Tag Archives: Jerusalem

THE BOOK OF ACTS – NO WAY, FESTUS!

Bible Study, ,

NO WAY, FESTUS!

“About eight or ten days later, Festus returned to Caesarea. The next morning he took his place in the courtroom and had Paul brought in. The minute he walked in, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem were all over him, hurling the most extreme accusations, none of which they could prove.

“Then Paul took the stand and said simply, ‘I’ve done nothing wrong against the Jewish religion, or the Temple, or Caesar. Period!’

“Festus, though, wanted to get on the good side of the Jews and so said, ‘How would you like to go up to Jerusalem, and let me conduct your trial there?'” Acts 25:6-9 (The Message).

Oh no! Not another crowd-pleaser! Paul might have had high hopes that Festus would give him justice, but he was turning out no better than Felix.

What was it with these Roman governors? Was it their fear of the volatile Jews who could stir up a riot in a flash that kept them from doing the right thing? Was there anything in it for them other than their maintaining their position by keeping the peace in Israel? They all seem to have been tarred with the same brush.

Festus was giving him the option of being tried in Jerusalem instead of in Caesarea when, a few days before he had insisted that Paul remain in Caesarea where he, Festus had jurisdiction over Paul. Jerusalem was the turf of the Jewish hierarchy where they had power and influence. Paul knew that at all costs he must stay away from Jerusalem.

He had been whisked out of Jerusalem in the dead of night because his life was in danger there, and now Festus wanted to send him back into enemy territory? Paul was well aware of Festus’ strategy. Sacrifice Paul for peace so that Festus could look like a good governor in the eyes of Rome. As long as there was no trouble in this little colony, internal issues did not matter, especially petty religious ones!

“Paul answered, ‘I’m standing at this moment before Caesar’s bar of justice, where I have a perfect right to stand. And I’m going to keep standing here. I’ve done nothing wrong to the Jews, and you know it as well as I do. If I’ve committed a crime and deserve death, name the day. I can face it. But if there’s nothing to their accusations — and you know there isn’t — nobody can force me to go along with their nonsense. We’ve fooled around long enough. I appeal to Caesar.’

“Festus huddled with his advisors briefly and then gave his verdict: ‘You’ve appealed to Caesar; you’ll go to Caesar!” Acts 25:10-12 (The Message).

Paul held the trump card. As a Roman citizen he had the right to a fair trial before Caesar. If Festus did not have the guts to do the right thing, he was certainly not going to subject himself to any more abuse from the Jews. It was with an air of contempt that he made his decision. Festus was too lily-livered to stand up to the Jews. He, Paul, was not going to be a pawn to be pushed around on their little chessboard. Caesar was his only option to get out of checkmate.

That pulled the rug from under Festus’ feet! He was obligated to grant Paul his request. This was a legally binding appeal and once granted, like the law of the Medes and Persians, it could not be changed. Paul was actively co-operating with God’s plan to move him to Rome. Did the penny drop for him at that moment? Did he have a flash of understanding, remembering the assurance from the Lord Himself that he was on his way to Rome in spite of all the carry-on in Jerusalem?

Slowly but surely God’s plan was coming together. Throughout all the seemingly impossible circumstances, and the long drawn-out process, Paul was exactly where and when God wanted him, putting all the structures in place to plant His son right in the palace of Caesar himself. There’s no getting away from it — God is smart.

THE BOOK OF ACTS – ONE

Bible Study, ,

ONE

“We saw that we weren’t making even a dent in his resolve, and gave up. ’It’s in God’s hands now,’ we said. ‘Master, you handle it.’

“It wasn’t long before we had our luggage together and were on our way to Jerusalem. Some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us and took us to the home of Mnason, who received us warmly as his guests. A native of Cyprus, he had been among the earliest disciples.

“In Jerusalem, our friends, glad to see us, received us with open arms. The first thing next morning, we took Paul to see James. All the church leaders were there. After a time of greeting and small talk, Paul told the story, detail by detail, of what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. They listened with delight and gave God the glory.” Acts 21:14-19 (The Message).

Jesus’ first words to would-be disciples on the brink of His public ministry were, ‘Follow me,’ and His final instruction to them on His return to the Father was, ‘Go, and make disciples.’ In the intervening years, the apostles carried out His mandate faithfully. Now, as they met together in Jerusalem many years after that day, they were sharing the stories of their obedience.

Not only were there pockets of disciples in many cities and towns across the Roman Empire, but they were also all disciples — followers of Jesus. The apostles were careful to attach people to Jesus and not to themselves, and they also ensured that God’s Word was their source book, not human reason or personal interpretation or experience.

The result was that the church was one body made up of cells all over the empire. There is no evidence of conflicting denominations or fragmentations based on human leaders pulling people away from Jesus. The potential was there; the writers of the New Testament letters were careful and diligent to put out the fires of division and conflict that were constantly being lit by unscrupulous counterfeit disciples.

But among the true believers and the church leaders there was unity based on their loyalty to and love of one Master. When Paul told his story to the leaders of the church in Jerusalem, they could celebrate and rejoice with him because they shared the joy of what God had done through him. It was not Paul’s work. It was God’s work and Paul happened to be one of the vessels God had used.

But Paul was only one among many who were sowing the seeds of God’s Word wherever they went. He blazed the trail for others to follow. He wrote letters to churches that other faithful evangelists had founded and he was not slow to acknowledge their ministry. This was not a competition but a partnership because the kingdom they represented was not theirs but God’s and their mandate was not to build the church — Jesus said He would do that — but to make disciples, and that’s what they were bent on doing.

There is a feeling of camaraderie and oneness among these people as we read the account of Paul’s reunion with the church in Jerusalem. They were all in it together and Paul’s success was their success.

What went wrong that the church is so fragmented and that there are so many different streams of thought and practice in the church today? Jesus made it very simple:

  1. He said, ‘Follow me; learn of me; obey me.’ His intention was that we be bound to Him as our model and our mentor, not any human being who thinks he can be a substitute for the Master. We are heading off in the wrong direction if we let go of Jesus.
  1. He gave us His written word as our source book. We have access to everything about Him in His Word. When we choose to ignore His Word and substitute human words for His Word, we are on the wrong track.
  1. He gave us His Spirit as His indwelling representative — another just like Himself — whose role is to teach us about Him and make Him real to us so that we can follow Him.

When we ignore the Holy Spirit or try to squeeze Him into who we think He is or what we think He ought to do, we lose the one person who can make unity possible.

Jesus’ impassioned plea to the Father was “That they may be one, Father, just as we are one.” That can never happen until we return to the simple basics of following Jesus, listening to the Holy Spirit and sticking to His Word.

THE BOOK OF ACTS – SMOOTH SAILING

Bible Study, ,

SMOOTH SAILING                                                                                       

“In the meantime, the rest of us had gone on ahead to the ship and sailed for Assos where we planned to pick up Paul. Paul wanted to walk there and so had made these arrangements earlier. Things went according to plan. We met him at Assos, took him on board, and sailed to Mitylene. The next day we put in opposite Chios, Samos a day later, and then Miletus. Paul had decided to bypass Ephesus so that he wouldn’t be held up in Asia province. He was in a hurry to get to Jerusalem in time for the Feast of Pentecost, if at all possible.” Acts 20:13-16 (The Message).

For once things were going according to plan for Paul. He had set his sights on Jerusalem in time for Pentecost and he was well on his way to getting there on time. The weather favoured the sailors; he was accompanied by his dear friends and behind him was the result of his faithful labour for Jesus.

He was still a Jew at heart, with the memory of Jewish festivals deeply ingrained in him. He had spent the most part of his life among pagans, gathering in the harvest of souls for the kingdom of God from city to city with toil, hardship and suffering — imprisonment, beatings, stoning, walking thousands of miles, experiencing the rigors of heat, cold, hunger and loneliness, but he was not daunted because he was gathering experience no one could take from him.

Jerusalem was his goal, the centre of the Jewish world and the capital city of his own people. Like Jesus, Paul was on a determined course for Jerusalem but, unlike Jesus, he did not yet know what awaited him there. He had been the butt of Jewish hostility throughout his travels. Many times he had been forced to turn his back on them and give his attention to the Gentiles because they had rejected him and threatened his life. He had been hounded from one city to the next and often had to change plans to escape their murderous plots but he still loved them and longed for their favourable response to the good news.

“‘I speak the truth in Christ — I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit — I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, the people of Israel.” Romans 9:1-4a (NIV).

How could Paul say a thing like that when his own people had treated him so badly? Surely he must have held a grudge against them for the scars on his body and on his soul? Not at all! Paul, how could you be so forgiving and so caring in the face of all you have suffered at their hands?

Jesus uttered words on the cross that, if we would really take them to heart, would take the sting out of the things we suffer at the hands of others. “‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.'” Luke 23:34 (NIV).

Like his Master, Paul realised that the way they treated him was just like the way he treated the believers before he met Jesus on the Damascus road, because he didn’t know what he was doing. Isn’t that true? Ignorance is not an excuse but often a reason for our foolish behaviour. If we really knew what the consequences of our words and actions would be, would we treat others the way we do?

One of the reasons why we withhold forgiveness from another is that we think we are better than he. What he has done to us we would never do to him. Really? We feel so outraged. How could he, she? But we forget that we are just as guilty because we are just as ignorant of the consequences.

Only a compassionate heart that really cared about the lives of those who hated him could cause Paul to say, “‘I have great sorrow…'”

THE BOOK OF ACTS – GOD HAS HIS WAYS!

Bible Study, ,

CHAPTER 8

GOD HAS HIS WAYS!

“The ringleaders took off their coats and asked a young man named Saul to watch them…Saul was right there, congratulating the killers.

“That set off a terrific persecution of the church in Jerusalem. The believers were all scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. All, that is, but the apostles. Good and brave men buried Stephen, giving him a solemn funeral — not many dry eyes that day!” Acts 8:1-2 (The Message).

God has His ways of getting the job done and His instructions carried out. In the early history of the world, He instructed the first pair, Adam and Eve, to multiply and fill the earth. They multiplied alright but, instead of moving out across the earth, they congregated in one place and began to build a tower and set up a false religion in rebellion against God.

At that stage they spoke only one language. God is smart! He knew how to get them to move – confuse their languages, which is just what He did. When they could no longer understand one another, they separated and moved away from each other. Those that remained called their city Babel — the place of confusion — which became the city of Babylon, symbolic of the anti-God world system which will be destroyed when Jesus returns.

Jesus told His disciples that they would be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth. But they stayed in Jerusalem. They were comfortable in their circle until this moment when all hell broke loose against them and they were forced to flee from Jerusalem.

But instead of persecution destroying the church and silencing the believers, it only served to spread the message beyond Jerusalem, which was exactly what God wanted. Wherever the believers went, they carried with them the precious story of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit who was in them. Their love, their unity, their unshakeable conviction that Jesus was alive, and even their courage in the face of persecution was so compelling that more and more people joined their ranks in spite of the personal danger of associating with the church.

We see, repeatedly, how God orchestrates the lives and circumstances of His people, which often times seems unfair and even cruel, to serve both His kingdom and His people. No matter how bad things seem to be, the outcome proves that God knows what He is doing. What we think is irreversible disaster turns out to be the best thing that could ever have happened. On hindsight we would not have wanted it any other way!

Look at the scenario. The Jerusalem church was growing, consolidating and flourishing. The people had great favour in the city and then…Peter and John went and healed a crippled beggar! That got the attention of the religious authorities. This was not just a co-incidence. This Jesus, whom they thought they had exterminated, was rearing up His head again. His followers were not only claiming He was alive, they were proving it by doing what He did. They had to be stopped. So they jailed and threatened them

But it didn’t stop there. Stephen was not even an apostle, yet he was doing what the apostles were doing — and accusing the Sanhedrin of more than murdering Jesus. He accused them of perpetuating the murderous behaviour of their forefathers who killed the prophets for foretelling the coming of Messiah.

This aroused the bitter hatred of a fanatical young Pharisee, Saul of Tarsus. The incident with Stephen released a flood of persecution led by Saul, which sent the believers scattering — just what God wanted!

Does this not give us huge encouragement? The story of the church in the book of Acts is the story of global war — God’s kingdom and the dominion of darkness, but is was and is a one-sided conflict. “What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31 (NIV).

THE BOOK OF ACTS – IN THIS FOR GOOD

Bible Study, ,

IN THIS FOR GOOD 

“So they left the mountain called Olives and returned to Jerusalem. It was a little over a half a mile. They went to the upper room they had been using as a meeting place: Peter, James, John, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James, son of Alpheus, Simon the Zealot, Judas, son of James.

“They agreed they were in this for good, completely together in prayer, the women included. Also Jesus’ mother, Mary, and His brothers.” Acts 1:12-14 (The Message).

This seems like a pathetically small group of followers after three years and a spectacular life of miracles and teaching like no other rabbi. God had once said to His people when they felt overwhelmed by their circumstances, “Who despises the day of small things?” Zechariah 4:10 (NIV).

The people of God had returned from exile and, after many years, they had finally rebuilt their temple, but it was an inferior temple to the one built by Solomon. They wept but God reassured them that the glory of the latter temple would exceed the glory of the former. Of course, He was referring prophetically to the human temple He would occupy after Jesus’ work of restoration through the cross.

These few people in the upper room were now right in line for the fulfilment of that prophecy. They were few in number but their potential was huge because of the one fact which Luke noted. They were in this together. Together they prayed and waited for the promise to be fulfilled.

Adam’s decision to go it alone had severed him from God and shattered the image of God in him, the oneness (ECHAD) that reflected the oneness between Father, Son and Holy Spirit. “Hear O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one…” Deuteronomy 6:4 (NIV). It was imperative that this small group of people be of one heart and mind so that the Holy Spirit could have unrestricted access to their spirits.

At the beginning of human history, when the people banded together to set up a false religion in rebellion against God, God said, “‘If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.'” Genesis 11:8 (NIV).

In few days’ time Babel would be reversed. Their unity would be the environment into which the Holy Spirit would come to set them on the path of restoring what Adam had destroyed in the Garden of Eden.

Jesus’ prayer just before His arrest gives us a glimpse into His heart. His final request was “‘that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.'” John 17:21 (NIV).

This unity is initiated by the Spirit but maintained by the mutual submission of God’s people. “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” Ephesians 4:2, 3 (NIV).

These disciples had decided to stick together, to do life together and to go it together and in that decision and their actions that followed they paved the way for the Spirit’s coming and His work in and through them.

They had made their decision – they were in this together, for good!