Jesus and the City, C R Oliver [online e reader .txt] 📗

alive, and proved to them in many ways that it was really He Himself they were seeing. And on these occasions He talked to them about the Kingdom of God. 

4 In one of these meetings He told them not to leave Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came upon them in fulfillment of the Father's promise, a matter He had previously discussed with them.

As the persecution increased, Christians feared for their lives. The city began to be drained of its glory, and Jerusalem lay fallow for two thousand years, until the end time.

Acts 8:1-5
Paul was in complete agreement with the killing of Stephen. And a great wave of persecution of the believers began that day, sweeping over the church in Jerusalem, and everyone except the apostles fled into Judea and Samaria. 2(But some godly Jews came and with great sorrow buried Stephen.) 3 Paul was like a wild man, going everywhere to devastate the believers, even entering private homes and dragging out men and women alike and jailing them. 4 But the believers who had fled Jerusalem went everywhere preaching the Good News about Jesus! 

Acts 9:1-2
1 But Paul, threatening with every breath and eager to destroy every Christian, went to the High Priest in Jerusalem. 2 He requested a letter addressed to synagogues in Damascus, requiring their cooperation in the persecution of any believers he found there, both men and women, so that he could bring them in chains to Jerusalem.

Notice, everyone fled except the apostles. Jerusalem was now the hub from which the spokes of the gospel projected. When Rome burned the city and destroyed the Temple in 70 AD, it's key role changed from the center of religious Judaism, to the birthplace of Jesus' Spiritual Kingdom.

Today, its central role is that of a "marker" to show the "time of the Gentiles" is ending and Jesus' return is any day now. 

In Acts 8, the verse above, be aware that gender and age meant nothing to those persecuting Christians. Approval came from the highest religious authority, the High Priest. (Here is where I wish to observe that in the future, Christians may again find persecution comes from religious "sell outs" supported by governing officialdom. For many years, I had the privilege of traveling with Rev. Chas. A. Gruber of Riga, Latvia. He told me that when he was a child, the pastor of his church (Baptist) disappeared just before the Communist invasion of the Baltics and re-appeared, some month later, in military uniform--telling his congregation he had "informed" the incoming authorities about them, their locations and the number of family members in each unit. To Charles, it was a devastating revelation to see his pastor "sell them out" to the enemy. They fled to Brazil, and there his father died of malaria the first year. He warned me, before his death, of the impending "sell out" that might again take place.

Acts 11:19
Meanwhile, the believers who fled from Jerusalem during the persecution after Stephen's death traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, scattering the Good News, but only to Jews.

Judaism, like Roman Catholicism, was so deeply rooted in the lives of the early converts that subversion of the gospel (through compromise) began almost immediately. Exclusivism took its toll, for the phrase "only to the Jews" was a powerful restriction. Instead of the freedom which the gospel brings, the "add ons" reached out to choke that freedom. (Can anyone see modern similarities?) 

(Early on, as a senior in college, I had a colleague who was working on a text for a book entitled, "The Tentacles of the Octopus." All of us, in those days, were serious-minded beyond our years. His book explored religious systems and how they wrap around every segment of life and influence decisions which are far afield from their source. Gene F., was an observer of the power elite in all segments of society, and how their clandestine decisions were often flavored by religious dogma.

Acts 15:4-6
4 Arriving in Jerusalem, they met with the church leaders--all the apostles and elders were present--and Paul and Barnabas reported on what God had been doing through their ministry. 5 But then some of the men who had been Pharisees before their conversion stood to their feet and declared that all Gentile converts must be circumcised and required to follow all the Jewish customs and ceremonies. 

6 So the apostles and church elders set a further meeting to decide this question.

Their conclusion:

Acts 15:13-21
When they had finished, James took the floor. 'Brothers,' he said, 'listen to me. 14 Peter has told you about the time God first visited the Gentiles to take from them a people to bring honor to his name. 15 And this fact of Gentile conversion agrees with what the prophets predicted. For instance, listen to this passage from the prophet Amos: 

16'Afterwards' [says the Lord], 'I will return and renew the broken contract with David, 17 so that Gentiles, too, will find the Lord--all those marked with my name.' 

18 That is what the Lord says, who reveals his plans made from the beginning. 

19 'And so my judgment is that we should not insist that the Gentiles who turn to God must obey our Jewish laws, 20 except that we should write to them to refrain from eating meat sacrificed to idols, from all fornication, and also from eating unbled meat of strangled animals. 21 For these things have been preached against in Jewish synagogues in every city on every Sabbath for many generations.'

Notice how James found (in the words of Amos) his answers in the Old Testament. He also found credence in the traditions of Judaism for abstaining from fornication and unbled meats from strangled animals. Though the larger issue of Gentile inclusion was Biblically oriented, the traditions of the past had to be included to satisfy the leadership. (How long has it been since you heard a message on either of these subjects? I wonder?) 

In spite of the decision in Jerusalem, among the elders, observe the following passage. (My, how Jerusalem's octopus found places to attach their tentacles.)

Acts 16:3-5
In deference to the Jews of the area, he (Paul) circumcised Timothy before they (Paul and Silas) left, for everyone knew that his father was a Greek [and hadn't permitted this before]. 4 Then they went from city to city, making known the decision concerning the Gentiles, as decided by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem. 5 So the church grew daily in faith and numbers.

Jerusalem had changed from the Holy City to a place of terror. Nonetheless, the Holy Spirit led Paul to it as a witness. Renowned for his former credentials, Paul now came to be the "touch stone" for a new age and would serve as the "firebrand" igniting the Temple's demise. 

However, the church at Jerusalem initiated a plan of appeasement. It was decided that Paul must go to the Temple, offer a sacrifice and thereby align himself with the Jerusalem church's thinking. (Compromise and circumvention has never been the plan of God.)

Acts 21:18-22
18 The second day Paul took us with him to meet with James and the elders of the Jerusalem church. 19 After greetings were exchanged, Paul recounted the many things God had accomplished among the Gentiles through his work. 

20 They praised God but then said, "You know, dear brother, how many thousands of Jews have also believed, and they are all very insistent that Jewish believers must continue to follow the Jewish traditions and customs. 

21 Our Jewish Christians here at Jerusalem have been told that you are against the laws of Moses, against our Jewish customs, and that you forbid the circumcision of their children. 22 Now what can be done? For they will certainly hear that you have come.

Look now at the early leadership's reasoning.

Acts 21:24
'Then everyone will know that you approve of this custom for the Hebrew Christians and that you yourself obey the Jewish laws and are in line with our thinking in these matters.'

Meanwhile, the Turkish Jews arrived and kept Paul from carrying out this charade. From the moment of their arrival and interference, the movement of Paul from one court to another led to his appeal to Rome and to Caesar. Here is the text of the Turkish Jews.

Acts 21:28-32
"Men of Israel! Help! Help! This is the man who preaches against our people and tells everybody to disobey the Jewish laws. He even talks against the Temple and defiles it by bringing Gentiles in!" 29(For down in the city earlier that day, they had seen him with Trophimus, a Gentile from Ephesus in Turkey, and assumed that Paul had taken him into the Temple.) 

30 The whole population of the city was electrified by these accusations and a great riot followed. Paul was dragged out of the Temple, and immediately the gates were closed behind him. 31 As they were killing him, word reached the commander of the Roman garrison that all Jerusalem was in an uproar.

The last mention of Jerusalem in Acts is found among the Jews at Rome.

Acts 28:22-31
But we want to hear what you believe, for the only thing we know about these Christians is that they are denounced everywhere!" 

23 So a time was set, and on that day large numbers came to his house. He told them about the Kingdom of God and taught them about Jesus from the Scriptures--from the five books of Moses and the books of prophecy. He began lecturing in the morning and went on into the evening! 

24 Some believed and some didn't. 25 But after they had argued back and forth among themselves, they left with this final word from Paul ringing in their ears: 'The Holy Spirit was right when he said through Isaiah the prophet, 

26 'Say to the Jews, "You will hear and see but not understand, 27 for your hearts are too fat and your ears don't listen and you have closed your eyes against understanding, for you don't want to see and hear and understand and turn to me to heal you." 28 So I want you to realize that this salvation from God is available to the Gentiles too, and they will accept it.' 

30 Paul lived for the next two years in his rented house and welcomed all who visited him, 31 telling them with all boldness about the Kingdom of God and about the Lord Jesus Christ; and no one tried to stop him.

When God instructed Paul to "Say to the Jews," the transition was complete. 

Until next month,

Dr. Cosby R. Oliver, PhD.

 

Imprint

Publication Date: 09-01-2015

All Rights Reserved

Dedication:
Thanks to the News Letter Division of Zadok Publishing for allowing this study from C R Oliver for this study book.