Acts 11:1-18

Dear RTB’ers, 

Today I saw two items that struck me: unity within the church and apostolic leadership. First, unity: Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him, saying… (vv. 1-2) There is initial doubt among the Jewish Christians of the Gentiles becoming believers, but then Peter tells his full story. When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God… (v. 18a). My Study Bible also pointed out a number of other unification items that we have seen thus far in Acts 6:5, 11:1, 11:22.

Second, apostolic leadership: the Jerusalem leadership of the church was quick to double-check work that was going on elsewhere. You may recall back in Acts 8 that Peter and John were sent to Samaria after Philip and others had been preaching to the Samaritans. Now we have the church “testing” Peter’s activities in Caesarea. We continue to have that apostolic leadership in our church today. Our priests are subject to our bishops and our bishops to our Archbishop and Archbishop Beach to God Himself. But this leadership is a two-way interaction. Foley Beach, our Bishop and Archbishop offers advice and counsel to rectors in ADOTS, but he also seeks their input and input from other leaders within GAFCON on matters where discussion is needed. Without this model of apostolic leadership unrestrained pastors and teachers can create problems that wisdom “from above” might have forestalled. We at St. Andrew’s are truly blessed!

One more item on this apostolic leadership – think back to our own beginnings in 2003/2004. When this “group of 80” was willing to leave St. John’s and call David Brannen as their rector, the first thing that they did was to seek a “covering” for themselves. This they found in the Ugandan Diocese of Bunyoro-Kitara, wherein they received the Godly leadership of Bishop Nathan, a relationship that is still strong in our church today. GLORY!!

Blessings!

Acts 10:34-48

Dear RTB’ers, 

My apologies for not posting yesterday. We had driven through the night, through hours of drenching rain and arrived at my sister’s, safe but tired. Posting was just not in me!

So, yesterday’s reading (Acts 9:43-10:33) – Peter and Cornelius. The story is relatively straightforward, an angel appearing to Cornelius and the Spirit speaking to Peter, all leading to today’s conclusion. First, a confusing statement, Peter speaking: 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. (vv. 34-35) Obvious question: Gandhi…? Other “good” people? What does it mean to be “acceptable to Him”? How to reconcile Peter’s statement with Jesus’ own words, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6) But this is a longer theological discussion!!

God raised Him on the third day and made Him to appear, not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead. (vv. 40-41) The Gospels only report on Jesus’ appearances with His disciples, but in reading about these appearances, Jesus is not appearing to anyone beyond His disciples. And Peter makes it clear here that Jesus appeared only to His disciples, which begs the question – why did Jesus not appear to anyone except His disciples? I’m imagining the impact He might have had if He had appeared to Pontius Pilate or to Annas or Caiaphas or other influential Jewish leaders. Look at the impact He had on Paul – and on the entire Christian Church to this day – when He appeared to him. But please bear with me – with all that, it is always clear to me that I am not God!! He did what He did for His purposes.

And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. (v. 45) This is a striking outcome, completely unexpected by Peter and his friends. A few years ago I posted about Cornelius’ “expectant faith” – that he had an expectation that things would be done according to what he believed God was doing. So here we have an example of an “un-expectation” – God “showed up” in the form of the Holy Spirit and surprised Peter and his friends. Unexpectant faith! God can and will show up when we least expect Him. That is, when there are “hard cases” out there where we don’t see any possibility for God to act – He can! Have you got anyone or anything in mind right now? Specific people? Ukraine? Israel/Hamas? Pray and wait, wait and pray. Thank you, Lord!

Blessings!

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See also: November 25 (2023) / Acts 10-12

Please see the May 10 post.

Acts 9:32-42

Dear RTB’ers,

Peter healing one man and raising one woman. My Study Bible pointed out that Jesus had brought three people back from death – Jairus’ daughter (Mark 5), the only son of a widow (Luke 7), and Lazarus (John 11). Peter was with Jesus on each of those occasions; he had witnessed those events. But there is one item particularly significant in Peter raising Dorcas – before he spoke and Dorcas awakened, Peter knelt down and prayed (Acts 9:40). He knew that he was powerless, except in the power of the Holy Spirit!

Now as Peter went here and there among them all… (v. 32) Peter, a modern-day bishop, visiting “congregations” throughout the region… What a remarkable turnaround for the man who had denied Jesus! One interesting item to close today: And he stayed in Joppa for many days with one Simon, a tanner. (v. 43) A tanner works with dead animals, so Simon the tanner would have been “unclean” every day by Jewish standards. Surely Peter knew this and he was willing to move on from that restriction.

Blessings!

Acts 9:19b-31

Dear RTB’ers,

More Saul activity today. When many days had passed… (v. 23a). Luke writes “many days”, but to learn more we go to Paul’s own writings. He tells his story in Galatians 1:13 ff, and his “many days” turns out to be three years. So he was in Damascus and the neighboring Arabian desert for these three years before he ever went up to Jerusalem. During that time in the desert he apparently spoke regularly with either Jesus or the Holy Spirit. An STS note suggests that Paul’s visit to Arabia fits in between verses 21 and 22. I would suggest that it fits equally well after verse 22 or after 23. Here’s Paul explaining those events in his own writing: But when He … called me … I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem …; but I went away to Arabia, and returned once more to Damascus. Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem… (Galatians 1:15-18)

One item that I always like to point out is the role of Barnabas, one of my favorite Bible characters. When even after three years the disciples in Jerusalem were afraid to meet with Saul, it was trustworthy Barnabas who brought him forward and defended him. (Acts 9:27) We had earlier met Barnabas in Acts 4:36 when he sold land and gave the money to the apostles. We will see him again at length in Acts 12:25, ff.

A few days ago when we met Gamaliel (Acts 5:38b-39) I commented that Paul was his student (Acts 22:3a). Here is more of Paul speaking of his training: “I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen, being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions.” (Galatians 1:14) Now today we see that training being played out as he preached Jesus: immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues… (v. 20a); But Saul kept … confounding Jews who lived in Damascus… (v. 22a); and …he was talking and arguing with the Hellenistic Jews… (v. 29a). Paul was well prepared for the ministry that God had set before him!

Blessings!

Acts 9:1-19a

Dear RTB’ers,

Damascus is about 150 miles from Jerusalem, a five- or six-day journey by foot. [NOTE: In paintings Saul is often depicted as falling from a horse.] Why would Saul request permission to travel so far to round up Christians? Galilee was less than half the distance. Were there no believers in the Apostles’ hometowns? Why Damascus?

Different scholars have counted 56 and 57 times that the Holy Spirit is mentioned in the book of Acts. And we see one here today, with Ananias speaking: Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. (v. 17b) No doubt, from this point on Saul led a Spirit-filled life!

The Lord has a long back-and-forth conversation with Ananias – seven verses (Acts 9:10-16). There are probably others, but I can recall only one other incident in Scripture when we see the Lord having a long conversation with one person – when He appears as a burning bush to Moses in Exodus 3:4-4:17 (36 verses!).

Jesus refers to Saul by his given name: “Saul, Saul…” (v. 4b). Likewise, Ananias addresses him as “Brother Saul…” (v. 17b) He is also referred to as Saul in chapters 11 and 12. It’s not until chapter 13 that we have Saul’s name changed to Paul, and there it is pointed out only incidentally: But Saul, who was also called Paul… (Acts 13:9a) Thereafter (as I recall) he is never referred to as Saul again. This incidental renaming of Saul to Paul stands in direct contrast to Jesus’ renaming of Peter: And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church… (Mt. 16:17-18a) So we have the two great leaders of the early church both undergoing a renaming, Simon to Peter and Saul to Paul. Interesting.

Blessings!

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See also: November 27 (2023) / Acts 8:4-9:43

Acts 8:26-40

Dear RTB’ers,

Yesterday we read about Philip, one of the seven deacons mentioned in Acts 6 going north from Jerusalem to preach to Samaritans. Today the Spirit takes Philip south of Jerusalem toward Gaza where he meets the Ethiopian eunuch. Then after the eunuch is baptized, the Spirit snatches Philip away and he “found himself at Azotus” (v. 40), one of the five Philistine cities (from King David’s time). Then he preaches to cities along the way (some sixty miles) until he gets to Caesarea. Then we don’t hear from Philip again until Acts 21:8 when Paul and Luke stay at his house in Caesarea some twenty-five years later. Put yourself into Philip’s place – north to the Samaritans, south toward Gaza, west to Azotus, then north to Caesarea. Quite a bit of traveling and Spirit leading!!

After being baptized the eunuch went on his way “rejoicing”. So I wonder what happened after that? The eunuch had come to Jerusalem to worship (Acts 8:27), so clearly he was familiar with Judaism. There must have been a synagogue in the capital city where he lived and he might have been a regular there, one of those “God-fearing Gentiles” that we read about later. Now he returns to Ethiopia “rejoicing”. (Acts 8:39) I’m sure that Philip’s teaching stayed with the eunuch and that he shared Jesus with others at his synagogue. No doubt many of the Jews at his synagogue had been in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, so they would have known about Jesus. Put it all together and I can see many conversions of these Ethiopian Jews! We don’t know that, but the excitement that new believers exude can be infectious!

So where does that leave us “old believers”? Are we rejoicing and sharing? I regularly go back to Peter and John in Acts 4:20: We can’t help but speak of the things we have seen and heard! REJOICE!!

Blessings!

Acts 8:5-25

Dear RTB’ers,

Jesus speaking, “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.” (Acts 1:8) We saw this verse a couple of weeks ago as an outline of the book of Acts. Today we see Jesus’ words being fulfilled: Philip went down to the city of Samaria…(v. 5a) and Now when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans. (v. 25) We have seen the apostles ministering in Jerusalem in Acts 2-7. Now Philip has moved north (down!) to Samaritan territory. Recall that upstanding Jews had nothing to do with Samaria, believing that they were an unholy people who had been “infected” by intermarriage with people from other religions. [Recall Jesus and the “woman at the well” in John 4.] Yet we see Philip going directly to Samaria to preach. We’ll see more outreach to non-Jews throughout the book of Acts. In fact, it’s a major issue within the early church, whether Gentiles had to “become Jews” when they believed as Christians.

I am impressed by the early church’s apostolic oversight – sending Peter and John to Samaria, …when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God (v. 14a). Later the apostles will want to hear from Peter about his visit to Cornelius (Acts 10-11) and Paul’s outreach to the Gentiles throughout much of the rest of Acts. They provided us a good model for our own Anglican structure – from the parish (priest) to the diocese (bishop) to ACNA (archbishop). In our structure there is always oversight from above.

Blessings!

Acts 7:44-8:4

Dear RTB’ers,

Our third day of Stephen’s testimony – the climax. I’ve always loved Stephen’s change of tone at Acts 7:51 (and following): You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit… Before that he had been basically a story-teller, recounting Jewish history, although he was clearly leading up to temple worship and Jesus’ death. We have a hint of a change in tone in Acts 7:48: Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says… I can sense the Jewish leaders taking offense at that statement, but they let him go on, not wanting to challenge his Isaiah quote. But then Acts 7:51-53…!!

At times I wonder about these speeches (and even some of the events). Luke was not one of the twelve apostles; how did he get his information when he wrote his Gospel or when he wrote Acts? He had to have access to some insiders who could relay the details of the events or of the speeches. For this particular event and Stephen’s speech, however, Luke had a trusty eyewitness – Saul, later named Paul, who was present at the event. (Acts 7:58b, 8:1) Also, Stephen has two of the same quotes as Jesus on the cross: Lord Jesus, receive My spirit. and Lord, do not hold this sin against them. (Acts 7:59b, 60b) It’s easy to ask whether Stephen really said these things, since these quotes from Jesus are from Luke, (Luke 23: 34, 46), and are not in the other Gospels. I accept all words of Scripture as “God-breathed” (II Timothy 3:16), so I do not dispute that Stephen said these words. But it’s one of the ways in which non-believers attack Scripture as a product of men, not inspiration from the Holy Spirit. Just that…

Stephen sees Jesus …standing at the right hand of God. (Acts 7:55b, 56b) Jesus’ normal position is to be seated at the Father’s right hand, as He Himself said (Luke 22:69). But Stephen sees Jesus STANDING at God’s right hand. I picture Jesus as Stephen’s defense attorney standing before the Father, the Judge if you will, pleading for Stephen’s life, his entry into heaven upon his death. And Luke writes this exact word TWICE, in verses 55 and 56. I sense that Luke wanted to make that point crystal clear, that Jesus stands before the Father in defense of any who come before the Father and have committed their life to Him. That’s powerful!

The Jews stoned Stephen outside the city (Acts 7:58). They had cast him out (driven him out, dragged him out, according to different translations), so it was imperative to them that they commit this deed outside the city. Did they consider the city itself, not just the temple, such a holy place? Strange.

Blessings!

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See also: November 23 (2023) / Acts 6:1-8:3

Acts 7:9-43

Dear RTB’ers,

STS has Stephen’s long discourse broken down into three days’ readings. Yesterday, the first day was the introduction, going only as far as the patriarchs – Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Today’s reading touches on Joseph and his deliverance of Israel (his father, Jacob and his brothers (Acts 7:9-16)), but is mostly focused on Moses (Acts 7:20-40). The third day, tomorrow will be the climax to which Stephen is building. After we read tomorrow, it would be good to go back to verse 2 and read Stephen’s entire sermon as a whole.

…this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer… (v.35b) and This man led them out, performing wonders and signs… (v. 36a) Stephen is building his case, clearly looking forward to Jesus in these two sentences. His “this man” in both sentences is referring to Moses, but it is also clear to Stephen that another “this Man”, Jesus, was doing the same things – ruling and redeeming and performing wonders and signs. And as Moses was rejected by his own people, so will Jesus also be rejected by the Jewish leaders.

So, tomorrow, the climax of these three days’ readings of Stephen’s sermon.

Blessings!