Peter escapes from prison and then says “tell James what happened”? Hey Peter, I’ve got some bad news for you….. Wait a minute, the death of James happened before he went to prison..did we just find an error?
If you caught the reference to James in 12:17 good for you, you’re paying attention. But there’s really no reason to think this was anything more than Peter telling the believers to inform James (the half brother of Jesus and leader of the Church) about what had happened. The James who was killed was James the Apostle, the brother of John . Peter, James and John were very close during their time with Jesus, even closer than the other 9 disciples, so there’s no reason to think that Peter is unaware of James death. Knowing Peter he is rejoicing because he knows that James is with Jesus.
Let me go back up to the beginning of Chapter 11 for a minute to discuss the reaction to Peter’s visit with the Gentile believers. The main point of the story is well illustrated so there’s no need to explain it. My comment has more to do with our immediate reaction of disapproval to whatever we don’t understand. The believers accusation of Peter tells me that they are entertaining the idea that Peter has abandoned his faith, and is now “eating with Gentiles”. The tone is decidedly negative. It reminds me that people are more receptive to believe something bad (in general or about you) than they are to believe something good. They could have rejoiced that Peter felt the approval of God to eat with Gentiles…but that would mean they would have to believe that Peter was 100% obedient to what God said…and I don’t think they were quite there yet. It’s not a big deal, I’m just admiring Peter here as he gently and excitedly shares the good news that the Gospel is meant for the Gentiles as well as the Jews. There isn’t any defensive tone in his response, and he doesn’t seem hurt that they would doubt his obedience so easily.
It’s hard for us to accept as “clean” things that we have been taught are “unclean”. Most of us grew up being told that certain types of people were bad influences…and for good reason, because generally they are. However, when a person turns their life over to Christ they don’t become 100% different overnight. In fact, there may be parts of their personality or mannerisms that never change. Those attributes could create a stumbling block for us if we don’t remember that Jesus sees people differently than we do. If someone has a strong unpleasant odor that could have the same effect, right? But we know that how you smell isn’t the most important thing spiritually.
I wonder, Who are the “unclean people” that God wants to reach through our ministry? Will I be receptive to ministering to them, or will I need a “wake up call” like Peter received with the sheet from heaven? Will I be gentle and humble when I am accused of abandoning my faith? Will I be able to explain my actions without becoming defensive? Peter never “hits back”. Our first instinct is to strike back. You or I would defend ourselves saying “who’s the apostle and who’s not?” Peter doesn’t do that…neither should we.
You would think that Christianity would derive it’s name from followers of Christ in Jerusalem…but it didn’t. Syria is where we were first called “Christians”. Ironically, today Syria is a known terrorist supporting state, red flagged by the United States and other nations. Set aside what Peter was doing for a minute and recognize that the believers were taking the Gospel to the Gentiles whether Peter was “on board” on not. The process of spreading across the world had begun…and it began with persecution. I don’t look forward to persecution, but I know the proven value that it has for the church. When Christianity is persecuted it grows…every time. Thinking of it this way I remember back a few years ago when ISIS revolutionaries publically executed a large group of believers. It was probably one of the worst decisions they could have made. Today ISIS is collapsing and Christianity is spreading. The blood of the martyrs truly is the seed of the church. (Tertullian)
Three cheers for the Barnabas’s of the local church. Not only does Barnabas recognize how powerfully God is moving in Antioch, he also sees how Saul could fit into the ministry. He takes it upon himself to go and find Saul and bring him to Antioch for a full year. Barnabus stays alongside Saul, I assume to help him develop in ministry and probably in developing social skills…which I think Saul might have been lacking in.
Barnabas and Saul returned to Jerusalem to deliver the large gift of money that the Syrians have donated, and while they are there they pick up John Mark and take him with them. I’ll bet that was Barnabas’s idea as well.
Faithfully,
PR