Second Day of Christmas
I hope you had as good s Christmas as possible under the circumstances.
Today, as we return to our Acts Bible study, I must begin with an apology. Last Bible study I jumped from the end of chapter 10 to the beginning of chapter 12. Oftentimes when I make such a mistake, I can find a reason for it. What may have happened in this instance is that I started reading chapter 11 and felt as if I had read it before. In chapter 11:1-18 Peter returns to Jerusalem and tells the story of what happened to him in Caesarea, almost identically in detail with chapter 10, the dream vision of the unclean animals and the voice of the Lord saying, "Rise, Peter, kill and eat." The Bible contains much repetition but not usually in the writings of Luke. Luke apparently really wanted to drive home this story, so he repeated it. Therefore we'll skip Acts 11:1-18.
Please read Acts 11:19-26.
In these verses we are introduced to Barnabas, a Hellenistic (Greek speaking) Jew from Cyprus. Cypriot and North African Jewish Christians had begun a mission in Antioch, a large city in Syria. Barnabas was sent by the Jerusalem church to join in this effort. Saul/Paul had returned to his hometown of Tarsus. You might want to check out a map in the back of your Bible to get a good idea of the geography here.
Barnabas goes to Tarsus, finds Saul, and brings him back to Antioch. Antioch is one of the largest cities of of the Roman Empire. The Christian mission was enormously successful there. Antioch will become the most prominent center of Christianity for this second decade of the faith.
Luke tells us that Antioch was the first place where believers in Jesus Christ were called "Christians." The word Christian occurs in only one other place in the NT, 1 Peter. In all of Paul's letters he never uses, nor apparently even knows the word. The most common word for believers in Christ is simply the church. We also find Christ-believers called "The Way" earlier in Acts.
One major difference between Christianity and Judaism, as well as all the other religions of the Roman Empire (and there were many) is that Christianity was the only missionary religion. By that I mean Christianity was the only religion that was open to all people, all nationalities, races, and ethnic groups, and both sexes. Not only was it open, it actively sought converts. The Greco-Roman religions were more like fraternities or fraternal organizations, such as the Masons. You had to ask to become a member. Then you had to meet qualifications, go through rigorous examination, and finally through elaborate initiation rites. These religions didn't seek new members. Potential members had to seek them. They were not interested in growing. Almost all of these religions had secret rites.
Judaism, likewise, was not interested in growth. It was as much an ethnic group as a religion. Whereas the Greco-Roman religions were adult (and often male only), Judaism was a family religion. You were born Jewish, grew up Jewish, brought up your children to be Jewish. Judaism grew through birth rate, not through converts.
Christianity, from its beginnings was a religion for anyone and everyone. Its believers were so overwhelmed by their experience of Christ, so filled with love for Christ and one another that they were eager to spread the good news. They wanted everyone, everywhere to know that joy.
Christianity had no secrets. There was one rite of initiation--baptism. Anyone could be baptized, infants all the way to people on their deathbeds. They could be baptized by immersion, dipping, pouring--any way. The only thing required was water. There was one rite of worship--Holy Communion. There were no promotions to deeper levels or more secret rites. There were no 32nd degree Christians.
Much of the Roman Empire was horrified by this totally democratic religion. Wealthy people mixed with poor. Noble Romans mixed with riff-raff. Everyone was considered equal before God. The world had never seen anything like it.
Faithfully,
Christian
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