Some New Testament Invitations to Ethnic Reconciliation

The pervasive Jewish-Gentile conflict in the earliest church invited comment. The theme of the gospel’s challenge for surmounting ethnic prejudices (generally to the extent of commitment to the Gentile mission, hence incorporation into the church) appears widely in the New Testament; the present article surveys some samples of its treatment. John and Luke used Jesus’ ministry to Samaritans or comments about them in ways that likely summoned their audiences to consider and surmount ethnic prejudices in their own day. Paul demanded ethnic unity in Christ as an integral part of the gospel he preached (presumably as part of his mission to the Gentiles). Modern interpreters can explore ways to apply such passages in countering ethnic divisions which continue to plague much of the church today.