Day 11

Readings and Thoughts for Wednesday, February 13, 2008 (or so...)

Acts 5:12-16 The Apostles Heal Many

From time to time, Luke makes a summary statement that brings the story together. These verses comprise such a statement. (He has also done this in 2:42-47 and again in 4:32-35.) In each summary Luke tells us of the strength and unity of the community of believers. In his commentary on Acts, William Willimon notes that the early church community itself is the biggest argument for the truth of the resurrection story. We know that the story of Jesus is real because we see such obvious evidence of power and of people’s radically different lives as a result of this story. People are praying with power! They are sharing all of their property and money! They are building relationships across great social divides! There is a great deal of positive evidence that the Christian life is truly empowered by God, for how else could these remarkable things be happening? If we find, in our day, that people are not believing in Christian faith, we need to look carefully at how we live as Christians and examine whether our individual and shared lives paint a picture that conveys the power of God at work in us. Willimon challenges, “Why don’t you people look more resurrected?”

How is your household a witness for the gospel? Is there anything about you that stands out among neighbors, co-workers or friends that suggests the power of God is alive in your life?

Remember the woman that wanted to touch the hem of Jesus’ cloak so that she could be healed of her flow of blood? Now folks want to be placed where Peter’s shadow will fall on them when he walks by. “And they were all cured (Luke 5:16).” Luke’s account in Acts and Paul’s letters will give us quite different pictures of what it means to be an apostle. Paul speaks out against “super-apostles” who seem to have magical gifts (2 Corinthians 12:11) and he claims “power is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9) and “for whenever I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:10).” Luke paints a more heroic picture of Peter and other leaders of the church, including Paul himself. In our days of corrupt televangelists, I tend to be a little more skeptical, more with Paul in his view of the situation. I am suspicious of anyone who appears too good, too slick, or too powerful. Luke does not have these kinds of worries. Luke wants to be clear that the good news of Jesus Christ is just that – truly good news that changes the wretched conditions in which people live.

Who represents a “powerful” follower of Jesus in your own experience? Is it someone you know personally, or someone you’ve read about or seen in the media?

Acts 5:17-42 The Apostles Are Persecuted

Surely you’ve seen one of those silly cartoons where a character goes in one doorway and then pops out again in some completely unexpected location, foiling the person giving chase. This passage gives us a picture much like that. The apostles are put in prison, but before the lock has finished turning tightly against them, an angel shows up and teleports them back to the temple (well, we don’t know that – but they do get out of prison without any doors or windows being broken and without the guards having any idea how any of it happened or even that they had escaped.) The temple police go to collect the apostles for questioning before the council, and they are nowhere to be found. Wait! Someone else shows up announcing that the apostles are preaching again at the temple. How could this be? The religious authorities must feel foolish and certainly embarrassed by these events. Have they no control over anything anymore? Are prisons and police useless now?

Ordered not to preach the name of Jesus anymore, Peter and the apostles argue that they must obey God and not any human authority. In saying this, they have the audacity to suggest that the religious leaders who represent the temple are not in league with God, but instead are working against God’s purposes in Jesus Christ. The crowed is enraged at this, but the scene has not yet become completely out of control (we’ll wait until chapter 7 for that). The voice of reason is Rabbi Gamaliel, one of the most famous, respected and important teachers of his time. He tells of other uprisings in the past and how they came to nothing. He suggests that the Jesus movement, too, will come to nothing if it is only running on human power. “But if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them – in that case you may even be found fighting against God! (Luke 5:39)”

Like Jesus before his crucifixion, the apostles are flogged. It was not unusual for 39 lashes with a whip to kill a man, but even after such severe treatment they return rejoicing. They feel honored to share in the same sufferings as Jesus experienced, and of course they do not stop their teaching, both publicly and privately.

Are there causes for justice, political movements or other events in history that you think were empowered by God and not just by human will? Which events were they? What evidence would you give to support your thinking?