Lord God,
may your Word be a lamp to our feet
and a light to our path
through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
—based on Psalm 119:105, NRSV
The reading begins with Stephen’s testimony. At first it might seem that Stephen is wandering around off track (although quite beautifully). The accusation is that he is speaking against Moses and the Temple. His answer is saying, “You think I don’t take Moses and the Temple seriously? Look at your history! You have never taken them seriously. Taking them seriously means understanding who Jesus is, and you killed him (and those who talked about him)!”
I’ll bet you knew that I was going to mention that even Stephen refers to the Prophet like Moses in 7:37. You were right ;)
Jesus’ last recorded words in Acts 1:8 before he ascended are, “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.” The story of Acts through the martyrdom of Stephen is in Jerusalem. Now in 8:1 and 4 we read, “On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria… Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.” This is not a coincidence. God’s plan is being carried out through this time of persecution.
The Ethiopian eunuch was reading Isaiah 53:7-8 when Philip encountered him. After his baptism I hope he kept reading. Then he would come to Isaiah 56:3-8. How do you think that would have struck him?
Let’s look at a big theme. It is easy for us to overlook the fact that Jesus came to call back the lost sheep of Israel (Matthew 10:6, 15:24). Jesus obviously cared for people outside of that, but the Gospel came through the Jews (John 4:22, Romans 1:6). From reading the Old Testament we know that this light was fully intended to go from the Jews out to the whole world (Isaiah 51:4). That was a big theme. Here we are seeing it! The Ethiopian eunuch is baptized, Paul is the apostle to the Gentiles, Cornelius opens the floodgates for the Christian church. We are watching something greater than the Berlin Wall fall in today’s reading! Look at the earth-shattering transition that happens between Acts 10:43 and 10:44. This is so monumental that it causes the stir that must be resolved in chapter 11. If we read 11:1 all by itself, it might sound like it would be good news – “The apostles and the brothers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.” Instead, we read it was a cause for criticism. Soon it became a cause for rejoicing (11:18). This is a BIG MOMENT for a BIG THEME we have seen many times from the beginning until now. The Gospel is indeed Good News for all people!
11:26 gives us the beginning of the use of the name “Christian.” 12:2 refers to James the disciple, the son of Zebedee. 12:17 is James the brother of Jesus, the author of the book James.
16:3 is interesting. Chapter 15 is the big resolution that circumcision is not necessary, and Paul was a champion of that point of view. The next thing he does is circumcise Timothy. Although the law is no longer binding, Paul recognizes the value of doing this in order to minister to the Jews without unnecessary distractions. An example might be the way I dress on Sundays. I don’t have a conviction that pastors must wear ties, but I make a conscious decision to wear something that will be least distracting to the congregation so the focus is on the Word. At some churches I have worn a coat and tie when I preach, at others sandals and no socks. This is what Paul is talking about in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23.
One last little note: in 16:10 the pronoun “we” sneaks in. Luke, the writer of Acts, joins Paul at this point
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