Ms Chute explains that the early Christian church (Chute suggests
there may have been about 100 men and women in the group) had no need of much
organisation. They were all eye-witnesses of the word and works of Christ
Jesus; they were united in their inspiration of what they had seen and
experienced, namely Christ Jesus’ resurrection. For them, this made him the promised
Messiah. Acts 2: 24 tells us that “Death could not control him” (Smith and
Goodspeed’s “the Bible: An American
Translation”). That was enough for these men and women, who were on fire
with the Spirit. The small group was tight-knit, even down to sharing all their
material property.
The Jewish hierarchy probably thought this little group
would eventually die out or give up. Their leader had been crucified; now all
could continue as normal. However, when Peter and John publicly healed a
cripple, who was known to everyone as the inveterate beggar who hung about
outside the temple, the authorities took notice and had them imprisoned. What’s
more, now there were almost 200 followers: in fact Peter had a hard time
stopping the wondrous onlookers from worshipping his shadow, so great was the need for healing.
Chute explains that these early Jesus-followers never
planned to make a break-away church, but they knew they had found the prophesied
Messiah, and expected others to recognize this fact too. However, newcomers to
the faith had not had the first-hand experience of the original group and the
growing numbers created a need for some organisation. The next step, then, was
to call an election. One of those elected was Stephen, known for his remarkable
healing ability (Acts 6:8). The Sanhedrin was perturbed; Stephen was arrested,
tried, and stoned to death, with the result that the small group of followers
of Jesus Christ ran for their lives in all directions.
The ferocious Pharisee, Saul, had felt impelled to stop the
spread of this renegade group. He felt a strong need to defend the status quo
and what he felt was the Law, and would do what it took to eradicate the
followers of this suspicious new sect. But the meekness and humility of
Stephen, even in the face of death, affected him tremendously, and enroute to
Damascus, his life changed forever. Subsequently, he headed off to the wilderness
of Arabia, where he no doubt went through much soul searching, with his new
name of Paul.
Meanwhile, old lessons die hard, and Peter, who had
struggled with impetuosity whilst his Master was on earth, now had to reinvent
himself yet again. This time it was regarding his orthodox Jewish view that the
non-Jew (Gentile) must first become a Jew in order to become part of the new
group. But soon he found himself not only acknowledging Philip’s work among the
Samaritans, but also dining with an Italian soldier (Acts 10: 28). Maybe there
was more than one road that led to Rome, i.e., that allowed a person to become
a follower of the Christ.
At this point Paul was still an outsider. Without the
support of Barnabas, he might have stayed an outsider. Chute reminds us that “it
was at Antioch that [the followers] were first given the name of Christians,
from the Greek word for Messiah.” Even so, Peter and Paul were at odds over
interpretation of the Law, in particular, of circumcision. This disagreement did
not, however hinder their working together, and at a crucial meeting of the
early church members, everyone was given a voice and agreement was reached.
Noteworthy was James’ (the ultimate conservative Jew) support of Peter: “We
ought not to put obstacles in the way of those of the heathen who are turning
to God” (Acts 15:19), James announced.
Ms Chute surmises that Paul’s story as told in Acts imparts
the sense of his struggle against “Roman authority, Jewish orthodoxy and mob
prejudice”, whereas his letters
reveal the “struggle with his own churches.” She recounts “misunderstanding
with the Mother Church in Jerusalem; …lack of funds, disloyalty and constant
physical danger…” Could no-one capture his vision? While he had learned to
communicate empathetically with those of all languages, backgrounds, and
persuasions, and was successful beyond measure in founding flourishing
churches, his ultimate mission was that each individual glimpse the reality of
God in his own life.
Paul wrote letters in order to keep in touch with the various
groups established. They were letters of instruction, encouragement and friendship,
and were meant for a specific group at a specific time. Thus the modern reader
must take care in interpreting them, bearing in mind that Paul had been raised
and schooled as a Pharisee. Chute reminds us that Paul describes himself thus: “I
surpassed many of my own age among my people in my devotion to Judaism, I was
so fanatically devoted to what my forefathers had handed down” (Galatians 1:
14).
So what did Paul believe? Perhaps, that “the Law could not
help a man to be good. It could only punish him if he failed…”, and that the
Christly way “did not punish the sinner but instead destroyed the sin.”
Julie Swannell
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