The Church of Jerusalem
1. The First Church Is Born
Jesus builds His multicultural church from all the peoples on earth. Before He ascended to heaven Jesus gave his followers clear instructions. First, they should wait in Jerusalem until they are filled with the Holy Spirit. “… he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 1:4-5) This was very important because it is the Holy Spirit who will empower them for the mission He gave them.
And the mission Jesus gave His church? “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) “Make disciples of all nations” (Mt 28:19). “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mk 16:15). “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high” (Lk 24:46-49).
So they returned to Jerusalem, and there they waited continually united in prayer (Acts 1:14-15). And then it happened. The Holy Spirit came just as Jesus promised. Acts 2:1-13 — When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”
In response, Peter preached a powerful sermon that cut to their hearts and when they asked what they should do, he said: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call” (Acts 2:37-39) Three thousand people responded, and the first church was born.
We should take note that the Jerusalem church became a multi-linguistic, multi-cultural, and multi-racial church. On that day there were people from the whole of the known world. This was no coincidence. This was God’s providence and plan to bless all the nations. The Jerusalem church became active and daily she was growing. Acts 2:42-47 — They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
The Holy Spirit empowered the church so that they witnessed, taught, and proclaimed Jesus with boldness and wisdom. Many signs and wonders were performed in the Name of Jesus. And the church grew. After Peter and John healed the lamed beggar and were arrested the first time, “many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand” (Acts 4:4). And again, “more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women” (Acts 5:14). “And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith” (Acts 6:7).
2. The First Problems & A Wake-Up Call
However, as the church grew, she also began to experience her first problems. The first church members sinned. Greed caused them to lie and disobey their Lord resulting in their deaths. This put the fear of God into the church teaching them that following Jesus is a matter of life and death and not to be taken lightly. As the church expanded the ministry needs increased and the first cross-cultural tensions arose. This resulted in the division and specialization of ministries as we read in Acts 6:1-7. And then, as Jesus warned his followers, opposition and persecution happened. The apostles were arrested, beaten, and told not to speak in the name of Jesus. They responded, “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 4:19; 5:29).
God was doing powerful work in and through the church in Jerusalem. But there was one problem. She was not fulfilling the mission Jesus gave them. His final instructions were clear. They were to be His witnesses and they were. However, their witnessing was not to be confined to their current circles of influence and their current location. He commissioned them to take His message to every segment of human society and the ends of the earth. They were to begin where they were—Jerusalem, but they were not to get stuck there. Jesus sent them also to Judea, the surrounding region. And then He sent them to Samaria. These were people who lived close to them but were not like them. These were people disliked and rejected by the Jews. But like Jesus, we as followers of Jesus, from our earliest beginnings, have received the call to be bridge crossers spanning cultures. We are to be boundary crossers breaking through prejudice, and overcoming and crossing cultural, ethnic, racial, national, political, and economic barriers. And finally, they were to go and give witness all the way to the farthest ends of the earth. People from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation were to receive the Good News. Their assignment was to go beyond Jerusalem. There are no “ors” in Acts 1:8. His command is to be His witnesses, to take His message, and make disciples in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.
A wake-up call was needed. And so, it takes a wave of persecution to drive the church out of town. After Stephen’s killing, the opposition and persecution increased. “On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria” (Acts 8:1). Thousands of church members fled for their lives but at the same time, “Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went” (Acts 8:4). As Stumbo says, “Running for their lives they took the message of life with them … Opposition to the Gospel became an opportunity for the Gospel to advance” (p.19).
3. We Are To Be His Witnesses Here & There
We have seen that the Jerusalem church became a multi-national, multi-linguistic, multi-cultural, and multi-racial church. The church is not limited to any specific group. Mono-cultural churches are the easy way but it is not the biblical way. All of us are ethnocentric to some extent. “Most of us naturally tend to believe that our culture is better than that of others. We like our rhythms and rhymes, spices and styles, hues and harmonies better than those from another culture. This is only natural. But, if it carries with it a spirit of superiority [causing us to look down upon, reject, or marginalize others because they are different], then repentance is in order.” (Stumbo, 21)
Jesus gave us His final command to take His message to all peoples and all the earth. Since Jerusalem much has happened. Great advances have been made. However, we still struggle. “Some churches do virtually nothing to engage in this world mission. Meanwhile, other churches have great mission efforts while ‘leap-frogging’ right over their own communities and regions …” (Stumbo, 21). We must always be engaged in all four segments and regions of society and the world.
We are to be His witnesses in our cities or towns. God called us to our communities for a reason. Are we doing everything we can to give witness to our neighbors, coworkers, schoolmates, friends, and family? Let’s love on our community, weep with them, rejoice over our community, invest in our community, evangelize our community, and make it a better place to live.
We are to be His witnesses in our region. Our vision must include the communities around us — the town down the road or across the mountain, the school with the rival sports team, and the population on the other side of the railroad or river, in the next county.
We are to be His witnesses to our Samarias. These are our neighbors who differ from us culturally, linguistically, ethnically, economically, politically, etc. As new arrivals come to our regions, we have the opportunity to open our hearts and receive them in Jesus’ name. Refugees, immigrants, and migrants (both legal and illegal) will always be with us. As Jesus followers, we should see them first through God’s eyes. Perhaps God is bringing them here to wake us up to our kingdom calling to witness to our Lord through self-giving love like our Lord.
The same goes for those who hold different beliefs and views than us and for those who have chosen different lifestyles that are not compatible with the kingdom life and biblical ways. Witnessing to them involves speaking out against sin and injustices but, we do so in love with compassion, respect, patience, kindness, gentleness, and self-control. Witnessing to them does not involve name-calling, judging, condemning, and rejecting them. Only God can and will do that. Witnessing to them is to love them as Jesus loves them, to see them as lost children of God, and to call them to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. As cultural, political, economic, and racial tensions split our communities, the church is to wake up, arise, welcome, and include. Reaching out to our Samaria is difficult and even controversial. But this is our calling and our Lord’s command is to love, to love all humans even our enemies.
We are to be witnesses to the ends of the earth. Every church is to engage in world mission somehow. Today, thousands of people groups still do not have the Bible, millions of neighborhoods still do not have a local church, and billions of people still do not know who Jesus is.
Yes, we are doing this. We are witnesses here and there. That is good and we should continue. But the question is, what can we do more and better in each of these four regions? We must never think that we are doing enough. We must never become so focused on ourselves that we forget our Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth.
All peoples from every nation, tribe, race, language, or political orientation who believe in the Name of Jesus Christ are now kingdom citizens. “Each of them has the same heavenly Father. Each of them has been adopted by God through the gospel, and they’ve all been welcomed into his family as his sons and daughters. And out of the overflow of his surprising love for them, they possess a supernatural capacity to show surprising love to one another. This family is called the church, and if you’re a follower of Jesus, you’re part of it. You’re seated around the same table. And you’re not just part of this family in the here and now. You and I will be part of God’s family forever.” (David Platt, 6)
Our Lord is building His church and in Christ, we are all God’s one family. “Our family is not fundamentally African American, Asian American, European American, Hispanic American, Native American, or even American. Our family is not fundamentally rich or poor. Our family is not fundamentally Republican, Democrat, or Independent. None of these things are grounds for division among us, because our family is fundamentally Christian. We are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a people possessed by God himself (1 Peter 2:9)” (Platt, 24-25).
And one day we will all be together as a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people, and language. But until our Lord returns, He calls us like the early church to be Bridge-Builders and Peacemakers who seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness. We must be His witnesses here and there, everywhere and to everyone.