Jesus Creed

Jesus Creed

Acts and Mission 42

posted by Scot McKnight | 11:29am Tuesday October 13, 2009

PaulRemb.jpgIt is not often recognized that Peter formed the vanguard of gospeling the Gentiles. But in his wake came Barnabas and Saul (aka, Paul):

11:19 Now those who had been scattered because of the persecution that took place over Stephen went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the message to no one but Jews. 11:20 But there were some men from Cyprus and Cyrene among them who came to Antioch and began to speak to the Greeks too, proclaiming the good news of the Lord Jesus. 11:21 The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. 


A good sketch of this passage can be found in Bev Gaventa’s The Acts of the Apostles (Abingdon New Testament Commentaries)
.


Missionally: persecution prompts missional expansion. The persecution under Stephen scattered Christians (messianic Jews) and where they went they told other Jews about Jesus. But some of these messianic Jews began to tell Gentiles the good news too.

Their good news was about the “Lord” Jesus — a backward glance at the crucial role the resurrection and ascension played in the gospel: the one was raised was exalted to be Lord (and Messiah), Lord over all the world. But the Gentiles hear more about Jesus’ Lordship than his Messiah-hood. Is this an indication of a Gentile-shaped gospel? (See Gaventa, 179.)
God anointed their preaching and many were converted. Once again, the mission is the mission of God; the ministry is the ministry of God; the work is the work of God.


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