The word “Gentile” refers to a person who is not a Jew, but originally an early Christian member who follows Jesus as contrasted with a Jew who belongs to Judaism. For Jewish people, the Gentiles were uncircumcised and unclean people with whom the Jews should no associate—eat or drink. Peter was criticized by his Jewish believers because he went to Cornelius’s house and ate with them (Luke 11:2-3). Peter then explain to them that it was the Holy Spirit leading him to preach the gospel in a Gentile’s house. In verses 8 and 9 we read, “No, Lord, I have never eaten anything that our Jewish laws have declared impure or unclear. But the voice from heaven spoke again: ‘Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.’” Here “anything” and “it” doesn’t refer to food but non-Jewish people as Peter later realized that God wanted him to enter a Gentile house.

Having returned to Jerusalem, Paul faced the same accusation and criticism as Peter did. Some Jews found Paul in the temple and grabbed him, yelling to people at the top of their voices, “This is the man who preaches against our people everywhere and tells everybody to disobey the Jewish laws . . . even defiles this holy place by bringing in Gentiles” (Luke 21:28). Paul therefore was arrested and handed over to the Roman government to be sentenced.

According to the Law of Moses or more accurately Jewish traditions, we (non-Jewish people) are not God’s chosen people; therefore we are separated from God eternally and never have a change to come to him and worship him. We are not supposed to enter the Temple of God. However, because of the grace of Jesus Christ who has become the sacrificial lamb, Jews or non-Jews are able to enter the presence of God through Christ. For non-Jewish people, they are no longer called Gentiles, but God’s beloved children.