Fourth Sunday of Easter
Preaching
Preaching and Reading the Old Testament Lessons
With an Eye to the New
Object:
These stories in Acts about the beginning of the church in Jerusalem are intended by Luke, the author of Acts, to tell of the powerful work of the Holy Spirit. So it is that after Peter's sermon concerning the resurrection of Christ, which we looked at last Sunday, we read in Acts 2:41 that "there were added that day about three thousand souls" to the fellowship of the church.
These conversions were no momentary outbursts of enthusiasm, however, that had no effect on the lives of those who believed and were baptized. Rather, in our text for the morning, Acts immediately goes on to tell us about the changes that were wrought in the lives of the new Christians. Belief brought about transformation, as true faith always does.
We learn first, therefore, that all of these new Jerusalem Christians were bound together in a community, in a church, if you will -- not like our churches with buildings and ministers, educational programs and weekly worship services, but a church nevertheless. The work of the Spirit produced a new fellowship that probably met in various-sized groups in persons' houses, since most of the New Testament churches were house churches (cf. Romans 16:3-5). These early Christians had placed their trust in a risen Lord who had taught them to forgive and minister to and love one another. And the Holy Spirit of Christ produced that love and caring among them. They became persons who bore one another's burdens (cf. Galatians 6:2), who took an interest in each other's welfare, and who gave of their time and labor for one another. They became a community truly living by the Spirit of Christ.
The amazing result, therefore, as verses 44 and 45 tell us, is that they "had all things in common. They sold their possessions and goods and distributed them to all, as any had need." Now those verses disturb us modern-day Christians a great deal, don't they, because they seem to suggest a communist or socialist way of life. Or if we take them personally, they run up against our strong objections to their implications for us materially wealthy and comfortable church members. We have no intention of selling all we have and of distributing the profits among our fellow Christians. We are very much like that rich young man in Jesus' story in Mark, whom our Lord commanded to "go, sell what you have, and give to the poor ... and come, follow me" (Mark 10:17-22). We, too, go away sorrowful, because we have "great possessions."
But I think we have to get at the basic thrust of this description of the early Jerusalem church in Acts in verses 44 and 45 of our text. It is not laying upon the necessity of a communal society in America. Rather, what it is saying is that those early Christians were conscious of and ministered to the material needs of one another. They loved one another, and so they did not let any one of their fellowship want for the necessities of life. They gave to those "who had need." And that is the responsibility laid upon us also -- to give generously to those in need, wherever they may be in the far-flung reaches of the church. There should be no one hungry or unable to provide for their children or lacking proper shelter and clothing in the Christian Church. We must not ignore others' basic needs. In whatever way we meet those necessities, by whatever mission giving or financial method or plan of employment, one of the marks of true Christian fellowship is concern, not for our own comfort, but for the welfare of our fellow believers.
Our passage lays out other characteristics of that early Jerusalem church that was formed by the Spirit of Christ. "They devoted themselves," says verse 42, "to the apostles' teaching." And that is an integral part of Christian life in the church -- teaching, learning, education. But their education was not simply a discussion of the problems of their society, as so much of our education is. Nor was it designed to be simply inspirational or therapeutic, as again ours often is. No, it was study of the apostles' teaching. In other words, it was a study of what Peter and Paul, James and Philip, and the other apostles had proclaimed about Jesus Christ. In addition, it was a study of Jesus' words and deeds as those related to the Old Testament, which was the Bible of the early church. They studied what we now have written in our Bibles: that is the apostolic teaching. They learned what God had done in the history of Israel and of Jesus Christ, and they discussed and meditated and memorized those mighty, saving acts.
That is indeed a model for our church life, isn't it, because the foundation of our faith consists in the accounts of the words and deeds of God found now in our Old and New Testaments. Those words alone, illumined by the Holy Spirit, tell us who God truly is and what he desires and what he is doing. Those words alone can anchor our faith firmly in the way, the truth, and the life, and give us the knowledge that must accompany our religious zeal. Without knowledge, Christian faith dies, and most of us unfortunately are lacking in that basic knowledge. If we want to be the church, we must devote ourselves to the apostles' teaching, now found in our scriptures.
That early Jerusalem church also worshiped together. They participated in the "breaking of bread," which is probably a reference to the Lord's Supper (v. 42), for Luke earlier tells us that the disciples first knew the risen Christ in "the breaking of bread" (Luke 24:35). And we know him there too, do we not? In our celebration of the Lord's Supper together, the risen Christ comes to us once again in the Spirit, and pours out his vitality and power upon us, and binds us together with himself and the Father, with one another, and with all of the faithful through the ages. Finally our faith finds it empowering motivation in our communion with our Lord and one another. And without that relation to our Lord, we cannot be Christians.
Those forbears of our faith in Jerusalem also prayed together (v. 42), lifting up their praises and thanksgivings (v. 46), their confessions and penitence, their petitions for themselves and other to God through Christ. Their prayer was the response to all that God did for them, and our prayers are our response also. God in Christ in the Spirit has done all things for us. In prayer we give back our thanks and the concerns of our daily lives, laying all out before him in our surrender to his love.
It is no wonder that Acts can tell us that group of early Christians in Jerusalem could perform wonders in their community (v. 43). After all, they lived in the power of God, and it is no wonder that they found favor among the people, or that numbers of converts were added to their fellowship day by day (v. 47). They lived and moved and had their being in the Spirit of Christ that had been poured out on them. They truly were a church, and that is the community we too can be if we let the Lord Christ has his way with us.
These conversions were no momentary outbursts of enthusiasm, however, that had no effect on the lives of those who believed and were baptized. Rather, in our text for the morning, Acts immediately goes on to tell us about the changes that were wrought in the lives of the new Christians. Belief brought about transformation, as true faith always does.
We learn first, therefore, that all of these new Jerusalem Christians were bound together in a community, in a church, if you will -- not like our churches with buildings and ministers, educational programs and weekly worship services, but a church nevertheless. The work of the Spirit produced a new fellowship that probably met in various-sized groups in persons' houses, since most of the New Testament churches were house churches (cf. Romans 16:3-5). These early Christians had placed their trust in a risen Lord who had taught them to forgive and minister to and love one another. And the Holy Spirit of Christ produced that love and caring among them. They became persons who bore one another's burdens (cf. Galatians 6:2), who took an interest in each other's welfare, and who gave of their time and labor for one another. They became a community truly living by the Spirit of Christ.
The amazing result, therefore, as verses 44 and 45 tell us, is that they "had all things in common. They sold their possessions and goods and distributed them to all, as any had need." Now those verses disturb us modern-day Christians a great deal, don't they, because they seem to suggest a communist or socialist way of life. Or if we take them personally, they run up against our strong objections to their implications for us materially wealthy and comfortable church members. We have no intention of selling all we have and of distributing the profits among our fellow Christians. We are very much like that rich young man in Jesus' story in Mark, whom our Lord commanded to "go, sell what you have, and give to the poor ... and come, follow me" (Mark 10:17-22). We, too, go away sorrowful, because we have "great possessions."
But I think we have to get at the basic thrust of this description of the early Jerusalem church in Acts in verses 44 and 45 of our text. It is not laying upon the necessity of a communal society in America. Rather, what it is saying is that those early Christians were conscious of and ministered to the material needs of one another. They loved one another, and so they did not let any one of their fellowship want for the necessities of life. They gave to those "who had need." And that is the responsibility laid upon us also -- to give generously to those in need, wherever they may be in the far-flung reaches of the church. There should be no one hungry or unable to provide for their children or lacking proper shelter and clothing in the Christian Church. We must not ignore others' basic needs. In whatever way we meet those necessities, by whatever mission giving or financial method or plan of employment, one of the marks of true Christian fellowship is concern, not for our own comfort, but for the welfare of our fellow believers.
Our passage lays out other characteristics of that early Jerusalem church that was formed by the Spirit of Christ. "They devoted themselves," says verse 42, "to the apostles' teaching." And that is an integral part of Christian life in the church -- teaching, learning, education. But their education was not simply a discussion of the problems of their society, as so much of our education is. Nor was it designed to be simply inspirational or therapeutic, as again ours often is. No, it was study of the apostles' teaching. In other words, it was a study of what Peter and Paul, James and Philip, and the other apostles had proclaimed about Jesus Christ. In addition, it was a study of Jesus' words and deeds as those related to the Old Testament, which was the Bible of the early church. They studied what we now have written in our Bibles: that is the apostolic teaching. They learned what God had done in the history of Israel and of Jesus Christ, and they discussed and meditated and memorized those mighty, saving acts.
That is indeed a model for our church life, isn't it, because the foundation of our faith consists in the accounts of the words and deeds of God found now in our Old and New Testaments. Those words alone, illumined by the Holy Spirit, tell us who God truly is and what he desires and what he is doing. Those words alone can anchor our faith firmly in the way, the truth, and the life, and give us the knowledge that must accompany our religious zeal. Without knowledge, Christian faith dies, and most of us unfortunately are lacking in that basic knowledge. If we want to be the church, we must devote ourselves to the apostles' teaching, now found in our scriptures.
That early Jerusalem church also worshiped together. They participated in the "breaking of bread," which is probably a reference to the Lord's Supper (v. 42), for Luke earlier tells us that the disciples first knew the risen Christ in "the breaking of bread" (Luke 24:35). And we know him there too, do we not? In our celebration of the Lord's Supper together, the risen Christ comes to us once again in the Spirit, and pours out his vitality and power upon us, and binds us together with himself and the Father, with one another, and with all of the faithful through the ages. Finally our faith finds it empowering motivation in our communion with our Lord and one another. And without that relation to our Lord, we cannot be Christians.
Those forbears of our faith in Jerusalem also prayed together (v. 42), lifting up their praises and thanksgivings (v. 46), their confessions and penitence, their petitions for themselves and other to God through Christ. Their prayer was the response to all that God did for them, and our prayers are our response also. God in Christ in the Spirit has done all things for us. In prayer we give back our thanks and the concerns of our daily lives, laying all out before him in our surrender to his love.
It is no wonder that Acts can tell us that group of early Christians in Jerusalem could perform wonders in their community (v. 43). After all, they lived in the power of God, and it is no wonder that they found favor among the people, or that numbers of converts were added to their fellowship day by day (v. 47). They lived and moved and had their being in the Spirit of Christ that had been poured out on them. They truly were a church, and that is the community we too can be if we let the Lord Christ has his way with us.
