Jesus' View on Inclusion

1. Texts on Exclusion
2. Texts on Inclusion
3. Texts on a Mediating View
4. Summary of Jesus' position on Inclusion/Exclusion
5. Basic Jewish position on Inclusion/Exclusion
6. Differences between Jesus and general Jewish viewpoint on inclusion/exclusion

Texts on Exclusion:
Sheep and Goats—hospitality to the reps of the King-- Matt 25:31-46
The church separating some from their own on the basis of sin—Matt 18:15-19
Repent or perish dishonorably—Luke 13:1-5
Do not give the spirit to unbelievers—Matt 7:6
Forgive or you will not be forgiven—Matt 6:14-15; Mark
Rebuke then forgive if they repent—Luke 17:3-4
Jesus eating with sinners to give an opportunity to repent—Mark 2
God rejoicing over repentant—Luke 15
God receiving those who believe the prophet’s message to repent—Matt 11:28-32
Rejection of the Pharisees—Matt 23
Rejection of the scholars of the law—Luke 11:39-52
Rejection of the wealthy/popular—Luke 6:24-26
Rejection of the unbelieving/unrepentant towns—Matt 11:20-24
Membership in community is determined by following God’s will—Mark 3; Matt 12:50
Rejection of the rich who fail to assist the poor—Luke 16
Rejection of those who love/serve money—Luke 16; Matt 6
Rejection of those who love/serve possessions—Luke 12; Matt 6

Texts on Inclusion:
Matthew 7:1-5—Be careful how you judge, you will be judged in the same way, get your own act cleaned up before you judge others.
Forgiving others—Matt 6:14-15; Matt. 18:20-32; Luke 17:
Jesus eating with sinners to give an opportunity to repent—Mark 2
Jesus not rejecting sinners out of hand—Luke 15
Loving those who do harm to you—Matt. 5:42-48; Luke 6


Mediating view texts:
Both "sides" of Jesus’ position on "the line" is represented by every witness of Jesus: Mark, Q, Luke, Matthew. John’s sources does not represent the "mercy" texts quite as openly, clearly limiting his love commands to those who have already accepted Jesus.
There are a number of texts which display a "mediating" position between these two "equal and opposite" positions of Jesus, also found in various sources.
Mark 2—Jesus is eating with the sinners in order to provide an opportunity for them to repent
Luke 15—Jesus is not rejecting sinners out of hand, but going to them so they have another clear chance to repent from their sin and so return to God
Matthew 11—Those who rejected John’s message to repent are rejected by God, but those who accepted repentance, no matter how sinful they are, they are accepted
Luke 17— Forgiveness is offered by the community to the one who repents.
Sermon on the Mount—Those who persecute the community are offered benefits by the community, but they are not offered the spirit (Matthew 5:42-48; 7:6)
Matt 18:15-19—Membership in the community is dependent on repentance from sin

Jesus’ position on inclusion seems to be this:

A. God’s will judge others by whether they obey His word/will
This judgment will take place at the end of the age/ after death
This judgment will condemn those who act against God’s word, including impurity, lack of compassion, oppression, tearing other’s honor down without cause
The judgment will accept those who did act in these ways, but have repented
God, meanwhile, is not judging—except on occasion—but rather providing for everyone, even the most wicked.

B. The minister of God provides opportunity—going to them— for all sinners to repent of their ways
The minister of God does not accept as members of God’s community those who refuse to repent.
The minister of God must accept as members of God’s community those who do repent, no matter what they have done.
The minister of God must do good—provide assistance, as he is able, and pray blessings for—to everyone, without exception.

Jesus’ position is similar to the generally held position of Jewish groups in Jesus’ day in these ways:
-God judges between groups
-God typically judges based on the purity of the groups involved
-God’s judgment is mostly future, but in some ways present
-God’s ministers draw lines between those who are accepted by God and those who are rejected

This position is clearly a distinctive in Jesus’ teaching as opposed to other Jewish teachings available in the first century. The differences seem to be pinpointed in these areas:
-God’s will is not limited to purity issues, but also include issues of compassion. Most Jewish leaders of Jesus’ day excluded issues of compassion from God’s judgment.
-Purity sins include that of idolatry of money and possessions. Most Jewish leaders of Jesus’ day did not view money or possessions as having to do with purity issues.
-Jesus commands second chances for those who have already been rejected by God’s community. Many Jewish leaders of Jesus’ day excluded the sinner once for all, even if they had repented.
-Jesus searched out the sinner to give them opportunity to repent. No Jewish leader sought out the sinner, but avoided their company.

Jesus’ community are to do good to everyone without exclusion, even to those who harm the community. Jewish groups generally taught to at least avoid, if not participate in all out war, against those who persecuted the community.