any one who
fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him” (Acts 10:34-
35).
The Gospels themselves contain abundant references to events and
teachings associated with the historical Jesus which make it quite
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Biblical Faith and Social Ethics