120425 / 12th day of the 9th month 5786
WORD FOR TODAY “are you a worker for the KINGDOM”: Mat 9:37 Then He *said to His disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Mat 9:38 "Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.

WISDOM FOR TODAY: Pro 19:13 A son who is a fool is his father's ruin, and a nagging wife is like a leak that keeps dripping.

Ask the LORD what is HIS will for your life

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BIBLE STUDY --- NEW TESTAMENT LETTERS

ROMANS

AUTHOR

Written in the first person {Romans 1:5, 10, etc.}, this epistle was authored by the apostle Paul. {The first words of the first verse are “Paul, a slave of the Moshiach Yeshua, called an apostle.”} The actual transcription of the letter however, was done by Tertius {16:22}, who acted as Paul’s amanuensis {secretary}. The letter’s authenticity has never been disputed by reputable scholarship, liberal or conservative, and Romans stands at the head of virtually every ancient list or collection of Pauline letters.

DATE, ORIGIN, AND DESTINATION

The destination of the letter is stated to be Rome {1:7}. That Paul was in Corinth at the time of the writing seems clear from his reference to Erastus in 16:23 as the treasurer of the city. An inscription in the stone pavement beside the large theatre in Corinth states that it was laid by Erastus, the city treasurer, in appreciation for his election. This could hardly be coincidental. Erastus evidently remained in Corinth, because it is mentioned as his home {2 Timothy 4:20}. Furthermore, Paul refers to Gaius as his host at the time he wrote Romans {Romans 16:23}, probably the same Gaius who lived in Corinth {1 Corinthians 1:14}. Finally, Phoebe, likely the carrier of this epistle, was a deaconess of the church at Cenchrea, the eastern port of Corinth {Romans 16:1}. From the epistle itself we can determine when Paul wrote it. Romans 15:23-28 indicates that Paul was just about ready to make his visit to Jerusalem with a contribution for its Christians poor from the churches of Macedonia and Achaia, after which his purpose was to visit Rome on his way to Spain {15:23-28}. He carried this contribution with him from Corinth, at the close of his third visit to that city, which lasted three months {Acts 20:2, 23; 24:17}. On this occasion certain persons accompanied him from Corinth, whose names are given by the historian of Acts {20:4}, and four of these are expressly mentioned in this epistle as being with the apostle when he wrote it -- Timothy, Sosipater, Gaius, and Erastus {Romans 16:21, 23}. Paul’s visit to Jerusalem is usually dated around AD 57–58. As such, the Epistle to the Romans was written around the same time.

BACKGROUND

In a previous visit to Corinth, during his second missionary journey, Paul established the church there and remained in the city for 18 months {Acts 18:1, 11}. His arrival coincided with the arrival of Priscilla and Aquila, who had recently come from Rome. At the end of his 18-month stay, Paul was brought before the newly appointed proconsul, Gallio {Acts 18:12}, whose arrival can be dated from the Gallio inscription found at Delphi to the spring of AD 51. Thus, Paul arrived in Corinth in the winter of AD 49. Leaving the city, he returned to Antioch, gave a report on his work, and set out on his last journey to collect the contribution for Jerusalem from the Gentile churches {Romans 15:25-29}, for which he had previously prepared {1 Corinthians 16:1; 2 Corinthians 9:5}. Continued problems in Corinth {1 Corinthians 1:11; 7:1} necessitated his return to the city {Acts 20:3}, at which time he wrote Romans. It is clear from the last two chapters of the letter that he planned to take the contribution to Jerusalem almost immediately and from there go on to Rome {Romans 15:23-24}. The occasion for the letter, therefore, is to alert the Romans to his coming so that they can assist him in his journey to Spain {15:24, 28}. Rome was the only church, other than Colosse, which Paul did not establish. His letter, consequently, does not reflect awareness of specific problems in the membership there.

AUDIENCE

The Roman church at this time was composed of both Jewish and Gentile believers. The church was probably started by Jewish believers who were at Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost {Acts 2:10} and were among the 3,000 converts. Evidently, some of these took the gospel back with them to Rome. Probably some of the believers addressed in the salutations of the epistle were believers already of long standing, if not among the earliest converts to the faith in Yeshua. Thus, it is not improbable that up to the time of the apostle’s arrival, the Christian community at Rome had been dependent upon its own members for the increase of its numbers, aided perhaps by occasional visits from preachers. Evidently, the gospel had gone out to Gentiles, because there were Gentiles in the church, as is evidenced by Paul’s remarks throughout the letter. In fact, it is clear that the apostle wrote to them expressly as to a Gentile church {Romans 1:13, 15; 15:15-16}. Perhaps the major constituency of the Gentiles were “YHVH-fearers” {see Acts 10:2}.

PURPOSE AND THEOLOGICAL TEACHING

Of all the epistles of Paul, this is the most elaborate and, at the same time, the most glowing. It has just as much in common with a theological treatise as with a personal, heartfelt epistle. The major theme running throughout the book is that both Jew and Gentile have fallen short of YHVH’s glory and stand in need of salvation {Romans 3:21-31}. YHVH’s righteousness has not been revealed only to the Jew -- because YHVH is not YHVH only to the Jews but to the Gentiles as well, since there is only one YHVH {3:29}. He will justify the Jews on the basis of the saving work of the Moshiach at Calvary, and the Gentiles on the basis of that same act of faithfulness to Abraham’s promise {verse 30}. Their common faith gives them access to this grace {5:2}. The gospel is thus to the Jew first and also to the Greek {1:16}. Once a person believes, that person is justified before YHVH {chapters 1–3}. This new relationship with YHVH provides the believer with a new life in the Moshiach and makes him or her a part of YHVH’s people {chapters 4–8}. This is the deepest and most difficult part of the whole epistle; it carries us directly to the eternal springs of grace, sovereign love, and the inscrutable purposes of YHVH. After this, we are told about the calling of the Gentiles, the preservation of a faithful Jewish remnant amidst the general unbelief and the fall of the nation, and the ultimate recovery of all Israel to constitute, with the Gentiles in the latter day, one universal church of YHVH upon earth {chapters 9–11}. The remainder of the epistle is devoted to the practical application {in church life} of the truths previously revealed {chapters 12–15}. And then the epistle concludes with Paul’s heartfelt salutations to several different believers in Rome {chapter 16}.

CONTENT

OVERVIEW

The thematic statement of the first eight chapters of the letter is set forth in 1:17: “It is through faith that a righteous person has life”. This quotation from Habakkuk 2:4 sets Paul’s teaching on faith over against that of the Old Testament on works. Thus, he affirms the fact that his teaching on faith is not new but is squarely rooted in the Old Testament prophets. What was new was that the Gentiles would be fellow citizens with the Jews on the basis of faith in the Moshiach {Ephesians 3:5-6}. They would not have to become proselytes to Judaism in order to be acceptable to YHVH, as some Jewish believers demanded {Acts 15:1}. This was the mystery of which Paul spoke in Ephesians {Ephesians 3:6}. The first part of the epistle dwells on the theme that righteousness is attained by faith. The first three chapters demonstrate that Jew and Gentile are under sin and that the redemption of the Moshiach is applicable to both {Romans 3:21-22}. The fourth chapter demonstrates that Abraham is the father of Gentiles as well as Jews, because he is the spiritual father of believing Israel just as he is of believing Gentiles. Then, in chapters 5–8, Paul deals with the latter part of the theme of how a justified person lives by faith. Whether Jew or Gentile, the person who accepts the righteous acts of YHVH on Calvary through the Moshiach will live free from the wrath of YHVH {chapter 5}, the power of sin {chapter 6}, the enslaving power of the Law {chapter 7}, and the power of death {chapter 8}. In chapters 9–11, Paul discusses the nation of Israel “according to the flesh” {physical Jews} in relation to the future purpose of YHVH, concluding that YHVH has not cast off his people who were Israelites descended from Abraham {11:1-2}. He can regraft them back into the tree from which they have been cut off, if they will accept Yeshua as their Moshiach {verse 23}. Then in his closing section, he discusses the implications of the first 11 chapters for everyday Christian living {chapters 12–16}, closing the book with a reminder of the importance of the “offering of the Gentiles” through his own ministry {chapter 15}.

IN DETAIL

In the first chapter Paul argues that the pagan Gentile world was in a state of rebellion against YHVH, and the wrath of YHVH had been revealed against their ungodliness {1:18}. Even though YHVH had given sufficient revelation of his existence to them in the world of nature, they had nevertheless become polytheistic and idolatrous, with all the accompanying moral degradations {verses 20-23}. Thus, three times Paul emphasizes that YHVH gave them up to their lusts {verse 24}, to dishonourable passions {verse 26}, and to a base mind and improper conduct {verse 28}. The meaning is that he passed over their sins {3:25}, overlooked their spiritual ignorance of his true existence {Acts 17:30}, and did not put a stop to such idolatry {7:42}. The Jews fared little better because, even though they had received the Law of Moses containing a revelation of the will of YHVH for their nation, they had not kept the Law {2:17-29}. Even the Gentiles had those among them who did by nature the things contained in the Law and were acceptable because their consciences were pure {verses 14-15}. For a Jew, keeping the Law was insufficient unless he did so as a spiritual conviction, not as a mere legal requirement {verse 29}. YHVH-fearing Gentiles who kept the essence of the Law were a model for condemning the Jews who did not {verses 14, 27}. However, the faithlessness of the chosen nation did not nullify the faithfulness of YHVH to the fulfilment of the promise to Abraham {3:3}. Although the Jew had every advantage over the Gentile, he was no better off because both had given themselves over to the power of sin {verses 1, 9}. The situation now was that “all have sinned [both Jew and Gentile] and fall short of the glory of YHVH” {verse 23}. YHVH had therefore made the Moshiach the Redeemer for the sins of the world {3:21-31}. The righteousness of YHVH had been manifested apart from the Law, through the “faith of the Moshiach” {verse 22; i.e., the faithfulness of the Moshiach to the promise} and was available to the Gentile as well as Jew on the basis of personal faith. If this righteousness were available only through keeping the Commandments of the Law, as good and holy as it was {7:12}, then YHVH was a YHVH of Jews only and not of Gentiles, because the Law was given to the Jews {3:29}. But YHVH is also the YHVH of the Gentiles and justifies the Jew on the basis of the Moshiach’s faithfulness, and the Gentile on the basis of that same faithful act. The Moshiach died for all who believe in him {verse 22}. Thus, YHVH’s righteousness was manifested through the Moshiach’s faithfulness {verses 3, 22} and provides the basis of salvation for everyone who believes {5:9}. Several times in the fourth chapter Paul insists that Abraham was the father of the Jews and of the Gentiles {verses 11-12, 16-18}. The Moshiach’s faithfulness to the promise to Abraham that all nations {Gentiles} would be blessed through his seed {the descendants of Isaac} enabled Abraham to become the father of all nations, that is, of all who believe {verse 11}. Having laid this broad theological base, Paul then argues that the impact of this justification or righteousness is that all believers’ experience salvation from the wrath of YHVH and thereby experience peace {5:1, 9}. Sin entered the world through the first transgression and passed to all people {verse 12}. Justification however, was brought by the second Adam, the Moshiach, who gives salvation to those who believe and receive the abundance of his grace {verses 16-18}. The function of the Law was not to save the Jew. It was added because of transgressions {Galatians 3:19}; it served to intensify the awareness of sin, present in all people, to the point of transgression of the Law {Romans 5:20}. Sin used the Law to deceive and destroy those who tried to keep it {7:11}. Paul had known what it was to covet before he knew the Law, but when he became subject to the dictates and penalties of the Law at age 12 or 13, the commandment against covetousness became even more demanding and destroyed him {7:11}. After the Law was known, the penalty for its disobedience was fully applicable. Sin had been intensified because it became a transgression of the Law. This very fact caused the need for greater grace, because where sin abounded, grace abounded all the more {5:20}. But it would be a gross perversion of what it means to live free from wrath, Law, sin, and death to argue that one should therefore continue in sin that grace may abound {6:1}. Paul argues that those who have been justified and saved by the Moshiach have died to the power of sin, which no longer has enslaving power {verses 2, 6}. The key thought here is that sin {i.e., Satan -- sin personified} cannot exercise dominion over the believer {verses 9, 14}; it cannot reign over him {verse 12} and make him its slave {verses 17, 20}. In addition to being liberated from YHVH’s anger, the Law, and sin, those who have been justified by faith have been freed from death, and YHVH will give life to their mortal bodies through his Spirit {8:2, 11}. If they live according to the flesh, they will die; but if they live by the Spirit, they will enjoy a liberating life {verses 6-13}. Not even death will be able to separate them from the love of the Moshiach {verse 38}. The Spirit leads them and helps in their human infirmity, praying and interceding for them just as the Moshiach does {verses 14, 26, 34}. Paul does not discuss the pragmatic application of these theological principles until chapter 12. In between, he deals with the issue of how and why the Jews could have rejected the Moshiach. How is it that they, of all people on earth, with the history of YHVH’s personal involvement with them, could have rejected the Promised One? Chapters 9–11 focus on this important question. Paul’s answer is fourfold. First, it was YHVH’s purpose by election. He chose Israel, knowing what would happen in the future. These were physical Jews, Israelites, who enjoyed all the special relationships to YHVH that an elect people could experience: sonship, glory, Covenants, the Law, worship, the promises, the patriarchs, and the Moshiach {9:1-5}. YHVH had elected them just as he had chosen Jacob over Esau before either was born, just as he had hardened the heart of Pharaoh, just as the potter moulds the clay into the vessel he desires {9:6-26}. It had nothing to do with their character or inherent worth; it was strictly a matter of YHVH’s purpose for them. There is no injustice on YHVH’s part in making this choice, because it was necessary in order for YHVH to show his power through them so that his name might be proclaimed in all the earth. He had chosen Israel to serve his purposes just as he had chosen Pharaoh and Jacob and Moses; their salvation was a matter of faith {Hebrews 11}. After all, only a remnant of Israel ever really believed {Romans 9:27-29}. Second, Paul argues that Israel, in rejecting the Moshiach and his gospel, is following a precedent that appears repeatedly throughout history {9:30–10:21}. The Jews did not seek righteousness by faith, and thus never found it. They based their righteousness on the Law and thus stumbled over their own Moshiach {9:30-33}. Third, he argues that since a “remnant” of Israel has already believed the gospel, it is a clear indication that Israel as a whole will yet do so {11:1-16, 26}. So, even though he says that YHVH has rejected Israel, he argues that YHVH has not rejected them finally and irrevocably. He has broken them off the cultivated branch of the Abrahamic promise, but he has not rejected his people. The elect {remnant} obtained what it sought, but the rest were hardened for a period of time until they could be provoked to jealousy by the Gentiles’ inclusion into the kingdom. So, Israel’s alienation is not necessarily final. Fourth, Paul argues that since Israel’s rejection has been such a blessing for the inclusion of the Gentiles, the scenario of their conversion in large numbers would be like a resurrection from the dead. This argument runs throughout the rest of the chapter {11:17-36}. The Gentiles should not be haughty, because Israel stumbled so as to make their inclusion possible {verses 17-19}. Israel did not stumble just so they could fall {verse 11}; their fall was a blessing to Gentiles and was a part of the purpose of YHVH. And YHVH, who broke them off for their unbelief, will be able to regraft them back into the tree from which they were cut off, if they do not persist in their unbelief. Chapters 12–16 deal with the pragmatic implications of Paul’s impressive arguments. Thus, the chapter begins with “I appeal to you therefore…” {12:1}. What follows is a lengthy list of believer’s virtues and responsibilities. Paul frequently includes advice in his letters so as to assist the young converts in their transition from paganism into the Judeo-Christian ethical and moral value system. He often even modifies some behaviour patterns among Jewish converts. Chapter 13 discusses the important relationship that should exist between believers in the capital city of the Roman Empire and their government officials. They should recognize that civil government is, as such, ordained by YHVH and has a right to exist even if those who hold the offices are corrupt. They are YHVH’s servants to execute judgment on the disobedient {13:4}. Chapter 14 encourages believers enjoying freedom in the Moshiach to live without influencing others to violate their own consciences in various matters, such as eating meat. Nor should those with weaker consciences try to restrict others who have found this precious freedom. Mutual love and respect is the mark of a true disciple of the Moshiach. Chapter 15 contains Paul’s travel plans and his understanding of his role as a priestly minister to Gentiles, offering their conversion to YHVH symbolically on the altar at Jerusalem in the form of a large collection of money taken up among the Gentile churches. Chapter 16 closes typically with greetings and commendations from various individuals. Twenty-seven people are greeted by name.

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BIBLE STUDY --- NEW TESTAMENT LETTERS

THE BOOK OF ACTS – PART 2

PURPOSE

In the preface to the Gospel, intended to cover the second volume also, Luke told Theophilus {and the audience he represented} that he had set out to write an accurate, orderly account about the beginnings of the Yeshua believer’s movement in the ministry of Yeshua of Nazareth {Luke 1:1-4}. The opening lines in Acts indicate that the narrative beginning with Yeshua of Nazareth {vol 1} is continuing and that Luke’s second volume intends to trace the story from Palestine to Rome {Acts 1:1-8}. While recounting this story, Luke attempted to defend the movement against false charges brought against it. A number of misconceptions attended the birth and growth of the movement. One concerned the relationship between the new faith and Judaism. Many, both within the church and among Roman officials, understood the faith in Yeshua as no more than a particular expression of, or sect within, Judaism. Against that restricted notion, Luke-Acts strikes a universal note. The Gospel proclaims Yeshua as Saviour of the world {Luke 2:29-32}. In Acts, Stephen’s defence before the Jewish council {chapter 7}, Peter’s experience in Joppa with Cornelius {chapter 10}, and Paul’s speech at Athens {chapter 17} all demonstrate that the believer’s movement is not merely a Jewish sect, some narrow messianic movement, but rather a universal faith. Another problem was popular identification of the new faith with the various religious cults and mystery religions in the Roman Empire. The accounts of the early church’s conflict with Simon the magician {chapter 8} and of Paul and Barnabas’s rejection of an attempt to worship them at Lystra {chapter 14} undermine the popular charge of superstition. Also, the believer’s movement is not a mystery cult in which esoteric, secret rites bring a worshiper into union with the divine. Adonai worshiped by believers, said Luke, belongs to real history; he lived his life in Palestine in the then-recent past, openly, for all to observe {see the speeches of Peter and Paul in Acts 2; 10; 13}. Luke’s major purpose, however, was defence of the faith in Yeshua movement against the charge that it posed a threat to the order and stability of the Roman Empire. There were of course, grounds for such suspicions. After all, the founder of the movement had been crucified on a charge of sedition by a Roman procurator, and the movement that claimed his name seemed to evoke tumult, disorder, and riots wherever it spread. Luke’s account met those problems head-on. In the Gospel he presented the trial of Yeshua as a serious miscarriage of justice. Pilate had handed Yeshua over for crucifixion, but he had found Yeshua not guilty. Herod Antipas likewise found no substance in the charges against Yeshua {Luke 23:13-16; Acts 13:28}. A neutral or even friendly attitude of Roman officials toward leading believers and the movement as a whole is documented throughout Acts. The Roman pro-consul of Cyprus, Sergius Paulus, gladly received Paul and Barnabas and responded positively to their message {Acts 13:7-12}. The chief magistrate in Philippi apologized for the illegal beating and imprisonment of Paul and Silas {16:37-39}. The pro-consul of Achaia, Gallio, found Paul guiltless in the eyes of Roman Law {18:12-16}. In Ephesus the magistrate intervened in a crowd’s attack on Paul and his companions, rejecting the charges against them {19:35-39}. A tribune of the Roman military contingent in Jerusalem arrested Paul, but it turned out that he really saved the apostle from the wrath of a mob; in his letter to the procurator Felix, the tribune acknowledged that Paul was not guilty by Roman Law {23:26-29}. The same verdict was repeated after Paul’s arraignment before Felix, his successor Festus, and Herod Agrippa II: “This man hasn’t done anything worthy of death or imprisonment” {26:31}. Luke climaxed his story by telling how Paul carried on his missionary activity in Rome, the very heart of the empire, and with the permission of the imperial guards {28:30-31}. It is clear throughout Luke’s defence that the strife that attended the beginnings and progress of Christianity was not due primarily to anything within the movement, but rather to Jewish opposition and falsification. Within his lengthy apology for the integrity of the believers, Luke’s specific theological perspectives can be clearly seen. The two-volume work presents a grand scheme of the history of redemption, extending from the time of Israel {Luke 1–2} through the time of Yeshua, and continuing through the time of the church, when the good news for Israel is extended to all nations. Paralleling that emphasis is an insistence that YHVH is present in the redemptive story through the Holy Spirit. In the Gospel, Yeshua is presented as the Man of the Spirit; the reality of the Spirit empowered him for his work {Luke 3:22; 4:1, 14, 18}. In Acts, the fellowship of Yeshua’ disciples are presented as the community of the Spirit {1:8; 2:1-8}. What Yeshua in the power of the Spirit had begun in his own ministry, the church in the power of the Spirit continues to do. For Luke, the empowering presence of YHVH’s Spirit was a reality that gave the new faith its power, integrity, and perseverance. It enabled faithful witness {1:8} and created genuine community {2:44-47; 4:32-37}, something for which the ancient world desperately longed. The Spirit in the new community produced courage and boldness {see Peter’s defences in chapters 2–5}, empowered for service {chapter 6}, overcame prejudice as in the mission in Samaria {chapter 8}, broke down walls as in the Cornelius episode {chapters 10–11}, and sent believers out on missions {chapter 13}. The entire story is also punctuated by the centrality of Yeshua’ resurrection. Luke, like Paul {see 1 Corinthians 15:12-21}, must have been convinced that without the resurrection of Yeshua there would be no believer’s faith at all. More than that, the resurrection put YHVH’s stamp of approval on Yeshua’ life and ministry, authenticating the truth of his claims. Luke announced his interest in that theme at the outset: the ultimate criterion for an apostolic replacement for Judas was that he must have been, with the other disciples, a witness to Yeshua’ resurrection. Throughout Acts, from Peter’s Pentecost sermon and defences before the Sanhedrin to Paul’s speeches before Felix and Agrippa, the church is shown bearing witness to Yeshua’ resurrection as a great reversal executed by YHVH {2:22-24, 36; 3:14-15; 5:30-31; 10:39-42}. Acts fall naturally into two parts, chapters 1–12, and 13–28. The first part, roughly speaking, contains the “acts of Peter.” Part two is largely concerned with the “acts of Paul.” In the first 12 chapters, Peter is the central figure who initiates the choosing of a replacement for Judas Iscariot {chapter 1}; addresses the multitudes at Pentecost {chapter 2}; interprets the significance of the healing of a lame man to a temple crowd {chapter 3}; delivers a defence of the faith in Yeshua proclamation before the supreme Jewish council {chapter 4}; leads the apostles in a healing ministry and speaks for them {chapter 5}; stands in the forefront of conflict with a Samaritan magician, “Simon the Great” {chapter 8}; launches -- though somewhat unwillingly -- the movement of the gospel to the Gentiles through Cornelius {chapters 10–11}; and draws the fire of Herod’s campaign against the church but is miraculously delivered from prison {chapter 12}. Proclamation of the gospel to the Gentiles through Paul’s ministry is the theme of part two of Acts {chapters 13–28}. The story primarily concerns three major missionary tours, each of which moved the gospel into yet untouched territory and expanded earlier missionary efforts. The account of Paul’s life and work climaxes in his arrest in Jerusalem {chapters 21–22}, a lengthy imprisonment in Caesarea {chapters 23–26}, and a voyage to Rome {chapters 27–28}. Another way of getting at the structure and content of Acts is thematic. It has its starting point in Yeshua’ statement, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth” {1:8}. Acts can be seen as the story of the fulfilment of that “Great Commission,” unfolding essentially in three stages:

1 -- witness to Judaism, focused in Jerusalem but also expanding into surrounding Judea and north into Galilee {chapters 1–7};

2 -- witness to Samaria through Philip, Peter, and John {8:1–9:31};

3 -- witness to the gentile world, first haltingly through Peter {9:32–12:25}, and then decisively through Paul {chapters 13–28}.

BIBLE STUDY --- NEW TESTAMENT LETTERS

THE BOOK OF ACTS – PART 1

New Testament book presenting the history of the early church and written as a sequel to the Gospel of Luke. In the arrangement of the New Testament books, Acts comes after the four Gospels and before the Epistles. The book of Acts does not state clearly who its writer is, but the general consensus is that Luke was its author. Early church tradition from the second century states that Acts {as well as the third Gospel} was written by a traveling companion and fellow worker of the apostle Paul. That companion is identified in Colossians 4:14 as “Luke, the beloved physician” and mentioned among Paul’s co-workers {Colossians 4:10-17; see also 2 Timothy 4:11; Philemon 1:24}. Strong support for the tradition that the author of Acts was a companion of Paul comes from the second half of the book recounting Paul’s ministry. There, several narratives are told in the first-person plural:

1 -- “That night Paul had a vision. He saw a man from Macedonia in northern Greece, pleading with him, ‘Come over here and help us.’ So, we decided to leave for Macedonia at once, for we could only conclude that YHVH was calling us to preach the Good News there” {16:9-10}.

2 -- “They went ahead and waited for us at Troas… we boarded a ship at Philippi in Macedonia and five days later arrived in Troas, where we stayed a week” {20:5-6}.

3 -- “When the time came, we set sail for Italy” {27:1}.

These “we” sections {16:9-18; 20:5–21:18; 27:1–28:16} sound like part of a travel narrative or diary written by an eyewitness who accompanied Paul from Troas to Philippi on his second missionary journey; from Philippi to Miletus on the third; from Miletus to Jerusalem; and from Caesarea to Rome. Since the style and vocabulary of these travel narratives resemble those of the rest of the book, it is highly probably that the diarist was also the author of the entire book. The sophisticated literary style and polished use of the Greek language in the book, as well as the fact that it is addressed to someone called Theophilus {possibly a high-ranking Roman official}, provide strong support for the tradition that Luke was a gentile convert to a believer in Yeshua. His consistent and frequent use of the Greek Old Testament may indicate that he had been a gentile “YHVH-fearer” before conversion to the new faith.

DATE, ORIGIN, DESTINATION

The question of the date and place of the origin of Acts continues to be debated. There are no clear indications in the book itself. With regard to its destination however, Luke did not leave any doubt. In the opening verse he addresses a certain Theophilus, to whom he had already written an earlier book about the life of Yeshua. There can be no doubt that he was referring to the work we know as the Gospel of Luke. In the preface to that Gospel {Luke 1:1-4}, Luke clearly stated his purpose for writing and addressed his account to the “most honourable Theophilus.” It is not clear who that person was. Some interpreters think that Theophilus {which means “dear to YHVH” or “lover of YHVH”} stands for believer readers in general rather than any specific individual. However, the designation “most honourable” argues against such an assumption. That ascription was a common title of honour, designating a person with official standing in the Roman socio-political order {cf. use of the title for Felix, Acts 23:26; 24:2; and for Festus, 26:25}. It is thus likely that Luke intended his two-volume work for an official representative of Roman society. When was Acts written? Some scholars date it in the last quarter of the first century. Since the Gospel was written first, and since Luke based his story of Yeshua on eyewitness accounts and written sources {among which was possibly the Gospel of Mark, probably written in the 60s}, Acts should not be dated much before AD 85. Proponents of such a late date claim support from the theology of Acts, which they see as picturing a Christian church settled into history, adjusted to the prospect of a lengthy period before Adonai’s return. Since expectation of Adonai’s imminent return was fanned into a living flame by the Jewish revolt and the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70, time must be allowed for that flame to have died down a bit. Other scholars date Acts around AD 70 or shortly thereafter. The Jewish rebellion of AD 66–70, which culminated in the destruction of Jerusalem, brought the Jewish faith -- legal until then -- into disrepute. The faith in Yeshua movement, which had been accepted as a Jewish sect, became suspect. Believers were increasingly charged with being enemies of Rome. A study of Acts shows that among a number of purposes; Luke seems to have been defending the believers against the charge of hostility toward the state. He showed how Roman officials repeatedly testified to the complete innocence of believers and above all else of Paul {16:39; 18:14-17; 19:37; 23:29; 25:25; 26:32}. Luke also made it clear that Paul was allowed to carry on his mission with full approval of Roman officials in the very heart of the imperial capital {28:16-31}. A still earlier date, closer to Paul’s Roman imprisonment {early 60s}, has been advocated by a number of scholars. There are two compelling reasons:

1 -- The abrupt ending of Acts, describing Paul carrying on a ministry in Rome before his trial had commenced, may indicate that Luke was writing at that point. It is possible, of course, that Luke ended his story with Paul preaching the gospel in Rome because one of his purposes had been accomplished: namely, showing how the gospel spread from Jerusalem to Rome. But it seems highly unlikely that Luke would close his history without Paul’s defence of the gospel before Caesar himself if that had already happened.

2 -- The most appropriate period for Luke’s history, with its defence of the believer’s movement against all kinds of accusations from both Jews and Gentiles, is the period when the faith in Yeshua was becoming suspect but was not yet proscribed. That was the time before the start of the persecutions under Nero in AD 64. The early date would correspond with the contention that Luke was with Paul during his Roman imprisonment and that he wrote his history in Rome while waiting for Paul’s trial to begin. It is possible that Luke’s work was partially intended to influence the verdict. Luke presented a picture of the faith and of Paul that he hoped would enable Paul to continue his work among the Gentiles.

BACKGROUND AND CONTENT

Luke grounds his documentary of the rapid expansion of faith ih Yeshua in the history of the Roman Empire and Palestine during the three decades from AD 30 to 60. Some brief historical and geographical considerations will aid in understanding Luke’s history. Acts 1–12 reports the beginnings of the Yeshua believer’s movement within the imperial province of Syria, which included Judea and Samaria. In the first century AD, those regions were generally governed by Roman procurators or puppet kings. At the time of Yeshua’ death and resurrection {c. AD 30}, Pontius Pilate was procurator in Judea and Samaria {AD 26–36}. Galilee was ruled by King Herod Antipas {4 BC–AD 39}. Tiberius was emperor of the Roman Empire {AD 14–37}. The account of Acts 1–12 took place in the period AD 30–44. The conversion of Saul {Acts 9} is generally dated in AD 33. After Saul’s conversion and departure to his native Tarsus, the church evidently enjoyed a period of tranquillity, consolidating its gains and growing steadily {9:31–11:26}. It can be assumed, from Galatians 1:18-21 and the existence of believer communities that Paul and Silas visited on the second missionary tour {Acts 15:40-41}, that Paul was not idle during that decade, but intensely involved in the mission to the Gentiles. {After Acts 13:9, the name “Saul” is dropped from the narrative.} In AD 41, Claudius became emperor of Rome and installed Herod Agrippa I as king of the Jews. {The procurator Pontius Pilate had been removed several years earlier for inept administration of the region.} Agrippa I was grandson of Herod the Great and his Jewish princess Mariamne. Because of his Jewish roots, he was more popular with his subjects than the former Herods. No doubt it was his desire to increase that popularity and gain the support of the Jewish religious authorities that led to a renewed outbreak of violence against the Jerusalem church. Acts 12 recounts the execution of James {the brother of the apostle John} and the imprisonment of Peter. The story of Agrippa I’s death {12:20-23} is paralleled in an account by the Jewish historian Josephus, who dates the event in AD 44. A second event providing a time reference for the unfolding story of the early church is the collection of famine relief in Antioch for believers in Judea {11:27-29}. Luke stated that a severe famine took place {verse 28} during the reign of Emperor Claudius {AD 41–54}. Josephus, writing his Antiquities at the end of the first century, spoke of a severe famine in Palestine between the years AD 44 and 48. According to Acts 12:25, Barnabas and Paul finished their mission to famine-stricken believers in Judea after the death of Agrippa I, making it possible to date their mission about AD 45. At that point in the narrative of Acts, Paul is launched officially into his mission to the Gentiles {13:1-3}, for which the history and geography of the larger Roman Empire form the backdrop. The official Roman policy toward the various religions in the empire was one of toleration. That policy, plus use of the Greek language throughout the empire and a phenomenal network of roads and sea routes, paved the way for Paul’s far-ranging missionary work. The first tour {AD 46–47} took Paul and Barnabas through the island province of Cyprus in the northeastern tip of the Mediterranean Sea and into the province of Galatia, where churches were established in several cities of southern Galatia {Antioch of Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe}. Galatia is located in Asia Minor, bordered by the Black Sea, the Aegean Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea on its northern, western, and southern sides. Those cities, important colonial outposts for the Romans, contained mixed populations, including large Jewish communities. It was in the synagogues of those communities that Paul launched his missionary efforts, almost always meeting with considerable opposition {chapters 13–14}. The deliberation of the Jerusalem Council about differences between Jewish and gentile believers {chapter 15} can be dated in the year AD 48. It was followed by Paul’s second missionary journey, which led him through the already evangelized territory of his native Cilicia, Galatia, and through Troas on the Aegean coast to Macedonia and down into Achaia, the Greek Peninsula {15:40–18:22}. Churches were established in the important Macedonian cities of Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea. Paul’s one and a half years in Corinth {18:11} can be dated with some certainty in AD 51–52. An ancient inscription among the ruins of Delphi, a city in central Greece, states that Gallio became proconsul of Achaia in 51. Acts 18:12-17 tells how Paul was accused by antagonistic Jews before Gallio. The implication is that Paul’s adversaries in Corinth felt that a new proconsul could be persuaded to side with their cause. Thus, Paul’s stay in Corinth can be dated around the beginning of Gallio’s pro-consulship. Luke’s account of Paul’s return to Palestine and the beginning of his third missionary tour brings up a fascinating historical question about what happened to the followers of John the Baptist {13:13–19:7}. Acts 18:24-28 refers to a learned Jew, Apollos, who was actively teaching about Yeshua in the synagogue at Ephesus, but who was apparently not a member of a distinctively Yeshua believer community, not having been baptized in the name of Yeshua. He was acquainted only with the baptism of repentance practiced by John the Baptist. After Apollos went to Corinth to minister to the young congregation that Paul founded the previous year, Paul went to Ephesus. There he met several disciples of Yeshua who, like Apollos, had experienced John’s baptism of repentance, but who had not been baptized as believers. Luke’s reference to Apollos and those disciples, as well as several passages in the Gospels, indicate that the movement begun by John the Baptist did not simply come to an end when Yeshua began his ministry. Evidently John continued to baptize until his death {John 3:22-24}, and many of his disciples, maintained John’s work after his death. Probably both Apollos and the disciples at Ephesus were products of the continuing ministry of John’s disciples. Eventually they were introduced to “the way of Adonai” {18:25}. Their lack of knowledge about a distinctive believer baptism or about the reality of the Holy Spirit {19:2-4} shows how much}. It took place in the mid-50s {AD 53–57}. Paul’s arrest in Jerusalem and arraignment before the provincial governor, Felix, in Caesarea {23:23–24:23} must be dated about 57. After Paul had spent two years under house arrest, no doubt prolonged by Felix to gain favour with Jewish subjects, Felix was replaced by Porcius Festus {AD 59–60}. Josephus noted that Felix was recalled because of an outbreak of civil strife between Jewish and gentile inhabitants of Caesarea and Felix’s unwise handling of the situation. The new procurator, Festus, was uncertain about what to do with his prisoner. The Jewish leadership sought to seize that opportunity, aware of the desire of new procurators to gain popularity with their subjects {25:1-9}. Realizing the threat, Paul appealed his case to the highest court of the empire, presided over by Caesar himself {25:10-12}. Festus was then left with a problem. He had to send with his prisoner a report to the emperor, clearly outlining the charges. Since he did not really comprehend the case {25:25-27}, he sought the advice of Herod Agrippa II, who with his sister had come to Caesarea to pay their respects to the new imperial governor of Palestine {25:13}. Agrippa II was the son of Herod Agrippa I and, at least in theory, a Jew. He ruled over parts of Palestine from AD 50 to 100 and had been given the right to appoint the Jewish high priests. His familiarity with Jewish religious traditions and the Law thus put him in a better position to understand Jerusalem’s case against Paul. The outcome of Paul’s appearance before Festus and Agrippa {26:1-29} was recognition of Paul’s innocence {26:31}. Yet Paul’s appeal to Rome had to be honoured; the Law governing such cases had to be followed {26:32}. Paul’s relative freedom during the next two-year period {28:30} seems unusual but was a rather common practice in Roman judicial proceedings, especially for Roman citizens who had appealed to the emperor. There is no good reason to believe that Paul was executed at the time when Luke’s narrative ends {c. AD 61–62}. The great fire of Rome and Nero’s subsequent persecution of believers were still a few years away {AD 64}. It is likely that the case against Paul was dismissed, especially in light of the favourable verdict by Festus and King Agrippa. It is also likely that Paul was executed during the later, more general persecution of believers. Such a sequence would correspond with the tradition cited by Eusebius, a fourth-century church historian, that Paul resumed his ministry and later suffered martyrdom under Nero.

Matthew 15:27, “Yes, Lord,” she said, “ even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” This verse would indicate that dogs were allowed inside a home. This is another clue that animals were kept for companions as well as well as for work.

"And Yahweh said unto the satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?"

Job1

Thought for Today: Thursday December 04

The desire for peace is universal. But simply telling people to stop fighting and love each other is not the solution for the tension, discord, and violence that exist around the globe. Diplomats and leaders have tried to do this for centuries, yet the world history is filled with wars and conflicts. The problem lies within the human heart; by nature, we are selfish and greedy. Even leaders are not exempt from these sins. Even when we want peace, it often eludes us because of our greed or anger or jealousy. Only YHVH can change the human heart, and that is why our greatest need is spiritual renewal. Make this day a day of pray for the peace of Israel and for your own country and leaders. But most important, pray for each other for spiritual healing.

John Calvin and Martin Luther were completely fine having individuals publicly executed for disagreeing with their doctrines. The "early church fathers" had no problem pronouncing eternal judgment on people who disagreed with their doctrines and also using violence to enforce their beliefs. Those who used violence to enforce doctrine in the first century were exclusively the bad guys so it is of the highest level of irony that once Christianity attained to power, it also resorted to violence. Let us learn the lessons of the past and greet each other with love and patience, allowing for the Holy Spirit to lead us in growth toward Yahweh and His Son.

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