Why not? Doesn't Jesus want them saved?

Matthew 10:5-6(NKJV)

5These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. 

6But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 

Doesn't this seem odd?  I thought Jesus wanted all to be saved?  Why would he not want the Gentiles or the Samaritans to hear God's Word? 

If Jesus truly is the "way and the truth and the light" and nobody comes to the Father except through Jesus, then isn't Jesus condemning these people to hell by denying them the opportunity to hear God's Word? 

I thought Jesus was all about love.   How does this show love? 

Jesus only wants the Jews to be saved?  Isn't that kind of racist?

Anybody out there old enough to remember Emily Litella from Saturday Night Live?  She was the one who was famous for going into a long diatribe that ended with "Never mind".

Well that is a bit of what we have here.  It's real easy to read this isolated text and ask some really tough questions.  The thing is, for those who have read the whole Bible, you know that there is a big "Never Mind" coming.  What is it?

The Apostle Paul.  You see God had a plan.  It wasn't that Jesus didn't want the Gentiles or the Samaritans to hear the message.  It was that God wanted someone else to bring the message to those folks.  That someone else was Paul. 

What is my point?  Just that this is an example of why it is so important to study all of Scripture.  When you have questions or read things that don’t seem to make sense, store them in the back of your mind and keep reading.  Chances are they will get answered down the road just as this one was.