The Ken Read Podcast

0406 THE FIRST CHURCH CONFLICT

THE FIRST CHURCH CONFLICT

Well, it was great while it lasted, wasn’t it? Unity. Love. None needy. None greedy. All of one heart and mind. Heaven on earth. Church, the way it was supposed to be.

I have often said that the church would be a great place to work, if it weren’t for the people. That’s my secret joke, because the church IS the people, of course. And “church” and “conflict” go together like “pizza” and “cheese,” or maybe like “sermon” and “boring.” (I can say that now that I am preaching every week!)

So, what happened to the peace? The church was growing by leaps and bounds, and miracles were happening, the Holy Spirit had control, and everyone was hitting on all cylinders. Here’s how Luke introduces it:

In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.

We must understand what Luke means by Hellenistic Jews. Jews are a particular ethnic and religious group of people. Children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. One of the twelve tribes (two tribes are left by this point in history). They read the Hebrew Scriptures and they speak in Hebrew (or Aramaic, which is like an old version of yiddish). They are the chosen ones, set apart unto the Lord to be His people.

But some of those Jewish people need or choose to function in the secular culture, where the primary language for most people is Greek. So when these Jews go to the marketplace, and everyone is speaking Greek, they join in, for expediency’s sake, if nothing else. They still participate in synagogue and in the temple just like every Jew does. But they might dress and talk like a Gentile during the week. And you know how the slippery slope works, don’t you? You let a little pragmatism creep in, and next thing you know you are living a compromised, idolatrous life, just like the Samaritans or Galileans. Best to stay away from cultural compromise. They act like Reformed Judaism, rather than Orthodox Jews.

I know, that’s a lot to assume out of someone just because they speak a common trade language. But you can never be too careful, you know. They are like the church people who sing the hymns and quote in King James English on Sunday morning, but during the week you’ll find them listening to secular music, soaking in electronic entertainment, eating and drinking like pagans, and in general compromising with the world. So, they are not to be trusted.

One aspect of Jewish culture back in that day is that they were very focused on honoring their father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise: that it may go well with you and you will live long on the earth. It was already built into Jewish culture to take care of the widows in the community, so in the early church it was perfectly natural to care for these honorable saints.

But the Jewish believers had suspicions about the Greek-speaking Hellenists. They weren’t opposed to them, as such. But they did overlook the Hellenistic widows in the food line. So a murmuring arose. That’s what the Greek word sounds like. Some gossip, some complaining, some arguing, it was all arising, until after a little while the word got to the apostles. There is complaining in our midst! 

How would you deal with the division in your congregation? Many preachers will deliver a sermon on the topic, trying to persuade certain people through their presentation. But what happens when the most egregious among them happen to not be there that particular Sunday? And what happens when they hear you, but they don’t change? What next? 

Well, happily, the church in Acts 6 was still being led by the Holy Spirit, so the apostles called a meeting involving both parties. They learned firsthand about the neglect and the grievances among the Hellenists. And they announced their decision.

Remember, up to this point, people gave their gifts and “brought the money to the apostles’ feet, and they distributed it to anyone as they had need.” So the twelve said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables.” Waiting on tables was not beneath them. They had already been doing so every day. But you can only be in so many places at once. So it was time to give this over to those who were more available.

They went on: “Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”

I love that the twelve knew their attention needed to be in prayer and in the ministry of the word (preaching and teaching). I also love that they required certain qualifications for these people who were simply going to be waiting on tables or doing door dash. They needed to be known (by those who know them) to be full of the Spirit and wisdom.

And so seven men were brought forward who met those qualifications. The apostles prayed and laid their hands on them. Today, we might assume that these men were “deacons.” That means those who serve. 

In any case, tragedy and church splits were avoided that weekend. And the Greek widows were taken care of at last.

By the way, I think it is no coincidence that the names of all seven of these men were NOT “jewish” names, but were Greek names! Let the representatives from the neglected group be the ones who will best attend to their own.

Wisdom over splits. Round one goes to Jesus.

0407 WHAT’S THAT AT YOUR FEET?

WHAT IS AT YOUR FEET?

“The witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.” (v.58)

He was there that day. He never threw a rock. But he saw it all, nodding his approval, shouting his venom. But he was too young to throw a stone, so he helped in a small way by keeping safe the coats of the executioners. 

Saul had come to Jerusalem from his home in Tarsus some 350 miles to study under the revered teacher Gamaliel. He had recently completed his training, and he had been appointed and ordained to begin his vocation as a Pharisee. His life was in order. Except for this one thing. And it was consuming him.

On this matter young Saul departed from the ways of his mentor and teacher, Gamaliel. The old man had grown soft in his waning years. But not so his student. Saul was filled with growing rage at this new movement of followers of Jesus, that itinerant preacher from Nowheresville in Galilee. Nothing good can come from Nazareth. Everyone knew that. But this man was more than just a traveling motivational speaker. He created a powerful magnetic pull by his many teachings on grace, his railings against the (ahem!) Pharisees, and especially those miracles and wonders that he did. It all only served to make Jesus more dangerous, the way he disrespected the nation, the Pharisees, and the Law itself. Especially the way he insulted the very group to which Saul had always aspired to attain. Could this man be the Christ? Of course not! He insulted the most honored council in all of Judah, said that God was his Papa, and was turning the whole world upside down. He deserved what he got. He had it coming, that’s for sure. Good riddance, You Nazarene.

And now, here was Stephen. Lecturing the leaders on the history of God’s dealings with Israel.  And then suddenly interrupting his needless talk and he turns on the crowd of holy men, yelling, “You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit!” Stephen finished his speech with these fighting words, making him worthy of death: He said, “And now you have betrayed and murdered him–you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.” 

This is the third time this week that the Pharisees have been guilty of crucifying Jesus. Peter had presented a whole shopping list: 

“You handed him over to be killed.

You disowned him before Pilate.

You disowned the holy and righteous one 

and asked that a murderer be released to you.”

He had said very similar things back on the day of Pentecost. 

Talking about Jesus again: “Whom you killed by hanging him on a cross.”

And now come these scathing words from Stephen.

And so, Saul stands with the coats piled up around his feet.

What was it Gamaliel had said? If it is from God, nothing will be able to stop these men. Well, young Saul decides that he has been on the sidelines long enough. It is time for action! He will step out, to be found mowing down Christ followers. Saul the Pharisee will help to put some fear of God in this group that some have come to call The Way. And God will have his day once again. Saul would see to it himself. He will round these heretics up, and they will all tremble in fear at the mention of the name of Saul of tarsus. Because when Saul comes to town, heads will roll. 

He hadn’t done anything wrong yet, according to Gamaliel. He was just letting it happen.

Let me ask: Do you have anything at your feet? Any silent permissions for sin in others? Any passive participation in wrongdoing? 

To the one who knows what is right to do, and doesn’t do it, to him it is a sin. Any sins of omission in your life? What coats are at your feet? 

If you are not a peacemaker, then you are a peace breaker. If you are not bringing yourself and others closer to God, then you are backsliding. If you allow violence, disrespect and crime to flourish in your town because you don’t want to get involved, then coats are piling up at your feet. 

No, they aren’t YOUR coats. The coats belong to someone else. But there is a reason they are here, and not somewhere else, isn’t there? You are endorsing evil by saying nothing. As the saying goes, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing,” 

There is only one way out of this: Repent! Repent and take action for Jesus, rather than letting actions against him go on around you. 

Ready? Let us flee to the cross and lay down our burdens there. Only then can seasons of refreshing come.

0408 WELCOMING SAMARITANS INTO THE FAMILY

WELCOMING SAMARITANS INTO THE FAMILY

You might have noticed that the first multitude that came to Christ back on the day of Pentecost were described as “God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven.” Other translations call them “devout men.” As you may recall, Jerusalem had so many visitors that week because it was the time of the feast of Pentecost.

And so the church began, growing from a group of a dozen men, all from Galilee, to a multitude of 3000 souls from every nation under heaven (15 nations are mentioned as being among the crowd of listeners when Peter spoke). The church was all of one heart and one mind, to be sure. Yet it seemed to be widely diverse, at least in their languages. God had truly reversed the division of language just as surely as he had caused it back at Babel.

Widely diverse? Yes, they were. At least, they were diverse as long as you are only measuring language. Their unity had been real, but their diversity was actually somewhat lacking, in that everyone there was a devout, practicing Jew. 

Then came the first test of unity: Hellenistic Jews. Jews who were in the city for the feast of Pentecost, who spoke Greek and lived a more secular-appearing culture. The real test of unity occurs when people from different backgrounds try to live in complete agreement.. 

That unity was about to be tested again here in chapter 8. One of the twelve, Phillip the Evangelist, had just baptized an official from Ethiopia, and now found himself going to the region of Samaria, where Jewish practice had been compromised many generations ago. What would the Holy Spirit do among these outcasts and strangers?

The short answer is that the Spirit would say, “Make the circle bigger! Include those Samaritans who are not already committed Jews. There’s plenty of room in the family!”

Phillip found himself in the spiritually-barren wilderness of Samaria. So, he preached there. And people responded there,too. Imagine it: Samaritans coming to faith in Christ!

The apostles decided to send Peter and John to Samaria, where they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.

Who would have seen that coming? John, the brother who had urged Jesus to send fire and brimstone down on a Samaritan village that slighted them, sent to Samaria to bring them the Holy Spirit! And so the church grew.

We may aspire to have a magnetic fellowship, inclusive and open to any who genuinely seek the Lord. But there is a price to being open like that. Can we pray together as of one mind? Can we invest ourselves into a disabled individual to bring him full healing in Christ? Can we then speak boldly to teh religious leaders who stand in opposition to us? Can we pray earnestly for boldness to preach and work signs and wonders? Can we live in such a way that we have everything in common, and no one claims that items are their own? Can we confront those who lie to the Holy Spirit, and resolve conflict among us? Then maybe we will be ready for the next step, which is to begin to reach out to the marginalized, who are of a different heritage than ourselves. 

May the Lord shape us into such a magnetic fellowship that foreigners receive the Holy Spirit from our hands. Amen.

0409 WELCOMING A PHARISEE INTO THE FAMILY(?)

WELCOMING A PHARISEE INTO THE FAMILY?

We recently saw the introduction of a young and zealous Pharisee named Saul, who was an enemy of Christ. As far as I can tell, Saul had been there in Jerusalem for most of the time of the ministry of Jesus. He heard about the miracles, and he certainly knew about the teachings of rabbi Jesus in the temple area, no doubt about the cleansing of the temple, and likely he was even there for the trial at the home of the high priest, and mocking Jesus while he hung on the cross. Now we find him in the midst of him actively chasing down Christians to have them punished. It is easy to see how Saul would look back on his life and call himself, “the chief of sinners.”

In the north wall of the city of Jerusalem today, there is an ancient gate called the Damascus Gate. It was through that same gate that Saul passed on his way to persecute Christ in Damascus, a city about 136 miles north. And while he traveled that road, nearing the city of Damascus, Jesus appeared to him in a blinding light. He called Saul by name. Told him that he was “Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” And Saul the Pharisee had his whole world turned upside down in a moment. Jesus told him where to go, and Saul fasted and prayed for the next three days, trying to figure out what to do with this dramatic turn of worldview. Perhaps Jesus revealed to Saul how much he would suffer persecution himself for his name’s sake, and maybe the Lord was simply silent, allowing Saul to work through all this drama. Either way, apparently Saul needed some soak-in time. And Jesus kept the young man blind for those three long days.

The third day, Jesus appeared to Ananias, a believer there in Damascus. Ananias hears his name called out, and gives the perfect response: “Here I am.” He told him to go and pray for him to receive his sight. He told him Saul’s name, and even the address of where he was staying, what he had seen, and what Ananias was to do. Ananias has one important clarifying question: “Isn’t this the man who is persecuting your followers everywhere he goes?” Ananias had perhaps heard that Saul was on his way to the city, and he and the church there were preparing themselves for the onslaught that Saul had threatened.

But Jesus assures Ananias that Saul has a changed heart, and that he needs someone to lay hands on him, heal him, pray for him and send him on his way. So Ananias seeks no further clarification, hesitates no more, but simply goes in obedience to the call. Sometimes it works that way—we risk it all on the Lord.

Ananias arrives and declares the gospel to Saul, and then asks him why he hesitates to be baptized, washing away his sins. Upon hearing this, Saul is baptized and begins a new walk with the Holy Spirit as his guide. Saul stays in Damascus, now persuading people for the other side! In fact, I love that it says he was “proving that Jesus was the Christ.” This guy, Saul, who had been such an enemy of Jesus, nonetheless could not dismiss what he remembers of the teachings that he had heard, the evidence of the risen Christ.

And now Saul becomes the persecuted, rather than the persecutor. He becomes a follower of Jesus, and needed help to escape by the local brothers. He then moves to Jerusalem and speaks boldly to the leaders there.

The brothers there in Jerusalem were afraid of him. Understandably so. I mean this is where he had been putting members to death.But Joseph, called Barabbas, which means “son of encouragement,” introduced Saul around, and soon they all trusted Saul as a full brother. They even protected him and sent him back home to Tarsis to save him from the police. Considering what enemies the Pharisees were to the church, it is miraculous that someone like Barnabas comes along! And yet, when Jesus called, they all left everything for an even better future.

So let’s try some application:

Who is a modern day “Pharisee” in your opinion?  What are you doing with those Pharisees in the modern church? How can we follow the example of Saul and Barnabas if we were to move as boldly as they did?. Who in your circle would you say are like Ananias and Barnabas today. What can you and I learn from this jam-packed chapter of Scripture.

May we all love well, risk well, and preach well. Amen.

0410B WE ARE A FAMILY (SONG OF THE WEEK)

WE ARE A FAMILY

This song was written about 30 years ago, but has been modified several times since then. This is one of the later versions, designed for congregational singing, but with a bit more of a choral setting. I believe in the value of antiphonal singing (in this case men and women echoing one another) as a means of making us aware of each person in the room. The message is very significant to me, and that's why I keep revising it, trying to get it just right. Hope it encourages you.

All of us live in Christ together

None of us alone is complete

Each of us brings a gift to the others

Each of us carries a piece

All of us need all of us

The best of us needs the rest of us

No, None of us has it all together

but together we have all we need

We are the family of God

We are the body of Christ

Born of the Spirit of life

United in love

We are a household of faith

Built as a temple of prayer

Working together in hope

United in love

*(I apologize for the singing. That's all layers of me, as a placeholder for others to learn the part.)

0410 DID YOU SAY GENTILES?!?

DID YOU SAY GENTILES?!

Today we are reading one of the most detailed accounts of the Holy Spirit working in the early church. He appears to Cornelius in a daytime vision. This is especially significant because Cornelius is a Roman centurion who was a God-fearer, but clearly was a Gentile. Not that God never spoke to Gentiles in a dream, but this is a vision from an angel calling him by name! (Notice how often God has called to someone using their name?) And this is aimed specifically at the salvation of Cornelius and his household.

Cornelius is a God fearer. He has prayed Jewish prayers, and has given generously to the poor. He has been as good a Jew as most Jews are. That doesn’t mean he has earned anything, but that his heart is already right with God.

The angels tells him specifics: send men to Joppa. Find Simon Peter. He is staying at Simon the tanner’s house by the seaside. He sends three God-fearing men.

Meanwhile, God is speaking to Peter. He goes up onto the (flat) roof of the house to pray. He was hungry, and the tanner was downstairs preparing a meal. But this was not just a hunger dream for peter. He sees animals, which are unclean and forbidden for him to eat, he is told to rise and eat. He says no to the invitation. Then has the vision happen two more times, and go back up to heaven. 

Peter is inwardly perplexed by this confusing message. Why would God tell him to eat unclean meat? Oh, right! He said, “Do not call unclean what I have made clean.” Maybe that’s a significant detail. Why didn’t God explain himself? What is this all about? 

He’s still thinking about it when the message comes from downstairs: three men are at the door, specifically asking for you by name. Could this be related to the strange vision? Hmm. Peter goes downstairs.

The men explain Cornelius’ vision. Could this be related? It must be, but how? He invites the men to stay the night and tells them he will go with them in the morning. 

They enter Caesarea and go to Cornelius’ house. At this point, Peter would normally just call to him from outside his house, because a Gentile’s house is unclean. But something about the clean/unclean line has blurred in the last day for him. 

He enters the house and Cornelius falls down to honor Peter. The apostle tells him to stand up, because he is a man just like him. It turns out that the house is filled with family and friends that Cornelius has invited. And Peter tells them his life-changing story. He says it’s against their laws for him to enter a Gentile home or to associate with them. But (here Peter has put the puzzle together for the first time): “God has shown me that I should no longer think of anyone as impure or unclean.” (It was PEOPLE, not animals, that God was talking about!)

So, there is Cornelius. There is Peter. And Peter begins by sharing his new insight that “God shows no favoritism.” He then delivers a 60-second presentation of the Gospel to those in the house. 

Then, even as he is saying these things, the Holy Spirit falls upon all those who were listening to the message. They are speaking in other tongues and praising God. And it’s clear that this was the same thing that happened on Pentecost to the apostles and other Jewish believers. Peter and his Jewish companions are dumbfounded. In fact, they had received the Holy Spirit before they had even been baptized! 

So Peter concludes, can anyone object to these people being baptized when they receive the Holy Spirit the same as we did? And they baptized the whole household of people, and stayed for several days—in the home of a Gentile (who is a BROTHER!)! They teach. They share. They fellowship. As one body in Christ.

The barrier has been broken, and it took supernatural revelation to bring it about. But the church is now, and forever, ONE BODY! This will not go without being questioned and tested, because it is such a profound change. But the answer from the Lord is, “Enlarge the circle! These people, also, are my people!”

0411 REWRITING THE RULES

REWRITING THE RULES: GENTILES!!

The door had been opened for Gentiles to enter the kingdom of heaven alongside Jewish believers. Praise the Lord! But every matter needs to be established at the testimony of two or three witnesses. So if the community of faith is going to include Gentiles, such a momentous change needs initial confirmation by being scrutinized and approved. That’s the positive side of this new development.

The negative side of it is that when Peter returned to Jerusalem, word had already reached the Jewish believers that Peter, the one on whose testimony Jesus is building his kingdom, has just changed one of the basic rules: He entered the home of Gentiles and even ate with them!

Peter goes through the whole story again. His vision, the three visitors, the Holy Spirit falling on all those in the house. He concludes with, “since God gave these Gentiles the same gift he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to stand in God’s way?” It was a valid question. If God himself confirmed this exception, why continue to insist on keeping the old? Is this new wine, meant for new wine skins?

“When the others heard this, they stopped objecting and began praising God. They said, “We can see that God has also given the Gentiles the privilege of repenting of their sins and receiving eternal life.”” (V. 18) And so a new era was both launched and approved. It would yet need to be refined, as we may see in a later chapter.

And so, the page is turned. The door is opened. The circle is enlarged. The family has a new addition. And the next thing you know, we find the first Gentile-majority church! Believers were scattered by the persecution which Saul initiated, and they went back to their homes, or perhaps on to new places where the persecution of believers had not yet come. And when they scattered, some went to Antioch of Syria (now in southeast Turkey). Some of the believers were preaching only to Jews. But others, from Cyprus and Cyrene, began preaching to the Gentiles about the Lord Jesus. 

The message about Jesus comes across differently to a Gentile, you know. Most of them were not already familiar with the Old Testament Scriptures, the Law of Moses, the prophecies concerning Christ, the Roman occupation, the Messianic expectation, and so much more. So, the question will soon become, do we try to catch them up on all that they have missed, so that they can appreciate the Messianic fulfillment in Jesus of Nazareth? More on that later. 

In any case, “The power of the Lord was with them, and a large number of these Gentiles believed and turned to the Lord. [When the church at Jerusalem heard what had happened, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw this evidence of God’s blessing, he was filled with joy, and he encouraged the believers to stay true to the Lord. Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and strong in faith.] And many people were brought to the Lord. Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus to look for Saul. When he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. Both of them stayed there with the church for a full year, teaching large crowds of people. (It was at Antioch that the believers were first called Christians.)”

And now, rather than being (Jewish) believers, these who belong to the church at Antioch are given a new name: Christians. Christ followers. Little Christs. Amen.

0412 AN EFFECTIVE PRAYER MEETING

A PRAYER MEETING IN ACTION

Perhaps you remember when Wednesday evenings at many churches had what was called “Prayer Meeting.” I remember singing “Sweet Hour of Prayer,” and being amazed that the hymn writer spent a full hour praying—and LIKED it! On Wednesday evenings at our church, we certainly didn’t spend a full hour praying, and I couldn’t imagine liking it. 

Since that time, I have experienced a few times of extended worship and prayer, and I have marveled at the insights and the “coincidences” that arise. But miracles these days are relatively rare. And even if they happen, I often scrutinize the incident to be sure I’m not being deceived in some way.

So when I read in Acts about ten days of prayer and waiting, I am especially aware that the apostolic church was living on a much higher level than the one I tend to settle for. 

Maybe it’s good to get a small snapshot of a good old, old, old fashioned prayer meeting. Like the one at John Mark’s Momma’s house. It was Passover again, about a year after Jesus had been crucified. Many were gathered there for prayer, and they were going far into the night. Among other things, they were praying because the apostle James had just been killed with a sword by Herod. Less than a year into this new world, and the persecution was really getting real. 

They were also praying for the beloved apostle Simon Peter, who had been thrown into prison and was likely to meet the same fate as James when he would be tried before Herod in the morning. Long into the night they travailed in prayer, asking God to deliver their brother, to change the outcome, to give him peace, to help him to be strong. On and on they went, singing a psalm, reciting a Scripture, voicing a prayer, chanting the memorized prayers of the synagogue. Then someone might share a word of insight or revelation with the group, and then they started the cycle all over again.

On and on the vigil went. Seven o’clock. Nine. Eleven thirty. No one had felt any particular breakthrough, but there was still time before the trial itself. Earnestly they kept it up. Around midnight, the atmosphere seemed to change. A wave of hope stirred in the room. But no specific revelation. So they kept at it, with a renewed vigor. “Lord, stretch out your mighty hand to deliver Peter from the hand of the oppressor!”  

Some time after midnight, there came a soft, hurried knock on the door in the gate. Who could be coming at this hour? Most likely it wasn’t good, given the current situation. Well, at least the soldiers hadn’t broken the door down. Let’s keep on praying, but in softer voices. A twelve-year-old girl, Rhoda, who was a servant to a family in town, quietly got up to take a peek and see who or what was there.

Suddenly, Rhoda laughed and came running back into the middle of the room. “Peter is standing at the door!” she cried. 

Some laughed. Some cried. Some prayed. More than a few said to her, “You’re out of your mind!” And one extra-spiritual woman suggested that “It must be his angel.” Someone else prophesied, “behold, says the Lord, I stand at the door and knock.” They went back to praying.

And the knocking continued. Did Rhoda not open the door? Is whoever it was still standing at the door and knocking? Whoever it is, they are certainly being insistent.

This time, a handful of people from the meeting went out to the door, amazed to see–care to guess who it was? Yes, you in the back, you have a guess? Pizza delivery guy? Anyone ELSE have a guess? It was PETER! Oh, it was obvious, was it? 

 Peter himself standing there. Peter, who was imprisoned in an underground cell with one guard on either side of him, attached by chains to each of his hands. Other soldiers stood guard at the prison gate. Four squads of four soldiers each. Nobody was thinking of a jailbreak, to be sure.

Anyway, sure enough, it was Peter himself, miraculously delivered by an angel to walk right out past the guards and make his way here to the meeting. Everyone was clamoring to get close to Peter, to hear his story, to be of help in some way.

Peter motions for everyone to quiet down, and tells the story of how he was led to open the door of his cell, and walk to this place right here. It was God’s doing, from beginning to the end.

0413 A MOMENT OF HEAVEN ON EARTH

UNITY IN DIVERSITY (A MOMENT OF HEAVEN ON EARTH)

We have been talking about how the church grew, and how God’s will was made known to enlarge the circle by including God-fearers and Pharisees and Gentiles and Ethiopians. They were wealthy and connected, and they were poor and common servants, but they were one. One in heart and mind, sacrificing their time and money and energies for the common good. It was a moment of heaven on earth, even with the persecution and the challenges around them.

That’s when we come to the church at Antioch, a brief moment when the leadership of the church shaped its direction, and it is beautiful. The church had grown from twelve Galileans to an international Jewish body overnight, and now in less than a year, it had spread to much of the known world, just as Jesus had both predicted and commanded.

It brings us to a principle of principals. The principle is this: Whatever you want your church to become or grow into, model it in your up-front leadership. As the most evident example in American evangelical churches, if you are a church in a changing neighborhood and you want to reach the new group, you need to be ahead of the curve with who is on stage, who is speaking, what stories and people you use as illustrations, and so forth. 

To illustrate: Latinos are increasing in our community, and we want to show them Jesus. By all means, provide translation by one means or another. Have a food pantry, if that is needed for the socio-economic center. Have after school programs or other outreach events. But if you don’t have anyone up front, or on your leadership team, all of your efforts will feel like tokenism to the people you say you want to reach. You need to change your music and even your musicians, not just provide a translation of your own songs. You must be inside the culture, not just touching the fringes of it.

Having said that, take a look at the team of prophets in Antioch. See if it doesn’t feel like God wants the church to be a multi-cultural network of house churches. The five who are mentioned are these: “Among the prophets and teachers of the church at Antioch of Syria were Barnabas, Simeon (called “the black man”), Lucius (from Cyrene), Manaen (the childhood companion of King Herod Antipas), and Saul. One day as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Appoint Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have called them.” So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on them and sent them on their way.”

Antioch is in Syria, and was founded by the Greeks as they conquered the region. It was a main center for Hellenistic Jews (remember them? Jews who spoke in Greek during the week, and whose culture resembled more secular ideals.)

Barnabas was sent from the apostles in Jerusalem to check on the Gentile outreach at Antioch. He was a Levite (of the priestly tribe of Levites) from Cyprus (an island in the Mediterranean Sea which is a mix of Syrian, Turkish and Greek culture) who lived in Jerusalem, and was a “good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith.”

Simeon (a Jewish name) has the Latin nickname of Niger (“the Black”). His name is Hebrew, so he is Jewish, and may have been from the strong Jewish presence in Ethiopia (remember the man from Ethiopia whom Philip introduced to Jesus, and how he was reading from Isaiah?). In any case, his skin was darker than most.

Lucius is a Latin name. As such, he was more likely than not a Gentile. He is from Cyrene in North Africa. Remember how a group from Cyrene had first come to preach the gospel to Gentiles in Antioch? (11:20) Perhaps he was part of that group.

Manaen is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Menahem, which means “comforter.” It says he was brought up with Herod the Tetrarch. Herod was a Roman governor who was nominally Jewish. He was the guy who put John the Baptist in prison and then to death. If he was brought up with him, it seems he had some sort of connection with government and wealth in his background.

Saul is a Jewish name, and, of course, Saul had been a Pharisee of Pharisees, being an active enemy of Jesus and a persecutor of Christians. He was from Tarsus, which was a city in western Turkey, but had lived in Jerusalem while studying under Gamaliel. After his conversion, Barnabas had introduced him to the church in Jerusalem, but there was some controversy among the believers in Jerusalem over his loyalty, based on his past behavior. So Barnabas had ushered him back to safety at home in Tarsus. But now Barnabas has gone to fetch Saul and have him join him in ministry to the Jews and Gentiles in Antioch.

Such a diverse group of prophets! I imagine that they traveled among the various house churches in Antioch, both Jewish and Gentile, and of various ethnicities. In any case, they stayed and taught there for a year.

So the stage is set for the next stage in this brief moment of heaven on earth. In the first place, the ideal moment is that the prophets and teachers were worshiping the Lord and fasting. (Did you say worshiping?) In the second place, they heard from the Lord while they were doing so. What’s not clear from the text here is whether Barnabas and Saul had already felt the call, and the church all knew what it was: to reach out and plant churches throughout the world. Or perhaps the call was just coming to everyone in that moment. Either way, it is clearly the leading of the Holy Spirit to bring them to this point.

May God grant his church today to rediscover evangelism, missions and multi-culturalism. Amen.

0414 MUST WE SUFFER?

MUST WE SUFFER?

What an odd message this would be for the American church today: “We must suffer many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God.” Seems harsh, doesn’t it? I think that most of us who are trying to convince people to come to church are way over on the other side of that fence. We say, “Come as you are.” “A place where everyone is welcome.” “You are loved.” “Something good is going to happen to you today.” 

It would be like advertising all the hard, more advanced parts of the gospel. “Don’t you dare to come without a tithe.” “God wants all of you.” “Today’s sermon: repent or die!” “Come and change.” That’s how it sounds when Paul and Barnabas encourage the new believers to continue in the faith, reminding them that we must suffer many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God. (v. 22)

What is the context for such a counter-intuitive exhortation? To begin with, remember that Saul, now also known as Paul, had been putting Christians into prison and having them executed. 

But after his conversion, Paul/Saul also experienced the other side of suffering for the good news. They had been sent out from Antioch, they came to the island of Cyprus. When they got to the city of Paphos, they met with the governor, who would soon become a believer. In the meantime, a certain man who was a sorcerer tried to argue with them and undermine their message. That led to Paul confronting him and declaring him blind for perverting the ways of the Lord.

The next town they came to, they came to the synagogue, as usual, and there they were given a request to speak. “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, come and give it.” Paul did. And as often is the case, jealous Jewish leaders stood in strong opposition to these two apostles. They slandered Paul and argued against whatever he said. The apostles turned to preach to the Gentiles. So the Jewish leaders in town “stirred up the influential religious women and the leaders of the city, and they incited a mob against Paul and Barnabas and ran them out of town.”

The same thing happened in Iconium. Great initial success in the synagogue, but some of the Jews “spurned God’s message and poisoned the minds of the Gentiles against Paul and Barnabas.” A mob was coming to stone them, so the two apostles fled. And they preached the gospel elsewhere.

In the next town of Lystra, Paul healed a crippled man in the name of Jesus. The miracle was overwhelming. And it led these idol-worshiping citizens of Lystra to conclude that they were gods, and they started to make sacrifices to them. They were barely able to convince them to stop, when some Jews from the last two towns came in and won the crowds to their side. They stoned Paul and “dragged him out of town, thinking he was dead. But as the believers[c] gathered around him, he got up and went back into the town. The next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.” 

They made many disciples in Derbe, and then went on a whirlwind tour back home by going through the towns they had been to on the first half of their journey. That’s when they said what they did about entering the kingdom through hardships. And, I’m sure, it’s also why the people there believed it to be true. They had seen hardships. 

A few years later, Paul reviewed all of his sufferings while presenting his apostolic credentials. It takes strong convictions to knowingly enter into such dangerous places and to keep you hopeful at the end of the day.

What shall we say to this challenge, church of America? If Christianity became illegal, would you still choose to follow Jesus? And if they caught you, would there be enough evidence to convict you? I find these questions to be nearly impossible to answer for me. I have strained some friendships by my stand on certain issues. I have been called Jesus Freak. But I know that I’m not one.

I wonder why I’m not enduring such strong persecution for Christ? Hmm. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I’m not converting half of a town in one week. No one would have a reason to be jealous of me and my converts.

Maybe it’s true. Maybe you really DO have to endure many hardships to enter the kingdom of God. May you be bold and speak the truth without compromise, being filled with the Holy Spirit when you do. Amen.