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Jesus Commissions His
Disciples To Witness |
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Luke wrote the Acts of the Apostles as a sequel to his Gospel. He
says:
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In
my first book I wrote about all the things that Jesus did and taught
from the time he began his work until the day he was taken up to
heaven. Before he was taken up, he gave instructions by the power of
the Holy Spirit to the men he had chosen as his apostles......
Jesus said to them, ...."When the
Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will be filled with power, and you
will be witness for me in Jerusalem, in all of Judea and Sumaria,
and to the ends of the earth."
Acts 1: 1-2, 7-8 |
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Jesus' commission becomes the outline
for Luke's presentation of the Acts of the Apostles:
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chapters 1 - 7 |
- witness in Judea & Sumaria,
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chapters 8 - 12 |
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chapters 13 - 28 |
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The Disciples Witness in
Jerusalem |
On the feast of Pentecost, fifty days after Jesus' resurrection, the
disciples were praying in the house in Jerusalem.
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Suddenly there
was a noise from the sky which sounded like a strong wind
blowing, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
Then they saw what looked like tongues of fire which spread out and
touched each person there. They were all filled with the Holy
Spirit. Acts 2: 2-4 |
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The noise "like a strong wind blowing"
attracted a large crowd. The people were thrown into fever pitch by
Peter's explanation of what had happened. So moving and filled
with the Spirit was the witness of Peter and the other apostles that
"about three thousand people" were baptized on that day alone.
Acts 2: 41
A few days later a crippled beggar
asked Peter and John for money. Peter responded, "I have no money
at all, but I give you what I have: in the name of Jesus Christ of
Nazareth . . . . walk!" The man began "jumping and praising God".
Acts 3: 6, 8
The miracles made it clear that the
healing power that Jesus possessed had been passed on to his disciples.
Sick people were carried "into the streets and placed on beds and mats
so that at least Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he passed
by". Acts 5: 15
The reaction of Jerusalem officials to
these healings is predictable. They ordered the disciples to stop.
The disciples refused, saying, "We must obey God, not men".
Acts 5: 29
A bitter persecution followed.
It gave the young Church its first martyr, a young deacon named Stephen
(Acts 7).
Many Christians fled to Judea and Sumaria.
There they continued to preach the "good news" about Jesus
(Acts 8:4).
And so, almost by accident, the next phase of Jesus' commission to his
disciples began: "You will be witness for me . . . . in all of
Judea and Sumaria" (Acts 1:8). |
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The Disciples Witness In
Judea & Sumaria |
Another young deacon, named Philip, became an outstanding witness in
Samaria (Acts 6:5).
Miracles accompanied his Spirit-filled
preaching.
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Evil spirits came out from many people with a loud cry, and many
paralyzed and lame people were healed. So there was great joy
in that city.
(Acts
8:7 - 8) |
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News of this reached Jerusalem,
bringing Peter and John to Samaria. They laid hands on the new
converts and prayed over them. Instantly, the Holy Spirit
descended upon the new Christians in what might be called a "Samaritan
Pentecost" (Acts 8:17).
Because of this, Peter went to
other cities in Judea, preaching the Good News.
One day Peter was invited to preach in
the home of a Roman centurion, a Gentile named Cornelius. The
spirit descended upon the officer and is entire family, resulting in
what has been called a "Gentile Pentecost"
(Acts 10:34).
And so the Holy Spirit descended upon
the young Church in three progressive stages or "Pentecosts":
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Acts 2:4 |
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Acts 8:17 |
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Acts 10:44 |
Significantly, Peter presided over
each new "Pentecost." Emboldened by the experience, Peter returned
to Jerusalem. Angry officials learned of his whereabouts and
jailed him. But he mysteriously escaped
(Acts 12:1-7).
At a secret meeting with Jerusalem
Christians, Peter decided to leave the city. Presumably his
presence posed too great a peril to the Jerusalem community.
Tradition says that he went to Rome, launching phase three of Jesus'
commission to his disciples: "Be witness for me . . . to the ends
of the earth" (Acts 1:8). |
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The Disciples Witness To All
The World |
A leading opponent of early Christianity is a man called Saul. One
day while on his way to Damascus to arrest some Christians, he had an
experience of the risen Jesus. It transformed him dramatically.
his conversion shocked and angered his former associates. Forced
to flee for his life, hi returned to his birthplace in Tarsus for an
extended period.Later Barnabas,
a convert from Cyprus, sought Paul out. They returned to
Antioch together and began a powerful ministry. "It was at Antioch
that the believers were first called Christians"
(Acts I 1:26).
It was in Antioch, also, that Saul dropped his Jewish name for its
Gentile form, Paul. |
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Paul Makes His First
Missionary Trip |
One day some "prophets and teachers" in the Antioch community underwent
and experience that, eventually, had a quantum-leap impact on
Christianity:
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While they were serving the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said
to them, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul, to do the work to
which I have called them." They fasted and prayed, placed
their hands on them, and sent them off.
Acts 13: 2-3 |
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Their first port of call was the
island of Cyprus. There they preached in synagogues and even
before the governor of the island. From Cyprus they went to Asia
Minor, staying and preaching in such cities as Perga, Iconium, and
Lystra.
At Lystra something unforeseen
occurred. Angry Jews stoned Paul. After he recovered, e and
Barnabas continued their preaching. Eventually the tie came for
Paul and Barnabas to return home. They had been on the road for
four years and were exhausted. The date was 49
C.E.
'Shortly after returning home, Paul
and Barnabus went to Jerusalem to attend what has been called the
Church's first ecumenical council: a solemn gathering of Church leaders
to deal with Church matters. The specific purpose of the meeting
was to decide whether Gentile converts must undergo circumcision (a
Jewish practice). After deliberation and prayer, they decided
against it, saying:
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"The Holy Spirit and we have agreed not to put any other burden on
you."
Acts 15:28 |
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This beautiful sentence expresses the
conviction that the Holy Spirit guided them in their discernment
process. |
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Paul Makes His Second
Missionary Trip |
Sometime later Paul decided to revisit communities where he had set up
faith communities earlier. So he set out on a second trip.
He also visited the region of Galatia and cities like Philippi and
Thessalonica, where he set up new communities.
Two young Christians -- Silas
(Acts 15:36-41)
and Timothy (Acts 16 1-5)
-- joined Paul. Together they carried the Good News to such cities
as Athens and Corinth, on the European mainland.
Corinth is especially noteworthy.
A commercial hub, it paid a high price for its success. Riffraff
from all over the world congregated there: gamblers, prostitutes, and
hardened criminals. To these unlikely people Paul preached, "Happy
are the pure in heart; they will see God!" (Matthew 5:8).
The Holy Spirit worked in Paul and in the hearts of these people to
build up a thriving faith community in Corinth.
Finally, after two years in Corinth,
Paul returned home around 54 C.E. |
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Paul Makes His Third
Missionary Trip |
After resting his body and refreshing his spirit, Paul set out on
another missionary trip. Again, he visited formed communities and
formed new ones.Of special note
is the formation of a large, thriving Christian community in Ephesus.
Before Paul's arrival, the local silversmiths had a profitable business
selling statues to pagan worshipers of the goddess Artemis.
After Paul began preaching and
converting people, the silversmiths started to feel the impact on their
business. This continued for two years. A tension developed
and grew between worshipers of Artemis (fueled by the silversmiths) and
Christians. Then one day a near-riot broke out between them
(Acts 19:21-41).
When this happened, Paul feared his continued presence in Ephesus would
be counterproductive. So he left Ephesus for Troas.
A high point of Paul's visit in Troas
occurred one Saturday night when the believers were gathered for their
weekly community meal. A young man named Eutychus fell from the
third-floor window and was saved by Paul
(Acts 20:9-10).
Luke's record of that night preserves
not only this dramatic story but also a clear description of how early
Christians celebrated the Eucharist. They did so on the Lord's
day. In the context of a community meal
(Acts 20:7, 11:1 Corinthians 11:20-25).
Paul made a few more stops after his
Troas visit and returned to Jerusalem in 58
C.E. |
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Paul Is Arrested & Eventually
Beheaded |
Shortly after arriving in Jerusalem, Paul ran into serious trouble with
conservative Jews. Among other things they accused him of speaking
against the Law of Moses and defiling the Temple. This led to
Paul's arrest by Roman authorities. Realizing he would never get a
fair trial in Jerusalem, Paul exercised his right as a Roman citizen,
requesting and receiving the right to be tired in Rome.
The voyage to Rome was filled with
excitement. For example a storm wrecked the ship Paul was on, and
he was forced to make it to shore "holding on . . . broken pieces of the
ship" (Acts 27:44).
After a short stay on the island of Malta, Paul arrived in Rome around
61 C. E.
There he was placed under house arrest. Acts ends, saying , "For
two years, Paul . . . preached about the Kingdom of God and taught about
the Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts
28:30-31).
Acts ends abruptly, without saying
what happened to Paul. Why did Luke leave the story of Acts
unfinished? It has been suggested that he left it unfinished
because it is unfinished. We must finish it. The kingdom of
God, begun by Jesus and continued in Acts, is now in our hands.
Tradition says Paul was beheaded in
"Rome around 67 C.E. |
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