Beyond Damascus

You may recall from my last message that Saul, who becomes the Apostle Paul, appears to the Leaders of the new church in Jerusalem and is sent home to mature his faith. In the mean time the church continues to grow. The other disciples, most notably Peter, is very active. You may ask why Paul becomes better known for his evangelic work than Peter or the other disciples. The only reason I can think of is that Paul had a better publicist. Luke records most of Paul’s mission while the others did without a publicist at all. Peter had Mark, but Mark went off on his own and left Peter to without anyone to tell his tale. Acts 9-12 records some of Peter’s early activities. It is written by Luke, who didn’t come on the scene until later. I assume Luke got most of his information from Mark. At any rate, Luke devotes three full chapters exclusively to Peter.

Peter goes wandering but not too far. We find him in Lydda about 25 miles north west of Jerusalem where he heals a man named Aeneas who had been bedridden for eight years. Peter announces that Jesus has healed him and he gets up and is healed. As I am naturally curious and Scripture doesn’t always go into the details, I am left with more questions than answers. Luke’s report says those who witnessed this miracle accepted Christ. I wonder why Peter chose Aeneas. He must have been pretty well known. I don’t question the wisdom of God. This guy must have been a great example of the power of Jesus Christ. I just wonder what it was. I really don’t need to know, but I wonder nonetheless. Peter continues on another 12 miles or so to Joppa. You may recall that Joppa is where Jonah caught the boat when he was running away from God. There was a lady there who was known for her kindness and had recently died. Peter raises her from the dead amid much fanfare as you would expect. Raising someone form the dead was not and still is not an every day occurrence and many of the inhabitants of Joppa converted to the new faith. The lady’s name was Tabitha and her Greek name was Dorcus. I wonder why that is important. I googled the name and found that it means gazelle. Tabitha means gazelle in Aramaic and Dorcas means gazelle in Greek. I firmly believe that everything in Scripture is there for a reason. I just don’t always know what the reasons are.

While Peter in Joppa with Simon the Tanner, he has a vision. (Why is it important that we know who he is staying with?) Peter and a man named Cornelius have simultaneous visions. The visions are not the same but are interrelated. Peter saw a sheet (or maybe a table cloth) coming down from heaven covered with all kinds of animals, some of which were forbidden for Jews to eat. God told Peter to eat them anyway, “God has made these clean.” I am not sure how Peter extrapolated this to mean Gentiles would join the new church, but he did. At the same time Cornelius has a vision telling him to send for Peter.

We don’t know much about Cornelius except that he is an officer in the Roman Army and worships the “True God”. Cornelius is Italian and is certainly not a Jew but has accepted the God of Israel. We don’t know how long he has been stationed at Caesarea, but I assume it has been for a while. I find it interesting that a Roman officer of his status would deny the Roman gods in favor of our Lord. It would have been a terrible career move, and he would have lost considerable status. I was stationed in Asia a few times and lived in Japan for a year. The thought of converting to the local religion never crossed my mind, but I wasn’t chosen by God to do so.

You know the story of Cornelius and his household being baptized. I preached on it some time ago. Cornelius was the first non-Jew to become a Christian. His conversion opened the door for the rest of the world. But you know all that. What struck me as I was preparing this message is the patients of God’s plan. How many times have I remarked that Jesus never did anything by accident? God has a plan and we don’t always see how the pieces fit. God planned for the Good News of salvation to be spread to the far ends of the earth. When we look back, we can see how some of these seemingly separate parts come together. (Hindsight is always 20-20.)

When Jesus was on His mission he stopped at a well and asked a woman for a drink. It was not a random choice. He knew who she was. He knew things about her that strangers wouldn’t know. She was a Samarian. Jews at the time didn’t interact with Samarians. It would have been like the deep south in the early 1900s. there were separate drinking fountains, separate schools, separate, eating places. The two societies had minimal overlap. But Jesus talked to her, and asked her for a drink. Remember the Great Commission? Jesus began teaching what it meant at with the Samarian woman at the well before He sent anyone out on missionary journeys. The conversion of Cornelius and his household is not new, it is a continuation of the teachings of Jesus. Christianity is all about salvation through love, and Jesus said salvation is for everyone, even Samarians and Roman Army officers. The Holy Spirit will not check your ethnic roots nor will he check your pedigree. “For Gold so loved the world He gave his only begotten son so that all who believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.” All wo believe in Him. All, even those west coat liberals who have lost their way.

Pray with me. Lord we are all unworthy, none of us have earned your love or your gift of the Holy Spirit. Let us not forget that the Great Commission is your command and is still your current guidance. Amen