Leviticus 1-3; Acts 13

Acts 13:46

Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, "It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles."

A week before this, Paul had done a brief recap of the history of Israel in the synagogue. In doing so, he also showed how Jesus fulfilled the prophets writings concerning the coming Savior. When Paul and Barnabas left the synagogue, the Gentiles outside begged that Paul would preach these words again to them next Sabbath. So, next week almost the entire city shows up. The crowd Paul drew angered the Jews. That is when the above verse happens.

Jesus, the Promised One, didn't reject His people, the chosen people through which the whole world would be blessed. They rejected Him. The one thing they had longed for, prayed for, begged for all these centuries had happened. The Deliverer had come and they rejected Him. After studying the scriptures how could the learned, religious Jews have missed it? And in this rejecting, it wasn't Jesus who said they were unworthy. He would welcome any who follow Him. They chose not to accept and declared themselves unworthy of the everlasting life. In the event that the chosen people can not fulfill their obligations, the first runners up will take over. That would be the Gentiles.

Seriously though, do I ever get that attitude that I'm entitled to God favor over those who are perhaps weren't raised in a Christian home or haven't been Christians for very long? Do I get more concerned about having things fit my plans rather than making sure I'm following His plan? Am I rejecting things I don't want to hear, thereby deeming myself unworthy of God's blessings and unusable?