Friday, March 16, 2007
Look What You Did!
The apostles and Jewish Christians heard that the Gentiles had received the word of God. Not everyone was happy about this. Many had questions.
Peter went up to Jerusalem and was criticized for going into the homes of uncircumcised men and eating with them. He then explained his actions by reviewing everything that had happened. He even told them how the Holy Spirit had come on the Gentiles. Peter said, "If God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who was I to think that I could oppose God?"
These words quited all the opposition because Peter made a great point. Peter's personal testimony and God's supernatural move in the situation left no doubt that this was the work of God. The Jews praised God and said, "So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life."
Even though God had made His will known, it still took time for the Jewish Christians to warmly welcome the Gentiles. They had a lot of religiosity to overcome. Fear of man caused even Peter to fall into the trap of religious prejudice. This will be covered more later in the book.
The addition of Gentiles stretched the Jewish Christians. It raised questions and caused them to struggle with exactly how best to understand the Gospel outside of a Jewish context. I can certainly image the apostles pointing to Peter at times and saying, "Look what you did!"
Peter went up to Jerusalem and was criticized for going into the homes of uncircumcised men and eating with them. He then explained his actions by reviewing everything that had happened. He even told them how the Holy Spirit had come on the Gentiles. Peter said, "If God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who was I to think that I could oppose God?"
These words quited all the opposition because Peter made a great point. Peter's personal testimony and God's supernatural move in the situation left no doubt that this was the work of God. The Jews praised God and said, "So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life."
Even though God had made His will known, it still took time for the Jewish Christians to warmly welcome the Gentiles. They had a lot of religiosity to overcome. Fear of man caused even Peter to fall into the trap of religious prejudice. This will be covered more later in the book.
The addition of Gentiles stretched the Jewish Christians. It raised questions and caused them to struggle with exactly how best to understand the Gospel outside of a Jewish context. I can certainly image the apostles pointing to Peter at times and saying, "Look what you did!"
