One of the most striking points wherein Christianity differed from Judaism was in its missionary enterprise. Judaism was essentially exclusive, and although all through the Old Testament history there are to be found men of large vision who saw something of the universality of salvation, the whole tendency of Judaism was to divide the world into two parts, the chosen people and "the nations." So far from desiring to convert the nations and arouse them to a knowledge of the truth as they saw it, the Jews made it as difficult as possible for the Gentile to embrace Judaism. Salvation was essentially of the Jews and for the Jews. And so, in spite of the urgent injunction of Jesus, more than once repeated, to his disciples that they should regard it as their duty to go out into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, it was not until some time after the resurrection that the disciples realized, through the vision that came to Peter, that the gospel of the kingdom was really a universal gospel.
The whole attitude of the Jews toward the Gentiles, and the utter novelty of the idea of extending the hope of salvation to the nations are well shown in what followed that first attempt to carry the message outside the pale,—the preaching of Peter in the house of the Roman centurion Cornelius, at Cæsarea, as described in the tenth chapter of The Acts of the Apostles. For the narrative records that when the Jews who had accompanied Peter saw that, as a result of his preaching, "the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word," they were astonished "because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost."
From that moment the missionary character of the new faith seems to have been recognized. Peter had to defend himself. His fellow apostles seem to have heard of his action at first with the strongest disapproval. But on Peter's telling how he came to take the step and recounting its effect, all doubts were dissolved and the age-long exclusiveness was broken down with a thoroughness which must have appeared in itself miraculous. "When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying. Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life." And so the great work began. With incredible rapidity the word traveled outward from Jerusalem in all directions, and when Paul, the great apostle of the Gentiles, devoted himself to the work which he afterwards made so specially his own, the gospel was carried to all parts of the ancient world, finally reaching Rome itself.
