Yes — Paul faced Jewish opposition because Israel's long-held belief that they were God's exclusive people made them riot when Paul quoted the Lord sending him to the Gentiles.
The crowd listened politely until Paul repeated the Lord's words to send him 'far hence unto the Gentiles,' then they shouted for his death. Les Feldick traces that reaction to nearly 2,000 years of Israel being told they were God's separated people, until they could not conceive of anyone else having access to God.
Acts 22:21-22 — This is the exact scene in which Paul's words about being sent to the Gentiles turned an attentive crowd into a mob crying for his death.
Scripture records the scene plainly in Acts 22. Paul had been rescued from a mob by Roman soldiers and was allowed to address the crowd in Hebrew. In his testimony he repeated what the Lord had told him in the temple: 'Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me.' He then quoted the Lord's commission: 'Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.' The next verse says the crowd gave him audience 'unto this word, and then lifted up their voices, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live.' The opposition, therefore, was triggered specifically by Paul's appointment to the Gentiles. Later, in Romans 11:11, Paul asks the question whether Israel has stumbled so as to fall. His answer is 'God forbid,' and he adds that through their fall 'salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.' The Bible thus shows Israel's rejection of Paul's Gentile message, while also indicating that God was bringing the Gentiles in.
Les Feldick teaches that Paul's opposition grew out of Israel's centuries-long conditioning. Almost 2,000 years before Paul, God began separating Israel as a people and gave them covenant promises that Gentiles did not share. By Paul's day, Israel had had it 'pounded into them' that they were special, and they could not get it out of their heads that 'anybody else was worth a nickel.' Les says they considered themselves the only people with access to God, so placing Gentiles in that same category was 'anathema.' Paul's message that there was 'no difference' between Jew and Gentile was therefore intolerable. When he told the Jerusalem crowd that the Lord had sent him 'far hence to the Gentiles,' that one word turned the audience into an uproar. Les also explains that the Jews became the chief opponents of Christianity, hating the Gentiles for 'infringing upon their God,' and that even Peter struggled to get the old mindset out of his system when he was with Gentile believers at Antioch.
According to Acts 22, Paul stood before a huge Jewish crowd in Jerusalem and rehearsed how the Lord had appeared to him and told him to leave Jerusalem quickly, saying the Jews would not receive his testimony. Then the Lord said to him, 'Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.' The people listened with rapt attention until Paul said the word 'Gentile,' and then they lifted up their voices and shouted, 'Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live.' Les Feldick highlights that this one word — 'Gentile' — turned the entire audience into a mob, and only the Roman authorities kept Paul from being torn to pieces.
Les Feldick explains that God had dealt with Israel for almost 2,000 years as His separated, covenant people. During those centuries, it was 'pounded into them' that they were special. By Paul's day they could not get it out of their heads that anyone else was worth anything. They believed they were the only ones who had any access to God, and the idea of putting a Gentile in that same category was 'anathema' to them. Even Peter, when he went to Antioch, had trouble letting go of this mindset when his fellow Jews arrived.
Les points out that Paul, a Jew himself, was now telling Israel that there is no difference between Jew and Gentile. That was more than the Jews could stomach. In Les's words, 'now comes this little Jew, Saul of Tarsus, who we know now as Paul, and he says, there's no difference.' Israel detested Jesus of Nazareth, the Jew, and they hated the thought of Gentiles infringing upon their God. As a result, the Jews became the chief opponents of Christianity, opposing Paul at every place he preached to the Gentiles.
The Bible itself raises this question. Paul writes, 'Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.' Les points out that Israel had not fallen beyond recovery; rather God was still working out His purposes through their unbelief.
Israel's 2,000 Years of Being God's Special People
Les teaches that nearly two millennia of separation made Israel unable to see anyone else as worthy of God, which is why Paul's Gentile ministry almost got him killed.
The Riot at the Word 'Gentile'
Les shows from Acts 22 that the crowd listened calmly until Paul said 'Gentile,' then shouted 'Away with such a fellow from the earth.'
Jews as Chief Opponents of Christianity
Les says the Jews were the chief opponents of Christianity because they hated Gentiles for infringing on their God.
The Difficulty of Letting Go of Separation
Les explains that almost 2,000 years of being God's separated people made even Peter struggle to accept Gentile believers.
The One Word That Caused an Uproar
Les emphasizes that a single word, 'Gentile,' caused the Jewish crowd to go into an uproar, and Paul's claim of 'no difference' was intolerable.
The Jews' Attitude Toward 'Gentile Dogs'
Les quotes Acts 22 to show the Jews listened only until the word 'Gentile,' revealing their attitude toward Gentiles.
The Exclusive Jewish Mentality
Les says Jews thought they alone had access to God, so treating Gentiles as equals was anathema.
God's Turn From Israel to the Nations
Les notes that Jesus' earthly ministry was to Israel, but now God set Israel aside and sent Paul to the nations — the very source of Jewish opposition.
Acts 22:21: And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.
This is the sentence Paul spoke just before the crowd erupted at the word 'Gentile.'
Acts 22:22: And they gave him audience unto this word, and then lifted up their voices, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live.
This shows the violent response of the Jerusalem crowd to Paul's Gentile commission.
Acts 22:18: And saw him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me.
Earlier in his testimony, Paul recounts the Lord's warning that the Jews in Jerusalem would not receive his testimony.
Romans 11:11: I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.
Paul answers the question of whether Israel's fall was final; it was not.
Romans 1:5: By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:
Paul describes his apostleship as extending to all nations, not Israel only.
Romans 1:7: To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
The letter is addressed to believers in Rome, showing the Gospel going out to Gentiles.
Because the word 'Gentile' represented everything Israel had been taught to see as outside God's covenant. They listened until Paul quoted Jesus saying he was sent to the Gentiles, then shouted, 'Away with such a fellow from the earth.' Les explains that the Jews had believed for almost 2,000 years that only they had access to God.
Les says that every place Paul went, Jews rejected the gospel and then hated the Gentiles who embraced it. They saw Gentiles as infringing upon their God and became the chief opponents of Christianity.
No. Paul answered his own question in Romans 11:11, 'Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid.' Les points to this to show that Israel's unbelief was not the final word in God's purposes.
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