1 Peter 1:1: Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who reside as aliens, scattered.

Peter here uses the word “diaspora,” which in Jewish writing of the first century refers to the scattering of Jews after the Babylonian exile. This is one of the many ways that Peter identifies his readers as the true Israel . They are the elect, the ones sprinkled by blood, and later the holy nation and royal priesthood. In all these ways, Peter tells His Christian readers that they are the true seed of Abraham.

As Pastor Sumpter has pointed out, “disapora” literally refers to the scattering of seed. That’s what happened at the time of the exile: Israel was scattered as punishment for their idolatry, but they were scattered as seed among the nations, so that they could fall into the ground, sprout, and bear fruit.

That happened to Christians in Jerusalem too in the months after Pentecost. When the Jews killed Stephen and started persecuting the church, many fled, and Luke calls this a “diaspora,” a sowing of seed, first in Samaria, then in Antioch, and then to the four corners of the earth.

Yet, the diaspora of the church differs in important ways from the diaspora of Israel . Israel was scattered as seed, but the Lord promised to gather in the harvest in 70 years. Israel was sown throughout the nations, but Yahweh promised that He would someday sow the seed of man and beast back in the land.

In the New Covenant, that has all changed. The Lord Jesus sends out the Eleven to make disciples of all nations, and never promises that they will some day regather in Jerusalem . The church’s diaspora is a scattering without a gathering, a sending without return. Paul’s ultimate goal is not to get back to Jerusalem , but get to places he’s never been – to Rome , and beyond that, to Spain .

Even so, even in the new covenant, there is a place and promise of gathering. Wherever Jesus sends His church, we erect a living temple and organize a royal priesthood around His table. This table is a place of gathering, where the scattered seeds are brought together as the bread that we break. This table is also a place of re-scattering; after we eat here, we are sown back into the world. But ultimately, this table points forward to a final gathering, a final harvest, when the fruit of all the sown seeds will be gathered, when all the chosen ones will be brought together for the eternal celebration of the Lamb’s Supper.