Episodes from Acts - Cornelius

Acts 10:1-6, 39-48

Cornelius Calls for Peter

1At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. 2He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. 3One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!”

4Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked.

5The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. 6He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.”

Peter at Cornelius’ House

39 “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, 40but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. 41He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. 43All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

44While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. 45The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. 46For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.

47Then Peter said, “Can anyone keep these people from being baptised with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” 48So he ordered that they be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.

Matthew 8:5–13

The Faith of the Centurion

5When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6 “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralysed and in terrible suffering.”

7Jesus said to him, “I will go and heal him.”

8The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

10When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. 11I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

13Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! It will be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that very hour.

The Gospel unites all who look to Christ to deal with their sin

One of the unexpected delights of the Christian Faith for me has been coming to an understanding of the global nature of the church. As a young medical student, I spent some time on placement in South Africa and became part of a lively suburban church there; it was still in the days of apartheid so, of necessity, it was an all-white church. But I was also invited to join a special evening meeting of the Nurses’ Christian Fellowship at the hospital where I was working. It was a mission hospital so most of the nurses were black Africans. Unfortunately, the evening wasn’t quite as uplifting as I had expected as the guest speaker gave an extraordinarily long talk - entirely in Zulu. To this day I have absolutely no idea what he was on about.

Over the years I have met enthusiastic and spirit-filled Christians from across the world - from Malaysia, South Africa, America, Portugal, Austria, France, Ghana, Jamaica. And the thing that strikes me about them is what we sometimes call the ‘bond of faith’ - it’s as if we already knew them when we first met them. We know where they’re coming from in terms of faith and world view. That’s often displayed as a warmth of character and an openness in friendship - what Paul referred to in Phil 2 as:

being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind

That spirit of trust, love, and unity is very special amongst Christians from across the globe.

But it wasn’t always that way - St Peter had to be educated about that, as we find in our reading from the Acts of the Apostles.

You see, the early church started off exclusively Jewish. At Pentecost, we read that the Holy Spirit was poured out on Jews. Luke tells us that those in Jerusalem were God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven, both Jews by birth, and converts to Judaism. Pentecost was essentially a Jewish event.

But God never meant the Gospel to stay restricted to the Jews. And as the gospel of Jesus Christ spread, it spread first among the Jews, Acts 2; and then to the Samaritans (who you might say were cousins of the Jewish faith) in Acts 8; and now, in Acts 10, to the Gentiles. And actually, Jesus had already charged his apostles with this three-fold mission in Acts 1:8

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8

You’ll know by now that we’re following a sermon series on various characters in the Acts of the Apostles - and today we come to Cornelius, a Roman Centurion, who with his family was the first Gentile convert to be recorded in the New Testament. So let’s see what happened and what we might learn for our own times. 3 headings

1. An opening of the mind

Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. Acts 10:34-35

We didn’t read the whole story of what happened between Cornelius and Peter, simply because it runs for some 48 verses. What we missed out was Peter’s vision which comes in the middle of the passage.

You see, just as Cornelius in Caesarea had his afternoon vision from God telling him to send for Simon Peter, who was 40 miles away in Joppa, so Peter had his own vision. His came the following day. It was noon, and Peter was up on the roof of the house in Joppa. He was hungry and he was waiting to be called down for lunch. And we read that in his vision,

He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. Then a voice told him, "Get up, Peter. Kill and eat." "Surely not, Lord!" Peter replied. "I have never eaten anything impure or unclean." The voice spoke to him a second time, "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean." Acts 10:11-15

This happened three times. Peter was puzzled by what it meant, but then Cornelius’ men arrived and knocked on the door. At that point Peter had a second vision telling him to go with them to Caesarea. And as he arrived there, the penny dropped for Peter - that he was to preach to this Gentile centurion and his family and to share the gospel with them. As Peter himself says in v28

"You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean".

And so, as we heard from our reading, Peter explained the good news of Jesus Christ, culminating in the key line:

All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name." 10:43

Peter found himself pushing against an open door - Cornelius and all his household believed and came to faith in Christ there and then. They became the first Gentile Christians. So what changed in their belief?

2. An opening of the heart

At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. Acts 10:1-2

Cornelius was a good man. He wasn’t a Jew, but equally he doesn’t appear to have worshipped the plethora of gods that were popular with Romans at that time. He was a monotheistic God-fearer, but still, in the eyes of the Jews, a pagan. And his vision came at 3pm - the time of Temple worship for the Jews. We presume Cornelius was praying as he received his vision. He was terrified, but he need not have been - for the angel tells him that

... his prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. 10:4

The language echoes sacrifice and incense - that God is pleased with Cornelius’ devotion and that he will be rewarded. And the reward? That he shall hear what Peter has to say.

And, as we know, Cornelius came to faith through Peter’s message - he and his whole household had their own experience of the Holy Spirit and were baptised in the name of Jesus Christ. But the key point here is that Cornelius has moved from a faith that was about doing to a faith that was about believing. His devotion previously had been all about prayer and giving alms; his motivation was about fearing God.

What does fearing God mean in this context? It’s not about being frightened of God - rather, it’s about being aware of our standing before God. It’s about realizing his holiness and our sinfulness. Realizing how far short we fall from his standards. Cornelius knew that. But he didn’t know what to do about it - he thought he could make up the shortfall by good works and charitable acts.

And that’s the outlook that many share - it’s the outlook of traditional Judaism; and it’s the outlook of Islam. One of the endearing qualities of a true Muslim such as those I have known is their humility - that gentle humility borne of an awareness of their standing before God.

And along with Cornelius, our Muslim friends hope to deal with their sin and shortcomings in the same ways - by prayer (5 times a day); by giving alms; and of course supplemented by pilgrimage to Mecca, and by the annual Ramadan fast. Just as with Cornelius, it’s a faith of doing - always hoping that your actions are good enough.

But what Peter taught - and what the Christian gospel is all about - is that this devotion can never be enough, such is the gulf between us and God. We can never work our way to God by good works. But in Christ there is a solution:

.. the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in Jesus receives forgiveness of sins through his name." 10:43

Forgiveness is the unearned, free gift of Jesus - we look to him to make up the shortfall by his death in our place on the cross. It is he who takes the punishment that should have been ours - he who takes the sting of guilt and death. Suddenly for Cornelius it made sense - he could never be good enough for the God he feared, but Jesus was good enough in his place. His heart - and the hearts of his whole household - were opened and they believed.

3. An opening for the Spirit.

While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit came down on all those who were listening to his message. The Jewish believers who had come from Joppa with Peter were amazed that God had poured out his gift of the Holy Spirit on the Gentiles also. For they heard them speaking in strange tongues and praising God’s greatness. Peter spoke up: "These people have received the Holy Spirit, just as we also did". Acts 10:44-47

It was Pentecost Sunday all over again. And I think that’s very deliberate on God’s part - for this fresh outpouring of the Spirit confirmed that this gospel is for Gentile as well as Jew - uncircumcised and circumcised - all are equal in God’s sight. The Gentiles were having their own Pentecost experience. And actually, something similar happened to the Samaritan believers earlier in Acts.

So should we expect similar manifestations to happen routinely when people come to faith in Christ? Or was this just a one-off gift of the Spirit to demonstrate this sort of stepwise expansion of the Gospel?

I’m just reading a biography of the preacher George Whitefield, who was a Gloucester lad who was central in the great Evangelical Awakening that swept the UK in the 1740s. Whitefield found himself preaching to huge crowds in the open air - upwards of 20,000 or more - and similar Pentecost experiences happened at many of his addresses as people responded in faith.

Two other preachers who were closely involved in that same awakening were John and Charles Wesley, Anglican ministers whose teachings eventually gave birth to the Methodist Church. Listen to this account from Charles Wesley’s diary for March 1740. You might recognize the place names where Wesley was preaching:

Saturday March 29th, 1740. I came to Westcot; found Mr. Morgan hungering and thirsting for righteousness. They desired me to expound the lesson, St. Paul’s Epistle to Philemon… the Spirit was present in his demonstration. Brother Maxfield felt it; and told me, he knew Mrs. M. had received the blessing.

The following day Idbury church and churchyard were full. I showed them wherein holiness consisted; answered their objections, dividing to them the word of truth, both law and Gospel. Many were pierced to the dividing asunder their soul and spirit. One woman the commandment plainly slew; and she was carried off in a fit. O that all hardened sinners were so wounded in spirit! We hasted back to Westcot; where I preached the pure Gospel from the good Samaritan. Surely he was in the midst, pouring in his oil and wine. I adjourned to Mr. Morgan’s. His house was crowded as a Minister’s ought to be.

We can’t prescribe how the Spirit will be dispensed; but clearly these Pentecost experiences still happen from time to time when God has work to do, even in places like Idbury and Westcote! They aren’t just something confined to the Acts of the Apostles. But however, the Spirit is manifest - with spectacle and drama, or with a quiet warmth in the heart, be assured He is poured out on all who receive Christ.

The conversion of Cornelius was the first step in the spread of the Gospel across the whole Gentile world. And it lays the foundation for the world-wide church, being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind

It showed that for those early believers on Pentecost Sunday, for those first Samaritan believers, for Cornelius and his family and the Gentiles who followed on; for Wesley’s congregations in Idbury and Westcote in 1740; and for us in our day, the prophesy of Joel is still fulfilled:

"And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.

And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved Joel 2:28-32

Episodes from Acts - Saul’s Conversion

Acts 9:1-19

Saul’s Conversion

Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

The men travelling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”

“Yes, Lord,” he answered.

The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”

“Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”

But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptised, and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

Luke 19:1–10

Zacchaeus the Tax Collector

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a ‘sinner.’” But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”

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 We need to glimpse God’s sovereignty and respond in obedience

From time to time we come across in life people who are single-minded in all they do. Sometimes that’s in a good way – I once worked for a consultant surgeon who was utterly committed to his work, utterly committed to his patients. He was quite hard to keep up with, because he expected the same single-minded outlook from his team.

Someone once asked him how he dealt with the stress of life as a surgeon – his answer was that the only time he really felt stressed was when he was running two international medical conferences simultaneously! His single-minded approach to his work was hugely appreciated by his patients.

But sometimes people are single-minded in a less good way. I came across people in prison who were single-minded in their hatred of others – mostly based on religion or skin colour. And those types still sadly often appear on our TV news footage at so-called protests with their faces covered, and evil in their heart. Those men are hard nuts to crack, so deep is their hatred and their prejudice

And Saul of Tarsus was one of those men who was also single-minded, but in a bad way. For he saw it as his sole mission in life to persecute the Christian Church. And he did it with vigour and with emotion – he was really invested in what he was doing, really committed to his twisted cause.

We first met Saul in Acts 7:58, when he was described as a young man, who was looking after the coats of the men who were stoning Stephen to death. And we know from 8:1 that he approved of what they were doing. Then a few verses later, we read that a great persecution broke out against the Jerusalem church and the apostles were scattered – and we read this in Acts 8:3

But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.

And then we pick up in chapter 9 with today’s reading:

Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. Acts 9:1-2

The irony was that Saul had no jurisdiction in Damascus – for Damascus was a self-governing city some 150 miles from Jerusalem. He had absolutely no right to be trying to police the church there, and yet that did not stop him. Saul was utterly single-minded in his desire to stamp out this new movement, this ‘Way’ as it was called. Why might that be? The nearest we get to finding out is Saul’s own account of his upbringing in Philippians 3:4:

I [was] circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.

He was a Pharisee – a strict, orthodox Jew. He was doing this for the sake of orthodox Judaism – he truly believed he was serving God. But he was soon to learn differently. Within a day or two his life was to be turned upside down. Before long his life was so changed that he would be moved to write this:

But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. Philippians 3:7-8

So, let’s reflect for a few moments on what happened to Saul – what it tells us about God, and what we might learn for ourselves. It’s a familiar story, but let’s see if something new arises as we think through this passage. I have just two headings: sovereignty and obedience

1. Sovereignty

As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” Acts 9:3-8

The last thing Saul was expecting was to be met head-on by Jesus on the Damascus road.

And it wasn’t a casual encounter: Saul was met with the full authority of heaven. The blinding light is a typical way that scripture describes the appearances of God or of the angels – and Saul immediately knew he was glimpsing the throne-room of God. He addressed the apparition as ‘Lord’ – the Greek word is Adonai, a title most commonly used of God – he knew he was in the presence of the Almighty.

Interestingly linguistically Adonai is a plural word – so it means literally My Lords, but it’s a grammatical device that doesn’t mean more than one Lord, but something more like ‘Lord above all Lords’. So, it’s quite clear that Saul knew he was in the presence of God himself.

So did he have a choice about how to respond? Could he have said, thanks but no thanks? In theory he could. For the apparition answers, I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now get up and go into the city and you will be told what to do. He could have said No.

But realistically I don’t think Saul had any choice in the matter. He was commanded by Jesus whom he encountered there and then as he lay blinded in the dirt on the road. He could do nothing but obey, such was the overwhelming sovereign impact of God in his life in that very moment.

Isn’t it the case that we often have a rather more watered-down attitude to God? We so easily see God as just a heavenly buddy, or as a sort of ‘my Jesus, my boyfriend’ character. Or worse, as a sort of good-luck talisman. I rather think we need a fresh grasp of the sovereignty of God – I speak for myself here.

In the Westcote home group we’re just working our way through the book of Job. Job, you’ll remember, was a very rich man who had lost absolutely everything at the instigation of the Devil, who reckoned he would curse God to his face given the depth of his suffering. But Job never does so: as the book proceeds, he finds an ever-more lofty understanding of God and his sovereignty. He says this:

The Lord moves mountains without their knowing it and overturns them in his anger. He shakes the earth from its place and makes its pillars tremble. He speaks to the sun and it does not shine; he seals off the light of the stars. He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea. Job 9:5-8

And his thoughts culminate in this wonderful verse: Job 19:25-27

I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; How my heart yearns within me!

Job had a right view of God: someone whom he held in great awe; but someone whom he also yearned to see in the afterlife of eternity. Saul glimpsed that same sovereign God: and Saul obeyed.

2. Obedience

In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered. The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.” “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. Acts 9:10-15

Ananias was understandably a little wary of Saul – his reputation had preceded him. This is a very dangerous man that you want me to visit, Lord, says Ananias! But God is quite clear – Ananias is to be the first Christian to welcome Saul, and indeed not only will he restore Saul’s sight, but he will call him ‘brother’ and also baptise him. Wow – that’s quite some mission. Why does God choose Ananias? We don’t know; but I guess it boiled down to a question of obedience. God knew he could trust Ananias.

I’m just reading the biography of George Whitefield, who was an ordained Church of England Minister, one of the evangelical preachers along with John and Charles Wesley in the so-called Great Awakening of the 1740s in England, Scotland and Wales. He was a Gloucester boy – his family kept the Bell Inn right in the centre of town. He was converted in his early 20’s and at the height of his preaching ministry he was just 27 or 28 years old – preaching outdoors to gatherings of up to 30,000 people. He had a remarkably audible voice – said to be like a bell sounding – but his main quality was obedience – he constantly sought to be obedient to the call of God, whatever that might be.

He put that obedience before all things – even his relationships and his love-life – and God used him mightily along with John and Charles Wesley in the mass revival of the church. Many thousands found faith for the first time through his ministry – although the established church despised his zeal and enthusiasm. Thousands were converted to faith – Whitefield saw the sovereignty of God displayed week by week as he obeyed God’s calling to preach.

It was that obedience which God used to further his purposes in Whitefield’s day. It was the obedience of Ananias that God used to further his purposes with Saul of Tarsus. And in time it was the obedience of newly-converted Saul, whom of course the apostles re-named Paul, that enabled the gospel to spread far and wide among the Gentiles in those early decades of the Christian Church. And exposed Paul to suffering in his turn.

Sovereignty and obedience.

So, what of us? We don’t tend to see Jesus in flashes of blinding light. We don’t often get glimpses of the sovereign plans of God. And yet be assured God has plans for us – for our communities, our churches, even for our own humble lives. We must pray that we keep a godly perspective on life: for when we glimpse his sovereignty then we are prompted towards obedience. And obedience to his call is what Jesus most desires: that we fulfill our place in his church, that we play our part in his mission to our communities. That we serve him in whatever way he calls us.

And that is a calling for all of us – we each have a place to fill in God’s great economy. From the least to the greatest, every Christian is called to serve the living Lord Jesus, wherever that might lead us. And like Paul, that may lead us into difficult places: but it may also lead us into great blessing. Are you up for that?

Let’s pray that we glimpse his sovereignty; and let’s pray that he then grants you and me obedient hearts.

Episodes from Acts - Philip and the Ethiopian

Acts 8:26-40

Philip and the Ethiopian

Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”

Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture:

“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before the shearer is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
Who can speak of his descendants?
For his life was taken from the earth.”

The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.

As they travelled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. Why shouldn’t I be baptised?” [Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may. The eunuch answered, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”] And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptised him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and travelled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.

Mark 1:1-9

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

It is written in Isaiah the prophet:

“I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way”—
“a voice of one calling in the desert,
Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’”

And so John came, baptising in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptised by him in the Jordan River. John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. And this was his message: “After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptise you with water, but he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit.”

The Baptism and Temptation of Jesus

At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptised by John in the Jordan.

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Baptism signifies that the God-shaped void in our lives is being filled by Jesus

It’s a real joy to welcome Moses and his family and friends to this special baptismal Benefice service this morning. From our bible accounts we of course immediately think of another Moses floating in a basket amongst the bullrushes in the river Nile – but today we’re dealing with a rather different episode in water – the water of baptism.

Baptism features prominently in our scriptures, and in our two readings we’ve seen two different perspectives on baptism. We’ve read Mark’s account of the masses who came out to the desert to be baptised by John in the river Jordan; meanwhile our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles related the account of one man’s experience of baptism, happening not in the River Nile, or the River Jordan, but in an unnamed roadside stream or pool somewhere between Jerusalem and Gaza.

And today we’ll come shortly to baptise this Moses: not in a river, nor in a stream, but in water from an ancient font that’s half a millennium old, where countless others have been baptised down the centuries. So as we prepare to do so, let’s see what we might learn from our two readings.

I just have two headings this morning: something missing; something changing

Something missing

On his way [Philip] met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet … Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So, he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Acts 8:27-31

Our Ethiopian was a long way from home – around 2,500km, probably over a month’s journey in his chariot. He was a powerful and important man, in charge of the Treasury of Candace, Queen Mother of Ethiopia who effectively ruled the country. Why had he come to Jerusalem? To worship, we read. He lacked for nothing (well, he was a Eunuch, so almost nothing). He was rich and powerful. He had servants and a chariot. So, what was going on?

Well, quite simply, he was searching for something that was missing in his life. He was searching for God. He’d been up to the Temple of the Jews in Jerusalem, and on the way home we find him on the desert road heading towards Gaza, and his search continues: he’s sitting reading and puzzling over his bible in his chariot.

Now let’s not imagine this to be a fast, Ben Hur style racing chariot – it’s more likely an oxcart, nicely styled, no doubt, ponderously making its way at little more than a walking place along the desert road. And our Ethiopian is confused – he doesn’t understand what he’s reading in his bible, and he’s frustrated. He wants to understand. And, prompted by the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Philip comes to his aid. Overhearing him reading out loud, he runs alongside his chariot and asks him if he understands what he’s reading. The Ethiopian exclaims: ‘how can I understand unless someone explains it to me?’

So, Philip climbs up alongside him to unfold the scriptures. But more particularly, to explain how this particular famous passage is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. We know from the scripture quoted that the Ethiopian was reading from the Old Testament prophesy of Isaiah, which explains how mankind’s greatest problem – yours and my greatest problem – is our sin; our rebellion against God.

If we were to turn up that passage ourselves, we would read this:

.. he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. Isaiah 53:5-7

The Ethiopian didn’t understand who the ‘he’ was, being referred to here. Well, as Philip explained, it’s none other than Jesus Christ. The passage prophesies how Jesus would bear our sin in his own body on the cross; that he would receive the punishment for sin that was due to us. How by his wounds we are healed – our sins forgiven, our relationship with God restored. Those are timeless truths.

Someone once said that we all have a God-shaped void in our lives. St Augustine wrote of God way back in 400AD

“Thou hast made us for Thyself, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in Thee.”

That’s what the Ethiopian man recognised. His heart was restless, he was searching for spiritual understanding that the religions of his own country did not supply; he had recognised that God-shaped void in his heart, and he longed to fill it. He knew something was missing from his life, despite his great wealth and power. And as Philip explained the good news of Jesus Christ to him, sitting by his side in that rattling chariot on a dusty desert road, he finally understood that in Jesus, his needs were supplied. The missing piece was found. The void could be filled. So, what happened next?

2. Something changing

[Philip] told him the good news about Jesus. As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. Why shouldn’t I be baptized?” And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. Acts 8:35-38

Our Ethiopian wanted to do something to mark his new understanding. In that moment he had found faith in Jesus Christ, assurance that in Christ his sins were forgiven, and that he was put right with God. So … Let me be baptised, he cries.

Because baptism is the Christian sacrament, instituted by Jesus himself, to mark the passage from darkness to light – from old to new, from faithless to faithful. Baptism is a mark of a turning point – a point of change where something new is beginning. In our reading from Mark’s gospel, baptism was a sign of renewal: that the Jews themselves were experiencing a revival – confessing their sins in preparation for the arrival of the Messiah in their midst. But as John the Baptist declared,

“After me will come one more powerful than I, [that’s Jesus] the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” Mark 1:7-8

Something was changing for those Jews as they came out to be baptised to mark their desire to draw closer to God and find forgiveness for their sins.

Likewise for our Ethiopian: he wanted to mark this discovery of faith in his life. Something major was changing for him. His life would never be the same again.

Two headings: something missing, something changing. What then of young Moses – how does all this matter to him? Well, that God shaped void is present in all of us from birth – whether or not we recognize it. And it’s a void none of the material things of this life can fill – not riches, not power, not status. It’s a universal problem we all face.

Our Moses doesn’t know that yet, because he’s too young – and so very wisely his parents have brought him to baptism in order to set him on the right path, to claim those promises of forgiveness and new life that Jesus offers in baptism. We make those promises in the baptismal vows on his behalf, trusting that as he grows, he too will come to know and to trust Jesus in his life, to find that God-shaped void is filled.

So it’s important that you as parents and godparents especially help and guide him in his spiritual journey. As he grows older there will be times when, like our Ethiopian man, he doesn’t understand – so it will be your job, and the job of the church community wherever he finds himself in the future, to help explain and lead him, just as Philip did that day sitting in the chariot.

Because this is serious stuff; this is, as the Ethiopian and many since him have discovered, life-changing stuff. For the good news that Philip explained to that Ethiopian man 2000 years ago in a desert on the way to Gaza, is still true for us in our time.

For you and me here today, Jesus still deals with our sin by his sacrifice for us, once for all on the cross. That’s the missing piece of the jigsaw: the Ethiopian’s, and yours and mine also. Have we taken hold of that gift for ourselves? Have we found Jesus in our own lives?

Because this is about filling that God-shaped void in our lives. About discovering, with St Augustine, that our hearts truly are restless, until we find our rest in Him.

And it’s baptism which signifies that this is the journey which little Moses, and we, have begun.

’

Episodes from Acts - Stephen

Acts 7:48-60

Stephen’s Speech to the Sanhedrin

“However, the Most High does not live in houses made by men. As the prophet says:

“‘Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.
What kind of house will you build for me?
says the Lord.
Or where will my resting place be?
Has not my hand made all these things?’

“You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it.”

The Stoning of Stephen

When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.

While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.

John 16:1-4

“All this I have told you so that you will not go astray. They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God. They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. I have told you this, so that when the time comes you will remember that I warned you. I did not tell you this at first because I was with you.

---

The Fact That Divides

We’re continuing our journey through episodes in the book of Acts, and the incident between Stephen and the Sanhedrin was a clash of two groups of people. In fact, these are the only two groups of people into which humanity can fall: those who are Jesus’s people, and those who are not Jesus’s people.

So we are going to look at two things this morning: first, the fact that divides Stephen and the Sanhedrin; and secondly, the response that divides them.

The fact that divides Stephen and the Sanhedrin.

Our reading from Acts was recalling the end of a long sermon given by Stephen, recounting the whole history of God’s dealings with his people. And Stephen ends with a brazen condemnation of the Sanhedrin — that is, the religious leaders of the time. He says:

“You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: you always resist the Holy Spirit!”

And the reaction of the Sanhedrin at this point is, understandably, fury. But then Stephen goes one step further when he looks up to heaven and says:

“I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

And when they hear this, the reaction of the Sanhedrin crosses over from fury to murder. Before, they were really angry. But now they have gone beyond anger. They are so overcome with rage that the only thing they can do is instantly kill Stephen.

So what is it about Stephen’s words that flips a switch in their hearts and minds? Let us look again at what he says:

“I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

Of course, the Son of Man is Jesus. And for Stephen, the fact that Jesus is standing at the right hand of God is the best possible news. It means that Jesus — in whom Stephen has put all his hope and all his trust — is not only utterly vindicated by God, but is reigning in power in heaven.

And this Son of Man language is also important because it reflects a prophecy from the Old Testament book of Daniel, in which Daniel sees God giving all authority in heaven and earth to this human-divine figure called the Son of Man. Stephen is saying: Jesus is that Son of Man. Jesus is the one who has been given all authority in heaven and on earth. And for Stephen, this is amazing, because he has tied his entire identity — his whole life, with all its hopes and dreams — to whether Jesus really is who he claimed to be.

Imagine being so confident in a particular racehorse that you bet every single penny you own on that one horse. Nothing left in the bank. Nothing left in savings. You have staked everything on this one horse winning the Gold Cup. Now imagine the level of personal investment you would feel in whether that horse actually wins. You have bet your whole life on it. And now imagine the elation you would feel when you see that your confidence was well grounded — as the horse wins the race by a mile. That is the level of investment Stephen felt in Jesus.

So imagine how elated he felt when he saw with his waking eyes the fact that Jesus had won. And every true Christian feels this level of investment in Jesus. His people cannot be indifferent about his identity and victory. A true Christian is someone who has staked their whole life on whether Jesus really is who he says he is. So every Christian can feel elated at Stephen’s words of vindication.

But these words of Stephen are the worst possible news for the Sanhedrin. In the inverse way to Stephen, they have staked everything on Jesus not being who he says he is. If Jesus really is God’s judge, then they did the worst conceivable thing in killing him. If Jesus really is the Daniel Son of Man, then their whole religious system collapses. If Jesus’s followers are vindicated, then the Sanhedrin have been wrong their whole lives.

The response that divides Stephen and the Sanhedrin.

Now imagine with me a mother and her child. This mother pours her whole life into her child — all her time, effort, money, and reason for living. And then imagine that child becomes a teenager, runs away from home, and deliberately goes against everything the mother taught them. How can the mother not descend into the deepest kind of fury — the collapse of everything she has staked her whole life on?

For the Sanhedrin, if Stephen is right, the result is not simply an alternative or interesting worldview. The result is a complete negation and dismissal of everything they have built their lives upon.

But here is the thing. Remember at the start I said Stephen and the Sanhedrin represent the only two possible reactions to the news that Jesus reigns in heaven. Often, in our minds, we imagine a third category. We think to ourselves: “Well, those nasty, vindictive, fundamentalist Sanhedrin — I would never react like that. They are the baddies.”

But in reality, the Sanhedrin were in a better position than most people, because they rightly perceived the implications for them of the fact that Jesus reigns in heaven. That fact profoundly contradicts the foundation upon which most people build their whole lives.

Because if Jesus really is reigning in heaven, then there is a final judgement. And it will not be on the basis of good deeds versus bad deeds, but on the basis of whether we truly love him or not.

And if Jesus really is reigning in heaven, then he is what we should be living for — not our families, not our community, not even our church.

If we are making anything other than him the deepest reason for living, that is not simply mistaken. It is the deepest kind of rebellion against him.

So Jesus reigning in heaven was the fact that divided Stephen and the Sanhedrin. But their responses divide them too. Let us look at Stephen’s final response to his vision. His last words are extraordinary:

“Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”

How on earth can Stephen say this of the people who are murdering him?

Well, if Jesus is the Son of Man standing at the right hand of the Father, then being lifted up into the closest proximity to God in heaven is not about whether you are a good person or a bad person. It is about having Jesus as your advocate. Stephen knows that his salvation is not because he is good, but because Jesus has had mercy on him. And so he can look even at those who are stoning him to death and pray that they too might receive Jesus’s mercy.

But conversely, for the Sanhedrin, if Jesus the Son of Man really is standing at the right hand of the Father, then proximity to God is not about being good or bad, but about having Jesus as your advocate. And for them, as we have seen, this is the worst possible news.

Because they have spent their whole lives trying to climb the ladder — trying to draw near to God through their own efforts, through being good, and most importantly, through being better than other people.

So, when Stephen challenges this, they have a choice. Kill their own self-identity and let Stephen and Jesus be right — or kill Stephen and let their own self-identity be right.

And each one of us faces exactly the same choice. We cannot become true followers of Jesus until we have killed our own sense of self-identity: all the things we are proud of; all the things we have built our lives upon; our deep-down sense that we are decent, respectable people. If that makes us uncomfortable, then that is probably a good thing. Because the Holy Spirit may well be working in us, helping us to lay our whole lives at the foot of the cross.

And if you can say: “I have been through the discomfort of killing my self-identity. I have staked my whole life on Jesus.”, then praise the Lord. You too will one day see him, as Stephen did, ready to receive you into eternal bliss.

Episodes from Acts - Pentecost

Acts 2:1-13

The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine. ”

John 16:12-15

“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.

---

“You Will Receive Power and Be My Witnesses”

I don’t know about you, but I love films like The Lord of the Rings. I love the book, I love the films, and one of the great things about them is that it is really easy to tell who the good guys are and who the bad guys are.

If you’re an orc, you’re a bad guy. If you’re an elf, you’re a good guy. And guess what happens at the end? The good guys win, there is a wonderful victory, and everyone lives happily ever after.

But there is something deeply frustrating about that, isn’t there? Because that is not what real life is like. Real life is much more difficult and much trickier than that. It is a lot harder to tell who the good guys and bad guys are. There is not often that wonderful fairy-tale ending. It can be frustrating watching films or reading books like that and thinking, That’s just not real life.

And when we read the book of Acts, we can sometimes feel something similar. We read about amazing miracles, thousands of people coming to faith after one sermon — that might happen this evening, we’ll wait and see! We read of extraordinary miracles taking place, and even joy when the apostles were imprisoned and put to death. And we look at our own day and think, That’s a bit frustrating, because life just doesn’t seem like that for us.

So we are going to look at three things from our passage describing that first Pentecost together, to see how the Holy Spirit might begin to do something similar in our own day.

All together in one place.

In chapter 2, verse 1, it says:

“When the day of Pentecost came, all the believers were together in one place.”

So — they were all together in one place.

God is, of course, everywhere. But there are situations where he is especially present to bless his people. That was the case in Eden. We are told that Adam and Eve walked in the presence of God in the Garden. But when they sinned, his special presence departed. Much of the beginning of the Old Testament is about preparing for God once more to dwell among his people — first in the tabernacle, then in the temple. But again, the Lord’s people turned away from him, and his special presence to bless departed.

The amazing thing about Pentecost is that this is round three. This is when God’s Spirit returns to bless powerfully — never, ever to leave again.

The Bible calls Christians God’s temple because we are all bricks, as it were, in the spiritual temple of God. God’s temple today is not a place; it is a people. And it is the Holy Spirit in us that makes us that temple. If you read the book of Kings, you will see that God’s presence did not appear in the temple until King Solomon had finished putting every stone in place. So it is no surprise that the first time the Holy Spirit came to dwell in believers was when they were all together — all the living bricks of this new temple united.

Near where I grew up in Wales was a place we often took visitors — a huge hydroelectric dam with a beautiful reservoir behind it high in the mountains. Would the water company have begun filling up the reservoir if the dam wall were incomplete? Of course not. Every brick had to be in place. Then — boom — the power starts flowing.

Perhaps we wonder why the Spirit seems less powerfully at work today than he was in the time of the apostles. But the book of Acts consistently links the unity of believers with the Spirit doing amazing things.

Of course, we cannot force the Spirit to do anything. But equally, we should not expect him to work wonders in our day if we are not unified as believers. This is why our first Sunday benefice service is so important. It is not just a pleasant opportunity to catch up with people. It is exactly the sort of place where the Spirit is at work — when we, as a body of believers, are all together in one place.

So, we have seen unity as one way the Spirit works powerfully.

The images of wind and fire.

We are told:

“Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house.”

And then:

“They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire.”

These physical manifestations of the Spirit at Pentecost are not merely special effects. They are not God showing off. They are crucial symbols of the power of the Spirit.

Wind and fire are elements of nature that provide power, aren’t they? Wind powered ships in the ancient world. Fire heats houses and cooks food.

These images tell us something profound about the Holy Spirit: like wind and fire, he provides power for the church.

That is a good thing. He is capable of surging his power into us as Christians, especially when we are all together working for the gospel. He provides power over sin, despair, fear, and doubt. But like wind and fire, he is not to be trifled with.

I think there are two opposite mistakes we can make when it comes to the Holy Spirit. The first is not to plug into his power at all. This is like somebody refusing to use any source of naturally generated power. No wind power. No fire. No solar. No nuclear. Instead, they say, “I shall power my house with my own exercise bike.” Perhaps the village as well!

But of course, you cannot do that. It is ridiculous. We all rely on power generated beyond ourselves.

And the opposite error is to think of the Holy Spirit as an endless power source we can simply switch on and off at will: “Zap — power — boom — healing!”

Now, no offence, but if some of our friends across the pond can occasionally lean towards that second error, we are certainly guilty of the first. We ask: Why does the Holy Spirit not seem to do those amazing things now as in the book of Acts?Perhaps much of the answer is that we are trying to power our spiritual lives ourselves rather than plugging into what the Spirit can do.

What does that look like? First, expecting him to do amazing things. He can still heal today. He can still do miracles. Secondly, asking for his help. After all, he is a person. Unlike wind and fire, he is not an impersonal force. He is the third person of the Trinity. And thirdly — perhaps most difficultly — not being afraid of losing control.

This is the big one, isn’t it? We do not like handing over the steering wheel of our lives to somebody else. We fear what might happen if we really allow the Holy Spirit to empower us.

But that is a bit like saying: “Well, either I generate electricity on my own exercise bike, or else Chernobyl will happen.”

There is a happy middle ground — letting the Spirit empower our ministry and lives.

So, we have seen the Spirit works through unity, and through these images of wind and fire.

Tongues.

We are told:

“All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”

Why do you think the first sign of the Holy Spirit coming in power was the ability to speak in lots of different languages? To answer that, we go back to Acts chapter 1, verse 8 — really the motto verse for the whole book of Acts. Jesus says:

“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

You see; the Spirit came with an express purpose: to empower the early church to bear witness to Jesus throughout the whole world.

Think of a charity set up for one purpose — perhaps famine relief. Over time, perhaps, it becomes involved with all sorts of fashionable causes: climate change, social justice, gender issues. This is known as mission drift. And it nearly always results in donations declining, because people want their money to support the purpose the charity actually exists for.

We still ask ourselves: Why does the Holy Spirit not seem to work as powerfully now as he did in Acts?

Well, think of the Holy Spirit not only as the major donor but the only donor of spiritual power to the church. The Spirit gives power to the church for the purpose it exists for — witnessing to Jesus Christ and him crucified.

So, we should not be surprised if, when the church experiences mission drift, the Spirit appears less interested in donations.

Climate change? Important.
Saving the parish? Important.
Fundraising? Important.
Regular communion? Important.

But if those things become so central that they distract us from the church’s primary purpose — bearing witness to Jesus — we cannot be surprised if the Spirit’s power is less tangibly at work in our day.

Conversely, when we begin to make witnessing to Jesus our personal and communal priority, we may expect to see the Spirit provide power in extraordinary ways.

I will end by relating something that happened last weekend. I was at a men’s conference at which our own Stephen Blake was speaking. He was talking about his time as a prison chaplain at Long Lartin prison — a very difficult place. High security. Men who had committed truly heinous crimes. It was difficult because, as a chaplain, he could not be seen to be proselytising or converting anyone.

And yet he said something remarkable. Every week, miracles happened. Every week, some murderer came to faith. Every week, someone shared the gospel with another inmate, and three more men came to faith. Every week, impossible obstacles seemed to stand in the way — and yet the gospel advanced.

Why is it that miracles happen in Long Lartin, and yet we do not seem to see them happening so often in our own lives? Could it be our expectations? Could it be that the Spirit provides power when we are outside our comfort zone?

I have certainly experienced that. When I was training as a vicar, on mission, the Holy Spirit seemed to do amazing things in the most uncomfortable situations. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

The Holy Spirit will be with us when we fly the flag for Jesus — when we courageously share our faith, and when we fulfil the Great Commission to make disciples of all nations. So let us pray that the Holy Spirit would give us that strength, even in our own day.

Episodes from Acts - Matthias

Acts 1:12-26

Matthias Chosen to Replace Judas

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) and said, “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus— he was one of our number and shared in this ministry.”

(With the reward he got for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)

“For,” said Peter, “it is written in the book of Psalms,
“‘May his place be deserted;
let there be no one to dwell in it,’
and,
“‘May another take his place of leadership.’

Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”

So they proposed two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.

Luke 22:24-30

Also a dispute arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. You are those who have stood by me in my trials. And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

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The apostles, and we, are to witness simply to what we have seen in Jesus

Judas Iscariot cuts a tragic figure in the gospel narratives. We don’t know much about him, except that his father was called Simon and his surname suggests he probably came from Kerioth, a town down in the far south of Israel, in contrast to Jesus’ other Galilean disciples.

We don’t know how or when Jesus called Judas to follow him; he must have had potential in Jesus’ eyes. But soon it became apparent that there was something lacking in his devotion; he was the group’s treasurer, but John tells us that he would steal from the purse; and he is only ever recorded addressing Jesus as ‘Rabbi’, never ‘Lord’ like his colleagues.

And that lack of devotion turned into treachery, after the incident of the woman pouring expensive perfume over Jesus’ feet - it seems that was the final straw that prompted Judas to betray Jesus.

And let’s remember that was an act of choice - the Scriptures tell us that he was prompted by the Devil, never persuaded nor propelled. It was his choice to turn his back on Jesus and sell him over to the authorities.

Judas’ fate was gruesome - the detail is confused, for in today’s Acts passage by Luke he falls headlong and manages somehow to disembowel himself in a field; in Matthew he goes away and hangs himself.

We can’t explain that variance, but it’s not important, for his work was done - he had betrayed the Lord and sealed his own fate, while unwittingly providing for us and all Creation the path to salvation and forgiveness, to eternal life and to immeasurable blessing.

He was a man who walked with Jesus yet never knew him. His heart was hardened. He was a man who was lost - a son of perdition.

His death left a void in the lives of the disciples. So, let’s think that through for a few minutes. Just two headings this morning - and the first is: vacancy.

1. Vacancy

In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) and said, “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus—he was one of our number and shared in this ministry.” Acts 1:15-17

It was around 6 weeks or so since the crucifixion. The disciples had lived through the immeasurable emotional turmoil of the loss of their beloved Lord, then discovering he had risen back to life, and then the excitement of being part of his ongoing ministry for 40 days until he ascended back to heaven, as recorded in the first half of Chapter 1 of Acts.

And I detect a real sense of bewilderment and sadness about the fate of Judas in Peter’s words - he was one of our number and shared in this ministry. It’s as if Peter still couldn’t quite believe what Judas did.

The early church - the disciples and their associates - had continued to meet together in prayer to worship the Lord and seek out his will for them. Peter reflects further with the group on the inevitability of the betrayal, taking a reference from Psalm 69, a psalm about King David’s own betrayal by an enemy, linking it with another verse from Psalm 109:

“For,” said Peter, “it is written in the book of Psalms, “‘May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it,’ and ‘May another take his place of leadership’” Acts 1:20

Their prayerful reflection brings Peter to a conclusion: that Judas’ vacated place in the Twelve needs to be filled by another.

There are three good reasons for why this is so:

• First, the choice of Twelve as the number of disciples is highly significant, mirroring the 12 founding tribes of Israel, descended from Jacob’s 12 sons. Just as the nation was established through those 12 sons, so the new Israel, the spiritual Israel, was to be founded on these 12 disciples. 12 was the full tally.

• Secondly, the 12 are to have a role in the final Day of Judgment, as we heard in our gospel reading. Jesus told the disciples:

I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Luke 22:29-30

It’s not clear quite what that means, but it is clear that the 12 tribes of Israel will somehow be assigned the 12 disciples as their judges.

• Thirdly, there is work to be done: Jesus’ command in Acts 1:8 was that they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came on them; and they would be his witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

They needed the full complement of disciples to proceed with that momentous task.

And so they nominated two men, Joseph Barsabbas and Matthias; and they prayed and cast lots for God to show them his choice. We may raise an eyebrow over the casting of lots; but there was a long Old Testament biblical tradition of casting pebbles or sticks to find God’s will.

But interestingly this is the last time in the scriptures that such casting of lots is ever mentioned - the reason being of course that within a few days the Holy Spirit was to be given universally to the early Church, and to all those ever since who have yielded their heart to Jesus.

From now on, such external mechanisms are no longer needed, for God speaks by his Spirit to our hearts and guides us in his will and his ways. As the book of Hebrews reminds us:

No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. Hebrews 8:11

So the choice was made - and Matthias was appointed. The group was once more complete, in readiness for the Holy Spirit to be poured out on them at Pentecost.

But we need to go back just a little and ask, why these two men? What was their qualification to become the missing member of the Twelve?

2. Qualification

Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.” Acts 1:21-22

It needed to be someone who had been part of the movement from the very beginning - someone who had witnessed the baptism of Jesus three years previously, been with him throughout his ministry up to his death; and then was still part of the band who saw first-hand the risen Jesus.

It’s likely both of these men were part of the larger group of followers known as the seventy two that Jesus sent out in twos to go ahead of him to every town and place on his route (Luke 10).

They were both men who knew the Lord first hand; who had experienced the miracles, heard the teaching and finally saw the resurrected Jesus for themselves.

So they were well-qualified for this new role, which Jesus commanded in Acts 1:8, as we have already heard:

‘.. you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

The 12 Disciples - the word means one who follows - had become the 12 Apostles - the word means one who is sent.

And this qualification is important, not just for those twelve men, but also for us in our time. Because their primary qualification to be Apostles was simply that they knew Jesus.

These were not theologians, they were not rabbis, they were not intellectuals or philosophers or mystics - they were just men who had been with Jesus.

In a few weeks’ time I have the dubious privilege of doing Jury Service. I have two weeks set aside when I may be sitting in Oxford Crown Court hearing the testimony of witnesses. (Or, more likely, sitting around in a waiting room while they decide whether or not they need me!)

But the point is, the people standing in the box giving evidence will be simply there to tell the story of what they saw and heard. It’s not for them to decide whether the accused is guilty or not. They just tell what they know.

And it’s just the same with Christian witness. You and I are probably not called to be theologians, philosophers, experts in religion or mystics - we are called, just like those apostles, simply to tell what we know, what we have seen and heard.

It is not our job to convert people or persuade people - that’s the Holy Spirit’s job. He does the converting. We simply tell what we know - what we have seen and heard.

And for the Christian that story of course will be about Jesus - about the Lord who has won our heart. About the Lord who died and rose again for us, who forgave our many sins, who gives peace in our hearts, who gives us hope for the future.

The Lord whom sometimes we doubt, who often we fail, the Lord for whom our hearts are often lukewarm.

Our witness must be honest, with all its uncertainties. We don’t invent things we don’t feel, for anyone hearing our testimony may see straight through us if we lie about what we know.

But let’s begin at least where we are. As the man said in Mark’s gospel, Lord, I believe: help me in my unbelief. And the more time we spend with Jesus - in worship, through communion, by opening our scriptures, and in prayer - so the more we will get to know him. And the more it will be evident to those with eyes to see, that we have been with Jesus.

I trust the knowledge of Jesus in your heart is something you treasure, something that is important to you. I trust that you enjoy being with him. If so, it is something also that you must be ready to share with others.

We may be asked any sort of question - these days it’s mostly likely to be something along the lines of - Why do you go to church? Isn’t religion just a load of nonsense? Isn’t it irrelevant?

To which our answer is not an intellectual justification of faith - but simply an account of what we know, what we have seen and heard through being with Jesus.

And that’s all he expects of us.

Do you find that daunting? Take heart from the man born blind in John 9:24. The Pharisees challenged him about Jesus. We read this:-

A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God,” they said. “We know this man Jesus is a sinner.”
He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see! “

Episodes from Acts - Ascension

From Ascension to Mission

We all know the rhythm of a good television series, don’t we?

One episode ends, the immediate problems are resolved, the music begins, and the credits roll. But that is not, of course, the end of the story. The characters remain, the story continues, and often the next episode opens up something bigger than we first imagined.

And this is a helpful way to read the beginning of Acts.

Luke wrote the first part of his report about Jesus in the Gospel of Luke, and we heard the ending of that as our first reading. We might think, “Well, there we go — story done. Jesus has done his work, the credits roll.”

But Acts opens by saying these amazing words: that Luke’s first book, the Gospel, was all about what Jesus began to do and teach. Acts shows us what Jesus then continues to do and teach — no longer visibly in Galilee and Jerusalem, but invisibly and powerfully from heaven, by his Spirit, through his witnesses, the apostles.

Acts is not really the story of Peter and Paul and Barnabas and all the others — or even of the early church. At the deepest level, the book of Acts, which we’re going to be studying in our sermon series over the next few weeks, is the story of the ascended Lord Jesus continuing his mission by the Holy Spirit through ordinary people who bear witness to him.

There are three things for us to think about this evening.

The continuing Christ

Acts chapter 1 says that Luke’s first book recorded all that Jesus began to do and teach. And that’s amazing, isn’t it? Because it shows that the earthly ministry of Jesus was only the beginning.

The ascension that we’re celebrating this evening does not mean that Jesus has gone away into retirement, as it were. It means he has gone to the throne. He is continuing his work, orchestrating salvation — but now from heaven.

So really, Acts is not the Acts of the Apostles in the strictest sense. That title is actually a bit of a misnomer. It is the acts of the ascended Christ through his apostles.

Imagine watching the opening episode of a great drama. The first episode introduces the characters, the conflict, the promise, the mission. And then, just as it ends, the words appear:
To be continued… That is what Luke is doing: Acts is the continuation.

And this matters for church and ministry today, because it shows us that we are not caretakers of religious memory. We are not museum custodians. We serve the living, reigning Christ, who still speaks through his word. Jesus began to do and teach amazing things during his earthly life, and that did not finish with the last chapter of Acts. It continues even today.

Jesus still does his work through his church — in the preaching of the word, in gathering sinners, in building up our faith, and in changing lives.

So when we pray, when we share the gospel with others, when we welcome people into church, when we study the Bible together, we are not trying to keep a dying institution alive. We are participating in the continuing mission of Jesus.

The confused commissioned

In verse 6, the disciples say to Jesus:

“Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”

And if you have been following Jesus’ mission through the Gospels, that should really be a face-palm moment. You think, “Oh disciples — have you really still not understood? Do you really still think Jesus’ mission is about restoring Israel as a kind of military power against the Romans?”

And yet, actually, it is not a stupid question because the Old Testament really did promise restoration. Jesus really is the king. But the disciples still do not fully grasp what his mission is really about. And this shows us that the missing piece is the Holy Spirit.

Jesus had told them to wait for the promise of the Father. It shows they did not merely need more information — they already had more than enough knowledge. What they needed was illumination. They needed the Spirit to open their eyes and fit them for the task.

It is a bit like a problem I increasingly have with long-sightedness. Is anybody else here long-sighted? These glasses are only going to get thicker as I get older — that’s what it means — and my eyes will end up looking huge! When I pick up a book without my glasses, I can see there is writing on the page, but I cannot understand the specifics of what it says because it is all one big blur.

In the same way, the disciples knew there was a kingdom of God, but they needed the glasses of the Spirit to enable them to understand what it actually meant. And it is the same for us today.

That is humbling for us, because it shows we can be religious and still misunderstand Jesus’ mission. It can all remain blurry. We are not naturally able to understand what God is doing unless the Holy Spirit helps us understand what the Bible says about him. The disciples needed the Spirit not merely to make them bold — though they certainly did need that — but to make their understanding clear.

So our churches must not be driven by nostalgia, habit, or institutional survival. We need constantly to ask:

What is the risen Jesus actually doing?
What mission has he given us?
What would it mean to be led by his Spirit rather than by our own assumptions?

We need to make sure that we are putting on the glasses of the Spirit whenever we read the Bible, whenever we think about the world around us, and praying that he would do this for us and for others. Because Jesus continues his mission by his Spirit, and that means we must not assume we naturally understand what he is doing. We have to depend on the Spirit to realign our vision with his kingdom.

The world-wide witnesses

In verse 8, Jesus says:

“You will be my witnesses.”

Notice that Jesus does not answer the disciples’ question about restoring the kingdom by giving them a date. He says:

“It is not for you to know the times or dates.”

In effect, he says: “Don’t worry about exactly when the kingdom will come in fullness. But do concern yourselves with this — you are about to receive power from on high through the Holy Spirit. Your task now is to bear witness to me.”

Beginning in Jerusalem, then spreading out through Judea and Samaria, throughout the Mediterranean world — and wonderfully, by the end of Acts, Paul is preparing to go to Rome itself, the very heart of imperial power, to bear witness before the emperor.

And notice what the disciples are witnesses to. They are not witnesses to vague values — as if Jesus’ central message were simply try harder to be good.

No. They are witnesses to a person:

Jesus’ life.
Jesus’ death.
His resurrection.
His reign.
His mercy.
His salvation.

Think for a moment about what it means to be a witness in court. A witness is not there to entertain, speculate, impress, or show off. A witness simply says:

“This is what I have seen.”
“This is what I know.”
“This is the truth I must tell.”

And as the church, we too are meant to stand in the witness box before the world — not to look impressive, but to be faithful in telling the truth about Jesus. That gives us the shape of Christian ministry. We are not called to be successful, popular, respectable, busy, or useful. We are called first and foremost to be witnesses.

That means church life must always move outward — from worship to witness, from fellowship together to mission, from receiving the gospel to speaking the gospel to others.

So this new series through Acts should encourage us to keep asking:

• How does the ascended Jesus bear witness to himself through his people today?

• How is he calling us to join in that work here and now?

The ascension is not Jesus leaving the mission behind. It is Jesus taking the throne from which the mission goes forward.

Acts begins with three great truths:

First, Jesus has not stopped working — and that is still true today.

Secondly, Jesus’ disciples cannot do his work without the Spirit — and that is still true today.

And thirdly, the church exists for one purpose: to bear witness to Christ — and that is still true today.

So let us now turn to the Lord in prayer, asking that he would help us to do this: to open our eyes to his truth, and to give us the same boldness that he gave to the disciples. Amen.

Acts 1:1-11

Jesus Taken Up Into Heaven

In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptised with water, but in a few days you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit.”

So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

Luke 24:45-53

He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”

Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

The Ascension

When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.

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