Before he ascended into heaven, Jesus commissioned his disciples to bear witness for him to the end of the earth.
But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8).
This is how the Acts begins and in subsequent chapters, we are able to get a glimpse of how the disciples evolved into a church. As a result, the raison d'être of the Church is mission.
But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8).
This is how the Acts begins and in subsequent chapters, we are able to get a glimpse of how the disciples evolved into a church. As a result, the raison d'être of the Church is mission.
We can safely conclude from reading the first few chapters of the Acts that missionary work of the early Christians was individual. Their main tasks were to proclaim the resurrection of Jesus, to debate with the Jewish authority the Messianic status of Jesus and to celebrate the breaking of bread in the houses etc. Their organization was loose and mainly centred around the Apostles. They had not yet reached out beyond Jerusalem. Therefore, the Christian community in Jerusalem was already the whole Church!
The word "church ἐκκλησίαν" appears once in Matthew, Romans, Galatians, Philippians and Colossians, twice in 1 Corinthians, 4 times in Ephesians but 9 times in the Acts. This is reasonable because Luke intended to write a history of the early church.
In the Acts, the word ἐκκλησίαν first appears in Acts 5, unfortunately, in an unhappy context of the deaths of Annanias and Sapphira.
And great fear came upon the whole church, and upon all who heard of these things (Acts 5:11).
At that time, the Jerusalem Church was indeed the whole Church.
After the death of Stephen, Saul began a systematic program to persecute the Jerusalem Church.
And on that day a great persecution arose against the church in Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the region of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles (Acts 8:1b).
Written in such a way, Luke was hinting at the existence of churches in other cities. But how many Christians had fled? All the disciples except the apostles? Imagine the existence of only 12 apostles bearing witness to the resurrection of Jesus in Jerusalem. This was rather unlikely. Moreover, why were the apostles able to withstand Saul's persecution and stay? The most likely scenario was the fleeing of Greek-speaking Jewish Christians only. The whole trouble came from them and the deacons, in particular Stephen.
The word "church ἐκκλησίαν" appears once in Matthew, Romans, Galatians, Philippians and Colossians, twice in 1 Corinthians, 4 times in Ephesians but 9 times in the Acts. This is reasonable because Luke intended to write a history of the early church.
In the Acts, the word ἐκκλησίαν first appears in Acts 5, unfortunately, in an unhappy context of the deaths of Annanias and Sapphira.
And great fear came upon the whole church, and upon all who heard of these things (Acts 5:11).
At that time, the Jerusalem Church was indeed the whole Church.
After the death of Stephen, Saul began a systematic program to persecute the Jerusalem Church.
And on that day a great persecution arose against the church in Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the region of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles (Acts 8:1b).
Written in such a way, Luke was hinting at the existence of churches in other cities. But how many Christians had fled? All the disciples except the apostles? Imagine the existence of only 12 apostles bearing witness to the resurrection of Jesus in Jerusalem. This was rather unlikely. Moreover, why were the apostles able to withstand Saul's persecution and stay? The most likely scenario was the fleeing of Greek-speaking Jewish Christians only. The whole trouble came from them and the deacons, in particular Stephen.
But why didn't the Christians spread the gospel the very first day the Church was born? No way. They were too feeble and loose. Like a baby, the early Church needed to be fed and to grow stronger before she could take the first step outside her home, Jerusalem.
Oh, Jerusalem! You are the Mother of the Church. In your bosom, the first Christians were nourished in brotherly love. They listened to the teaching of the eye witnesses of the risen Lord. They experienced the great power of the Holy Spirit. They shared their property and their living. What was more, they expected the Lord to return very soon. Oh, Jerusalem! You were also their "comfort zone".
However, it was also on your lap that they were beaten up by their Jewish brothers. Because of the opposition they met, the first Christians grew stronger and stronger in their belief. Oh, Jerusalem! You were their training ground. The death of Stephen opened their eyes to what the belief in Jesus could amount to. It was a wake-up call. They had grown up and were strong enough. It was time to leave their mother behind. It would not bother them because the Apostles stayed to take care of her. The word of the Lord had to be fulfilled. The Church will continue to spread wherever and whenever she meets opposition and persecution. She is full of the Spirit and is holy.
Oh, Jerusalem! You are the Mother of the Church. In your bosom, the first Christians were nourished in brotherly love. They listened to the teaching of the eye witnesses of the risen Lord. They experienced the great power of the Holy Spirit. They shared their property and their living. What was more, they expected the Lord to return very soon. Oh, Jerusalem! You were also their "comfort zone".
However, it was also on your lap that they were beaten up by their Jewish brothers. Because of the opposition they met, the first Christians grew stronger and stronger in their belief. Oh, Jerusalem! You were their training ground. The death of Stephen opened their eyes to what the belief in Jesus could amount to. It was a wake-up call. They had grown up and were strong enough. It was time to leave their mother behind. It would not bother them because the Apostles stayed to take care of her. The word of the Lord had to be fulfilled. The Church will continue to spread wherever and whenever she meets opposition and persecution. She is full of the Spirit and is holy.
Dear Lord, help us embrace sufferings for Your sake. Let us endure patiently because in so doing, we help spread Your good news of reconciliation to all men. Amen.
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