Since we did not live in the days of the first-century Jews, it is difficult for us to fully comprehend the strong aversion that the Jews had for the Gentiles. Their hatred for the Gentiles went to extreme measures, as they looked at the entire race as being unclean and had made it unlawful for Jews to have interactions with Gentiles (Acts 10:28). The Gentiles were their enemies and (in their minds) did not deserve to have any knowledge of God and heavenly things, let alone to have a relationship with Him. Even if a Gentile became a Jewish proselyte, he was still held at a distance and not admitted to full fellowship. Jews and Gentiles hated one another and wanted nothing to do with each other.
Then, Jesus “came and preached peace” (Eph. 2:17). The Old Testament had prophesied about the coming kingdom of God and that “all nations shall flow to it” (Isa. 2:2). Faithful Jews should have expected this, for the promise to Abraham was that through his seed “all the nations of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 22:18). Before His death, Jesus had foretold that, within the lifetime of His disciples, the “gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations” (Matt. 24:14). The gospel is for all! Then, just before His ascension into heaven, Jesus instructed His followers “that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations” (Luke 24:47).
Jesus took the Jews and Gentiles—two groups of people who could not have hated each other more than they did—and He broke “down the middle wall of separation,” made “peace,” reconciled “them both to God in one body through the cross,” and thereby put “to death the enmity” (Eph. 2:14-16). In the eyes of God, “there is neither Jew nor Greek” (Gal. 3:28). This was a lesson that took some Jews a very long time to learn, including even the apostle Peter. He finally realized, “God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him” (Acts 10:34-35). This was a message that was echoed throughout the New Testament—“There is no partiality with God” (Rom. 2:11; Eph. 6:9; 1 Pet. 1:17).
So what does God expect of us? He expects us to have the mind of Christ and to esteem others (no matter who they are) “better than” ourselves (Phil. 2:3-5). He expects us to do “nothing with partiality” (1 Tim. 5:21; Jas. 2:1). He expects us to know very simply, “If you show partiality, you commit sin” (Jas. 2:9). He expects us to see everyone as standing on level ground before the dying Savior!
Without partiality, Jesus died for all men (Heb. 2:9), because without partiality, He wants “all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4). Do you?