Why did God raise up Paul to go primarily to the Gentiles?
God raised up Paul to go primarily to the Gentiles because Israel rejected and crucified their Messiah, and Peter’s early Acts preaching could not bring them to belief. As Gentiles had exceptions while God dealt with Israel, now individual Jews can also be saved during the age of grace.
Les explains that God raised up Paul because Israel rejected and crucified their Messiah, and Peter’s preaching in the early chapters of Acts could not bring them to belief. So God sent Saul of Tarsus, known as Paul, primarily to the Gentiles, just as Jesus had gone primarily to the Jew. Les notes that as there were Gentile exceptions when God dealt with Israel, there are individual Jews who can be saved in the age of grace. He also warns against mixing the church with Israel in the tribulation, since Jeremiah 30 shows the tribulation is primarily God’s dealing with the nation of Israel, not the church.