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Tag: Isaiah

  • Philip: Evangelizing Christ’s Sheep Beyond Gaza

    Philip: Evangelizing Christ’s Sheep Beyond Gaza

    How important is Gaza to Philip’s Evangelizing Mission?

    What does Gaza have to do with,

    “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” and evangelizing Christ Jesus?

    Quote of Jesus from the Gospel of Mark 16:15

    We’ll talk of JESUS’ evangelism model begun in the Apostles and now a command to Philip, one of Jerusalem’s first seven deacons in a moment. But first let’s review the setting of this semi-familiar scene of Philip baptizing an Ethiopian eunuch in (of all places), Gaza.

    Philip and the Ethiopian official in his chariot on the road from Jerusalem in Gaza, reading the scroll of Isaiah

    Acts of Evangelism by Christ’s disciples from Jerusalem’s Church

    8: At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.

    Philip: Preaching to Good and Bad Samaritans
    This is Philip who served with Stephen in Jerusalem
    • 4 Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word.
    • 5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.
      • (We will get back to the contrast between Samaria and Gaza in a moment.)
    • The Apostles in Jerusalem sent Peter and John to those evangelizing the towns of Samaria.
    • .. they [Peter & John] returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.

    An Angel of the Lord commands Philip: GO to Gaza

    We don’t want to dismiss too quickly who sends Philip on his way from the big city of Samaria (then called, Sebastia (when rebuilt by Herod the Great) with its six thousand souls, to an uninhabited Gaza along the road from Jerusalem.

    Google Earth view of Gaza and terrain from the mountains of Judea and Jerusalem
    Two routes to the Gaza road along the Mediterranean shore

    Luke does not use this description of just anyone.

    • Now an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. Zechariah [Priest of the LORD and father of John the Baptist] was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear gripped him. – Gospel of Luke 1:11-12
    • And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood near them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. – Gospel of Luke 2:9 – from the nativity of the shepherds near Bethlehem .. (also not too far from here)

    We know these instances well; however in Luke’s second account of the Acts of the Apostles the Angel of the Lord initiates some important ACTS of disciples of the Risen Christ Jesus.

    Previously, our history of the Apostles imprisoned in Jerusalem has already witnessed one of these appearances of the Angel of the Lord. A praying church is astounded to see Peter and John released from prison and then returning to the Temple to preach the Gospel.

    Arrested AND Released

    They laid hands on the apostles and put them in a public prison. But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the gates of the prison, and leading them out, he said, “Go, stand and speak to the people in the temple area the whole message of this Life.”

    Acts of the Apostles 5:18-20 NASB20

    Philip Goes to Gaza – ACTS 8

    But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying,

    “Get ready and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a desert road.)

    Acts of Philip, disciple of the Apostles, 8:26 NASB20

    27 So he started out, and he met the treasurer of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under the Kandake, the queen of Ethiopia. The eunuch had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and he was now returning.

    Seated in his carriage, he was reading aloud from the book of the prophet Isaiah.

    The Kandake, Queen of Ethiopia

    Nubia is a region along the Nile river encompassing the area between Aswan in southern Egypt and Khartoum in central Sudan. It was the seat of one of the earliest civilizations of ancient Africa, with a history that can be traced from at least 2500 BC onward, Kerma culture, and was home to several empires, most prominently the kingdom of Kush, which for a while even ruled over Egypt.

    Amanitaraqide appears to be the subject of a brief reference in the New Testament (Acts 8:27)

    Amanitaraqide held the title of Kandake in the Kingdom of Kush during the years 21-41

    Source – Wikipedia

    Nubia is a region along the Nile river encompassing the area between Aswan in southern Egypt and Khartoum in central Sudan. It was the seat of one of the earliest civilizations of ancient Africa, with a history that can be traced from at least 2500 BC onward, Kerma culture, and was home to several empires, most prominently the kingdom of Kush, which for a while even ruled over Egypt. 

Before the 4th century, and throughout classical antiquity, Nubia was known as Kush, or, in Classical Greek usage, included under the name Ethiopia (Aithiopia).

[MAP above of this region along the Nile & descriptions: Source]

    Αἰθίοψ – Ethiopian = “black”

    The eunuch, wearing expensive robes of a court official, rides in a royal chariot (reserved for only the highest officials of Rome and independent powerful kingdoms), would seem unapproachable by an ordinary man like Philip. For it seems this royal official would have been in Jerusalem on some important diplomatic mission as the queen’s personal representative.

    If you think back to the status of Daniel in Babylon or even further back to this region of the Nile and the earned status of Joseph serving Pharaoh, you will get a good picture of the importance of this man to the highest leaders of his country. 

    Even in this A.D. 21st century most men like Philip (and you) would know very little about this distant country in Africa far from Jerusalem and further from Rome and the new world beyond the great ocean.

    Ethiopia, like many lands, must hear the Gospel in many languages.

    Graphic source: Oromo Bible Society
    O land, land, land, hear the word of the LORD!

    No, the Ethiopian court official is not like Philip.

    As a diplomat with power to travel the world on behalf of his queen, he will play an important role in the spreading of the Gospel. So after Philip obediently travels to Gaza, he discovers that this man is a brother, a Jew who studies Scripture! And here in Gaza he is returning home to Kush from worship of the LORD in Jerusalem.

    (That’s right, the same Jerusalem from which Philip has fled; initially north to the city of Samaria, but now southwest of Jerusalem into the desert lands of Gaza.)

    Studying Isaiah with a ‘missionary’ to Gaza

    ACTS 8:

    29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.”

    (Philip is on foot and has walked this distance from Samaria, but this is now a second command of the Spirit as he reaches the Gaza road.)

    30 So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah

    30 وَعِنْدَمَا رَكَضَ فِيلِبُّسُ إلَى العَرَبَةِ، سَمِعَ الرَّجُلَ يَقْرَأُ كِتَابَ النَّبِيِّ إشَعْيَاءَ. فَقَالَ لَهُ فِيلِبُّسُ:

    ﻋﻤﺎﻝ ﺍﻟﺮﺳﻞ 8:30
    Arabic Bible: Easy-to-Read Version

    “Do you understand what you are reading?”

    31 The man replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” And he urged Philip to come up into the carriage and sit with him.

    Negev in southern Israel, Gaza and some areas near the Dead Sea are very barren places away from the towns and settlements

    Philip traveled in style for a while as they read.

    Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this:

    Isaiah

    נִגַּשׂ וְהוּא נַעֲנֶה וְלֹא יִפְתַּח־פִּיו כַּשֶּׂה לַטֶּבַח יוּבָל וּכְרָחֵל לִפְנֵי גֹזְזֶיהָ נֶאֱלָמָה וְלֹא יִפְתַּח פִּֽיו׃

    מֵעֹצֶר וּמִמִּשְׁפָּט לֻקָּח וְאֶת־דּוֹרוֹ מִי יְשׂוֹחֵחַ כִּי נִגְזַר מֵאֶרֶץ חַיִּים מִפֶּשַׁע עַמִּי נֶגַע לָֽמוֹ׃

    Masoretic Text Isaiah 53:7-8, quoted in ACTS 8:32-33
    Or perhaps the Ethiopian official traveling from Jerusalem through Gaza back to Egypt would have held a Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek. ..dated to the reign of Ptolemy II of Egypt (285-246 BC).. 
(READ more about ancient Egypt and Ethiopia from Source link: biblearchaeology.org)

    πάντες ὡς πρόβατα ἐπλανήθημεν ἄνθρωπος τῇ ὁδῷ αὐτοῦ ἐπλανήθη καὶ κύριος παρέδωκεν αὐτὸν ταῗς ἁμαρτίαις ἡμῶν

    Yeshaiya (Isaiah) 53:6 :: Septuagint (LXX)

    In reading all of Isaiah 53 he would have just read in verse 6:

    All we like sheep have gone astray; 
we have turned every one to his own way; 
and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. [KJV]

    34 So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?”

    35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him.

    Our chariot journey with Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch, to be continued..

  • The Testimony of Christ by Stephen

    The Testimony of Christ by Stephen

    “But be on your guard; for they will hand you over to the [Sanhedrin; or Council] courts, and you will be flogged in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them.

    Gospel of Mark 13:9 – Reply of Jesus to Peter, James, John and Andrew about signs of the beginning of the last days.

    μαρτύριον – Testimony

    • martyrion – From a presumed derivative of μάρτυς (G3144)

    WE know it by sometimes sworn oath:

    • Sworn testimony is evidence given by a witness who has made a commitment to tell the truth. If the witness is later found to have lied whilst bound by the commitment, they can often be charged with the crime of perjury. The types of commitment can include oaths, affirmations and promises.. – Source: Wikipedia
    • 第七十条 凡知悉案件的单位和个人，应当承担出庭作证的义务。有关单位负责人应当支持证人作证。证人确难以出庭的，经人民法院同意，可以提交书面证言。 任何不能适当表达意愿的人不得作证。
      • Note: Talk of JESUS .com will occasionally include a testimony of Christ in other languages for our readers in other countries. Above: from Chinese law

    Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken later

    Hebrews 3:3 NASB20

    Stephen’s Testimony of their Hebrew Ancestors

    God will raise up for you a prophet
    Our fathers had the tabernacle of the Testimony with them in the wilderness. It was constructed exactly as God had directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen. – Acts 7:44

    We have reached the point in his trial where Stephen’s testimony will quickly move on from Moses to David.

    Acts 7: continued

    7:45 Years later, when Joshua led our ancestors in battle against the nations that God drove out of this land, the Tabernacle was taken with them into their new territory. And it stayed there until the time of King David.

    Timeline: Moses *uncertain *(~15th or 13th c. B.C.); (Precise timeline of Joshua & the Judges of Israel uncertain.):
David *~1000 B.C. (dates differ between various sources); Solomon ~900's B.C. - First Temple of the United Kingdom of Israel (Judah in the south & Israel in the north) ended in 931 B.C. at Solomon's death.

Stephen's testimony before Jerusalem's leaders takes place about ten centuries (1000 years) after David, 
but just two years after these judges of Herod's temple reject their Messiah Jesus.
    First Temple
    Herod’s temple

    46 David found favor in God’s sight, and asked that he might find a dwelling place for the house of Jacob. But it was Solomon who built a house for Him..

    Herod’s temple

    Stephen then Testifies for the LORD from Scripture:

    Bereishit (Genesis) 14:22  וַיֹּאמֶר אַבְרָם אֶל־מֶלֶךְ סְדֹם הֲרִימֹתִי יָדִי אֶל־יְהוָה אֵל עֶלְיוֹן קֹנֵה שָׁמַיִם וָאָֽרֶץ׃

    But it was Solomon who actually built it. However, the Most High doesn’t live in temples made by human hands. As the prophet says,

    Acts 7:47-48 NLT

    ‘Heaven is My throne,
    And the earth is the footstool of My feet;
    What kind of house will you build for Me?’ says the Lord,

    Acts of the Apostles 7:49a NASB

    ‘Or what place is there for My rest?
    Was it not My hand that made all these things?’

    Acts of the Apostles 7:49b NASB

    Another Rare Vision

    29:18  בְּאֵין חָזוֹן יִפָּרַֽע עָם וְשֹׁמֵר תּוֹרָה אַשְׁרֵֽהוּ׃

    Proverbs 29:18 WLC, ESV Where there is no prophetic vision [חָזוֹן]. the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law.

    The Lord God has kept silent for centuries between the Prophets and John the Baptist.

    These Judges of Jerusalem’s Sanhedrin have witnessed rare wonders and signs which have prompted the faithful to ask if certain men have been sent to them from the Lord God.

    Peter, John and the Apostles have healed many in Jerusalem for two years now.

    Acts testimony of Peter preaching to the crowds

    And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all.

    Before that, for three years Jesus, whom they called Son of David, performed many signs and proofs throughout Judah, Samaria and Galilee. Some had speculated that their Messiah from Nazareth could have been John the Baptist resurrected from the dead.

    (Others even claim to have seen Jesus after His crucifixion on a Cross and burial in a nearby tomb!)

    And many Jews, leaders of the Sanhedrin and even Herod had marveled at the preaching of John the Baptist.

    John the Baptist

    from the Good News of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John (who had stood with Peter during his sign at the temple):
    This was John’s testimony when the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him, “Who are you? ”
He didn’t deny it but confessed: “I am not the Messiah.”
“What then? ” they asked him. “Are you Elijah? ”
“I am not,” he said.
“Are you the Prophet? ”
“No,” he answered.
“Who are you, then? ” they asked. “We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What can you tell us about yourself? ”

    He said, “I am a voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Make straight the way of the Lord ​— ​just as Isaiah the prophet said.”

    Gospel of John 1:23 NASB20 – John the Baptist speaking of the Lord Jesus

    Jerusalem’s elders held a distant fear of the Lord, as when the Hebrew elders had asked Moses NOT to look upon the Face of the LORD. Isaiah and the Prophets of old had had visions like no earthly corporate vision of a gathering at the temple or in synagogues. So they had to be certain that men like John the baptizer and Jesus and Peter and now, Stephen (addressing them with the face of an angel) would not strike them down for their turning from God.

    It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

    Hebrews 10:[28-]31

    Stephen’s Testimony Echoes Isaiah

    Israel's ruling council, now judging Stephen, would have been well familiar with these prophesies of Isaiah, 
*whose name means “The LORD is salvation,” and is similar to the names Joshua, Elisha, and Jesus; and ministered in and around Jerusalem as a prophet to Judah during the reigns of 4 kings of Judah, c. 739–686 B.C. - *Source

    Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of armies…

    And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke.

    Recall now from the testimony of Acts 6: 'All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel,' also used of Moses after having received the Law from the LORD and Isaiah's own testimony of having seen the Lord and heard Him speak.

    Isaiah – חֲזוֹן יְשַֽׁעְיָהוּ

    The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz concerning Judah and Jerusalem, which he saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

    Listen, heavens, and hear, earth;
    For the LORD has spoken:
    “Sons I have raised and brought up,
    But they have revolted against Me.

    “An ox knows its owner,
    And a donkey its master’s manger,
    But Israel does not know,
    My people do not understand.”

    Oh, sinful nation,
    People weighed down with guilt,
    Offspring of evildoers,
    Sons who act corruptly!
    They have abandoned the LORD,
    They have despised the Holy One of Israel,
    They have turned away from Him.

    2:12 For the Lord of armies will have a day of reckoning
Against everyone who is arrogant and haughty,
And against everyone who is lifted up,
That he may be brought low.

3:14 The Lord enters into judgment with the elders and leaders of His people,
“It is you who have devoured the vineyard;
The goods stolen from the poor are in your houses.
15 What do you mean by crushing My people
And [m]oppressing the face of the poor?”
Declares the Lord God of armies.
    • 6:1 .. I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple.
    • .. And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke.
    • .. Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying,

    “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?”

    • .. “Send me.”
    • Then I said, “Lord, how long?”
    • And He answered, “Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant, Houses are without people, And the land is utterly desolate..
    • 7:13 Then he said, “Listen now, house of David! Is it too trivial a thing for you to try the patience of men, that you will try the patience of my God as well?
    Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel - Isaiah 7-14 = picture of sleeping baby

    “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and she will name Him Immanuel…

    “The LORD will bring on you, on your people, and on your father’s house such days as have not come since the day that Ephraim separated from Judah—the days of the king of Assyria.”

    Isaiah 7:14,17 NASB20

    Indictment

    66:2 וְאֶת־כָּל־אֵלֶּה יָדִי עָשָׂתָה וַיִּהְיוּ כָל־אֵלֶּה נְאֻם־יְהוָה וְאֶל־זֶה אַבִּיט אֶל־ עָנִי וּנְכֵה־רוּחַ וְחָרֵד עַל־דְּבָרִֽי׃

    Isaiah 66:2 – quoted by Stephen

    For My hand made all these things,
    So all these things came into being,” declares the Lord.
    “But I will look to this one,
    At one who is humble and contrite in spirit, and who trembles at My word.

    Isaiah 66:2 NASB

    NEXT: Stephen’s closing argument and Sentence of the Sanhedrin

    使徒行传 7: To be continued…

  • An Apostolic Model: Ministering to a Growing Church

    An Apostolic Model: Ministering to a Growing Church

    How did Twelve Apostles minister to multitudes of disciples of a growing Church?

    • Who would lead change after hearing their murmurings,
      • (And THAT, knowing that some came to Christ from one TRADITION,
      • while others came to the Lord from diverse ethnic standards of community, family and worship of God.)
    • How can WE help relieve so many PERSONAL problems for hundreds of families belonging to our growing church?
    • WHEN will we ever have time to minister to our church family?
    • What must we do for each and every saint of our Lord Christ Jesus?

    ACTS of the Apostles and the Jerusalem CHURCH 6:1-7

    Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.

    ACTS of the Apostles 6:1 ESV

    Leading through diverse difficulties of a growing Church

    ‘.. but we have always done it THIS way?’

    (This isn't going to be so easy, is it?)

Luke reveals the cultural challenge of the church familiar to him, however most of us (in this 21st century) will not understand the root of the problem: 

Mixing gentiles with Jews. Even bringing the traditional challenge of some Jews joining in fellowship with other Jews divides political alliances in the Sanhedrin of Jerusalem.

Therefore I will begin by including a background for our scene in first century Jerusalem, as well as outcomes of church ministry which have occurred over two millennia. - RH

    First let’s clarify some ‘church‘ terms we derive from the Greek language of the New Testament.

    Who are Apostles? (and who are Disciples?)

    Acts Apostolos - Acts of the Apostles - the chronicles of Christ's Apostles - a history of Christ's Church
    • HOW MANY APOSTLES?
      • TWELVE (our standard answer)
    • WHO ARE THE APOSTLES?
      • No need here to recite them by name, but remembering:
    • ALL Apostles at this point in ACTS are leaders of the Church in Jerusalem.
      • Matthias has now replaced Judas.
    • Saul of Tarsus will soon encounter the risen Christ Jesus and join in ministry as Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles.

    ἀπόστολος – full definition linked here

    Disciples (disciples)

    μαθητής

    Strictly speaking, disciples are the ones taught; that is, anyone who follows the teachings or traditions of any teacher or rabbi.

    The disciple G3101 is not above his master [didaskalos], 

    nor the servant [doulos] above his lord [kyrios].

    Instruction of Jesus Christ – Matthew 10:24

    לִמּוּד

    54:13 וְכָל־בָּנַיִךְ לִמּוּדֵי יְהוָה וְרַב שְׁלוֹם בָּנָֽיִךְ׃

    And all thy children shall be taught H3928 of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children.

    prophesy of the Messiah by Yeshaiya (Isaiah) 54:13

    μαθητής mathētḗs, math-ay-tes’; from G3129; a learner, i.e. pupil:—disciple.

    • The Twelve were disciples of Jesus who followed their Teacher full-time for three years.
      • You’ve probably noticed that most translations of the Bible capitalize ‘disciple’ to avoid confusion when referring to the Twelve Disciples [Apostles].
    • Many others of the multitudes also became disciples and followed Jesus Christ in the early days before his crucifixion and resurrection.

    Now, in our scene in Jerusalem after the Lord’s resurrection, the Church in Jerusalem has many disciples – disciples of the Holy Spirit (who of course first receive the Holy Spirit, as we have just read from Luke’s account).

    Yet from Jesus’ instruction from the Gospel of the Apostle Matthew, note another distinction of this relationship between rabbi and pupil: that of master (or lord) and servant.

    These also apply in Luke’s account describing the model by which the Apostles lead the early Church.

    Our NEW Pastors 🙂

    (Some call them: ‘ministers‘)

    • FIRST: Jesus was the Rabbi. And Jesus was the Master.
    • THEN: The APOSTLES became the Rabbis. And the Apostles were then masters of their sheep (students; flocks, servants, community, school, fold, gathering, or whatever you may choose to call this multitude of the Church).

    Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD.

    Israel is a scattered sheep; the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones.

    Jeremiah 23:1, 50,17 KJV

    But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; G1249

    Gospel of Matthew 20:26 KJV – Teaching of Jesus to His disciples

    The Twelve, led by two of Jesus’ inner circle of Apostles, Simon Peter and John, now lead the New Testament Church as rabbis to a multitude of disciples.

    Lambs of the Apostles’ fold

    The Apostle John, who Luke records as standing at Peter’s side on the day of Pentecost, opens our eyes to the resurrected Jesus, where the Lord calls on Peter to restore the foundation of his calling:

    “Tend My lambs.” .. “Shepherd My sheep.” .. “Tend My sheep.

    The risen Master’s loving command to Simon Peter to minister to His church – Gospel of John 21:15,16,17

    These new disciples of the Twelve include NOT ONLY men from traditional Judaism, but also men, women and children accepted into fellowship, tender young lambs of Jesus who could NEVER before have been full members of their community of faith in the Lord God.

    “And I have other sheep that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice; and they will become one flock, with one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it back.

    Jesus teaching the Jews that He will Shepherd the gentiles, as scripture has said. – Gospel of John 10:16-17 NASB20
    • And what happens when ANY two groups of differing cultural traditions choose to follow one leader?
    • Dissension and murmuring by some unwilling to abide by rules and traditions imposed by others.

    Who is the master ministering to these NEW lambs?

    sheep by a manger

    “They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.

    “Go; behold, I am sending you out like lambs in the midst of wolves.

    Instruction of the Master Jesus to seventy-two [72] disciples + Gospel of Luke 10:3 NASB20

    Master – διδάσκαλος – didaskalos

    The KJV translates Strong’s G1320 in the following manner: Master (Jesus) (40x), teacher (10x), master (7x), doctor (1x).

    Doctor:

    a teacher (from didasko, “to teach”), cp. didaskalia, “teaching, doctrine, instruction,” is translated “doctors,” with reference to the teachers of the Jewish religion, Luk 2:46. Cp. paideutes, “a teacher.”
    See MASTER, TEACHER.

    Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words 1 Strong’s Number: g1320 Greek: didaskalos – via BlueLetterBible.org

    The rabbis of Jerusalem quarreled with each other as they had also challenged the legitimacy that Jesus’ MANY disciples should call the Lord, ‘Master.’ Now that Peter, John and the Apostles have remained in Jerusalem as Jesus commanded, MANY disciples remained faithful to the church gathered under the leadership of the Apostles.

    Note from earlier, after Peter preached in the Temple,

    “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed and recognized them as companions of Jesus. 

    Acts records the reactions of other rabbis

    These Apostolic Masters of the Church community now face division and opposition just as Jesus had encountered in Jerusalem prior to His execution and resurrection from the dead.

    Lord

    We will never understand our role as a servant of the Church until we know the sacrificial love of its servant-Master.

    Roger@TalkofJESUS.com
    "lord" occurs 7,790 times in 6,587 verses in the NASB20. Page 1 / 132

    Here too I urge caution and prayerful understanding of terms frequently used and misused by the church. i.e. Lord, Master, servant, slave (even God and ‘love,’ translated from several different Greek and Hebrew words in Scripture).

    • LORD – Yᵊhōvâ – יְהֹוָה
      • i.e. So Noah acted in accordance with everything that the LORD H3068 had commanded him.
    • From הָיָה (H1961)
      • i.e. Genesis 27:29 הָוָה

    May peoples serve you,
    And nations bow down to you;
    Be master of your brothers,
    And may your mother’s sons bow down to you.
    Cursed be those who curse you,
    And blessed be those who bless you.”

    And God said to Moses, “I AM H1961 WHO I AM H1961”; and He said, “This is what you shall say to the sons of Israel: ‘I AM H1961 has sent me to you.’”

    Exodus 3:14 NASB20

    אָמַרְתְּ לַֽיהוָה אֲדֹנָי אָתָּה טוֹבָתִי בַּל־עָלֶֽיךָ׃

    I said to the LORD [Yᵊhōvâ}, “You are my Lord [;ăḏōnāy];
    I have nothing good besides You.” – Tehillim (Psalms) 16:2
    For this is what the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, has said:
“In repentance and rest you will be saved,
In quietness and trust is your strength.”
But you were not willing,
Isaiah 30:15

    κυρίῳ kyrios – Lord

    "lord" occurs 106 times in 100 verses in the book of 'Act' in the NASB20.

    And increasingly believers in the Lord G2962, large numbers of men and women, were being added to their number,

    Acts of the Apostles 5:14 NASB20

    ἐκκλησία – ekklēsia – ‘Church‘

    Luke has only used the term ‘church’ once at this point in Acts of the Apostles to describe these ‘large numbers of men and women.’ He opens his second account describing the miraculous growth of the church:

    Acts of ALL with one accord
    Acts 2:1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
    • And now HOW has Luke just introduced the Church by name?
    A Church Seized by Signs and Wonders
    Acts 5:11 KJV And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.
    • The Church (that is, the early church) lives as a community of love in fear of God, yet joyful of Christ’s anointing Spirit given to His disciples of the Church who will ‘follow Jesus, as their Master.’
    • The saints of the Apostolic community serve the Living God and obey the Apostles as their lords and masters.

    The disciple G3101 is not above his master [didaskalos], 

    nor the servant [doulos] above his lord [kyrios].

    Instruction of Jesus Christ – Matthew 10:24

    the servant [doulos]

    Now that we have defined some of these ‘Christian‘ terms so foundational to understanding Luke’s account of the Acts of the Apostles; NEXT, God-willing, we will examine the role the these servants of the Church. 

    ACTS of the Church 6: 
To be continued...