The Book of Acts is such a fascinating read. The first “church” originated in Jerusalem. Of significance is that the first Gentile church was founded in Antioch, and there, the believers were first called Christians or "Christ-ones."
Paul (also known as Saul) and Barnabas spent a whole year there, preaching, teaching and converting many to become believers.
The young church at Antioch had a mixture of both Jews and Gentiles with one thing in common: Christ — not race, culture, or even the same language. Thus, the implication is that Christ can cross all boundaries and unify all peoples both then and today.
Moving on to Acts Chapter 12, we read of Peter’s miraculous escape from imprisonment by King Herod Agrippa l. The entire church community was in prayer for Peter’s life. Peter lay in slumber in chains and under heavy guard when a bright light suddenly filled the cell.
In verse 7, we learn that “suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. ‘Quick, get up!’ he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.”
Peter followed the angel past the guards and out of the prison and proceeded to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where people were gathered to pray.
The first “church conference” was held in Jerusalem, where it was established that circumcision was not necessary for salvation – that salvation was by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Peter and James argued that faith is the only requirement; however, there must be evidence of change by rejecting ones old lifestyle. This conference produced a document cleverly written to the Gentile Christians as though the readers already knew its contents.
As believers, we must be careful in what we say and the tone we use. Losing one’s audience by one’s tone or attitude is so easy. Please read the letter written to the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia in Acts 15:23-29 and see how well it is written.
But troubled waters lay ahead for Paul and Barnabas. They agreed to revisit all the towns they had shared the good news but disagreed on who should accompany them. Barnabas wanted to include John Mark; however, Paul was upset with this person. Verse 38 tells us, “Paul did not think it wise to take him because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work.”
We are not told why John Mark deserted Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey – he just left them in the middle of the trip. Perhaps he became ill or simply exhausted, but Paul was very critical of him.
We learn in verses 39-40 that "they had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord.”
This disagreement caused the two great preachers to form two teams, opening up two missionary endeavors instead of one.
See how God can work through conflict and disagreement, creating good? Perhaps you can recall a time when conflict resulted in something good happening.
How exciting it is to read in Acts 16:23-28 of Paul and Silas in prison, where they spent the night singing after being beaten. An earthquake loosened their chains, and in the resulting panic the foundations of the prison were shaken, its doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose.
We read in verses 27-29 that "the jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, ‘Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!’" You can continue reading the rest of this story in Acts 16:29-40.
These were powerful and fearless men who led the early church. They all were persecuted, and some were martyred.
Am I this fearless? I live in a country where I am not personally persecuted; however, Christianity as a whole is. We must all be strong in our faith and not succumb to this secular world. Stay in God’s Word and stay in prayer.
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