Day 34: Acts 13-15. Journeys of Paul begin
The Spirit keeps sending the church out, to Antioch, and every farther out. Paul, Barnabas and john Mark head down to Seleucid, to Cyprus, and to Paphos and Perga, preaching in the synagogues and then going out to tell the Gentiles as well.
Paul preaches a sermon telling the basic story about Jesus. He meets with success at first, but later on, some of the other Jewish leaders come in with questions, and their success is diminished. This is the pattern wherever Paul goes, whenever he goes out into the world; he always goes to the synagogue first, and then later on, they go out to the Gentiles.
There's an interesting story in chapter 13 about a false prophet named bar-Jesus. Bar-Jesus is rebuked and he goes blind. It does make me wonder about others who might be around claiming to be the messiah.
Even when Paul meets with success, there are complications. First example, Paul heals a man in Lystra, and then has to deal with the problem that the people there think they are gods, like Zeus and Hermes. They are too popular for their own good. Even so, it appears that the crowds of believers are easily swayed, and later on Paul is stoned and left for dead.
Crowds are fickle. It is ever so.
Considering the current church, I am wondering if both success and decline bring their own issues and complications. What would God be saying to us, in both instances?
Continuing on, Paul and his companions have been finding some success preaching the gospel of Jesus among the Gentiles, when there appears a competing group who also preach Jesus -- plus circumcision. This development leads to the first church convention, where the topic at hand is: What should we do with all these non-Jewish people people who want to be Christian? Some people thought they ought to be circumcised; others (including Paul) did not.
Success has its price.
As well, one that even at this early date, there were disagreements among believers. In this case, after heated discussions, the church came to an agreement about what they would ask from the Gentile believers: not circumcision, but abstaining from eating blood, and food sacrificed to idols, and sexual immorality.
This is more radical than it may sound to us, because what the Jewish followers are starting to say is that Gentiles who follow Jesus do not have to become Jewish first. They do not have to follow the Jewish law that binds the Jews, even the ones who follow Jesus. It will be something else that unites them.
There are so many Christian denominations now, and it may seem like more divides than unites us. Not just among denominations, but those who might identify themselves as more progressive and more conservative believers. We have differences in what we might say are the non-negotiables about following Jesus. Thinking about the early church in Acts, I long for a council to reaffirm that, despite our many differences, there is Someone who unites us.
What do you think?
Paul preaches a sermon telling the basic story about Jesus. He meets with success at first, but later on, some of the other Jewish leaders come in with questions, and their success is diminished. This is the pattern wherever Paul goes, whenever he goes out into the world; he always goes to the synagogue first, and then later on, they go out to the Gentiles.
There's an interesting story in chapter 13 about a false prophet named bar-Jesus. Bar-Jesus is rebuked and he goes blind. It does make me wonder about others who might be around claiming to be the messiah.
Even when Paul meets with success, there are complications. First example, Paul heals a man in Lystra, and then has to deal with the problem that the people there think they are gods, like Zeus and Hermes. They are too popular for their own good. Even so, it appears that the crowds of believers are easily swayed, and later on Paul is stoned and left for dead.
Crowds are fickle. It is ever so.
Considering the current church, I am wondering if both success and decline bring their own issues and complications. What would God be saying to us, in both instances?
Continuing on, Paul and his companions have been finding some success preaching the gospel of Jesus among the Gentiles, when there appears a competing group who also preach Jesus -- plus circumcision. This development leads to the first church convention, where the topic at hand is: What should we do with all these non-Jewish people people who want to be Christian? Some people thought they ought to be circumcised; others (including Paul) did not.
Success has its price.
As well, one that even at this early date, there were disagreements among believers. In this case, after heated discussions, the church came to an agreement about what they would ask from the Gentile believers: not circumcision, but abstaining from eating blood, and food sacrificed to idols, and sexual immorality.
This is more radical than it may sound to us, because what the Jewish followers are starting to say is that Gentiles who follow Jesus do not have to become Jewish first. They do not have to follow the Jewish law that binds the Jews, even the ones who follow Jesus. It will be something else that unites them.
There are so many Christian denominations now, and it may seem like more divides than unites us. Not just among denominations, but those who might identify themselves as more progressive and more conservative believers. We have differences in what we might say are the non-negotiables about following Jesus. Thinking about the early church in Acts, I long for a council to reaffirm that, despite our many differences, there is Someone who unites us.
What do you think?
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