Where does salvation for the Gentiles begin according to this teaching?
Salvation for Gentiles begins at Christ's death, burial, and resurrection, not with John the Baptist or Christ's earthly ministry. From that point onward—"henceforth"—God's plan of salvation is revealed to Gentiles, and that is where Gentile salvation starts. This truth becomes the core of all activity because He died for us and rose from the dead.
Les teaches that in verse 16 the word "henceforth" means from that point on. He explains that this does not go back to John the Baptist or to Christ's earthly ministry, but goes back to His death, burial, and resurrection. That, Les says, is where things really kick in gear for us Gentiles. He notes that all the way up through the Old Testament, God was dealing with His covenant people under the Law, and the prophets wrote under the Law and practiced it to the hilt. But once the death, burial, and resurrection has been revealed to us Gentiles as God's plan of salvation, that is where we have to start. Les also points to John's Gospel, chapter 12, verse 20, where certain Greeks, Gentiles, came to worship, describing them not as proselytes but as curious bystanders.