Acts 15:30-40 Encourage and Strengthen!

Acts 15:30-40  So the men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter.  The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message.  Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the believers.  After spending some time there, they were sent off by the believers with the blessing of peace to return to those who had sent them.  But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord.  Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.”  Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work.  They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company.  Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord.  He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.  

In this focus, we see Paul and Barnabas separating over whether Mark should accompany them on their next missionary journey.  Paul was upset that Mark abandoned them on their first missionary trip.  We may assume this was part of God’s plan, separating these two pioneers of missionary work for the furtherance of his kingdom.  In going their separate ways, they could minister the Good News to more people.  We do not know who was right in this dispute, but we do know that God worked out the situation for his glory.  Barnabas and Paul were fervent believers, fearless in presenting the Good News to a dark and dangerous world.  Both of them had faced persecution and harassment from the opposers of THE WAY.  They preached that Jesus Christ is God’s answer for eternal life and that his death on the cross delivered men and women from their sins.  This was a strange message to the Greeks, for they were embedded in the ethereal notations that the meaning of life came through the discipline of thought and the controlling of natural instincts.  They revered their philosophers who taught that people should establish their ways of living on foundational ethics of life: virtue, wisdom, justice, moderation.  To be truly happy and prosperous, one must live lives of positive thinking, controlling the errant desires of the fleshly body.  For them, thoughts and philosophy carried the meaning of life, of a happy existence.  For the Greeks to think of a physical man bringing eternal life to them was unimaginable.  So to the Greeks and Romans who based the meaning of life on their philosophies, the idea of faith in the man Jesus and his works bringing meaning to their creation was extremely strange and maybe dangerous.  To the Jews, the law and its concomitant good works was the only journey to God—no other way could please a righteous God.  Works preeminent was their way to God; every other way was too easy and unimaginable.  Both the Greeks and the Jews had what they thought good reasons to oppose this religion of following Jesus Christ, the man.  For them their opposition to THE WAY was quite reasonable.  They both pressured the ministers of the Good News to leave them alone.  However,  Paul and Barnabas were willing to advocate Jesus as the redeemer of mankind even under the threat of death.  Some of the early believers in this new religion wanted to combine their old religion with Christianity.  The Jews interjected circumcision as necessary to be a valid Christian.  The Greeks proposed Jesus as just being somewhat of a hologram, carrying good thoughts and ideas, but not being a real man in flesh and blood.  John railed against this belief that Jesus did not come in the flesh as a man.  He categorized this belief as anti-christ, against the purity of the gospel of Christ the man, living and dying for the sake of mankind.  For John, claiming that Jesus was an apparition of some sort was destroying the truth of the gospel, for Jesus had to die as a man to be the true ransom for men and women’s souls.    Every belief that contaminates the message of Christ alone as the sufficient sacrifice for the sins of men and women is an anathema to a righteous God.  Belief in Jesus and his works is the only way to a holy and perfect God.  The philosophies of men or the works of men will never satisfy a holy God.  These efforts of men will always fall short of pleasing the Creator who has no shadow of injustice or lack of holiness in his being.  God’s perfection is presented to mankind through the sacrifice of his sinless Son on the cross.  This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.  There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, FOR ALL HAVE SINNED AND FALL SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD,  and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.  (Romans 3:22-24)  Paul and Barnabas are divided physically, but not in their message to the world.  They both will carry this message of Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of mankind, to a lost and angry world.

Jesus addresses the idea of some Greeks believing reality comes through the spirit of man and his thinking processes and not through a real Creator.  Reality for them exists in a disciplined mind, controlled by goodness, positive thinking, spiritual awareness.  Jesus to them might not be anything more than some 3-D hologram, a collection of right thinking or good ethics, not a real flesh and blood person.  In John 9, Jesus destroyed that idea about him being just some apparition or spirit.   In this chapter we see that the man blind from birth who Jesus healed was thrown out of the synagogue by the religious leaders.  Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the SON OF MAN?”  “Who is he, sir?” the man asked.  “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”  Jesus said, “You have NOW SEEN HIM; in fact, HE IS THE ONE speaking with you.”  Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.  (John 9:35-38)  Jesus says clearly in this passage, I am man!  I am not a collection of good thoughts or right ethics; I am the man who healed you, and subsequently the man worshipped him.  The man, Jesus, possessed supernatural powers, changing what was to something different: blindness to sight.  This powerful miracle disturbed the priests greatly; in fact, they asked the blind man a couple of times, how did Jesus do this?  Did he do this with some incantations or a witchcraft brew?  How did He do this, for He is but a man just as we are men.  Yes, they were right, but wrong, for Jesus was imbued with the power of God, the fulness of the Holy Spirit.  His authority came from God his Father; He always did what the Father asked him to do.  Even his death on the cross indicated his faithfulness to his Father.  God made Jesus the caretaker of his loved ones.  Jesus is the shepherd of God’s flock.  The sheep know his voice and follow him.  Jesus knows their names, each one’s name.  Jesus is the gate to their freedom.  They are no longer confined to the sheep pen.  Maybe this is analogous to our dwelling on earth.  But the sheep follow the shepherd, go with him, go where He is, where green grass and cool waters exist.  However, on the journey through life there are wolves who bother the sheep.  They are aggressive and desire to destroy the sheep.  Sin is aggressive, destructive and leads to death.  Jesus, the Shepherd, places his body in-between the destructive nature of sin and his sheep.   The Father asked his Son to place his life between the wolves of death and the sheep.  Jesus died on the cross.  He ransomed many from the terror of the wolves.  Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people: (He gave himself for all the sheep.)  (1 Timothy 2:6)  Jesus, the man, gave his life for men and women, so that they need not to die for their sins.  He suffered the agony of death for others, so that they who are part of the sheepfold would not have to face death, only sleep in their demise.   Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”  (John 11:11)  Later Jesus talks about death to Martha.  Jesus knows his death will pay the price for all people’s deaths.  Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.  The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.  Do you believe this?”  (John 11:25-26)  This is the good news that Barnabas and Paul were spreading throughout the world; God through the man Jesus Christ and his death has paid for the sins of people, giving all who have faith in his works, eternal life.   

Before the split of Barnabas and Paul, the church was together in gladness, knowing the idea of circumcision was put to rest.  Faith in Christ's works alone brought the kingdom of God to them.  They had some stipulations given to them by the Jerusalem Council: abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood.  For the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”  (Acts 15:20-21)  The Jewish converts were very familiar with these regulations, for they were taught in their synagogues every Sabbath.  So to keep cohesion within the church of Greeks and Jews, they asked all believers to obey these few stipulations.  Paul emphasizes the need for continuity when it comes to eating and drinking within the context of the church.  If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience.  But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, both for the sake of the one who told you and for the sake of conscience.  I am referring to the other person’s conscience, not yours.  For why is my freedom being judged by another’s conscience?  If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for?  (1 Corinthians 10:27-30)  Paul concludes his remarks on eating and drinking by saying that all things should be done for the glory of God.  In the Corinthian church, Paul desired togetherness; he did not want believers to be judging others for what they ate, for the sake of cohesion, they should allow some of their freedom to be curtailed.  The people in Antioch were encouraged by the news from the Council.  The Jerusalem elders substantiated their Christian walk.  In addition, they received encouragement from the two prophets: Silas and Judas.  These prophets said much to encourage and strengthen the believers.  The church in Antioch because of this struggle about circumcision comes out much stronger, sending out evangelists to propagate the Good News everywhere.  They were a large church, so they had many who functioned strongly in the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  We who are around this breakfast table are an extension of the early church.  They had many struggles as they learned Christ.  We too struggle sometimes as we battle for the truth in our communities of believers.  But in all things we should rest with the purpose of God, to spread the Good News to all people everywhere.  We will not let our egos or sensibilities get in the way of cohesiveness.  We do not major on disruptions and trials, but we major on the grace and mercy of God that has been so freely given to us.  Yes, Paul and Barnabas split, but the purpose of God to spread the Good News was not quelled by this division; it was expanded.  The gospel message went forward as God intended just as He wills today.  

  

  

Acts 15:22-29 Do Well!

Acts 15:22-29  Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas.  They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, men who were leaders among the believers.  With them they sent the following letter: The apostles and elders, your brothers, To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia: Greetings.  We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said.  So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul— men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing.  It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality.  You will do well to avoid these things.  Farewell.

In the above focus we see wolves already invading the church for their own purposes.  These men have little or no authority in the body of Christ, yet, they went to Antioch, Syria, to claim that a believer in Christ must be circumcised.  This was a huge distortion of the purity of the gospel.  Salvation is a product of believing in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, given to people by God as a propitiation for their sins.  So as Paul says to the Romans, I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.  For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”  (Romans 1:16-17)   Circumcision was not a way of grace but a way of works.  Their teaching would discount the work of Jesus on the cross.  Jesus was the perfect sacrifice because He was without blemish.  In the Old Testament, we see that God would not accept or honor any sacrifice that was not perfect.  Every animal or bird given to him as a sacrifice had to be perfect, without blemish.  We know the Bible says that all have sinned; all have fallen from the perfection of God.  God has never changed; He demands perfection if we are going to be in his presence.  Only Jesus fulfilled God’s demands on people, to be completely holy and righteous, a static quality, never wavering.  Jesus himself said, No one is good—except God alone.   A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”  (Luke 18:18-19)  A good teacher is but a good teacher, but not good in reference to God’s holiness or goodness.  He is but a teacher who knows a lot.  But Jesus is separating himself from just a teacher; He is claiming to be God in this context.  He is more than a man of wisdom, knowledge and miracles; He is the Son of God sent as a ransom for men and women’s souls.  The man who addressed him with this question was probably a Jew in good standing, a circumcised man, yet Jesus informs him that no man or woman is good, only God.  The men who left Jerusalem to interfere with the message of pure grace in the Antioch believers were propogating that circumcision had something to do with being acceptable to God or “good.”  Which was a lie from the pit of hell, for their claim was that there was something needed other than faith in Jesus Christ.  Jesus told the Jewish people that nothing more was needed than trust in Jesus’ works.  Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.”  (John 8:51)  What is the mainstay of Jesus’ words; what is needed to be obeyed?   For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.  (John 3:16-18)

Paul and Barnabas considered these propagators of circumcision as necessary to be right with God as wolves.  Already in the nascent church, wolves were prowling around to destroy the purity of the gospel.  Later in his ministry, Paul tells the Ephesian elders that wolves would invade the church.  Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again.  Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of any of you.  For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God.  Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.  Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.  I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock.  Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.  So be on your guard!  Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.  (Acts 20:25-31)  These wolves carry the logo of antichrist, the devil’s design.  Paul and Barnabas were fighting the addition of circumcision to be saved.  In 1 John 4, John is battling the ideas that Jesus did not literally come in the flesh.  This was a deletion of the truth, removing Jesus from being a human in the flesh.  Jesus had to be the fulness of God in the flesh or his sacrifice would be made of no affect.  Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God.  This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.  (1 John 4:2-3)  Peter also knows that wolves will be in the midst of the church.  They will be boastful, capricious and not afraid to attack leadership in the world and the church.  These false prophets will allow for licentious living, promising much to believers, but in reality corrupting the purity of the gospel of love and grace through Jesus Christ.  They are false teachers, promising liberty to the people but they themselves are bound by their own corruption.   But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.  (2 Peter 2:2-3)  In the above focus, already there are people in the church who are willing to distort the gospel of faith in Christ Jesus alone.  Paul and Barnabas know that circumcision is a real work, but not of the cutting away of the flesh.  For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness.  He is the head over every power and authority.  In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands.  Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.  (Colossians 2:9-12)

After hearing the disciples' account of their first missionary journey and of the trials they endured to spread the gospel to Greek communities, the elders of the whole church of Christ decided to write a letter to the believers in Antioch.  Greetings.  We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said.  So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul— men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing.  As true elders of the church, who want the best for all believers, they are sending this letter of encouragement to the faithful in Antioch of Syria.  This city was the third largest city in the area, only Rome and Alexandria were bigger so there are many believers in that city; the home base for Paul and Barnabas.  The church elders did not want these believers to be corrupted by the idea that circumcision was necessary to be right with God.  If they incorporate the law in their beliefs about salvation, they will be bound again to keeping the Sabbath holy and to other regulations of the law.  They will evaluate people not on their beliefs in Christ but in how well they keep the law given to the Jews.  The corrupt Pharisees were the religious police of Israel, evaluating people by how they observed the law.  Even Jesus was evaluated that way.  Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.”  (John 9:16)  When Jesus knelt down and mixed his spital with dust, making mud to be placed on a blind man’s eyes, He was condemned by the Pharisees for working on the Sabbath.  They cared little that this man had been blind from birth; they only cared that Jesus worked on the Sabbath.  Paul, Barnabas, and the elders of the church knew this kind of hypocrisy would contaminate the church if allowed to spread.  However, even though the law was a danger to faith, the church concluded their letter to the believers with these words.  It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality.  You will do well to avoid these things.  Why?  Because these practices were part of the pagan world.  Many Jews were believers in Antioch.  Therefore to abstain from doing these things was very important to the Jewish believers.  The elders end their letter with You will do well to avoid these things.  They did not say you will lose your faith if you don't, only that you will do well in life if you avoid these activities that can harm you and your testimony of faith in Jesus Christ.  Dear friends, we do well if we follow Jesus with our whole heart, soul and strength.  We do well if we love God with a passion and others with a passion.  We do well to keep the purity of the gospel in our minds and life all the time.  We do well when we sing of God’s glory early in the morning and late at night.  Friends around the breakfast table: DO WELL!    

 

Acts 15:12-21 Bring Good News!

Acts 15:12-21 The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them.  When they finished, James spoke up. “Brothers,” he said, “listen to me.  Simon has described to us how God first intervened to choose a people for his name from the Gentiles.  The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written: “‘After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent.  Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things’—things known from long ago.“  It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.  Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood.  For the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.

Some Jewish Christians demanded that the tenants of Judaism should  be followed by the Gentile converts.  Because of this demand by the Christian Jews, Paul and Barnabas were before the high council of the church in Jerusalem.  They were there defending the Good News that salvation comes through faith not by works.  They were convinced that the cross made people right with God; only the efficacious work of Jesus on the cross is needed to be in the kingdom of God.  Circumcision was not a necessary step to be born again.  If cutting away of the flesh was a necessary act to be saved, then all their work in the Gentile communities was a waste of time. They were convinced that faith in Jesus Christ was sufficient alone for the work of salvation in a person’s life.  “We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ.  So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.  (Galatians 2:15-18 )  Peter had already told the Council and the Jewish accusers in the gathering that none of them has been able to follow all the requirements of the law.  And if not, as James talks about the law, they are guilty of breaking every commandment of God.  God is perfect, holy, and eternal, no man or woman who is not absolutely perfect can ever have access to God’s dwelling place.  Where God is, his kingdom, perfection is demanded.  Any blemish or imperfection will face eternal judgment.  The tabernacle in the wilderness had to be built in a precise manner, no sloppiness in the measurements; all of it had to be built as God demanded.  Perfection, preciseness are demanded by God.  Consequently, Peter implies to the Jewish accusers of Paul and Barnabas, if they are not perfect in following the law, then God does not abide within them.  The Spirit of God will not tolerate those who are not perfectly constructed.  Now in the above focus, we see James, the brother of Jesus, who once saw Jesus as being emotionally sick, reminding the council of Peter’s trance.  Peter saw a blanket full of a variety of living animals and birds descending to him from  heaven.  In this trance, God told him to eat all the creatures he saw, even those who were forbidden by the law given to Moses.  In this trance he was told to get up and kill and eat them.  Of course, many of these living things were repugnant to Peter, horrid to look at and especially horrid to think of eating them.  But God told him in his trance to get up and eat anything on the blanket, for God has made them clean; therefore, they are clean indeed.  He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners.  It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds.  Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter.  Kill and eat.”  (Acts 10:11-13)  Of course at the end of the trance, Peter received an invitation to go to a Gentile’s house to talk to him about salvation.  As Peter talks to them, the whole gathering of people at Cornelius’ house was filled with the Holy Spirit, revealing clearly that they were counted as  worthy to be in God’s household.  Therefore, showing the Jews that Judaism and its commandments and regulations are not necessary to be accepted by God.  James tells the high council that in his judgement, the Jewish believers whose lifestyles are still wrapped around Judaism, should forgo their demands that the Gentile Christians should be circumcised.  Only the Holy Spirit who fell on the Gentiles in Cornelius' house, determines rightness with God, not Judaism or obedience to rules and regulations.  Salvation comes through faith in Christ alone, no other road leads to the eternal kingdom of God.

Paul and Barnabas were fulfilling the message of the angel who talked to the shepherds in the field outside of Bethlehem.  He tells them that this little baby that they will discover in Bethlehem in a stable will bless all people in the world.  And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.  An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid.  I bring you good news that WILL CAUSE GREAT JOY FOR ALL THE PEOPLE OF THE WORLD.   (Luke 2:8-10)  Paul and Barnabas are actively bringing this great joy to all the people of the world.  The angel had announced the Good News to mankind: eternal life can be theirs through this baby Jesus.  Later, after this baby was birthed by Mary, we see them in the Temple of God.  Jesus had to be consecrated to God for all first-born Jewish boys belong to God.  As in Egypt, without the blood on them, the first born were killed.  Only the lamb’s blood over the doorway could prevent the first-born boys from being killed.  From that time on, all first-born Jewish boys had to have blood sacrifice for their atonement.  Mary and Joseph were not wealthy, so they had two doves or pigeons sacrificed as an atonement for their baby boy.  This act was done in the Temple.  In the Temple they met a righteous man who God had honored with the knowledge that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.  (Luke 2:26)   On this day of Jesus’ dedication to God, the Holy Spirit summoned Simeon to go to the Temple.  He met Mary and Joseph and took the baby from the arms of Mary and presented him to God.  ”Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace.  For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of ALL NATIONS: a light for revelation to the GENTILES, and the glory of your people ISREAL.”  (Luke 2:28-32)  We see in Simeon’s prayer that he is stating the same thing that God told Abraham, that his Seed, Jesus, would bless all nations.  Now Simeon is closing the book on that promise because the Seed has not come through the womb of Mary.  The Holy Spirit would be present with men in the reality of Jesus the Christ being on earth.  And we see that when Jesus is ministering to people.  The Spirit of God heals everyone who comes to Jesus.  When Anna who is in the Temple hears Simeon’s praise to God for the baby Jesus, Anna is probably over a hundred years old, for she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four.  She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.  (Luke 2:36-37)  Anna was there for a special reason: she was out of the tribe of Asher who was the eighth son of Jacob; now she sees Jesus, eight days old.  Asher means happy.  Anna was happy after hearing Simeon’s prayer fill the Temple with the happy news of the child Jesus.  Because she never left the Temple, all the people who talked to her in the Temple heard her happy account of Jesus the baby and Simeon’s prophetic words.  Paul and Barnabas are now bringing Simeon’s words to fruition.  They are reconciling the Gentiles to God, breaking down the barrier between the Gentiles and God.  Their message of Jesus Christ alone as the avenue to God is received by many in the Gentile communities.  Miracles and signs follow them in every city.  God was in the business of fulfilling his promise to Abraham that his SEED would bless all nations.  The angel and Simeon in their prophetic words confirmed that now was the time that God would bless all people He created.  Salvation had come to earth to dismiss the devil’s reign over mankind.  

What do these new Christians reveal about God?  What does the Holy Spirit implant in their hearts?  How are they different from the seed of Adam?  First, in power, the new creatures founded by faith in Christ Jesus would demonstrate the power of God.  Jesus had authority over every demon and every sickness.  His followers would also cast out demons and heal the sick.  We see Paul demonstrate this power of God in him in Lystra.  In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth and had never walked.  He listened to Paul as he was speaking.  Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.  (Act 14:8-10)  Paul cast out demons from Bar-Jesus on the island of Cyprus.  Later on in his other missionary journeys, even his handkerchiefs or aprons brought healing to people who touched them.  God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.  (Acts 19:11-12)  Born-again people through faith in Jesus Christ were powerful in the Spirit of God.  What they prayed for in the will of God took place.  These new creatures in the kingdom of God also displayed a change of heart by the way they dealt with people.  People are aggressive and hurtful as God states before the flood.  Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence.  God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways.  (Genesis 6:11-12)  Now because of Jesus’s work on the cross, redeeming mankind from destruction because of their sins; we see a new likeness in these converts to Jesus.  We see in the fruit of the Spirit, He who confirms their salvation.  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  (Galatians 5:22-23)  We see lambs, not wolves who set out to destroy others.  We see the Lamb of God in them, willing to die for others, even their enemies.  The new creatures in God are willing to allow God to justify their lives.  Do not repay anyone evil for evil.  Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.  If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.  Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.  On the contrary:“If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.  In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”  Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.  (Romans 12:17-20)  As sheep in God’s pasture they allow the shepherd to defend them and to protect them from the wolves in the world.  Paul and Barnabas’ first journey illustrated their willingness to allow God to defend them.  As they were chased out of one city after another, they just moved on, willing to take the rebuke of the hostile people who opposed them.  They did not gather their supporters in those cities and attack their enemies.  In each community they presented the cause of Christ without fear, for they had heard the message of God in their hearts.  They were energized by the word of God and they were willing to announce TO ALL what they heard in their spiritual ears.  Greek and Gentile would hear the way to salvation through their lips.   So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.  What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs.  Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.  Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.  (Matthew 10:26-28) Friends around this breakfast table, are you boldly proclaiming the Good News that you hear in your hearts?  Are you afraid to announce the Truth and the Way to all people?  Are you still bound by the rules and regulations of religion?  Dear friends you have been set free to announce the Good News to all people.  Simeon and Anna in the Temple, motivated by the happiness in them, told everyone they met about this little baby Jesus Christ.  They knew through this eight-day old baby that the kingdom of God has come to earth, a message that Paul and Barnabas reveled in.  May we greatly rejoice in this truth.  Amen!  

              

 

Acts 15:6-11 The New Has Come!

Acts 15:6-11 The apostles and elders met to consider this question.  After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us.  He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear?  No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”

Paul, Barnabas and others from the Antioch church went to Jerusalem to discuss with the church leaders whether people needed to be circumcised to be followers of Christ. In Judaism circumcision is necessary to be accepted by God: this cutting of the flesh is a sign of being God’s people. Circumcision separates the Jews from all the rest of people in the world. In Paul and Barnabas’ ministry, they were not requiring circumcision as a step in being separated from the people of the world as believers in Christ as the Messiah. This caused some of the Judaic Christians to be concerned about the purity of their ministry. For they taught the grace and mercy of God through faith in Jesus Christ and his works. For the Judaic Christians, the law and circumcison were endemic in their view of God. Paul and Barnabas did teach circumcision but it was a circumcision of the heart, not of the flesh. They evaluated no one by the outward sign of circumcision. This sign of the flesh meant nothing to them; only the condition of the heart, changed by faith IN CHRIST, was the theme of their ministry. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (2 Corinthians 5:16-17) Paul emphasized the new creature, born IN GOD through faith alone. He was not in the remodeling mode of making the Jews or anyone better by being more zealous to laws and regulations. As Peter before him discovered, God affirms his own by giving them the Holy Spirit. Peter found this out in the house of Cornelius the centurion. While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. (Acts 10:44-46) Believing and trusting in Jesus as the Son of God changes the heart, brings the Holy Spirit to the souls of men and women. Real circumcision or separation to God as his own people is established in the heart, not in the outward flesh. God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. The Gentiles who were once not God’s people were now being called in these latter days to his household. “I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me. (Isaiah 65:1) Paul and Barnabas were ambassadors to these people who had not been called, but are now called in these latter days. Through his Son Jesus Christ, God was reconciling the whole world to himself. This mystery hidden in God’s heart from the beginning of time was now being activated through the disciples, going throughout the world, preaching the Good News that whosoever believes in Jesus Christ as the Son of God will receive the circumcision of the heart, placing them in God’s kingdom forever. Nevertheless, this Good News of enduring change in the hearts of all people through faith in Jesus Christ alone was being challenged by the Judaic Christians. 

The law and its regulations were always on trial in Jesus’ ministry. The teachers of the law followed Jesus from place to place. They did not appreciate that Jesus did good works on the Sabbath. He and his disciples were too active on the day of rest. Jesus, every day was constantly healing people; the Sabbath was no exception. Because of this fact, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were present with Jesus on the Sabbath, listening to him minister in a synagogue. A man with a deformed hand was also in the synagogue. Because Jesus was constantly healing people, his critics anticipated that Jesus would probably heal this man. John wrote, Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written. (John 21:25) The enemies of Jesus were expecting Jesus to heal this man. Jesus knew why these men were there with him in that synagogue. HIs critics were there to condemn him if He healed this man who had lived with his deformity all his life. This could be considered a set-up by God. Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Get up and stand in front of everyone.”So he got up and stood there. Then Jesus said to them,“I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?” He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.  ”He did so, and hishand was completely restored. (Luke 6:8-10)By healing this man on the Sabbath, Jesus was demonstrating that God is always working, always doing good to people, even on the Sabbath. If an earthquake hit Jerusalem on the Sabbath, the people rightly would flee, carrying their belongings. God allowed good or necessary activity on the Sabbath when it meant survival or restoration. “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need?  In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat.  And he also gave some to his companions.  ”Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man (enjoyment), not man for the Sabbath (enjoyment).  So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:25-28) The Sabbath was a time to reflect on God’s goodness, his mercy and grace to humans, not a time to be bound by law and regulations. The Sabbath was made so that men and animals would not have to work seven days for their living, but that this day was one for them to reflect on God’s mercy and love for them, a time of rest and restoration. Jesus became the Sabbath to people in reality. He is the freedom from work; He is the grace and mercy of God. This was the message of Paul and Barnabas to all people. Believers did not need the sign of circumcision to be right with God. They did not need obedience to the Sabbath regulations; they only needed faith in Jesus Christ and his works. The cross ransomed all believers from their bondage to sin and to the works of the flesh. They were free from the cumbersome burden of the law.

Peter in defense of Paul's ministry asked these Jews who claimed circumcision to be a necessary act of salvation, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? This yoke of the law was heavy and not even the Pharisees or the Sadducees were able to fulfill the law in their lives. Jesus called them hypocrites, for their hearts were cold to the grace and mercy of God; yet they bound the people with the heavy burden of the law and its regulations. John the Baptist knew the condition of the Israelites’ leaders by calling out for them to repent. He saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. (Matthew 3:7-10) Now in the above focus, we see Peter pleading for the wholesome message of Jesus alone, not laws and regulations that even the leaders of the Jewish community could not satisfy. Paul knows in his journey through the Gentile communities that God did not discriminate between the law bound Jews and the lawless Gentiles. As Peter said,He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are. Paul and Barnabas’ ministry affirmed that God was in the saving business, Jew and Gentile. He was giving all who put their trust in Jesus Christ, God’s Son, the eternal Holy Spirit. They saw the fruit of their ministry; how happy the Gentiles were to know they were part of God’s family. These two disciples suffered much to bring this message of eternal life to the Greek communities. But their suffering was worthwhile because many were coming to the true knowledge of Jesus being the Lord of all people. Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (John 1:16-17) The law was given to Moses to release the people from their bondage of sin, but the law could not change the heart. The law demanded a lifestyle, a way by actions to please a righteous and holy God. But man’s sinful nature was unable to appease a holy God by his actions alone; he needed a complete transformation, a new beginning, a new life, and only Jesus could bring that to him. In Jesus' discussing the necessity of a new life with Nicodemus, Jesus says,“Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.“How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” Jesus answered,“Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”(John 3:3-8) Peter is telling the Jerusalem council that as in Jesus’ words, wind blows wherever it pleases.Paul has seen the wind of the Holy Spirit fall on many new believers. As with Jesus’ ministry, these believers will show God’s plan. They will be people of power, possessors of the Dynamo of God. If God does not discriminate, why should men by placing the burden of works on them. LET THEM BE FREE TO DO THE WORKS OF GOD IN THIS WORLD.  Amen!  It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.  Stand firm,then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1)  

Acts 15:1-5 Final Solution

Acts 15:1-5  Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.”  This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them.  So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question.  The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted.  This news made all the believers very glad.  When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them.  Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.”

Once again we see the devil’s work in the Pharisees.  Even though some of them now believed that Jesus was the Messiah sent by God, they also championed the law as THE WAY to please God.  This opposition to the purity of faith in Jesus Christ alone as the message of salvation troubled Paul and Barnabas.  They had just traveled over one thousand miles to tell people of every kind that Jesus was the ONLY WAY to earn God’s favor.  They were always under the threat of persecution and death in their journey.  This Good News that Jesus Christ has made a way for all men and women to obtain eternal life was central to all they taught in every community.  For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve.  After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.  Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.  (1 Corinthians 15:1-8)  Many in these Greek communities accepted this message of eternal life for them as precious as gold and silver, but others, especially the Jews, found this message to be abhorrent to Judaism and to their lifestyle.  For them, Moses’ law was paramount in knowing God, no other avenue to God is needed, only obedience to the law makes people right with the Eternal Creator.  Now, the disciples supposedly home with believers who accept Jesus and the cross as the only way to God, find themselves attacked by Jewish believers who are still entangled with the idea of obedience to the law.  Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.”  Paul and Barnabas had faced too much violence and threats of death in the Greek communities to allow these supposed believers to corrupt the truth of the Good News.  This perversion of the THE WAY brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them.  The Holy Spirit had exposed Paul to the mystery of salvation that was hidden in God’s heart from the very beginning.  Paul was not going to back down from the truth the Spirit had shown him: all people can be right with the Creator through faith in Christ’s works and not by their own effort or works.  As a learned Rabbi he understood how Abraham was right with God.  What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter?  If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God.  What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”  (Romans 4:1-3)  Abraham had not been circumcised when he first received God’s promise of blessing to him.  God’s blessing came to him not because his flesh had an outward sign of being sold out to God but that his heart was right with God.  Abraham believed God would fulfill his words to him, a necessary component in knowing God.  Paul and Barnabas now face criticism by these pharisaical believers for not stressing circumcision as the way to being right with God.  But Paul and Barnabas would not recant their message of faith alone in Christ, for they believed strongly that Abraham’s faith in God’s words are the key to knowing God, and that same faith is necessary in all believers.  Abraham was fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.  This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.”  The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.  He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.  (Romans 4:21-25)

Paul understood that God from the very beginning wanted a Father’s relationship with his created.  Adam and Eve were made to be a blessing to God.  They were to have faith in God’s words, trust him as a child would trust his father.  But they broke that relationship of trusting the goodness of the Father’s words; they chose their own direction in life.  Paul in his ministry declares the necessity of people to believe and trust God’s words about redemption and eternal life.  He ministers about Jesus, Son of God, coming to earth to connect people to their Creator.  Jesus  pays the price for men and women’s rebellion to the authority to God.  This rebellion is sin and it has separated men and women from a righteous, holy, eternal God.  But because of the grace and mercy of God, Jesus becomes the ransom paid by God to deliver men and women out of their darkness, their captivity to sin.  No man or woman can boast about delivering himself or herself from the captivity of sin.  Salvation from sin comes to mankind because of the grace and mercy of God.  The death of Jesus on the cross demonstrates God’s love for men and women; God’s Son pays the complete price for the sins of all people.  However, if we won our personal redemption through law, we could boast about it.  But Paul counters this self-willedness of men and women to earn their place of righteousness by their own efforts by talking about boasting.  Where, then, is boasting?  It is excluded.  Because of what law?  The law that requires works?  No, because of the law that requires faith.  For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.  (Romans 3:28-31)  The Jews who troubled the believers in Antioch opposed this belief of faith in Jesus as the only way to God.  They claimed works has to be part of the redemptive plan.  We see the opposition to the disciples in Jerusalem with the same message of works.  Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.”  They adamantly opposed the purity of the gospel: faith in Jesus Christ and his works.  Jesus knew well the hypocrisy of these Pharisees.  He castigated them, criticized the way they lived, called them hypocrites, even said their father was the devil.  Paul says that a person who is truly circumcised is one who has a circumcised heart, whether he is a Jew or a Gentile.  Outward circumcision means nothing.  A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical.  No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code.  Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God.  (Romans 2:28-29)  A major problem with circumcision and the law is that salvation is placed in the hands of humans and not in the purview of God.  He alone is good, not men or women.  If He alone is good, He alone knows how to make a sinful creation good and that comes from his works and not mankind’s work.  Paul and the early church were now being troubled by this adverse idea to the pure gospel of faith.

As we see Jesus riding on a colt into Jerusalem, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:  “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”  “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”  Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”  “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”  (Luke 19:38-40)  Jesus knew who he was; He was the Son of God.  He knew absolutely the rocks would cry out praise to him if the people would not.  For the Creator God is the receptor of all praise of everything He created.  Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths, lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding, you mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds, kings of the earth and all nations, you princes and all rulers on earth, young men and women old men and children.  (Psalm 148:7-12)  Everything that ever was created will praise the Lord; the rocks were created so they too would praise the Lord.  Jesus knew there is continuous praise to God from all the natural elements of the world and the heavens; the stars sing God’s praise.  So, He knew the rocks would cry out praises if humans would not.  But then we see Jesus weeping for Jerusalem.  Most of Jerusalem rejected Jesus as being the Messiah, the Prince of Peace.  Jesus knew their rejection of him as the Messiah would cause them much pain and calamity in the future.  He knew the Romans would come and demolish Jerusalem, killing thousands of them, leaving the resting place of God, the Temple, in total ruin, not one stone on top of another.  He understood much blood would be shed in that Temple before it is destroyed.  All of this would happen only thirty years after his death.  Therefore, Jesus wept.  The leaders in Jerusalem were holding adamantly to their way of worshipping God: the law.  The law was not bad, for it reflected the holiness of God.  In fact it was perfect in revealing God’s perfection, his absolute righteousness.  But the complete fulness of the law was bound up into two laws: love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and secondly, love others as you love yourself.  These two tenants of the law escaped the Pharisees' way of living.  They lived lives disciplined to the law, but they did not feature love and mercy in their lives.  Jesus wept because they had not accepted the peace and mercy that He came to give them.  He was the Messiah, He was the Son of God, and He did come to give them release from their bondage to outward rules and regulations.  Paul’s ministry of Jesus alone was given to him by God.  God promised him on the road to Damascus that he would teach Paul many things, the mystery of salvation, hidden from the world from the beginning of time.  Paul was faithful to his message even though it brought him many threats of death.  We found in the last century, the Nazi government sought the final solution to what they considered the Jewish threat to the world; of course the final solution was extermination.  The devil’s solution to everything is death.  But Paul came to bring another final solution and that was life.  For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  (John 3:16-17)  Paul dedicated his life to this final solution.  He encourages us to do likewise, Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm.  Let nothing move you.  Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.  (1 Corinthians 15:56)  Dear friends around this breakfast table, nothing you do for Christ is ever wasted.  Even under stress as we see in our above focus, Paul and Barnabas were zealous in defending the truth of the word of God.  No matter where you are in life, happy or sad, defend the gospel.  Be happy you have breath to voice the truth to the world.  Live in God’s will not your own will as Adam and Eve did.  Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.  (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)  Rejoice today that you have the message of life and not of death.  The true FINAL SOLUTION is Jesus Saves, the opposite of death.  

   

 

 

  

   

Acts 14:21-28 Light of Life!

Acts 14:21-28  They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples.  Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith.  “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.  Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.  After going through Pisidia, they came into Pamphylia, and when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia.  From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed.  On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.  And they stayed there a long time with the disciples.

After escaping death by stoning in Lystra, Paul has a successful ministry in Derbe: won a large number of disciples.  After Derbe, he and Barnabas decided to finish off their first missionary trip by going back through these dangerous communities of Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, to strengthen the new converts in those areas.  In these communities of trials and persecution, they encouraged the body of believers to be true to their new found faith.  As they journeyed back to Antioch of Syria, they ministered on the truth of the gospel to every community they traveled through.  Paul and Barnabas established dozens of churches in their 1,200 mile missionary trip.  Even though they faced much physical danger, they were faithful in spreading the Good News to the lost wherever they traveled.  Paul had seen a great light on the road to Damascus, a light greater than the sun, a light of purity and holiness.  This Light gave him a commission: to go into all the world, ministering the name of Jesus Christ as the Light of the world.  As Jesus said of himself, “I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  (John 8:12)  Paul and Barnabas had gained this Light in their lives by faith; they understood their souls would never die, for the eternal Spirit of God lived in them.  They knew Jesus’ resurrection was the precursor of their own resurrection into eternal life. They too as Jesus did would take this journey from physical death to eternal life with God.  Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.  (John 11:25-26 KJV)  These disciples were willing to face persecution and even death for the marvelous truth of life everlasting.  They went into dangerous communities, exposing themselves to hostile men and women who were adverse to the Good News and its message of eternity with the God of creation through faith in Jesus Christ.  For Jesus’ followers, the cause of Christ was greater than the security of their lives.  They would willingly die for this message of eternal life for all men and women who would accept the Good News.  Some in these Greek communities were freed from their Egypt, a place of bondage and hardship.  However, most were content to remain in their Egypt, their dark lives of trials and captivity to sin.  Consequently, these sin-bound people were opposed to the Light that Paul and Barnabas were ministering.  As Paul and Barnabas journeyed back to Antioch of Syria, they reminded the converts of these newly established churches that traversing the wilderness after escaping the captivity in Egypt and the hold of the devil on their lives is not an easy journey.  Often the wilderness can be a sparse and hot place with long days, full of trials and hardships, persecutions and threats of death, but they should keep their minds on Canaan, the end of the journey.  Both of these disciples were good examples of believers fastening their minds on the Promised Land and the subsequent glory they will receive in heaven.  Paul and Barnabas were willing to suffer for the CAUSE OF CHRIST.  Regardless of the cost, they brought the Good News, the Light of God, to a desperate, dark, and dying world. 

Jesus in his ministry to the Jews in Israel often found himself in the midst of a desperate people, people who needed an answer in their lives.  At times He attempted to move away from the clamor of the people.  But the people would follow him, constantly monitoring where He was or where He was going to be.  On one of these occasions when Jesus and the disciples felt a need for finding solace for themselves, they got into a boat, seeking a place away from the crowd.  So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.  But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them.  When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.  So he began teaching them many things.  (Mark 6:32-34)  Even though Jesus was tired and needed rest, He saw the large crowd that met him in this solitary place.  These people had spent a lot of physical energy and their time to meet with Jesus and his followers.  Jesus had compassion on them because they were desperate for a shepherd, someone who would lead them by still water and into a green pasture.  They needed an overseer, a guide, a comforter, an exhorter, a lover of their souls, so they followed Jesus and listened to his words.  Paul and Barnabas were for many a Jesus in their lives.  These two men claimed to know God and the truth of people’s existence.  Many of the people in these Greek communities were desperate to find the meaning of life.  They were frustrated with their lives that existed on a treadmill of futility.  Even though the two disciples often were upset with the opposition they faced in these Greek communities, they landed the boat and presented the Shepherd who said, “Whosoever will may come."  Jesus came to deliver people from darkness and captivity.  He cast out demons from those who were oppressed by evil spirits.  He healed the blind, the lame, the sick.  He raised the dead and proclaimed the gospel to the poor.  Paul and Barnabas did likewise in these Greek cities.  They shepherded the tired, the weary, those who needed a doctor.  As Jesus, they did those good deeds even though they had a target on their backs, placed there by the devil and his cohorts.  Jesus said of these people that were in opposition to the Good News that their father was the devil.  You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires.  (John 8:44)  These enemies of Jesus were also the enemies of the two disciples.  As with their desire to murder Jesus, they wanted to kill these two disciples who were followers of Jesus.   Paul and Barnabas carried the news of Jesus to the Greeks.  They traveled many miles to deliver the gospel to them.  In their travels they were never outside of danger; they lived in fear of being killed in and out of these towns, for it was a danger for strangers to walk from city to city in those days.

After Jesus had delivered Legion from his many demons, Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee back to his home area.  The throng of people gathered around him immediately as he landed.  They came to him with their many requests, pushing and shoving to get near Jesus, beseeching him for answers in their lives.  One of the first to greet him was the leader of the synagogue, Jairus.  Being the leader of the synagogue, Jairus was was an important member of the community.  He told Jesus of his young daughter’s illness.  He asked Jesus to come with him to his home, believing Jesus can heal his sick daughter.  Jesus asgreed to his request.  On the way to Jairus’ house, Jesus felt the Spirit of God going out to someone who had touched him with faith.  This is the same faith that Abraham, Issac, Jacob, Moses, David and the  prophets had in God’s goodness and love towards them.  Jesus turns around to see who possessed this foundational faith in God, this same faith that great men and women in the Old Testament had in the God of creation.  “Who touched me?”  Which one of you possesses the faith of the forefathers, those who believed the Father God is good and merciful, full of enduring love?  Which one of you touched me with that kind of faith?  Jesus turned around, seaching with his eyes for a man or woman in the crowd with the faith of Abraham, Isaac or Jacob.  He did not see Moses, Joshua, David or one of the prophets in the crowd; He saw only a little woman who had a chronic bleeding issue for twelve years.  The Spirit of God, the active power of God, went out to her and healed her.  She was a nobody, not the leader of the synagogue or someone important in the community.  She was a desperate woman who believed God is good, and if she could only touch the hem of Jesus’ garment, she would experience the goodness of God.  This was the message Paul and Barnabas were preaching to the Greeks: reach out and touch the goodness of God through faith in Jesus Christ.  You do not have to be famous or important in this world; you even might be an uncilized Greek bound by sin, but Jesus is available to you.  Eternal life is yours in Jesus.  Accept him as your redeemer and God will honor you above the angels, you will exist in the throne room of God forever.   This is the message Paul and Barnabas taught, a message of purity and redemption.  Even today, the crowd might be in your way.  The devil’s temptations might be enticing, disrupting your intention to accept the gospel wholeheartedly, but press in regardless, push your way to Jesus.  In this story, we find Jesus completing his walk to Jairus’ house.  Jairus’ young daughter had been pronounced dead.  The mourners in Jairus' house ridiculed Jesus when He said, she is not dead, but asleep.  They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead.  But he took her by the hand and said, “My child, get up!” Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up.  Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat.  Her parents were astonished, but he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.  (Luke 8:53-56)  We see this day that the Good News came to the woman who had a bleeding issue because she possessed the same faith of the patriarchs and the prophets.  Later that day, the twelve-year-old girl received life again because of the touch of Jesus in her life.  As children of the living God, we also have heard Jesus’ words to us: My child, get up!  Eternal life is ours because of the cross.  Paul and Barnabas traveled over a 1,000 miles in their first missionary trip to tell people to "get up”.  Faith in Jesus is the redeeming work of God.  We know Jesus IS ETERNAL LIFE.  John says it so clearly,  That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning THE WORD OF LIFE.  THE LIFE appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you THE ETERNAL LIFE, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.  (1 John 1:1-2)  Jesus has come--Eternal Life has come to all people who put their trust in the works of Jesus Christ.   Paul and Barnabas were willing to give their lives for this message.  We too have that same message: Christ, the Light of the World has come.  Come and hear the Good News!