Don’t Kill the Messenger – Ephesians 3:1-6 (NIV)

Don’t Kill the Messenger – Ephesians 3:1-6 (NIV)

1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—

2 Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. 4 In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. 6 This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.

"For this reason" – The reason of "in Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit." from Ephesians 1:22 (NIV)

For that reason Paul does something but he takes 12 verses as a parenthetical aside first. First he wants to make it clear what the mystery is. The mystery that was hidden for so long in the vast history of God’s plan on earth.

The mystery is that through the gospel Gentiles would also heirs with Israel. He doesn’t say we "are" Israel or we "become" Israel. But we are "one body" and share in the promise of Jesus.

I think it’s very easy to forget what a shock Jesus was to the Jews. They were expecting a conquering warrior to show up. They expected a king to come into town and free them from the Romans. What they got was a gentle teacher. A lowly carpenter from nowhere.

He wasn’t what they expected and He was a disappointment. I’d say He was an insult to the Messiah they expected. For this man to claim to be one with God the Father was so far off base to them, they believed He should be killed.

And now, through the rejection of Jesus, the mystery of the Gentiles having access to the power through His death and resurrection is revealed. The separation is gone and we are one body.

This is a gift which makes Paul a prisoner of Christ for the sake of the Gentiles. I can’t imagine what that was like for Paul to realize. LIke Peter being told "kill and eat" when he’d be kosher his whole life. His quite exclusive nation-religion suddenly was freely offered to sinners.

People who never cared about God’s instructions suddenly get all the benefits. The rules are out the window. The diet is over. No more sacrifices, festivals or feasts necessary. I think I’d be pretty bitter. What was all that suffering for?

Of course, that’s just like me/humans. I would have been thinking I was getting it right when all along I should have been realizing I was no better/different. I need complete forgiveness as much as anyone. It’s hard to turn down a free offer like that… unless I don’t believe the messenger.