The Jesus Movement and the Early Church

WAMT: New Testament Survey

Where We’re Starting From

Death and Resurrection of Jesus• Whatever skepticism a person might have about the dead coming

back to life, it is clear that something happened that drastically affected the disciples.

• Whatever the disciples saw and experienced didn’t fit into the categories that they had available.

• The early Christians had to figure out how to make sense of what they had seen.

• In the early years of the church, there was no set theology or doctrine; the task of the early church was to make sense of Jesus and their experience.

• The central proclamation of the early church was that “Jesus is Lord.”

What is the Gospel?

Colossians 1:20: Through him [Jesus] God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.

God has reconciled all of creation to himself.

What is the Gospel?

• God has established his Kingdom and his rule on earth through Jesus Christ; creation is experiencing renewal and restoration.

• God now asks us to participate in that renewal and experience that renewal ourselves…to be God’s People (and he will be our God!).

• The primary question of the New Testament (and all the Bible?) is: “Who are God’s People?”

• Jewish people believed that they were elect (chosen) by God: “I will be your God and you will be my people.”

• Jesus did away with the barriers and redefined “God’s People” so that everyone can now be a part of God’s People.

The Shape of the Early Church

• For now, it is best described as “the Jesus Movement”: a rag-tag group of Jewish followers of the rabbi Jesus (not yet a new religion or “Christianity”).

• Early Jesus Movement is part of Judaism! It is a continuation of God’s work through Israel...not a brand new thing!

• The Church begins as an insider reform movement within Judaism. They are not trying to break away from Judaism but simply claiming that Jesus is the Messiah that the Jews have been waiting for!

• A great deal of the New Testament deals with the relationship between Jewish-Christians and Gentile-Christians (two very separate groups!):

• What does “election” mean in light of Jesus Christ?• How should Jewish-Christians interact with Gentile-Christians?• Do Gentile-Christians have to do “Jewish” things (circumcision, Sabbath,

food laws) in order to be followers of Jesus?• This is the biggest tension in the early Christian Church! See Galatians 2

The Shape of the Early Church

• The earliest Church (and the Jewish leaders as well) perceives themselves as a sect within Judaism, underneath this “big brother” religion. They follow a particular Jewish teacher/messiah.

• Jewish leaders see them as a fringe group who are following a false prophet. They want them silenced but think it will die out on its own (see Acts 5:33-39).

• Some persecution takes place when these “Jesus-followers” butt heads with “conservative Jews” (and when they start consorting with Gentiles?).

• Tensions remain high between mainstream Judaism and Christianity.• The Romans destroy the Second Temple in 70CE following a Jewish rebellion.• After this, Judaism (and Christianity) which has centered its life on the temple

has to redefine itself. Jews begin to draw line in the sand, exclude the Jewish-Christian community.

• The Gospels indicate some knowledge of this growing tension.• By about 90CE, there is a definite break (Council of Yavneh/Jamnia)

The Shape of the Early Church

The “Blessing” of the Heretics (stems from Yavneh, ~90CE): For the apostates let there be no hope. And let the arrogant government be speedily uprooted in our days. Let the nozerim [Nazarites, i.e. Christians?] and the minim [heretics] be destroyed in a moment. And let them be blotted out of the Book of Life and not be inscribed together with the righteous. Blessed art thou, O Lord, who humblest the arrogant.

New Testament Times

~33CE: Death and Resurrection of Jesus

~35-36CE:Paul is

Converted

49CE: Council of Jerusalem

70CE: Destruction

of 2nd Temple

~49-64CE:Paul’s Letters

~65CE: Death of

Paul?

~60CE: Writing of Mark

~70CE: Writing of Matthew and Luke

~90CE: Writing of

John

The Book of Acts• Tells the story of the earliest followers of Jesus from the

beginning of the Jesus Movement in Jerusalem through its expansion into a global project.

• Tells the story of the working out of what Jesus meant, working out “what is the good news?”

• Shows how the Church dealt with the question of Jewish-Christian/Gentile-Christian relations.

• Covers from the resurrection of Jesus to Paul’s imprisonment in Rome (about 33-65CE).

The Book of Acts• Written by Luke (Gospel writer and companion of Paul)• Covers the first ~30 years of the Church.• Attempts to show the roots of the Jesus Movement, show

its connection to Judaism, show people that what they believe originates with Jesus himself.

• Emphasizes role of the Holy Spirit in the spread of the Gospel.

• Describes how the movement came to incorporate more than just Jews.

The Book of Acts• Acts 1:8 gives the framework for the entire book:

• You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

• Three stages of the Church’s mission:• Mission to Jerusalem (Acts 1-7)• Mission to Judea and Samaria (Acts 8-15)• Mission to the Ends of the Earth (Acts 15-28)

• As the geographic scope of the mission expands, so does its cultural scope: moves from concern only for Jews to including Gentiles.

Spread of the Mission

Stage 2

Stage 3

Stage 1

Stage Chs. Location Target Mission

Key Figure

1 1-7 Jerusalem Jews Peter

2 8-15 Judea and Samaria

expanding vision

none/transition

3 16-28 The Ends of the Earth Gentiles Paul

The Book of Acts

...to Jerusalem• Takes place over the first few years after Jesus.• Mission is focused on Jews; followers of Jesus are still

very Jewish at this point.• Peter is the key figure at the center of the Acts

narrative, but James (brother of Jesus) is another leader of the Jerusalem Church.

• Begins with the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost; ends with the persecution and scattering of the Church in Jerusalem.

...to Jerusalem

Pentecost• Five weeks after Easter: celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit (promised by

Jesus) that empowers and enables the followers of Jesus to spread the good news.

• What is the Holy Spirit?• God’s Spirit: God dwells with us now…we are no longer separated from

God after the resurrection! The spirit empowers God’s people to enact God’s will in the world.

• The disciples are gathered together when they hear a “rushing wind” and see “tongues of fire” above their heads.

• Peter preaches a sermon that “added three thousand to their number.” Peter uses scripture to show how Jesus was a continuation of what God had done in the past!

• Jews from around the Roman world hear Peter’s sermon and begin to take the Good News back to their homes.

...to Jerusalem

• Peter and others continue to preach in the temple (despite opposition, arrest, and beating).

• Miracles are performed through the disciples. • The early Church is a transformational community: they share

belongings with one another so that all are taken care of. • Social boundaries are being erased or realigned.

• Jewish leadership is concerned over this movement, but Gamaliel offers (ironic) council:

• “Keep away from these men and let them alone; because if this plan or this undertaking is of human origin, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them—in that case you may even be found fighting against God!”

...to Jerusalem

Stephen: The First Christian Martyr

• Stephen is a man who “performs great wonders and signs,” but he is arrested by the Jewish leaders and put on trial.

• Stephen gives a speech (Acts 7) that retraces the story of God in the OT and shows how the Jewish People have continually missed the point of what God is trying to do.

• Stephen declares that the temple is no longer central to God’s work on earth and accuses the Jewish leaders of opposing God’s spirit.

• This leads to Stephen’s death and the persecution of the followers of Jesus in Jerusalem...spreads them out!

Transition Point

Acts 8:1-4A great wave of persecution began that day, sweeping over the church in Jerusalem; and all the believers except the apostles

were scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria...but the believers who were scattered preached the good news

about Jesus wherever they went.

The Holy Spirit in Acts

In Acts, Luke emphasizes the hand of God (Holy Spirit, Angel of the Lord) upon the Church, preserving and

protecting it from harm.(Acts contains almost 50% of all references to the Holy

Spirit in the NT.)

Often, efforts in opposition to the Church backfire and help to spread the Gospel even further (persecution in ch. 8, Paul’s

arrest and transfer to Rome)

The Holy Spirit in Acts

• Ch. 2: Holy Spirit comes at Pentecost, leads to 3000 converts

• Ch. 4: Empowers Peter to speak to Jewish leaders, all the disciples to preach with boldness

• Ch. 6-7: Fills Stephen and empowers him to speak

• Ch. 8: Directs Philip to meet an Ethiopian eunuch

• Ch. 9: Causes the church to grow

• Ch. 10: Reveals the expanding mission of the church to Peter by coming to Cornelius

• Ch. 12: Delivers Peter from prison, strikes down Herod for making himself out to be a god

• Ch. 13: Sends Paul and Barnabas on missionary journeys

• Guides and directs God’s People throughout the book of Acts

...to Judea and Samaria

• The Church has been scattered outside of Jerusalem due to persecution… but this only spreads the movement further!

• “Strange” things start to happen: the leaders of the Jesus Movement begin to see the Holy Spirit at work among people who previously were excluded from God’s People:

• Philip is prompted by the Spirit to baptize an Ethiopian eunuch.

• Peter sees the Holy Spirit descend on a Roman centurion and his entire family and he baptizes them.

• Leads to the realization in 11:18 that God’s redeeming work is extending to all people!

The Conversion of Saul (Paul)

• Saul/Paul = same person: “Saul” is a Hebrew name; “Paul” is the Greek equivalent…halfway through Acts, the author switches.

• Told in Acts 9, then again (autobiographically) in Acts 22 and 26.

• Saul is persecuting the followers of Jesus as Jewish heretics; he is trying to get rid of a sect of Jewish troublemakers!

• Saul is going to Damascus to root out Jesus followers when he has a vision of a blinding light and the voice of Jesus calling to him.

• Saul is blind, but a man named Ananias comes and heals him.

• Paul goes on to start preaching and becomes the greatest advocate and missionary for Christianity in the early period.

The Council of Jerusalem

• One of the most pivotal events in the life of the early church.• Took place in about 49CE, fifteen years after Jesus.• The Church has seen God at work among the Gentiles, but

there are still issues concerning what place the Law has among them and what are the requirements for being a Christian.

• Judaizers were those Jewish-Christians who claimed that Gentile Christians should be circumcised, keep Sabbath and food laws.

• Important question: Do the Jewish boundary markers still matter?

The Council of Jerusalem

• Question for the Council: Do Gentile converts to Christianity need to take on the signs of Judaism in order to be believers?

• Answer: NO! We are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they are. (Acts 15:11)

• Leaders write to Gentile believers telling them only to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood and things strangled, and from fornication. These things are all associated with pagan religion; they want to avoid syncretism.

The Council of Jerusalem

What is the relationship between Christianity and Judaism?

What is the significance of the Law/Torah for Gentile Christians?

What is the relationship between Christianity and Judaism?

Christianity has Jewish roots, but it is about breaking down the walls that have separated all people from

God...just as open to Gentiles as it is to Jews!

Acts tells the story of the extension of God’s salvation beyond the Jews, to the Gentiles.

The Council of Jerusalem

What is the significance of the Law/Torah for Gentile Christians?

Gentile Christians are not obligated to keep the Law/Torah...but they should seek to live righteously, avoiding

things that could mix religion.

Acts tells us that it is no longer the Law that makes us part of the People of God...the barriers have been broken down.

The Council of Jerusalem

Why was Christianity Successful?

A few factors that aided the success of the Christian mission:

• Roman road system: easy travel• Pax Romana: relative peace and safety• Hellenism (spread of Greek culture): common language• Trade: lots of interaction/cross-pollination of ideas and

people

The Apostle PaulSources of (Auto)Biographical Information:

• Paul’s Letters (autobiographical)• 2 Corinthians 11:21-29• Philippians 3:2-6

• Luke’s (biographical) account of Paul’s life in Acts• Acts 22:3-5• Acts 22:24-29• Acts 26:4-8

The Apostle PaulWhat we know (semi-conclusively) about Paul:

• He was a “pure” Jew• Born in Tarsus• “Brought up” in Jerusalem• Educated under Gamaliel (strict interpretation of Torah)• Pharisee• “Zealous” (persecuted the Church)• Held Roman citizenship• Well-educated (knows Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek)

The Apostle PaulA few things we can draw out:

• Paul was zealous for the Torah...he hunted down heretics, people who were teaching against the Torah (i.e. Christians).

• Paul sincerely believed that he was doing God’s will in hunting down the Christians.

• He had a radical experience of Jesus Christ that transformed his life and turned him from persecutor into promoter of the Church.

• As a Jew, he believed in only one God, so to make a correlation between Jesus and God was huge!

• Paul went on to spread the Good News throughout the Roman world.

The Conversion of Saul (Paul)

• Saul/Paul = same person: “Saul” is a Hebrew name; “Paul” is the Greek equivalent…halfway through Acts, the author switches.

• Told in Acts 9, then again (autobiographically) in Acts 22 and 26.

• Saul is persecuting the followers of Jesus as Jewish heretics; he is trying to get rid of a sect of Jewish troublemakers!

• Saul is going to Damascus to root out Jesus followers when he has a vision of a blinding light and the voice of Jesus calling to him.

• Saul is blind, but a man named Ananias comes and heals him.

• Paul goes on to start preaching and becomes the greatest advocate and missionary for Christianity in the early period.

The Apostle Paul in Acts• Acts 9 tells of Paul’s conversion experience on the Damascus Road.• Paul spends about ten years in training in Damascus and Arabia

(~35-37CE) and ministering in Tarsus and Cilicia (Asia Minor, ~37-45). • Paul goes on his first missionary journey into Asia Minor then goes to

Jerusalem where he takes part in the Council of Jerusalem.• After the Council, he goes on two more missionary journeys that take

him into Greece.• After his third journey, he returns to Jerusalem and is arrested.

Because opposition from Jewish leaders means he won’t get a fair trial, he uses his citizenship to get him a hearing before Caesar in Rome.

• Acts ends with Paul in prison in Rome, preaching to whoever comes to him.

Ministry of Paul

~33CE: Death and Resurrection of

Jesus

~35-36CE:Paul is

Converted

49CE: Council of Jerusalem

~52-57CE: Third

Missionary Journey

~65CE: Death of Paul in Rome

~47-48CE:First

Missionary Journey

~49-51CE: Second

Missionary Journey

~57-59CE:In prison in

Caesarea

~60-65CE:In prison in

Rome

~37-45CE:Ministry in Tarsus and

Cilicia

Wrapping up Acts• Acts ends (ch. 28) with Paul in prison in Rome around the year 65 CE,

preaching to whoever comes to him, even though the book is written 10-20 years after this time.

• Why doesn’t Acts tell us the “end” of Paul’s story? What message is the author leaving us with?

• The story goes on…it is not complete…• Paul is not the center of the story. The gospel is the center of

the story…and the gospel does not die out!• Acts tells that the gospel is now truly going to the ends of the

earth!