Emphasis Preaching Journal

Many people don't realize that one of the great genius insights of the Old Testament and Jews is the tradition of the righteous gentile. God can use people who are not a part of the religious tradition or community. Jesus of Nazareth draws on this tradition when he acknowledges the faith of a non-Jew, a Gentile Roman centurion. The tradition occurs in the story of Ebed-Melech as he assists Jeremiah, of the encounter between Elisha and Naaman, and in the New Testament when Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan.