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http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Articles/ByDate/1991/2462_Unreached_Peoples

A brief summary

In this paper, Dr. Piper argues that the Greek phrase pas ethnos (which can be found throughout the New Testament) was intended by the Biblical authors to mean “all people groups”. He then applies this finding to world missions.

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Although Dr. Piper’s primary concern in the paper is world missions — his findings also have important application to the concept of the New Culture.

A favorite quote from this resource…

The context here is crucial for our purposes. First, Jesus “opens their minds to understand the Scriptures.” Then he says, “Thus it is written,” i.e., in the Old Testament, and then follows (in the original Greek) three coordinate infinitives spelling out what is written in the Old Testament: First, that the Christ should suffer; second, that he should rise on the third day; and third, that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to “all nations.”

So Jesus is saying that his command to take the message of repentance and forgiveness to all nations “is written” in the Old Testament “Scripture.” This is one of the things he opened their mind to understand. But what is the Old Testament conception of the worldwide purpose of God (which we saw above in section 4.4)? It is just what Paul saw that it was – an intention to bless all the families of the earth and win a worshiping people from “all nations.”

Therefore, we have strong evidence that the panta ta ethne in Luke 24:47 was conceived by Jesus not merely in terms of a mass of non-Jewish individuals, but as an array of world peoples who must hear that message of repentance.

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