True to our native land, p.48
True to Our Native Land, page 48
Peter defends this new revelation to the Jerusalem church that chides him for going to the uncircumcised and eating with them (11:1–18). Peter relates his vision on the rooftop in Joppa to the Jerusalem community, ending with a powerful challenge: “If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?” (v. 17). Therefore in Acts Peter is seen as an unwavering defender of Gentile freedom (cf. Acts 15), unlike the picture Paul portrays in Galatians 2. Luke’s emphasis is that the nature and spread of the gospel is coordinated by the Jerusalem church in the initial stages (cf. 8:14; 11:1, 22). With some struggle, the Jerusalem community comes to accept Gentile membership into the community of the followers of Jesus (11:18).
Excursus—African American Appropriation of an Egalitarian Statement
As noted in the introduction, Acts 10:34–36 was a key passage in the African American protest tradition, helping to level prophetic critiques of American racism and prejudice. The Rev. Nathaniel Paul made a statement on July 5, 1827, that supplies us with examples of two statements from Acts that would become the bedrock of African American protest discourse against white racism and oppression:
The progress of emancipation . . . is certain: It is certain because that God who has made of one blood all nations of men and, who is said to be no respecter of persons, has so decreed. . . . Did I believe that it would always continue, and that man to the end of time would be permitted with impunity to usurp the same undue authority over his fellows, I would . . . ridicule the religion of the Savior of the world. . . . I would consider my bible as a book of false and delusive fables, and commit it the flame; Nay, I would still go further: I would at once confess myself an atheist, and deny the existence of a holy God.101
David Walker and God’s Impartiality
“Surely the Americans must believe that God is partial, notwithstanding his apostle Peter, declared before Cornelius and others that he has no respect to persons, but in every nation he that feareth God and worketh righteousness is accepted with him. [Acts 10:36]. . . . How can the preachers and people of America believe the Bible? Does it teach them any distinction on account of a man’s color? . . . Can the American preachers appeal unto God, the Maker and Searcher of hearts, and tell him with the Bible in their hands, that they make no distinction on account of men’s colour?”
—David Walker, “Our Wretchedness in Consequence of the Preachers of Religion,” in Milton C. Sernett, African American Religious History: A Documentary Witness, 2nd ed. (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2000), 99.
This statement expresses the importance of Acts 10:34–36 and 17:26 for establishing the character of the biblical God of justice. Such an image of the divine could be invoked to counteract the god of slaveholding Christianity and the partial and prejudiced society in whose image the American slavocracy was created.
David Walker’s famous Appeal of 1829 challenges this very image of the divine that would frustrate racial unity and impartial justice.102 Walker understood Christianity and the biblical deity as mandating these very principles, which is the presupposition for both his biting prophetic critique of contemporary white Christianity and the cultivation of African American spirituality and ethics.103
Walker and other nineteenth-century African American Bible readers could see in Acts 10:34–36 a clear critique of racial and ethnic prejudice, which had to be rooted out directly by a revelation from God, resulting in Peter’s declaration that “God is no respecter of persons” (kjv). With such a succinct and provocative statement in their arsenal, they could mold the rest of the Bible and bring it in line with their cause for freedom and justice. They could find support not only in Acts’ portrayal of Peter, but also in that of Paul.
11:19–26, The First Jewish-Christian Mission Center to Gentiles: Syrian Antioch
On the spread of the gospel as a result of Stephen’s persecution, Acts 11:19 seems to pick up the narrative from 8:1, 4. As the gospel spreads and the geography changes, so do the characters. In 11:20 Luke reports that “some men of Cyprus and Cyrene” came to Antioch and began preaching to the Greeks. Cyrene was a city in Libya on the northern shore of Africa, where there was a strong Jewish community. We are told the names of some of the individuals in 13:1: “Simon who was called Niger” (that is, “Simon the Black”) and Lucius of Cyrene. It is possible that they were leaders of the church in Antioch and even more probable these two “Blacks” may have been among those who first preached the gospel to the Gentiles in Antioch. This would be the first Jewish-Christian mission center to the Gentiles, which Luke again pictures as coordinated by Jerusalem: when news arrived that the gospel had reached this region they “sent Barnabas to Antioch” (v. 22). Barnabas went to Tarsus to retrieve Paul and they stayed together there for one year teaching a great number of people, and it is at Antioch that the believers were first called “Christians” (v. 26). In 11:27–30 Luke provides the origin of the “collection for the Jerusalem saints” mentioned by Paul in his letter as a significant part of his mission to unify Jew and Gentile. For Luke it was to provide aid to the Jerusalem community on account of a famine predicted by prophets from Jerusalem.
12:1—13:3, The Apostles, Persecution, and the Death of Herod Agrippa
Unlike the earlier floggings that took place against the apostles (Acts 4 and 5), Herod Agrippa I (grandson of Herod the Great) kills one of the apostles. James, the brother of John and son of Zebedee, is martyred (v. 2). Seeking to do the same to Peter after the Passover (the parallels with Jesus’s Passion are striking), Herod Agrippa has him put in prison between four squads, indicating the impossibility of escape (v. 5). Nevertheless, this is exactly what happens: Peter, believing he is having a vision, is miraculously released according to the church’s earnest prayers (vv. 5, 12). But when he arrives at the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark (v. 12), where the believers had gathered to pray for Peter’s release, they do not believe the report of Rhoda, the young maid who hears Peter’s voice at the outer gate (v. 14). While certain elements of this episode are comedic, it must be kept in mind that Rhoda is portrayed as a stereotypical “enslaved” as perceived in Greco-Roman culture. Eventually Peter’s continued knocking brings out the inhabitants, whom Peter instructs to tell what has happened to James (the brother of Jesus, v. 17). After this, Peter appears only one more time—at the Jerusalem conference, which is recounted in Acts 15:1–7. By the time of this conference, James, the brother of the Lord, has ascended to authority in the Jerusalem church. This episode ends with a reversal of fortune; in the beginning of the narrative, Herod killed James; now the angel of the Lord kills Herod (12:20–23).104 Immediately after the narrative of Herod’s death, Luke takes up the activities of the Antiochian church (12:24—13:4). Completing their mission there, Paul and Barnabas return with John Mark to Antioch from Jerusalem (12:25).105 Just as the Jerusalem church earlier commissioned others to do the work of ministry, now the church at Antioch commissions Saul and Barnabas to the mission field (13:2–3). The important leaders in the Antiochian community included members who were of African descent (13:1, Simeon, “called Niger” and Lucius of Cyrene). This is a significant reminder of the barrier-breaking and inclusive nature of the gospel.
Chapters 13–15, The Gospel and the Inclusion of Gentiles
13:1—14:28, The Journey to Cyprus, Pisidian Antioch, and Iconium
While the prophets and teachers in Antioch fasted and laid hands on (ordained or commissioned) Saul and Barnabas, it was the Holy Spirit that guided and coordinated the growth and movement of the church, as 13:1–4 makes clear. As is Saul’s custom according to Acts, he regularly begins mission in the synagogues of a given area before reaching out to Gentiles (13:5; cf. also 13:14; 14:1; 17:1, 10, 17; 18:4, 19; also Rom 1:16). At Acts 13:9 the name “Paul” appears for the first time: “Saul, also known as Paul.” “Saul” was the name that he used among Jews, and “Paul” was his name among Gentiles.106 Through the power of the Holy Spirit Paul also works miracles, in this case a “curse” on the false prophet and magician Bar-Jesus (v. 10). Not only do we have striking parallels with Peter’s encounter with Simon in Acts 8, but also with Paul’s conversion in Acts 9. After converting the proconsul (v. 12), Paul and his companions continues on to Antioch of Pisidia (in Asia Minor): but John (Mark) leaves them and returns to Jerusalem (13:13–14). This youthful decision would portend the end of the missionary relationship between Paul and Barnabas (cf. Acts 15:36–41). Nevertheless, Paul and Barnabas preach with much success to the Gentiles, although they experience opposition from their Jewish kinfolk of high standing. So they head toward Iconium.
Paul: “Integrationist” Preacher and Missionary Exemplar
Beginning with Acts 13, the focus of the narrative shifts significantly. Paul’s mission to the Gentiles takes center stage, while Peter and the Twelve practically disappear from the narrative. In addition, the central focus of mission shifts from Jerusalem to Antioch (11:19–30) and beyond this to Asia Minor, Greece, and ultimately Rome.107 Two themes are underscored in Luke’s unfolding narrative. First, Paul (and his companions, mainly Barnabas) can be seen as leading an “integration movement,” which advocated Gentile inclusion into the newly constituting people of God on a nondiscriminatory basis (that is, without recourse to circumcision and Torah observance).108 This theme and the image of Paul as a leader of the Gentile integration movement can be seen most clearly in Acts 15–20 (indeed, it is at Acts 20 that Paul journeys toward Jerusalem and ultimately Rome!). A key passage in the section is Acts 17, in which Paul gives the noted Areopagus speech in Athens. The second theme is the image of Paul as the great missionary who suffers many hardships in order to complete his call and mission (cf. Acts 9:16; “I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name”). While this theme is apparent throughout Acts 13–28, the suffering motif becomes most prominent beginning at Acts 21:33, when Paul is arrested by Roman soldiers. It is such endurance and faithfulness in the face of adversity that underscores the theme (perhaps intended by Luke) that mission builds character and suffering refines it.
Upon reaching Iconium, the same thing happens as in Antioch of Pisidia (14:1). However, unlike in Antioch, where the Jews incited devout women and men of high standing, here the “unbelieving Jews” stir up the Gentiles. So Paul, Barnabas, and their companions flee to the surrounding country and continued preaching (14:2–7). Paul performs a miracle on a crippled man, and the crowds flock to him and Barnabas and address them as gods (14:8–18). Luke contrasts this reception with the struggle and suffering encountered when Jews from Antioch of Pisidia follow them to Lystra and stir up the crowd against them (14:19–23). Paul is stoned and dragged out of the city (v. 19; cf. 2 Cor 11:25). As they circle back through several of the cities they visited, where they proclaimed the word of God, they return to Syrian Antioch and share with the church what God is doing among the Gentiles (14:24–27).
15:1–35, The Jerusalem Conference: The Affirmation of the Gentiles
Luke’s preceding account ends on a high note: “how [God] had opened a door of faith for the Gentiles” (14:27). Then some individuals, who maintain a different interpretation of the Jewish religious tradition and of the Gentiles’ place within the emerging Christian community, threaten Paul’s egalitarian movement. They teach, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved” (15:1, 5). According to Acts, Philip (Acts 8), Peter (Acts 10), and now Paul and his companions had already undertaken missionary work to the Gentiles, “but now the Jerusalem church, always playing catch-up with God’s plan, needed some major rethinking about what the church would be like and how it would go about its missionary work.”109 This issue is addressed in Acts 15, in a gathering that has come to be known as the Jerusalem conference. Paul and Barnabas go up to Jerusalem to confer with the Jerusalem contingent about the matter (15:2–5; the most important figures being Peter and James, “the brother of the Lord”). Interestingly, Paul and Barnabas are not given voice in Luke’s portrayal of the event. It is Peter who speaks first (Acts 15:7–11), reflecting, it would appear, on his encounter with Cornelius (in Acts 10). He is followed by James, who affirms Peter’s words (Acts 15:13–21). As a result of the confirmation of the two “pillars” of the Jerusalem church (cf. Gal 2:9), Gentiles are asked only to abstain from idol meat and from the blood of strangled animals, and to avoid sexual immorality (Acts 15:23–29). Having received support from Jerusalem, Paul and Barnabas return to Antioch and read the letter regarding the resolution of the matter (15:30–35). Paul’s mission among the Gentiles scores a victory for Gentile “integration” into the emerging community of Jesus followers. This event is in the center of the book, marking the pivotal event that would give the movement universal appeal. After this event, Paul, directed by the Holy Spirit, begins an amazing adventure throughout Asia Minor, Macedonia, and Achaia (Greece), which results in his famous speech in Athens (Acts 17). The Jerusalem conference is only the beginning of a long and bitter split with Judaism, which is perhaps portended by the split between Paul and Barnabas over John Mark (Acts 15:36—16:5; according to Gal 2:11–13, the issue was table fellowship with Gentiles!). After this “parting of the ways,” Paul and Silas continue the mission to the Gentiles independently.
Chapters 16–20, The Gospel “to the Ends of the Earth”
Parting ways with Barnabas and leaving the Antiochian mission, Paul enlists Timothy into the mission after circumcising him “because of the Jews who were in those places” (16:1–5). Was Paul engaging in what today might be described as respectability politics with this circumcision act? Mitzi J. Smith argues convincingly that he does. Respectability politics claims that when nonwhite people adopt and exhibit certain behaviors perceived as proper, the reward will be respect, acceptance, and equality in the white-dominated society, thereby ameliorating or overcoming race/racism. While race and racism are modern constructions, the concept of respectability politics can be employed heuristically and metaphorically to discussing the rhetorical distinctions made between Jews and Greeks/Gentiles. Hence, Paul engages in respectability politics by compelling Timothy to be circumcised because he is half Jewish (mother) and Greek (father). Paul circumcises him despite the Jerusalem Council’s decision that Gentile believers will not be required to be circumcised (Acts 15).110
Nevertheless, guided by the Spirit, they are forbidden to enter Asia (Minor) and are sped on to Macedonia by a vision (16:6–10). Luke highlights again for us the importance of “leading women” in the reception of the gospel (and leading early house churches) and in aiding Paul’s mission. Lydia (v. 14) is apparently an independent businesswoman (v. 15 says, “she and her household were baptized”) who welcomes Paul into her home on his first European missionary tour. The positive action of Lydia is contrasted with the negative portrayal of the “enslaved girl” and Paul and Silas’s subsequent imprisonment (16:16–24). While the enslaved girl tells the truth about Paul and his message, he exorcises the spirit of divination and yet does not offer her salvation, as he does to Lydia (v. 18). Part of this results from Luke’s contrast of positive and negative examples (cf. Barnabas with Ananias and Sapphira in 4:36—5:11). Another factor is that the narrative serves as a rationale for the evangelists’ imprisonment, from which they are miraculously delivered (16:25–40; a theme that has been recounted several times in Acts), and results in the salvation of the Philippian jailer and his household. After an encounter with the magistrates of Philippi, who encourage them to leave the city, they are released and return to Lydia’s house (v. 40), from which they make their way to Thessalonica.
Several of Luke’s literary patterns continue in the next cycle of travels (17:1–15). Going from Philippi to Thessalonica, Paul visits the Jewish synagogue first (an important missionary pattern for Paul), and many Greeks (proselytes) believe and “not a few of the leading women” (v. 4). The second literary pattern is that successful preaching can lead to opposition “from the Jews” (vv. 5–10). Finally, this negative example in Thessalonica is contrasted with a positive one in Beroea (17:10–15). In Beroea the Jews (“including not a few Greek women and men of high standing,” v. 12) are receptive to their preaching. Yet again, in either case, successful preaching leads to opposition (v. 13), and the believers must speed the evangelists on to Athens.
17:16–34, The Universalist Paul in Jerusalem and Athens
In Athens, Greece, Paul is portrayed as not only the first Christian philosopher but also a proponent of human universalism. Luke’s universalism has already been noted (Acts 2 and 10). It is through the portrayal of Paul, however, that it is most significantly accomplished in Acts. For this reason, Marla Selvidge concludes:
