Easter 5
Preaching
Lectionary Preaching Workbook, SERIES II
for use with Common, Lutheran, and Roman Catholic Lectionaries
Comments on the Lessons
The Acts 14:8-18 reading is a powerful healing and preaching passage. Note that Paul and Barnabas are acclaimed as gods for healing the man at Lystra. The Acts 13:44-52 passage was dealt with in the RC reading last Sunday and will not be repeated here. Acts 14:21-27 tells of Paul and his companions going about in Asia Minor, strengthening the disciples and saying that they must suffer many tribulations. It contains their reporting in Antioch concerning their missionary work to the Gentiles. There is near consensus on the Revelation reading and verse 6 provides a good ending. There is consensus on the John reading. Note that verse 33b appears to refer to all and not to Jews only.
Commentary
Acts 14:8-18 (C)
(The reader will find it helpful to consult a map of Asia Minor showing the travels of Paul in order better to understand the readings from Acts.)
This reading is part of the section of 14:1-18, describing Paul and his associates' ministry in the Iconium region and their return. This pericope concludes Paul's first missionary journey. Paul and his companions fled from Iconium to Lystra, which was twenty miles south. Notice that the curing miracle here is similar to that of the man at the temple, cured by Peter in Acts 3:2-10. Both were lame from birth. The healer looked intently at them. When healed, they sprang up and walked. Note the vivid details of the account.
The healing probably occurred on a market day or more likely on a festival when the city was full of crowds of people. One MS indicates that the handicapped man had heard of the God of the Jews for he was in fear of God. This would indicate he was a "God-fearer" or Gentile who worshiped the God of Israel but was not a convert. If this was the case, this would account for his quick response of faith to Paul's message. Paul was speaking of being saved through faith in Jesus Christ and the man responded. Paul cried to the man with a loud voice, "Stand upright on your feet" (v. 13), and he did.
The result of this healing was acclaimed by the crowd. According to the myth of that area, the gods Zeus and Hermes had visited Baucis and Philemon in the likeness of men and had rewarded their hospitality. Since Paul was the chief speaker, he is identified with Hermes, the patron of oratory. Barnabas was taken for Zeus, which could suggest that Barnabas was seen as the leader of the mission. Paul and his associates did not understand Lycaonian, the dialect of that region. (It was still used until the sixth century A.D.) This explains why Paul and his company did not understand what the people were doing as they were organizing the sacrifice to them. The priest of Zeus, whose temple was outside the city, prepared to sacrifice to the apostles, but when Paul and Barnabas heard of it they came out and tore their garments, the prescribed Jewish reaction to blasphemy. The oxen were typical animals for pagan sacrifice, symbolizing both raw power and fertility.
In verses 15-18 we have Paul's speech. It is a preview of his sermon in Athens. (See Acts 17:21-33.) Note Paul's protest: "We also are men." It is similar to 10:26, where Peter says, "Stand up; I too am a man." The word translated of like nature is a Greek word meaning "of like feelings." The pagans did not believe their gods had feelings, so Paul disclaims being Hermes because he has feelings as other humans do.
Although Paul and Barnabas were horrified by the pagans' actions, notice that they were polite in addressing the people, saying "Sirs, why do you do these things?" They might have dressed them down in anger, but instead they appealed to their reason and conscience.
Consider Paul's method in his preaching the Gospel: (a) He begins with the simplest, but at the same time most fundamental truth of religion: there is but one God, a living God who created everything that exists. (b) Then Paul uses the method of accommodation and appeals to the evidence familiar to country folk - nature itself. He builds on the feeling of gladness and joy of the festival. Paul goes on to make the following moves:
1. He explains who he and his company are - not gods, but bringers of good news of the true and real God. The pagan gods had no real existence according to Hebrew doctrine. Paul and his associates sought to turn them from their allegiance to one set of gods to the true and living God who is Creator.
2. But an objection appears to have been raised by someone in the crowd: Why had this God left them in ignorance concerning himself? Paul dealt with this issue also, speaking to the Athenians of the "unknown god," and also when writing to the Romans. But since the people here were not philosophers Paul did not get into a discussion. He simply declares that it was God's plan: "He allowed all of the nations to walk in their own ways." (v. 17)
3. But Paul also points out that their ignorance was in part their own fault: "Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good and gave you from heaven rains and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness." (v. 17) Paul argues from design in nature to point them to the Creator God. The orderliness of nature - seasons, rains, provision for food - all point to a gracious God. This form of the bounty of God led to religious festivals. Even as Thanksgiving is celebrated as a harvest festival today when participants worship God and give thanks for his bounty, so people in other times and places have gathered to feast and express their gladness and gratitude.
So Paul does not engage in a philosophical argument but proclaims the Old Testament faith in God as creator. God's providential care as a witness to him is similar to Romans 1:20. Note Luke's emphasis on God's allowing the "nations to walk in their own ways." (cf. 17:30)
Acts 14:21-27 (RC)
In this passage we have an account of the conclusion of Paul's first missionary journey with his ministry in Iconium and return to Antioch. Paul retraces his steps to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch. Remember that Paul and his associates had been driven from Lystra and Iconium by illegal violence. But since Paul was a Roman citizen he could return with confidence. It may be that new civil officials had come into power in Antioch.
Some scholars think that the material following 16:5 belongs here, which would indicate that Paul goes from this area, described in verses 21-24, to northern Galatia and the west. Luke says they went about "strengthening the souls of the disciples," a pattern of mission work already described by Luke in 9:32-43 where he tells of Peter's "going here and there among them all." The purpose of the apostles was to exhort the disciples to continue in the faith, warning them of the many tribulations they would go through in order to enter the Kingdom of God. The notion that there are many tribulations to go through is typical of Luke.
Paul and associates appointed elders in every church they organized. Thus, Paul and the apostles accomplished two things on this return visit to the churches: (1) They made the disciples stand firm in the Lord by encouraging them to abide in the faith, giving them a right understanding of persecution. (2) They set up an effective church organization, especially among the congregations which were left independent of the synagogue and did not have apostles to guide them. It should be noted that the word for appointment originally denoted election by a show of hands, but this original meaning had been lost. So in Paul's time it could mean a popular election by the churches, or a monarchic appointment as if by God. The word came to mean ordination in the technical sense. Luke has earlier given us three examples of election and ordination in the cases of Matthias; the Seven; and Paul and Barnabas. The term "elder" never occurs in the authentic letters of Paul. Understand that Luke sees the church's organization following the pattern of the synagogue.
Then with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord. This committal included both the new elders and the whole church.
The return to Pisidian Antioch would have taken only a few days, and they spoke the Gospel in Perga and went to Attalia and to Antioch. They had been commended to the grace of God in Antioch for the work which they had fulfilled.
They gathered the church together to give a missionary report of their work. But note carefully how they described their work. They declare "all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles." (v. 27) God admitted into his Kingdom those who were not
of the circumcision and the law, but who simply had faith in Jesus. The Kingdom of God here refers to the realm which the faithful will enter into following death. Paul and associates stayed with them a considerable time. Realize that the object of the mission was the Gentiles and, now that they have been admitted into God's Kingdom, their role in the church must be decided.
Revelation 21:1-6 (C) (L)
Revelation 21:1-5 (RC)
In the section covered by 21:1--22:5 the New Jerusalem is described from John's vision. The new heaven and earth had earlier been foretold by the prophet Isaiah. (65:17; 66:22) In this new age all creation will be renewed and cleansed of imperfections. Creation will be transformed by the glory of God. Note how John adds that the sea was no more. This may reflect the Jewish dread of the sea, and awe in the face of the mysteries of the deep. The new heaven and earth may reflect the Iranian eschatology which said that by the divine will of Ormazd the whole universe, including hell, will be renovated in the new age and it will last forever. Jewish writings also reflected this idea of the renovation of the old world rather than an entirely new one. This is in spite of the prophet Isaiah's prediction noted already.
The New Jerusalem is the church, as noted in Galatians 4:26. She will be adorned as a bride for her husband. John heard a voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them ..." (v. 3) No longer will God be transcendent in heaven, but will instead be with his worshipers. God will be immanent when he leaves heaven for earth where his presence (Shekinah) will be eternally with his people in the New Jerusalem.
The effects of God's presence with his worshipers will be that (1) God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, (2) death shall be no more, (3) neither shall there be mourning nor crying, (4) nor pain any more, (5) for the former things will have passed away.
John heard the One upon the throne say, "Behold, I make all things new." The old age ruled by Satan is ended and Satan himself is vanished. God's new age will be firmly established.
John is instructed to write this, for the words he has heard, like Christ himself, are true and faithful. Similar commands were given by Christ in 1:11 and by a voice from heaven in 14:13, and an angel in 19:9. John stresses that his predictions are authentic since their ultimate source is none other than God himself.
"It is done" (v. 6) means that God's words have come to pass and God's purposes have been accomplished. God who speaks these words is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. Reflect on the fact that both these titles are assumed by Christ in 22:13.
John 13:31-35
Our pericope is part of the larger farewell discourse of Jesus in 13:31--14:31. An even larger section is 14:1--17:26, which includes Jesus' farewell discourses and prayer. It is like a love letter in that it is difficult to outline. The last words of Jesus in this larger discourse form a unity with Jesus' high priestly prayer, in which he dedicates himself to his last act of sacrifice and intercedes for his disciples so that they may continue his work. These farewell discourses appear to contain meditations upon sayings of Jesus, composed at different times and strung together without any kind of organic unity. The climax of these meditations is in the high priestly prayer of chapter 17. This prayer roots within the Godhead the mystical union of the church with its Lord and the unity of its members with one another.
The thrust of the pericope of verses 31-35 is. the new commandment Jesus gives the disciples to love one another, even as he has loved them.
When Judas went out, Jesus spoke confidently of the situation. There was heavy tragedy in the action of Judas in betraying Jesus. Jesus speaks to the little band with him and says, "Now is the Son of man glorified and in him God is glorified ..." The great act by which God will be glorified and so vindicated is now under way. The action about to happen to Jesus is unique. It will have universal effects throughout his own community and, through it, to all people. Reflect on the fact that the moment of greatest tension and apparent darkness is at the same time that of the greatest release from tension and of light.
John goes out of his way to show that Jesus did not die in shame and ignominy, and that he was later restored to honor and glory. John regrets the view that the Cross was dishonor and shame, and the Resurrection was for the first time the moment of victory and glory. Rather, for John the whole story was the glorification of the Son of man. John writes, "Now is the Son of man glorified." This is a peculiar contribution of John to Christian thought about the death of Jesus.
Consider that the real thrust here concerns God who has come to human beings in the form of man in the person of Jesus the Christ. Note that the real actor in this drama is God himself. God will be glorified in the Son, even as the Son will glorify the Father.
In verse 32 "at once" indicates that Jesus' glorification begins from the very moment of Judas' defection. The meaning is that God will glorify the Son at once, then and there.
"Little children" (v. 33) is common to the Johannine epistles, but does not appear in the Gospel except here.
Jesus, instead of saying "I," uses "Son of man" here (as he does so often in the Synoptics). God who has been glorified in the works of Jesus will now be glorified (revealed) by the passion of the Son. Jesus who said he came to do God's will is about to consummate perfect obedience to the Father by his death. But the Cross, never the last word in the New Testament, is also viewed in the light of the Easter event.
The meaning of Jesus' words, "God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once," is found in the prayer of Jesus in 17:5, where he prays in the Garden: "And now, Father, glorify through me in thy own presence with the glory which I had with thee before the world was made."
We will not deal with the two textual variants in verses 31-32. The reader is referred to critical commentaries. This writer takes the meaning to be that, just as the Son has glorified the Father by doing his works according to his will, so the Father will glorify the Son in his own earthly life by allowing the glory which was his even before the world was created to shine forth for humans to see.
Jesus' glorification means separation from the disciples. (v. 33) Jesus is about to go where the disciples cannot follow, since he goes to be at his Father's side. From being a slave and servant of all, he goes to resume his role as Lord. But this separation is not permanent.
Jesus gives them a new commandment, to love one another even as he has loved them. The new aspect of this commandment is not love, since Israel's law had required mutual love from the Jews. The newness is this: the love he requires of his disciples is to be of the kind with which he has loved them. This new kind of love reverses the roles and turns the leader into a slave; the innocent serve as the guilty as this new kind of love brings peace by its sacrificial quality. Such love does not ask whether or not the object of its love is worthy.
The law of life under the reign of God is love. The love which Jesus commands the disciples to have for one another is expressed not just in feelings and words, important as they are, but also in actions. It is expressed in:
1. The capacity to give (Matthew 5:42)
2. Readiness for service (Mark 10:42-45; Luke 22:24-27)
3. In works of love of every kind (Matthew 25:31-46). Note that in this passage a list of the six most important works of love are repeated four times
4. In willingness to forgive one's brother or sister
5. The boundlessness of love. Such love is not only expressed to social equals, but rather there is preference for the poor (Luke 14:12-14) with whom Jesus identifies himself. Such love is not just for those of a like mind or value system, but is even for enemies. (Matthew 5:44; Luke 6:27f) The boundlessness of such love is illustrated in the parable of the Good Samaritan. Since Jews usually spoke of priests, Levites and Israelites, it must have surprised Jesus' hearers when he made the third person a Samaritan instead of an Israelite. Samaritans were hated enemies of mixed origin.
Jesus held up the Samaritan as a model for the practice of love, a direct insult to any Jew who was self-aware. So Jesus says that the selfless help which this mixed breed enemy Samaritan shows the man left for dead demonstrates the commandment to love without limits.
While the Old Testament commanded the Jews to love their compatriots, they were not required to love personal enemies. (Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 5:43) In fact, a Jew was prohibited from giving bread to sinners.
Mark well the really new thing about Jesus' command to love: Jesus' call is one to love those who do them wrong and persecute them. They are also to pray for their enemies, in addition to loving them. Through intercession the persecutor is brought into relationship with God and the disciple. Contrast this commandment of Jesus with the rule of the Essenes, which said a merciless hate against sinners was a religious duty.
Ernest Gordon, in his Through the Valley of the Kwai, tells of a Scottish soldier, Angus McGillivray, who sacrificed his life for his "mucker" or pal, one with whom he shared everything in the Japanese prison of war camp in World War II in Asia. First he gave his mucker his blanket, then his food rations. He risked his life to get objects from the black market for his mucker. "The mucker got better. Then Angus collapsed. Just slumped down and died." When Gordon asked what he died from, he was told, "Starvation, complicated by exhaustion. He had mucked in with everything he had - even his life." And all for his friend. (pp. 102-103, Harper and Row, 1962) This new quality of love is illustrated by persons who each year receive recognition from the Carnegie Hero Fund. The preacher should check a library for newspaper accounts of this yearly award to a select brave and selfless group of folks. One example is that of William D. Shoemaker, twelve years old, of Elkland, Missouri. He saved a twelve-year-old boy from drowning in a farm pond on July 2, 1985.
The preacher will probably think of the folk song, "They'll Know We Are Christians by Our Love." Keep in mind, however, that it is not human love which shows we are Christians, but rather the divine quality of love in our lives, a love revealed in Christ's death for us which reveals we are Christians. The key is in Jesus' words: "Love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another." (v. 34)
Theological Reflections
God's love is expressed in the healing of the man who was a cripple from birth and the message of good news of a living God in Acts 14:8-18. In Acts 14:21-27 Luke tells of Paul and his associates strengthening the souls of disciples in churches they had founded. They reported what God had done with them and how he had opened a door to the Gentiles. The reading from Revelation is John's vision of the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven and the new heaven and the new earth in which God will dwell with his people and make all things new. All the former things - pain, sorrow, death - will be no more. The John 13:31-15 portion tells of the Father and Jesus' being glorified through Jesus' death and resurrection and Jesus' command to his disciples to love one another, even as he loved them. He says that their new quality of love for one another will reveal to all people that they are his disciples.
Homiletical Moves
Acts 14:8-18 (C)
Turn to a Living God!
1. Paul demonstrates the power of the living God in healing the man who had never walked
2. Paul and Barnabas reject the efforts of the people of Lystra to worship them as gods, and point rather to the living God
3. Paul and the apostles bring them good news of the Creator God who has ordered the seasons and provided for their needs
4. Trust in the living God who heals and providentially cares for our lives
Acts 14:21-27 (RC)
They Declared All That God Had Done With Them
1. Paul and his associates return to towns they had visited in order to strengthen the disciples and exhort them to continue in the faith
2. They warn the disciples that they must pass through many tribulations to enter the Kingdom of God
3. They appoint elders for every church and, with prayer and fasting, commit them to the Lord
4. Paul and the apostles report to the church in Antioch which sent them out "all that God had done with them" and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles
5. Let us stand firm in our faith in God as we go through tribulations, giving God the glory for our service in the Kingdom of God
Revelation 21:1-6 (C) (L)
Revelation 21:1-5 (RC)
The New Heaven and New Earth
1. In the new heaven and earth God will dwell with his people
2. God will make all things new
3. The former things of sorrow, death and pain will have passed away
4. Trust in the God who is the Alpha and the Omega, the all-encompassing God who is breaking in from the future with a new heaven and a new earth
This Preacher's Preference
John 13:31-35
The thrust of this passage is the glorifying of both the Son and Father through Jesus' death, which Judas has now gone to arrange. This death will reveal God's love which Jesus commands the disciples to have for one another so that all people will see they are his disciples. The sermon may focus on the glorifying of the Son and Father through Jesus' death. Or it may focus on the new commandment to love one another with a divine quality of love, by which all people will recognize the disciples as belongihg to Jesus. This writer takes the latter approach in the "moves" below.
1. God's love in Christ is revealed in Jesus' death for us, a death in which the innocent dies for the guilty
2. Jesus commands us to love one another, even as he has loved us
3. By loving one another with such a divine love all people will know we are Jesus' disciples
Hymn for Easter 5: Jesus, Thy Boundless Love to Me, or
They'll Know We Are Christians by Our Love
Prayer
Gracious God, who has loved us with a boundless love in Jesus Christ, we confess we have not always loved others as Jesus loved us. We pray that we may have a greater vision of the new heaven and new earth which is breaking in from the future, when you will dwell with your people and death, sorrow and pain will be no more. Grant us a greater measure of the Spirit, to enable us to love one another and so be known as Jesus' disciples. Amen
The Acts 14:8-18 reading is a powerful healing and preaching passage. Note that Paul and Barnabas are acclaimed as gods for healing the man at Lystra. The Acts 13:44-52 passage was dealt with in the RC reading last Sunday and will not be repeated here. Acts 14:21-27 tells of Paul and his companions going about in Asia Minor, strengthening the disciples and saying that they must suffer many tribulations. It contains their reporting in Antioch concerning their missionary work to the Gentiles. There is near consensus on the Revelation reading and verse 6 provides a good ending. There is consensus on the John reading. Note that verse 33b appears to refer to all and not to Jews only.
Commentary
Acts 14:8-18 (C)
(The reader will find it helpful to consult a map of Asia Minor showing the travels of Paul in order better to understand the readings from Acts.)
This reading is part of the section of 14:1-18, describing Paul and his associates' ministry in the Iconium region and their return. This pericope concludes Paul's first missionary journey. Paul and his companions fled from Iconium to Lystra, which was twenty miles south. Notice that the curing miracle here is similar to that of the man at the temple, cured by Peter in Acts 3:2-10. Both were lame from birth. The healer looked intently at them. When healed, they sprang up and walked. Note the vivid details of the account.
The healing probably occurred on a market day or more likely on a festival when the city was full of crowds of people. One MS indicates that the handicapped man had heard of the God of the Jews for he was in fear of God. This would indicate he was a "God-fearer" or Gentile who worshiped the God of Israel but was not a convert. If this was the case, this would account for his quick response of faith to Paul's message. Paul was speaking of being saved through faith in Jesus Christ and the man responded. Paul cried to the man with a loud voice, "Stand upright on your feet" (v. 13), and he did.
The result of this healing was acclaimed by the crowd. According to the myth of that area, the gods Zeus and Hermes had visited Baucis and Philemon in the likeness of men and had rewarded their hospitality. Since Paul was the chief speaker, he is identified with Hermes, the patron of oratory. Barnabas was taken for Zeus, which could suggest that Barnabas was seen as the leader of the mission. Paul and his associates did not understand Lycaonian, the dialect of that region. (It was still used until the sixth century A.D.) This explains why Paul and his company did not understand what the people were doing as they were organizing the sacrifice to them. The priest of Zeus, whose temple was outside the city, prepared to sacrifice to the apostles, but when Paul and Barnabas heard of it they came out and tore their garments, the prescribed Jewish reaction to blasphemy. The oxen were typical animals for pagan sacrifice, symbolizing both raw power and fertility.
In verses 15-18 we have Paul's speech. It is a preview of his sermon in Athens. (See Acts 17:21-33.) Note Paul's protest: "We also are men." It is similar to 10:26, where Peter says, "Stand up; I too am a man." The word translated of like nature is a Greek word meaning "of like feelings." The pagans did not believe their gods had feelings, so Paul disclaims being Hermes because he has feelings as other humans do.
Although Paul and Barnabas were horrified by the pagans' actions, notice that they were polite in addressing the people, saying "Sirs, why do you do these things?" They might have dressed them down in anger, but instead they appealed to their reason and conscience.
Consider Paul's method in his preaching the Gospel: (a) He begins with the simplest, but at the same time most fundamental truth of religion: there is but one God, a living God who created everything that exists. (b) Then Paul uses the method of accommodation and appeals to the evidence familiar to country folk - nature itself. He builds on the feeling of gladness and joy of the festival. Paul goes on to make the following moves:
1. He explains who he and his company are - not gods, but bringers of good news of the true and real God. The pagan gods had no real existence according to Hebrew doctrine. Paul and his associates sought to turn them from their allegiance to one set of gods to the true and living God who is Creator.
2. But an objection appears to have been raised by someone in the crowd: Why had this God left them in ignorance concerning himself? Paul dealt with this issue also, speaking to the Athenians of the "unknown god," and also when writing to the Romans. But since the people here were not philosophers Paul did not get into a discussion. He simply declares that it was God's plan: "He allowed all of the nations to walk in their own ways." (v. 17)
3. But Paul also points out that their ignorance was in part their own fault: "Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good and gave you from heaven rains and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness." (v. 17) Paul argues from design in nature to point them to the Creator God. The orderliness of nature - seasons, rains, provision for food - all point to a gracious God. This form of the bounty of God led to religious festivals. Even as Thanksgiving is celebrated as a harvest festival today when participants worship God and give thanks for his bounty, so people in other times and places have gathered to feast and express their gladness and gratitude.
So Paul does not engage in a philosophical argument but proclaims the Old Testament faith in God as creator. God's providential care as a witness to him is similar to Romans 1:20. Note Luke's emphasis on God's allowing the "nations to walk in their own ways." (cf. 17:30)
Acts 14:21-27 (RC)
In this passage we have an account of the conclusion of Paul's first missionary journey with his ministry in Iconium and return to Antioch. Paul retraces his steps to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch. Remember that Paul and his associates had been driven from Lystra and Iconium by illegal violence. But since Paul was a Roman citizen he could return with confidence. It may be that new civil officials had come into power in Antioch.
Some scholars think that the material following 16:5 belongs here, which would indicate that Paul goes from this area, described in verses 21-24, to northern Galatia and the west. Luke says they went about "strengthening the souls of the disciples," a pattern of mission work already described by Luke in 9:32-43 where he tells of Peter's "going here and there among them all." The purpose of the apostles was to exhort the disciples to continue in the faith, warning them of the many tribulations they would go through in order to enter the Kingdom of God. The notion that there are many tribulations to go through is typical of Luke.
Paul and associates appointed elders in every church they organized. Thus, Paul and the apostles accomplished two things on this return visit to the churches: (1) They made the disciples stand firm in the Lord by encouraging them to abide in the faith, giving them a right understanding of persecution. (2) They set up an effective church organization, especially among the congregations which were left independent of the synagogue and did not have apostles to guide them. It should be noted that the word for appointment originally denoted election by a show of hands, but this original meaning had been lost. So in Paul's time it could mean a popular election by the churches, or a monarchic appointment as if by God. The word came to mean ordination in the technical sense. Luke has earlier given us three examples of election and ordination in the cases of Matthias; the Seven; and Paul and Barnabas. The term "elder" never occurs in the authentic letters of Paul. Understand that Luke sees the church's organization following the pattern of the synagogue.
Then with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord. This committal included both the new elders and the whole church.
The return to Pisidian Antioch would have taken only a few days, and they spoke the Gospel in Perga and went to Attalia and to Antioch. They had been commended to the grace of God in Antioch for the work which they had fulfilled.
They gathered the church together to give a missionary report of their work. But note carefully how they described their work. They declare "all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles." (v. 27) God admitted into his Kingdom those who were not
of the circumcision and the law, but who simply had faith in Jesus. The Kingdom of God here refers to the realm which the faithful will enter into following death. Paul and associates stayed with them a considerable time. Realize that the object of the mission was the Gentiles and, now that they have been admitted into God's Kingdom, their role in the church must be decided.
Revelation 21:1-6 (C) (L)
Revelation 21:1-5 (RC)
In the section covered by 21:1--22:5 the New Jerusalem is described from John's vision. The new heaven and earth had earlier been foretold by the prophet Isaiah. (65:17; 66:22) In this new age all creation will be renewed and cleansed of imperfections. Creation will be transformed by the glory of God. Note how John adds that the sea was no more. This may reflect the Jewish dread of the sea, and awe in the face of the mysteries of the deep. The new heaven and earth may reflect the Iranian eschatology which said that by the divine will of Ormazd the whole universe, including hell, will be renovated in the new age and it will last forever. Jewish writings also reflected this idea of the renovation of the old world rather than an entirely new one. This is in spite of the prophet Isaiah's prediction noted already.
The New Jerusalem is the church, as noted in Galatians 4:26. She will be adorned as a bride for her husband. John heard a voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them ..." (v. 3) No longer will God be transcendent in heaven, but will instead be with his worshipers. God will be immanent when he leaves heaven for earth where his presence (Shekinah) will be eternally with his people in the New Jerusalem.
The effects of God's presence with his worshipers will be that (1) God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, (2) death shall be no more, (3) neither shall there be mourning nor crying, (4) nor pain any more, (5) for the former things will have passed away.
John heard the One upon the throne say, "Behold, I make all things new." The old age ruled by Satan is ended and Satan himself is vanished. God's new age will be firmly established.
John is instructed to write this, for the words he has heard, like Christ himself, are true and faithful. Similar commands were given by Christ in 1:11 and by a voice from heaven in 14:13, and an angel in 19:9. John stresses that his predictions are authentic since their ultimate source is none other than God himself.
"It is done" (v. 6) means that God's words have come to pass and God's purposes have been accomplished. God who speaks these words is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. Reflect on the fact that both these titles are assumed by Christ in 22:13.
John 13:31-35
Our pericope is part of the larger farewell discourse of Jesus in 13:31--14:31. An even larger section is 14:1--17:26, which includes Jesus' farewell discourses and prayer. It is like a love letter in that it is difficult to outline. The last words of Jesus in this larger discourse form a unity with Jesus' high priestly prayer, in which he dedicates himself to his last act of sacrifice and intercedes for his disciples so that they may continue his work. These farewell discourses appear to contain meditations upon sayings of Jesus, composed at different times and strung together without any kind of organic unity. The climax of these meditations is in the high priestly prayer of chapter 17. This prayer roots within the Godhead the mystical union of the church with its Lord and the unity of its members with one another.
The thrust of the pericope of verses 31-35 is. the new commandment Jesus gives the disciples to love one another, even as he has loved them.
When Judas went out, Jesus spoke confidently of the situation. There was heavy tragedy in the action of Judas in betraying Jesus. Jesus speaks to the little band with him and says, "Now is the Son of man glorified and in him God is glorified ..." The great act by which God will be glorified and so vindicated is now under way. The action about to happen to Jesus is unique. It will have universal effects throughout his own community and, through it, to all people. Reflect on the fact that the moment of greatest tension and apparent darkness is at the same time that of the greatest release from tension and of light.
John goes out of his way to show that Jesus did not die in shame and ignominy, and that he was later restored to honor and glory. John regrets the view that the Cross was dishonor and shame, and the Resurrection was for the first time the moment of victory and glory. Rather, for John the whole story was the glorification of the Son of man. John writes, "Now is the Son of man glorified." This is a peculiar contribution of John to Christian thought about the death of Jesus.
Consider that the real thrust here concerns God who has come to human beings in the form of man in the person of Jesus the Christ. Note that the real actor in this drama is God himself. God will be glorified in the Son, even as the Son will glorify the Father.
In verse 32 "at once" indicates that Jesus' glorification begins from the very moment of Judas' defection. The meaning is that God will glorify the Son at once, then and there.
"Little children" (v. 33) is common to the Johannine epistles, but does not appear in the Gospel except here.
Jesus, instead of saying "I," uses "Son of man" here (as he does so often in the Synoptics). God who has been glorified in the works of Jesus will now be glorified (revealed) by the passion of the Son. Jesus who said he came to do God's will is about to consummate perfect obedience to the Father by his death. But the Cross, never the last word in the New Testament, is also viewed in the light of the Easter event.
The meaning of Jesus' words, "God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once," is found in the prayer of Jesus in 17:5, where he prays in the Garden: "And now, Father, glorify through me in thy own presence with the glory which I had with thee before the world was made."
We will not deal with the two textual variants in verses 31-32. The reader is referred to critical commentaries. This writer takes the meaning to be that, just as the Son has glorified the Father by doing his works according to his will, so the Father will glorify the Son in his own earthly life by allowing the glory which was his even before the world was created to shine forth for humans to see.
Jesus' glorification means separation from the disciples. (v. 33) Jesus is about to go where the disciples cannot follow, since he goes to be at his Father's side. From being a slave and servant of all, he goes to resume his role as Lord. But this separation is not permanent.
Jesus gives them a new commandment, to love one another even as he has loved them. The new aspect of this commandment is not love, since Israel's law had required mutual love from the Jews. The newness is this: the love he requires of his disciples is to be of the kind with which he has loved them. This new kind of love reverses the roles and turns the leader into a slave; the innocent serve as the guilty as this new kind of love brings peace by its sacrificial quality. Such love does not ask whether or not the object of its love is worthy.
The law of life under the reign of God is love. The love which Jesus commands the disciples to have for one another is expressed not just in feelings and words, important as they are, but also in actions. It is expressed in:
1. The capacity to give (Matthew 5:42)
2. Readiness for service (Mark 10:42-45; Luke 22:24-27)
3. In works of love of every kind (Matthew 25:31-46). Note that in this passage a list of the six most important works of love are repeated four times
4. In willingness to forgive one's brother or sister
5. The boundlessness of love. Such love is not only expressed to social equals, but rather there is preference for the poor (Luke 14:12-14) with whom Jesus identifies himself. Such love is not just for those of a like mind or value system, but is even for enemies. (Matthew 5:44; Luke 6:27f) The boundlessness of such love is illustrated in the parable of the Good Samaritan. Since Jews usually spoke of priests, Levites and Israelites, it must have surprised Jesus' hearers when he made the third person a Samaritan instead of an Israelite. Samaritans were hated enemies of mixed origin.
Jesus held up the Samaritan as a model for the practice of love, a direct insult to any Jew who was self-aware. So Jesus says that the selfless help which this mixed breed enemy Samaritan shows the man left for dead demonstrates the commandment to love without limits.
While the Old Testament commanded the Jews to love their compatriots, they were not required to love personal enemies. (Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 5:43) In fact, a Jew was prohibited from giving bread to sinners.
Mark well the really new thing about Jesus' command to love: Jesus' call is one to love those who do them wrong and persecute them. They are also to pray for their enemies, in addition to loving them. Through intercession the persecutor is brought into relationship with God and the disciple. Contrast this commandment of Jesus with the rule of the Essenes, which said a merciless hate against sinners was a religious duty.
Ernest Gordon, in his Through the Valley of the Kwai, tells of a Scottish soldier, Angus McGillivray, who sacrificed his life for his "mucker" or pal, one with whom he shared everything in the Japanese prison of war camp in World War II in Asia. First he gave his mucker his blanket, then his food rations. He risked his life to get objects from the black market for his mucker. "The mucker got better. Then Angus collapsed. Just slumped down and died." When Gordon asked what he died from, he was told, "Starvation, complicated by exhaustion. He had mucked in with everything he had - even his life." And all for his friend. (pp. 102-103, Harper and Row, 1962) This new quality of love is illustrated by persons who each year receive recognition from the Carnegie Hero Fund. The preacher should check a library for newspaper accounts of this yearly award to a select brave and selfless group of folks. One example is that of William D. Shoemaker, twelve years old, of Elkland, Missouri. He saved a twelve-year-old boy from drowning in a farm pond on July 2, 1985.
The preacher will probably think of the folk song, "They'll Know We Are Christians by Our Love." Keep in mind, however, that it is not human love which shows we are Christians, but rather the divine quality of love in our lives, a love revealed in Christ's death for us which reveals we are Christians. The key is in Jesus' words: "Love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another." (v. 34)
Theological Reflections
God's love is expressed in the healing of the man who was a cripple from birth and the message of good news of a living God in Acts 14:8-18. In Acts 14:21-27 Luke tells of Paul and his associates strengthening the souls of disciples in churches they had founded. They reported what God had done with them and how he had opened a door to the Gentiles. The reading from Revelation is John's vision of the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven and the new heaven and the new earth in which God will dwell with his people and make all things new. All the former things - pain, sorrow, death - will be no more. The John 13:31-15 portion tells of the Father and Jesus' being glorified through Jesus' death and resurrection and Jesus' command to his disciples to love one another, even as he loved them. He says that their new quality of love for one another will reveal to all people that they are his disciples.
Homiletical Moves
Acts 14:8-18 (C)
Turn to a Living God!
1. Paul demonstrates the power of the living God in healing the man who had never walked
2. Paul and Barnabas reject the efforts of the people of Lystra to worship them as gods, and point rather to the living God
3. Paul and the apostles bring them good news of the Creator God who has ordered the seasons and provided for their needs
4. Trust in the living God who heals and providentially cares for our lives
Acts 14:21-27 (RC)
They Declared All That God Had Done With Them
1. Paul and his associates return to towns they had visited in order to strengthen the disciples and exhort them to continue in the faith
2. They warn the disciples that they must pass through many tribulations to enter the Kingdom of God
3. They appoint elders for every church and, with prayer and fasting, commit them to the Lord
4. Paul and the apostles report to the church in Antioch which sent them out "all that God had done with them" and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles
5. Let us stand firm in our faith in God as we go through tribulations, giving God the glory for our service in the Kingdom of God
Revelation 21:1-6 (C) (L)
Revelation 21:1-5 (RC)
The New Heaven and New Earth
1. In the new heaven and earth God will dwell with his people
2. God will make all things new
3. The former things of sorrow, death and pain will have passed away
4. Trust in the God who is the Alpha and the Omega, the all-encompassing God who is breaking in from the future with a new heaven and a new earth
This Preacher's Preference
John 13:31-35
The thrust of this passage is the glorifying of both the Son and Father through Jesus' death, which Judas has now gone to arrange. This death will reveal God's love which Jesus commands the disciples to have for one another so that all people will see they are his disciples. The sermon may focus on the glorifying of the Son and Father through Jesus' death. Or it may focus on the new commandment to love one another with a divine quality of love, by which all people will recognize the disciples as belongihg to Jesus. This writer takes the latter approach in the "moves" below.
1. God's love in Christ is revealed in Jesus' death for us, a death in which the innocent dies for the guilty
2. Jesus commands us to love one another, even as he has loved us
3. By loving one another with such a divine love all people will know we are Jesus' disciples
Hymn for Easter 5: Jesus, Thy Boundless Love to Me, or
They'll Know We Are Christians by Our Love
Prayer
Gracious God, who has loved us with a boundless love in Jesus Christ, we confess we have not always loved others as Jesus loved us. We pray that we may have a greater vision of the new heaven and new earth which is breaking in from the future, when you will dwell with your people and death, sorrow and pain will be no more. Grant us a greater measure of the Spirit, to enable us to love one another and so be known as Jesus' disciples. Amen
