He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus …
Summary: There is a big difference between the law and faith. Paul explains the gift we receive when we put our trust in Jesus.
Does God care about the Gentiles?
The Gospel of Mark recounts the story of Jesus healing the man possessed by a “legion” of demons. In the story, Jesus casts out the demons, and they go into a herd of pigs. Once in the pigs, the demons drive them into a lake, where they all drown. The man, now free from the demons, wants to follow Jesus, but Jesus tells him, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” (Mark 5:19)
The text tells us that the man lived in the region of the Decapolis, an area east of the Sea of Galilee populated by Gentiles.
Mark tells us Jesus traveled into other Gentile areas (Tyre and Sidon, Mark 7:31), and later, he returned to the region of the Decapolis. When he arrives, four thousand people gather to hear him talk. The man sent to tell his people about the Lord had done a good job! They stayed with Jesus for three days. On the third day Jesus fed them all with seven loaves of bread and a few small fish (Mark 8:1-9).
The prophet Isaiah tells us that God called Israel to be a “light for the Gentiles” (Isaiah 42:6, 49:6).
Why?
Jesus didn’t come only to redeem Jews. Isaiah explains that God wants salvation to reach “to the ends of the earth.” Paul tells us that the Gentiles receive the “blessing given to Abraham.” Could it be that the “blessing” Paul refers to is the gift of righteousness?
“Abraham believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” (Genesis 15:6)
Proverbs tells us, “The wages of the righteous is life, but the earnings of the wicked are sin and death.” (Proverbs 10:16) Being righteous is good! The problem is that no one is righteous (Ecclesiastes 7:20). Like someone who has fallen down and can’t get up, we need help. We need Jesus’ help. We need his righteousness. Fortunately for us, that is why he came. (Hosea 10:12)
Application: If you are a Gentile, know that God planned to save you from the very beginning of time.
Food for Thought: What exactly is the “blessing given to Abraham?”
What exactly is the “blessing given to Abraham?”
I believe that the blessing given to Abraham might be of faith. The faith in God’s plan to do what He might ask us to do, and us to be faithful to do it. Faith to trust our Lord.
Many are the woes of the wicked, but the LORD’s unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him. Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart! God controls and allows every detail of our lives; nothing happens without His knowledge and approval.
Abraham would bless the world through his seed ( descents) that would be Jesus. And if we believe in Jesus and what He has done for us and accepted His grace then gentle or jew we can be heirs through Jesus and receive salvation in the end.
Tim,
Thank you! I love the connection you make between God giving Abraham faith and faith coming to us through Abraham! 🙂
Good call T. I believe the blessing is salvation through faith in Christ and every other blessing that comes with that.
Thanks Rich!
It is amazing to see how faith opens the door to God’s blessing in our lives.
What exactly is the “blessing given to Abraham?”
R and T got it!
Genesis 22:15-18, The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18 and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”
Abraham was blessed by God as He acted in faith.
Thanks, Ron!
It’s kind of cool to think of ourselves as “Abraham’s offspring.” 🙂
I agree with T’s summation; the ultimate blessing given to Abraham is that Jesus was born from his bloodline.
To say it like that just doesn’t articulate the magnitude of God’s craftmanship. The wisdom and perfection of His plan. I believe there is more.
In Genesis 12, God calls Abram. He calls Abram to move in faith. He tells Abram to “pack up” and start walking. He tells Abram if he will move in faith that he will be a part of God’s plan. God’s plan is to “make of you a great nation.” That is a blessing.
In Genesis 17, God establishes a covenant with Abram, now Abraham. (Note: this is over 20 years later!). Abram had stepped out in faith, and stumbled a bit in his faith on the journey, but in that journey, God fortified Him, built him up, Abrams faith increased. This is another blessing. In this encounter, God confirms His promise to Abraham, and establishes a “more formal promise”, a covenant. I cannot help but think that Abrahams faith was now strong enough at that point to enter into a “more formal promise,” a covenant with God. In that covenant, God again promises Abraham that he will be “be the father of a multitude of nations” and commands Abraham to dedicate this “multitude of nations” to God through circumcision.
God blesses Abraham by creating through Him nations of chosen people dedicated to serving the Lord. Abraham was ready to receive this blessing and carry out his covenant with God. From those nations Jesus would come. But there is also another blessing there.
I have come to understand (in class) that there are three factors that indicate the timing of Jesus’s coming were absolutely the correct timing:
The Roman Empire made it possible for the rapid spread of the gospel by “physically connecting” the world.
The Greek culture and “common language” prepared the world to understand the message of Christ.
The Jewish religion, which was already scattered throughout the world, became the fertile soil on which Christ planted the seeds of his message. There was a “body” in place for Christ to breath life into.
To me, the Abrahamic Covenant is in a very real sense the birthing of Judaism. That the blessing was not just of “a great nation” but that the multitudes and “exceeding fruitfulness” would one day play an integral part of God’s plan for mankind’s redemption, not only in the birth of Christ, but in bringing hearts to Christ.
Now that is a blessing!
I just want to say too, we had a power outage, so I was unable to read R’s and R2D2s comments before I posted. I appreciate their thoughts, points and faithfulness.
Thanks Chris!
What a valuable meditation! I love the perspective of the “three factors.” It helps to stand back and appreciate God’s work from a larger perspective.
This “larger perspective” is hard for us to grasp when we are in the middle of God’s work. Sometimes it feels like we have been abandoned, when in reality God is just tilling the soil. 🙂