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Category: Acts for a 21st c. Church

Acts of the Apostles + a History of Christ’s Church

Acts of the Apostles 1-28

Acts of the Apostles:
+ The first century Church SHARED Christ while suffering severe persecution.
+ Luke records a historic account of the Church which gives 21c Christians a context to SHARE the Gospel of Jesus Christ with others.

Read more about the Early Church & add your COMMENT on Scripture.

ACT now.

+ SHARE the Gospel history witnessed in the CURRENT chronological SERIES from ACTS of the APOSTLES.

The Three o’clock Prayer Service
CHRISTIAN NEWS HEADLINES

You will not see these HEADLINES in the Jerusalem News twenty-one centuries ago or even now.
MIRACLE!
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ישוע המשיח עלה!
```
Changes in Worship

Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service.

Acts:3:1 NLT

Post-resurrection Christians frequently miss some subtlety of detail in the Bible due to the amazing witness of the miracles which surround the circumstance. “Peter and John were:
- a. going to the Temple just a few months after Jesus had been found guilty of violating church rules, was tortured, murdered and made an example to others by powerful leaders.
- b. It was ‘three o’clock [3 p.m.] on a weekday afternoon and
- c. the church (Temple) had a prayer service where faithful Jews actually prayed.
Like many believers I have multiple versions of the Bible and wanted to check the facts in the English Standard Version which I generally quote. “the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. Footnotes: a. Acts 3:1 That is, 3 p.m.

Who would be praying at 3 p.m. on a weekday?

Yet, they did. It was customary – usual. [ctt title=”21st century worshipers take a much more casual attitude toward God than most generations before us.” tweet=”#Prayer Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service. Acts 3:1″ coverup=”XSu36″]

Nothing wrong with a 3 p.m. prayer service. Temple officials would soon show up with objections when disciples of Jesus worshiped the Lord on their way to the service by healing a man who witnessed Christ by following these leaders of the new Way.

The NLT version heading states:

Peter Heals a Crippled Beggar

The text shows detail which gives glory to God.

⁶But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene,[a] get up and[b] walk!”

⁹All the people saw him walking and heard him praising God.

The more politically correct heading of the ESV for Acts 3:1 states:

The Lame Beggar Healed

The witness of Peter continues: [ctt title=”Christianity is never about what we have done for Jesus.” tweet=”Our witness is what Jesus will also do for you. #Jesus” coverup=”3JM77″]

ESV: Acts 3:9

And all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

The King James Version (translation) has no labels

Recalling that scripture was hand-transcribed until the printing press, note that modern editors add headings. Headline Titles help us to see the topic of a section, while we prejudicially dismiss some important detail. If fact, consider that the Bible, as a traditional Holy Writing did not even divide into chapters and verses. Like scripture before, Acts and the letters are one connected writing and the witness all connects to Christ Jesus.

Take a look at the link below and note the headings of three renderings of the Acts text.

Acts 3:
- Preaching in Solomon’s Portico [NKJV]
  11 Now as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John…
- Peter Preaches in the Temple [NLT]
  12 Peter saw his opportunity and addressed the crowd.
- Peter Speaks in Solomon’s Portico [ESV]
  11 While he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in the portico called Solomon’s.
And if you would like to translate for yourself from the original Greek, try this:

Κρατοῦντος δὲ τοῦ ἰαθἐντος χωλοῦ τὸν Πέτρον καὶ Ἰωάννην συνέδραμεν πρὸς αὐτοὺς πᾶς ὁ λαὸς ἐπὶ τῇ στοᾷ τῇ καλουμένῃ Σολομῶντος ἔκθαμβοι – Acts 3:11 TR

We don’t want to get caught up in this too much and miss the importance of witness of these verified miracles and the credit all witnesses give to the risen Christ Jesus. Note, however some of our natural prejudices in thinking about a setting over 2000 years ago. It is little different than not being able to wrap our heads around the concept of praying to the Lord our God and Creator at three in the afternoon.

Visual Prejudice of HEADLINE NEWS

Mohammed – Crippled Beggar – Africa

Temple

Jerusalem

Visual prejudice will not produce truth in your thoughts. The setting is not the Temple built by Solomon, but one built centuries later by a half-jew, Herod, a powerful puppet king beholden to the Caesars of Rome. The Herods, Jesus, Temple officials and Peter all appeal to traditions of Hebrew heritage.

Peter speaks to the crowds gathered after God’s miracle healing of the man:

“Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? 13 The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus…

22 Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers…

26 God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.”

[ctt title=”But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.” tweet=”Acts 4:4 – after a singular witness on their way to an obligatory prayer service.” coverup=”kaY9r”]

As our series highlighting passages from many centuries prior to the Cross concluded with the resurrection. This post from the early history of the church reminds us that even the journeys of Acts will cover much more territory and the spread of Christianity continues for centuries.

TalkofJesus.com takes you to scripture to discover the details of truth and God’s love. Links included go to trusted sources you may search for further study. My commentary is minimal, but your comments by reply are more than welcome as witness of Jesus Christ to others.

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April 22, 2017
Fully Trained – 5

[ctt title=”“A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.” tweet=”“A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher. – Luke 6:40 from ‘Fully Trained’ serial http://ctt.ec/86L38+” coverup=”86L38″]

The gospel of Luke carefully records truth from eyewitness accounts of numerous historical citizens of the first century.

The following is a fictional representation continued from our previous episodes of eyewitness by one of Jesus’ first disciples.

I have told you of how I became an early disciple of the Messiah Jesus and followed our Lord in the early days. It has been many years ago now; before the good news of our Lord’s crucifixion by the Jews and resurrection and appearance to many witnesses, including me and my family.

We continued in the Way. We worshiped our risen Lord with the Apostles and many others. John Mark, who had been with Saul, and Luke the doctor have shared the increase in the good news with us. In fact, Mark has just returned to us from a time he has spent with Paul, who we knew as Saul.

Acts 13: 13 Now Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. And John left them and returned to Jerusalem

John Mark brings us good news that the Roman proconsul of Cypress has witnesses the power of Christ in Paul and has come to believe in the Way.

Now that we have become fully trained just as Jesus had mentioned in those early days I wanted to share some of our Lord’s teaching with you; not as we heard it then as uncertain believers, but as we now consider how our Lord’s teaching has changed us over time – now, years later and after Jesus’ resurrection, many appearances and glorious ascension into heaven.

Thinking back to our Lord’s teaching to the crowds, which we heard consistently many times in those early days… He was teaching on a mountainside one day, as Jesus often did. Jesus would stand with His back toward the highest hillside above the gentle slopes populated with disciples from every locale. Jesus could look around into their faces and most of us could see His probing gentle eyes.

Luke 6:

20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said:

“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

We didn’t understand this then; for we were all poor and all the kingdoms of Judah, Samaria, Rome and all the others were powered by the rich – those who could buy influence or high office, whether Herod or Octavian or other rich men and women who bought their way into leadership.

Other times Jesus had said:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. – Matthew 5:7

It is this poorness of spirit we now understand – a poorness desired we had never sought, before our Lord and Master had lived out its meaning before our very eyes.

Jesus had never had anything by which men might consider him anything but poor. In Nazareth he made a more meager living as a sort of handyman carpenter than most of us town’s people. He never wore fancy clothes. His well-worn shoes were just like mine.

Jesus’ humility showed more than just his lowly station in life, his beleaguered place in our small community isolated from the seats of power. He was in every way as the scriptures say, “a bruised reed” himself. His gentle sincere smile always encouraged us. His happiness from deep within overflowed into the depths of our own souls. After a time I too sought to show others this same poorness of my spirit, that they might see the richness of the blessings of the Lord.

Yes, during all of the years of Jesus’ teachings and the many years since His resurrection we were poor. We were all poor. We were oppressed by Rome. We were miserable and afflicted by our own rulers in our day to day lives and often our insignificant deaths. Followers of the Way were soon and often persecuted. We suffered financially and physically.

We were poor. Yet in our Messiah Jesus we have inherited the Kingdom of Heaven.

Psalm 40:

I waited patiently for the Lord;
he inclined to me and heard my cry…

3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the Lord…

..my iniquities have overtaken me,
and I cannot see;
they are more than the hairs of my head;
my heart fails me.
13 Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me!
O Lord, make haste to help me!

17 As for me, I am poor and needy,
but the Lord takes thought for me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
do not delay, O my God!

To be continued…

May 14, 2016
Follow After Me -2- Released from My Prison

Some Disciples left everything to follow Jesus about 2000 years ago. They were sinners, family men, working men, men like you and me in every way. Although these men and women led simple lives, just like you and me they had problems.

Their country had fallen to enemies centuries ago. Prophets of God had asked centuries before how long the punishment of the Lord’s Chosen would last.

Habakkuk 1:

²How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen?

Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save?

³Why do you make me look at injustice?

Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?

Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. ⁴Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted.

How like our 21st century after Christ! How like the days of the early Christian church are these last days.

Their political and religious leaders were corrupt and greedy. Few followers of the Way, local Jews or anyone else were rich or had adequate income to live comfortably for more than a few days. Again, how like today are these areas devastated and affected by violence and war by the hand of the enemies of the Lord God.

A world super-power had conquered their homeland, taxed and ruled over them with an iron hand, occupying their towns with soldiers of superior strength. (Romans called this area of the world, Syria, from the name of a former empire.)

These Messianic Jews and Gentile followers of the Way came to be known as ‘Christians.’ It would not be long until Romans, Greeks and Jews alike would persecute them.

A Prison of our world and the Witness of Christ-followers

Christians were known to do strange things, like singing Psalms or songs in prison or as they faced certain death by execution. Paul, a Roman citizen and messianic Jew had been thrown into prison along with Silas, but by the Hand of God they were released from their shackles in a great earthquake.

Acts 16:

The Philippian Jailer Converted

²⁵About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, ²⁶and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened.

²⁷When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. ²⁸But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” ²⁹And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas.

³⁰Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

³¹And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

³²And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. ³³And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. ³⁴Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.

+

Who was really imprisoned here? Was it Paul and Silas? Or was the jailer, a husband and provider for his family who was about to take his own life over a perceived mistake at work, truly the prisoner of his daily existence?

Were the prisoners two men singing Psalms from a jail cell or a family suppressed in the futility of their daily lives in a home of hopelessness?

The jailer realized that these two men had a higher hope in Christ Jesus.

+

³⁵But when it was day, the magistrates sent the police, saying, “Let those men go.” ³⁶And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go. Therefore come out now and go in peace.”

³⁷But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and do they now throw us out secretly? No! Let them come themselves and take us out.” ³⁸The police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens. ³⁹So they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and asked them to leave the city.

+

Justice will be served. Paul and Silas, though imprisoned falsely by men in power, experienced a temporary justice. Though the Christian prisoners were freed, they were asked to leave the city.

The imprisoned jailer who thought Roman soldiers would execute him for his mistake had asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Paul, Silas, the Philippian jailer and his family all received a better justice – an eternal justice of the Lord God Almighty.

We have been released from the prison of our sin and guilt of our unrighteousness.

We have received mercy and grace in Christ Jesus.

To be continued…

NEXT: The Holy Bible

January 21, 2016