Healing the Lame Man

Peter and John got themselves arrested when they healed the paralytic (Acts 3) and preached to the people about the forgiveness of sins.  It seems the religious establishment was not fond of this message.

Funny.  Same thing happened to Jesus when He healed a lame man and preached the forgiveness of sins (Matthew 9). 

Jesus and Paul

Jesus tells us (in Luke 24) that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name.  Luke's gospel tells us about Christ's death and resurrection.  Luke's sequel [Acts] tells us about the preaching part. 

As we read through Acts, we see many similarities in stories between Jesus and Paul.  They were both opposed by the Jews.  They both did miracles.  They both traveled around, preaching and forgiving sin, beginning in the synagogue.  They were both arrested when innocent.  But Paul does not die.  (Well, yes, he died.  Eventually.  But that's not recorded in Acts.)

And that's because only Christ's death counts for our salvation.

The Holy Ghost Is Not Confetti

... but nevertheless the analogy keeps resurfacing in my mind.

It's that time of year when the maple trees are dropping their helicopter seeds.  It's that time of year when little children gather up handfuls of helicopters and thrrrrrow them up into the air, to spin and spread and float everywhere.

Or imagine the kind of confetti that flies everywhere during a ticker-tape parade.

Remember the story of the sower and the seed (Mark 4)?  The guy sowing the seed was reckless.  He took handfuls of seed and threw it everywhere.  He spread it and spread it and spread it.  Even where it would never grow.

The Holy Spirit can never be separated from the Word.
The Word can never be separated from the Holy Spirit.

Pentecost is that word --that Spirit-- blowing where the Lord wills.  Everywhere.

Heading Out for the Gathering

In Acts, we read a couple of times about how Paul wanted to go to Jerusalem for Pentecost.

You know what it sounds like to me?  It sounds like the great Lutheran migration to Fort Wayne in January (or maybe even here in June).  It requires planning and travel.  Other work must be arranged around the pilgrimage.  For those who can go, they eagerly anticipate the worship and theological discussion and seeing friends.  Those who cannot make the trip know they're missing out on something, but nevertheless stay where they are and do what's necessary at home.

What IS This Crazy-Talk?

Mark 3 -- They accuse Jesus of having a demon in Him.  What He's saying is so outlandish. 

Acts 2 -- On Pentecost, they accuse the apostles of being drunk in the middle of the morning.  Who ever heard such crazy-talk like what they were preaching?

Forgiveness.
For sinners.
Who certainly don't deserve it.

Not your standard religious message.

Biblical Numbers

They may be cool, but are they important? 

They must be.  Between Jesus' ascension and Pentecost, the apostles decided they needed to replace Judas.  WHY?

For some reason, these guys knew that eleven wasn't an okay number.  There were supposed to be twelve.  (Okay, so they didn't get it that there was a twelfth, and God would send Paul along in due time.  That's irrelevant for the moment.)  Regardless of who the twelfth would be, they knew that something about the twelveness was important. 

I'm betting that there are other numbers that are more important than I can understand too.

They Received the Word with Joy

When we studied Acts, we observed that the apostles always went first to the synagogues.  Sometimes the people would just eat up everything the apostles preached.  Other times the people listening got all hacked off and decided that murdering the preacher was a good plan.

When Jesus sent out the seventy, He told them to go preach.  He warned them that in some towns they would not be received. 

Jesus said on several occasions that the Old Testament Scriptures were about Him.  They testified of Him.  They told what the Messiah would do.  And yet, somehow, the Jewish leaders of His day didn't want that.  They had a different concept of what the Messiah would be ... and it certainly included some pats on the back for them and their self-made holiness.

It makes me wonder if the response to the preachers might have been indicative of the faith beforehand.  Yes, I know that the preaching could and did soften hearts.  I know that the preaching of the Gospel created faith where there was no fear, love, and trust in God before.  But do we also see people in the Bible who were firmly committed to a [false] faith in how good/nice/helpful/obedient they were?  If Jesus or an apostle came and had no regard for their self-made goodness, people would be ticked.  On the other hand, Jews who already believed in the promise of the Gospel shown forth in the Old Testament, the ones who trusted that the Messiah would save them, those folks would receive the apostles' Word with joy. 

Concerning Judas

In our Bible story today (Acts 1) Peter is saying that the disciples ought to figure out who might replace Judas, and they end up with Matthias.

Did you ever think about how hard it must have been for them to have lost Judas? Sure, sure, they had much bigger things going on: their master arrested and tortured and killed, their denying Him, the resurrection and their initial disbelief of it, and the whole thing of "What now?" and waiting.

But think about what it would be like if it were you; y'know, they lived with Judas for three years. They traipsed around the countryside with him. They'd been through a lot together. And then he turned away. That's a scary thought. When we see faithful Christians turn away, we wonder why. We question whether God screwed up. We wonder if we will be the next to reject God's love. Maybe the disciples needed some comfort in these matters. Peter points out that Judas's betrayal was foretold in the scriptures, and it happened just as surely as did Jesus' death and resurrection (which were likewise foretold).

Gamaliel's Advice

Peter and John were preaching. The Sanhedrin was not happy: "Let's lock 'em up." The angel opens the prison doors; John and Peter resume their preaching the next day. "Shut up!" But Peter and John didn't shut up. "What are we going to do now?" "I know; let's kill 'em." That's when Gamaliel stood up and advised the Sanhedrin to knock it off. "If this movement is from man, it will fizzle out on its own. If it's from God, you can't stamp it out, and you ought not be fighting against God." So the Sanhedrin took the proverbial chill-pill, beat up the apostles, and sent them on their way without assassination attempts.

How come we know what went on in this "executive session" of the Sanhedrin? Because Paul was there.

Wait a minute. Paul was there? He grew up in Jerusalem (Acts 22:3) and his mentor was, of all people, Gamaliel. He had respect for his teacher. And yet, his teacher said to leave the Christians alone. Saul didn't leave them alone. He persecuted the Church, hunting down Christians to imprison them and murder them.

When Jesus called Saul to be a Christian and an apostle, He said, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads."

Hadn't Gamaliel told Paul something similar?

If it were me, after God had claimed me, I would seriously regret having blown off my mentor's objective advice.

No wonder Paul had clear memories of that meeting of the Sanhedrin.

Plain, Old, Everyday Preaching

From The Hobbit, chapter 3, when the dwarves and
Gandalf and Bilbo are being refreshed at Rivendell --

Now it is a strange thing, but things that are good to have and days that are good to spend are soon told about, and not much to listen to; while things that are uncomfortable, palpitating, and even gruesome, may make a good tale, and take a deal of telling anyway.

Over and over again, as we've been studying the book of Acts this past year, Pastor has pointed out the verses we so quickly bleep over. If you look at 9:20-23 and 9:31 and 11:20 and 15:35 and 16:4 and 18:11 and 20:2 and so many other locations, there's nothing Exciting! Paul goes to the synagogue, he preaches, and when he is kicked out he continues preaching to those who will listen. Churches form. They meet for liturgy and prayers, for preaching and the Lord's Supper. The miracles aren't the norm; the synodical conventions aren't the norm; the riots aren't the norm; the pentecostal signs of the Holy Spirit aren't the norm.

But, hey, as Tolkien mentioned, when things are going the way they're supposed to be going ("a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty") there ain't much to tell.
But it's good.

Paul's Tears

When Paul is headed off to Jerusalem for Pentecost, knowing that something really bad is awaiting him, he skips Ephesus but takes time to visit with the Ephesian pastors in Miletus. He reminds the pastors that they know he has served the Lord "with many tears and trials." During Bible class this week, Pastor pointed out how we are prone to think of Paul's tears as the results of getting beaten or stoned or chased out of town. We think he's sad because people are perturbed with him and wanting to do him harm. (And there may be some truth to that. Nobody likes to be hated.) But when we read Romans 9-10, we realize that Paul yearned for the Jews to be saved. His tears were more for them, because of their rejection of the Savior, than tears for himself and his own comfort (or lack thereof).

As he has done all through the book of Acts, Pastor was pointing out how the apostles looked like Jesus. They preached like Jesus. They even did miracles like Jesus. They faced the same Sanhedrin and Roman officials as did Jesus. And here in this passage (20:19) we have Paul grieving over his people's rejection of God's mercy. Sound like Jesus? Remember that story (likewise told by Luke) just before Jesus' death when He wept over Jerusalem? "If only you had known the things that are for your peace!" (19:41).

A Conclusion to the Book of Acts

Pastor commented in Bible class this week that Acts ends abruptly. If you're reading about Paul, you don't get the end of the story. There are several things you continue to wonder about. It seems unfinished.

Theologically, that reflects the truth that the story doesn't end with Paul. "All the things that Jesus began to do and teach" continues in the Church with the apostles and even after that, through today and until the end of the world.

Okay, I've heard that before. Maybe you have too.

What crossed my mind today was "So what did Luke think about this?" Did Luke get hung up on finishing the book? Was it on his to-do list for months and then years? Did he keep thinking that there was more that needed to be said? But when he didn't get it said, he finally just had to give up on the project of finishing the book? This is probably naughty speculation. But I wonder sometimes how our good plans and good intentions may be thwarted by God for a reason that never ever crosses our minds.

Sleeping in Death

It is a curious thing that Christians talk about death as a sleep. We do it because the Apostle Paul did it. It's a word that shows that death is --for the Christian-- but a rest prior to awaking from the tomb in the resurrection of the body.

But I noticed today (in the John 11 reading about Lazarus's raising) that Jesus was the one who said, "Lazarus is sleeping." When the disciples, in their characteristic dunderheadedness, said, "Oh, hey, if he's able to sleep, then he'll be getting better soon," Jesus told them, "Guys, hey, he's dead."

So Paul wasn't inventing some theological lingo. He just repeated what Jesus had said -- which is a very good way to be safe in your theology.

I Demand an Apology

Well, okay, so that's not exactly how Paul put it.

Do you remember the story in Acts 16? Paul and Silas were preaching in Philippi. Paul cast the demon out of the fortune-telling girl, and her masters were majorly hacked off. So they went to the government, told lies about Paul's preaching (that he was teaching people to be subversive and to disobey the laws of the land), and had Paul thrown into prison. In the midst of the Christians' prayers and hymn-singing during the night, God sent an earthquake and opened the doors of the prison. The jailer was about to kill himself before his boss found out about the escaped prisoners and executed the poor jailer. But the prisoners were still there. They didn't save themselves when given an opportunity: they sacrificed their freedom for the sake of the jailer's life. That kind of love caught the jailer's attention. He heard their preaching, took them to his home, treated their wounds, and he and his whole household were baptized.

Okay, so the next morning the magistrates sent a message to the jailer to let these dudes go. The jailer told Paul and Silas they could be on their way.

"No."

What do you mean, "NO"????

They hadn't given Paul a trial. They beat him, uncondemned. They'd thrown him into prison for no reason. And now they wanted to shoo him out on the hush-hush. Paul said the government-guys were just going to have to come to the jail themselves and let him out -- they weren't going to get by with doing this in secret.

Was this snottiness? Was this revenge? Was this making them grovel and own up to their mistake?

I guess I'd never really thought it through before, but, yeah, that's kind of what I thought. But Pastor recently discussed a different (and more evangelical) reason for Paul's refusal to disappear quietly.

The public charge was that Paul preached against the government. The charge was that his preaching disrupted society. The charge was that his preaching was dangerous. But that's not true. As Jesus told Pilate at His trial, "My kingdom is not of this world." Christianity is no threat to the civil authorities. Paul wasn't wanting a personal apology. He wanted the authorities to publicly declare that Paul's teaching was not about insurrection or civil disobedience. And that was for the sake of the Gospel, not for the sake of mere human reputation. It was the honor of God --not self-defense-- that prompted Paul to wait for the magistrates themselves to come let him out of jail.

Rejecting the Messiah

As we have been studying Acts, we see again and again how Paul preached first in the synagogues. Some of the Jews rejoiced in the message. Others tried to kill the preacher or run him out of town or have him thrown into jail.

When I was growing up, one of my best buddies was Jewish. I always had this notion that our religious difference was because her family just didn't get it that Jesus was the messiah they were waiting for.

Pastor pointed out that the Jews' rejection of Jesus is not because they're lacking information that shows Jesus to be the messiah foretold by the Old Testament Scriptures. The Jews rejected what the Old Testament taught about the messiah. They didn't see their messiah as the suffering servant. They didn't see him as one who would bless the Gentiles as well as the Jews. They didn't see him so much as a savior from sin as a savior from their political enemies.

Some Jews believed in Jesus. These would be the ones who believed in a merciful Savior for all. They would be the ones who recognized the fulfillment of prophecy in His suffering, death, and resurrection. They would be the ones who believed in a God of love who forgives instead of demands.

The Jews who didn't believe in Jesus were the Jews who all along had misunderstood the God of the Old Testament, who had perceived him to be a vengeful god, and who expended their efforts trying to get in his good graces. So when Jesus came, forgiving prostitutes and tax collectors, it wasn't necessarily the person Jesus they were rejecting; rather, they were rejecting all that the Old Testament had said of the messiah-to-come.

Glorifying God

After God whopped the Jewish Christians upside the head with the evidence that His grace and mercy were for the Gentiles too, we read that the Christians of the circumcision party in Jerusalem glorified God, saying, "Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance unto life." (Acts 11:18)

I don't know about you, but I find it enchanting that it "glorifies God" to say that He is bringing sinners to Himself, saving people whether they're like us or not.

That's His glory.

Today's Laugh

Sign seen today outside a church:

Bi-lingual Pentecostal services.

(C'mon. Think about that...)

Temples Made With Hands

Surely in temples made with hands
God the Most High is not dwelling.
High above earth His temple stands,
all earthly temples excelling.

Those lines from "Built on the Rock" have long bothered me. God does come to our churches. His preaching lays Him on our hearts. His body lies on the altar and is fed into our mouths. His blood washes over our children in baptism.

And yet, those lines from the hymn reflect Acts 7 and Isaiah 66. How can you argue with the Bible?

Pastor talked on Sunday how God had told David that his son would be the one to build the temple (2 Samuel 7:12-13). And his son Solomon did build a temple of cedar and gold. But his Son Jesus was the true Tabernacle, the true Temple, the eternal temple that could not be destroyed forever by Babylonians or by Roman soldiers. And when His body was destroyed, in three days He raised it up (John 2:19).

So God does not dwell in temples made with hands: rather, He dwells in temples made with His word. Our physical buildings are indeed His dwelling place -- but only when they are built by His word which flows forth to sanctify the place, the preacher, and the hearers.

Stephen's Sermon

In Acts 6, Saul/Paul and the other men from the Synagogue of the Freedmen stirred up the people so that Stephen was brought before the Sanhedrin. They said he was preaching this Jesus who wanted to overturn the Law. They said he wanted to change the customs Moses delivered.

Pastor pointed out on Sunday that
1) they didn't really know what the Law was; they saw it as a bunch of rules that they could follow if they tried hard enough; they didn't get it that the Law showed them their sin and that atonement was necessary.
2) their fathers hadn't loved Moses even "back in the day"; the Israelites murmured constantly against Moses and even tried to overthrow him.

The point is that sinners always reject the one who comes with God's salvation. God's messengers cannot expect to be embraced and loved.

His Blood Be Upon Us

Pilate was trying to let Jesus go. But the people kept insisting. Finally Pilate washes his hands of it: "This ain't my fault! YOU asked for this." And the people were fine with that: "His blood be on us and on our children" (Matthew 27:25).

As Pastor says, it must be so. Salvation is found nowhere else but when His blood is upon us.

In Acts, the same Sanhedrin that murdered Jesus was facing another crew of trouble-makers. These dudes who'd been with Jesus were preaching in the temple. The Council nabbed the apostles, put 'em on trial, and then scolded them and told them to shut up and leave (Acts 4). And the Church grew.

A little time passes, and the apostles are caught preaching in the temple again (Acts 5). That same Sanhedrin rounded up the apostles again and threw them in jail to hush them. God did not approve. He let his preachers out of the jail. The next day, when it was time for the trial, the apostles weren't in their jail cell; they were preaching in the temple again. Can't you just hear the chief priests and Pharisees asking, "How many times do we have to drag those guys out of the temple anyhow?"

So they're finally questioning the men. That's when we get to the funny part. The high priest says, Didn't we tell you to shut up? And here you are filling the whole city with your teaching, and you "intend to bring this Man's blood on us."

Hello??? Annas and Caiaphas were ring-leaders early on that Friday morning when the crowds insisted to Pilate that His blood should be on them. And yet, they didn't really want His blood.

Jesus' disciples, however, did want exactly that. They intended to bring Jesus' blood on the high priest and all the Sanhedrin. NOT to make them bear the guilt and pay the price. Not to get them in trouble with the crowds or with the government. But to bring the blood of forgiveness. To wash them in the blood that bore their guilt so that they would not have to pay the price themselves.