Part II: The Gospel Prepared for the World, The Abraham Factor; Chapter 6: A Messiah for All Peoples, pp. 149-174 Summary

Richardson acknowledges that, in his statement that the message of Jesus Christ is intended for all groups of people, it is important to ascertain whether or not Jesus himself tries to reach foreigners, in the Biblical accounts of his life. Analyzing various stories in which Jesus interacts with Gentiles (non-Jews), Richardson concludes that Jesus subtly sows the seeds of multi-culturalism in much of his ministry. This is significant, because one of the main themes of the Old Testament is that the Jews are a people set apart for God, and that they are not to mix with the other groups of people around them. As an example...