June 12th, 2022

This is the first Sunday after Pentecost, and the title for this Sunday is usually considered to be ‘The Holy Trinity’. It is basically the only Sunday when a teaching of the Church is the theme, although the teachings of the Church certainly play a significant role EVERY Sunday.

Now I am not saying that the doctrine of the Trinity is simply something to be learned, but it basically describes the way things are. The word ‘trinity’ is an extremely brief description of who God is—he is three in one, ‘tri’ and ‘unity’. So I can certainly understand why a special word was formed to show how special our God is.

This teaching is meant to be a positive thing in Christianity, although it is certainly not meant to be understood or comprehended. We do not say that we ‘understand’ God, we say that we ‘believe’ in him. In other words, we are ready to receive the gifts that he gives. And that usually happens after hearing the Law.

The reading from Acts 2 for this Sunday [14a, 22-36] basically continues where the previous Sunday left off. In this text, Peter continues preaching, and at the very end of the text for this Sunday, there is a powerful message of Law from God through the mouth of Peter to the various Jews who were gathered in Jerusalem (and what follows is a somewhat-literal translation of verse 36):

Therefore, assuredly, let all the house of Israel know that both Lord and Christ—God made him, this Jesus, whom you yourselves crucified.

The response of the people is noteworthy and will be our focus for a short while. The text says that they were ‘stung in the heart’ (verse 37a). And they want to know what they should do.

This word, to be ‘stung’, only appears here in the New Testament. It may be difficult to understand what that was like or what they were feeling.

The original language of the New Testament is Greek, and the Old Testament was originally in Hebrew, but then it was translated into Greek when the Greek language was important—right before the Roman Empire became important. It may be helpful to see how the word was used in the Old Testament after it was translated into the language of the New Testament. Here the word is used in a few historical situations, and this may help to give you an idea of its significance and meaning. It should be noted that the following descriptions are based on the Greek translation of the text.

In Genesis 27:38, the word is used when Isaac found out he unknowingly blessed Jacob (the younger son) instead of Esau (the older son).

In Genesis 34:7, the word is used when the sons of Jacob found out something REALLY bad happened to their sister. (This is a chapter that is usually left out of the Bible story books.)

In Leviticus 10:3, after Aaron’s two sons die because they offered a ‘strange fire’ before the Lord, Moses said these words of the LORD to Aaron: ‘For those who come near to me, I will be sanctified, and in all the congregation, I will be glorified.’ And Aaron’s response was to be ‘stung’. (This is also a negative chapter.)

In 3 Kings 20:27-29 [1 Kings 21:27-29] The Lord’s prophet told King Ahab of Israel that some REALLY bad things are going to happen to him. Ahab ended up being sorry for what he did, and the Lord sent the prophet again to say that these things would happen during the reign of Ahab’s son instead.

Is this positive to be ‘stung’? It certainly is, because that is not the end of the story. Something gets done after these people were stung. The people repent and believe. In Acts 2, the hearers of this message are described as no longer ‘far away’ (see Acts 2:39). The Lord, our God, calls the repentant to himself. That is certainly describing Christianity in a positive ‘Way’ (see Acts 9:1-2).