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September 6, 2015 |
| When The Wall Came Down | ||
When Jesus was alive he had told his disciples that he was beginning a New Covenant. In Luke 22:20 Jesus says "This cup is the New Covenant in my blood, which shall be shed in your place." He didn't give them any detail, though, about what would be different in this covenant than the covenant they were under at the time.
We know that John the Baptist understood that Jesus was "the lamb that takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29) but it seems he didn't understand that meant Jesus had to die in the pattern of a sacrificial lamb. Jesus' disciples also did not understand that.
Jesus took the time to tell them about the kingdom of Heaven, his second coming and other end-times events. He never said much though about how the New Covenant would work and what would be different about it. Instead he left it to the Holy Spirit to teach them after he was gone and remind them of what he had taught.
Even after Jesus ascended into Heaven and later, after Pentecost, it seems certain that the disciples had put very little thought into what this New Covenant would be like. As a result they expected that it would basically be the same as the Old Covenant. The Holy Spirit was about to begin showing them that some things were different.
With each lesson there were major adjustments they had to make in their thinking. They had learned the teachings from the Old Covenant as children from their fathers who had also learned them as children from their fathers, going back for more than 1000 years. Now they had to "unlearn" some of those.
Many of these changes came because God had erected a wall between his people and the rest of the world and was now taking it down. This wall was not made from stone or brick. It was made from some of the laws of the Old Covenant, laws that required God's chosen people to be a holy people, separate from the world.
On the day of Pentecost that wall came down. In fact part of the ceremony on the feast day of Shavuot (Pentecost) symbolized one new people coming from the combination of what had been two separate peoples, Jew and Gentile.
When that wall came down it brought unexpected change.
In this lesson we will work through sets of verses from Acts. Sometimes there will be some questions and sometimes the questions will be given before the verses. As we go through the verses, you can think about the questions and watch for the answers. After the verses, the questions will be repeated so you can consider your answer. Then you can view the answer to check your answer.
Paul talks about this wall in Ephesians 2:14-16
For he is our peace who made the two one, and he destroyed the wall that was standing in the middle. 15 And he has canceled the hatred by his flesh and the law of commands in his commandments, that for the two, he would create in his person one new man, and he has made peace. 16 And he has reconciled the two with God in one body, and in his crucifixion he has killed the hatred.
Paul is saying that the New Covenant, which was created by Jesus' sacrifice, canceled the separation and hatred between Jew and Gentile. The result being that both are now one body.
One change in the New Covenant dealt with what was clean and unclean. The Holy Spirit's lesson begins with a vision given to Peter as recorded in Acts.
Simon Peter was hungry and he wanted to eat, and as things were being gotten for him, he fell into a trance, 11 and he saw Heaven as it was opened, and a garment which was tied at the four corners like a great linen, and it was descending from Heaven to the Earth, 12 and there were in it all kinds of four footed animals and creeping things of the Earth and birds of the sky; 13 and a voice came to him saying, "Simon [Peter], arise, slay and eat." (Acts 10:10-17)
14 And Simon [Peter] said, "Never, my Lord, because I have never eaten anything defiled or polluted." 15 And a voice came again a second time to him: "Those things which God has purified you shall not make impure." 16 This happened three times and the garment was taken up to Heaven. 17 And Simon [Peter] wondered in himself what this vision was that he had seen. (Acts 10:10-17)
Q1. Notice something in these verses. They say, "Peter was hungry and he wanted to eat." Why does the Bible even mention
that? Why does the reader need to know this detail?
Q2. What is the meaning of this vision?
After this vision, Peter meets with some people who have been instructed by their master to ask Peter to come to him. Their master is a Roman Centurion and a Gentile, but also a righteous and God-fearing man. The Holy Spirit has informed Peter that these men are there by the work of the Holy Spirit and Peter is to go with them.
Notice that this would not be a short trip. Caesarea and Joppa are about 30 miles apart. Since most people walked everywhere they went in those days, we expect that Peter also walked on this trip. Therefore the trip would have taken at least a day, one way.
Q3. There is going to be a problem when Peter gets to the house of the Centurion, who is a Gentile.
What is that problem?
By the time Peter gets to the house, he has figured out the message in the vision and is prepared to handle the situation.
And he said to them, "You know that a man who is of the Jews is not allowed to join a foreign person, who is not one of his race. God has shown me that I should not say that a man is unclean or defiled. (Acts 10:28)"
Q4. Peter's words here only hint at the challenge he is facing.
Why is it so difficult? How does Peter feel at this moment?
When Peter says "God has shown me" he seems to be saying, I know what I've been told but I don't understand. These words are spoken to the Centurion, as though the Centurion might also find it odd that a Jew is entering his home.
Are there places where we've been advised not to go? Are there people we've been advised not to hang around with? God may call us to go to those places, to be with those people. We see that happening with Peter but even worse, he had believed it was against God's will to be there with them. But notice what has happened; God has prepared him for that. It might not have been all the preparation Peter wanted, he didn't even understand it at first, but it would be what he needed.
God does the same for us. I've seen this in my own life. For 2 years before I would be moving from a mainline church to a CoG7 church, before I knew I would be moving or where, God was teaching me about Christmas and Easter and other man-made holy days. When the time came I was prepared, and even anxious, to move.
Going into the Centurion's house isn't the end of the lesson for Peter. Cornelius, the Centurion, has also seen a vision. In it an angel appeared to him and instructed him to find Peter at a specific location and to hear a message from him. When he tells Peter this, Peter is a little surprised. God has sent his angel in a vision to a Gentile. This is also unexpected.
But Simon [Peter] opened his mouth and he said, "In truth, I understand that God is no respecter of persons. 35 But among all nations, whoever worships him and works righteousness is acceptable to him. (Acts 10:34-35)
Peter then went on to tell the Centurion and his whole family the gospel message brought by Jesus and how Peter had been a witness.
And when [Simon Peter] was speaking these words, the Spirit of Holiness rested on all of those who were hearing the word. 45 And circumcised brethren who had come with him were stupefied and astonished that the gift of the Spirit of Holiness was poured forth also upon Gentiles, 46 for they heard them speaking in various languages and magnifying God (Acts 10:44-46)
So far this story hadn't mentioned that Peter brought along some friends of his who were Jewish Christians. Peter would have told them about the vision he had and its meaning, that he had come to understand. Yet they are "stupefied and astonished."
Q5. Why is this so surprising to them?
It would be unfair to call this racism, but it certainly looks like it. They are just holding on to their previous understanding of God's law.
Even Peter seems a little stunned when he speaks next to his traveling companions.
Then Peter said, 47 "Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have." 48 So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days. (Acts 10:47-48)
Until now baptism had only been for Jews. Peter is way outside his comfort zone but the Holy Spirit is taking him step-by-step and he is following. Peter says that, if God has poured out the Holy Spirit on a Gentile Roman soldier and his family, who are they to refuse baptism to them. This way of thinking will come up again - God has accepted them, so who are we to … . Speaking in tongues will be taken as a sign that God has accepted the person.
God had a teaching here for his apostles. From Peter traveling to see a Roman Centurion to the Holy Spirit being poured out on Gentiles, the lesson was just what God had said in Peter's vision - "Those things which God has purified you shall not make impure." This means God will be the one who determines who are his people. No longer is there the wall that separates Jew from Gentile.
This doesn't mean there is no wall. The wall was never really a genetics-based wall. It was a believer / unbeliever wall. Until then that had been the same as a wall based on genetics. Jews were believers; Gentiles were not. New Testament verses say that we should not be unequally yoked with unbelievers.
The old wall cut through people by race. The new wall cuts through homes and families. Jesus said he was bringing a sword that would turn father again son, and so on.
There are Old Testament prophecies saying this change would come. Some refer to a people who were not called God's people (that's the Gentiles) becoming Sons of God
And in the place where it is said to them, "You are not My people," it will be said to them, "You are the sons of the living God." (Hosea 1:10)
This isn't the end of this story for Peter. Word about what happened with the Gentiles spreads all around. As is often the case with stories that are passed by word of mouth it seems like the whole story didn't make it to Jerusalem. Next we see Peter appearing in Jerusalem under accusation.
And it was heard by the Apostles and by the brethren who were in Judea that Gentiles had also received the word of God. 2 And when [Simon Peter] came up to Jerusalem, those who were of the circumcision were contending with him, 3 as they were saying that he had entered into the presence of the uncircumcised and had eaten with them. (Acts 11:1-3)
Apparently all that Jerusalem had heard of the story was that Peter went into the house of a Gentile (!), ate with them (!), and preached the gospel to them. Peter is being questioned to determine if charges should be laid against him, so this is a serious matter. He defends himself by telling the whole story including how the Holy Spirit was poured out on them.
And when they heard these words, they were silent; and then they praised God and they were saying, "Perhaps God has given a repentance to life to the Gentiles also." (Acts 11:18)
This was difficult to accept for them as well. God's sign of speaking in tongues was proof that he had accepted Gentiles, though, and they do accept it. Somehow, God has made salvation available to the Gentiles.
Q6. What is meant by "repentance to life" and why is it so
surprising to them that Gentiles should be given it?
The central problem for the Christianized Jews seems to have been that there was already a path for Gentiles to have salvation. They could become a Jew - join the covenant with Israel. Even for the apostles, it seems they were expecting this to be the way it would work. We'll see that again later - the idea that the Gentiles needed to become Jews.
Everything God is showing them is that the Gentiles are now acceptable. The Christianized Jews don't understand the theology of this yet, but they are following the lead of the Holy Spirit.
Some rules that Israel had known for more than 1000 years were no longer in effect. That was difficult for the Jewish Christians to accept. Change can be difficult for us to accept as well. Sometimes God brings change into our lives that we don't expect. Sometimes he wants us to serve him in ways we don't expect or in places we don't expect. We need to be ready to move when God says move.
Just as Peter went along with what God was doing when it didn't make sense to him, so we sometimes need to continue on in faith and obedience but without understanding. Sometimes these changes can mean giving up things that are precious to us, sometimes these are things that God has blessed us with.
At this point in the story the Apostles are just going by the lessons that God has provided them. Lesson by lesson they learn that another part of what they had been taught was no longer in effect. There will be more lessons. It will be a while until the full understanding comes, until the "big picture" is understood - that the whole wall between Jew and Gentile has been torn down.
| Event | Reaction |
|---|---|
| Entering the house of a Gentile | God has shown me not to say a man is unclean |
| Hearing a Gentile has received a vision | Whoever worships him and works righteousness is acceptable to him |
| The Holy Spirit falls on the Gentiles | Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water |
| Perhaps God has given a repentance to life to the Gentiles also | |
| What law or covenant are they under? | ? |
Another one of these lessons comes quickly, around the time of these events in Acts, but there is no record of it in Acts. Paul finds Peter applying the Old Covenant law selectively.
But when [Peter] came to Antiakia, I rebuked him to his face because they were tripped up by him […] 14 And when I saw that they were not walking uprightly in the truth of the gospel, I said to Kaypha in the sight of all of them, "If you who are a Jew are living like a Syrian and you are not living as a Jew, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews?" (Galatians 2:11,14)
Q7. How is Peter being a hypocrite?
An example of hypocrisy in our time is the idea that the lives of black people are worth a riot when they are killed by white people (or police), but not when they are killed by black people.
Another one of these lessons comes quickly in Chapter 15 of Acts.
But men had come down from Judea and were teaching the brethren: "If you are not circumcised in the custom of the law, you cannot have life." (Acts 15:1)
Some people in Judea, having recognized that Gentiles were being accepted by God, determined that they needed to join the covenant with Israel and be circumcised and follow God's laws, just as Israel had done. Despite the earlier understanding by the apostles that receiving the Holy Spirit showed they were already acceptable to God, this group felt that without doing this the Gentiles would not have salvation.
It's easy to see how they got this idea. As mentioned before, entering the covenant with Israel had been the only path to salvation for Gentiles.
This teaching by these men stirred up a lot of people. A meeting of the Apostles and elders was called in Jerusalem to discuss the issue. At this meeting, the stories of the Holy Spirit being poured out on the Gentiles were told again. The purpose of telling these was to show that the Gentiles were acceptable to God without having followed the law.
The apostles decided not to require the Gentiles to follow the whole law, something even the Jews had not been able to do. Instead they set a minimum of the Jewish law that would be required of Gentiles. This minimum requirement was to separate themselves from:
They sent out a letter to all the churches stating these rules. The letter closes by saying "for when you keep yourselves from these things, you will be well. Be faithful in Our Lord." All that God ever promised through the laws that were given to the Jews was that they would live well. Salvation does not come by following them. This letter to the churches promises no more.
After discussing what they would say in that letter, they reasoned among themselves.
"For from the first ages there have been preachers for Moses who read him on every Sabbath in every town in the synagogues." (Acts 15:21)
The point appears to be that the law is taught in every town and the Gentiles can learn more from there about how to live well.
This points out another difference between the Old and New Covenants. Both covenants begin by faith but, for the New Covenant, living a righteous life is learned over time, by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. For the Old Covenant each person is responsible from the time they both join the covenant and are old enough to understand.
The changes in the New Covenant brought unexpected changes for the Christians of Jewish origin. All their lives, in fact for all their history, the Old Covenant had directed their lives. Suddenly some of those rules had changed.
1 Why are these laws considered the minimum? It's an important question but deeper than this study allows. A Jew would recognize these laws as a subset of the Noahide laws - the laws given to Noah before Moses.