Yesterday we saw Philip meet an Ethiopian official on his way back home from Jerusalem. Philip shared the Gospel message and the man believed and asked if he could be baptized. Philip did just that and the first Gentile convert embarked on a life of faith! Today we read of another example of God winning the nations of the earth to Himself.
"At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God." A centurion was an army officer who led a "century," a unit of 100 men. A cohort was ten centuries, or 1,000 men. As the leader closest to the troops, centurions were the backbone of the army. Cornelius, like the Ethiopian Eunuch, was a "God-fearer," a Gentile who believed in God but who wouldn't or couldn't become a full convert to Judaism (Jews were banned from serving in Rome's army, so conversion would have ended Cornelius' career). He attempted to live out his faith through worship and prayer, and he helped to sustain the local synagogue. One day Cornelius' prayers were interrupted by an angel who told him to send men to Joppa to bring a man named Simon Peter back with them. Cornelius obeyed immediately The 72-mile round trip would require one day there and another day back. But why would Peter just take off and go with complete strangers, and Gentiles to boot? God had it covered!
Peter was staying at the home of Simon the Tanner. Peter was hungry but it was going to be a while before lunch was ready. So Peter went up to the roof for a time of prayer. He fell into a "trance" (the Greek word has a sense of leaving the present reality and entering another reality). He saw a vision of a giant sheet being lowered down from heaven by its four corners. In the sheet were all kinds of animals, including reptiles. Then a voice said, "Rise, Peter; kill and eat." Peter replied, "By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean."The Law of Moses specified what to eat and how to prepare it. The general rules were:
Any animal with a split hoof that chews the cud was OK- cattle, sheep, goats, etc; any animal that has just one, or none, of those characteristics was unclean- pigs, camels, rabbits, etc;
Any bird, with the exception of raptors (eagles, hawks, etc) were OK to eat;
Anything from the water that has both fins and scales may be eaten, but shellfish, eels, etc, are unclean;
Insects, snakes, lizards and the like are out, with the exception of locusts, grasshoppers and crickets; and
Whatever you eat must have its blood drained out.
The Lord replied, "What God has made clean, do not call common." This repeated three times, then the sheet went back up into heaven and Peter came to. He was mulling over what the vision might mean when Cornelius' emissaries showed up at Simon's front door. The Spirit told Peter, "Behold, three men are looking for you. Rise and go down and accompany them without hesitation, for I have sent them." They explained that Cornelius had sent them in response to the command of an angel who had appeared to him. The men stayed the night and the next morning Peter set out with them for Caesarea.
When Peter arrived Cornelius greeted him by falling at his feet and worshipping him. Peter told him to get up, that he was just a man. Cornelius related his vision and the angel's command to fetch Peter. Peter then spoke to Cornelius and the many people gathered in his house. "Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him." He then proclaimed the Gospel message. Before he finished, however, the Holy Spirit came as He did on Pentecost. The people there began to speak in tongues, just as Peter did. Peter then said, "Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?" So he baptized them and stayed a few days to disciple these new believers.
When he arrived back in Jerusalem Peter told everyone what had happened. He had broken the Law of Moses and the social conventions of the day by associating and eating with Gentiles. But when Peter explained further everyone went quiet and then said, "Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life." It was a glorious day for the church! But as we'll see next week not everyone agreed with what Peter did. We'll see how this difference of opinion was worked out on Day 78.
The Good News is spreading beyond Israel! In John's Gospel we read about how a delegation of Greeks sought out Jesus' disciples and said, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus." (John 12:21) Up to this point in John Jesus said repeatedly "My hour has not yet come." But after these Gentiles came to Him Jesus said, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified." He went on to say, "And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." (John 12:32) This happened on the first Palm Sunday, and we've seen what happened to Jesus not long after.
The Gospel is good news, not just for a select few, but for everyone. Paul wrote in Romans 1:16, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." Jesus was a Jew and so were His first followers, and they were the first to hear the Gospel. But this incredible message is for everyone, and the apostles found a deep hunger for God everywhere they went.
I'm on vacation starting today, so I'll be taking a break from working on these studies. I'll be preaching on this week's readings when I return to the pulpit on May 4. You can use this time to catch up or to review.
I never cease to be amazed at the incredible creativity of Christian musicians and artists! I found this video with highlights of a musical about the story of Cornelius. I'd love to see the whole performance some time.
Yesterday we saw Philip ministering to the Samaritans. This was the early church's first attempt at reaching non-Jews. It really wasn't much of a reach. The Samaritans lived in their area and spoke the same language. Despite the enmity between the Jews and the Samaritans, Jesus spent time there and many believed in Him. Now Philip followed up and many Samaritans became Christians. Philip sent word to the apostles and Peter and John came to see for themselves what God was doing. They laid hands on the Samaritan believers and they were filled with the Holy Spirit. A man named Simon, a magician, believed and was baptized. But old sins die hard sometimes. He was so impressed that he asked peter to give him the ability to impart the Holy Spirit. Simon even offered to pay handsomely. Peter responded, "May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!" Literally translated Peter said "May you and your silver both go to hell." Wow! The apostles were plain-spoken men! Simon asked for Peter to pray for him so that this wouldn't happen to him.
Right at the point of this incredible success among the Samaritans the Holy Spirit spoke to Philip: "Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." Philip could have argued with God. There was much to do to equip and disciple the new believers in Samaria. Besides, there's literally nothing between Jerusalem and Gaza- it's a barren desert where no one lives. But Philip obeyed without question and set out toward Gaza.
Along the road he met a chariot carrying an important foreign official. He was from Ethiopia, an African nation south and east of Egypt. He was a "eunuch," a man who had been castrated so that the king could trust him around his wives. This eunuch was the royal treasurer, a job that carried lots of responsibility. He was returning from Jerusalem, where he had gone to worship. He was a "God-fearer," someone who came to believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob but either couldn't or wouldn't go the full route of conversion to Judaism. We see many such people in the Bible. We'll meet another God-fearer in tomorrow's passage.
The eunuch was reading from the Book of Isaiah as he was riding in the chariot. The Spirit told Philip to run and catch up with him. "Do you understand what you're reading?" Philip asked. The Ethiopian replied, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" and invited Philip to hop up into his chariot. The eunuch was reading from Isaiah 53, which we looked at a few weeks ago. He was reading how the Lord's servant went like a sheep to the slaughter. "About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?" Philip used this passage as a starting point to share the Gospel with this man. The eunuch believed. As they continued to travel he saw some water and asked Philip, "What prevents me from being baptized?" Philip couldn't think of a reason not to baptize the Ethiopian, so he did just that. After the baptism, the Holy Spirit carried Philip off. But the eunuch got back into his chariot and continued his journey home, rejoicing in Christ. The Spirit dropped Philip on the road to Azotus (the Old Testament Philistine city of Ashdod), along the Mediterranean coast. He took his time, preaching in every town along the way until he reached Caesarea.
This Ethiopian official was the early church's first Gentile convert (not counting the Samaritans, who were sort of half-Jewish). God promised Abraham that He would use him to bless all the nations of the world (Genesis 12:3). Isaiah 56:6-7 says, "And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant- these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples." Jesus quoted this passage as He cleansed the Temple of the moneychangers and merchants who had set up shop in the Court of the Gentiles, the only part of the Temple that non-Jews could enter. God's plan for our redemption began with one man and his family, but was never intended to exclude anyone else who seeks Him.
The eunuch went back to Ethiopia and shared the Gospel message. Ethiopia is perhaps the oldest Christian nation in the world (the Armenians would debate that, though). It has a rich heritage of faith, and we share in the growth of the church there through our missionaries (the Presbyterian work at Dembi Dollo, where the Stelles are serving, began in 1919). Christian missions have seen great success in some places. The Pew Forum published a report entitled "Global Christianity – A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World’s Christian Population." Take a look at some of the charts, and you'll see just how our Christian faith has spread around the world in the last century!
Tomorrow we'll look at another story of the Gospel spreading outside of the people of Israel. Here's a great worship song that speaks of our role as a shining light to the nations. I love this video, as it has both Chinese and English lyrics onscreen. It reminds us that Jesus loves all the peoples of the earth.
Yesterday we saw the Sanhedrin threaten Peter and John, warning them not to preach or heal in Jesus' name. The unstated implication was that if they disobeyed they would be destroyed, just like Jesus. It wasn't long after that this threat was fulfilled.
Before we go full-bore into Stephen's story, we need to look at the beginning verses of chapter 6. The early church was having some growing pains: "Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution." At this point all the believers were Jews, but of two different camps. The "Hebrews" were Jews who lived all their lives in Palestine and who carefully kept the Law of Moses and the traditions of the elders. The "Hellenists" were mainly converts to Judaism, and they melded Hebrew and Greek culture. You can see why these two groups would be at odds. After Pentecost many people from both camps became one in Christ, but old prejudices die slowly sometimes and the Hellenists felt slighted.
The disciples (now apostles) gave a wise response: "And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, 'It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.'" The tables here are not dinner tables but rather bankers' tables. Because of the first believers' generosity the church found itself with the equivalent of at least a million dollars and probably more. The apostles could not administer this money while fulfilling their other leadership roles. So they delegated this responsibility to men chosen by the body. All of them had Greek names so presumably they were Hellenists. One of those men was Stephen, "a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit." This decision bore good fruit as we read in verse 7: "And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith."
Stephen did more than administer the relief efforts of the church. He also preached and performed miracles. He ran into trouble with "the synagogue of the Freedmen... and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia." These were fellow Hellenistic Jews. They argued with Stephen but couldn't refute him. They found some men who accused Stephen of blasphemy and brought him before the Sanhedrin. Remember, this is the body that sentenced Jesus to death and threatened Peter and John. But Stephen wasn't afraid of them. "And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel."
After his accusers spoke, the Sandhedrin asked Stephen if he had anything to say. Boy did he ever! Unlike Jesus, who said very little, Stephen launched into a sermon. He laid out the story of God's redeeming work, from Abraham through David right up to Jesus. It's an excellent review of what we've considered in this study. Stephen was brutally blunt in his conclusion: "You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it." Wow! Stephen didn't pull his punches!
You can imagine how this was received. "Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him." While the Sanhedrin and everyone else there were shouting and arguing, Stephen received a vision of heaven: "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." This was just too much for the crowd to bear. The text doesn't state that the Sanhedrin delivered a verdict. The mob grabbed Stephen and carried him outside the walls. There they stoned him, in accordance with Leviticus 24:16, "Whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him." Stoning is a hideous form of execution. The movie The Kite Runner has a scene where the Taliban stones a man and a woman for having premarital sex. The memory haunts me. It might take 10 to 20 minutes to kill someone by stoning. But Stephen was faithful to the end: "'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, 'Lord, do not hold this sin against them.' And when he had said this, he fell asleep." The Lord mercifully spared Stephen from the worst of the ordeal.
It's here that we meet another of the important figures in God's plan of redemption, and a very unlikely one at that. Those who participated in the stoning had to take off their outer garments in order to have a free range of motion. They laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. He watched their garments while they carried out Stephen's execution. Chapter 8 begins, "And Saul approved of his execution." The word for approved here is more than just agreement. It indicates pleasure, even applause. Saul was happy that Stephen died. He wanted to root out this poisonous Nazarene movement and he stepped up to lead a general persecution. "But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison." We'll see how God deals with Saul next week.
Persecution did not have its desired effect. Yes, Stephen was dead and his voice silenced. Yes, men and women were languishing in prison and awaiting a similar fate. But we read that the believers fled from Jerusalem, all but the apostles. "Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word." We read of Philip going to Samaria. We looked at the division between the Jews and the Samaritans when we considered Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan. Philip preached the Gospel and also healed and cast out demons. The Samaritans believed and were saved! The church continued to grow!
There's a lot of meat in today's passage. The first point applies to me and to all who preach. We saw Peter's boldness- he wasn't afraid to say that his listeners had crucified the Son of God. Neither was Stephen. He told it like it was (and is). At the heart of the Gospel message is the offense of the cross. 1 Corinthians 1:22-25 says, "For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men." Preaching this Gospel cost Stephen his life. In time Peter and most of the apostles would pay the same price. Every preacher faces the temptation to blunt the offense of the cross. But the cross tells us that we are sinners in need of a Savior, a message that's not always welcome. We preachers like to be liked, but the one we must please is Jesus. Pray for me and for all who stand before congregations!
Second, persecution actually spreads the Gospel. It's like digging out a dandelion that's gone to seed. You get that one weed but in the process scatter the seeds into the wind. The church father Tertullian said, "The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church." It was true in the Book of Acts, and it's true to this day. The church in China survived Mao's Cultural Revolution and is booming today. The converse also seems to be true: wherever the church faces no opposition it grows complacent and weak. The evidence of that is all around us. We dare not pray for persecution, but maybe that's what it would take to shake us up. Let's remember our brothers and sisters in places like North Korea, Iraq and Nigeria in our prayers and keep them close to our hearts.
And third, I love the description of Stephen, with his face like an angel's! His countenance spoke as clearly as his words. May others see Christ in us just by the smile on our faces!
We're the beneficiaries of the faithfulness of generations of Christians who went before us. One day we'll leave the church behind for the generations to come. Listen to this song by Steve Green which addresses this issue:
Yesterday we saw what happened on the Day of Pentecost, ten days after Jesus ascended into heaven. He told His disciples to remain in Jerusalem until they received the promised Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit showed up in power, lighting upon each person there like tongues of fire. Then He enabled them to speak in languages they hadn't learned. A crowd gathered and Peter preached. About 3,000 people believed and were baptized that day.
Today we read on in the Book of Acts and see that God isn't done doing great things. Peter and John were headed to the Temple to pray at the mid-afternoon hour of prayer. They saw a beggar sitting by the gate, lame from birth and totally dependent on the generosity of others to survive. He asked Peter and John for a handout, but they gave him something far better. Peter said, "I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!" Peter then grabbed the man's hand and pulled him up. His legs and ankles were suddenly strong and healthy. He went into the Temple with them, "...walking and leaping and praising God." People who had passed by the man just moments earlier were amazed! The news spread through the Temple, and a crowd gathered. And as we saw yesterday, Peter knew what to do when a crowd gathered. He went over to Solomon's Portico, the place where Jesus taught, and launched into another sermon.
Once again Peter proclaimed boldly that Jesus Christ, whom they had put to death just a few weeks ago, had healed this man. He appealed to the crowd, "Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus..." (3:19-20)
Peter didn't get to finish the sermon or witness its results first-hand. The Temple Guards, the same men who arrested Jesus, took Peter and John into custody. By that time it was late in the day so they spent the night in jail. But the sermon had the same powerful effect as on the Day of Pentecost. Some 5,000 believed and were added to the church!
The next morning Peter and John were brought before the Sanhedrin, the same court that found Jesus guilty of blasphemy and sentenced Him to death. Annas, Caiaphas and the whole crew were there. They questioned them: "By what power or by what name did you do this?" Their hearts haven't changed with Jesus' resurrection from the dead. To them this great miracle of the lame man's healing was beside the point. If they did it in Jesus' name, Peter and John were as dangerous as Jesus Himself.
The Holy Spirit was with Peter and John, and Peter responded, "Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (4:8-12) Wow! Right between the eyes! Peter wasn't afraid of these men who put Jesus to death. He spoke truth to power and he didn't care if they liked it or not.
The Sanhedrin was stunned. These were ignorant fishermen from Galilee, yet they spoke with such power and authority! What could they say to rebut Peter's words? The formerly lame man stood right beside Peter and John. The council ordered Peter and John to be taken outside while they discussed the matter. "What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name." Like Lazarus, whom Jesus raised back to life after he'd been in the tomb four days, this now-walking lame man was healed in front of a large crowd. And as with Lazarus, this healing did not change the hearts of the Jewish leaders. But they had to tread lightly. The Lord gave these first Christians favor with everyone. Further, Pilate was undoubtedly resentful of the way the Jewish leaders had played him in Christ's crucifixion and might not accommodate them this time. So they resolved to warn Peter and John not to speak of Jesus ever again. With that warning came the threat of worse things to come if they don't obey.
Peter and John answered, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard." They wouldn't back down. Jesus commanded them to be His witnesses and no human authority could belay that order. The Sanhedrin then released them and they went back to the community of believers. There they prayed for boldness to continue to witness despite the threats they'd received. It's a beautiful prayer and I encourage you to read it closely. Even though it was the Jewish and Roman rulers who put Jesus to death, it was all in accord with God's perfect plan for the redemption of humanity. "And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus." Luke wrote that the place where they gathered was "shaken." This is the word used of great windstorms. Just as He came in power on the Day of Pentecost, so the Holy Spirit showed up once again in an unmistakable way.
The earliest church had an amazing unity. There were no Presbyterian, Methodists, Baptists or Catholics. It made no difference whether one was rich or poor. All were one in Christ. Those who had property would sell it and give the proceeds to the apostles, who in turn used these resources to feed the poor and to care for widows and orphans. Yes, this was a form of communism, but it was far removed from what Marx, Lenin and Mao would later impose upon much of the world. The early Christians lived out the ideal of "from each according to his ability to each according to his need" because they loved God and they loved one another. No one was required to divest their property. It was all voluntary, at the prompting of the Holy Spirit. What a beautiful expression of the Body of Christ!
Over a thousand years later a scholar by the name of Thomas Aquinas (after whom the Catholic high school in Louisville is named) came Rome. The Pope received him warmly and gave him a personal tour of the Vatican and its riches. The Pope turned to Thomas and said, "You see that the church no longer has to say 'silver and gold have I none.'" Aquinas replied, "Neither can she any longer say 'rise up and walk'" As the church grew rich in the things of this world it lost its power and ultimately its testimony for Christ. This is the struggle we face today. First and foremost, our problem is how we handle the wealth God has entrusted to us. The earliest church received lots of money, but it never saw that money as a source of security or power. They used these financial resources to care for peoples' needs and to carry the Gospel around the world. Individual Christians who had means came to realize that their wealth was not really theirs but God's. He promised to take care of us, and that's where our security lies. Those who had little also understood that all they had was God's. They too gave sacrificially. I read this article last week and commend it to you. It helped me to understand the important role that this kind of generosity played in the growth of the church: Resurrection Economics: What the early church teaches us about generosity.
Another reason we don't have the power of the early church is that we don't have their rock-solid faith in Jesus. In 1991 the Task Force on Church Membership Growth issued its report to the General Assembly. This paragraph was right on target: "It is apparent that there exists a significant measure of uncertainty among the clergy, leaders, and members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) regarding the essential place of Jesus of Nazareth in God's purpose to save humankind. In the face of this relativism, the claims of Jesus Christ become muted not only to the world at large but to members of the church who are unsure whether they have any right to recommend their particular faith experiences to other persons. In the name of toleration, witness often falls silent and membership growth suffers." A lot more than membership growth suffers. Our nurture of the next generation of believers suffers as well. If we're fuzzy about who Jesus is and what He did to save us, then we have very little to offer this needy world.
The early church relied on the Holy Spirit. At some point we figured out that we can go through the motions, that we can worship and witness whether or not the Holy Spirit shows up. We can offer part of ourselves as a sacrifice to appease our consciences, while God asks for all we are and all we have.
This got awfully heavy. Let's lighten up a bit with this kids' song about today's lesson:
When the Day of Pentecost Came, Mark A. Hewitt, 2012
Last week we studied Jesus' death, resurrection and ascension into heaven. He completed His mission on earth. He broke the curse of sin and death that came upon the human race in the Garden. He instituted the Kingdom of God on earth and rules His Kingdom from His throne at the right hand of the Father. Jesus' earthly mission was done, but the disciples' mission was just beginning.
Before He ascended, Jesus told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the promised Holy Spirit. "...for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." (Acts 1:5) Forty days after His resurrection Jesus ascended into Heaven, leaving the disciples on their own. This had to be at least a little frightening for the disciples. Yes, they'd gone out and done some preaching. They even healed people and cast out demons in Jesus' name. But up to now Jesus had always been there, like a safety net.
They waited as they were told. "All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers." (1:14) During this time they cast lots (a random process, like tossing a coin, for determining God's will) to find a replacement for Judas, who hanged himself after betraying Jesus. The lot fell to a man named Matthias, and he joined the eleven disciples as an apostle.
The Day of Pentecost came ten days after Jesus ascended. Pentecost was one of the three feasts of Israel (along with the Passover and Tabernacles). Pentecost comes from the Greek word for 50, because Moses told the Israelites to count off fifty days from the Passover and then gather to thank God for the harvest of the winter grains. Though not as big as Passover, Pentecost still drew many Jews from all over the world.
The group of disciples, numbering 120, were together on the day of Pentecost when something amazing happened: "And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance." The promise had arrived! The Holy Spirit filled each of them in a dramatic way.
The disciples ran outside, speaking in those other tongues. This caught everyone's attention. "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language?...we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God." They didn't know what to make of this. Some said "They are filled with new wine." They had gone on a bender and were all royally drunk.
A crowd gathered, and Peter, who no doubt had been itching to tell the world about Jesus, jumped on this opportunity. He said they weren't drunk- it was just 9 AM. God is fulfilling a word He gave through the Prophet Joel: "And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy...And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
Peter then launched into a sermon proclaiming the Gospel. "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know- this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it." Then, after sharing some Old Testament Scriptures to prove Jesus was the Messiah, Peter concluded, "Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified." This man who couldn't bear to admit that he even knew Jesus is now bold! He laid on his listeners the terrible crime of crucifying their Lord.
We read that they were "cut to the heart." The Greek word carries an impression of being run through with a sword. Peter's message had struck home, and they realized their sin. They cried out, "Brothers, what shall we do?" Peter answered, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself." The crowd was very eager to do just that. Around 3,000 people trusted in Christ that day and were baptized. Some have wondered how so many could have been baptized in one day. Where did the water come from? There were numerous mikvas, ceremonial baths for washing before entering the Temple, in the area. No doubt they appropriated them for this purpose.
The church, the Body of Christ, was off to a flying start! That morning there were 120 believers. By the end of the day they had increased to over 3,000. These people had a life-changing encounter with the risen Christ. They wanted to grow in their faith so they "...devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers." They witnessed some amazing things: "And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles." Their lives now had new orientations, and they understood their possessions in a new light: "And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need." Getting more stuff was no longer their aim. "And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved." I can't read these verses without saying "Wow!" These earliest Christians demonstrated the power of Christ and His Kingdom in such a compelling way!
The Day of Pentecost was just a drop in the bucket compared to what God would do in the days ahead. Tomorrow we'll look at even more explosive growth, and the accompanying reaction from the Jewish authorities.
Every time I read the story of the Day of Pentecost and of the church that grew from it I have to wonder what has happened to us? This is so foreign from my experience with the church. Where's the power? Why aren't we changing our world like they changed theirs? Why don't we have that kind of community among us? The truth is, God is showing up in power all over the world right now. I read this article just this morning: China on course to become 'world's most Christian nation' within 15 years. "From Yunnan province in China's balmy southwest to Liaoning in its industrial northeast, congregations are booming and more Chinese are thought to attend Sunday services each week than do Christians across the whole of Europe." This is astounding! The church in China is barely 125 years old, and suffered massive persecution during Mao's "Cultural Revolution." We hear of similar growth in Iran, where anyone who leaves the Muslim faith faces a death sentence. I could go on and on with many more examples from everywhere but Europe and North America. So God is still working mightily. But why isn't He doing such great things among us? We have large buildings with small and aging congregations. Society increasingly ignores us, and young people are turning away in droves.
I have some thoughts on the matter, but I think they'll make more sense after we look at tomorrow's passage.
Here's a video that tells the story of a small Anglican church in the far north of Canada which experienced its own Pentecost:
Ascension Day is just another Thursday here in America. In many places, however, the day is almost as big as Easter. Schools and businesses are closed and churches are open. It's a shame that we don't make more of this day, as Jesus' return to heaven brings us so many benefits. He won the victory over sin and death, and now He will reign at the Father's right hand until He returns and sets right the last pieces of what Satan ruined through Adam and Eve's sin. Let's look at today's passage from the first chapter of the Acts of the Apostles.
Luke wrote the Book of Acts as a sequel to his Gospel. They blend together almost seamlessly. Luke's Gospel ends, "Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them ,he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God." (24:50-53) The Acts of the Apostles picks up at this point, overlapping ever so briefly.
First, Luke gave an introduction, similar to the one in his Gospel. "In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God." We don't know who Theophilus was. Scholars speculate that he was a wealthy patron who supported Luke's efforts to record Christ and His church's history, who was named Theophilus. Others think it was a code name for a high Roman official who could not reveal that he was a Christian (Theophilus means Lover of God in Greek). Or maybe Luke is addressing all lovers of God.
Luke told us that Jesus hung around for forty days after His resurrection. He appeared not just to the disciples, but to many others as well. My favorite story of Jesus after His resurrection is the account of how He walked with two of His followers as they went to Emmaus. They didn't know who this stranger was, but their hearts burned within them, they later said, when He explained the Scriptures to them. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:7, "Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep." As Luke said, Jesus gave "many convincing proofs" in those forty days that He was alive!
This is the most incredible news! Jesus is alive, risen from the dead! He is the Messiah, the Son of God. Jesus told the disciples, however, not to go out and spread this message just yet. He told them to stay in Jerusalem until the promised Comforter came to them. "For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." We saw yesterday that Jesus breathed on the disciples and said "Receive the Holy Spirit." So why must they wait to be baptized in the Holy Spirit? Read on and we'll see.
The disciples had a question for Jesus: "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" They're still expecting an earthly reign. How could Israel, even the Pharisees and the Scribes, refuse to worship Him now? Indeed, how could anyone on the planet refuse Him? They remember that Jesus promised that they would sit with Him on twelve thrones and rule with Him. They're eager to get the measurements for the drapes in their palaces!
Jesus replied, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority." Jesus told them, "It's none of your business." This is all in the Father's hands and He will cause it all to unfold according to His wisdom and goodness. This is the best-kept secret in the universe. Even Jesus doesn't know. "But concerning that day or that hour,no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." (Mark 13:32) Jesus will be as surprised as we are when He returns! Even though He is equal to the Father, He won't know when He's coming back until the Father tells Him. I believe it's because He chooses not to know, so that He will be as joyously surprised as we are! So it doesn't do a lot of good to speculate about the end of the age. Certainly there are signs of the times and we must be aware of them. But Jesus will get here when He gets here, and in the meantime He has work for us to do.
Jesus went on and said, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." The word for power here is dunamis. We get words like dynamo and dynamite from it. The word means more than just power, though. It also carries with it a sense of right or authority. They will share the Gospel message with power, but also with a boldness that comes from God's own authority. The Holy Spirit will enable them to be His witnesses, not just in Jerusalem, not just in the surrounding area of Judea and Samaria, but all over the planet! The Gospel is not just for the children of Abraham after the flesh. It's for everyone so that all may become children of Abraham through Christ.
"And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight." That had to have been one incredible sight! Jesus went back home, His mission accomplished. Imagine the joy in heaven, how the angels and saints welcomed the conquering hero! But what about the disciples who were left there on the Mount of Olives. Let's read on: "And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, 'Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.'" Who knows how long they stood there, just staring up in the sky? They might have stayed there a long time, getting incredibly stiff necks, if two men in white, obviously angels, came by. They told the disciples that they don't need to hang around watching for Jesus' return. He'll come back the same way He left, and they and everyone else on earth will know it when He arrives. "Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen." (Revelation 1:7) The disciples went back to town to wait. We'll see what God did just ten days later, on the Day of Pentecost, when we resume our study next week.
So just what does Jesus' ascension into Heaven mean for us? First of all it means that Jesus is at work getting ready for our arrival. Jesus told His disciples, "Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also." That was nearly 2,000 years ago. With that much time to get things ready for us, just imagine how great heaven will be when we get there! This gives us such great comfort when a loved one goes to be with the Lord, and it encourages us in the midst of our struggles in this life.
The ascension also gives us our mandate. King Jesus rules His kingdom and His subjects. The people of Jesus' day, and even His own disciples, expected the kingdom NOW, in a very visible way. But that's not how Jesus told us it would be. He said, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come." (Mark 4:26-29) The Kingdom of God grows slowly, like a seed. A lot happens beneath the surface before the shoot pierces the soil. Then yet more growth must take place, and that too takes time. Finally the grain is ripe and ready for harvest. Jesus also said, "The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or 'There!' for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you." (Luke 17:20-21) The Kingdom is here already, unseen by most, growing day by day. The Kingdom grows one soul at a time as people hear our witness and come to Christ.
These are our marching orders for life between Christ's first and second comings: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold,I am with you always, to the end of the age." Next week we'll see how the earliest Christians did just this!
The Incredulity of Saint Thomas, by Michelangelo Caravaggio, 1602
Today we come to the most important event in all of human history. Our Bible study traces God's plan to undo the damage from Adam and Eve's sin in the Garden of Eden. Yesterday we considered the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. He offered Himself as a perfect sacrifice for our sins and broke death's stranglehold. More than that, Jesus' resurrection made the Kingdom of God a glorious reality. N. T. Wright wrote, "The resurrection completes the inauguration of God's kingdom...It is the decisive event demonstrating that God's kingdom really has been launched on earth as it is in heaven. The message of Easter is that God's new world has been unveiled in Jesus Christ and that you're now invited to belong to it." So let's dig in to God's Word!
Jesus told His disciples in advance what would happen. "The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day." (Matthew 17:22-23). The disciples didn't get it, though. We may be tempted to criticize them, but let's remember that we have the benefit of the complete Bible and nearly two thousand years to live into this reality. If we were in their place, confronted with something so radically new, I don't think we would get it, either. The disciples thought they'd seen the last of Jesus when they rolled the stone in front of His tomb. The Roman guards came and placed Emperor Tiberius' seal over the door in wax. There was nothing left to do but go home. The disciples locked themselves away until things blew over. That's why the women are the heroes of the story.
John's account begins with Mary Magdalene heading to the tomb before sunrise on Sunday morning. The other writers tell us that Mary had company: Mary the mother of James and Salome (Mark 16:1). They were hoping to complete Jesus' burial preparations which were cut short with the arrival of the Sabbath on Friday evening. They found the heavy stone blocking the entrance rolled away, and the Roman guards nowhere to be seen! (Matthew 28:2 says that they fainted and became like dead men). They looked in the tomb and Jesus' body wasn't there. Matthew, Mark and Luke record that they saw and angel who told them what had happened. "Don't be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus, who has been crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, just like he said." (Matthew 28:5-6) John tells us that Mary ran back to tell the disciples "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him." Peter and John took off running toward the tomb. John made it first but he stopped at the entrance. When Peter arrived he barged right in and found things as Mary had said. The linen wrappings and the face cloth were all folded up neatly, but Jesus was nowhere to be found! John then went in, and we're told that he believed. But Peter went away scratching his head, not knowing what to think, "for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead."
Mary stayed behind after Peter and John left. She didn't understand either. She just stood and wept at the tomb entrance. When she looked in again she saw two angels sitting where Jesus had lain. "Woman, why are you weeping?" they asked. She said that they had taken her Lord and she didn't know where He was. Then she heard something stirring behind her. She turned to see a man standing there, who asked her the same question. She assumed that he was the caretaker and said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away." But when He spoke her name, Mary immediately knew who it was! It was Jesus! She grabbed hold of Him and didn't want to let go. Then Jesus said something that sounds kind of harsh: "Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" This translation does a good job with the Greek. The idea is not that Jesus is untouchable, but that she must not cling to Him. It's not going to be like old times. Soon Jesus will ascend into heaven. He will promise to be with them always, but He will not be with them in body for very long.
Mary went and told the disciples, and they didn't have to wait long. That evening Jesus came through their locked and barricaded door. He didn't say "Surprise!" or "I'm baaaaack!" or "Did you miss Me?" or "We've got to talk about Friday." He said, "Peace be with you." His very first words to them showed that He loved and forgave them. He wasn't there to punish them or to frighten them. He showed them the wounds in His hands and side and said that just as the Father had sent Him, so He was going to send them. He breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit." This is confusing: didn't the Holy Spirit come on the Day of Pentecost? Yes, the disciples and the others with them were baptized with the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. But these disciples must step up and lead Jesus' followers before that day. They are no longer disciples but have become apostles, and will have some important decisions to make before Pentecost. We'll spend more time on this next week.
Then Jesus said another puzzling thing: "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld." Some have interpreted this to mean that Jesus gave the church leadership the authority to forgive sins. That's not what it means. Jesus gave them the authority to carry out discipline within the church, to admonish members who sin and encourage them to repent, and to remove them if they will not. God alone judges us and forgives our sins. Only He knows our hearts. But behavior is outward and everybody can see it. For the health of the Body of Christ and its testimony those who behave badly must be corrected. We'll see how the church carried this out when we read the Book of Acts.
Thomas was not there for some reason when Jesus appeared to the other disciples. By the time he arrived Jesus had left, but you can be sure his friends told him all about it! But Thomas just couldn't believe. He said, "Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe." Eight days later he got his wish. Jesus once again came through the locked doors and said, "Peace be with you!" Then He went over to Thomas. I love the painting at the top of the page, The Incredulity of St. Thomas, by Caravaggio. Jesus is pulling Thomas' finger into the gaping wound in His side! Thomas was convinced! He fell before Jesus and said, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus answered, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
The end of chapter 20 gives us the impression that John is concluding his account. "Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." I think John probably intended to end it here, but soon after the Holy Spirit prompted him to include what we read in chapter 21. But we see John's purpose in writing, so that his readers will believe in Jesus and have eternal life in Him.
It appears that some time has passed and it's been a while since Jesus last appeared. Luke tells us that Jesus appeared to His disciples for 40 days after His resurrection. (Acts 1:3) The disciples are back home in Galilee, waiting for Jesus. Peter got bored and said "I'm going fishing!" The others said that they'd go with him. They spent the night without catching a single fish. Then, in the first gray of morning, they saw a man standing on the beach. "Children, do you have any fish?" When they said no the stranger told them to throw the nets over the other side of the boat. Hmmm... that was something Jesus told Peter to do when they first met. They had nothing to lose, so they did as they were told. Soon the nets were full of large fish- John tells us there were 153! That many normally will tear the net, but not this time. Then John recognized that it was Jesus! Peter jumped overboard to swim to Him while the others hauled the net ashore. Jesus had a fire going, with some grilled fish and bread for breakfast.
After breakfast Jesus talked to Peter. "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?" "Yes, Lord, You know that I love You." Jesus then said, "Care for My sheep." Twice more Jesus asked the same thing, and twice more Peter answered yes. Peter was hurt after the last time, because he remembered how he had denied Jesus three times in His hour of trial. But Jesus still had confidence in Peter. His nickname meant little rock, or "Rocky." But Jesus would use this little stone, along with many others, to build His church. Peter will lead the young church in its earliest days. Next week is going to be exciting as we look at the Acts of the Apostles!
We saw yesterday that it's impossible to overstate the importance of the cross. It's doubly impossible to overstate the importance of the resurrection. Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, wrote, "If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said; if he didn't rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said? The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like his teaching but whether or not he rose from the dead." Keller is absolutely right! If Jesus rose from the dead, He is Lord of all. While there are very few who believe that Jesus never existed, there are many more who argue that the early Christians turned their leader into a legend. They made up things like the virgin birth and the resurrection to bolster their hero's image. It's one thing to say something, but quit another to die for it. Why would the disciples die hideously for something they knew was a lie? And could any mass hysteria be so compelling that hundreds of thousands of Christ's followers died over the next several hundred years rather than deny Him? No, my friends, something happened that first Easter morning, and things have never been the same! Jesus Christ is risen!
I couldn't make up my mind about which video to add to the end of this study, so you'll get two today. The first is of N. T. (Tom) Wright, biblical scholar and Church of England bishop, discussing Easter. Then I'll balance Wright's intellectual approach with what I think is the best Easter hymn ever, Easter Song, performed by the late Keith Green.
The Raising of the Cross, by Rembrandt van Rijn, 1633
Yesterday we looked at Jesus' arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane and His trials before the Sanhedrin, King Herod and Pontius Pilate. The Sanhedrin found Jesus guilty of blasphemy (speaking lies about God) and sentenced Him to death. Under the Roman occupation they had no authority to execute anyone so they took Jesus to Pilate. Pilate passed this hot potato to Herod Antipas, the Tetrarch of Galilee and the son of Herod the Great. Herod was not impressed with Jesus and sent Him back to Pilate. The governor found himself in a tight spot. He was there to keep the lid on Rome's most volatile province. If he failed he would answer to Emperor Tiberius. He discovered that Jesus was no threat to Rome, but releasing Him was no simple matter. Pilate's offer to release a prisoner met with cries to release Barabbas rather than Jesus. The Jewish leaders shouted "If you release this man, you are not Caesar's friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar." All they had to do was send someone to Damascus to tell his superior, Lucius Vitellus, and Pilate's career was over. Pilate felt he had no choice and sentenced Jesus to death by crucifixion.
The cross has become a universal symbol of the Christian faith. There are many of them in our church and all over Sebring. We learn at our parents' knees and in Sunday School that Jesus died on a cross. Has this familiarity bred contempt? Is the cross so common that it has lost its meaning? Let's take a look at the cross and crucifixion.
The Romans learned the art of crucifixion from the Persians. In the Book of Esther we read that Haman built a gallows upon which to hang his enemy, Mordecai the Jew. It's possible, even likely that the word translated gallows is better translated cross. Haman didn't want a quick and painless death for his enemy. He wanted him to suffer.
How does crucifixion kill? Not through blood loss- the nails were positioned so as to minimize blood loss. The cross' victims died from asphyxiation. When we were kids we played on the monkey bars. Once I grabbed hold of one of the bars and let my feet dangle. I wanted to see how long I could hang there before my arms got tired. But I had to quit before my arms gave out. I found that I couldn't breathe. If you hang with your arms above your shoulders you can breathe out but can't breathe in. Someone nailed to a cross would have to push up on their feet, which were nailed into the cross along with the wrists, to rise up high enough to take a gulp of air before pain and fatigue made him sag once more. It might take three days or more for the victim to die.
Jesus, beaten within an inch of his life, had to carry his cross the half mile or so from the governor's palace to Calvary. The other accounts tell us that Jesus was just too weak to complete the journey and a bystander named Simon from the North African city of Cyrene was pressed into service. Once He arrived at the top of Golgotha the Roman detail drove nails through Jesus' wrists and into the crosspiece and another nail through His crossed ankles. Then the soldiers lifted the cross into place overlooking the city, with two thieves on either side. It was now the third hour, or nine AM.
Jesus spoke seven "last words," brief phrases He could speak with a quick breath:
"Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34);
"I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." (Luke 23:43);
When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son," and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." (John 19:26-27);
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46);
Jesus knew that everything was now finished, and to fulfill the Scriptures he said, "I am thirsty." (John 19:28);
"It is finished!" (John 19:30); and
"Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." (Luke 23:46).
Each of these deserves a study of its own. Each tells a side of what Jesus experienced when He was on the cross.
From the sixth hour, Noon, to the ninth hour, 3 PM, the skies were dark. When Jesus died at 3 PM a violent earthquake struck the city and the curtain in the Temple that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies was torn in two from top to bottom. The soldiers prepared to break the legs of their prisoners so that they would not be able to push up to breathe and would die before sunset (the Jews didn't like prisoners left hanging on the Sabbath or during festivals). Jesus was already dead, and a soldier confirmed this by stabbing Him in the chest with his spear. John tells us that water and blood gushed out. This tells us that Jesus died from a ruptured pericardium, the sac around the heart. Literally, He died of a broken heart!
Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent Pharisee who believed in Jesus. offered his tomb for Jesus' burial. They had barely enough time to get Him inside the tomb before the sun set and the Sabbath began. Full preparations would have to wait until Sunday.
We call what Jesus did on the cross the atonement. Atonement means righting a wrong and reconciling two parties who are alienated from one another. Adam and Eve rebelled against God and passed the curse of sin on to their descendants. God warned them that they would die on the day that they ate the fruit. Their intimacy with God died, but their bodies didn't. That's because God accepted a substitute for their lives: animals who were killed to provide skins to cover their nakedness. The substitute of an innocent creature satisfied God's justice and allowed Him to forgive their sins. All of the sacrifices of the Old Testament pointed toward this moment, when the Son of God would bear our sins in His own body. The Book of Hebrews explains how Jesus offered a better sacrifice than the priests, an atonement that not only takes away our sin but also the guilt that goes with it. 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 says, "All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." What a deal! Jesus took our sin and gave us His righteousness!
Tomorrow we look at the flip side of the coin with which Jesus purchased our redemption. He died to pay for our sins and then rose on the third day to assure us of eternal life.
Listen to Keith and Krystyn Getty perform their song "The Power of the Cross."
We left off yesterday with Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane while the disciples slept. Suddenly torchlight punctuated the darkness. Judas was making good on his promise to betray Jesus into the hands of the Jews, leading a party of soldiers to arrest Him. John omitted Judas kissing Jesus (John's Gospel was the last, and often he wouldn't repeat details contained in the other Gospels). Jesus asked whom they were seeking. When they said "Jesus of Nazareth," He replied "I am He. Let everyone else go." Instead of grabbing Him, however, the guards fell to the ground! The word "he" is not in the original and was supplied by the translators. Remove that word and Jesus said "I am." Do you remember that name from our earlier studies? When Jesus said "I am" the soldiers fell to the ground, unable to move. This happened two more times. The force of Jesus' identity forced them down! Then Peter took one of those two swords and rushed at the soldiers. He slashed away and cut the ear off of the high priest's servant, a man named Malchus. But before the soldiers could draw their weapons Jesus commanded Peter to put away his sword. Jesus said, "Shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?" The other Gospels give us more details: Matthew told us that Jesus told Peter "he who lives by the sword shall die by the sword," and Luke wrote that Jesus healed Malchus' ear. Jesus went into custody and the disciples scattered.
Next stop: High Priest Caiaphas' house. A man named Annas is also there. Annas was the high priest, but he displeased Governor Pilate and was deposed in favor of Annas' son-in-law Caiaphas. Matthew and Mark's accounts tell us that the Sanhedrin, the supreme court of Israel, was gathered at Caiaphas' house. This gathering was irregular and illegal. The legal code the Sanhedrin followed said that when a criminal faced the death penalty the trial had to be held in broad daylight and in a place where the public could witness the proceedings. Hearsay evidence ("I heard that so and so said that the defendant said or did...") is not admissible in our courts and was not admissible in Jewish courts of that day either. Yet the Sandhedrin accepted hearsay testimony against Jesus. The Sandhedrin was not supposed to hold trials during the feasts or on the Sabbath. A member of the Sanhedrin should have been appointed to serve as Jesus' counsel. There's no evidence of that. This august body became a kangaroo court when it tried Jesus.
Jesus submitted to these unjust proceedings, and even sped them along. When the court attempted to question him about His teachings, He said, "I have spoken openly to the world. I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them; they know what I said." Many of the Sanhedrin members had heard Jesus speak- they themselves could bear witness if they would. For this remark one of the guards slapped Jesus across His face. Matthew and Mark record that Caiaphas finally had enough and put Jesus under oath: "I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God." (Matthew 26:63) Jesus was under no obligation to answer, as their law, like ours, gave defendants the right not to testify against themselves. But Jesus did answer and said, "You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven." (26:64) This sounds evasive to us, but in fact by saying "you have said so," Jesus is showing proper respect for the high priest and the court. He affirmed that He was the Christ, and then takes the messianic title Son of Man as well. Caiaphas then tore his robes. Tearing one's robes was (and still is in that region) a way of showing anger or grief. The priests in general, and the High Priest in particular, were forbidden to tear their robes for the deaths of loved ones or other personal sorrows. The fact that Caiaphas tore his robes indicates how very angry he was at what he considered blasphemy. The guilty verdict came quickly. It was nearly dawn. Now off to see the Roman governor Pontius Pilate.
The Roman nobility generally weren't morning people. It's likely that Pilate's servants had to wake him up to see Caiaphas and his entourage. And indeed, Pilate was grumpy. "Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law." Pilate found an out when he learned that Jesus was from Galilee. He packed them all off to see Herod, who was in town for the Passover. Herod wanted to meet Jesus. He had lots of questions, none of which Jesus answered. Herod asked Jesus to perform a miracle, and He said nothing. He grew tired of Jesus and sent Him back to Pilate.
This time Pilate questioned Jesus. "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus wasn't afraid of Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin. He wasn't afraid of Herod, and He was not afraid of Pilate. "Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?" Pilate shot back, "Am I a Jew?" He told Jesus that it was His own people who wanted Him dead. Jesus replied, "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world." Jesus was no threat to Caesar and his this-worldly empire. No one would take up arms under His command. When Pilate questioned Him further, Jesus replied, "You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice." Pilate, no doubt schooled in Greek philosophy, said "What is truth?" The great philosophers like Socrates, Plato and Aristotle and their successors all searched for the truth but eventually despaired of ever finding it. Pilate laughed that Jesus claimed to know the truth.
Pilate found no violation of Roman law and would have released Jesus. The other accounts tell us that he had Jesus flogged in the hope of appeasing the crowd. This was utterly unjust, and Jesus received a brutal beating that could have killed Him. He brought Jesus back out to the crowd, which still wanted Him crucified. Pilate could release one prisoner during Passover and offered the crowd a choice between Jesus and a man named Barabbas, a murderer and rebel. The crowd called for Jesus to be crucified, Pilate famously washed His hands, as if all the water in the world could wash away his guilt, and signed Jesus' death warrant. Off to the Place of the Skull, in Aramaic Golgotha and in Latin Calvarium, or Calvary.
Before we leave Jesus' trial, let's look in on Peter. You'll recall that Jesus told Peter that he'd deny Him three times before the rooster crowed. Despite Peter's protests that He would die for Jesus, he did deny Him three times. Not before Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin; not before Herod; and not before Pontius Pilate. Peter was afraid to tell a few slaves huddled around a fire that he even knew Jesus. When that rooster crowed and Jesus left Caiaphas' house for the Roman Praetorium, Peter realized what he had done and wept bitterly. Jesus had called it. But Jesus had confidence in Peter because He knew the Holy Spirit would turn him into a different man.
Jesus had all kinds of opportunities to avoid the cross. He could have run out of the Garden of Gethsemane before the soldiers came to arrest Him. He could have confessed to the Sanhedrin, to Herod or to Pilate that He was a nobody and He would have been released. And if, as He told the disciples as He was being arrested that He could call upon twelve legions of angels (Matthew 26:53), why didn't He? Why, then, did He face the judgment of man and go to the cross? Because it was the only way to secure our salvation. Jesus pleaded so fervently that blood mingled with His sweat to avoid the cross. He submitted to the cross because only by dying for us could He accomplish our redemption. We'll look at this in more detail tomorrow when we consider the crucifixion itself.
Today we saw God on trial before men. It is ridiculous to imagine mere mortals judging their Maker. Yet that's exactly what we see here. And this is far from the only example of what C. S, Lewis called "God in the Dock" (in British courts the accused has to stay in a special area called the dock during the trial). People judge Him every day. Ted Turner, the media mogul who revolutionized cable TV tells of how fervently he prayed for his older sister as she was diagnosed with leukemia. He prayed all the more as she grew weaker and her pain increased. The night she died in agony Turner decided that God had failed him and that he would have nothing more to do with Him. He became an outspoken atheist. The trouble with putting God in the dock is that, like Jesus, He won't explain Himself. He has His reasons for all that He does and all that He allows and asks us to trust in His goodness. If that's not good enough for us He's willing to be found guilty and sentenced to ridicule and rejection. But through it all He loves us and woos us to Him in so many ways.
Here's my favorite scene from Jesus Christ Superstar, Jesus before King Herod from the 1973 movie. It was filmed at the Dead Sea, the site where God rained fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah. The rinky-dink big-production feel is meant to ridicule Jesus and His claims. Instead, at least in my opinion, it illustrates the absurdity of us judging God by our own standards.
We enter the last third of our 100 Essential Passages study with a look at the events of Holy Week during Holy week itself (I planned it this way!). This study, however, skips straight to Thursday and the Last Supper. I think we need to review what happened in the days before.
Yesterday we celebrated Palm Sunday. Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey to the acclaim of the crowds. Word of Jesus calling Lazarus out of the tomb after he'd been dead four days echoed all over Jerusalem. The people waved palm branches and threw their cloaks before Him. They shouted the words of Psalm 118:25, "Save us, we pray, O Lord! O Lord, we pray, give us success! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We bless you from the house of the Lord." The word "save us" is hosanna. Israel welcomed her Messiah, the Son of David!
The Jewish authorities were offended, but Jesus wasn't done offending them yet. He went to the Temple and found the outer court, the Court of the Gentiles (or Nations) filled with moneychangers and sellers of sacrificial animals. These began as needed services for travelers. The Roman money bore the graven image of Caesar (whom the Romans worshipped as a god), so these coins were exchanged for Shekels of the Temple, and the commission was originally 1/64th. By Jesus' time, however, the rate was exorbitant. Likewise travelers coming to the Passover would find it inconvenient to carry a lamb all the way to Jerusalem. The priests, however, had to inspect each sacrifice, and only those sold in the Temple were deemed acceptable. The Temple of God had become a rip-off palace! Jesus overturned the tables and threw the merchants and bankers out. "My house shall be called a house of prayer. But you have made it a den of thieves!" Jesus, for a second time, had disrupted the corrupt marketplace where the Jewish elite profited at the expense of the faithful (He cleansed the Temple at the beginning of His ministry as well. (John 2:13-17)
On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday Jesus taught in the Temple and on the slopes of the Mount of Olives, overlooking Jerusalem. All the while the Jewish leaders plotted Jesus' demise and the Romans watched nervously. During this time Judas approached approached Jesus' enemies and offered to betray Him.
This brings us to today's passage, what we call the Last Supper. Jesus and His disciples, along with hundreds of thousands of their fellow Jews, were in Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of the Passover. Jesus told His disciples to prepare for the Passover meal. With so many people in the city appropriate places were scarce. Jesus told them to watch for a man carrying a water jar and then follow him. That might not sound unusual to us, but in those days carrying water was women's work. A man carrying water would stand out. They followed the man and he took them to a large upper room. They set to work getting the food, wine and other supplies they'd need.
Jesus began the meal with these words: "I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God." The Greek is literally, "With desire have I desired." The word for desire is epithumia. The word means to want something very strongly. Most of the time it is translated as lust, a sinful desire for sex, money or power. It's also translated sometimes with that wonderful King James word concupiscence. In this case, however, Jesus has fervently desired to share this Passover meal with His disciples. This feeling is a strong as any lust, but it's a pure feeling in this case. He loves these men and He knows that within twelve hours He'll be on His way to Golgotha.
Jesus fulfilled the Passover. He Himself became our Passover lamb. John the Baptist pointed to Jesus and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29) At this last Passover with His disciples Jesus demonstrated how He fulfilled the Passover and gave a new meaning to its observance. And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, 'Take this, and divide it among yourselves. For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.' And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.' And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, 'This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.'" I was confused when I first read this passage and compared it to the other gospels' accounts. Luke has two cups while Matthew and Mark have one. The Passover ceremony calls for four cups of wine. Luke mentions two of those cups, the second and the third, while the others include only the third cup. Jesus said of the bread that it is His body and that we are to remember Him when we eat it. Jesus said of the wine that it is the new covenant in His blood. We'll discuss the theology of the Lord's Supper later in this post.
It's obvious that the disciples didn't understand what Jesus had just done. Immediately following the meal Jesus said that one of them would be His betrayer. They all questioned "Is it I?" Deep down each one knew he was capable of it. Then they argued (once again) which one of them was the greatest. Could they have picked a more inappropriate time? But Jesus was patient with them and explained true greatness. He said don't be like the rulers of the Gentiles, who lord it over their subjects and demand respect. Instead, seek to serve one another. In God's Kingdom the servants are the great ones. Jesus, their Master, illustrated this in His own service. John wrote that Jesus washed the disciples' feet after supper because not one of them was humble enough to assume that role before supper. Jesus went on to say, though, that God would honor them in the Kingdom. They would finally get those twelve thrones.
Jesus then turned to Peter. "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers." How is Satan in a position to demand anything? Really he's not, but remember that the devil is a whiner. God is not going to give him any excuses. Peter, the leader of the disciples, must be tested. Jesus had confidence in this rugged fisherman whom He turned into a fisher of men. Peter protested that he was ready to go to prison or even to die for Jesus. He turned to Peter and told him that before the rooster crowed in the morning that He would deny Him three times.
The disciples will soon be on their own (though really not alone). He asked them if they lacked anything when He sent them out to minister without any money or food. They said no. Jesus said that's right, but from now on you'll need to take these things with you. This was preparation for how they would receive and use the believers' offerings that we read about in the Book of Acts. Jesus is about to, as Isaiah's prophecy requires, to be numbered among the transgressors. They will witness His shameful treatment which He didn't deserve. He told them to go out and buy swords. They said that they had two swords with them, and Jesus said that was enough. What did He mean by this? I'm still wresting with this one. I'll keep studying and perhaps I'll have something to add to this tomorrow when we consider Jesus' arrest and Peter's swordplay.
Jesus and His disciples then left the city and headed up the Mount of Olives. The disciples might have thought that they were heading back to Bethany where they had been staying. Instead Jesus led them into the Garden of Gethsemane. He was going to pray, and He asked the disciples to watch and pray with Him. Then He went a "stone's throw" and began to pray. "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done." This cup that Jesus wished to be removed from Him was the cup of God's wrath. In the Old Testament God's wrath frequently is portrayed as a cup of strong and bitter wine. Psalm 75:8 says, "For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed, and he pours out from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs." Jesus knew the horrors that awaited, and He was asking one more time if it was really necessary. He submitted His will to the Father, and would do as He asked. Luke tells us that Jesus was in so much agony that drops of blood mingled with His sweat, and that angels came to strengthen Him. When Jesus finished praying He found the disciples fast asleep. This is understandable, as they had a big meal with four cups of wine. In addition all of Jesus' talk of suffering and dying was a downer. But this was not the time to be sleeping! Jesus said, "Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation."
Tomorrow we'll pick up with Jesus' arrest and trial.
Jesus initiated what we call The Lord's Supper in the context of the Passover. This is not readily apparent from the way we usually celebrate Communion, so it's good for us to remember Jesus as the Passover Lamb. He said "This is My body," and "This is My blood." The people of Israel at the Passover Lamb and painted its blood on their doorposts. God delivered them from their slavery in Egypt the very next day. Jesus gave what His listeners termed a "hard saying" when the people came looking for more free bread. "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever." Just what did Jesus mean?
There are essentially four different ways to understand the Lord's Supper:
The bread and the wine actually become the body and blood of Christ in every respect except outward appearance. When we participate we are literally eating His flesh and drinking His blood. This is called transubstantiation, change in "substance," and is the teaching of the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches;
The bread and wine remain bread and wine, but the body and blood of Christ are added to them. This is called consubstantiation, adding to the substance. This is how Lutherans view the Lord's Supper. Martin Luther argued that the risen and ascended Christ promised to be with us always, so His body and blood are everywhere. They are "in, with and under" the bread and wine;
The bread and wine remain bread and wine, but Christ is spiritually present and we feed on His body and blood in a spiritual manner. The spiritual is no less real than the physical, just different. The Lord's Supper reminds us that as we are dependent upon food and drink to sustain our physical bodies, we are utterly dependent on Christ for our spiritual lives. This is the view of most Presbyterians; and
The bread and wine are bread and wine, and nothing more. They are reminders of what Jesus did for us but have no force or effect in and of themselves. Most Baptists hold this view.
Whenever I preside at the Lord's Table a sense of joy comes over me. I can't really describe it, but it kind of creeps up on me as we proceed with it. I have to believe that Jesus is with us in a very special way when we share in His Supper. He desires with desire to have fellowship with us, and this is one of the ways He is present with us. I'm looking forward to celebrating Communion in the original context, the Passover meal, this Thursday evening at 6 PM. Hope you can come!
Here is a clip from the movie The Passion of the Christ depicting this last Passover that Jesus shared with His disciples, along with a beautiful song to prepare our hearts.
