We take another break in the advance of the gospel. Off to a great start in Acts chapters 2 – 4, then a pause to take care of a few problems in chapters 5 and 6 with the result:

And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. (Acts 6.7, ESV)

Then there’s the persecution of Acts 8, which resulted in yet more expansion:

Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word…Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. (Acts 8.4…11.19 – 21, ESV)

Then Paul and Barnabas went out, recorded in chapters 13 and 14. More expansion.

Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia, and from there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled. And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. (Acts 14.24 – 27, ESV)

Then a giant OOPS – a major roadblock from whom? Romans? Nope. It’s our Jewish friends again, this time, Jews who were among the believers.

But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” (Acts 15.1, ESV)

“They” have always been among us: “unless you belong to our church…unless you’re baptized this way, at this time, with the correct words…unless you abstain from a list of things we think all good Christians abstain from…unless your music is of this form…” and on and on. It’s called legalism, and Paul would have none of it.

And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question. (Acts 15.2, ESV)

It was a marvelous discussion ending with this startling declaration from Peter:

No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.” (Acts 15.11, NIV)

I get chills every time I read this. Peter, the faithful Jew (“I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” Acts 10.14) declares who needs grace. It is by grace WE are saved – we good religious people, we pious church-going people, we’re the ones who need grace. Tomorrow we’ll look at the decision the church leaders made in Acts 15, and its aftermath. Sneak preview: it results in more expansion!

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2.8, 9, NIV)

For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh—though I myself have reasons for such confidence. If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. (Philippians 3.3 – 9, NIV)

I just saw something in Acts 14…

We’ve been talking about how the apostles used signs and wonders, and these miracles often resulted in more people becoming believers. For example:

And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw [the lame man walking], and they turned to the Lord….And [the resurrection of Dorcas] became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. (Acts 9.35…42, ESV, emphasis mine)

But, like most historical accounts in the Bible, things don’t often work the same way twice. Here’s the result of Paul’s healing a lame man, something Peter had done at least twice (Acts 3 and Acts 9.)

Now at Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was crippled from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul speaking. And Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well, said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he sprang up and began walking. And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lycaonian, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!” Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds. (Acts 14.8 – 13, ESV)

Jewish people would have never mistaken Barnabas and Paul for Zeus and Hermes! But the folks at Lystra did. Paul ends up being stoned and left for dead. Despite it all, we know from Acts 14.20 – 23 and Acts 16.1, 2 that there were believers in Lystra – but not without some difficulty!

There are no magic formulas. No method of presenting the gospel “works” every time. Even “signs and wonders” don’t guarantee positive results. Not even Jesus’ miracles always resulted in people believing:

Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. (Matthew 11.20 – 23, ESV)

I had a vivid dream a few days ago with a clear message. I was preaching and in the middle of the sermon, a former pastor, friend of mine, sitting in the audience, called out:

Keep preaching Bob! When you start talking about Jesus, I’ll listen.

It felt important. When I woke up with that in mind at 3 a.m., I was debating whether or not to write it down, but I said to myself, “If it’s important, I’ll remember it in the morning,” and I did.

We don’t want to forget to talk about Jesus. The apostles didn’t. Here’s part of Paul’s sermon while still on the island of Cypress:

Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation. For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not recognize him nor understand the utterances of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him. And though they found in him no guilt worthy of death, they asked Pilate to have him executed. And when they had carried out all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead, and for many days he appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people. And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus…Let it be known to you, therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you… (Acts 13.26 – 32, 38, ESV)

Here’s a snippet of Peter’s first sermon – the one at Pentecost:

Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. (Acts 2.22 – 24, ESV)

Ours is not a faith of ideas or good behavior – it’s about a person.

And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4.12, ESV)

We move into Acts 13: the beginning of Paul’s first of “three missionary journeys.” (Later, I’ll share how a friend of mine argues that there were four, but Acts specifically refers to three.) Anyway, it starts this way:

Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. (Acts 13.1 – 3, ESV)

Here are a few simple observations:

• There were multiple leaders at the church in Antioch. When the church started, Barnabas was sent down there from Jerusalem, and he immediately sent for Saul of Tarsus. (Acts 11.25, 26) And as part of their teaching, there were five leaders listed, called “prophets and teachers.”
• This group was apparently multi-national and multi-racial.
• God called the founding leaders to be the ones who left for an international mission trip. (How many churches do you know who could or would send their lead pastor off without skipping a beat?)

First stop: Cyprus, where there is this fascinating encounter and clash of powers (guess who wins!):

They traveled the length of the island, and at Paphos came upon a Jewish wizard who had worked himself into the confidence of the governor, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man not easily taken in by charlatans. The wizard’s name was Bar-Jesus. He was as crooked as a corkscrew. The governor invited Barnabas and Saul in, wanting to hear God’s Word firsthand from them. But Dr. Know-It-All (that’s the wizard’s name in plain English) stirred up a ruckus, trying to divert the governor from becoming a believer. But Saul (or Paul), full of the Holy Spirit and looking him straight in the eye, said, “You bag of wind, you parody of a devil—why, you stay up nights inventing schemes to cheat people out of God. But now you’ve come up against God himself, and your game is up. You’re about to go blind—no sunlight for you for a good long stretch.” He was plunged immediately into a shadowy mist and stumbled around, begging people to take his hand and show him the way. When the governor saw what happened, he became a believer, full of enthusiasm over what they were saying about the Master. (Acts 13.6 – 12, MSG)

“Signs and wonders” again – POWER. Tomorrow, I want to look at the rest of the chapter and the power (and content) of the spoken word.

In the meantime, I wonder how God will interrupt my “devotional time” to send me out on a mission.

And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles… Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. (Acts 8.1, 4, ESV)

We’ve been going through Acts and especially noticing God’s POWER at work…in healings, breaking Peter out of prison, supernaturally directing Peter to Cornelius, etc. Whenever such stories are considered, along with reports that such miracles are still going on, the inevitable questions come: why wasn’t my friend Roy Fitzwater healed, for example? He was a man of God and was prayed for by some of the most devout, faith-filled people I know.

Part of the answer might be in Acts 12. The chapter is known best as another prison break for Peter followed by the amusing account of his going to the house where the believers were praying for him and being left to stand on the sidewalk. (See Acts 12.6 – 17) But that’s not how the chapter starts:

About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. He killed James the brother of John with the sword. (Acts 12.1, 2, ESV)

James dies; Peter lives.

Is that the answer to the question or does it just introduce more mystery? The bottom line is this:

God’s POWER is for God’s purposes.

End of story. I might be an Air Force pilot (I’m not, and I wasn’t!), and the Air Force might equip me with the latest fighter jet. But it’s not so I can fly to Hawaii for a vacation. The Air Force, following orders from the President, tells me how and when to use that fighter jet.

And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? (Acts 3.12, ESV)

Yesterday, in a blog titled All Nations?, we saw an extraordinary amount of text – from verse 1 of chapter 10 through verse 18 of chapter 11, 66 verses – devoted to Peter’s reluctance to go to Cornelius, a Roman soldier, and the flak he took from other Jewish leaders when he got back to Jerusalem. It took signs and wonders (a vision, an angelic visit, the visible and noisy coming of the Holy Spirit on Gentile believers) to at least accept the fact that the gospel is for everyone.

In the meantime, under the radar, there are just a few verses telling the story of how ordinary people were already proclaiming the good news to non-Jews with great results:

Meanwhile, the believers who had been scattered during the persecution after Stephen’s death traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch of Syria. They preached the word of God, but only to Jews. However, some of the believers who went to Antioch from Cyprus and Cyrene began preaching to the Gentiles about the Lord Jesus. The power of the Lord was with them, and a large number of these Gentiles believed and turned to the Lord. When the church at Jerusalem heard what had happened, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. (Acts 11.19 – 22, NLT)

The church at Antioch, which became (as we’ll see in chapter 13), the sending church was founded by ordinary laypeople and included Gentiles! God often uses people outside the established religious hierarchy. William Carey, often called the father of modern missions, was a poorly educated cobbler who pioneered the work in India in the 1800s. The story is often told:

In front of him, on his workbench, hung a map of the world which he himself had made. In the year 1786, he pleaded with other ministers of his denomination to take up work among the heathen but was greatly grieved when the chairman reproved him by saying, “Sit down, young man. When it pleases God to convert the heathen, He will do it without your help or mine!” – from the essay William Carey, The Cobbler who Gave India a Bible by Thomas John Bach.

God is at work among “unlikely” people and using unlikely people. Let’s not miss it!

The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus. (Acts 4.13, NLT)

The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?” So the people came streaming from the village to see him. (John 4.28 – 30, NLT)

We open our look at Acts 10 – 14 with an important story that takes up all of chapter 10 and half of 11: Peter goes to the Gentiles. In chapter 10 we have the story as it unfolds. In chapter 11 Peter retells the story back in Jerusalem. If you’re not familiar with the story, you can read all of it here: Acts 10:1 – 11:18. (We’re following the 5x5x5 Reading Plan – join us!)

Jesus was clear:

[Jesus] said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. (Luke 24.46 – 48, ESV, emphasis mine)

One wonders what part of “all nations” did Peter not understand? Look what it took to get Peter to visit Cornelius:

• An angel visits Cornelius to tell him to fetch Peter (Acts 10.1 – 8)
• God gives Peter a vision with this tagline: “What God has made clean, do not call common.” (Acts 10.9 – 16)
• The Holy Spirit prompts Peter to go with the men from Cornelius. (Acts 10.17 – 20)

Peter arrives at Cornelius’ house where there are “many persons gathered.” Even then, it takes a few minutes for Peter to get started:

And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without objection. I ask then why you sent for me.” (Acts 10:28, 29, ESV)

Cornelius, who has just been called “common and unclean,” is very gracious: “It was kind of you to come. We are here to listen to what you have to say.”

Finally, Peter begins to preach:

So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him... And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” (Acts 10.34, 35…42, 43, ESV)

And there is a powerful response: the people believe and God sends the Holy Spirit in the same manner as he did in Acts 2!

While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.

So far in Acts, the “signs and wonders” have been done BY the apostles so that people might believe. (See, for example, the results of Peter’s miracles we looked at yesterday.) This time the sign was not for unbelievers but for Peter! An angelic visit to a Roman, a vision for Peter, Spirit prompting, and now the Holy Spirit coming as Peter explains to skeptical friends back in Jerusalem:

If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?” (Acts 11.17, ESV)

God is gracious, sometimes helping his reluctant servants do what they’ve already been asked to do. Jonah comes to mind! Tomorrow we’ll see that God had more success using ordinary people than with the apostles! Stay tuned. In the meantime, whom am I reluctant to go to? Surely “they” aren’t included!

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7.9, 10, ESV)

We conclude last week’s readings with Acts 9, which opens with the dramatic conversion of Saul of Tarsus. We’ll have plenty of time to think about Saul (Paul) as we go along. I want to write about the end of Acts 9, which contains two miracles by Peter, both very reminiscent of things Peter saw Jesus do.

Now as Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, bedridden for eight years, who was paralyzed. And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed.” And immediately he rose. (Acts 9.32 -34, ESV, emphasis mine)

Maybe this is fresh in my mind because we just watched The Chosen, Season 2, Episode 4, which ends with Jesus healing the man at the pool of Bethesda:

One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. (John 5.5 – 9, ESV, emphasis mine)

But the chapter isn’t done. Heal the lame? No problem! Raise the dead?

In those days [Tabitha (Dorcas)] became ill and died, and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him, urging him, “Please come to us without delay.” So Peter rose and went with them. And when he arrived, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him weeping and showing tunics and other garments that Dorcas made while she was with them. But Peter put them all outside, and knelt down and prayed; and turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. And he gave her his hand and raised her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. (Acts 9.37 – 41, ESV)

This is nearly exactly like the raising of Jairus’ daughter, and Peter was there:

And when he came to the house, he allowed no one to enter with him, except Peter and John and James, and the father and mother of the child. And all were weeping and mourning for her, but he said, “Do not weep, for she is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. But taking her by the hand he called, saying, “Child, arise.” And her spirit returned, and she got up at once. And he directed that something should be given her to eat. (Luke 8.51 – 55, ESV)

And the result of both miracles was more believers!

And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord….And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. (Acts 9.35…42, ESV)

You shall receive power… (Acts 1.8)

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. (John 14.12, ESV)

Yesterday, we saw how the persecution erupting in Acts 8 scattered the believers, and the first one mentioned is another deacon: Philip.

Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was much joy in that city. (Acts 8.5 – 8, ESV)

Philip…proclaiming Christ…with power. It’s a theme we can’t get away from! And again, Philip is not one of the original 11 apostles. But when the apostles heard God was at work in Samaria, they came:

Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. (Acts 8.14 – 17, ESV)

I don’t want to get into a technical discussion of why the apostles had to enable the new believers to receive the Holy Spirit – what’s important is that they did. Again, the power of the Holy Spirit residing in ordinary laypeople – and Samaritans at that! Remember, Jews hated Samaritans.

Back to our friend Philip who is in the middle of what we would call a major revival meeting in a large city, and he receives an unusual directive:

Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. And he arose and went. (Acts 8.26, 27, ESV)

Wow. “He arose and went.” Not, “But Lord, I’m in the middle of a big meeting here…” It’s amazing what God can get done if he has people who are sensitive to his direction.

And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. (Acts 8.27 – 31, ESV)

Now here’s the good part. Remember all that training? The apostles preaching and teaching publicly and from house to house? The Spirit has directed Philip to this desert road and told him to talk with the Ethiopian. But the Spirit doesn’t have to tell Philip what to say. The Ethiopian is reading from Isaiah 53. And what does Philip do?

Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. (Acts 8.35, ESV)

You probably know the story. The Ethiopian believed, is baptized, and “went on his way rejoicing.” (Read the whole story in Acts 8.26 – 40.) But Philip’s teaching was made possible because he had been paying attention to the apostles’ teaching! And now, God has created an inroad to Ethiopia.

Reaching the world is God’s work, done with God’s power under his direction, and he graciously allows us to participate.

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1.8, ESV)

The first part of Acts 6 opens with the problem of unequal food distribution and ends with church growing:

And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. (Acts 6.7, ESV)

And Stephen, one of the deacons just mentioned in Acts 6.5, is part of that outreach with, you guessed it, POWER:

And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. (Acts 6.8, ESV)

Just in case you weren’t sure that signs and wonders weren’t limited to the apostles, here’s Stephen, not one of the original 11. Remember, “They were all filled with the Holy Spirit…” (Acts 2.4)

But this time the story ends differently. Stephen is arrested for blaspheming Moses and God and in his defense preaches a stirring review of Old Testament history recorded in Acts 7. Here’s the close, which includes his theme and the result:

“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.”

Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep. (Acts 7.51 – 60, ESV)

Just as Jesus did not use his power to prevent his crucifixion, neither does Stephen. He is killed and large-scale persecution breaks out:

And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles…Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. (Acts 8.1, 4, ESV)

Where is God’s power? God’s power was with those who were scattered, preaching the word! We’ll see some detail tomorrow, but let’s just pause here and recall Jesus’ words:

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1.8, ESV)

You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem–they had done a fine job of that, but they were still there! Teaching publicly and from house to house. Important work, but when is it finished? In my experience, church people are ready to go on mission after they’ve had “one more course.” But it’s always one more course. So God used the persecution to scatter the believers. Remember, many of them were from out of town to start with:

Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. (Acts 2.5, ESV)

The persecution said, “Guys, it’s time to go home. You’re trained. Now GO! So they left, all EXCEPT the apostles, which I find amusing. They were all sent out except the ones whose title of “apostle” means “sent.” To be fair, we know that the eleven did go eventually: Thomas to India, for example. But here it’s a movement of scattered laypeople. We’ll see where that takes us.

I, Peter, am an apostle on assignment by Jesus, the Messiah, writing to exiles scattered to the four winds. (1 Peter 1.1, MSG)