Acts 11:18 – When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.”
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This is one of the most significant events in the book of Acts, though many of us would read past it awaiting something more spectacular. Acts begins with the Jews receiving the gospel. This is no surprise, because the Jews are the elect people of God. Then, a strange shift occurs, and Samaritans also receive the gospel. This must have been a bit disconcerting to the Jews, since the Samaritans were a mingled race only partly related to the Jews. But now, the gospel has crossed another crucial line. With Cornelius and his household, gentiles receive the gospel.
To the Jews, nothing could have seemed stranger than a gentile receiving the gospel and the gift of the Holy Spirit. This clearly placed the gentiles on the same footing with the Jews, and that had to be hard to swallow. No longer were the Jews the only race that had access to God. No longer did people need to become part of the Jewish nation to enter God’s kingdom. Now the gospel is available to all people, regardless of national or ethnic background.
We must give God thanks for this great move. As the gospel crossed ethnic and social barriers, it became available to many who would have never otherwise received it. Since the vast majority of us are not Jews, but gentiles by birth, we must remember that it is a great grace of God to allow us into his chosen nation. He brings us in, not because we had anything to offer him, but because he has chosen to include people from every nation in his eternal kingdom.
Also, it is good to remember that no particular people group has a monopoly on knowing God. The Jews do not know God more than the Romans. The Americans do not know God more than the Africans. The Asians do not know God more than the Europeans. God is not bound by geopolitical boundaries. His kingdom includes people from all nations. His plan is glorious.
Dear Lord, I thank you, today, that you chose to allow people from my nation into your kingdom. You did not have to let us in. You could have not allowed the gospel to enter my country, but you did allow it in. For that great blessing, I give you thanks. Help me to remember that the gospel is for all peoples all over the world. Help me to remember that Americans do not hold the keys to the kingdom of God, and neither do any other peoples. Praise to your name, Lord God, because you have a kingdom of people from every ethnicity and every nation.
Pastor Travis Peterson 