Cross & salvation

Who was Jesus sent to?

Christianity has been a faith for all nations since its first century. But in the Gospels, Jesus describes his own mission in narrower terms. Who did he say he was sent to?

1The question

Did Jesus understand his mission as being to Israel, or to the whole world?

2What Christians believe

Christians agree that during his ministry Jesus focused on Israel, but they see this as the first stage of God’s plan. Even in Matthew, Jesus heals the daughter of a Gentile woman after praising her faith (Matthew 15:28), and says that many will come “from the east and west” to sit with Abraham in the kingdom (Matthew 8:11).

After the resurrection, Jesus sends the disciples to “teach all nations” (Matthew 28:19). Paul, with the agreement of James, Peter and John, then takes the gospel to the Gentiles (Galatians 2:7–9). On this view the mission to Israel and the mission to the world are two stages of one plan.

3What the texts say

Jesus during his ministry

But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Matthew 15:24 · KJVRead in context →
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.
Matthew 10:5–6 · KJVRead in context →
And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 8:11 · KJVRead in context →

After the resurrection, and Paul

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Matthew 28:19 · KJVRead in context →
For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:
Romans 11:13 · KJVRead in context →
But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter;
Galatians 2:7 · KJVRead in context →

4What scholars say

R. T. France (The Gospel of Matthew, 2007) reads Matthew as a story that moves from a mission to Israel to a mission to all nations, with the healing of Gentiles as early signs of what is to come.

Critical scholars such as Bart D. Ehrman (Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium, 1999) argue that the historical Jesus preached to his fellow Jews about the coming kingdom of God, and that the worldwide mission was developed by his followers after his death, above all by Paul.

Two details are widely noted. The sayings in Matthew 10:5–6 and 15:24 appear only in Matthew’s Gospel. And the early church argued over whether Gentile converts had to keep the Law of Moses (Acts 15), which suggests that the mission to the Gentiles was not settled from the start.

5The Islamic perspective

The Qur’an teaches that every messenger was sent to his own people, in their own language:

And We never sent a messenger save with the language of his folk, that he might make (the message) clear for them. Then Allah sendeth whom He will astray, and guideth whom He will. He is the Mighty, the Wise.
Qur’an 14:4 · PickthallRead in context →
And when Jesus son of Mary said: O Children of Israel! Lo! I am the messenger of Allah unto you, confirming that which was (revealed) before me in the Torah, and bringing good tidings of a messenger who cometh after me, whose name is the Praised One. Yet when he hath come unto them with clear proofs, they say: This is mere magic.
Qur’an 61:6 · PickthallRead in context →
And We have not sent thee (O Muhammad) save as a bringer of good tidings and a warner unto all mankind; but most of mankind know not.
Qur’an 34:28 · PickthallRead in context →

In the Qur’an Jesus speaks to the Children of Israel as their messenger, which is how he describes himself in Matthew 15:24. The message to all mankind belongs to the final prophet, Muhammad ﷺ (Qur’an 34:28). Muslims therefore see the universal mission that Christians give to Jesus as the role of the prophet who came after him.

6Objections and responses

“In Matthew 28:19 Jesus sends the disciples to all nations.”

Response: This command comes after the resurrection, which the Qur’an does not accept. The disciples also do not seem to act as if they had received it: in Acts 10–11 Peter needs a vision before he will visit a Gentile and is criticised for it afterwards, and the Jerusalem church still has to debate the matter in Acts 15. Many historians also see the verse as reflecting the later mission of the church.

“Jesus healed Gentiles, so his mission included them.”

Response: The Gospels present these as exceptions. In Matthew 15 Jesus first gives the Canaanite woman no answer, tells her that he is sent only to the lost sheep of Israel (15:24), and helps her after she persists. A prophet can show mercy to outsiders while his mission remains with his own people.

7Conclusion

Both sides agree that during his ministry Jesus directed his mission to Israel. Christians see the later mission to all nations as the next stage of God’s plan, begun by the risen Jesus. Muslims see Jesus as a messenger to his own people, like every prophet before him, and the message to all humanity as given to Muhammad ﷺ.

Read Matthew 15:21–28 and Matthew 28:19 together and consider which reading explains both best.

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