Jesus converts Paul, while he is actively persecuting Him. He tells Ananias that Saul is His anointed to preach His name to the Gentiles. His ministry starts out with both Jews and Greeks trying to kill him for his Gospel preaching. Even the apostles ran from him, until Barnabas advocates for him.
Meanwhile, Peter continues to heal, even raising a widow from death. He breaches the Jew-Gentile gap. Only Nixon could go to China, right? Even so, Peter has to lead this, before Paul begins in earnest. Peter preaches to Cornelius' household, a message tempered for Gentiles without all the Jewish Scripture and history: forgiveness of sins, judge of men, and resurrection are the main themes. The Spirit falls "even on the Gentiles," a telling phrase of controversy to come.
Application: is there someone ELSE you need to tell about Jesus? Not because they are plan B in God's eyes, but because you hadn't thought to go there with the Gospel.
No comments:
Post a Comment