Year 7, Day 244: Acts 11

Theological Commentary: Click Here

In the chapter immediately after we celebrate the many and varied ways that the Lord is at work, we are given a sneak peek into what is happening in Jerusalem.  When the conservative Jewish followers hear about what Peter has been up to, they are outraged.  They can’t believe that Peter went and socialized with Romans.  Don’t get me wrong.  They aren’t doubting God’s hand at work.  They are doubting Peter’s ability to stay traditional. Unfortunately, they confuse tradition and ritual with faith and spirituality.

Let’s not miss a reasonably significant point in this chapter.  Immediately following the Jerusalem church’s reaction to Peter, the central location of the church moves from Jerusalem to Antioch.  I realize that there was a growing amount of persecution happening against the Jews in Jerusalem at the time and the location change makes sense.  However, I think there is more to it than that.  The leaders in Jerusalem have looked past God’s hand and they’ve looked back at tradition.

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m a big fan of promoting that there are some immutable parts of God.  God is love.  God hates sin.  God saves.  God’s understanding of sin doesn’t change.  There are parts of God that don’t change.

At the same time, though, we need to recognize that God’s hand works in mysterious ways.  God is not opposed to opening an unusual door to further His will.  God is willing to work in unusual ways to reach unusual people.  While certain things of God don’t change, often the first mistake that the followers of God do make is in their inability to accept the fresh movement of His hand.

When it is all said and done, the focus of Christianity shifts to Antioch.  Jerusalem isn’t abandoned as we’ll see throughout Acts.  But Antioch truly becomes the hotbed of faith and when God’s disciples are being trained.  This is an important lesson to learn.  When we focus on our traditional expectations and forget to look where God is moving, we can find ourselves looking out as God moves past us into something new.  We won’t be abandoned, of course; but we may find ourselves looking to get back to where God is at work.

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