They are now doing 'International Students Ministry' to African leaders and future leaders who are coming from all across Africa to study in South Africa.
This is one of the most significance stories that anyone could ever hear. (Read Matthew 28).
What I really
like abot this story is
that it is so shocking. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to the tomb
fully expecting to find the body of Jesus. What they didn’t expect was an ‘earthquake’.
Then what was even more unexpected was a visitation from an angel from heaven who
had rolled the stone away. His white clothes and lightning like appearance was
so shocking to the Roman soldiers guarding the tomb that they shook with fear
and fell to the ground as though dead. The women were also struck with fear after
all there had been an earthquake and they’re visited by this radiant heavenly visitor.
They see the Roman soldiers guarding the tomb collapse in fear and the dead
body of Jesus is nowhere to be seen. But the most shocking thing of all is the
claim made by the angelic visitor that Jesus is alive from the dead just as he
had said.
This shocking
story is also a bit ‘perplexing’. Jesus had clearly told his own disciples on a number of occasions
that he would rise from the dead but none of them, including these faithful
women, were expecting Jesus to be alive (See John 2:19, Matthew 12:39-40, 16:21,
17:22, 20:17-19, 21:38-39, 26:2, 12). Why were so incapable of hearing what
Jesus had said and alluded to on several occasions? Now having received the
shocking revelation regarding the risen Christ they are told to tell Jesus’ disciples
to meet Jesus in Galilee. They leave filled with this strange combination of
fear and joy. As they run to tell the others they meet the resurrected Jesus
and fall at his feet and worship him. Jesus sends them on to tell his disciples
to meet him in Galilee.
The story has
much to tell us about the character of men. We learn much from the various responses to this shocking revelation
of the empty tomb and the angel’s message of the risen Lord. The soldiers are
also filled with fear but they fall down as though dead. But what is perplexing
is when they tell the high priest then they become part of a plot to cover up
that has happened. The soldiers tell the religious leaders the truth of what
happened but they are offered a bride to say that Jesus’ disciples stole the
body at night while they were sleeping. The soldiers agree and they accept the
bribe and they spread the alternative account. The high priest and the elders are
not moved to repentance but seek to cover it up the truth of Jesus with their
own twisted false account. What a picture of what we are all capable of apart
from God’s grace. Left to ourselves we would rather lie than repent and admit
the errors of our ways!
By contrast
the women respond to the shocking episode by running to tell the disciples the ‘good
news’. On their way they meet the resurrected Jesus and they grasp Jesus’ feet
and worship him. The women tell the eleven disciples who go to a mountain in Galilee
where they see the ‘resurrected Jesus’. Their response is also shocking because
some worship and yet ‘some doubted!’ Perhaps they were just slow of heart to
believe but maybe they were not yet able to grasp that Jesus is the appropriate
object of worship and were not yet able to grasp what we know about the deity
of Christ and triune nature of God.
So what does
the story tell us about God and about Jesus? The resurrection proves that Jesus
really is God’s Messiah. Jesus really does fulfill all that was foretold about
the Messiah who was to come. This shocking story and the varying responses to
the ‘good news’ in Christ tells us that ‘genuine faith’ is the gift of God.
Faith is not something that we can just conjure up in our own strength; it is God’s
gracious gift to man. God must foretell, God must fulfill, God must reveal and
God must grant faith and repentance and apart from his gracious intervention we
simply will not believe. Then we see that God gives the resurrected Jesus (the
divine Messiah) all authority in heaven and on earth so that all authority belongs
to the resurrected Messiah Jesus; who is now revealed as the proper object of
worship.
So what is
the faithful, trusting and appropriate response to the ‘good news’ of the
resurrected Jesus, who has conquered death, and who revealed himself to these
first disciples; the women who grasped his feet and the eleven who meet him on
the mountain? How should we respond to the one who has been given ‘all power
and all authority’ in heaven and on earth? Having one’s eyes opened to the
reality of the resurrected Christ should fill the heart with fear and joy. The resurrected
Jesus has become the proper object of our worship. The true worshiper will
worship Jesus with fear and joy even if others doubt, eve if we struggle with
our own doubts. What is the appropriate response to the resurrected Jesus? We
should respond with fear, with joy, with faith, and having fallen down in
worship we are to get up willing to play our part in the fulfillment of the
‘great commission’. We are to respond by not being content until the nations
are baptized into the name of the Triune God and are taught to obey everything
Jesus has commanded. As these women clung to Jesus’ feet, we are to cling to
the promise that all power and authority belong to Jesus and that Jesus will be
with us even to the end of the age.
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones once preached at a ‘good
Friday’ service and afterwards a man came up to him and asked, “Why do you call
it ‘Good’ Friday when that horrible thing happened? After a discussion
Lloyd-Jones concluded that the man had misunderstood the cross! Evidently the
man did not think that the cross was actually necessary.
Read Mark
8:27–33 (NIV84)So Jesus and his disciples were moving
through the villages around Caesarea Philippi. Jesus asked his disciples, “Who
do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Christ. After warning
his disciples not to tell this to people, Jesus told them how the
‘Son of Man’ MUST SUFFER many things and be rejected by the
elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be
killed and after three days rise again. But Peter rebuked Jesus, until
Jesus rebuked Peter, saying, “Get behind me, Satan!
Jesus plainly
told that the ‘Son of Man’ must suffer many things and
that he must be killed (8:31). Jesus’ disciples didn’t
understand this because to them and everyone else at that time, a Messiah who
suffers and dies was a failed Messiah. Peter understood that Jesus was the
Messiah but he didn’t understand the need for the cross. This is why Jesus
warned them not to tell anyone about him. When Peter rebuked Jesus saying,
“this will never happen to you” but Jesus rebukes Peter, saying, “Get behind me,
Satan! In other words, the denial of the cross is a
satanic lie. The cross is absolutely necessary! This is also seen in the story
of Jesus in the ‘garden of Gethsemane’ as well (Mark 14:32-42).
The Story of Gethsemane from Mark 14:32–42
Jesus and his disciples went to Gethsemane, where
they sat while Jesus prayed. Jesus took Peter, James and John and he told
them that he was so sorrowful that he could die. They were to keep watch while
Jesus went a little further and fell down and prayed. Then Jesus prayed, “Abba,
Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not my will,
but your will be done!” Then Jesus returned to his disciples and found them
sleeping. Jesus said, “Peter, couldn’t you keep watch for one hour? Watch and
pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the
body is weak.” Once more Jesus went away and prayed that if possible his Father
might take the cup away from him, but not his will but the Father's will be
done. Again Jesus returned and found his disciples sleeping and they didn’t
know what to say to Jesus. Returning a third time, Jesus told his sleepy
disciples that now the hour had come for him to be turned over into the hands
of sinners. That the Father did not respond tells us that it
was impossible to avoid the cross. Evidently the plan of God to save the world
and redeem sinners required the cross and there was no other way. Almighty God
could not save sinners apart from the cross!
Mark’s Crucifixion Story (Mark 15:16–39).
The whole company of soldiers gathered
around Jesus. These soldiers would have resented the Jewish revolutionaries and
so they must have taken their frustrations out on the powerless Jesus. They
mockingly put a purple robe normally reserved for nobility and a crown of
thorns on Jesus’ head. They fell on their knees saying, “Hail, king of the
Jews!” They spit on him and beat him repeatedly. Then when they were done
mocking him they put his clothes back on him and led Jesus out to be crucified.
They forced Simon of Cyrene, a Jewish pilgrim from North Africa, to help the
battered Jesus to carry the cross on which he would be crucified. They
took Jesus to Golgotha, the ‘Place of the Skull’. At nine in the
morning Jesus was crucified. They offered Jesus a form of drugged wine
but he refused. The soldiers stripped Jesus of his clothes and they cast lots
for them. The charge written on the cross against Jesus said ‘KING OF THE
JEWS’. He was crucified between two rebels, one on his right and one on his
left.
Those who passed by Jesus as he hung naked on the
cross insulted him. They shook their heads claiming that if Jesus was going to
destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days then he should save himself. In
actuality they had misunderstood Jesus’ claims (John 2:19, Mark 13:2). Then the
chief priests and the teachers of the law also insulted Jesus by acknowledging
that he saved others, but that he couldn’t save himself. They claimed that if
Jesus came down from the cross then they would believe that he was Israel’s
king. But as the Christ he had come to conquer sin and death by embracing it on
the cross. Even the thieves crucified beside Jesus hurled their insults at
Jesus.
The story of the crucifixion is a sad story that is
set in a dark place, Golgotha, the place of the skull. Darkness even engulfed
the whole land from noon until 3 in the afternoon (Mark 15:33). The Roman
battalion (600 men) mocked Jesus ‘hailing him as the king of the Jews’ while
beating and spitting on him. Those in the crowd mocked him saying he claimed to
destroy and rebuild the temple but that he was powerless to save himself. For
the religious leaders he would have to come down from the cross and save
himself if he was Israel’s true king. He was treated shamefully, and he looked
like a weak and pathetic character that was ridiculed by those who were
crucified beside him.
It was a ‘sad day’ when Jesus who had been betrayed
by a friend was abandoned by his disciples. Now only the women who followed him
and cared for his needs were there watching from a distance. Ironically, it was
only a Roman centurion who heard Jesus cry, ‘my God, my God, why have you
forsaken me’ and confessed that he was ‘the son of God’. But the worst thing of
all that Jesus faced was being ‘utterly forsaken’ by his own heavenly Father!
Yet, despite all that he faced Jesus clung faithfully to his confession, “My
God, My God”. That Friday was a dark day, it was a sad day, and it was an evil
thing what happened there on that dark day! So why do we call it ‘Good Friday’? The
reason we call Friday good is… SUNDAY!
One of the biggest lessons I learned from Africa and
from Africans began when my daughter Clara was about 4 or 5 years old.My daughter Clara loves stories and she always wanted me to tell her
stories. So I told her all the stories that I felt were appropriate and I ran out of stories but she wanted
me to tell her more stories. Now I could have given her various statements of what the
Bible teaches on a various topics with proof texts and that may
have put her to sleep but I wanted to engage
her with God's word. I wanted her to know God and His will for her
life. So I asked myself, ‘how many Bible stories have I internalized so that I
could tell them accurately and naturally in my own words?’ My answer was maybe the same as your answer to that question might be… practically none!
Now I had been teaching a class on Daniel at a Bible College in Malawi so I started telling Clara stories from the book of Daniel. She loved it so I started telling those same stories to the prisoners at Maula prison in Malawi. I will
never forget what happened when I told the story from Daniel 4 where
Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that frightened him. Do you know that that story?
Nebuchadnezzar was the world’s most powerful ruler
but his nightmare scared him. The king called for his council of Babylonian ‘wise
men’ but they failed to interpret the dream. They may have been afraid to bring
the explosive king the ‘bad news’ depicted in the dream (Daniel 2:12, 3:13-15).
The king would need Daniel, the exiled Jewish prophet, to discern his dream. As
a subjugated Jewish exile the king referred to Daniel as Belteshazzar after the
name of Nebuchadnezzar’s god. Yet, Nebuchadnezzar understood Daniel to be indwelt
by the ‘spirit of the holy gods’ and capable of interpreting the dream.
Nebuchadnezzar saw a tree that touched the sky
that was visible throughout the earth. The tree had beautiful leaves, abundant fruit
and the birds and the beasts sheltered in it. A holy one from heaven said
that the tree would be chop down, stripped of its leaves and branches, its fruit
would be scattered and the birds and beasts chased from it. This superior power
commands that the tree be stripped of its authority and its abundance,
but the stump would remain bound with a strap of iron and bronze.The tree is depicted as having a mind that is
to be changed to that of a beast for period of seven times. The
reason for all this is so that all may know that Most High God rules over
the kingdoms of men (4:17).
Daniel was
also upset by the dream, but the king insisted that Daniel interpret the dream.
Daniel was genuinely concerned and told the king and wished that the dream applied to the king’s enemies. Then Daniel freely
tells Nebuchadnezzar that he is the tree that touched the sky; visible
throughout the earth. The decree of the Most High God was that the king, the personalized
tree, would be driven from people to live among the beasts for a period
described as seven times until the king acknowledged that the Most High God
rules over the kingdoms of men.
Nebuchadnezzar had risen to prominence but his
rule was oppressive so he would be stripped of his kingly glory. Evidently, the
king had ignored the hardships of the oppressed and now the king’s authority
and prosperity would be removed from him. Nebuchadnezzar was an inhumane king
who used people like beasts. Now he would be given the mind of a beast and he
would live among the beasts in the bush like a beast. He would remain in this
condition until the time when the king acknowledged that the Most High God rules
over the kingdoms of men. The remaining stump meant that Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom
would be restored when Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged that heaven rules. Again, concerned for the king’s welfare, Daniel
exhorts the king to turn from his sins by doing what was right and by being merciful to the oppressed then the king’s prosperity might continue.
A whole year passes but Nebuchadnezzar is
unchanged. We find him walking on the roof of his palace admiring his achievements. The king was boasting of the greatness of Babylon which he evidently built
at the expense of the poor and oppressed. Nebuchadnezzar had urged Daniel to interpret
his dream and having given the king the interpretation Daniel urged the king to
change his ways. Unconcerned and unresponsive we find the boastful king is
interrupted by the voice from heaven announcing the removal of Nebuchadnezzar’s
kingdom. He would be driven from people to live like a beast among the beasts.
This would last for a period of seven times until Nebuchadnezzar learned that
the Most High rules the kingdoms of men. Nebuchadnezzar had failed to
heed Daniel’s warning but now a voice from heaven tells Nebuchadnezzar directly
without any symbolic imagery that his kingdom is removed and that he would be
driven from people to live like a beast among the beasts. Nebuchadnezzar would
remain in that beast-like condition for a period of seven times until
Nebuchadnezzar learned that heaven rules.
Nebuchadnezzar was driven into the bush to live
like a beast among the beasts. He was given the mind of a beast, and his hair
grew as long as eagles’ feathers and his nails grew like the claws of a bird. When
the period of seven times was completed, Nebuchadnezzar lifted his eyes to
heaven and came to his senses. Now being found in his right mind Nebuchadnezzar
acknowledges that the Most High does what he pleases with the host of heaven
and the inhabitants of the earth. As was promised Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom
was restored the king praised God saying, ‘all God’s ways are just and He is
able to humble the proud’.This Nebuchadnezzar
knew by experience for in his arrogance he had lost his kingdom but then after
confessing that ‘heaven rules’ his kingdom was restored.
Those
prisoners at Maula prison loved that story. We had a great
time following the telling of that story as we discussed how that story depicts the Most High
God of Daniel (Daniel 4:17) as being sovereign over the kingdoms of men. The
discussion was going well when one of those inmates stood up and said, “Guys,
Nebuchadnezzar was the king of all the kings of his time, he had everything but
he had to lose everything before he repented. Then he said this, “guys we have
nothing, who are we not to repent!”
Now that relatively uneducated prison inmate really
understood the implications of the difficult doctrine of the ‘Sovereignty of
God’. When I taught at a Bible College in Malawi I used to tell my students what
I had heard the Theologian John Frame say, ‘you don’t know or understand a
doctrine until you know how that doctrine applies’. That relatively uneducated man
in that Malawian prison understood the practical implications of the doctrine,
the teaching of the ‘word of God’ regarding the Biblical doctrine of the ‘Sovereignty
God’. He responded to that clear and straight
forward story from the Book of Daniel (Daniel 4) about the ‘Sovereignty of God’
by doing what Daniel had urged King Nebuchadnezzar to do, to turn from sins.
This Post is an update regarding the Stoms Family in South Africa and it highlights events surrounding the minister to Internationals student at the University of Stellenbosch at Christ Church in Stellenbosch. On Saturday, April 1st, we’ll be hosting a seminar at Christ Church with Richard Weston. Richard has 30 years of experience in pioneering international student ministry in the UK and around the world. He will discuss the role International students can play in God’s plan for the nations and how a local church can welcome International students. We pray this seminar will encourage local churches here to befriend the numerous international students living in Stellenbosch.
We had a great 2 week visit from Pastor Michael Kelly (GLPC, PNW Church-planting network). Pastor Kelly spoke at our ‘Retreat for Internationals’; where we had over 30 people representing 9 different countries from 4 continents. Everyone really worked together to make it a restful and joy-filled time. We hiked, enjoyed African and Korean meals and spent time together. Pastor Kelly presented four powerful messages on loving the church for a lifetime. The lunch for graduating international postgraduate students and their families and friends also went well. While there was some overlap, this was a different group than those at the retreat. This was a time to celebrate with family and friends of those who graduated where we presented gifts and heard another helpful message from Pastor Kelly.
The day after the luncheon the Kelly’s went on to Malawi. I stayed behind for Clara’s 12th birthday which was nice. Then I flew to Malawi where I first stayed in Lilongwe with our friends the Braseltons and met Reverend Edward Tembo, a former student. I preached at his church, Kafita CCAP, to the over 1000 worshipers there who love to sing and are eager to hear Biblical preaching. Then we visited with our friends, Dr. David and Rebecca Morton from Green Lake Church, who work at Nkhoma Hospital which is about an hour outside Lilongwe. This is the same hospital where our daughter Clara was treated for a corneal ulcer when she was 2 months old. Since then the washboard dirt road has been paved and the drive is a lot smoother and faster than back in those days.
Pastor Kelly and I spent a day teaching the 3rd and 4th year students at JMTI Theological College (CCAP Nkhoma Synod). When these students finish at JMTI they’ll be placed in churches with plenty of people but no pastors. A former student, Rev. Gracious Madimbo, was placed in a rural church with 2000 people immediately after graduating from JMTI. We also met with the Principle of JMTI and the Academic Dean about setting up a workshop on ‘Narrative Preaching and Biblical Storytelling’ for a future visit.
We had a great reunion with the Morton’s and Rebecca Morton took care of us and David who wasn’t feeling well. The lush green foliage surrounding their house nestled just below Nkhoma Mountain was quite a contrast to the dry Western Cape. After a nice stay in Nkhoma we returned to Lilongwe where we caught our flights back to South Africa. Back in Stellenbosch, Michael and Ian stayed below us in a furnished flat owned by the University. We showed them some of the amazing scenery around Cape Town and then they treated us to a wonderful dinner for my 56th birthday. At the end they were feeling a bit homesick and ready to return to the States and their family.
Now with this M-Th in Homiletics and Narrative Preaching behind me, I want to get back to doing Biblical Theology through the Bible's own stories. Our goal is to story through the Bible and this is what most of our posts are all about. Special thanks to those who prayed for us; surely your prayers helped the retreat, the graduations, the luncheon, the Malawi trip, the flights, the meetings and messages during the Kelly's visit go so well.
Luke 1:78-79
(ESV) … because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit
us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of
death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Merry Christmas from South Africa 2016
Dear friends,
Zechariah, filled with the Spirit, spoke of the coming
of the ultimate sunrise bringing light to those sitting in darkness, guiding
into the way of peace. Later Simeon, also filled with the Spirit, would hold
the baby Jesus in his arms calling him a light of ‘revelation to Gentiles’ and ‘glory
for Israel’ (Luke 2:32). We pray that you will be filled with the ‘light and peace’ of Jesus this Christmas
season. This Christmas is bringing us another transition for in January we’re
moving back into a University flat (apartment). We will miss having a spacious
house to show hospitality to International students. I won’t miss the yellow
jackets (a German invasion), the flies (we’re near a dairy farm) or the
squirrel from the roof that recently got into the kitchen. Then there’s
watering the garden and cleaning the pool. Yes, we had a pool but keeping it
clean and free of frogs is a hassle. We’ll also miss the rental Belgian Shepherd,
Maxie that came with the house.
Carol service w/ DK and Kefas.
When I walk with Maxie in the hills not far from the house we pass a house
with a large German shepherd. As we pass the house the two dogs bark furiously at
each other on either side of the security fence. Somehow this reminds me of the
barriers between the various ethnic groups that still remain here in the 'Rainbow Nation’. America is a different
place but when I watch media clips and read Facebook posts somehow I’m reminded
of those two dogs growling on either side of a dividing wall.
In South Africa there are Christian churches of every ethnicity but little
interaction between them. Unfortunately it seems we in the church are just as divided
ourselves. Our ‘story group’ has been working through stories from the Book of
Acts and the theme of the ‘one multi-ethnic’ family of Abraham comes up again
and again. The stories show how the Holy Spirit powerfully worked to form one unified
people of God, the Church. The Spirit was poured out on the Samaritans at the
laying on of the Apostle’s hand (Acts 8:14-17) and the Jewish believers were
amazed when the Spirit was poured out even on Gentiles in the household of
Cornelius the Roman centurion (Acts 10:44-48).
That God wanted one multi-ethnic people of the Messiah really hit home when
we discussed the story of the conversion of Saul of Tarsus (Acts 9:1-19). While
on his way to Damascus
Saul was blinded by the light of the glorified Christ. Then when Ananias placed his hands on Saul he
could see again. After being baptized, Saul preached Jesus fearlessly until he
had to flee for his life from Damascus through the city wall in a basket. Later
Saul joined the Apostles in Jerusalem where he spoke boldly about Jesus until
he was forced to flee for his life to Tarsus. We are told that the church (singular)
throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened
and encouraged by the Holy Spirit (Acts 9:31).
When Saul, the
churches greatest antagonist, fled Jerusalem as a persecuted proponent the church,
the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria experienced a time of peace. The
one unified church in Judea, Galilee and Samaria is depicted as having the
presence and power of the Spirit upon and it grew in numbers (9:31). What a powerful
witness of God’s new society they were! They even sold their properties to care
for those in need (4:34-35) and they feed their widows daily (Acts 6:1). The one
multiethnic people of God showed unity and exhibited charity before the world
that Israel’s Messiah was the Lord of all the earth.
Getting to know students from Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda,
Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa and South Korea over the past year has
been just a small taste of the one multi-ethnic people of God. Being privileged
to hear their diverse perspectives on the ‘Story and stories of God’ has been for
us a taste of the ‘light and glory’ that Jesus has and is bringing to the world.
Thanks so very much for your prayerful support of the ministry God has given us
here in South Africa.
With Love / Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!
Jay, Laura, Clara (11), Katherine (10) and Lauren Stoms (7).
We invite you to partner
with us in prayer. To give financially please send donations on behalf of Jay
and Laura Stoms to the Africa Christian Training Institute. Your generosity is
deeply appreciated. Send a tax-deductible donation in care of Jay and Laura
Stoms to: PLEASE SEND SUPPORT
TO:
Africa
Christian Training Institute (Stoms Ministry Fund).
P O Box 15621
Panama City FL 32406-5621
The grey mountains that once held the chill and damp winter, later welcomed the spring rains and wild flowers, are now bathed in the large South African sun. The dry heat of Stellenbosch summer is settling in. The Guinea fowl have had their chicks and already left our abode for wider grasslands. The undergraduate students have finished their year, the graduate and post graduates are submitting theses and finishing reading for oral exams. A few of the internationals we have met will go home to Zambia, Nigeria, or Korea for Christmas, while others like Gilbert from Ghana, who is about to get his Master’s in Food Science will stay through to begin his PHD. The campus can be lonely for the internationals as they feel like they are “alone” in studying at this time. With limited scholarships’, financial constraints, and often having to move to find a cheaper rent, these students carry a lot of stress and pressure to succeed.
'Braai' for Internationals
On Sunday we hosted an international student braai (barbecue) with friends from Zambia, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Korea and South Africa. We had Nigerian rice and potatoes, Korean bbq, noodles and rice, as well as some American homemade ice cream, grilled chicken and salads. Many helped and were encouraged by the fellowship of the many nations. A Korean friend, who has taught Katherine to watercolour paint, came with her husband. She recently had shingles just as her husband’s Masters’ thesis was due, and we had not seen them out being social in quite a while.
On January 1 we move from our rental home. On 19 January we move back to the University of Stellenbosch housing flat on the campus. The girls and I spent a couple of weeks cleaning, sorting and getting rid of stuff (the up side of moving) as they have finished their academic year. I struggle to get our black containers out yet, as I don’t quite want to feel in complete moving mode. Clara has begun to grieve the loss of her own room, Katherine has photographed most of the garden, and Lauren sketches many pictures of Maxi, the Belgian shepherd “rental dog”, and I am expecting big tears. Meanwhile Jay is thrilled to reduce rent, as well as his facilities management and pest control efforts (squirrels in the roof, flies, sand fleas, tics, frogs, and wasps to name a few). We hoped to secure a three week house sit (as most South Africans like to have someone in their home to prevent robbery while away). We have a week of house sitting, then will go to a pastoral retreat center with a Korean family and finally to a “basic house” belonging to a friend’s relative located by a river leading to the sea of great white sharks. This year Katherine has really enjoyed the ballet programs and Clara is swimming 4 days a week, trained by the University coaching staff. Lauren has joined ballet with Katherine and swims once a week. Both Katherine and Lauren received piano lessons from University of Stellenbosch students as part of the students’ requirements for study. Katherine wants two birthday parties this year, one with her international student family and one with her two special ballet friends.
Please keep us in your prayers as we prepare to move again, to care for and transition the girls, each other and to seek to improve the care and encouragement in Christ to our international friends at the University of Stellenbosch. I've struggled to communicate our situation, but I'm sending this update with thanksgiving and gratitude to each of you. We thank God for your generosity in both prayer and financial support this past year.
Hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving and We Wishing you a Merry Christmas Season.
With love in Christ, Laura (on behalf of Jay, Clara, Katherine and Lauren)
Background Story: God promised Abraham a homeland and multiple descendants
to bless the world. Abraham’s descendants multiplied in Egypt but were enslaved. God
delivered them ‘out of Egypt’ and called them to be a ‘kingdom of
priests and a holy nation’ at Mt. Sinai. They occupied their homeland under Joshua
and later God promised David a ‘perpetual kingship’ over God’s people. David’s
son, Solomon, built the Temple as a dwelling for God, but Solomon
introduced an idolatry that led to the destruction of the ‘Northern kingdom’
and the exile of the ‘Southern Kingdom’ in Babylon. They returned to
their land but they remained under Pagan rule. Israel longed for a ‘conquering
king’ and God sent Jesus. Jesus was ‘anointed by the Spirit’ at
his baptism and he overcame the devil’s temptations in the wilderness. He gathered
a ‘new people (12)’ around himself and after disciples recognized
Jesus’ Messianic identity he was enthroned as ‘KING of the JEWS’ outside
Jerusalem on a cross. He looked like a failure, but on the third day God raised
him from the dead. He showed himself alive to his disciples, and then he ascended
into heaven. From there he poured out his Holy Spirit empowering his disciples
to be his witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the
earth. In Jerusalem, the apostles proclaimed Jesus as Lord and Christ in
Jerusalem though the religious leaders forbid they do so. When a disciple named
Stephen testified how ‘Israel’s Story’ culminated in Jesus, the religious
leaders had him stoned to death. Then a ‘great persecution’ scattered the believers
who preached the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. The Samaritans believed and
were baptized at the preaching of another disciple, Philip, and this brings us
to the story of Philip and the Ethiopian from Acts 8. You can watch the story
here and read the comments below.
The Ethiopian Eunuch: As
we move through the Book of Acts we see the continued works of Jesus through his
Spirit-filled Church. God sends an angel to direct Philip. Then the Holy Spirit
spoke to Philip and directed him to a specific person at a particular place.
Philip was one of the seven selected to oversee the feeding of widows. Then
when persecution scattered the disciples, Philip went and evangelized Samaria.
The Lord sent an angel who told Philip to go south to the desert road from
Jerusalem to Gaza. Without hesitation Philip went and there Philip met this Ethiopian
man who was returning from worshiping God in Jerusalem. The Lord guided Philip
both by an angel and by His Spirit. Philip was sensitive to God’s guidance and
we see the gospel beginning to spread beyond Judea and Samaria.
On that desert
road Philip met an Ethiopian eunuch, who was the official in charge of the
treasury of the queen of the Ethiopians. This man was a worshiper of the God of
Israel though he was not Jewish or even a proselyte to Judaism. He had been to
Jerusalem to worship God, perhaps for one of the principle festivals, and was now
returning to his home in Ethiopia. As he traveled he was seated in his chariot
reading from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Having been directed to the road, the
Spirit of God tells Philip to go over near the Ethiopian’s chariot. The Spirit tells
Philip directly to stay near a very specific chariot. We aren’t told that
Philip was seeking such guidance; we only know that Philip went to Samaria in
response to the ‘great persecution’ and the command of Jesus (Acts 1:8). In
Samaria crowds had listened to Philip preach Christ and do miracles and the
Samaritans believed and were baptized.
Philip draws
near the chariot where he hears the Ethiopian official reading from Isaiah the
prophet. So Philip starts by asking the Ethiopian if he understood what he was
reading. However, the man said the he needed someone to explain it and so he invited
Philip to sit with him in his chariot. He had been reading in Isaiah (Isaiah 53:7-8)
where it says, “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb silent
before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. He was deprived of justice and
who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from him.” Philip began
by asking the man what he already knew. This implies that he could have understood
without Philips help. However the man asks for help and so Philip was more than
willing to help the man. What he wanted to know from Philip was whether the
prophet Isaiah was speaking about himself or someone else? So Philip began with that very passage
and Philip told the man the ‘good news’ about Jesus. When they came to some
water the Ethiopian eunuch wanted to be baptized. They stopped the chariot and
both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized the
eunuch. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord took Philip
away. The Ethiopian didn’t see Philip again, and we are only told that he went
on his way rejoicing (Acts 8:30-39).
This
Ethiopian man comes into the picture right after we find Samaria accepting the
gospel which was one of the results of the Jerusalem believers being scattered.
In this story we find the gospel beginning to move out from Judea and Samaria to
reach an Ethiopian God-fearer. He had gone up to Jerusalem to worship the God
of Israel at the temple but being both a gentile and a eunuch he was
essentially an outsider. We find him reading and seeking to understand the
scriptures. When the Lord directed Philip to the Ethiopian and their paths crossed
the man wanted Philip to explain the passage he was reading from Isaiah. Philip
started with that passage and told him about Jesus. Seeing water the man wanted
Philip to baptize him. Philip did this but when they came up out of the water
Philip was mysteriously taken away leaving the Ethiopian to return home
‘rejoicing’!
This man was privileged in that he was a
trusted Ethiopian official. However, in another sense the man was an outcast.
He was a physically disabled Gentile and as a gentile and a eunuch—he remained
an outsider who wasn’t able to fully participate in the temple worship. While
reading from the prophecy of Isaiah on his way home he meets Philip and he
wants Philip to explain whether Isaiah was speaking about himself or someone
else (Acts 8:27, 32, Isaiah 53:7). Philip took the opportunity to explain how
this prophecy and Israel’s story had recently come to a fulfillment in Jesus. The
Ethiopian had been wrestling to understand the book of Isaiah, a book that
offers hope to eunuchs, and when Philip told him about Jesus from the passage he
wholeheartedly accepted. The story tells us the Ethiopian went home rejoicing
and Church history tells us that he not only brought Christianity to his
homeland but that he was responsible for the conversion of many in Ethiopia.
Isaiah 56:3–8 (NIV84) 3Let
no foreigner who has bound himself
to the Lord say, “The Lord will surely exclude me from his people.” And let not
any eunuch complain, “I am only a
dry tree.” 4For this is
what the Lord says: “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what
pleases me and hold fast to my covenant— 5to them I
will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons
and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off. 6And foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord to serve him, to love the
name of the Lord, and to worship him, all who keep the Sabbath without
desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant— 7these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of
prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for
my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.” 8The Sovereign Lord declares— he who gathers the exiles of Israel: “I
will gather still others to them besides those already gathered.”
Background Story: God promised Abraham a homeland and
multiple descendants to bless the world. Abraham’s descendants multiplied in
Egypt but they became enslaved. God called Moses and led
Israel out of Egypt to Mt. Sinai where they were formed them into a nation. Israel entered their land under Joshua and later God
promised David a ‘perpetual kingship’ over God’s people. David’s son, Solomon,
built the Temple as a dwelling for God. However, Solomon introduced an
idolatry that led to the scattering of the ‘Northern kingdom’ by
the Assyrians and the exile of the ‘Southern Kingdom’
in Babylon. The Persians conquered the Babylonians and the Jews
returned to their land but they remained under Pagan rule. God’s people longed
for a ‘conquering king’ and God sent Jesus, who was ‘anointed by the Spirit’ at
his baptism. Jesus overcame the Devil’s temptations and gathered a ‘new people
(12)’ around himself. When his disciples recognized Jesus’ Messianic
identity he went to Jerusalem where he was enthroned as ‘KING of
the JEWS’ on a cross. He looked like a failure, but God raised him from
the dead. After Jesus showed himself to his disciples he ascended into
heaven. From there Jesus poured out the Holy Spirit to empower his disciples to
be his witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of
the earth. The apostles proclaimed Jesus as both Lord and Christ and their
message spread and the numbers increased. The
religious leaders forbid that the apostles teach or preach in the name of
Jesus, but Peter and John couldn’t stop speaking about Jesus. Then when a disciple
named Stephen told the ‘story of Israel’ as culminating in Jesus he was stoned
to death for his testimony. After this a ‘great persecution’ broke out against the
church and the believers were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. This
brings us to the story of Philip in the city of Samaria from Acts 8. Watch the
story here and read the comments below.
Philip and the
Samaritans: Those who
stoned Stephen to death placed their cloaks at the feet of the young man, Saul.
So Saul approved Stephen’s death and a ‘great persecution’ broke out against
the Jerusalem Church. Determined to destroy the church, Saul went from house to
house, dragging off both men and women believers to prison. As a result of the
persecution, all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and
Samaria. The apostles stayed in Jerusalem while all the others were scattered
throughout Judea and Samaria, and preached the word wherever they went. The
believers fled the persecution to protect their lives but they didn’t stop
doing what got them in trouble which was the preaching the word of God.
Philip, who was one
of those selected to oversee the feeding of the widows (Acts 6:5) went to the
city of Samaria. Crowds there gathered to hear Philip proclaiming the Christ
and to see the miraculous signs he performed. Evil spirits came out of many.
Many who were unable to walk were healed and there was great joy in that city.
The ‘great persecution’ in the city of Jerusalem resulted in ‘great joy’ in the
city of Samaria. The persecution scattered the believers who preached the
gospel throughout Judea and Samaria just as Jesus had told them to do (Acts
1:8).
Now there was a man in the
city of Samaria named Simon. He practiced sorcery and boasted that he was
someone great. Some who were amazed by Simon’s magic followed Simon saying that
he was some kind of ‘divine and great power’. When they heard Philip preaching
the ‘good news about Jesus and the kingdom of God’ they believed and were
baptized, this included both men and women. Simon also believed Philip and was
baptized. Simon followed Philip very closely and he
was amazed by the signs and miracles that he saw Philip doing.
When they heard the news
back in Jerusalem that these Samaritans had accepted the word of God, they sent
the two most prominent apostles, Peter and John. Peter and John prayed for the
Samaritans to receive the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit had not yet come
upon any of them. They had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord
Jesus. This seems unusual in light of Peter’s message on Pentecost where Peter
said, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name
of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift
of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38).” These Samaritans believed Philip’s message
about Jesus and were baptized but the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of
them. Then when Peter and John
placed their hands on these Samaritans they received the Holy Spirit.
Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying
on of the apostles’ hands. The Holy Spirit came on those Peter and John laid
their hands on and Simon wanted this ability. When Simon offered the apostles
money to get it he received a harsh rebuke from the Apostle Peter. Peter said,
“May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of
God with money!” Peter discerned that Simon’s heart was not right with God and
that he was still full of bitterness and was captive to sin. Peter told Simon
to repent and to pray to the Lord that the Lord may forgive Simon then Simon
answered “Pray to the Lord that what you have said may not happen to me.” Simon
boasted that he was great and who liked to exercise power over people. When
Simon came across the superior power of Philip and later that of Peter and John
Simon wanted this power for himself. After the rebuke Simon concern was that he
didn’t lose his money and his life. After this Peter and John returned to
Jerusalem and we don’t know whether Simon ever repented and was forgiven. We
only learn that the apostles preached the gospel in many Samaritan villages on
their way.
Did Simon really
believe when he heard Philip
preach the gospel? Simon believed and was baptized (8:13), but Peter
described Simon as someone who had no share in the ministry of the gospel.
Peter also said that Simon’s heart was not right before God and that he
needed to repent of his wickedness because he was full of bitterness and
captive to sin (8:20-23). Does this describe someone who has trusted Christ and
has been transformed by the Holy Spirit? The Bible speaks of a faith that accepts
the truth of Scripture without any spiritual transformation (Acts 26:27-28;
James 2:19) and also speaks of a temporary faith, which embraces the gospel
without any change of heart. It is only temporary faith (Matt. 13:20-21)
because it fails to endure under trials and persecution (1 Tim.1:19-20; I John
2:19). The ‘New Covenant’ promise of the gospel was that God would cleanse from
sin, replace the heart of stone with a new heart indwelt by the Holy Spirit
(Ezk.36:25-27)! This story should push us to ‘examine ourselves to see whether
we are in the faith’ and to realize that Christ Jesus is in us—unless, of
course, we fail the test? (2Cor.13:5).
How is it that Samaritans
believed and were baptized and yet they didn’t receive the Holy Spirit? They
believed but they didn’t receive the Spirit until after the apostles Peter and
John laid their hands on them. When Philip
preached Jesus and did the miracles both men and women in Samaria believed
Philip’s message and were baptized. When the apostles heard about this, they
sent Peter and John who prayed that they might receive the Holy Spirit. They
had only been baptized into the name of Jesus so the apostles laid hands on
them and they received the Holy Spirit (8:1-17). Why the delay in the
receiving of the Spirit? Hadn’t Peter previously promised the ‘gift of the
Spirit’ to those who would repent (Acts 2:38)?
Unlike Simon, nothing
negative is said about the faith of these Samaritans (Acts 8:20-23). Also this
is the first of only two accounts of the Spirit being given at the laying on of
the apostle’s hands (Acts 8:18, 19:6). Simon witnessed some visible
manifestation of the Spirit, but nothing is said about the ‘speaking in
tongues’ and this event is very different than what happened at Pentecost (Acts
2). In Samaria the Spirit seems to have been uniquely manifested to emphasize
that there was to be only one apostolic church. It was critical that Samaritans
submit to Jesus’ Jewish apostles and for the Jewish believers to accept the
Samaritans in that one apostolic church! At that time, Jews and Samaritans
didn’t even associate with each other (John 4:9) so the unity of the one body
of Christ was at stake. This is significant for us today as our witness is
hindered by the many divisions in the church (John 17:20-21).
God
called Abraham promising him a homeland and multiple
descendants to bless the world. Abraham’s descendants multiplied but they became enslaved in
Egypt. God called Moses, who led Israel out of Egypt to Mt. Sinai where God formed them into the
‘Nation of Israel’. God led them into their land under Joshua
and later God promised David a ‘perpetual kingship’ over God’s people. David’s
son, Solomon built the Temple as a dwelling for God, but he
also introduced an idolatry that led to the scattering of the ‘Northern
kingdom’ by the Assyrians and the exile in Babylon of the
‘Southern Kingdom’. When the Persians conquered the
Babylonians they let the Jews return to their land but they remained under
Pagan rule. God’s people longed for a ‘conquering king’ and God sent Jesus.
Jesus was ‘anointed by the Spirit’ at his baptism. He overcame the Devil’s
temptations and proclaimed the ‘Kingdom of God’. He gathered a ‘new people
(12)’ around himself and when they recognized his Messianic identity he
went to Jerusalem where he was enthroned as ‘KING of the JEWS’ on a cross.
Yet, God raised Jesus from the dead. Jesus showed his disciples that he was
alive and then he ascended into heaven. From there Jesus poured out the Holy
Spirit to empower his disciples to be his witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all
Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
The
apostles, Peter and John, healed a crippled beggar in the temple courts and explained
that the man had been healed ‘in the name of Jesus’. Peter told the religious
leaders that they had crucified Jesus, but God had raised him from the dead.
This message continued to spread and the number who believed continued to
increase. The religious leaders forbid that the apostles teach or preach in the
name of Jesus in an effort to stop the message from spreading. But Peter and
John had to obey God and couldn’t stop speaking about Jesus. In the previous
story we saw what happened to ‘Ananias and Sapphira’ who lied to the Holy
Spirit (Acts 4-5). Now we look at the story of the ‘stoning of Stephen’ (Acts
6-7). Watch the story here and read the comments below.
Stephen tells Israel's Story: Their numbers were increasing, and
they distributed food with their widows daily. However, things were not perfect
for some widows were being favored and others were being neglected. So the apostles
came up with an idea but trusted the community to settle the matter. The community
was to select spiritually wise representatives to distribute the food fairly. They
chose Stephen, he was a man full of the Spirit and wisdom, and 6 others who the
apostles laid hands on and prayed for. In this way the ‘word of God’ spread and
their numbers continued to increase. The early followers
of Jesus shared their resources and lived as
the extended family of Abraham. They had problems for some of their widows were
being neglected in the distribution of food. The apostles let the people chose
seven who were known to be full of the ‘Spirit
and wisdom’ to take on this responsibility. The apostles had been doing the
work themselves and yet there were still problems. The crisis served to prioritize the ministry
of the ‘word of God and prayer’
for the apostles (5:20). The community chose seven who were full of the ‘Spirit and wisdom’. This was spiritual work and apostles set
them apart by laying hands on them and praying for them. In this way the ‘word
of God’ spread and their numbers continued to increase (Acts 6:1-7).
One of the
seven was Stephen, a man full of God’s Spirit, wisdom, grace and power. Stephen
did ‘signs and wonders’ but some from a local Synagogue opposed Stephen. They couldn’t
stand up to Stephen’s wisdom or to the Spirit by which he spoke so they seized Stephen
and brought him before the religious authorities. They got some false witnesses
to testify that Stephen never stopped speaking against the temple and the law.
They also claimed that Stephen said that Jesus would destroy the temple and change
the Mosaic Law. Yet, Jesus said that he came to fulfill the law and that the temple
would be destroyed within a generation (Matt. 5:17, 24:2, 34). So Stephen stood
without fear before the religious leaders, with his face shining like that of
an angel. Stephen defended himself by telling Israel’s story beginning
with God’s covenant with Abraham. Stephen retells Israel’s story showing how
their fathers rejected both Joseph and Moses who God used to rescue them. Moreover,
Stephen connects the Abrahamic covenant with the story of the Exodus, and his story culminates in his
vision of Jesus.
Stephen
emphasized how God called Abraham in Mesopotamia to leave that country and that
people to go to the land God would show him. Abraham obeyed and after his father died God
sent him to the land where Stephen and his hearers were living. Abraham had no
land and no children, but he had God’s promise that he and his descendants
would possess the land. This would not be until after 400 years in a land not
their own where they would be enslaved. Yet, God would punish their oppressors
and they would return to the land to worship God. God gave Abraham the ‘covenant
of circumcision’ and when Abraham became the father of Isaac and he circumcised
Isaac on the eighth day. Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the
father of Israel’s twelve patriarchs. The patriarchs were Israel’s fathers but
they sold their brother Joseph to be a slave in Egypt out of jealousy. However,
God was with Joseph and caused the Pharaoh to put Joseph in charge of all Egypt.
Then when a famine struck Egypt and Canaan, Jacob sent their fathers to Egypt to
buy grain. On their second trip to Egypt, Joseph revealed his identity to his
brothers. Joseph sent for his father Jacob who brought his whole family, 75 in
all, down to Egypt where Joseph could take care of them. God used Joseph, who
they rejected, to rescue them and preserve their family. They settled in Egypt
and died there, but they were brought back and buried in Canaan in the tomb
Abraham had bought in Shechem.
The crucial moments in Israel’s nearly 2000 year history
revolved around God calling Abraham, the calling of Moses, the Exodus and the giving
of the law. In addition God uniquely shaped the lives of Joseph and Moses in
order to rescue Israel. Again, Stephen tells this story to indicate how Moses,
like Joseph, was Israel’s rejected rescuer. Stephen also pointed out how God
called the place where God revealed Himself and His saving purpose ‘holy
ground’. The Israelites multiplied in
Egypt but they became enslaved by a Pharaoh who didn’t know Joseph. This Pharaoh
forced them to throw out their newborn babies and this is when Moses was born.
Moses was protected by his parents for three months then he was then placed
outside. Pharaoh’s own daughter recused Moses and raised him as her own son in all
the wisdom of the Egyptians. 40 years later, Moses saw an Egyptian beating an
Israelite. He killed the Egyptian and he thought the Israelites would realize that
God was using him to rescue them but they didn’t. The next day Moses tried to
reconcile two Israelites who were fighting, but the Israelite who was in the wrong
said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us? Do you want to kill me like you killed
the Egyptian?’ So Moses fled Egypt and settled
in Midian, and another 40 years had passed when the Lord called Moses from the
flames of a burning bush near Mount Sinai. The Lord revealed Himself to Moses as
the God of his fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and he told Moses to take off his
sandals because he was standing on holy ground. God went on to say that He had
seen the oppression of His people in Egypt and He had come down to rescue them.
They had rejected Moses but God would send the very same Moses back to Egypt to
deliver Israel out of Egypt (Acts 7:17-34). Moses did signs and wonders,
leading Israel out of Egypt, through the Red Sea and for 40 years in the
desert.
This is the
Moses who was with the Israelites in the assembly in the desert and who God
spoke to on Mt. Sinai giving him living words to pass on to them. Again, Stephen
emphasizes how their fathers had rejected Moses and the law. The rejected Moses
who had fled to Midian was called by God to return to Egypt to rescue Israel.
Moses delivered Israel out of Egypt and he was given words of life, referring to
the 10 commandments. But Israel turned back to Egypt in their hearts when they
had Aaron make an idol for them to worship. This would happen again and God
would carry them away into exile in Babylon. Stephen points out that they did
this even though they had the tabernacle with them. Under Joshua they brought the
tabernacle with into the land they took from the nations God drove out before
them. The tabernacle remained in the land until David asked to build a house for
the God of Jacob, though it was Solomon, David’s son, who would build the temple.
While the temple was a more permanent dwelling for God, but Stephen points out
that no man-made temple could contain the Lord of heaven and earth. Stephen concluded
by saying that his hearers were no different than those who had persecuted the
prophets. They were like those who killed those who predicted the coming of the
‘righteous one’ for they had murdered Jesus. They were stiff-necked, uncircumcised
in heart and resistant to the Holy Spirit. They had the law but they didn’t
obey it. His hearers were enraged but Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, saw
heaven open and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. Refusing to listen,
they dragged Stephen out of the city and they laid their coats at the feet of a
young man named Saul. As they were stoning him to death Stephen, in imitation
of Jesus, prayed, “Lord, receive my spirit” and, “Lord, do not hold this sin
against them.” (Acts 7:39-60).
Those opposing Stephen had descended from Abraham, but
they weren’t obeying God like Abraham. They had accused Stephen of speaking
against the law but they were being like
their forefathers who had rejected Moses and the commandments God. Instead of acting
like heirs of the Abrahamic covenant they were the heirs of those who persecuted
the prophets and killed those who foretold the coming of the righteous one. They
were like those who had the tabernacle in the wilderness but God wasn’t with
them. For the ‘Most High’ doesn’t live man-made temples for the prophets had
said that Heaven is God’s throne,
and the earth is God’s footstool. Stephen’s vision demonstrates that the temple
was superseded by Jesus. The high priest
and the religious leaders condemned Stephen but Stephen’s Daniel 7 like vision of
Jesus showed that Israel’s history culminated in Jesus and that Jesus stood as
Stephen’s advocate. The story shows how important it is to be able to tell the
story of Jesus as the climax of the Old Testament story. Then with the story of
Jesus as the foundation, the ongoing story of the church is the continuation of
the Jesus story.
Backstory: God called Abraham promising
him a homeland and multiple descendants to bless the world. Abraham’s
descendants became slaves in Egypt, so God called
Moses, who led Israel out of Egypt to Mt. Sinai where God formed them
into the ‘Nation of Israel’. God led them into their land under Joshua.
Later God found David to be a king after His heart so He promised
David a ‘perpetual kingship’ over God’s people. David’s son, Solomon
built the Jerusalem Temple as a dwelling for God, but he also
introduced an idolatry that led to the ‘Northern kingdom’ being scattered
by the Assyrians and the ‘Southern Kingdom’ being ‘exiled
in Babylon for 70 years’. The Persians conquered
the Babylonians and let the Jews return to their land but they remained under
Pagan rule. God’s people longed for a ‘conquering king’ to liberate them. God
sent Jesus, who He ‘anointed by the Spirit’ at his baptism, and who overcame
the Devil’s temptations. Jesus proclaimed the ‘Kingdom of God’, gathered a ‘new
people (12)’ around himself and once they recognized his Messianic
identity he went to Jerusalem where he was enthroned as ‘KING of
the JEWS’ on a cross. Yet, God raised Jesus from the dead and Jesus showed
himself alive to his disciples before he ascended into heaven. From there Jesus
poured out the Holy Spirit, empowering his disciples to be his witnesses in
Jerusalem, all Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. The
apostles, Peter and John, amazed the people by healing a crippled beggar in the
temple courts. Peter explained that the man had been healed ‘in the name of Jesus’
who they had crucified, but whom God raised from the dead. They acted in
ignorance but the ‘prophets’ had foretold that the Christ would suffer so they
were to ‘repent and turn to God’. Peter said that Jesus would remain in heaven
until he returned to restore all things. Now number believed was over 5000 and when
the religious leaders heard Peter’s preaching Jesus, they put Peter and John in
prison. When questioned, Peter and John said that it was by the ‘name of Jesus
Christ of Nazareth’ that the man was healed and that there was ‘no other name
by which we can be saved’. To stop this message from spreading, the religious
leaders forbid that they teach or preach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and
John had to obey God and couldn’t stop speaking about Jesus. The crowd was
praising God so the leaders didn’t know what to do. They threatened the
apostles and let them go. When Peter and John told their fellow believers what
happened they prayed and God shook the place where they were and they were filled
Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God boldly. This brings us to the story
of ‘Ananias and Sapphira’ from Acts 4-5 which you may watch here and read the
comments below.
Ananias and Sapphira: Now we find all the believers were together
and unified. They shared everything in common and the apostles testified
powerfully about the resurrected Christ. Some believers even sold their houses
and their land and gave the money to the apostles to be distributed to those in
need (4:34). These believers shared everything in common and they were God’s ideal community. God
had established the ‘new covenant’ through Jesus and they were the renewed ‘covenant
community’. Jesus had claimed to have brought about the Jubilee (Luke 4:18-19)
and these believers are described in terms of the Jubilee (Deuteronomy 15:4) ‘there
will be no needy person among you, because the Lord is sure to bless you in the
land that the Lord your God is giving you.’ They were the true covenant
community who had experienced the forgiveness
of sins and who had been released from their debts (Luke 4, Isaiah 61). A man named Barnabas, a true Levite, sold
some land and entrusted the proceeds to the Apostles. As a true priest
among a ‘kingdom of priests’, Barnabas sold his property and the apostles
shared the proceeds with those in need (Ex. 19:6, 1 Peter 2:9).
Ananias and
his wife Sapphira also sold some land but claimed to give all the money from
the sale to the apostles. But they kept some of the money for themselves which
was revealed to Peter. Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has filled
your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to kept some of the money you received
for the land for yourselves?” Evidently,
Ananias was trying to make it look like they were giving all the money from the
sale to the church ?as Barnabas had. According to Peter, Satan had put it in
Ananias’ heart to lie to the Holy Spirit so that Ananias had not lied to men
but to God. Then Ananias mysteriously fell down and died and some young men
came in, carried out Ananias’ body, and buried him. The result of all this was
that ‘great fear’ seized all who
heard about this.
According to Peter, the land
and the money belonged to Ananias so it is not that Ananias had to do what Barnabas
had done. The problem with Ananias and Sapphira was that they were deceiving
the community and lying to God the Holy Spirit. Sapphira was unaware that Ananias had died so when Peter asked her
about the price of the land she had the opportunity to tell the truth. Yet, she
continued the lie, which according to Peter was ‘testing the Spirit of the Lord’.
Peter, mysteriously, was made aware that Sapphira would suffer the same fate as
her husband. She died and the young men who buried Ananias buried her as well. The
result was that ‘great fear’ seized
the whole church and all who heard about this (Acts 5:1–11). This story is
similar to the story of Achan (Joshua 7). After the victory at Jericho, Achan had
taken some of the things that were to be devoted to the Lord, and had kept them
for himself. Achan’s deception, like that of Ananias and Sapphira, was exposed
and a supernatural judgment resulted.
The apostles continued to perform ‘signs
and wonders’ and the people held them in high regard. Due to the circumstances,
people were fearful about joining them, and yet the number of those who
believed increased. The people put their sick on mats in the streets hoping
that if Peter’s shadow passed by them then they would be healed. Moreover,
crowds from all around Jerusalem brought their sick and those tormented by evil
spirits, and all of them were healed. The miraculous signs validated the
apostle’s message, but the high priests and the religious leaders were filled
with jealousy. They put the apostles in jail, but the Lord sent an angel who
released them and told them to go into the temple to speak the message of ‘new
life’ (5:12–16). In the morning the apostle went into the temple to teach he
people while the religious leaders of Israel met to discuss the problem of the
apostles. They sent to the jail for the apostles but they found the jail locked
and guarded with no one inside. Then someone reported that the men they had put
in jail were in the temple courts teaching the people. They had the apostles
brought to the elders without using force for fear that the people might stone
them. The high priest questioned the apostles about their filling Jerusalem
with their teaching and that they were trying to make them responsible for
Jesus’ death. The religious leaders feared the people, but the apostles feared
and obeyed God rather than men! They testified that the religious leaders had
hung Jesus on a tree, but that the God of their fathers had raised Jesus from
the dead. Moreover, God had exalted Jesus to His own right hand as Prince and
Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. The
apostles were witnesses of these things and so was the Holy Spirit, whom God gives
to those who obey him (5:17–32).
The elders were furious and they wanted
to kill the apostles. However, Gamaliel, a Pharisee respected by all the
people, stood up and addressed them. Gamaliel gave two examples of men who led
revolts but were killed so that their movements died with them. Gamaliel’s
advice was to let the apostles go for if their purpose was of human origin it
would fail. On the other hand, if it was from God then wouldn’t be able to stop
it for they would be fighting against God. Gamaliel persuaded them so they flogged
the apostles, ordered them not to speak in Jesus’ name and let them go. The apostles left rejoicing for being
considered worthy of suffering disgrace for the name of Jesus. Moreover, despite
the warning, the apostles went daily into the temple courts and from house to
house proclaiming that ‘Jesus is the Christ’ (5:33–42).
These religious leaders, instead of being guardians of
Biblical faith, they were actually opposing God and God’s people. They were
filled with jealousy and they wanted to kill the apostles until Gamaliel
intervened. Gamaliel’s wise words won the day so the elders took his advice and
left the apostles alone. The story highlights how far we fall short of the
example set by the early church. The unity of purpose and the care they had for
one another puts us to shame. The generosity of Barnabas in selling his
property and sharing the proceeds with the community should challenge our
complacency. The powerful working of God’s Spirit and the bold proclamation of
the apostle in the face of opposition even their glorying in suffering for
Jesus should humble us. Let us to pray in the words of the psalmist, “will you not
revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?” (Psalm 85:6, NIV84)
