A Gentile woman, a Syro-Phoenician, approached Jesus, a Jew, seeking miraculous help for her demon-possessed daughter, despite her background of total paganism. In her plea, she addressed Him as Lord, showing respect for His authority, and called Him the Son of David, recognizing Him as Israel's Messiah. She identified her own misery with her daughter's suffering, believing that healing her child would be mercy for herself as well. Jesus initially seemed to put her off, stating that He was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, indicating that as a Gentile, she normally had no right to His help. His responsibility at that time was to Israelites, fulfilling Messianic promises to them before the good news of salvation would extend to Gentiles. His personal ministry was thus limited to Judea and Galilee, with rare instances of Gentiles receiving His goodness serving as forerunners of broader salvation. When the woman persisted, saying, "Lord, help me," Jesus spoke directly to her, explaining that it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs. By "children," He meant Israelites, and "dogs" symbolized Gentiles, reflecting the typical Jewish view of national superiority. Yet, He used a milder term for dogs, suggesting domesticated puppies, not wild animals, hinting at a gentler tone. The woman, undeterred by this, humbly accepted her place among the "dogs" and asked merely for spiritual crumbs from His merciful table, demonstrating her strong faith and hope in His compassion. Through His intervention on behalf of her and her daughter, Jesus revealed that the potential for salvation among Gentiles is no less than that of Israelites.

During the post-exilic period, as recorded in Nehemiah 13, God rejected whole Gentile nations after the remnant of Judah and Benjamin returned from Babylon. In the times of Joshua, Solomon, and Nehemiah, God did not choose to weave entire nations of Gentiles into His fabric, Israel. However, during the Exodus, God extended His mercy to Egypt's mixed multitude, offering these folk a chance to join Israel. Such an opportunity on a wide scale was not offered again until the days of the apostles, when God extended spiritual salvation to the Gentiles He called. Historically, there were two mixed multitudes, one in Moses' time and another in Nehemiah's. The woof of Exodus was a slave nation called by God and judged clean, while the woof of Nehemiah, comprised of Moabites and Ammonites, remained uncalled and unclean, suffering from the leprosy of sin. God never reveals why He accepted the mixed multitude of Exodus but rejected that of Nehemiah; as clay, we cannot question the Potter's decisions. In the New Testament, Peter's vision in Acts 10 illustrates that God is capable of cleansing Gentiles, though not all at once. God admonished Peter not to call common what He has cleansed, and Peter understood that God shows no partiality, accepting those from every nation who fear Him and work righteousness. The apostles and brethren in Judea came to realize that God has granted repentance to life to the Gentiles as well. God cleansed some Gentiles, those He appointed to salvation, affirming that Christ is Lord of all.

The Pentecost miracle in Acts 2 revealed a profound truth about God's plan for the Gentiles. On that day, the audience included not only Jews but also Gentile proselytes from around the world, converted to Judaism through the missionary zeal of pre-Diaspora Jews. Peter, in his first sermon, understood that the linguistic miracle—where Galilean disciples spoke in languages they had not learned, and hearers understood in their own tongues—signified God's opening of communication between Himself and all mankind, including the Gentiles. He saw in Joel's prophecy, "whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved," an inclusive promise that extended to these Gentiles in the audience, offering them access to God's salvation. Peter's realization was reinforced by Joel 2:32, where the remnant whom the LORD calls could include Gentiles, those described as "afar off." This hope for the Gentiles, also echoed in Isaiah's portrayal of Christ as a light to the Gentiles to the ends of the earth, became evident to Peter through the events of Pentecost. Christ, reared in Galilee among many Gentiles, began His ministry of light in that Gentile-heavy region, not in Jewish Jerusalem, further signifying His mission to them. Paul later affirms in Romans 11:11 that salvation has come to the Gentiles, and in Galatians 3:28-29, he declares that in Christ, the distinction between Jew and Gentile disappears, making all one in Him and heirs to Abraham's promise. The Pentecost event, as the starting point of the book of Acts, underscored the broad-based hope Gentiles now have in Christ. God demonstrated His ability to reverse the division of Babel, enabling communication not only between Himself and mankind but also between man and man. This hope, promised in the Old Testament, came to fruition with Christ, allowing Gentiles to become members of God's household. Paul, in Romans 15:13, emphasizes the joy and peace this hope brings to all—Gentile and Israelite alike—through the power of God's Spirit. Ultimately, as Zephaniah 3:9 prophesies, God will restore a pure language to all peoples, enabling them to call on His name with one accord, fulfilling the unity first glimpsed at Pentecost.