Easter Thursday, April 4: “Victory over Exclusivity”

Matthew 28: 19: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”

In the midst of an Old Testament that seemed to represent an exclusive God Who loved only one people, Who hated all Gentiles unequivocally and viewed them with ill will, there were sufficient clues scattered throughout (Isaiah 49 and Psalm 47, for example) that told a different story. This was confirmed when Jesus began His Great Commission, both here and in Acts 1: 8, with the caveat that the Gospel is for every nation, tribe, people, and tongue, and that through Him the way into the Kingdom of God was open for every individual who desired to enter. Instead of spending all our energies declaring all the reasons why God can’t tolerate certain people, we who have victory over exclusivity can explain all the energies He spent ensuring their fellowship with Him.