Jesus Creed

Jesus Creed

Acts and Mission 44

posted by Scot McKnight | 11:42am Thursday October 15, 2009

PaulRemb.jpgThe gospel is moving in all directions: the folks in Jerusalem are embracing it; Jews in other cities embrace it; Gentiles begin embracing it; and the whole movement looks like the work of God to save through Messiah Jesus, the Lord of all. Alongside this work is the work of prophets, early messianic prophets:

11:27 At that time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 11:28 One of them, named Agabus, got up and predicted by the Spirit that a severe famine was about to come over the whole inhabited world. (This took place during the reign of Claudius.) 11:29 So the disciples, each in accordance with his financial ability, decided to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. 11:30 They did so, sending their financial aid to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.


The prophet Agabus announces that a famine will cover the whole inhabited world, which Luke adds did take place under Claudius, and the response is that each person — as he was able — send relief to the messianists in Jerusalem.

It is sometimes said the justice dimension of the Jesus kingdom vision emerges forcefully in Acts 2 and Acts 4 and then disappears from the scene. Even if the theme is not the central focus of the Book of Acts, that same theme emerges here in Acts 11. Their is clearly a concern for the poor Christians of Jerusalem here, and this theme has to be connected to the Lukan interest in social justice.


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