This is a very popular verse, but it’s quite possible that you haven’t heard it in it’s entirety. We like to read the word “everyone” in the first half of the verse, but some people tend to leave off the ending where the Jews get first dibs. The Good News of Jesus was initially only brought to the Jews because God had been preparing them since the days of Abraham to understand His plan and seek out the saviour. By the grace of God it was later entrusted to the Gentiles in equal measure.
It’s interesting to read how a select few commentaries interpret “first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.” They explain that the reference is merely a historical sequence not showing significance in preference. It’s strange that our culture might claim this as merely a historical order while this is the same culture that favors the victor, i.e. second place is just the first loser. It’s ridiculous to think that the last person to finish the race would get the gold medal simply because he crossed the finish line most recently. In the same way, it’s absurd to claim that God’s favor for the Gentile pushes the Jews out of the way.
The idea of Jews being first in line is rather ironic to me since visiting Israel. Soon after I arrived at Ben Gurion International Airport, I observed a phenomenon that I didn’t quiet realize until I noticed that it happened everywhere. For the most part, Israeli’s don’t wait in lines. They don’t even have lines. They walk right up to the counter, and if you’re dumb enough to stand behind other people, they will pass you by. So while we’re getting all uppity about who’s first in line, they’ve bypassed the whole argument and have already taken care of what they needed.
If you bring 11 items to the ‘10 items or less’ line:
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