Leaving Jerusalem

I am teaching this morning (yes, I am making a post on Sunday morning) in our Life Phase Community at church called Marriage Matters on the transition in scripture from the ministry of Jesus to the ministry of the apostles. This is mainly found throughout the book of Acts in the New Testament. The idea is to examine what things the early apostles did well and not so well. And they did act wisely in many respects: they appointed new leadership (Matthias replaced Judas Iscariot, seven were appointed to care for widows and others in their physical needs), they waited for the empowerment of the Holy Spirit (which led to significant boldness and miracles), they keep in close fellowship and prayer (to the point that the walls of their meeting place shook), and they were careful to meet the needs of everyone in the community.

But what baffles me is the fact that they, for the most part, never left Jerusalem. This reality is clearly accentuated in Acts 8:1-3 despite the charge from Jesus in chapter 1 that the apostles were to be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Did they not think that charge applied them personally? Where they experts at delegation?

I cannot help but to think that truthfully they struggled with the notion of the gospel message being for all nations and ethnicities. We get a glimpse of this struggle in Acts 11 in how the apostles and many disciples responded to Peter’s ministry in Ceasarea within the household of Cornelius (a Roman centurion). They simply did not like it; only after Peter explained his vision/trance did they comply. But was this exclusive sentiment completely eradicated? We get another glimpse of this struggle in Galatians 2, where Paul confronts Peter concerning the exact same issue: isolation and exclusiveness. Paul, whose passion was ministry to the Gentiles, confronts Peter to his face concerning this mindset and attitude.

The Hebrews never quite grasped the notion that through Abrahamic covenant (Genesis 22) Israel was intended to be a conduit of ministry to other nations. Scripture is clear, “…through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.” But the Jews wanted to keep the blessing and favor of God to themselves, with a strong sense of entitlement. They were, after all, the people of God. But they were the people of God with a purpose. And I would suggest that that purpose remains for Christians today: to be conduits of blessing and ministry to those outside the church. This idea is convicting for me…the need to develop a greater heart for the world, to hold ministry to unbelievers as a core value and conviction. How easy it is to build high walls (metaphorically) around the church and adopt a strict policy of preservation! But God cares more about transformation than preservation…