Note these three interesting verses of Scripture:

“BUT JESUS SAID UNTO HER, LET THE CHILDREN FIRST BE FILLED: FOR IT IS NOT MEET TO TAKE THE CHILDREN’S BREAD, AND TO CAST IT UNTO THE DOGS.” Mark 7:27.

“BUT THE CHILDREN OF THE KINGDOM SHALL BE CAST OUT INTO OUTER DARKNESS; THERE SHALL BE WEEPING AND GNASHING OF TEETH.” Matthew 8:12.

“I SAY UNTO YOU, THAT MANY SHALL COME FROM THE EAST AND WEST, AND SHALL SIT DOWN WITH ABRAHAM, AND ISAAC, AND JACOB, IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.” Matthew 8:11.

The Jews, or Israelites, were called “the children of the kingdom.” Note how Peter addressed them in Acts 3.12, “Ye men of Israel”—And in Acts 3:25, “Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which Gad made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.” “The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified His Son Jesus; Whom ye delivered up, and denied Him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go.” Acts 3:13.

But now the two statements, “LET THE CHILDREN FIRST BE FILLED”; and “THE CHILDREN OF THE KINGDOM SHALL BE CAST OUT.” With the second statement let us read Romans 11:7, 11 and 15:

“What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded.”

“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.”

“For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?”

Something happened to the children of the kingdom. The Lord Jesus, on earth, foretold God’s awful judgment upon Israel. Note Matthew 22:7 and Luke 21:20, 23 and 24.

“But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth; and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.”

“And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.”

“But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days? for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.”

Several years before the terrible judgment fell upon Israel and Jerusalem the Apostle Paul pronounced God’s judgment of blindness upon Israel, in Acts 28:25 to 27, and then added “the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles and they will hear it.” Acts 28:28

Here we learn that the children of the kingdom were cast into the outer darkness of blindness; and we learn, in Romans 2:7 to 9, that a far worse judgment was the portion of the individual Jews who died without faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

During the “Acts” period (from about 33 A.D. to 63 A.D.) the children were first being filled. This we learn in Acts 3:25 and 26, Acts 10:28, Acts 13:46, and Acts 18:5 and 6.

“Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. UNTO YOU FIRST GOD, having raised up His Son Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.”

“And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.”

“Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the Word of God SHOULD FIRST HAVE BEEN SPOKEN TO YOU; but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, LO, WE TURN TO THE GENTILES.” “And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles.”

THE CHILDREN OF ABRAHAM

Note the words of the Lord Jesus and the response of the Jews. “I know that ye are Abraham’s seed, but ye seek to kill Me, because. My Word hath no place in you.” John 8:37

“They answered and said unto Him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham.” John 8:39

The saved and the unsaved Jews were called “the children of the kingdom.” They were the children of Abraham.

Note these significant verses:

“And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?” Luke 13:16

“And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forasmuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:9 and 10

Jesus Christ was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel. Matthew 15:24. He was a minister of the circumcision. Romans 15:8. It was God’s decree that no uncircumcised man should have fellowship with God’s people. Genesis 17:8 to 14. Peter stated that this fellowship was unlawful. Acts 10:28

Jesus Christ, on earth, was the circumcised Son of Abraham. Matthew 1:1 and Luke 2:11 to 16. He took His place with the Jews as a worshipping Jew, with the God-given religious program. Luke 4:16 and John 4:22

Christ had kingdom blessings for the children of the kingdom, the sons and daughters of Abraham.

In Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, we read of but one Gentile man who received a blessing from the Lord Jesus. Note why this one Gentile man received the blessing from Jesus Christ

1—Because he was of great faith. Luke 7:9

2—Because he was very humble. Luke 7:7

3—Because he asked the sons of Abraham to intercede for him. Luke 7:3

4—Because he loved the sons of Abraham and built them a synagogue. Luke 7:5

All of this is most significant. The story is told in Luke 7:1 to 10 and in Matthew 8:5 to 12. Read the two records.

Note why one Gentile woman received a blessing from Jesus Christ:

1—She was of great faith. Matthew 15:28 and Mark 7:26

2—She overcame every obstacle to reach Jesus. Matthew 15:23 and Mark 7:24

3—She took her place as a Gentile dog. Matthew 15:25 to 27 and Mark 7:28

This is the only record of any Gentile woman who received a blessing from the Lord while He was on earth. The woman at the well, in John 4:7, was not a Gentile. John 4:12—Matthew 10:5

So the two Gentiles who received blessings from Jesus of Nazareth give us one of the dispensational outlines of Acts. “Let the children first be filled” and “Let the children be cast into outer darkness.”

God’s order was, “to the Jews, and not to the Gentiles”, while Jesus Christ was on earth. Matthew 15:24—Matthew 10:5. God’s order was, “to the Jews and not to the Gentiles” during those first years after the resurrection of Jesus Christ covered by the first nine chapters of Acts. Acts 5:29 to 32. Acts 10:28. Acts 11:19. God’s order from the new commission to Paul in Acts 13:2 to the Divine judgment upon Israel in Acts 28:28 was, “to the Jew first and also unto the Gentile,” Romans 1:16. All through the Book of Acts the children were first being filled, then the children were cast out. From the close of Acts down to the present time God’s order has been, “to the Gentiles and also to the Jews.”

A blindness in part is happened unto the children of the kingdom until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. Romans 11:25. Then the children of the kingdom will be brought back into Divine favor. Romans 11:26

In the meantime all saved Gentiles have been translated into the kingdom of the Son of God’s love. Colossians 1:13. They have been adopted into the household of God, and are the children of God and joint-heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 1:5. Romans 11:13 to 17

For more articles by Pastor J. C. O'Hair, visit the J. C. O'Hair Online Library.