we know Israel rejected Jesus before the cross. but in response to Christ prayer "Father forgive them for they know not what they do". God offers them a second chance through the Apostles preaching of Jesus as the risen Messiah, but they had to repent and had to baptized to prove they believed. But their refusal as a nation was their continued rejection of Christ as their King, "We will not have this man rule over us"
the term the people, people, and my people occurs so many times in the scriptures and the majority of the cases it is speaking of Israel. the program hadn't changed yet as pointed out by George. the Apostles still went only and exclusively to the Jew and the proselytes. not until the time of Paul was the change revealed. the Eunuch was a Gentile not under grace but under the kingdom fulfilling the OT prophecy that God will call Gentiles to be his people.
Acts 10 you will see the change in Peter's but even by Acts 15 Peter and the Apostles to the circumcised and Paul to the Uncircumcised.
|