④ Greeks and Gentiles who embraced Christian faith before the ministry of Paul.

Dear in Christ,


[This is the second part of the study on Gentiles. Please ensure that you have read the first part.]

Greek Proselytes meet Jesus.

Joh 12:20 And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the (Passover) feast:
Joh 12:21 The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus.
Joh 12:22 Philip cometh and telleth Andrew: and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus.
Joh 12:23 And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.

Please remember that only those who have accepted Jewish faith are allowed to partake in the Passover feast. (Ex 12:48-49). In other words, these were religious / righteous Proselytes.

Greeks and Gentiles who embraced Christian faith before the ministry of Paul.

Religious proselytes from Greek colonies (in bold typeface) were among those who came to Jerusalem for Pentecost.

Act 2:9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
Act 2:10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,
Act 2:11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.

Almost 3,000 people accepted Christ on that day. It may be safe to assume that most of them would have returned to their own countries after the Passover.

Thereafter we read about the Greeks who accepted Christ in:

Act 6:1 And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians (Greeks) against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.

A very small number of manuscripts use the word Grecians (Hellenists, Ελληνιστων) instead of Greeks. Such manuscripts intend to convey the meaning that they were Greek speaking Jews. Almost from the days of Alexander the Great, Koine Greek had been the most popular language in the region which came to be known as the Eastern Roman Empire. Therefore, it may be hard to determine whether they were Greeks or Greek speaking Jews.

The harvest that Peter made in Caesarea.

We are all familiar with the vision that Peter had while he was in Joppa and about Cornelius, the centurion, who sent emissaries to bring him. There is something that we missed out while reading the narrative:

Act 10:1 There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band,
Act 10:2 A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway.

Scholars admit that the expression "one that feared God" implies that the person was a proselyte of the gate. (a resident alien who lives in the Land of Israel and follows some of the customs. They are not required to be circumcised nor to comply with the whole of the Torah. Once they are circumcised, they become religious / righteous proselytes.)

We find them mentioned in passages like:

Exo 20:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

Now let's see who protested against Peter's baptizing the proselytes of the gate, mentioned above:

Act 11:1  And the apostles and brethren that were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles (proselytes of the gate) had also received the word of God.
Act 11:2  And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him,
Act 11:3  Saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them.

Do you see the contrast here? The ones that feared God (uncircumcised gate proselytes) are treated as gentiles by genuine Jews and religious proselytes, both of whom are circumcised.
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I don't claim that every occurrence of the word gentiles is about religious proselytes or gate proselytes, just as there is no way to prove that every occurrence of the word is about non-Jews. We need to exercise discernment while studying the scriptures.

In Christ,

Tomsan Kattackal