The ends of the earth day1

 ACTS 4–8

 

It didn’t take long for those first followers of Jesus to figure this out. When you do what Jesus did, you’re likely to get the same response.

Some people flocked to them. They were healing and sharing and telling people how to connect with their heavenly Father in a way that bypassed all the corrupt ritualistic forms and politically motivated religious leaders. There was momentum and freedom, and many people jumped on board.

Some were wary of them. All this fuss over a Messiah who was killed by the very enemy He was supposed to overthrow, it didn’t make sense. Besides, movements like this had happened before. Maybe, they thought, we shouldn’t do anything hasty. Just let it go for a while and see if anyone’s still talking about it next year.

Some were downright hostile. This Jesus movement, these followers of the Nazarene — the whole thing suggested a total overhaul of the Jewish system in Jerusalem, a system that had been working pretty well for some people for quite some time. The Romans were content to leave them alone as long as they paid their taxes and kept quiet. Too much rocking the boat might incur their imperial wrath and rob the local leaders of their power. Best not to upset the apple cart.

There was just one problem. These Christians wouldn’t shut up.

Everywhere they went, it was, “Jesus did this” and “Jesus did that” and “You had Him killed but He came back to life, and that proves that you’re going about this thing the wrong way.” They wanted to put an end to the sacrificial system, which was very good for the economy. They meant to tear down the organisation, the whole hierarchy of it all, and replace it with what? With a simple group of people who come together to do what? To pray? To sing? To give? To share?

It sounded like anarchy to many peoples’ ears. Women were permitted to talk in the presence of men. Regular day-labourers were assumed to have insight they could share with the scholars.

Worst of all, if what they were saying was true, it wouldn’t be long before Gentiles were allowed to share in, well, everything. It was as if there was no special blessing for being Jewish. God’s Chosen People no longer enjoyed the status of being His Chosen People. Imagine, God choosing people out there among all the Gentiles. Unthinkable!

No, the only course to take was to shut this thing down now before it gathered any more momentum, before it could convert any more naïve people.

At first, it was simple harassment. The Jewish rulers brought in some of the leaders and warned the Christians to stop. When that didn’t work, the beatings began. But that only seemed to stiffen the resolve of these heretics.

But all was not lost. The first signs of a crack in the newly laid foundation came, believe it or not, from within. A disagreement broke out between some of the Greek-speaking Jews from outside of Jerusalem and those who spoke the more familiar Aramaic. It concerned the care of widows, and though it was quickly resolved, it did reveal the fact that there might soon be trouble in paradise.

It was around this time that Stephen — one of those Greek-speaking Jews — opened his big mouth in front of the Sanhedrin and the High Priest and got himself killed.

That was all it took. Now the Jesus followers left Jerusalem like rats leaving a burning ship. To all appearances, Christianity was unraveling before it ever really got going.

 

Prayer 

 

Lord Jesus, You have called Your followers to be Your witnesses even to the remotest part of the earth. You have also instilled within us the divine power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish in and through us what we could never dream of doing alone. Nothing is more satisfying than to see radical and permanent life change in others, and You have called us to enjoy that immense privilege. As we seek to be faithful to the process, we can leave the results in Your hands. We know that some will respond with enthusiasm, others with indifference and still others with hostility. We know that we cannot manipulate the outcome, and that we should not be surprised when we encounter opposition when we share the Good News about Jesus, especially in an age that has elevated tolerance above truth. Your Word is truth; may we not depart from it.

In Jesus’s name, Amen