I have no silver and gold. In Jesus' name, rise up and walk. - Acts 3

(Click here to read Acts 3) 

Acts 3:1-8 (ESV)
Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2 And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. 3 Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. 4 And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” 5 And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” 7 And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. 8 And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.

This healing miracle, the first one recorded in the New Testament by Jesus' disciples, dramatically set the new community apart from other radical political resistance groups.

This was a community of ambassadors, already free citizens of another nation, the Kingdom of God. They prayed daily for their provision, and thus were provided for. They forgave their enemies. They prayed that God's Kingdom would come on earth, and they lived as though it were already so. The Holy Spirit was the living force within them, the seed of this Kingdom that manifest its reality in their lives.

In the Kingdom, this man could be healed. In the Kingdom, he didn't need to beg. In the Kingdom, he raised his head to all like an equal, for he was no more poor or sick or destitute than the man who claimed him healed in the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus, the poor and the imprisoned and the oppressed were set free.

This was something new. This community didn't fight for freedom. This community lived the free gift of freedom and justice and grace they had been given. They announced the truth that all could be free. Upon believing and acting upon it, all that would keep them bound would crumble.

This was not a collective or a democratic community. Unity was found in mutual submission to one another and to total submission to the word of God. The complete equality recognized the gift of teaching and even leadership in the apostles and later the elders, but this leadership was entirely different than the leadership demonstrated by the kings of the age. These leaders were the least among the community, the servants of all, and some of the first to follow Jesus to execution at the empire's hand.

The people had seen resistance groups. They had seen communes and zealots and fundamentalists. But this was true power, the power to set people free. This they had never seen, and they came quickly to see for themselves.

Acts 3:12 (ESV)
And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk?
 
Peter took no glory for himself. As he had at Pentecost, he immediately pointed his finger straight to Jesus. It was in his name, by the authority of the King that conquered death, that this man was healed.

In humble submission to the scripture, and the supernatural boldness he had been given by the Holy Spirit, Peter preached the truth of Jesus death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins, as foretold in the scriptures. He told the people to repent and receive the Kingdom of God. He invited them to join the Kingdom movement before Jesus returned.

And all of this, still in Jerusalem, the same city where Jesus and his disciples had occupied the temple only a few weeks before. For this, he had been executed.

But the authorities were about to discover that when they thought they'd removed a stray weed, they'd only scattered wide the seeds to the wind. This wasn't going to stop.

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v2 – That means Jesus would have seen him in his lifetime. Though the Messiah had walked by him during his ministry, this was the day for his healing.
v4 – He probably had his head down. He didn't have to be downcast in the Kingdom.
vv7-8 – First recorded church miracle. He gave glory to God immediately
vv11-26 – The miracle gives opportunity for Peter to share the gospel.
v12 – No glory taken for themselves. All credit to God
v15 – Jesus is the “Author of Life”
v16 – by FAITH in the NAME of JESUS

(Click here to read Acts 3)

Pentecost and the Radical Jesus People Community - Acts 2

(Click here to read Acts 2)

Acts 2:1-4 (ESV)

When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

That mixed multitude waiting in the upper room were together for only a few days before the feast of Pentecost arrived. As they prepared together to celebrate the giving of the law at Sinai, the first covenant God made with his people, God prepared to visit them again, in fire, to write the New Covenant on their hearts.

It is necessary for us to consider and remember this event and its consequences on all that follows. Jesus had preached and lived the Kingdom of God, wherein a Great Reversal was going to turn the entire world back to justice as God intended. The corruption and striving that marked the culture of the empires would be replaced by humility and generosity. In the New Kingdom, all would live and love equally, for all were equally saved from sin, corruption, oppression, and death.

And the expression of the first followers did, indeed look like an outpost of this Kingdom. But their practice was not based on simply following Jesus' example or teaching alone. They lived in Holy Spirit power. The Kingdom of God set every authority on its head. A utopian commune can share all things in common, but only a Holy Spirit filled, Gospel believing community can raise the dead and heal the sick. And that's exactly what they did.

This divine event at the beginning of Acts 2 is the initial seed that precipitates all that comes after it. Jesus is no longer among his people. But Holy Spirit, the third member of the Godhead, is now among them, dwelling within them, empowering them to truly live the life of the Kingdom of which Jesus preached. The Kingdom is among them. The mustard seed has fallen. The living yeast is added to the dough.

It has begun, the beginning of the end of the age of empire.

Acts 2:5-6 (ESV)
5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language.

Pentecost brought Jewish travelers from all over the known world. The religious faithful traveled to their holy city, Jerusalem, to worship at the rebuilt temple, the same impressive fifteen-story structure Jesus and his followers had occupied in the week before his death. This diaspora had lived apart long enough that they'd learned the language of the lands where they had settled. Though still one faith, they now represented many cultures, languages, and histories.

Appropriate, then, that on this day the power of the Holy Spirit would gift the waiting disciples with the ability to preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God in every language unknown to them. God's message would not be confined to their limited abilities. They were now clothed with power to live and share wherever, however, with whomever God wished.

This Good News was for everyone, everywhere. This first Jewish mixed multitude was a good reflection of the gospel's eventual universality.

As the excited and empowered disciples left the building, an international crowd drew in to see. They each heard the people speaking about God in their own language. As one would imagine anyone doing when witnessing such a miracle, some of the crowd assumed the disciples were drunk.

At this, Peter, the disciple that denied Jesus at his trial only a few chapters before, stood up and began to preach. This, the very first Christian sermon, ever, began with an hilarious but necessary introduction.

Acts 2:14-21 (ESV)
14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:

17  “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
   and your young men shall see visions,
   and your old men shall dream dreams;
18 even on my male servants and female servants
   in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.
19 And I will show wonders in the heavens above
   and signs on the earth below,
   blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke;
20  the sun shall be turned to darkness
   and the moon to blood,
   before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.
21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

 
The very first gospel sermon begins with the end. Jesus is coming back, and the world will be forever changed.

Peter goes on to explain how Jesus is the fulfillment of all the scriptures. His life and death and resurrection has changed the entire order, setting us free from all bondage, even the bondage of religious legalism.

This man who had been afraid to identify with Jesus in the dark around a campfire now stood before thousands and preached boldly that this Jesus had changed the order, and was now the new King. He told the people to repent, get in the right side of the Kingdom, be baptized in the name of Jesus and they would also receive the Holy Spirit, the seed of the Kingdom that would change the world.

3000 joined the church that day, by the power of the conviction of the gospel preached in the anointing of Holy Spirit. And this was just the beginning. 

Acts 2:42-47 (ESV)
42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

And this is the beautiful beginning of the church, the signposts of the Kingdom of Heaven, alive in the world, and actively loving all people everywhere, while resisting the corrupt systems that kept those people bound. 

The principle of radical, voluntary, generosity without coercion shown in Acts 2:42-47 (and Acts 4 - see notes) does not stop with the early church. Later, Paul writes to a church of means about a church of less means, and says it is their responsibility as Kingdom family to meet their needs. Paul tells the church that it is Jesus' example and the Father's promise of provision that leads to this generosity.

2 Corinthians 8:9-15 (ESV)

⁹ For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. ¹⁰ And in this matter I give my judgement: this benefits you, who a year ago started not only to do this work but also to desire to do it. ¹¹ So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have. ¹² For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. ¹³ For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness ¹⁴ your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. ¹⁵ As it is written, “Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.”

(for more on radical generosity of the early Kingdom communities, see notes on Acts 4)

In the power of the Holy Spirit, the following are the marks of the church when it first began in Acts 2.

1) The local church was made up of regenerated, Holy Spirit filled believers in Jesus (context– vv36-41).

2) The local church accepted and submitted to the authority of the apostles and scripture (v42).

3) The local church (literally “ecclesia” in Greek, meaning “gathering”) met together regularly (v46).
When they gathered they
a. studied and learned scripture together (v42).
b. praised God together (v47). They probably shared stories of miracles (v43) and provision (v45).
c. worshiped God and were in awe of his miracles together (v43).
d. participated in God’s Kingdom by sharing and being generous together (vv44,5).

4) The local church broke bread together (vv42,46) and baptized people (context v38. implied v47.) as visible symbols to remember the good news of Jesus and the Kingdom of God.

5) The local church was in unity (v44) and they shared real life together (v46).
The unity of the church in Christ was expressed by the members in a diversity of God given gifts through faith.

6) The local church was an agent of God’s demonstrative love on Earth. (v43,44,45. v47 – favour – evidence of their love)
The church loved
a. God (Mt 22:37).
b. each other (Jn 3:14;13:34-35).
c. their neighbours (Mt 22:39; Rm 13:9-10).
d. strangers (Hb 13:1-2).
e. their enemies (Mt 5:43-45).

7) The local church shared the GOSPEL of the Kingdom of God with the world.
(v47, context – Ax 1:8, Jn 3:16-17)
This is God’s mission to the world.


Jesus inaugurated his ministry in his hometown of Galilee (Luke 4). He traveled across the land from his hometown to Jerusalem, the centre of cultural influence in his world, gathering disciples and preaching to the crowds. It is from here in Jerusalem that these disciples will now launch their ministry.

In the power of the Holy Spirit, like Jesus did in Galilee, they will remain first in Jerusalem, then move beyond it as the message of the Kingdom travels toward Rome, the centre of the world's political and military power, establishing Kingdom Outpost communities like this one along the way, more seeds of the Kingdom whose roots find their way into the cracks of the empire's very foundation.

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v4 – Every one of them, including women, and those not designated “apostles” began to speak in other unknown languages. This should be considered when we discuss the significance and purpose of tongues.
v6 – Because they were all speaking different languages, or because that’s what they heard? Bewilderment – reminds me of the town of Babel when languages were confused, but in this case, it brings everyone from every nation into one place.
v7 – Galileans – uneducated people with a “hillbilly” rep.
v11 – Arabs are called Jews here.
v15 – A great intro to history’s first recorded gospel sermon.
v17 – ALL PEOPLE – significant. He’s still only preaching to Jews.
v21 – EVERYONE who calls on the name of the Lord.
v33 – The Godhead
v36 – The crux of the matter.
vv42-47 – The first church
Dedicated to teaching
Communion
Prayer
Moving of the Holy Spirit
Common ownership
Meeting daily in churches and homes
Gratitude
Favour
Salvation
See 4:32-37

(Click here to read Acts 2)

Good News to the Poor. Liberty to Captives. Freedom for the Oppressed. Sight for the Blind. - Luke 4

(Click here to read Luke 4)

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
    and recovering of sight to the blind,
     to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 
  to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”
- Jesus reading from the book of Isaiah in Luke 4:18-19 (ESV)

These are the themes that have been repeated in the first three chapters of Luke so far:

1. The gospel (the Good News about the Kingdom of God) is extended to the outsiders.
2. Justice for the poor (including radical generosity from those who are not poor) is an important part of the gospel and God's New Kingdom.
3. The gospel is practiced by the Holy Spirit filling a person, which also manifests itself in prophesy and power to act according to God's good will.
4. Jesus is fully human, and the Son of God.

All of these themes continue to be vividly and explicitly portrayed in this chapter.

After establishing that Jesus is both fully OF humanity and FOR humanity in the previous chapter and its' geneology, Luke begins chapter 4 by describing Jesus as being (v1) *full* of the Holy Spirit (as Zechariah was when he prophesied in Luke 1:67), and *led* by the Holy Spirit. After being tempted by the devil (Greek for "an adversary"), Jesus returns to his home village in the power of the Holy Spirit. In verse 18, he read from a scroll in the temple that "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me", and claims in v22 that this applies to himself.

In the second half of the chapter, we see the clear manifestation of the Holy Spirit in Jesus' life. In verses 32 and 36, Jesus is described by others as having power an authority as he teaches them, casts out a demon, and heals many sick people. His authority and miracles cause the word of his ministry to be passed far beyond his local neighbourhood (v37). At the end of the chapter, Jesus says that he must move on, because his good news about the Kingdom of God is to be preached further than only his hometown and his own family.

This very same filling and demonstration of the Holy Spirit is exactly what happens with Jesus' followers at the beginning of Acts, Luke's second book. Jesus says to his disciples in Acts 1:8,

"...you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

Just as Jesus walked in the power of the Holy Spirit, and was enabled therefore to act in power and authority, and to spread good news of a new Kingdom to his own town and beyond, so too do the disciples receive authority beyond themselves to demonstrate the Kingdom in the book of Acts.

Immediately after receiving the Holy Spirit in Acts 2, Peter begins boldly preaching about Jesus, just as Jesus begins by preaching in Luke 4 when being full, led, and walking in the Spirit. In Acts chapter 3, the disciples heal a man who cannot walk, just as Jesus heals the sick in Luke 4. In Acts 4:8, Peter speaks boldly to the authorities who arrest and question him for his teaching about Jesus and the Kingdom of God. The passage says that Peter does this "filled with the Holy Spirit". Just as Jesus refuses to be tempted by the worldly power and authority in Luke 4:6-7, the disciples resist the earthly authorities in submission to the authority of the Kingdom of Heaven. Acts 4:13 says that the leaders were amazed at the disciple's boldness, and remarked about their simplicity and lack of education. In Luke 4, people are astonished at Jesus' authority, and remark about his commonness. They know his family. Just as Jesus' message travels far beyond his neighbourhood in his lifetime, the disciples boldly take the message of the Kingdom of God to the heart of the empire. Just as John the Baptist and Jesus before them, they are murdered by the empire for their resistance.

The Holy Spirit inside a person is the seed of the Kingdom of God, this new order that is good news for the poor and the outsider. With it, earthly power and authority are no longer a temptation, and true authority to act according to true life, justice, and wholeness become ours. It is the Holy Spirit that carries the message of the gospel and changes hearts toward the truth.

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Human Jesus in Weakness and Temptation

Before the demonstration of Holy Spirit power at the end of Luke 4, we see Jesus at his weakest as he is tempted by the adversary.

Compare these two verses:

Luke 4:1-4
And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness ² for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were over, he was hungry. ³ The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” ⁴ And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’”

Deuteronomy 8:2-3
² And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. ³ And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.


Jesus was tempted and tested in exactly the same way as his people, the Israelites, were before him. As Luke has been keen to point out, Jesus was raised a proper Jewish man (example v16 "as was his custom) so he would have known the Torah well. In these temptations, we see that his understanding of and submission to the Hebrew scriptures is exactly how he is able to overcome his temptations.

Hebrews 4:15
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Jesus was hungry. Jesus was tempted to take the controlling and corrupt authority of this world instead of submitting to the just and whole authority of the Kingdom.

Jesus experienced weakness, but he walked in the power of the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

Jesus escaped temptation by knowing and speaking the Word of God. We are also able to escape temptation by applying and speaking Truth to our adversary.

Psalm 119:9,11

⁹ How can a young man keep his way pure?
    By guarding it according to your word^.
11 I have stored up your word in my heart,
    that I might not sin against you.

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After Jesus' bold resistance, he proclaims his intentions and purpose for ministry in Luke 4:18-19, possibly the thesis for Luke's first book.

Jesus reads from a scroll in the temple, and claims it refers to himself.

Luke 4:18-19

¹⁸  “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
    and recovering of sight to the blind,
     to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
¹⁹  to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour.”

The gospel is good news for the poor, oppressed, and in prison. God's favour is upon a humanity he is calling back from its corruption toward his Kingdom of Justice and Peace.

The people are amazed. They are his family and neighbours. They watched him grow up. Jesus responds to his people by challenging them that the truth of this gospel for the poor is not for them alone, he reminds them that God is for all people, not just religious insiders. They become so angry that they try to kill him. Jesus does not respond with force, and escapes without violence.

The chapter ends with the first explicit mention of the Kingdom of God. This is what Jesus calls his Good News, and he claims that it is for the purpose of sharing this news beyond his inner circle that he was sent.

The Good News is for the poor, for the outsider. The Kingdom of God is a new order, under a new authority that dwells within an individual in the personal presence of the divine Holy Spirit. Jesus shared his life with outsiders and strangers, even at the expense of being rejected by family and religious insiders.

In the Spirit of the Lord, we are able to be as free to do the same. The truth sets us free.

(All verses ESV UK version)

Luke 3 - Every valley filled, every mountain made low, all flesh sees the salvation of the Lord

(Click here to read Luke 3)

 

Luke 3:5-6 (ESV)
Every valley shall be filled,
 and every mountain and hill shall be made low,
and the crooked shall become straight,
and the rough places shall become level ways,
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

Luke is a book that describes the good news of the gospel as a radical change that will affect everyone, everywhere. This is not just a story about personal renewal or self-help. Luke describes the coming of Jesus as a world-altering event by which all things change from their current unjust order toward rightness and justice and true peace.

Mountains are brought down. Valleys are raised. Paths are straightened. Rulers are removed. The humble are raised up. The good news is for the poor, the outsider, and the weak.

In John the Baptist, we see the continued theme of justice for the poor and oppressed illustrated vividly in his words, his actions, and their consequences.

In verse 20, he is locked in prison by King Herod for speaking out against his immorality, as well as for his teachings about God's judgment against "chaff" that God will "burn in unquenchable fire" (v17). The text doesn't tell us why, but apparently King Herod took this personally.

John the Baptist spoke Truth to power, and experience the consequences. He lives among an occupied and oppressed people, just as Jesus does.

Luke 3:10-14 (ESV)

And the crowds asked him, "What then shall we do?"
And he answered them, "Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise."
Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?"
And he said to them, "Collect no more than you are authorized to do."
Soldiers also asked him, "And we, what shall we do?" And he said to them, "Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages."

In v11 John the Baptist describes repentance, or turning away from the way of the world toward God's new order, by telling those who have an abundance to give away what they have to those who have less. This is the order of God's new world on earth.

Verses 12-14 are surprising. It is significant that this outspoken prophet of truth, unafraid to speak against the king's wrongdoing, does not suggest that all tax collectors and soldiers must quit their jobs. These people work for a violent, oppressive, occupying empire. John's counsel to them is to not be personally oppressive, to not act according to the spirit of the empire in their personal actions. He does not necessarily say that they must quit.

Tax collectors were despised by the general population, they were Jewish people working for the empire, and had a reputation for taking more than what was owed. Tax collectors worked for an empire that greedily took from the poor more than they could afford. Soldiers were accused of using force and coveting others' property. These same soldiers worked for the Roman empire that coveted the land of other nations, taking it by force. Both Tax collectors and soldiers were personally tempted with the sins of the empire in the very realm in which they participated in that empire's oppression.

Who is more aware of the corruption in a police force, the corrupt police officer, or the police officer who refuses to act unjustly? I wonder if a soldier that refuses to personally extort will be more aware of the empire's extortion? Will a tax collector that refuses to steal become more aware of an empire's theft? Once choosing to live uprightly, these tax collectors and soldiers probably could not remain working for a corrupt empire for long. They would leave, or the empire would change. Systems are made of people, and if those people all refuse to be corrupt, the system can no longer work by corruption.

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The work of the Holy Spirit is once again declared in Luke's third chapter. Foreshadowing the tongues of fire on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2 (Luke's second book), John the Baptist prophesies that Jesus will baptize people with the Holy Spirit and with Fire. It was the Holy Spirit that caused John the Baptist's father, Zechariah, to prophesy about his son in Luke 1:67-79. Old man Simeon knew he would live to see the Messiah because it was revealed to him by the Holy Spirit (Luke 2:26).

Just as in the first two chapters (1:32, 35; 2:49), Luke reminds us again that Jesus is the Son of God in verse 22 when God's voice is heard from heaven declaring his pleasure over his Son.

Still, Jesus is firmly rooted in his humanity in Luke's choice of genealogy at the end of this chapter. Matthew's genealogy explicitly paints an image of a religiously and ethnically Jewish Messiah by drawing attention to Jewish history and religion in Jesus' past and begins with Abraham, the father of the Jewish people. In Luke, the author begins with Jesus, and moves backward in time to Adam, father of all humanity.

Luke's Jesus is undoubtedly fully human, and a gift to all humanity. No religious, class, or ethnic origin disqualifies us from the good news of Jesus.

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vv1-2 - Time is measured in political history.

v22 – The Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - is present in this passage.