May 14th, 2022

Although this Sunday is the Fifth Sunday of Easter, the joyous celebration of Christ’s resurrection still continues with eternal ramifications. ‘Alleluia! Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Alleluia!’ And the Gospel text again comes from the Gospel according to John, like last Sunday, but this Sunday it is farther along in the work [John 16:12-22].

In this Gospel account, Jesus gives a much broader perspective, in much the same way as the eagle’s perspective, and that is the living creature that is usually connected to this gospel account. And although we are hearing what Jesus had to say BEFORE his arrest and crucifixion, we are hearing a much broader scope of the Jesus who is quick to comfort and console. And he promises to send the Holy Spirit to do that job as well. And that helps us to look ahead toward Pentecost.

Most recently we have been looking at how Christianity has been supported in the book of Acts. The First Reading for this Sunday is from the Book of Acts [11:1-18], and this time, Christianity is being supported by one of Jesus’ most well-known disciples, Simon Peter. Some of the followers of Jesus were still having problems with being close to non-Jews, being in their homes and eating with them. And Peter, with a LOT of help of course, helps things to go in a much better direction.

This First Reading from Acts 11 is a close retelling of what happened in Acts 10. So, with the price of paper/papyrus in those days, you would think that they would not be repeating themselves too often—that would be an expensive thing to do! But there is at least one significant point to be made as a result of this retelling.

It should be noted that the retelling of this event by Peter is told ‘in order’ (see Acts 11:4). This very same word appears in a VERY important place in Luke 1:3, the introduction to the entire work. This is a word that explains the layout of the Gospel according to Luke.

You can imagine that much has been written about what type of order this is. [For some options and proposals, you may wish to see A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Third Edition, revised and edited by Frederick William Danker, Chicago & London: University of Chicago Press, 2000; page 490.]

One can see some significant additions in chapter 11 of the text, within Peter’s talk. The following three paragraphs are three details where something significantly more has been added to what is related in Acts 10 (and the translations are somewhat literal):

First, in Acts 10, an angel appears to Cornelius and commands him to ‘Send men into Joppa and summon Simon, one who is surnamed Peter (verse 5)’, and this is basically the same as in Acts 11. But then, in Acts 11, the following was added regarding what Peter will say, that he ‘will speak words to you in which you may be saved, you and all your household (verse 14).’

Second, in Acts 10, after Peter’s talk, the text says that the Holy Spirit fell upon those hearing the message. In Acts 11, the following was added, that Peter ‘remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John, on the one hand, baptized with water, but you, yourselves, on the other hand, will be baptized in the Holy Spirit (verse 16).’ Note that the word is described as the word of the LORD and not of Jesus.

Third, the verse immediately after chapter 11, verse 16, also is not mentioned in Acts 10. In that verse Peter says this: ‘If, therefore, God gave them the equal gift, as also to us, having believed upon the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to be able to hinder God (verse 17)?’ It should be noted here that this title of ‘Lord Jesus Christ’ is EXTREMELY rare within the book of Acts.

Of these three additions, all of them have to do with either words or God—or both! And that is literally what theology is, the word of God. A theological order is what Peter seems to be giving, and that may be seen in the Gospel according to Luke as well.