Jesus teaches that the kingdom is for those of every race and socio-economic background who have faith in him.
Matthew 8:5-12 5 When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, appealing to him 6 and saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, in terrible distress." 7 And he said to him, "I will come and cure him." 8 The centurion answered, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes, and to another, 'Come,' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this,' and the slave does it." 10 When Jesus heard him, he was amazed and said to those who followed him, "Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. 11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12 while the heirs of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Do we ignore Jesus' teaching that the Kingdom is open to every race and socio-economic background?
Note: Jesus' ministry was directed toward the poor and his peeps so much of the time, but here is an example that transcends - he confirms the faith of a rich, powerful, and important, Gentile. Of course this isn't new news. The prophets predicted that Gentiles would worship God from all parts of the earth (Isa 45:6; 59:19; Mal 1:11). Here we also see that faith is the basic human response to God - way we enter into relationship with God.
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