Bible Reading Plan Notes: Two Responses to the Gospel
- Scott Redd
- Jan 8, 2009
- Series: Resources
This week we have read through chapters 3 and 4 of the Acts of the Apostles. These chapters provide us with a sort of nutshell account of the ministry of the Jesus' first followers, the apostles, as it will be retold in the book of Acts. The apostles have gone out into the countryside around the city of Jerusalem and beyond and they have begun to proclaim the good news about Jesus. Soon they learn that whenever they talk about Jesus, people respond in two ways: either they receive it wholeheartedly or they angrily reject it. There doesn't seem to be any middle ground when the gospel of Jesus is concerned.
At the end of Acts 2, Luke (the author of the Gospel of Luke and the present book) describes the young church as existing in a state of peace and abundance. The apostles and their disciples form a community that is generous, worshipful and free to preach the gospel, but this state does not last for long. They soon find out that their preaching experience is similar to what they saw happen during Jesus' life. Some who hear the message receive it while others reject it.
In Acts 3 and 4, we find a story about the divergent ways that people respond to the gospel during the apostles' day.
1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2 And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple.
3 Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. 4 And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, "Look at us." 5 And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, "I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!" 7 And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. 8 And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.
9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. (Acts 3:1-10)
Incarnational Ministry
Jesus is God made man. The message of the gospel is just that, a message, but this does not mean that it is only conveyed by word of mouth. Messages are often conveyed by actions. When a father tells his child how much he loves her, she expects his words to be accompanied by actions, a hug, a kiss, she expects him to take care of her if she is in need, and so on.
In a similar way, Jesus did not just come and preach; he came and did. In the incarnation, when God became man, he entered the lives of ordinary humans, meeting them in a real and tangible way. He worked miracles that met their immediate needs, and his actions complemented the message that he was preaching. They added credence to what he was saying. We should be careful not to think that Jesus' loving works were secondary to his preached word. Instead we should see them as another kind of proclamation; they are the gospel incarnate in action. The apostles recognized the importance of this aspect of gospel proclamation and made sure that both word and work were a part of their evangelistic ministry.
The effects are staggering.
Immediate needs. The beggar sitting at the gate of the Temple has two immediate needs: 1) he needs saving faith, and 2) he needs to be healed of his physical handicap. He is sitting at what Luke says is the "gate called Beautiful" which is probably located at the main entrance on the east side of the Temple. We might assume that he is hoping that the religious mood of the worshippers entering the Temple would inspire them to give him alms. This is his only means of survival, since his legs are useless, and it seems to be the only activity he can do for himself (with the help of carriers to and from home), and he does it all day long.
Peter sees the man sitting there and instantly perceives his need. It is telling that Peter does not respond as we might expect. He does not say, "You don't need money. What you really need is Jesus!" Instead, he meets the man first in his physical need and the man is healed. That Peter heals him in the name of Jesus Christ is all that the man needs to know. The work of mercy is so great, so compelling, that the man immediately jumps for joy and praises God.
The multiplying effect. As people begin to recognize this man who had been a permanent fixture at the Temple gate, they too are infected with his joy and reverence. They are filled with wonder and amazement at this changed being. The enacted gospel has much of the same effect as the preached gospel to those who observe it. It cannot be ignored, because it demands a response.
Our incarnational ministry. So often we think that our witness of the gospel is restricted to our conversations with other people. Incarnational ministry includes this sort of spoken ministry, but it also means showing mercy to those who are in need. We may not be able to do miracles like Peter and John, but we can meet people's needs in other ways. We can show mercy by helping the poor and needy in our communities, or support missions work that meets physical needs. At the level of the everyday, we can befriend the lonely in our neighborhoods, our schools, or our places of work (we all know who they are), or we can show forgiveness to someone who has mistreated us.
Be creative. Think of someone you know who has a real immediate need and commit to helping them in it, just for the sake of helping them. You will see the message of the gospel come to life before your own eyes. Not only will the person you help see it, but you will get to see it too.
The Other Response
But the gospel message can also produce a different response than the one we read about here. Once Peter and John saw the response of the people to the healed man they began preaching the gospel message. See what happened next.
And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, 2 greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. 4 But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand. (Acts 4:1-4)
The Beginning of the Persecution. When the Prophet Jeremiah was telling the citizens of Jerusalem that they had to repent of their sin and turn to God, he was met with opposition. At one point, he expresses his frustration, "To whom shall I speak and give warning, that they may hear? Behold, their ears are uncircumcised, they cannot listen; behold, the word of the LORD is to them an object of scorn; they take no pleasure in it." (Jeremiah 6:10) Some people, even amongst God's people of Israel, respond to the message of salvation with anger and distaste. The message of the gospel enlivens those who, like the crippled man, receive it, but it offends others and hardens them against it.
Spiritual blindness. There was group of religious leaders in that day who were adamantly opposed to the idea of resurrection. They did not believe that God would raise up his people in the last day to everlasting life. This group, the Sadducees, were intimately involved in the workings of the Temple so it is not a surprise that many of them were around to hear what Peter and John were preaching in the Temple that day.
Central to the gospel message is the historical fact that Jesus was resurrected from the dead, and Peter does not get very far into his message before claiming that he and John were witnesses to this resurrection (Acts 3:15). In fact, Peter claims, it is the power of the resurrected Christ who has healed the crippled man (Acts 3:16). Of course this is an important part of the gospel message, but it is only a part, and it is the only part that the Sadducees hear. They are blinded by their own bad theology. The message of grace is lost to them because they are so offended by the one part of it. The gospel provoked in them fear and anger. Perhaps they thought, "If these men continue preaching and performing miracles, people may start listening to them and not to us." Their concern seems more for their own power and authority than for their own salvation.
Some people reject the message of the gospel because they do not understand it, or they have received a confusing presentation of it, but many reject it because they understand it all too well. Christ demands full commitment from those who call upon his name. After all, he taught, "For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it." (Luke 9:24) The Sadducees were not prepared to lose their lives in order to win them back in Christ. The message was offensive to them. They hated it, rejected it, and then tried to destroy it by arresting the apostles.
Discipleship in Action. The apostles first got a taste of what the gospel life would look like when they watched Christ die on the cross. Now is their chance to lose their lives as the church moves into a state of persecution. They are learning that their lives as Christ's disciples will be mixed with wonderful blessings and unbelievable difficulties, because the gospel demands one of two responses: acceptance or rejection.
Our Response. We will meet success and opposition when we do incarnational ministry and tell others about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Though we should do our best to be witnesses of Jesus Christ, our hope does not ultimately lie in our own abilities but in God's promise to save those he has called to himself. Jesus taught, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me" (John 10:27), so we are assured that the business of evangelism is not left up to chance or ability. Our task is to take the saving faith that we have received and express it in every aspect of our lives. The call of Jesus Christ demands no less.