Kingdom Come

The Gospel of Luke and the Acts

How The Early Jesus Movement Overgrew The Roman Empire

(8 SAMPLE PAGES PDF)

Shawn Birss

Table of Contents Introduction page 7 Acts 3 page 157 Acts 4 page 161 Acts 5 page 167 Part 1 - Luke Acts 6-12 page 171 Acts 6 page 175 Luke Chapter 1 page 9 Acts 7 page 179 Luke Chapter 2 page 11 Acts 8 page 185 Luke Chapter 3 page 15 Acts 9 page 189 Luke Chapter 4 page 19 Acts 10 page 193 Luke Chapter 5 page 25 Acts 11 page 199 Luke Chapters 5-6 29 Acts 12 page 203 Luke Chapter 6 page 31 Acts 13 page 207 Luke Chapter 7 page 37 Acts 14 page 211 Luke Chapter 8 (pt 1) page 39 Acts 15 page 215 Luke Chapter 8 (pt 2) page 43 Acts 16 page 219 Luke Chapter 9 page 47 Acts 17 page 225 Luke Chapter 10 page 55 Acts 18 page 233 Luke Chapter 11 page 63 Acts 19 page 239 Luke Chapter 12 page 69 Acts 20 page 243 Luke Chapter 13 page 75 Acts 21 page 247 Luke Chapter 14 page 79 Acts 22 page 251 Luke Chapter 15 page 83 Acts 23 page 255 Luke Chapter 16 page 91 Acts 24 page 257 Luke Chapter 17 page 95 Acts 25 page 259 Luke Chapter 18 page 101 Acts 26 page 261 Luke Chapter 19 page 107 Acts 27 page 263 Luke Chapter 20 page 113 Acts 28 page 265 Luke Chapter 21 page 121 Luke Chapter 22 page 125 Luke Chapter 23 page 135 Conclusion page 267 Luke Chapter 24 page 141 Part 2 Acts Acts 1 page 147 Acts 2 page 151 Appendix (on interpreting scripture) page 269 About the Author page 275

Luke Chapter 5 New Wineskin - Jesus touches lepers and eats with traitors Luke 5:30-32 (ESV) "And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, 'Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?' And Jesus answered them, 'Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.'" Jesus demonstrated and taught a way of life entirely contrary from the patterns of power and control that emerge from a society dependent upon them. In Luke 5:33-39, he calls this the "new wine" and the "new wineskin". Jesus says that both must be replaced. He came to change the hearts and minds of individuals, yes. But he also came to change the corrupt systems and patterns that keep those persons bound. Romans 12:2 says this about living according to the gospel of Jesus' Kingdom: "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." The powers of this present age cannot conceive of the radical nature of this departure from the world's patterns. Our world teaches us to seek to strive upward, to gain more wealth, power, and control. But Jesus lives a downwardly mobile life. God's son came as an impoverished baby to an occupied and internally displaced people, yet he gains a reputation for seeking out and spending time with people even less privileged than himself. What possible benefit could be had from identifying with traitors and rebels, the world would wonder. But Jesus gives his life for the benefit of others, contrary to all common sense regarding the values of this world's systems. The religious elite would not understand why any respected Rabbi would risk their own orthodox reputation by claiming to forgive a powerless paralytic (vv17-26). Yet Jesus opposes these religious authorities publicly, calling a powerless man forgiven, and then healing him by the power of the Holy Spirit (v17). The religious

leaders make a show of protecting orthodoxy, but they're really only protecting their power and position. Jesus makes himself of no position, and gives power to the powerless. The Law of Moses in which Jesus was raised forbids a good Jew from even touching someone with leprosy. But when a leper humbly submits his request that Jesus should heal him, Luke makes sure to mention that it is by touching the leper that Jesus makes him well. The law says that this would make Jesus unclean. But Jesus touch makes the leper clean. This is a new wine and a new wineskin. Jesus touches the untouchables. Against all odds, this backwoods rural working-class man has become a popular Rabbi, the rock stars of his day (vv1-3). Children were raised to memorize the Torah until they were ten years old. Only the best would be chosen to continue their education and memorize all of the Hebrew scripture. The rest would join their fathers in the family trade. Only the very best would go on to become the disciple of a Rabbi. The rest, though better educated, would return to their father and learn the family trade. Not all trades were equally respected. Carpentry was honest and valuable work. Jesus was fortunate. But shepherds and fishers were a despised lot, working odd shifts, and smelling terrible most of the time. Though the custom was for the most elite and successful of intellectuals to approach a Rabbi to be their disciple, Jesus breaks from tradition to ask Peter, James, and John, fishers who presumably had already been passed over and passed on to their family trade, to be his disciples (Luke 5:4-11) It is no surprise that they so quickly accepted the call to leave their undesirable trade to become the disciple of the town's most popular Rabbi. And Jesus goes even deeper under the mainstream to call his next disciple, Levi (vv27-32). As a tax collector, Levi was one of the most despised and hated of his society. The reputation of tax collectors was that they were thieves and traitors, working for the very empire that oppressed their own family and neighbours. Yet, Jesus called one of them to be among his closest company. Not only this, but Jesus did not shy away from Levi and his associates. Upon asking Levi into his inner circle, he joins him at a

Acts 6-12 The Kingdom of God is Bigger Than Us The Kingdom of God is bigger than us. In fact, the story of the message, demonstration, and growth of the gospel in Luke and Acts is one of explosive power that simply cannot be contained to one people group or region, whatever the consequences. The good news is that the Good News is for everyone. Our lives are lived out for the justice and love of others, a community facing outward to neighbours, strangers, and even enemies. It is hard to be inclusive. It is hard to invite someone new into your family. Adoption is emotionally complicated. In-laws are sometimes cause awkward relationships. Our communities and families have histories - shared memories both good and bad. With those we are closest we have experienced the same joys and the same sorrows. When Jesus spoke to his neighbours and comrades about loving their enemies, he spoke to people whose very identity was formed as a people rescued from slavery. Their nation as a nation was birthed from deliverance out of an oppressive empire that had held them enslaved. The history of Jesus and all the Jewish people was one of wrestling. They wrestled with God as their forefather Jacob had wrestled with the angel of the Lord until he'd been blessed. His name was changed to Israel that night, which means the one who contends with God. These Israelites, the God-wrestlers, knew what it meant to follow and honour their deliverer. Yahweh had delivered them from slavery in Egypt, and then clearly defined their relationship by his covenant law. When Israel disobeyed that covenant, they would become enslaved by empire, the Babylonians or the Persians. But then they would repent, and God would deliver them again. Jesus now spoke to these people, with this rich history, under oppressive and violent occupation by Rome, the new empire and

world power. This was a people who knew well who their enemies were. Their enemies had power. They had armies and kings and land upon land. They saw their enemies in uniforms, and were forced by their enemies to carry heavy loads without pay. They were taxed and abused. It is no surprise that the Pharisees would emerge, this sect of religious people that taught the people to obey every aspect of the law code to the finest detail. They believed that God would rescue them from their enemies, as he had many times before, when Israel would just show their repentance and turn back to their faith, as they had many times before. The sort of inclusion and universality of love that Jesus preached was so far beyond anything his people had ever imagined, even his disciples did not fully understand until long after Jesus was gone. When Jesus said they should love their enemies, he was including Romans. He was including forgiveness for all those who had ever done them wrong. The Gospel, the good news of the New Kingdom wasn't only good news for the oppressed and the poor. If they would receive it, the Gospel was also for the oppressor. The good news was that they no longer needed to oppress. They could leave the empire. The good news meant that the rich didn't have to be rich anymore. The uncertain and transient foundation of wealth could be traded for the sure foundation of true, God-empowered life in the Eternal Kingdom. The Great Reversal was good news for any who would receive it, no matter what it cost them. Their power and riches were nothing. Jesus died an innocent man, betrayed and accused of insurrection, executes unjustly by an oppressive empire like all the ones that ha oppressed his people before them. And from the cross, he forgave them. He forgave those agents of the old empire that put him up there on the cross, beat and mocked him, the agents that had refused his message of love. No injustice had ever been more severe than the one that was

In the spirit of empire, they appeal to fear and racism, using Silas and Paul's Jewish ethnicity as evidence against them. That both the Greek Luke and Timothy are spared is quite telling. Paul and Silas are thrown beaten and thrown in prison without a trial. It is in chains, at its weakest and most vulnerable, that the spirit of the Kingdom of God is able to be seen most clearly. Just as Jesus had taught in Luke 12, Paul and Silas are without anxiety, even when locked away. They sing hymns in the prison, praising their King and living as free citizens though in shackles. Just as the Kingdom was manifest in the doubly oppressed slave woman, it is manifest again here for Paul and Silas as they sing. An earthquake shakes the prison, and the doors are opened. Still, the missionaries remain to encourage the frightened jailer not to harm himself. Kingdom love is large enough to reach even an enemy. The jailer responds to the love of Paul and Silas by receiving their words and believing in Jesus as his King. The jailer brings the men to his house where he washes the wounds of his newly adopted brothers, and all of his family is baptized. Such is it in the Kingdom of God. In this Upside-Down Kingdom, slaves are freed and enemies become brothers. All are equal, and each considers others even before themselves. In the final act, Paul and Silas receive a free pass from the racist Roman authorities to leave the city. Still, Paul does not receive the injustice inflicted upon him without calling for an appeal. In their rush to condemn these Jewish resistors, the Roman authorities had not thought to even consider their citizenship. Both Paul and Silas were citizens of Rome. Their beating and imprisonment had been illegal. Paul knew his standing as a citizen of the Kingdom of God. But as a free citizen of that eternal Kingdom, he lived in resistance to the empires of the world. Paul knew the legal rights offered him as a citizen of this temporary empire as well, and freely used its legal system for his advantage. The corrupt authorities would not submit to the Law of true justice, but Paul held them accountable to their own.

Appendix Humility, Conviction, Faith, and the Landmines of Scripture Not all passages in the Bible are as easy to understand as others. Though there is general agreement across most Christian traditions about the overall themes and messages of scripture, there are some hairy places where disagreements or confusion occur. Some parts of the Bible are largely ignored, or only come up as a curiosity, such as the unusual story of the Nephilim in Genesis chapter 6:1-4. Other portions are hotly contested, and form the foundation upon which denominational lines are drawn, such as Romans chapter 9 and the question of the will of humanity and the ultimate sovereignty of God. There are also, of course, details in story accounts that seem to contradict one another in curious ways as well. Most easy to point out are the genealogies, which hardly ever agree. One could not make a single, unified family tree using the genealogies in scripture without defying biology, physics, and the space-time continuum. One could also trip over silly questions when comparing conflicting accounts of how exactly Judas came to die, the day of the week of the crucifixion, the ethnicity of the slave traders that bought Joseph, or how many times the rooster crowed before Peter denied Jesus. These, however, are actually all trivialities in the grand scheme of the overall story. The unity of scripture vastly outweighs these questionable portions. The Bible is a very old book. It is, in fact, a collection of books, written in multiple languages from the perspective of multiple times and cultures. It is written in many different genres. Different portions of the Bible are separated by thousands of years, hundreds of kilometres. It is written by authors as vastly different as the oral tradition of a nomadic tribe is to an educated Greek doctor at the height of the Roman Empire. The fact that there is such incredible agreement about the nature of God and the story of Grace and Justice through a Messiah-King is far more astounding than the portions we perceive as contradictory. The truth is that we may believe the Bible was written for us, but in the most literal and practical sense it wasn't written to us. This is not a scientific or even historical document in the sense that we