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At our last meeting
we finished with the first of two miracles by Peter mentioned in chapter
nine. The first was the healing of a paralytic in the town of Lydda.
Today we begin with the second of these miracles in the town of Joppa.
Joppa, known
today as Jaffa, was a coastal town of Palestine and one of the most
ancient and well known ports of the eastern Mediterranean. It is
mentioned many times in the Old Testament. Originally it belonged to the
Philistines and later during the reign of King David, it came under the
control of the Israelites. From Joppa we see the transportation of the
great cedars of Lebanon which were used for the building of the Temple.
From here, the Prophet Jonah set sail for Tarshish. And from Joppa the
Apostle Peter saw the vision where God told him that he must preach the
Gospel also to the Gentiles.
At Joppa was
a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called
Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and alms deeds which she did.
Luke begins his narration of the miracle, by giving us the name of the
woman as Tabitha. As is usual for him, he mentions her Hebrew name first
and then immediately gives us the equivalent of what her name would be
in Greek - Dorcus which actually means a deer. St. John Chrysostom, says
of the name Tabitha that her name is not mentioned by chance, but so
that we may learn that she lived up to her named because she was as
watchful and careful as a deer. Tabitha is characterized as a disciple,
in other words a disciple of Christ. In all the New Testament, this is
the only occasion where this characterization is given to a Christian
woman. Luke also tells us that Tabitha was full of good works and alms
deeds which she did. A characterization which defines the charitable
activity that Tabitha developed among the faithful of Joppa.
At the time
that Peter was still in Lydda Tabitha became ill and died and they
washed her and laid her in an upper chamber. The washing of the body
means that they prepared everything that was necessary to be done for
the dead. The washing of the body as a preparation for the dead was a
Greek custom and nowhere is it mentioned in the Old Testament so that we
might assume that the Jews had a similar custom. Having washed and
prepared the body, Tabitha’s relatives and friends laid her body in an
upper room. The upper room should be understood as the attic of
Tabitha’s home. The attic was not a room for general use, but was used
for putting up visitor’s and also for private prayer and reading. The
weather conditions and the Jew’s views for the dead body determine that
the burial of the dead must be carried out immediately after their
death. So the preparation of Tabitha’s body and placing her in the attic
has nothing to do with her burial, but rather with the presence of Peter
in the neighbouring town of Lydda as is made clear in the next verse.
“And
forasmuch as Lydda was near to Joppa, and the disciples had heard that
Peter was there, they sent unto him two men, desiring him that he would
not delay to come to them.”
Joppa was very near
to Lydda and so it was very easy for the Christians of Joppa to be
informed that Peter was there. Two men were sent to beseech Peter to not
delay and come to them because it was impossible to leave the dead body
for too long a period without burial. Luke doesn’t tell us the reason
why Peter was called to rush to Joppa, but we can assume that he was
called either to be present at the funeral or because the people of
Joppa didn’t believe that Tabitha was completely lost to them. In other
words they believed with certainty that as Peter would have been able to
cure her of her illness, then even now that she was dead, that he could
raise her from the dead.
Peter
responds to their supplication and immediately rushes with them to
Joppa. On reaching Joppa he is led to the upper room where Tabitha’s
body had been laid. While there, all the widows came weeping and showing
him all the coats and garments that Tabitha had made for them. At the
beginning of the story, Luke mentions that Tabitha was full of good
works and almsgiving. Here, among the tears of the widows who had
received Tabitha’s love, her charity work is pointed out. The widows,
while crying and beseeching for Peter’s compassion, present him with
tangible examples of Tabitha’s gook works.
Peter asks
for everyone to leave the room. His action reminds us of a similar
occasion of the Lord when he raised Jairus’ daughter, a miracle that
Peter had knowledge of because he was present. St. John Chrysostom asks:
“Why did he put everyone out of the room?” And he answers: “So that he
would not be confused or upset by all the crying and noise.” The fervent
prayer by which he was to beseech God to raise Tabitha required complete
silence and dedication. The living communication of Man with God through
prayer always presupposes solitude and undisturbed silence. But also
another reason for wishing to be left alone was to avoid a vain
exhibition.
Peter
kneeled down, and prayed and then turned to the dead body and said:
“Tabitha, arise”. His word brings Tabitha
back to life. Tabitha first opens her eyes and sees Peter then she sits
up and then being given the hand by Peter, stands upright. Old
interpreters say that by calling Tabitha, Peter gave her life and then
by giving her his hand he gave her the strength to stand. After Peter
raised Tabitha, he called the saints and widows, and presented her
alive. But, why the two categories of Saints and widows? He showed her
off to the saints, in other words to the Christians so that they would
rejoice that they once again had their sister in Christ alive and also
because they were found worthy to be witnesses of a great miracle of
faith, and he showed her off to the widows so that they would continue
to receive the protection and care which Tabitha gave them before she
died.
No matter
how big the town of Joppa was, such a miraculous event could not remain
confined to just the witnesses who saw it. In just a short time, the
news of Tabitha’s resurrection spread rapidly and became the common
knowledge of everyone living in Joppa. And just as Aeneas’ cure in Lydda
was reason for many to come to the Lord, so also with Tabitha’s
resurrection, many believed and turned to the Lord. The miracles of the
Apostles which were done in the name and power of Jesus, were
indisputable proof of who Christ was: that he was truly the Messiah of
God. All those people who, with good intention, saw or heard of these
miracles, believed in the person of Christ whom the Apostles preached,
recognizing him as Lord and God.
After the
miracle, Peter did not depart immediately, but remained in Joppa for
many days. The newly established Church and the many who came to believe
in Jesus because of the miracle had need of his help and his teaching so
Peter stayed with them to teach them the Gospel and to give them support
in the new faith.
Chapter ten
continues with Peter still in Joppa and an account of how God instructed
him to spread the word of salvation to the gentiles. Going north from
Joppa along the Mediterranean coast is the town of Caesarea. There was
an officer of the Roman army called Cornelius who was a centurion of the
band called Italian. Probably the band was called Italian because the
majority of the soldiers were originally from Italy. This Cornelius was
a gentile yet he is described as a devout man that feared God with all
his house, who gave a lot of alms to the people and prayed to God
always. It seems extraordinary that a pagan soldier would disown his
pantheon of gods and goddesses to accept the one true God of Israel:
probably in his search for the truth, he had studied the scriptures and
the Jewish faith came and filled a void he found in the false gods of
his own country. Some have tried to identify him as the centurion
mentioned in Matthew and Luke who sent for Jesus to heal his servant,
but if this was the same centurion he would have already known of Jesus
and believed in him which would make no sense for Luke to now explain
how Peter was called to instruct him in the Christian faith.
On this
particular day at about 3 in the afternoon, Cornelius sees a vision of
an angel. The angel tells him that his prayers and alms have not gone
unnoticed before God. Now send men to Joppa to find a man called Simon
known as Peter: he is staying with a man called Simon who by occupation
is a tanner whose house is by the sea side; he shall yell you what you
need to do. A tanner was a craftsman who tanned leather skins. When the
angel had given the message, he departed and Cornelius called two of his
servants and a faithful soldier in his command and having explained to
them what the angel had told him sent them to Joppa to find Peter and
bring him back with them.
The next
day, at noon, as the three drew near to Joppa, Peter went up to the roof
top of the house to pray. While praying he became very hungry and would
have eaten, but the food was still being prepared. Waiting to be called
for lunch, he fell into a trance and saw heaven opened and a certain
vessel descending towards him, like a very large sheet with the four
corners knotted together which was coming down to earth. Held within the
sheet were every kind of animal found on the earth and all the various
flying creatures. Then a voice told him to rise and kill and eat. Peter
probably thinking this was a test of his obedience to the law, declined
saying No Lord because I have never eaten any thing that is common or
unclean. The voice replied: What God has cleansed, that do not call
common. This was repeated three times and then the sheet was lifted up
again to heaven where there is nothing unclean. What was the meaning of
this vision? We could say that God is doing away with the distinction of
clean and unclean animals of the old law, but this is not the main
message God wants Peter to understand. The sheet is the world, the clean
animals are the Jews and the unclean are the idol-worshipping gentiles
waiting to receive the message of salvation and enter into the one
church of both Jews and Gentiles.
But Peter
didn't immediately understand what the vision meant and while he
contemplated on what he saw, the men which were sent from Cornelius had
found Simon's house, and stood before the gate. The men called and asked
if Peter was lodging there, but Peter was told by the Spirit that three
men were asking for him and to go with them doubting nothing because he
had sent them. So Peter trusting in the Spirit went down to the men and
was told of how their master Cornelius was a just man that feared God
and was told by an angel to send for him so that he could preach the
word of God to them. Peter called them into the house to stay the night
and in the morning went with them accompanied with other brethren from
Joppa.
They reached
Caesarea the next day and Cornelius was waiting for them together with
his family and close friends. Cornelius met Peter and fell down at his
feet, but Peter took him up saying: Stand up I myself also am a man.
Peter began talking with Cornelius and entered the house where he found
many that were come together to hear him. He begins by telling them that
it is unlawful for a man that is a Jew to keep company with someone from
another nation, but God had showed him that he should not call any man
common or unclean. Without this understanding he would not have come in
to them. He then asks why he was sent for. Cornelius explains to him how
while he was fasting four days ago he had a vision of an angel in bright
clothing and told him that his prayer and almsgiving had come before God
and that the angel told him to send men to Joppa to find him and bring
him so that they might hear what God has commanded.
Peter
replies: that he now understands that God is no respecter of persons,
but that every man from every nation who fears God and works
righteousness is accepted by him. He then begins to tell them about
Jesus, how he is God's anointed and how he and the other apostles were
witnesses to the miracles that he did, how he was crucified and how he
was raised from the dead on the third day and did eat and drink with
them after his resurrection. Peter continues saying that Jesus commanded
them to preach to the people and to testify that he was ordained of God
to be the Judge of both the living and the dead. That all the prophets
testify to him and that through his name, whosever believes on him,
shall receive remission of sins. While Peter was speaking the Holy
Spirit fell upon all them that heard his words and they began to speak
with tongues and magnified God. This was to give proof to the Jews that
accompanied Peter from Joppa that God accepts the gentiles also. The
Jews were astonished that the Gentiles also received the gift of the
Holy Spirit. Like Peter and the other apostles, they thought that for a
gentile to become a Christian he first had to become a Jew by being
circumcised and then be baptized a Christian. For them this was the
difference between clean and unclean, but God had shown them that
circumcision may have been an essential requirement for the Jewish faith
but not essential for the New Christian faith. This was the main subject
for the gathering of the first Apostolic Council which we will see when
we get to chapter 15 of the Acts.
So with the
Gentiles receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit, Peter asks the Jews
present: Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized,
which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? Seeing that no one
objected he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Peter
stayed with them for a few more days teaching them about Christ.
Cornelius
was the first pagan to receive Baptism and according to tradition after
being baptized he retired from the Roman army and went preaching
together with the Apostle Peter who ordained him a bishop. Peter sent
him to the idol-worshipping city of Skepsis in Asia Minor to convert the
people there. In the city lived a prince by the name of Demetrius.
Learning about the arrival of Cornelius in the city, he immediately
summoned him and asked him the reason for his coming. Cornelius answered
that he came to free him from the darkness of ignorance and lead him to
knowledge of the True Light. The prince, not comprehending the meaning
of what was said, became angry and demanded that he answer each of his
questions. When Cornelius explained that he served the Lord and that the
reason for his coming was to announce the Truth, the prince became
enraged and demanded that Cornelius offer sacrifice to the idols. The
saint asked to be shown the gods. When he entered the pagan temple,
Cornelius turned towards the east and uttered a prayer to the Lord.
There was an earthquake, and the temple of Zeus and the idols situated
in it were destroyed. All the people, seeing what had happened, were
terrified. The prince had the saint bound and cast him in the prison for
the night. At this point, one of his servants informed the prince that
his wife and child had perished beneath the rubble of the destroyed
temple. After a certain while, one of the pagan priests, by the name of
Barbates, reported that he heard the voice of the wife and son somewhere
in the ruins and that they were praising the God of the Christians. The
Prince recognized that Cornelius had saved his wife and son and declared
that he believed in Christ and asked the saint to bring his family out
of the ruins safely. After this the prince Demetrius, and all his
relatives and comrades accepted holy Baptism. St Cornelius lived for a
long time in this city, converted all the pagan inhabitants to Christ,
and made Eunomios a presbyter in service to the Lord. St Cornelius died
in old age and was buried not far from the pagan temple he destroyed.
His feastday is celebrated on the 13th September.
Chapter
eleven continues with Peter after baptizing Cornelius. Before returning
to Jerusalem, word had reached the other apostles and Jewish Christians
that the Gentiles had also received the word of God and had been
baptized. Although this was a good thing the Jewish Christians were
scandalized with Peter because he had entered the house of a gentile and
not only spoke with non-circumcised men, but had eaten with them and
kept company with them which was forbidden by the law. When Peter
finally returned to Jerusalem, the Jewish Christians were waiting for
him and accused him saying: "You went in to men uncircumcised, and did
eat with them." Peter knew beforehand what kind of reception he would
receive on his return and had rehearsed how he would justify his
actions. He begins telling them how he was in Joppa praying and saw the
vision with the great sheet full of all the animals and flying creatures
and how God told him to kill and eat. Peter relates the whole story of
how the men came from Cornelius, how he went with them and how as he was
preaching to them they received the Holy Spirit. After giving them in
detail of all the events he tells then: Seeing then that God gave them
the gift as he had given us, who was I that I should go against God's
will. When they heard these things they held their peace and glorified
God saying that God has granted repentance unto eternal life also to the
gentiles.
Luke now
turns his attention to the Christian mission outside Judea and
Jerusalem. Luke is a son of Antioch and he wants to give us the history
of the founding of the Church of Antioch. He returns to the persecution
that arose after Stephen's stoning which forced the Christians to travel
as far as Phenice, Cyprus and Antioch. He attempts to chronologically
link together the beginnings of the Christian preaching in the Syrian
Capital with what had just recently taken place in the Church of
Jerusalem. In other words the martyrdom and death of Stephen, the
persecution of the Church that immediately followed, the preaching and
conversion of Samaria, the journeys of St. Peter to Lydda and Joppa,
which we heard of in last weeks reading, and his journey into Caesarea,
which resulted in the conversion of the first gentiles to the Christian
faith. The Persecuted disciples, in spite of the trials they underwent
and their departure from Jerusalem, continued their work of preaching
the Gospel, but still only to the Jews of those regions. We can then
only assume that the departure of the disciples from Palestine happened
before Peter visited Cornelius and so before God made it clear to him
that the Gospel was to be preached freely also to the Gentiles.
Among the
persecuted Christians who reached Antioch were some who were originally
from Cyprus and Cyrene. Cyrene was the Capital of an ancient Greek
colony off the African country known today as Libya. From the names
mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles, we know that Barnabas (Acts 4:36)
and Mnason (Acts 21:16) came from Cyprus, Lucius from Cyrene (Acts 13:1)
and Nicholas, (Acts 6:5) one of the Seven Deacons came from Antioch.
On reaching
Antioch, the Cypriot and Cyrenian men began to preach the Lord Jesus to
the Greek speaking Jews. When speaking of the ministry of preaching,
Luke mentions in other places that they preached the Gospel or they
preached the word, but here he says that they preached the Lord Jesus.
In other words, the content of their preaching was the Person of Jesus,
the cross and his Resurrection. The Christian preaching is not some
abstract idea or an ethical concept of what is right and wrong, but the
person of Christ and the sacred historical events which brought about
the salvation of the world and which rendered man once again a partaker
of eternal life and an heir of the kingdom.
In the work
of preaching the Gospel, the Cypriot and Cyrenian men had with them the
power and blessing of the Lord. This power and strength of the Lord was
made manifest with miracles so that their listeners would believe their
word. Now these men were not of the Apostolic circle, and from what we
can assume they were just ordinary, but fervent and passionate
Christians. Even so the grace of God guided their missionary work and
richly blessed their efforts. Through their preaching of the divine
word, strengthened by the hand of the Lord, many of the Antiochians
believed and returned to the Lord.
The news of
the success the preaching of the Gospel had in Antioch reaches the
members of the Church of Jerusalem. In fact the first Christian
community watched very carefully the conversion of the gentiles (Acts
11:1) and as on other occasions once again expresses her interest in
maintaining a relationship with the other Churches. They decide
therefore to send Barnabas to Antioch. On these other occasions the ties
were established personally by the Apostles, (Acts 8:14, 9:32) but here,
for reasons not mentioned by Luke, the first Church only sends a
representative who is not even an Apostle. St. John Chrysostom asks:
“Why, when such a great city as Antioch was receiving the word, did not
the Apostles come, but instead sent Barnabas”? And he answer: “Because
of the Jews”. It seems the Apostles thought that the time had not yet
come for them to expand the area of their mission beyond the borders of
Judea. Yet at the same time they thought it appropriate and their
obligation to be concerned for all Christians, even those who came from
the ranks of the gentiles. Barnabas was deemed as the most suitable to
be sent to Antioch. Without a doubt, by choosing Barnabas, they took
into account his spiritual gifts and capability, but also his
nationality. He was Cypriot, a Greek speaking Jew, thus he was the most
suitable to understand and watch the missionary efforts in Antioch which
his fellow countrymen began.
Barnabas
reaches Antioch and immediately he is verified of the wonderful results
from the efforts of the Cypriot and Cyrenian men. Luke says that he saw
the grace of God and was glad. By the expression he “had seen the grace
of God” Luke means the great number of the Antiochians who believed and
the zeal that discerned them. If the grace of God is not working within
a man, then he can neither believe nor live the new life in Christ. But
when the energy of God’s grace is there then others can perceive it just
as a tree is recognizable by its fruit. So taking part in the Christian
gatherings in Antioch, by talking with them, by observing their personal
and family life, Barnabas could see the progress made and was glad and
encouraged and urged the new disciples to remain faithful to the Lord
with their whole heart and soul.
Encouragement
as a way of teaching is a method which finds particular response from
people: it respects the divine gift of man’s freedom and at the same
time commends them to continue with their praiseworthy efforts which
serves in strengthening the Church. Barnabas had the special gift of
knowing how to encourage; in fact his name was a Jewish name meaning the
Son of Consolation or the Son of Encouragement. (Acts 4:36)
It says of
Barnabas that he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of
faith: and much people was added unto the Lord. The present verse
consists of a short but concise laudation for Barnabas. Over and above
his natural qualities and capabilities that he had, he stood out for the
goodness of his character. His goodness is verified by his action to
sell his land and give the money to be distributed to the poor as we saw
in previous weeks. (Acts 4:37)
Barnabas was
not only a good man, but also full of the Holy Spirit and faith: a
combination of true and sincere piety and genuine kind-heartedness.
Goodness and love are only genuine and steadfast when they are the fruit
of the presence of the Holy Spirit in our heart. As also any other
natural virtues a man might have, they are not enough and are
ineffectual on the road for holiness and salvation, if at the same time
the person does not partake of the life-giving grace of the Holy Spirit.
Barnabas’ virtues, the graces of the Holy Spirit of which he was full
and his fervent faith are all those things which contributed to his
successful mission in Antioch. How successful and fruit bearing his stay
in Antioch was is made clear in the second half of the verse “and much
people was added to the Lord”. His personality, his authority and his
presence in the renowned city increased dramatically the numbers of the
members of the Antiochian Church.
“Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek
Saul:”
The
growth of the Church in Antioch brought with it an increase of
missionary workload for Barnabas. Foreseeing that he would not be able
to competently carry out the work of the Gospel on his own, he remembers
Paul who he had personally met in Jerusalem and was convinced of his
sincere return to Christ and also of his great capabilities. Barnabas
therefore sets off for Tarsus to seek out Paul and bring him back with
him to Antioch to help him with the growing church.
Paul had
withdrawn and lived in isolation and as he himself says he:
“was unknown by face unto the churches of Judaea
which were in Christ” (Gal. 1:22). Barnabas eventually finds him
and invites him to go with him to Antioch which Paul accepts. The stay
and collaboration of these two men in Antioch lasted for one complete
year. They took part in the assemblies of the faithful of the Church, in
other words the gatherings for the common worship and prayer and taught
the Gospel of salvation without resting. The rich results of Barnabas’
and Paul’s joint missionary efforts are testified by the fact that the
disciples of the new faith now included a great many of the Gentiles and
had to be discerned from the Jews and so for the first time received a
separate name and were called Christians.
It stands to
reason that the name was given to the disciples of Christ from the
Greeks, in other words the gentile inhabitants of Antioch and not from
the Jews who called the followers of Christ Nazarenes or Disciples. Just
as today so also then, it was usual for followers of a certain man to be
called with a name that derives from their leaders Name. Thus it was
natural for the faithful of Antioch to be called Christians and thereby
declaring their faith, love and devotion to Christ. The way in which
Luke mentions the name does not allow us to think that it was originally
used condescendingly, but it is not impossible. Whatever the intentions
of the people who first thought up the name, the members of the Church
of Christ accepted it and since then until today bear the name with
pride and joy. With the name of Christian, the faithful manifest their
faith and love towards their saviour Jesus Christ and their will to live
according to the Gospel and their hope in his promises.
Luke then
mentions that in those days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch.
The life of the first church is marked with various extraordinary and
wonderful events which were the fruits of the presence of the Holy
Spirit with the aim of strengthening the faith and the expansion of the
Church. One of these events is now mentioned here by Luke during the
time of Barnabas’ and Paul’s stay in Antioch. It is the arrival from
Jerusalem of certain Christian prophets to the church of Antioch. From
what we can assume from the text, they came to Antioch through their own
initiative. As we are told in other places in the Acts of the Apostles,
there were prophets in Jerusalem as there was later in Antioch, in
Ephesus and in Caesarea who were Christians that prophesized by being
inspired by the Holy Spirit. This can only be the fulfilment of the
prophecy by Joel mentioned in chapter 2 of the Acts: “And on my servants
and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and
they shall prophesy.” (Acts 2:18) Just like the Prophets of the Old
Testament so too the Christian prophets announced the future, that is,
mainly events that concerned the life of the Church. At the same time
they also exercised other roles e.g. encouraging and giving support to
the disciples.(Acts 15:32)
As Priests,
we are often asked if there are prophets in the Church today and if
there are, then is this not in contradiction to what Jesus said:
“For all the prophets and the law prophesied until
John.” (Matthew 11:13) In other words John the Baptist was the
last of the prophets so how can there now be mention of Christian
prophets in the New Testament? The presence of prophets in the New
Testament does not contradict what Christ said, because what he meant
was that John the Baptist was the last of the prophets who foretold of
his coming into the world.
Among the
prophets who came to Antioch was a certain man named Agabus. As a
prophet, Agabus is mentioned one more time in the Acts of the Apostles.
(21: 10-11) During one of the assemblies of the Antioch Christians,
Agabus stands up and announces by the Holy Spirit that there was to be a
great famine in all the world. The term world or universe in the New
Testament often has different meanings. Here it should be understood as
meaning Judaea and the bordering countries or the Roman Empire which was
the civilized world of that time. Agabus’ prophecy came to pass during
the reign of Claudius Caesar. Claudius was the fourth Roman emperor and
ruled from 41-54AD. His full name was Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus
Germanicus. During his reign there were four famines in various places
of the empire. The famine mentioned by Agabus was the second and
happened in the fourth year of Claudius’ reign and extended mostly in
Syria and Judaea.
The famine
which mainly struck Judaea gave cause to the Antiochians to express
their brotherly support to the Christians of Judaea. They decided that
each person should contribute according to his ability and send whatever
was collected thus with this help they would bring some relief to their
Judean brothers. This testimony by Luke tells us that the Christian
community of Antioch did not introduce the common ownership of goods
which was adopted by the Church in Jerusalem “where no one said that the
things he possessed was his own but had everything in common.” (Acts 4:
32) In Antioch everyone held on to whatever possessions he had and
according to his ability contributed to the common efforts of the
Church.
The concern
and care of the Antiochians was not directed only to their brothers in
Jerusalem but also to all those scattered throughout Judaea. It is
reasonable to say that the first and foremost duty of every local Church
is to take care of her own members in need. Even so, the spirit of
Christ’s love requires that this care is extended beyond her borders
when the need arises for we are all members of the one body of Christ
and we are obliged to become partakers of the joys and hardships of our
other brethren. St. John Chrysostom say: “Look at how the famine became
for them a cause for salvation, a cause for them to show charity, an
occasion for many good things. They had only just come to believe and
immediately they bore fruit: and not only for their own people, but also
for those who were distant.
The famine
relief, the product of love is loaded to be transported to Jerusalem by
Barnabas and Paul. This event, in other words the choice of the two most
important persons to carry out the mission for the famine relief,
verifies the understanding the Antiochians had for the value of the load
and the seriousness of the mission in aid of their poor brethren.
This journey
to Jerusalem will be Paul’s second after his conversion, but neither
Luke nor Paul in his letters make mention of the actual visit. Paul
possibly keeps silent because he didn’t meet up with Peter but only with
the Elders and also possibly because the purpose of the journey was to
deliver with Barnabas the famine relief sent by the Church of Antioch.
But why was
the mission made to the elders and not to the Apostles? Two explanations
can be given, the first that none of the Apostles were in Jerusalem
because of the persecution of the church mentioned in the following
chapter which seems rather unlikely, or second because the Apostles were
no longer involved with the serving of tables which was now the
responsibility of the elders.
But who were
these elders? In the Greek they are called Πρεσβύτεροι which properly
translated does indeed mean elders, but it is also the official title of
Priests which in English has also retained the Greek form of Presbyter.
The Presbyters which are mentioned here for the first time had
ecclesiastical - liturgical duties. Now because the Acts of the Apostles
is silent concerning the introduction of this new ecclesiastical order,
the opinion was formulated that it came about in imitation of the
council of elders who were at the head of the Jewish synagogue and were
mentioned in order after the high priests and so in a similar way the
Christian Presbyters were mentioned after the Apostles.
After this
first mention of the Presbyters, we come across them many times. We see
them together with the Apostles, playing an important role in the first
Apostolic Synod held in Jerusalem. We see them again in Jerusalem
together with James who was the first bishop of Jerusalem, we see also
many that were ordained by Paul and Barnabas in the Churches of Lystra,
Iconium, Antioch, Pisidia and Ephesus (Acts 14: 23) which means that
there were also Presbyters in the other newly formed churches.
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