unclean" had not the vision of "all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild

beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air" been explained to him.

In Acts 10: Peter has arrived practically at the conclusion of his ministry so far as it is

recorded in the Acts, yet it is evident, whatever deductions we may draw, that the

Gentiles in the wider sense of the term never came within its scope. How the church, in

the common acceptation of the term, could have commenced at Pentecost passes all

comprehension. As the record stands it evidently had no place for a Gentile in it, and if it

was wrong to have thus limited its embrace, then we are faced with a still bigger problem,

namely, apostles and prophets, endued with power from on high, with miraculous gifts,

and attestations of their ministry (Heb. 2: 1-4), perpetuating erroneous ideas and Jewish

prejudice at the expense of truth.

If we go back to the Gospels we shall find, as most know, that the Gentiles do not

come within the scope of the Lord's earthly ministry. Matt. 10: 5, 6 and 15: 24 prove

this. The Greeks who desired to "see Jesus," "came up to worship at the feast"

(John 12: 20, 21), and therefore come under the same heading as Cornelius. There is

no statement in John 12: that the Lord granted their request; the record seems to point the

other way. The case of the woman of Canaan (a Greek-speaking native of Syrophoenicia,

Mark 7: 26) does not alter the general fact. The Lord did not go to her nor to her

home--she came to Him. When she took upon her lips the title "Son of David" He

answered her not a word, and repeated to His disciples the fact that He was not sent but

unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. When the woman, dropping the peculiar

Israelitish title, addressed the Saviour as "Lord," He answered her by reminding her still

more pointedly of the difference that existed between Israel and the nations. "It is not

meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to the little dogs" (puppies, not full grown

dogs). There was great graciousness in the choice of words here. Had the Lord said

"dogs," all hope would have vanished. Dogs are never allowed in the house, they are

driven out and live upon the offal of the towns, unclean and unowned. Little puppies,

however, are allowed for a time a place in the house, and are petted by the children. The

woman's faith grasped this, and she replied, "Truth Lord; yet the puppies eat of the

crumbs which fell from their master's table." Here is no equality of blessing such as is

the glory of Paul's message. The Gentile woman is compared to a "puppy," and is

thankful for "crumbs"; Israel are called "children," and are recognized as "masters" or

"lords" (kurion). There is an interesting paronomasia here, the two important words

having a somewhat similar sound, kunaria (puppies), kurion (lords).

The centurion of Matt. 8: likewise comes to the Lord, and just as in the case of

Syrophoenician's daughter, the centurion's son was healed at a distance. The Lord did

not go to, speak to, nor touch either of them. This is the more emphasized by noting that

on either side of the incident the Lord touched a leper (8: 3), and touched Peter's wife's

mother (8: 14). The Lord, when He would raise Jairus' daughter, went to the house and

took her by the hand. The blind men's eyes were touched in the same chapter (9:). It

seems fairly clear that a great gulf separated the nation of Israel from the nations around