Introduction

Following on from Acts 10, it is curious and frustrating to find a repeat of everything we read and learned previously. Admittedly, this repetition is in a summary form and there are a few new details. We appreciate that Luke, the author of Acts, wants to tell us how events were received in Jerusalem. But surely, he could have done that without giving a full re-run of events?

There are so many other details regarding the growth of the early church which we would love to know more about. How the church came all the way to Damascus. How the apostles were received in Galilee when they returned home with the good news about Jesus. Can you imagine what the reception must have been like in Capernaum where Jesus healed the paralysed man or in Nazareth when they spoke with his extended family? These are just some of the things we would like to know.

In a time then when paper was expensive, a time where certain details have to be left out of the story, why is it so important for us to hear the same message again? Why repeat what has already been told in great detail? There are two answers to that question. One concerns the original audience, and the other relates to human nature in general.

Changing the minds of believers from a Jewish background

• Explain: Who was the original audience of Acts? How were they influenced by Judaism? What did they think about the church and the continuity with the old covenant?

• Explain: What is the lesson that circumcised believers must learn?

• Explain: How did the politics of the day likely influence believers from a Jewish background? How did the relegation of preferences and tradition influence them?

• Explain: What does the life of Peter show about the pressure which believers from a Jewish background were put under?

• Explain and Apply: Did a change in thinking take place? What was the result?

Challenging sinful tendencies

• Explain: What does the sinful nature of man typically produce when it comes to interactions between people from different ethnicities and languages?

• Explain: How is the general pattern of behaviour shown by sinful men radically different from that shown by Christ?

• Explain and Apply: Where is Jesus taking God’s people? How does the Lord’s Supper anticipate a future reality?

• Apply: What can be done to protect and promote true catholicity in God’s church?

Conclusion

•           To conclude, we ask the same question we had at the beginning. Why does Luke repeat the same message again and again. Why do we need to be so sure that Gentiles belong to God’s people, that old covenant laws have come to an end?

•           The early church needed this repetition because of the strong influence from Judaism. We need it today because of our sinful natures.

•           God has no favourites. Praise God that his church is open to all who believe in Christ. Praise God that he has gathered us to be part of it, that he has granted you repentance unto life. What a           privilege it is to belong to God’s people! And pray that God will help us to be a catholic church. Like the circumcised believers, our minds need to be continually transformed by God’s Word and his Spirit.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank you that Jesus did not come to abolish your law but to bring it to fulfillment. Thank you that he kept your law perfectly in our place and died the death which we deserve for our sin. Thank you that we can live in the time of the new covenant, a time where we look back on the work that Christ has done while we wait for his return in glory, full of confidence that his blood has cleansed us for life in your presence.

Father, we ask once again that you will help us by your Spirit to be a catholic church. Give wisdom to the elders in our council as they make decisions about liturgy and worship; may they be guided by your Word. Open our eyes to see where we have allowed snobbery and tradition to create barriers to fellowship and strengthen our wills so that we might repent and make changes if need be. Work in us Lord, that we might increasingly love our neighbour as ourself, following the example of our King Jesus. In his name we pray, Amen.