April 9, 2008
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THE NATIONS OF THE WORLD
THE NATION OF ISRAEL
John 1:10-11  He was in the world [Israel], and the world was made by him, and the world [Israel] knew him not.  11  He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
NOT SENT TO THE NATIONS OF THE WORLD
Matthew 15:24  But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
THE NATIONS OF WORLD
There are times when the word “world” is a reference to the nations of the earth.
Luke 12:30  For all these things (food and clothing) do the nations of the world seek after:
Romans 11:12  Now if the fall of them [the nation of Israel] be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles;
CONTEXT IS AN IMPORTANT CONSIDERATION
I am persuaded that the word “World” is not a reference to the nations of the world but the nation of Israel. Jesus did not move beyond the boundary of the nation of Israel. Even beyond the Jordan river was part of the inheritance Moses gave three tribes, Manasseh, Rueben, and Gad. Jesus ministry was not to the nations but to the nation of Israel.
God the Father sent Jesus only to the perishing sheep of the house of Israel as noted in Matthew 15:24. It must be shown that there are times when the word “World” does reference the nations that include the Gentiles as in Luke 12:30 and Romans 11:12 for example. His ministry did extend to the Gentiles, but only in the physical realm and not the spiritual. He healed and possibly fed them but did not open the scriptures to them.