Life Project Blog

Acts 9:20-31

After Saul regained his strength, he began to move about Damascus; he started preaching the Gospel in the synagogues there, to the amazement of everyone. His preaching became more and more powerful, and he taught that Jesus was the Son of God fearlessly, yet people were confused because it was common knowledge that he was the number-one persecutor of Christ’s followers.

His message was effective, Luke tells us that Saul proved “that Jesus is the Messiah”; the Jews in Damascus began to plot his murder.

Saul also seemed to have his problems with the believers, who feared him, yet he had gained enough confidence in the believing community for some of them to secrete him out of the city to escape the Jewish plots against him, and he traveled back to Jerusalem. Upon his arrival in that city, Saul attempted to join with the believers who remained, but they were having none of it, since they knew exactly who he was and what he had done to their brethren there; who can blame them?

Yet Barnabas stood up for Saul, telling the church what had happened on the Damascus road, how Saul had been converted by Jesus Himself, and how he had preached so boldly the name of Jesus in Damascus, and how he had come to be in Jerusalem. Apparently, the believers in Jerusalem more or less accepted Saul after that, but I can’t help wondering if some of them might still have harbored their suspicions. In any case, Saul moved about town preaching about Jesus, debating with his colleagues, and getting into a bit of a tiff with the Hellenistic Jews, who hatched a murderous plot against him; again murder for righteousness sake!

When the disciples heard of the plot, they once again secreted Saul out of town, and sent him off to Tarsus, no doubt relieved to have him gone. It is at this point in his narrative that Luke says something wonderful:

Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers. (9:31)

Saul, now a Christian, was gone from the region; the persecution had ended, at least for now, and peace reigned once again. The people no longer lived in fear of persecution, they no longer lived in fear of Saul; they lived in the “fear of the Lord” instead. Thus, rather than fleeing for their lives, they lived in humble submission to God and the church was strengthened and the numbers of the redeemed increased. As I read these verses, I can’t help reflecting upon the fact that when Stephen addressed the Sanhedrin back in chapter seven, they went berserk, but it was Saul who took up the persecution, and now that Saul is no longer leading it, it dies out and peace returns to the region. Stephen seems to have been the catalyst, and Saul the instrument for God to spread the Gospel out of Jerusalem and into the surrounding region, just as Jesus had said that they would preach the Gospel first in Jerusalem and then in “all Judea and Samaria”. In the next passage, Luke tells us about the kinds of things that went on during this period, about some of the amazing things Peter was up to, and about some of the amazing people he encounters…

Acts 9:1-19

Luke has been telling us about the road trip adventures of Phillip, and now it would seem that Saul is about to hit the road as well. He has continued his persecution of the disciples in Jerusalem, and now he wants to make this outrage part of a road show, so he went to the chief priest for permission and gets it. As he was travelling towards Damascus with his goal more or less in sight, he has an encounter on the road that would change his life entirely, for he runs into none other than the risen Christ (9:1-1-3). Jesus, in a very bright light has a question for old Saul:

He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. (9:4-5)

There is great significance in these verses, for Saul was out persecuting Christians, but Jesus, the risen Savior who sits at God’s right hand, sees things quite differently for in His eyes, Saul is persecuting the very One by whose Word the entire universe is held together. Notice, that Jesus says so here in both verse four and verse five. It was a fact in Saul’s day and it is a fact today, that anyone who persecutes the followers of Christ is persecuting Jesus Himself, and though I can take no real pleasure in saying so, they, will suffer for it.

You all know the story from here; Saul’s companions must lead him by the hand the rest of the way into town, for Saul has lost his sight. There they are to wait at a certain house for further instructions. Those instructions are actually given to a man named Ananias, who receives his instructions with some trepidation:

The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”

“Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”

But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” (9:11-16)

I think Ananias’ concern was very reasonable, don’t you? Yet Jesus has a plan for this Saul of Tarsus, and Ananias had a vital role in bringing His plan to fruition, and he obeys the Lord immediately, reminding us of the previous account of how Phillip did exactly what he was told to do. Saul’s sight is restored, Ananias baptizes him, and he rests up for what might come next, and we will see what that ends up being next time…

Acts 8:9-23

Luke tells us about a man named Simon who had gained quite a following because of his sorcery; it would seem that he was a master of the arts of magic. When Phillip and others came into the region, having been forced to flee the persecution in Jerusalem, and so many people accepted the Gospel, Simon came to believe in Jesus along with so many others. When the news reached the apostles, still in Jerusalem, Peter and John were dispatched to Samaria to investigate, and when they arrive, our story gets rolling in earnest.

Phillip had baptized those who came to accept the Gospel, but in spite of this, they hadn’t received the Holy Spirit even though Peter taught that if we hear the Gospel, believe in Jesus, acknowledge that Jesus is Lord repent and are baptized, we will then receive the Spirit (Acts 2:38). Why hadn’t this happened in Samaria; could it be that these unclean Samaritans can’t have the Spirit? The two apostles began laying hands upon the people, and then they received the Spirit, and of course this brings us to another question: Did the Spirit actually come through the laying on of the apostles’ hands? Did this only apply to Samaritans? Was there some other reason for this?

Then our friend Simon enters the narrative:

When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” (8:18-19)

My, oh my, what an enterprising businessman this Simon was! Do you suppose he wanted to add the gift of the Spirit to his magical repertoire? I can’t say what he was really thinking for sure, but it seems interesting that he wanted to pay for the ability to dispense the Spirit rather than asking for the Spirit. Ever the diplomat, Peter replied to this offer:

Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God.  Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.” (8:20-23)

It’s a little hard for us to grasp this story since we live in an age when people, at least in the West, usually don’t believe there is such a thing as sorcery or magic, other than in a Las Vegas lounge act. Apparently, this Simon dude was the real deal as a sorcerer, and if that’s true, where did he get his magic? Clearly it wasn’t a gift from God, like the signs and wonders of Phillip and the apostles, so what was its source? I only know of one other place such things could have come from, and like Simon, Satan and the demons of hell believe in Jesus Christ, but they certainly do not follow Him, and it is fairly obvious from the text that Simon hadn’t even thought about repentance.

The text doesn’t say, in spite of the confidence of vast enlightenment on the part of some commentators, but I would have to suggest that the Holy Spirit had not come upon those people in Samaria yet because so many of them were actually followers of Simon, who, whether he knew it or not, was a follower of the Deceiver who directly or indirectly was the source of his power, and so naturally, they could not receive the Spirit until that situation had been rectified.

Of course, that’s only my theory; what’s yours?

When Stephen was being murdered for speaking the truth to the Sanhedrin, a young man named Saul was on hand for the festivities; he seemed to be watching over the cloaks of those who wanted to free up their throwing arms to really let Stephen have it, and according to 8:1 he fully approved of what was going on that day:

And Saul approved of their killing him.

On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.

Acts 8:1-3

It would seem that not only did Saul fully approve of Stephen’s cold-blooded murder, but he also took the murder to the next step, dragging believers from their homes in an effort to thwart God’s purpose. Of course, he had been blinded so thoroughly to the truth that he actually thought he was doing God a favor, as hard as that might be to fathom. As a result of this raging persecution of the fledgling church, believers began to flee from Jerusalem, moving out into both neighboring Judea and Samaria.

Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was great joy in that city.

Acts 8:4-8

Notice that wherever those who fled the Jerusalem persecution went, they proclaimed the Gospel; this is an important contextual statement, for if “those who had been scattered” were proclaiming the Gospel, then the account of Phillip in Samaria actually serves as an example of what they were all (or at least most of them) were doing: Can we even begin to imagine the dramatic impact this would have had in the surrounding areas?

From the point of view of the Jewish leadership, this was a total disaster. Not only had they murdered a man in their “righteous” indignation, but the result was that they had caused his message to explode across the countryside around them; yet as a political leadership, because of their foolish treatment of Stephen and the believers of Jerusalem, they were now in so deep that there was now no going back. In essence, they had added an exclamation mark to their own ultimate doom.

From the point of view of the Jerusalem believers, the persecution was terrible, especially for the ones swept up by Saul, yet they were sustained in their ordeal by the Holy Spirit. For those who escaped, they were participating as never before in God’s eternal purpose as more and more people came to believe, to the glory of God.

From God’s point of view, the Gospel was not intended to be a local phenomenon, but as a worldwide movement of the Holy Spirit for the redemption not just of one town, but of all Mankind; things were moving along according to plan.

From our point of view, what could possibly be more inspiring than these verses? Let’s not forget that persecution is still in the world today, and all too often we see this from a purely human point of view, asking God to take it away and feeling sorry for our brothers and sisters who suffer. While there is nothing wrong with this reaction, we must also recognize that it is incomplete, because when persecution is taking place we need to see that it is happening because the Gospel of Jesus Christ is actually making headway; it’s become a threat to an entrenched spiritual adversary, and that is a very good thing.

In the next section, Luke records a rather bizarre incident, and we’ll follow the action next time; see you then!

Acts 7

The narrative of chapter six continues into chapter seven without interruption despite the chapter break: Stephen stands falsely accused before the Sanhedrin, and these false accusations have been made against him, probably at the prompting of his judges. The fateful question is asked in 7:1, “Are these charges true?”

Any lawyer would tell you that the only possible responses to such a question are: yes, no, I can’t recall or I don’t know, for this is not the time for a speech. Stephen, not being a cautious man, made a speech instead…

His speech is recorded in 7:2-33. In it, he recounts the long history of Israel, beginning with Abraham and the Patriarchs, and continuing through the Prophets and ending with charges of his own leveled directly at the very Sanhedrin before whom he stood: They, like their ancestors, had murdered the One whom their God had sent to them, for they did not care to hear God’s message − and they went mad with rage.

Scholars, teachers and preachers have told this story in many ways, some focusing on the academic aspects of Stephen’s words and theology, others centering on the presence and work of the Spirit in the story, and many others have taken various other tacts to suit the present needs of their students or congregations, and I would not presume to criticize any of these approaches. Yet it strikes me that there is something at work in this case that deserves mention and which is often overlooked, which is the fact that Stephen, in his speech, that was so unwise by human standards is actually playing a divinely inspired role as a prophet, as he leveled God’s indictment upon the very men who were responsible for the murder of His Son.

As a reminder, the prophets of old were sent to the people to bring God’s message; they were His messengers. Those minor and major prophets of the Old Testament were bringing a message of indictment, playing the role we might say, of a prosecuting attorney, letting the people know just exactly what God saw that was objectionable in their conduct of His Nation; they were not merely there to predict the future, as many today seem to think. Thus, if we look at Stephen’s words in Acts 7, we cannot help but recognize a prophet at work, and just as with the prophets of old, the leaders of the people who were at fault for what was going on, went out of their minds with rage.

There is nothing new under the sun.

We might also note that nobody in this august group of great men even stopped to consider that their Roman overlords might object to their execution of Stephen without Roman approval, for they were so desperate to silence the truth he had spoken to them, and with this, the persecution of the Church began, and along with it, the rising of political tensions between the Jews and the Romans that would ultimately result in the complete destruction not only of the their beloved Temple, but of the ceremonial practices of the Old Covenant that Jesus had already made utterly obsolete. In the process, the preaching of the Gospel would also be forced outside of Jerusalem, and it would spread to the far corners of the earth, just as God had planned it, with the eternal irony that the very Jewish leaders, who were acting to silence it, caused its spread.

Make no mistake, dear reader, the excitement is only just getting started, as you will see when we get back together next time.

Acts 6:8-15

Having mentioned his name for the first time in the previous section as one of the seven to be placed over the widows’ ministry, Luke now turns to the story of Stephen. It would appear that Stephen had been doing great work in his ministry, even including wondrous signs among the people, and a certain group of Jews became unhappy with his God-inspired work. Here, for the first time, Luke tells of opposition that had not come from the priests or the Sadducees, but this time from among the people.

The source of the opposition was certain members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen, which in those days was a center of Jewish social, educational and cultural life. The Freedmen were emancipated slaves, or their descendants from provinces in North Africa and Asia Minor, thus they were Hellenistic Jews. The synagogues were largely influenced by Pharisees rather than Sadducees, who were usually more interested in temple operations than synagogic operations.

From the text, it would seem that these people had interpreted Stephen’s teaching about salvation coming from Christ alone as a repudiation of the temple and the Law… which in a certain sense it is. They debated with Stephen on these themes, and Stephen more than held his own, surprising them with the knowledge that the Spirit had given to him. So, in the end, these good folks did what any God-fearing and righteous person would do, they accused Stephen before the Sanhedrin, and gave false testimony against him.

As this criminal behavior on the part of the good and righteous men of the Synagogue of the Freedmen was taking place, everyone who looked at Stephen saw a man without a care in the world, so unconcerned was he about the proceedings, for he appeared to them to be in the very presence of God; in the realm of angels.

Next time, it will be Stephen’s turn to speak, and what happens is one of the greatest addresses of the entire book of Acts; see you then!

Acts 6:1-7

As the early church grew rapidly, conditions required that steps be taken to meet the needs that arose in the congregation; in this text we see needs, responses to needs, and two all-time firsts. The main problem that came up was ministering to the needs of widows. In these times, to become a widow was very often a complete economic disaster, for without a husband or family to provide, a woman was unable to keep body and soul together, particularly an older woman. A young widow would find a man to marry, and he would provide for her, but an older widow would often be destitute. Jewish custom had made allowances for their needs, and the early church had also done so. Yet as the church was growing so rapidly, some widows began to be overlooked and something needed to be done about it.

At the same time, there were two groups within the church which had often been in conflict in the Jewish community, the Hellenistic Jews and the Hebraic Jews. The Hellenistic Jews had adopted Greek manners and customs over the years since the conquests of Alexander the Great, and many of them had moved to Judea from widely dispersed regions of the known world. The Hebraic Jews were largely descendants of those who returned to Jerusalem after the captivity and who had retained the traditional Jewish ways. You can easily see how friction would be the result of these cultural differences, and they can be compared to differences in today’s church between traditionalist and non-traditionalist approaches to things like worship style and church organization.

The first recorded division within the church is described in 6:1 as these two groups became conflicted about the ministry to widows; apparently some Hellenistic widows had been overlooked. Notice that the apostles responded very quickly to this problem and came up with a solution: they would create the first ever ministry team comprised of seven men of high character who were to be selected by the congregation at large (6:2-4).

The apostles seem to have become stretched too thin as their preaching and ministry “of the Word” had grown, and since they were the ones who were eyewitnesses of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, they were the ones who needed to attend to it, and others were needed to handle the benevolent ministries, and the issue was promptly resolved to everyone’s satisfaction (6:5-6).

As a result, the church continued to prosper and grow rapidly; even “a large number of priests” came to believe. Sadly, Luke doesn’t give us any more specific number so that we might have an idea what “a large number” looked like…

For us today, there is a lesson here, for a problem surfaces and it was timely solved by the creation of a ministry team in which the apostles delegated some of their activities to others who had demonstrated the wisdom and maturity to handle it. We can certainly gain insight by noting that the apostles did not wring their hands in despair at the idea of delegating, nor did they assume that they were the only ones who could possibly be trusted to get the job done, nor did they allow gossip or division to continue while they asked God to send them a professional. Instead they led the community decisively, responsively and wisely, and the Kingdom prospered as a result.

Yet, there were storm clouds on the horizon…