God's Changing Power

I am currently in a community group, a small group of people that meets regularly to study the Bible, encourage one another and pray for each other, and we are looking at the first four chapters in the Book of Acts found in the New Testament. I enjoy reading through Acts and pray for a renewal in my life and in the local church as God's spirit falls fresh upon us and within us. I have been giving thought to the following verse.

“But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere-in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8

I know that I’ve read over this verse numerous times and have talked to friends about this verse and have preached messages using this verse and the text in which it is written. It’s easy to pinpoint the geographic interpretation of this command from Jesus. Jerusalem is their home town or where they are located, Judea is their homeland, Samaria is their neighbor, and the ends of the earth is the Roman Empire. Rome was the only known world at the time. Usually this verse is interpreted geographically and that is a good start, but there is much much more to this verse and mandate of Jesus Christ.

What might this have meant to these early followers of the Way. What is expected of them and of you and I as we seek to live out this first century text in our 21st century context.

Where were the believers preaching in Jerusalem? The temple, the market place and in households. The same temple that ordered Jesus' crucifixion is where these followers proclaimed His resurrection. I can’t imagine trying to preach in such a hostile environment. The Jewish leaders thought they got rid of Jesus and his followers, but now the followers are preaching in their temples. The message of Jesus is being heard in the same city in which the messenger had been put to death. These disciples are empowered and begin delivering a message of redemption and forgiveness right where they are. These followers are not from Jerusalem, yet they are in Jerusalem for the purpose of launching a message of hope.

Judea might have been a difficult area because of the Judaism. Many Jews were wrapped up in the laws of Judaism and to hear a message of grace and forgiveness based on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, would have been very strange to them. The new believers and the young church had a lot of undoing to do. To tell the Jewish people that the Law of Moses really doesn’t mean a great deal compared to God’s grace found in Jesus Christ is no easy task. But they did it. They stayed at it and relied upon God's power and one another and discovered ways to help people accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Samaria is Judea’s neighbor. The Jews did not care for these people because essentially Samaritans took a little bit of Judaism and mixed it in with other religions and people groups. Jesus even used the illustration of the good Samaritan to drive home a point about prejudice and hatred. I can’t imagine that the Samaritans liked the Jews either. The Jews and Samaritans did not have a loving relationship and there was most likely some serious prejudice towards one another from both groups. Yet Jesus tells these new believers to go preach to the people they have disliked and to the people who dislike them. This seems unreasonable, yet they did it. They begin to spread the good news (the Gospel) as they experience persecution in Jerusalem they are dispersed and thus is the message of Jesus Christ.

That leaves the last part of the verse which refers to the ends of the earth. To these early Christians the end of the earth was the Roman Empire and the rest of the unknown. The Roman Empire was the known world to them and Rome looked down upon the Jewish people because they were a troublesome people. The Jewish people did not care for the Romans and were even expecting Jesus to deliver them from Roman control. These early followers were expecting Jesus to set up a new Kingdom. But Jesus has now asked the believers to preach to people that oppress them. Go tell someone who despises you about God’s grace and they actually do it. They move beyond themselves and in God's grace and power, not without difficulty and tension, they take the Gospel to Rome, the known center of the world. Amazing.

These followers of the way are preaching to the very people who crucified Jesus, to the people they dislike and who dislike them, and to the people who are in authority and have been oppressive towards them. There’s nothing mild about this text or this story in Acts. These people seem to be downright crazy, yet they are not. They are empowered by God, they are changed by God's spirit, they are seeking to be obedient, they are moving beyond their small worldview and into God' Kingdom and Worldview. All of this just shows how much of a hold the Holy Spirit has on these people. Pentecost is the key ingredient here. Without the help of the Holy Spirit, the church would not have made it. This is powerful and this is about power. Gods power infusing His people and changing the world as they knew it. This is the real bold and beautiful. May we be empowered and live in such a way that God uses us to change the world as we know it.