In an old Bible study, Jordan said, “This is where the rubber hits the road and the fur hits the fan.”

He was referring to mainstream Christianity’s refusal to look at Matthew 10:5-6 for what it really says.

The passage reads, “These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

The next example Jordan gives for the same problem is Luke 19:9-10, in which Jesus tells Zacchaeus, “This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Jordan says, “You’ve heard people at the rescue mission and mission conferences quote verse 10 all your life, but you never heard a one of them quote verse 9, did you? You know why—because it says the lost that He came to save are the lost sons of Abraham. That’d dampen a rescue mission real quick!”

Then there’s the passage of John 12:20-22: “And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast:
[21] The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus.
[22] Philip cometh and telleth Andrew: and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus.
[23] And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast.”

Jordan explains, “Notice Philip tells Andrew and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus and Jesus answered them. Who’d He answer? Andrew and Philip. You know what He did? He ignored the Greeks! He never did talk to them.

“You can go down that passage and read it until you’re bug-eyed; He never said one word to those Gentiles. Now how’d you like to come to me and I’d just ignore you? I’m talking about when you send me a message, tap me on the shoulder and say you want to see me, wanting me to have an audience with you, and I just ignore you and treat you like you weren’t there?

“You reckon that’s sweet, kind or wonderful? You reckon I’m interested in talking to you? You’d get the message soon enough, wouldn’t you? Well, that’s what Christ’s doing! You know what that means? There’s a division!

“Come with me to Acts 2. Now this is important, folks. The book of Matthew to John is in ‘time past.’ The Crucifixion takes place, Christ ascends into heaven, the Holy Spirit comes and everybody says, ‘Okay, the dispensation of grace has begun.’ Wrong.

“In chapter 2:14, Peter, standing up with the 11, lifted his voice up to them and said ‘you men of Judea and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem.’ Verse 22 says, ‘Ye men of Israel.’ Verse 36 says, ‘Therefore let all the counsel of Israel know assuredly.’

“Look at that—isn’t that something? Any Gentiles around wouldn’t have been listening to Him, would they? He said, ‘I’m not talking to you birds. I’m talking to you guys, my brethren.’

“Acts 3:25 says, ‘Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.’ Pretty clear, isn’t it?

“Come over to Acts 11:19: ‘Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only.’

“It doesn’t say they were preaching the word to everyone on the way. It says ‘but unto the Jews only.’ They’re still preaching to none but the Jews only.

“You know where you’ve got to go in your Bible before you find verses that don’t make this distinction? You better not run over into Acts 1-7. You’ve got to go to Romans through Philemon—the Pauline epistles—before you’ll find that distinction gone.

“And when you get over to the book of Hebrews, it’s going to lay that distinction back on you, buddy. The Body of Christ will have gone out (at the Rapture) and Hebrews to Revelation—you go over there and you’ll find that distinction is back again in those books. You know what you got? You can locate ‘time past’ by the distinction. You can locate ‘but now’ by the distinction.”

*****

The emphasis in the book of Luke, and the commission as Luke presents it, is not the same as the emphasis in Matthew, Mark, John or even Luke 1.

Jordan explains, “Matthew, when he gives the commission, they’re up on that hill in Galilee and Christ takes them on a mountain and gives them what is generally referred to as ‘the kingdom commission.’ It’s a commission about the nation Israel and her functioning in the Millennium.

“In Mark, he’s carrying them through the miraculous deliverance of the believing remnant through the tribulation, the 70^th week of Daniel.

“In Luke and in Acts, you’re looking at the commission that He’s giving them beginning in Acts 2. In Luke 24, they’re going to be waiting for Pentecost.

“John is just about the apostolic authority that Christ commits into the hands of His apostles.

“So each one of the commissions focuses on the specific thing that is of interest to the gospel writers.”