All Glory to God the Father and to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
We will head back to our story of 2 weeks ago. Paul and his friends were in Jerusalem, going through purification, as dictated by the Elders of the church. The reason why Paul and his friends were doing this is because of having an extended stay in Asia Minor and they were considered unclean. When you brushed elbows with Gentiles, that made you unclean. Plus, the friends of Paul were very likely Gentile converts and that made all the Jews nervous. Acts 1:1-26 covers this.
As we found out 2 weeks ago, there was a stone with an inscription that was thought to be installed on the Temple wall. It had been found in the late 1800’s when archaeologists had been digging in Jerusalem. The script was thus: “NO MAN OF ALIEN RACE IS TO ENTER WITHIN THE BALUSTRADE AND FENCE THAT GOES ROUND THE TEMPLE. IF ANY ONE IS TAKEN IN THE ACT, LET HIM KNOW THAT HE HAS HIMSELF TO BLAME FOR THE PENALTY OF DEATH THAT FOLLOWS.”
The Jews knew of this as they probably saw it every time they went to the Temple. Anybody of the Jewish faith would be shocked that Gentiles would be allowed in the Temple. And what puts shine on the apple was that it was Paul that did this. Their boy Saul (Acts 9:1-9), now Paul, and working for Jesus instead of holding the coats of those that would stone prophets. See Acts 7, the whole chapter for this. It is a good read and I encourage you to check it out.
Paul, being Jewish, was exempt from what was being asked of his friends, as told to him by James, the brother of Jesus, not James, the brother of the “one whom Jesus loved”, which was John. But Paul, out of love for his friends and wanting to show these nervous Jews that they were willing to satisfy the Law to make everybody happy.
James, the brother of Jesus, was the head of the Jerusalem church and had made this decision to calm the waters of Jewish discontent. Not all were on board with the inclusion of Gentiles.
Acts 21: 20-26 And when they heard it they began glorifying God; and they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all zealous for the Law; 21 and they have been told about you, that you are teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs. 22 What, then, is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come. 23 Therefore do this that we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow; 24 take them and purify yourself along with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads; and all will know that there is nothing to the things which they have been told about you, but that you yourself also walk orderly, keeping the Law. 25 But concerning the Gentiles who have believed, we wrote, having decided that they should abstain from meat sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from fornication.” All of this we covered two weeks ago, but it is good to bring us back up to date.
These zealous for the Law Jews would need something from the Law, namely Purification, to make this bitter pill easier to swallow. And like I mentioned, Paul was a Jew and did not have to do any of this. But that’s not what Jesus taught. Your love of fellow man requires you to do these things, so that your lesser faithed friends would gain faith by your participation. We see a good example of how this works in:
Galatians 2:11-14 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision. 13 The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all, “If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?
Peter had been eating with his new friends, the Gentiles. Everything was fine until men from the Jerusalem church showed up and started giving Peter the stink eye about him hanging with his new friends. Remember, these Jews were the “zealous for the Law” types. So zealous in fact, they could not reconcile their old beliefs with their new beliefs. Peter had a weak moment and stopped eating with his new, but now old and un-welcomed friends. It takes Paul to upbraid Peter to his face to set things back into perspective and right. Which must have been a defining moment to both Paul and Peter. Peter, the man Jesus told to “tend His sheep.” Paul a former enemy of Christ and now Apostle by the direct commissioning of Christ Himself. One Apostle councils and corrects another Apostle’s weak moment. The Gentiles had to have noticed their Jewish friend had not been a good or lasting friend. Everything told to them by Paul and Barnabas was that we are all one big inclusive church and that love rules all. After Paul had stopped hanging around and eating with them, they had to be wondering about that.
Matthew 22:37-40 And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”
The Bible is a continuing source of wisdom for those that seek it. In what I have written, the story of Paul and his friends, we find a story that is applicable today, or applicable to those at any point in the past. How is that you might ask. Here we have a disciple making new disciples. Brotherly love of one man for another. Doing something that would not cause a brother or sister whose faith is not as strong as yours to fall. Example: You can drink wine, your brother or sister was brought up believing that all alcohol is wrong. God has said in Acts 10 verse 15 “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” So, in spite of that, you do not drink wine when you are around those whose faith in God would be questioned. You could apply this lesson in oh so many ways. Masks and distancing to name a few.
Disciple making:
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 28:19-20
“He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.’”
Mark 16:15
“‘But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’”
Acts 1:8
That whole sitting in the pew, fidgeting and glancing at your watch doesn’t cut it. Really.
Brotherly Love:
“And the King shall answer and say to them, Truly I say to you, Inasmuch as you have done it to one of the least of these my brothers, you have done it to me.” Matthew 25:40
“Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;” Romans 12:10
“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brothers to dwell together in unity!” Psalm 133:1
“Better is a dish of vegetables where love is Than a fattened ox served with hatred.” Proverbs 15:17
“By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” John 13:35
And so on. The Bible is sprinkled with references to Brotherly Love. This is from John MacArthur: “Other common errors include equating love with emotionalism or sentimentality, or confusing it with a friendly spirit of tolerance and brotherhood toward others—often apart from any consideration for doctrinal purity or biblical convictions. But biblical love is none of those.
The “more excellent way” Paul refers to in 1 Corinthians 12:31 is love that comes from God Himself and conforms to His holy attributes. We have no capacity to generate it on our own. The Greek word for that kind of love is agapé, and it is characterized by humility, obedience to God, and self-sacrifice. John 13:1 says of Christ’s love for His disciples, “He loved them to the end.” That literally means He loved them to perfection—to the limits of love. In verses 4-5 He demonstrates His love by washing their feet. Love is humble. It focuses on meeting needs.
In addition, love is obedient and willing to make sacrifices for others. Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15). God made the supreme sacrifice for us in that He “so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son” (John 3:16).
First Corinthians 13 applies to Christians of every generation because we all face the danger of misusing our spiritual gifts. As we study it and other passages about love, ask yourself if your love is all that God wants it to be. If not, take note of what changes you need to make in light of what you’re learning.”
Did you catch that? We have no capacity to generate the love required by God, on our own. The love God wants from us is humility and obedience to Himself, along with self-sacrifice. Think about that, I mean really think about that and how it applies to your life.
And keep in mind that Paul and his friends have been grabbed by the crowd, hustled out of the Temple, and the doors slammed behind them. We will head that direction next week.
In the meantime, read your Bible, study your Bible, for we know not the span of our days. You don’t want to be left thinking you’ll get around to it and then one day you hear a soft voice in your head “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ Luke 12:20