(NOTE: These answers are not presented in a particular order, just in the order that they arrived from our contributors. Feel free to add your comments. If you have a burning question send it to steve@saltshakers.com or if you feel able to answer these type of questions email us to join our panel of "messianic rabbis".)

BOB DOTY answers ...

There were two reasons for the Messiah coming down to man. The most important one is that He would die for our sins so that salvation would be available to all. The second reason was to usher in the Kingdom of God that had been promised to Israel through God’s prophets. Yeshua was “sent to the lost sheep of Israel” in fulfillment of God’s covenant obligations to them.

RABBI JOSEPH KRESEFSKY answers ...

Simple Answer - To the Jew first, then to the Gentile – however; taking a deeper look…If you read the Matthew 15 passage in its full context, you’ll notice that Yeshua (Jesus) did not say those words, “sent to the lost sheep of Israel” to the woman in the passage, He actually said those words to His disciples. He was enlightening His disciples; educating them on the fact that anyone who accepts Him as the “Son of David” recognizes Him as Messiah; those who recognize Him as such and accepts Him accordingly, are grafted in to Israel. Hence, Yeshua was instructing His disciples that the woman was part of the lost sheep of Israel and that’s who He was sent for.

MAX DEBONO-DE-LAURENTIS answers ...

Let me ask a question in return: before the formation of the nation of Israel through Avraham, the world had a pantheistic view of the ‘gods’, so to whom would the Messiah come that he would be recognised as the saviour of the world? Of which of the many deities that were worshipped were people to expect a deliverer?

To bring salvation to the people, G-d must first prove himself to someone as the true G-d. In the time of Avraham people believed in many gods, but these were local gods and people worshipped different gods depending on the area they lived, the gods were very territorial. Adonai however, proved to Avraham that He was the one true G-d by being with Him wherever he travelled (Gen 12:1-8).

Once G-d had established this relationship, He produced from this man a nation to follow and worship Adonai. This is the only way that man could recognize a saviour when He came. Through the proof of miracles, prophecy and obedience to a G-d that developed a people ready to receive the truth and become a light to the nations.

Had it not been Avraham, who was seeking the one true G-d from the evidence that the world presented him, who would it be? Someone else? Then we have the same issue, this someone else would be developed into a nation and readied for the Messiah. The Messiah would have to come to the people that were prepared or there would be no recognition of His arrival.

It could be said that: he could have come to all performing miracles so that people would believe! But that cannot be true. Satan could also come deceiving with miracles – the Anti-Christ and his signs and wonders for instance. Without the nation of Israel and the precepts G-d gave them as a nation, and the formation of a belief system that delineates who and what ‘He’ is and who they are in relation to Him, then we could not recognize or distinguish the Messiah from the deceiver. There would be no instruction manual or guide to help us differentiate. Had not Avraham obeyed, we would not have had Moses to provide the example of the Passover and exodus from Egypt, giving a picture of salvation from sin. We would not have the Torah (Genesis through Deuteronomy) given to Moses with the foundational building blocks, not only of the life that was to be led then, but guidance and understanding of the role of the Messiah to come. We would not have had David for a lineage the Messiah would come from. Without this guidance, how would we recognize Him as the one promised? The rest of the Tenakh (Old Testament) would not have developed and the prophets would only have been some of the myriads in a world of heathen idol worshippers.

Without the nation G-d created to divide the truth from the lies there could only be confusion and chaos, with no hope of understanding the G-d that made us, or have a relationship with Him. “So, Why did G-d send the Messiah to the lost sheep of Israel?” Because without them we would not know or recognise Him when He was to come.

RABBI GUTMANN answers ...

This question could be linked to God's declaration to Abram, "Through you, I will bless all nations (goyim)" (Gen. 12:3). If God's plan was to offer blessing (I.e. salvation) to all (nations), why did He chose Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, thus Israel as His chosen people above all other people on earth? The key lies in this declaration made to Abram, "through you." Salvation to or for all is dependant upon God's choice and call of Abram, whom He renamed Abraham, and establishing a "people for His own." For it was out of Abraham's seed that God would send His Son, the Divine Messiah, to make possible the salvation of all. Indeed the words quoted, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel" (note "only" is used) come from an instance when Jesus meets with a goy, the Canaanite or Syro-Phoenician woman outlined in Matthew 15:21ff. Even though she begs him for help for her daughter, He appears to reject her pleas by saying, "It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to the dogs." Using this unflattering term used of outsiders, such as Canaanites as Gentiles were (cp. Rev. 22:15) would appear to be a tremendous slap down of this woman. However, as a Mother, she knew what a mes children made (and still do) of dropping many crumbs dropped under the table! Once they do-they leave a fair old feast for the dogs! In her declaring this, Jesus remarked on her "great faith" and promised a positive outcome to her prayer request! There is no contradiction in Jesus being "sent to the lost sheep of the House of Israel" and His offering salvation to all-the latter comes out of the former, as Yeshua said, "Salvation is from the Jews" (John 4:22)!

RABBI MOSHE LAURIE answers ...

It has been said many times first to the Jew and then the Greek. We must also remember that at the time the Messiah walked the earth there were only 3 streams of people first the Hebrews Then the heathens and then the Hebrew and Heathens who believed in the Messiah. The command has always been to the believer who was to go forth and bring the unbeliever to the Lord. And as they (The Hebrews) believed in God the Father fully and even though they did not yet know that God was God the Father God the Son and God the Holy Spirit they were first chosen as the believers.