It was not, however, very obvious, from any of the cases already enumerated, that the salvation of Christ was designed for all classes and conditions of the human family.  The Samaritans did not, indeed, worship at Jerusalem, but they claimed some interest in “the promises made unto the fathers;” and they conformed to many of the rites of Judaism.  It does not appear that the Ethiopian eunuch was of the seed of Abraham; but he acknowledged the inspiration of the Old Testament, and he was disposed, at least to a certain extent, to observe its institutions.  Even the Roman centurion was what has been called a proselyte of the gate, that is, he professed the Jewish theology—­“he feared God with all his house” [58:1]—­though he had not received circumcision, and had not been admitted into the congregation of Israel.  But the time was approaching when the Church was to burst forth beyond the barriers within which it had been hitherto inclosed, and an individual now appeared upon the scene who was to be the leader of this new movement.  He is “a citizen of no mean city” [58:2]—­a native of Tarsus in Cilicia, a place famous for its educational institutes [58:3]—­and he is known, by way of distinction, as “an apostle of the nations.” [58:4]

The apostles were at first sent only to their own countrymen; [58:5] and we have seen that, for some time after our Lord’s death, they do not appear to have contemplated any more comprehensive mission.  When Peter called on the disciples to appoint a successor to Judas, he seems to have acted under the conviction that the company of the Twelve must still be maintained in its integrity, and that its numbers must still exactly correspond to the number of the tribes of Israel.  But the Jews, after the death of Stephen, evinced an increasing aversion to the gospel; and as the apostles were eventually induced to direct their views elsewhere, they were, of course, also led to abandon an arrangement which had a special reference to the sectional divisions of the chosen people.  Meanwhile, too, the management of ecclesiastical affairs had partially fallen into other hands; new missions, in which the Twelve had no share, had been undertaken; and Paul henceforth becomes most conspicuous and successful in extending and organising the Church.

Paul describes himself as “one born out of due time.” [59:1] He was converted to Christianity when his countrymen seemed about to be consigned to judicial blindness; and he was “called to be an apostle” [59:2] when others had been labouring for years in the same vocation.  But he possessed peculiar qualifications for the office.  He was ardent, energetic, and conscientious, as well as acute and eloquent.  In his native city Tarsus he had probably received a good elementary education, and afterwards, “at the feet of Gamaliel,” [59:3] in Jerusalem, he enjoyed the tuition of a Rabbi of unrivalled celebrity.  The apostle of the Gentiles had much the same religious experience as the father