"I Will Build My Church"
Many Christians, especially in North America, have little or no knowledge of the early centuries of the Christian movement. Many have heard some of the history of the Church and have assumed it to be part of the history of one particular Ecclesiastical body and is viewed as not relating to them. However, it is important for all Christians to know and understand from where we came from as a movement. The history of Church belongs to all Christians and is the common heritage of all believers, one which we all should take notice of and have at least a basic understanding of.
The Early Jewish Church thought that there would be a Jewish Messiah for a Jewish Church.
In many respects the Church is more of a
para-historical movement. Being the body of Christ, its existence is not fixed
to any one point in time, but is timeless, almost as if it emerges in eternity
future and moves into the past to our day and the years behind.
The Holy Spirit was sent from God and now
empowered the Disciples of Jesus to boldly speak the Gospel message to all
who had come to Jerusalem.
"When the day of Pentecost came,
they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a
violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were
sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to
rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to
speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them".Acts:2:1-4
To The Hellenized
There, at Jerusalem were Jews and converts to
Judaism from around the Roman Empire, having come to Jerusalem for
the Spring Holy Day season. Many, of these Jews were from the highly Hellenized
cultures which was found throughout the Empire, each of them hearing the
preaching of the Apostles in their own language through the miraculous working
of the Holy Spirit.
parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome
(both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring
the wonders of God in our own tongues!” Amazed and perplexed, they asked one
another, “What does this mean?” (5-12)
Many who heard the Gospel about Jesus on that
Pentecost came to believe and were baptized and joined with the disciples
swelling the church's ranks by 3000 in one day. The power displayed on
Pentecost convince the crowd of the central fact that Jesus is raised from the
dead which confirmed his divine identity and the power of his death on the
cross.
"Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus
of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs,
which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was
handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with
the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God
raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was
impossible for death to keep its hold on him".(22-24)
As result of the workings of the Holy Spirit
these Hellenized Jews respond to the Gospel seeing the living Christ
working through the Apostles and other Disciples.
"Those who accepted his message
were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. (41)
A Communion
The power of the living Christ worked in the
life of the primitive Apostolic Church as they lived and moved forming a unique
fellowship among them unlike any that had been before. Those Believers
were bound together by the understanding and faith in Jesus and the
indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This relationship could be best understood as a
Communion.
The Disciples, who's number grew almost
daily, would gathered often at the Temple in Jerusalem and lived out this
Communion in the sharing of their lives and hearing the teaching which the
Apostles gave them regarding all that the Lord Jesus had given to them, before
and after his resurrection.
"They devoted themselves to the apostles’
teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone
was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.
All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold
property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they
continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their
homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying
the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who
were being saved." (42-47)
The Early Jewish Church thought that there
would be a Jewish Messiah for a Jewish Church
Even as the early Jewish believers knew that
something had been changed in humanities relationship with God through the incarnation,
coming and the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, yet, they still, at
the very beginning, followed the tenets which they had lived under all
their lives including the observance of the Sabbath(s), dietary laws
and attendance in the Synagogues and Temple Sacraments. However, changes would
come that would at first perplex some of the early believers and raise doubts
in the minds of some of them.
Conflict With Religions Leaders
As the power of Church grew and its message
about Jesus spread there arose conflicts with the Religious leaders of the
Jews, the Scribes, the Pharisees and the Sadducee. The party of Pharisees
were mainly the overseers of the Synagogues which had been found throughout the
land and the Sadducee held control over the Temple.
The Apostles St. Peter and St. John were
brought before the leaders of the Temple after the healing of a cripple man who
sat begging at an entrance of the Temple courts. This account is found in Acts:3: and 4.
This healing was not just a physical healing
however, it was a healing which restored this man to fellowship and worship for
the sick and infirm were not permitted to enter the Temple courts. The man was
healed and entered the Temple and worshipped with the two Apostles.
This miraculous healing generated great
attention and led to the conversion of several onlookers. This healing of
the crippled man caused the religious leaders to react arresting St. Peter and
St. John. After interrogating the two Apostles the religious leaders threaten
the Apostles in the hopes that it would curtail the preaching about Jesus and
stop the spread of the fledgling movement.
The Religious leaders could not deny that a
power which they did not understand was at work in the lives of the followers
of Jesus and this power was being exercised beyond their control and evident
with growth of the followers of Jesus almost on a daily basis.
"The priests and the captain of the
temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were
speaking to the people. They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were
teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. next
day. But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed
grew to about five thousand."Acts:4:1-4
After hearing the Apostles give their
answers to the charges, the Council talked among themselves; yet
remained unable to resolve what they should do with the two Disciples of
Jesus and the movement which they represented.
"When they saw the courage of Peter and
John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished
and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. But since they could see
the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they
could say. So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then
conferred together. “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked.
“Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we
cannot deny it. But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the
people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.” Then
they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in
the name of Jesus."(13-18)
Dispute Among Them
At first, this new movement, which was focused
upon the living Jesus, and was made up of Jews who had come to
accept Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah which they hoped and prayed
for.
The "culture" of
the Church was at first dominated by the Jew who were resident in Palestine.
This domination by Jewish members created some tension between they and the
Hellenized Jews who came from the scattered parts of the Roman world. This
tension was manifested in a disagreement in the care of the Hellenized widows
whom they felt were being neglected during times of table fellowship.
"In those days when the number of
disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against
the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily
distribution of food."Acts:6:1
This tension led to the Apostles appointing
seven men who were chosen from among the group, called Deacons. All seven of
these men were Hellenized Jews. They would be responsible for the care of
the widows.
This appointment was done by the Apostles
themselves to put emphasis on the importance of the group widows and to ensure
that the Deacons had authority to act in this new office.
"So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them”. (2-6)
The First Martyr
The Church grew , and the power of the Spirit
was evident . The message of Jesus was gaining momentum so that even some, who served in the Priesthood at the Temple, became believers.
"So the word of God spread. The
number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of
priests became obedient to the faith." Acts: 6:7
The Deacon Stephen became a powerful preacher
of the Gospel, his preaching was accompanied by displays of power.
'Now Stephen, a man full of
God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people"(8)
The ministry of St. Stephen was so effective
it garnered the anger of a group of Jews from the Synagogue of the Freemen who opposed St. Stephan's
ministry. These men of the Synagogue were unable to prove St. Stephen wrong.
They then joined in a conspiracy to falsely accuses the Deacon of speaking
blasphemy against the Scriptures and have him brought before the Council.
"Opposition arose, however, from members
of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and
Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia—who began to argue with
Stephen. But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as
he spoke. Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard
Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.”
So they stirred up the people and the elders
and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the
Sanhedrin. They produced false witnesses, who testified, “This fellow never
stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. For we have heard
him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the
customs Moses handed down to us.” (9-14)
Before the High Priest and the assembled
Council St. Stephen defended the Gospel message of Jesus. His testimony to
them was so powerful that the Jews could not counter it. Not only did St.
Stephen uncompromisingly preach Jesus as the Messiah he enraged the Council by
speaking against the Temple itself, even asserting that it was unnecessary, or
that it was never intended to be a permanent component in humanities
relationship with God.
This brought a violent reaction by members of
the Council who attacked and beat St. Stephen taking him outside of Jerusalem
and stoning him to death. Acts: 8:7-60
With the stoning of St. Stephen, the followers
of Jesus now had their first post Pentecost martyr which would now set the
conditions to introduce a new adversary, a fiery zealous Pharisee named Saul.
Saul of Tarsus
Saul himself was a Hellenized Jew who had been
born as a Roman citizen in south eastern Asia Minor in the prominent city of
Tarsus located in the area called Cilicia. Saul's ancestry, we know, from his
own writings was that he was a Jew from the tribe of Benjamin. A well-educated
Pharisee most likely from the Rabbinical School of Shammia.
"of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of
Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee"Philp:3:5 .
Saul saw his mission to counter the followers
of Jesus as forcibly as he was able even arresting many of Jesus'
believers. Saul was provided arrest papers issued by the religious
establishment at Jerusalem and they commissioned Saul to travel to Damascus
with the mission to putting an end to the growing number of believers which
there.
Saul off His Horse
It was, as Saul of Tarsus was on his journey
to eradicate the members of the troublesome movement, which Saul considered them
to be the followers of a disgraced dead heretic Rabbi, that Saul's life would
change for all time and eternity. He would encounter the living Jesus in a
powerful and profound way.
This encounter not only would Saul's
life be transformed, but the life of the Jesus movement itself be changed and
all of history would be transformed and the lives of many forever.
Saul himself would encounter the very one
who's followers he had determined to destroy, Jesus himself would
intersect Saul here on his way to Damascus.
"Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”Acts:9:1-4
Benediction: May we each and all be ever
grateful for the grand history which our Lord has given us in the heritage of
his Holy Church, today, tomorrow, and forever more. Amen.
.jpg)
Rev. Todd Crouch, Norman, Oklahoma
"If It Is Not About Jesus, It Is Not About Anything"
No comments:
Post a Comment