Sunday, April 27, 2008



"I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth."

Though his real name was Joseph, he became known as “Barnabas,” an apt nickname meaning “song of Encouragement.” Barnabas had a knack for recognizing and encouraging others’ potential. His most notable beneficiary? None other than the apostle Paul.

Even after his dramatic conversion, Paul frightened Jewish Christians- so much so that when he reached Jerusalem they all kept their distance. Wasn’t this the fire-breather who had hurt so many believers? But Barnabas took his life in his hands and went to see Paul. Convinced that his conversion was genuine, Barnabas led Paul to the apostles and introduced them (9:26-27)

Later, when the first Gentile church sprang to life in Antioch, Barnabas encouraged these new Christians and then thought of a role for Paul (11:25-26). Barnabas helped Paul find his real calling: to nurture churches that crossed Jewish-Gentile lines. (Paul would eventually become known as the “Apostle to the Gentiles.”) Soon God would handpick the two of them to leave Antioch on the first missionary journey (13:1-3).

Reflection
It’s interesting to examine your life to see if there has ever been a time when you are pulled in an opposite direction from family, friends, or church. In chapter 13, there is an incident- that is the first of several occasions in Acts- showing Paul turning away from the Jews. When the Jews rejected his message, he went to the Gentiles. Eventually he became known as the “Apostle to the Gentiles,” even though he maintained a deep love for his own people. (Romans 9:1-5)

Sunday, April 20, 2008



As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"

Acts 9 shows a glimpse of the early church even before it has a name. Its members live in constant fear of arrest and persecution- if not from the Romans, then from the Jewish authorities. Already a leader named Stephen has been publicly stoned. And no one inspires more fear in the hearts of the early Christians than a man named Saul, who participated in Stephen's execution.

Then comes a miraculous turnabout on the road to Damascus. (Said to be the oldest continually occupied city in the world, Damascus is the capital of present-day Syria.) Saul opposes the new sect so fiercely that he undertakes the 150-mile journey from Jerusalem in order to persecute Christians there. His "Damascus road encounter" abruptly alters his mission. In a supernatural intervention, God converts, rather than destroys, the chief enemy of his young church.

Acts retells the events of this chapter in several places, for Saul's conversion shakes the world of his day. Such is his murderous reputation, however, that other Christians mistrust him and welcome him only gradually.

Against all odds, God taps Saul, the former persecutor, to lead the young church. Soon he has a new name, Paul, and is on the other side of the persecutors' whips; his former colleagues are now trying to kill him because of his effectiveness in bringing others to Christ. In the end, Paul has to flee the Jewish zealots he originally came to aid.

Although Luke does not mention it, sometime during this period Paul withdraws to Arabia, where he has an extended time to think through his new faith and mission (Galatians 1:17). In the course of four great missionary journeys, Paul will take the Good News of the gospel around the shores of the Mediterranean, and he also finds time to write many letters to his new converts.

Reflection

Former alcoholics can be the best individuals to convince others of the dangers of excessive drinking. Likewise, exiles from Communist countries- like the world author Alexander Solzhenitsyn, can become the most vehement anti-Communists...so it shouldn't be all that surprising that when the Book of Acts introduces the most effective Christian missionary of all time, he turns out to be a former bounty hunter of Christians.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008



When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

Thousands of Christians have died for their faith over the centuries. Even today Christians are persecuted in countries like Algeria, Iran, Sudan, and China. Stephen was the first martyr, setting the standard for all Christians who have come under fire for their faith.

While on trial, Stephen spoke so courageously and clearly that members of the sophisticated Sanhedrin lost all control. They gnashed their teeth, covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, rushed at Stephen in their fury. Then, in a mob action, they stoned him to death. (Acts 7:54-60).

Stephen had begun his public service for Christ when the apostles chose him, with six others, to make sure that Greek-speaking widows got their fair share of food. As it turned out, he did far more than administrate charity. God gave him the power to do miracles and to speak convincingly to other Greek-speaking Jews. However, Stephen angered the religious establishment for some of the same reasons Jesus did. Religious authorities claimed that he had dishonored their revered temple and the Old Testament law. There was a shred of truth in the charges. For Stephen, God's grace was greater than any building or any rule book.

At his trial, Stephen presented his case loudly and clearly. He recast the history of Israel as the story of God saving his people in spite of their stubborn resistance. Had anything changed? The very people who most honored the temple and the law- weren't these the same ones who "betrayed and murdered"" Jesus?

Like Jesus, Stephen was tried and executed because he had upset the establishment. Like Jesus, he died breathing forgiveness, not condemnation. Even while dying, he prayed for those who were stoning him. Stephen's final prayer was answered spectacularly, for a man named Saul stood among the persecutors. As Augustine said, "If Stephen had not prayed, the church would not have had Paul."

Reflection
Courage is the name of the game in chapter 7. Even though the early part of Stephen's speech must have please his Jewish audience- referencing famous ancestors such as Abraham, Moses, and David- Stephen quickly turned his listeners against him and directly attacked their establishment. He compared their treatment of Jesus with earlier Jewish rejection of God's messengers. He also criticized Jewish temple worship, claiming that "the Most High does not live in houses made by men". As a final commentary, Stephen brazening called the high priests of the Sanhedrin traitors and murderers. Undoubtedly, Stephen must have known that we was risking his life here, but his faith in Christ was so strong that he was willing to lay down his own life to pave the way for the young church to grow.

Saturday, April 12, 2008



Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.

The disciples, newly empowered with the Holy Spirit, start acting, well, like Jesus. They go to the temple and preach sermons; they heal the sick and meet the needs of the poor. Meanwhile, the new church grows by leaps and bounds.

An honest account, Acts tells of problems that spring up alongside the successes. As the church becomes popular, sorcerers and magicians drop in, drawn by the reports of healings and other wonders. Wealthy people, like Ananias and Sapphira, see the church as a place to attract applause for their benevolence. Such opportunistics learn that the apostles, not to mention God, will not tolerate corruption in the fledgling church.

The focus of concern soon shifts from internal problems to outside opposition. The same forces that conspired against Jesus now align themselves against the new phenomenon of the church. Every so often they haul in the church's leaders, but for what can they prosecute them- healing the sick? Inciting people to praise God? The Christians hardly resemble dangerous conspirators. They usually meet openly on the temple porch.

Even so, religious leaders beat and jail the apostles on trumped-up charges. What happens next should show the establishment what they are up against: The apostles respond to the beatings with praise to God for the privilege of suffering in his name, and an angel of the Lord springs them free from jail. Gamaliel, a wise old Pharisee, has perhaps the best advice of all: "Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will bot be able to stop these men" (verses 38-39). He could not have been more prophetic.

Reflection

Each time that I read this chapter, I can't help but question whether this punishment wasn't a bit harsh. Certainly, it would appear that other Biblical characters committed crimes that most folks would deem worse than that of Ananias and Sapphira. Yet, as Peter makes clear, Ananias and Sapphira were punished not for holding back money but for lying about it. They were misrepresenting themselves spiritually, trying to appear especially pious and generous. At the very beginning of the church, God set a stern standard of absolute honesty and integrity.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008




Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit...

Thousands of pilgrims are milling about in Jerusalem on a Jewish holiday. Meanwhile Jesus' followers, in keeping with his instructions, have gathered in a small group indoors, where they patiently await what has been promised. With a sound like a violent wind and a sight like flames of fire, it happens. The Holy Spirit, the presence of God himself, takes up residence inside ordinary bodies- their bodies. Soon everyone in Jerusalem is talking about the Jesus-followers. Pilgrims from all over the world are astonished to hear the Galileans' message in their own native languages. Clearly, something is afoot.

Peter, once a cowardly apostle who once denied Jesus three times to save his own neck, now brazenly takes on both the Jewish and Roman authorities. Quoting from King David and the prophet Joel, he proclaims that his audience has just lived through the most important event of all history. "God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact," he says. He goes on to declare Jesus as the very Messiah, the fulfillment of the Jews' long-awaited dream.

Three thousand people respond to Peter's powerful message that day. And thus the Christian church is born. The group of new believers, at first a mere annoyance to the Roman and Jewish authorities, does not stop growing. Just as Jesus predicted, the message spreads throughout the region, and in less than one generation, it penetrates Rome, the center of civilization.

In an era when new religions are a dime a dozen and disappear virtually overnight, the Christian faith instead becomes a worldwide phenomenon. It all begins with this scene on the day of Pentecost.

Reflection

I can't say that I've ever actually seen someone change "overnight" by an encounter with Christ, but the disciple Peter certainly had an abrupt change of heart. This same man not too long ago cowered in the shadows a the trial scene, trying to look inconspicuous. Out of fear of arrest, he had even cursed and denied knowing Jesus. Yet now, in these second and third chapters of Acts, we see a courageous man standing before the most distinguished religious leaders in the land, blasting them as murderers.

Saturday, April 5, 2008



"It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

The New Testament divides neatly into two equal sections. The first consists of four Gospels that tell about Jesus' life on Earth. The second section, beginning with Romans, concerns churches that sprang up after Jesus left. In between stands the book of Acts- answering the question how in the world Christ's story has traveled all the way to Rome from Jerusalem in a relatively short period of time.

For 40 days after the resurrection, Jesus appears and disappears seemingly at will. When he shows up, his followers listen eagerly to his explanations of all that has happened. When he leaves, they plot the structure of the new kingdom that he will surely inaugurate. They simply long for a Jerusalem, free at last from Roman domination. Expecting a kingdom along the lines of the nation of Israel in the Old Testament and no matter how many times Jesus has explained the invisible kingdom and the way of the cross, it never seems to penetrate the disciple's thinking.

In this first chapter of Acts, Jesus gives some mystifying orders, however. He tells his followers to return to Jerusalem and simply wait. "Do no leave the city," he says, "until the Holy Spirit comes." At last one of the disciples asks Jesus the question they have all been discussing together: "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"

No one is prepared for what happens next. Jesus seems to brush the question aside, deflecting attention away from Israel and toward neighboring countries, all the way to the ends of the earth. He mentions the Holy Spirit again, and then, to their utter amazement, his body lifts off the ground, suspends there for a moment, and then disappears into a cloud. And they never see him again.

Reflection

I've often wondered what the disciples must have felt like immediately following the Ascension. "Where's the prize?" comes to mind. It undoubtedly came as quite a shock that there was not going to be any tangible gift given to them...(i.e.- a restored kingdom free of Roman rule), but instead an invisible character boost, given by the Holy Spirit, to go out and spread the good news of Jesus Christ to all the non-believers. Quite a task for a small group of unassuming men from the surrounding area of Galilee.