In Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria

Acts 6-12

            Lest we think that everything was perfect in the earliest church, Luke sprinkles in several stories of conflict. In chapter 5, we read about the dishonesty of spotlight-seeking Ananias and Sapphira. In chapter 6, we read about a squabble in the church’s social ministry. Several things stand out. First, as I’ve already noted, prejudices exist. Second, the apostles don’t want the day-to-day responsibility for it. Third, in its freedom, the church creates a whole new order, commonly called the diaconate. The word deacon comes literally from the Greek word for servant. Deacons are not what we would call an ordained ministry, but they are a recognized order in the church (Philippians 1:1). While they seem to have been predominantly men (1 Timothy 3:8-10), women were also counted among them (Romans 16:1): in a similar way, our church body trains woman for service in an order called deaconesses.

            Stephen was one of the deacons, although he was certainly qualified to be what the New Testament calls an overseer, what we would call a pastor. He was full of grace, power, and wisdom. Opposition to Stephen in particular rose up in the Synagogue of the Freedmen. Perhaps Stephen was himself a former slave who had been raised in the Jewish Diaspora. Whatever the circumstances, Stephen acquitted himself well, reciting the history of Israel from Abraham to Moses. His argument was, at least in part, that the story of salvation included people who were from outside the narrow boundaries Stephen’s contemporaries had defined: he suggests that Abraham, Joseph, and Moses might not have made the cut by their rules. But when he says that his Jewish contemporaries did not actually follow the law, he went too far, and he was stoned to death.

            In chapter 8, the church finally moves out of Jerusalem, and it does it because of the great persecution that broke out. A number of things to note. First, the apostles stayed behind, and my study Bible suggests that it was primarily the Hellenistic Jewish Christians who were the object of the violence. That fits. In that day, Judaism was very narrowly defined by its most conservative practitioners, namely, the Pharisees. A Greek Jew would have been something that they tolerated without loving, but all their worst suspicions would have been confirmed if a Greek Jew started to follow Jesus! You can imagine young Saul saying, “See! I knew they couldn’t be trusted!” Second, the early church had a saying, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” When Tertullian said that two hundred years after the events of Acts, he meant that the more the Romans persecuted the Christians, the more people came to believe. In this context, persecution gives the impetus for taking the next step: to Judea and Samaria (Acts 1:8).

            So, we read about Philip (not the apostle, but the deacon) who went literally to a city in Samaria and then, at the Spirit’s prompting, to the road to Gaza, an historically Philistine city, where he witnessed to an Ethiopian eunuch. I love the question the eunuch asks. Philip wonders if he understands the Scriptures, and eunuch wonders how he could understand without someone to explain it. We confess that the Bible is clear, that it’s main message of salvation is obvious. That does not mean the Bible is simple. There are some difficult things, and, as we’ve discovered in Today’s Light, the thread of the story is easy to lose in the details—of Moses’ law, of the lists of names, of the obscure prophets. So, there is always a place for a man in my position, whose calling is in part to explain the Scriptures to God’s people, lest they misunderstand and go astray.

            In chapter 9, Luke gives a preview of the second half of the story by introducing Saul’s conversion. I can just imagine the tailspin that put young Saul into! Paul says in Galatians that he spent 3 years thinking about it (Galatians 1:18). We’ll pick up his story in chapter 13.

            Chapters 10 and 11 tells us about Peter’s long road to accepting that Gentiles could really become followers of the Way in the story of Cornelius. Peter demonstrates himself a good Jew by refusing—even in a dream!—to eat unclean animals. He is admonished the Lord not to call unclean what the Lord has made clean. Then, he summoned to the house of a Roman centurion! There he is surprised when his testimony is confirmed by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in a manner reminiscent of Pentecost. Then, Peter has to explain himself to the church in Jerusalem.

            It’s hard for us to fully comprehend the prejudice that existed in 1^st century Judaism against the Gentiles, and because the first believers were all faithful Jews that prejudice afflicted them, too. I’m searching for an analogy, and the best I can come up with is the prejudice that many Christians feel against Muslims. I’d like to think that if a Muslim converted we’d be thrilled, if for no other reason than that it’s a rebuke of Islam. But if we’re honest, there’s a lot of prejudice there that might prevent us from witnessing in the first place.

            The main point of chapter 8-12 is that the church carried the Word beyond Jerusalem into the surrounding region. Chapter 13 will send Paul and Barnabas to the ends of the earth.

            One last note, though, a thing that makes me laugh every time I read it. In chapter 12, an angel springs Peter out of prison (again) and he heads for the house where the church typically meets. A servant named Rhoda opens the door, sees Peter, and leaves him sitting outside! She tries to tell the others, who don’t believer her. And there’s poor Peter, a fugitive, on a dark street, knocking! It’s one of my favorite little stories in Acts!

Strange Stories of the Apostles

Acts 5

            Acts 5 demonstrates the powerful witness the church was giving in Jerusalem and the increasing persecution that accompanied it.

            The first story is the strange story of Ananias and Sapphira. Maybe strange isn’t the right word. How about disturbing? From our perspective, the punishment seems all out of proportion to the crime. Yes, they lied, but they still made a generous gift to the church. That they were both struck dead seems wrong. I’d suggest two things. First, the main point of the story is exactly to demonstrate the power the apostles were exuding. More on that in a minute. Second, I think it demonstrates that our ways of thinking are not always in line with God’s. We think, “What’s the big deal? They were a little dishonest, but they gave most of the money…” I’m reminded, though, of Jesus observing the widow in the temple and declaring that her small gift of two cents was more than all the others because she gave out of her poverty. The Lord is not so interested in the size of the gift so much as the condition of the heart, and Ananias and Sapphira’s hearts weren’t in great condition. They were more interested in the praise that came with their gift than with making an honest gift. The problem is not that they kept some back but that they showed the true state of their hearts by lying about it.

            The power of the apostles shines through in the next section, too. There, people lay their sick out so that Peter’s shadow can cross over them. In Jerusalem at least, the apostles are perceived as more powerful than Jesus had been! No wonder the leaders of Israel wanted to silence them.

            In the story of the apostles’ arrest, notice three things. First, Peter’s assertion, “We must obey God rather than men.” It bears thinking about. Sometimes we act as if that gives us permission to defy all sorts of rules. But the thing is that the rulers had specifically forbidden something the Lord had explicitly commanded. In that case, we’d have no choice but to disobey. But there are many other cases where we submit to the government. A lot more could be said…

            Second, Gamaliel shows exceptional wisdom. If it’s from men, it will fail; if it’s from God, you can’t do anything about it.

            Third, one of the most remarkable statements in the whole book is at the end of the chapter. Having been arrested and beaten, the apostles rejoiced “because they had been counted worthy of suffering for the Name” (5:41). I daresay that’s a pretty remarkable sentiment, and one that we would be hard pressed to emulate! But they loved Jesus so much that to be abused in some small way as he had been—and that because they were testifying of Him—was counted a joy! (See James 1:2-4.)

Healing a Beggar

Acts 3-4

            In today’s reading, Peter and John heal a crippled man. This action draws a crowd and becomes an opportunity to preach about Jesus. As we’d expect, the Jewish leaders don’t appreciate the effort, but the apostles are defiant. Witness and persecution are two main themes of Acts.

            There are a couple of things to highlight in the passage. First, Peter and John understand the miracle not as their own but an extension of the healing ministry of Jesus. They also see it as a promise of a greater gift to be given—times of refreshing, ultimately poured out on the last day at the resurrection. The chief priests were particularly disturbed at this aspect of the apostles’ teaching, namely, the resurrection of the dead (4:2). Why would that be a problem? Strange as it may sound to our ears, in ancient Israel resurrection was considered a revolutionary idea—not in the sense “no one ever thought of that before,” but in the sense that it was associated with revolutionaries who sought the overthrow of the occupying powers. So, it was considered subversive, dangerous.

            The last thing to notice is Peter’s bold declaration about Jesus: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” It’s an exclusive claim very similar to Yahweh’s in the Old Testament, that He would not share His glory with another. So, Jesus claims to be the exclusive way to salvation.

Pentecost

Acts 2

            In Acts 2, the early church is empowered to engage the mission of God through the gift of the Holy Spirit. There are a lot of things we could talk about, but let’s just highlight the gift of different languages, miraculously given. That day, people from all over the world were gathered in Jerusalem, and the earliest believers could tell them all about Jesus. In the second half of the book, they were sent to the ends of the earth. Again, the message is clear: the Gospel is for all people.

            The end of Peter’s sermon is of particular significance for Lutherans. Peter calls the crowd to repent (a plural verb; you, as a group, repent). It seems that Peter’s call for repentance isn’t exactly what we usually think of as repentance, which is personal sorrow over and turning away from sin. The plural seems to indicate that Peter is calling collective Israel to turn and follow the One who is really their Messiah. On the other hand, the call to be baptized is singular. The point is that opponents of infant baptism will often appeal to this passage as a way of saying that some kind of prior, self-conscious repentance is necessary before someone can be baptized. But the shift from plural to singular undermines that position. Further, the promise in verse 39, that the promise is for them and for their children, is the closest we come to an outright command to baptize babies. Certainly it tells us that babies are meant to be included in God’s saving works.

Between Jesus and the Holy Spirit

Acts 1

            The Book of Acts, written by Luke as a sequel to his Gospel (1:1), is the story of the Church’s earliest days. It recounts some of their troubles—doctrinal disagreements, interpersonal inequities, personal failures—so that we never fall into the trap of dreaming of some bygone golden age. But it is not primarily a story about their struggles; it is primarily the story of how the Church—sinful and disadvantaged as it was—engaged the mission that the Lord had given them.

            That work begins in chapter 1, when Jesus declares them His witnesses. The book is structured around that command. They are to testify of Him in Jerusalem (chapters 2-7), in all the surrounding regions of Judea and Samaria (chapters 8-12), and to the ends of the earth (chapters 13-28). Interestingly, the book ends with Paul in Rome. That is a nifty flipping of expectations. Rome considered itself the center of the world, where the most important men enacted the most important events in history, but as far as the Gospel is concerned the most important person (Jesus) did the most important thing (dying and rising) in Jerusalem, making that dusty, remote city the true center of the world.

            Also in chapter 1, we read about the election of Judas’ replacement, a man name Matthias. The significance here is that the Church is true heir of Israel, so there must be 12 apostles, just as their were 12 tribes. This idea of the true Israel resounds into the second half of the book, where Paul becomes an apostle, specifically an apostle to the Gentiles, because the promises of God are for all people.

Another Layer to the Christmas Story

Luke 2

            Luke 2 contains some of the most familiar stories in all the Gospels, especially the first 20 verses, which are the Christmas story. One of the issues with that kind of familiarity are that we stop hearing everything the story has to say. As an example, we aren’t always able to hear the anti-imperial rhetoric in the story, the challenge to the powers that dominate this fallen age of the world. Consider that the birth of Caesar Augustus was considered a day of ‘good news for the world.’ ‘Savior’ and ‘Lord,’ were likewise associated with Caesar. And peace, well, Caesar brought peace, the Pax Romana, to the world. So, here is the apparatus of world domination, enforced by the might of the Roman legions, opposed by another king, born in poverty, in a backwater town, who by the end of the Gospel will reign from a cross and create peace not by His victory but by His death. Caesar can make his claims, but Jesus is the one who is truly the Savior, who brings peace.

Infancy Narrative

Luke 1

            Luke is often described as the Gospel for the Gentiles, and there is sense in which that is true. The book is addressed to Theophilos, a Gentile name if there ever was one. (It’s a Greek word which mean lover of God.)

            On the other hand, Luke throws us right into the deep end of the Old Testament. We are instantly supposed to understand about priests and the temple and sacrifices. Zechariah and Elizabeth are described in a way that calls Abraham and Elizabeth to mind. Maybe more specifically, it calls to mind Manoah and his wife, Samson’s parents, because John will also share characteristics of being a lifelong Nazirite.

            There is also the assumption that we will understand Israel’s national hopes, hopes which took shape in the era between the Testaments. For example, in 1:13 the angel announces that Zechariah’s prayers have been heard. Now, it is apparent that Zechariah has not been praying for a child; he has given that up as no longer a possibility—hence his doubt at the angel saying Elizabeth would conceive. No, what Zechariah and the people outside are praying for is ‘the redemption of Israel’ (2:25). Israelites in this period understood such redemption in terms of, say, Isaiah 60:3 and the nations streaming to Israel. They were looking for the throwing off of the yoke of foreign powers and becoming the chief power of the earth themselves. Note this is not some merely human kingdom; they legitimately believed that the Lord would reign in their midst, so there was a spiritual component, too. I’ll have to explain more about that in Bible class on Wednesday.

            The announcement of Jesus’ birth likewise drips with Old Testament language—of David and his kingdom (Ps. 2; 1 Sam. 7). But with Jesus things are different. The Lord regularly blessed barren woman with children (Sarah, Samson’s mom, Hannah), but that a virgin would conceive without the help of a man—now that’s new ground! The structure of chapters 1 and 2 make this point again and again: John is extraordinary, a miraculous child with a distinct purpose; but Jesus is even more extraordinary, more miraculous, and with a greater purpose. John is forerunner; Jesus is gift. Jesus puts it this way, “I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he” (Luke 7:28). John is the end of the Old Testament prophets, but Jesus is their fulfillment.