Tag: Podcast

Episode NT50 Paul and Barnabas at Pisidian Antioch

Story 50 – Paul and Barnabas at Pisidian Antioch

Based on Acts chapter 13 verses 13 to 52

It was time for Paul (who used to be known as Saul) and Barnabas, along with John Mark, to move on. So, leaving Cyprus, the place Barnabas knew so well, they decided to head up to the area Paul was from. Sailing from the Cyprian port of Paphos, they took the 100 mile or so sea voyage up to Asia Minor, probably landing at Attalia, and then travelled about 12 miles inland to Perga. However, when they reached Perga, they suffered a painful setback, as John Mark abandoned them and left for Jerusalem.

Quite what was happening, we don’t know. Maybe John Mark missed his home and his mother? Or maybe he didn’t like the way things were changing, as Paul took more and more of a leading role and his cousin Barnabas less? It could have been that they’d come to a new and potentially dangerous place and John Mark felt worried? We’ll never know but, even as they suffered this loss, it seemed that other things were also going wrong as, instead of staying in Perga, they quickly left that area and headed north. It seems that Paul may have been quite ill, as he talks about that in one of his letters at another time. So, instead of staying in Perga, they went on quite a long and arduous journey on dangerous roads and through mountain passes that were well known for being infested with robbers and bandits. But the advantage of the journey, especially if Paul was ill, was that it took them away from the heat of the south Galatian plateau and up to the cool and no doubt bracing air of the Taurus plateau, about 3,500 feet above sea level. And so, they eventually came to a place called Antioch. Obviously, it was a different Antioch from where they’d originally started, and was known as Pisidian Antioch, to distinguish it from the Antioch that had sent Paul and Barnabas out on the mission they were now on.

On their arrival at Pisidian Antioch, and no doubt when Paul was well enough, on the Sabbath day – the day when Jewish people always gather together to worship, and which is our Saturday – they went to the Jewish synagogue in town.

The service followed its usual pattern and it was a custom that, if a visiting Rabbi or Jewish teacher came to the synagogue, they’d be asked if they’d speak to the gathered people. Now, Paul was a teacher and they would’ve probably known that from the type of clothing he wore. So, at the appropriate moment in the service, the leaders of the Jewish synagogue sent a message to Paul and Barnabas to ask if they had a message to encourage the people and, if so, to speak in the meeting. Well, as you can imagine, Paul and Barnabas did have a message, all about the wonderful news of God’s love through Jesus, and were more than happy to share it with them.

It was Paul who did the actual preaching and he was a man who knew how to preach and had lots of experience. Starting by standing and making a hand gesture to let the people know that he had something to say that was worth listening to and, knowing that he was talking to mainly Jews, he began by talking about a subject close to their hearts, Jewish history.

‘Men of Israel and everyone else who fears God, listen to me,’ he started. Then, Paul skilfully pointed out how Jesus was the Messiah that Jewish history had always been pointing towards. He talked of their ancestors and of the time the people of Israel had lived in slavery in Egypt and how God had saved them from their servitude. He reminded them of God’s patience with the Israelites while they’d spent 40 years in the wilderness after they’d left Egypt. Then he talked about how God had helped them destroy seven mighty nations so that they could have the land of Israel as their inheritance and that all this had taken 450 years – no doubt adding together the 400 years in Egypt, 40 in the wilderness and 10 to take full possession of Israel. Paul then reminded the people of how Israel had asked for a king and how God had firstly given them King Saul and then how God had removed him. And, after that, God had given them King David, who was a man whose desire was to do what God wanted and from whose descendants the promised Saviour was to come.

Paul then moved on to talk about John the Baptist, who had clearly told everyone that he wasn’t the promised Messiah and had, instead, pointed to Jesus. Then, Paul talked about the fact that the leaders in Jerusalem hadn’t understood who Jesus was and had asked for him to be killed by Pilate, who’d had him executed. But, in doing so, these leaders had actually fulfilled the very things God had said in the Scriptures would happen to the Messiah, such as the Messiah’s body being placed in a tomb and not thrown into a mass grave.

Paul then talked about something even more amazing, that, after the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem had had Jesus killed and He’d been buried in the tomb, God had raised Jesus from the dead and, for many days after, Jesus had appeared to His followers who had come with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. These people included the Apostles, the likes of Peter, Andrew and John, who now witnessed to the truth of Jesus’ resurrection to all the people.

And Paul told them that the purpose of his visit was to bring them the Good News about Jesus. He explained that, in raising Jesus from the dead, God had shown that Jesus was even greater than the great King David of old. For King David had died and his body had been laid in a tomb and, like everyone else on earth, his body had decayed away. But the same was NOT true of Jesus, because God had truly raised Him back to life and so He would never experience decay.

The final part of Paul’s sermon was probably unexpected and given as a word of warning to the people listening to him. You see, Paul was talking about things that were so important that they shouldn’t be ignored or left until later but, instead, should be acted on at once. He was talking about God reaching out to us, and sending His Son to die for us, so that we could be forgiven and become children of God. He was showing them a New Way that was different from the way they’d been following. Their old way to try and get right with God was by trying to obey a series of laws. However, if they failed to obey even one, they would remain guilty in God’s eyes and subject to punishment. But now, he explained, through Jesus, a New Way was open to God that could make them clean and forgiven in the eyes of God in a way that the old system simply couldn’t. However, and this was the warning, if they ignored what God was offering them in Jesus then, like their ancestors of old, who’d refused to believe that God was going to punish Israel and hadn’t turned from their evil ways and, as a result, had suffered great loss and death, they too could suffer great, eternal loss if they ignored Paul’s message. Put simply, this message was too important to ignore.

Paul’s sermon set the whole synagogue alight with discussion and excitement and, as they were leaving, the people begged Paul and Barnabas to come back the following week so they could hear more about all these things. In fact, many of the people present went after Paul and Barnabas as they left and the two of them urged those who had believed their message to continue to rely on God’s grace.

And so the next Sabbath arrived, but the people who’d been their the previous week had been so excited about all that Paul had said that they’d told almost everyone in the whole city about it. As a result, pretty much the entire city turned up to hear Paul and Barnabas preach about Jesus.

That’s when the problems started for the two men. Because, when the Jews saw all those people attending the meeting, they became very jealous. They were jealous that Paul and Barnabas had been so powerful in their message that so many people had turned up to hear them, but they were also jealous to think that God would save anyone other than Jews and those who’d become Jews. As a result, when the meeting started, the Jews said all kinds of lies about Paul and argued with everything he said.

Paul and Barnabas understood what was going on, and were no doubt very sad to see it happen, as the incredibly important message they were bringing to these people was rejected by the Jews, in a similar way to how Jesus’ message had been rejected by the leaders in Jerusalem. So, with great boldness, undaunted by this new opposition, they declared to the Jews, ‘It was necessary that we started by preaching the Word of God first to you Jews. But since you’ve rejected it, and in so doing have judged that you aren’t worthy of eternal life, we will take this message and offer it to everyone else who isn’t a Jew, that is, to the Gentiles. For the Lord Himself gave us this command. He said, ‘I have made you a light to the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the furthest corners of the earth.’’

Of course, when the non-Jews or Gentiles heard this, they were overjoyed and thanked the Lord for His message. Everyone who was chosen to receive eternal life became a believer and the Lord’s message spread throughout that region.

However, the Jews were NOT happy with this situation and wanted their revenge on Paul and Barnabas. They stirred up the influential religious women and the leaders of the city to create a mob to grab Paul and Barnabas and violently run them out of town. It’s probable that Paul and Barnabas were badly beaten as they were thrown out of the town (again, something Paul talks about later on in one of his letters). So, as a sign against those Jews who’d refused the message, and in the same way that Jesus had told His disciples to do when their message was rejected, Paul and Barnabas shook the dust off their feet as a sign of the rejection they’d experienced and went to another town called Iconium. Jesus had warned His disciples that, if they got to the point of having to shake off the dust from themselves when rejected, like Paul and Barnabas had just been, then the judgment of God against those who’d refused their message would be very severe. But, in the meantime, those who had believed were filled with joy and also with the Holy Spirit.

Episode NT49 – Barnabas and Saul Sent Out

Story 49 – Barnabas and Saul Sent Out

Based on Acts chapter 12 verse 25 to chapter 13 verse 12

So the relief mission to Jerusalem took place and the church continued to grow even though people like Herod Agrippa tried to stop it. These people who opposed the church couldn’t stop the spread of the Good News and the growth of the church anymore than they could hold back the sun as it crossed the sky, for, when God’s at work, no one can oppose Him and succeed.

Once the relief mission was complete, Barnabas and Saul returned to Antioch and took along with them John, who was also known as Mark and sometimes called ‘John Mark’. It was in John Mark’s mother’s house that the prayer meeting for Simon Peter had been held and where Rhoda the servant girl worked, who’d left Peter standing outside the door! John Mark was also Barnabas’ cousin.

The church at Antioch was blessed with good leaders including both prophets and teachers. These leaders were Barnabas, of course, and Simeon who was probably from Africa as he was known for being black. Then there was Lucius from Cyrene, which is also in Africa, and Manaen who was an interesting person as he’d been brought up with Herod Antipas in the household of Herod the Great! Manaen was probably raised as Herod Antipas’ foster brother but, thankfully, he’d turned to the Lord and was now part of the godly leadership of the church. And, last but not least, there was Saul. So the leadership consisted of 5 men, Barnabas, Simeon, Lucius, Manaen and Saul, who took the responsibility for teaching, leading and serving the church very seriously as they worked not to please people, but the Lord.

Now, while they, and probably the whole church with them, were worshipping the Lord and fasting, they were no doubt seeking the Lord’s provision to build His church. And, the Holy Spirit spoke to them saying, ‘I want you to set apart for Me both Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them’.

To be honest, the calling seemed rather vague. What specifically did God want them to do? Where did God want them to do this work? In some ways, it was a call similar in nature to God’s call to Abraham many many years before; a vague call to go, with no specified destination. However, the church understood that the key wasn’t knowing exactly what and where so much as obeying a clear call from God to go – and then going – trusting God that He would make things clear as they went, in a similar way to Abraham. It was a call to move forward in faith, to trust God that He would lead and help them.

The church and these godly leaders responded at once to what the Holy Spirit had said. Firstly, with more prayer and fasting, no doubt to confirm the message from God and to ask for His blessing on these two men. And then, they laid their hands on Barnabas and Saul to indicate that they identified with them in the work that the Lord was calling them to do. That work would no doubt involve telling people about Jesus in the parts of the world that God would take them to. So, the leaders released these faithful men out on mission. And, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, Barnabas and Saul went to the nearest port, a place called Seleucia, some fifteen to sixteen miles away, and took passage on a ship bound for Cyprus.

Cyprus was actually a good place to start this outreach to people who had never heard about Jesus, not least because it was where Barnabas had grown up and came from. For Barnabas at least, it would be a familiar place and so a good starting point. Also, as well as being quite close to Antioch and so easy to reach, there was a large population of Jews in Cyprus, large enough for there to be several synagogues across the island. So, they arrived at the port of Salamis on the east cost of Cyprus and there they started the work of telling people about all God had done for them in Jesus. Beginning in the Jewish synagogues, they travelled all over the island until they came to Paphos on the west coast, with John Mark acting as their assistant.

Now, Paphos was a great centre for the worship of Aphrodite and so an important place on the island. It was a place many visited and also where there was a lot of immorality!

There was a Roman governor called Sergius Paulus in Paphos. Governors, or ‘proconsuls’ as they were known, would have been Rome’s eyes, watching what was going on in the area to make sure nothing was happening that would hurt the interests of Rome. These proconsuls were important people and had great power. It seemed that Sergius Paulus was an intelligent man who kept an eye on what was taking place in Paphos and any new teachings or ideas that could affect the people under his care.

However, there was also a Jew named Bar-Jesus who had attached himself to the proconsul, no doubt trying to influence him and get power for himself. This Bar-Jesus was a magician and also a false prophet, telling lies about God to lead people away from God rather than towards Him. He was actually known as Elymas, the sorcerer, by the people, which seems to be a translation of the Arabic word for magician into Greek, the language spoken on the island.

As Rome’s representative in the area and, no doubt, because of an interest in magic and things that he shouldn’t have been interested in – as indicated by the fact that this Elymas the sorcerer character was part of his inner circle – Sergius Paulus invited Barnabas and Saul to come and visit him. He probably asked for the meeting to hear about this new teaching that had been spreading all over the island since their arrival and to work out if it was a danger to Rome. This did not please the false prophet Elymas because he wanted to lead people away for God and not towards Him. He also realised that, if the proconsul believed Barnabas and Saul, he would no longer have power over the proconsul and his privileged position would come to an end. So, Elymas did everything he could to oppose Barnabas and Saul, trying to keep the proconsul from believing and being saved.

However, Saul, who also went by the Greek name ‘Paul’, realised the truth of the situation. What was really happening here was a spiritual battle. Elymas, the sorcerer, whose name was Bar-Jesus – which actually means ‘son of salvation’ – was doing everything in his power to keep the proconsul, and no doubt everyone else who was listening, away from salvation. Now that, is the work of Satan, not of God. So, the power of God was working through the words of Barnabas and Saul and the power of Satan was working to keep the proconsul from listening to these words. But Satan is no match for the Holy Spirit. For Saul, now known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked Elymas directly in the eye and said, ‘You son of the devil, full of every sort of deceit and fraud, an enemy of everything that’s good! Will you never stop twisting the straight ways of the Lord? Now look, the Hand of the Lord is on you to punish you, and you will be struck blind. You will be completely unable to see the sun – for a time.’

At once a kind of mist and darkness came over Elymas and he groped around looking for people to lead him by the hand. (P) How gracious God was to Elymas by only letting this punishment last for a while and not for the rest of his life. We know nothing more about him, but I hope this punishment gave him reason to stop and consider the direction he was heading in, because nothing good could come from it! His only hope would be to turn to the Lord.

As for the proconsul, when he saw what happened, he became a believer. Yet, it wasn’t so much the miracle of Elymas’ punishment that caused him to believe, although the evidence of how much greater the power of God is than the power of Satan was clear for all to see. Instead, he believed because he was so greatly astounded at what Barnabas and Paul taught about how good, loving, kind and forgiving the Lord is in sending Jesus to take away our sins and make us right with God.

Episode NT47 – The Church at Antioch

Story 47 – The Church at Antioch

Based on Acts chapter 11 verses 19 – 30

After the death of Stephen, many believers were scattered out from Jerusalem during the persecution of the church. As well as Philip travelling to the area of Samaria, others continued their travels far outside the land of Israel. Some went south to Egypt and beyond, even ending up, to the west of Egypt in Cyrene, North Africa. Others headed north of Israel into the area beyond Joppa and included the cities of Tyre and Sidon. Still others travelled to the island of Cyprus, while some ended up in the city of Antioch in Syria, which at that time was probably the third most important city in the Roman Empire behind Alexandria in Egypt and of course Rome itself.

As they travelled, these believers shared the good news about Jesus, but only with other Jews. However, some of them, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, arrived in Antioch and started to share the good news about Jesus and all He had done with Greeks as well as Jews. These men were Jews who probably hadn’t lived in Israel but, instead, they’d lived among Greeks all their lives and understood the culture and mindset of the Greek-speaking people. So, instead of speaking about Jesus as the ‘Messiah’, which wouldn’t have meant a great deal to the Greeks, they talked about the LORD Jesus – sharing about his origins, His life, His death and resurrection.

At that time, it would have been unlikely that they would have heard about what the Lord had done for Cornelius and his household through Peter but, somehow, the Holy Spirit was still prompting these men to share what they knew widely. And, the Lord blessed their message to these Greeks, causing a great number of them to firstly believe the message they were given about the Lord Jesus, and then to turn away from their old lifestyles and start living in a way that would please Jesus. In other words, they became true believers and members of the church.

Of course, you can’t keep these kinds of things silent for long because of people travelling around. And, as they travelled, they told others about what was taking place in Antioch. This in turn led to a report of what was happening in Antioch reaching the attention of the church in Jerusalem.

By this time, Peter had met with Cornelius and the church had begun to understand that Jesus had come not just to save the Jews but also everyone else who would believe in Him and follow Him. Therefore, instead of reacting with a heavy hand, the leaders of the church in Jerusalem chose to send someone to Antioch who would both understand what was taking place and be a help and encouragement to the church. So, they chose to send Barnabas because he was from Cyprus and had been given the name Barnabas because of his God-given character of encouraging and building people up. His original name was Joseph, and he was a Jewish Levite from Cyprus but, because of his character, everyone knew him as Barnabas.

When Barnabas arrived in Antioch, he saw the goodness and power of God at work and rejoiced! And, living up to his name once again, he encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with fully devoted hearts. Barnabas was a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and with faith and, because of his visit and all the Lord was doing in Antioch, a vast number of people became followers of Jesus.

However, another feature of Barnabas was that he was a humble man and, seeing the vast work going on in Antioch and recognising the need of the church there for good teaching, he decided to head up north to Tarsus to go and look for Saul. Now, Saul had been sent to his home city of Tarsus some years before after people had tried to kill him in Jerusalem. It seemed that, during that time, Saul had suffered a lot, even being disowned by his family. This made finding Saul hard work, but Barnabas was tenacious in his search and, when he eventually found Saul, he brought him back to Antioch with him. Barnabas no doubt remembered that Saul had been told by the Lord that he was to be an apostle both to the Jews and also to the non-Jews, or ‘Gentiles’ as they’re known, and the church in Antioch was filled with both.

Then, for a whole year, Barnabas and Saul met with the believers in Antioch and taught a vast number of people all about the Lord. In fact, when the Gentiles began to understand what Messiah or Christ really meant, they started to talk often of Jesus the Christ (‘Christ’ being the Greek word for ‘Messiah’). This led to some people in the city starting to poke fun at the people in the church by calling them ‘Christians’. This was the first time that name was used and, while it took a while for ‘Christians’ to accept the name and use it for themselves, it was a name that stuck!

Now the church in Jerusalem still had good contact with the churches that were being set up around them and so, after a while, some prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them, a prophet named Agabus, stood up and predicted, by the power of the Holy Spirit working through him, that there would be a severe famine across the whole Roman empire in the not too distant future. (In fact, a time of famine and difficulty actually came during the reign of Claudius).

Well, what do you do when you’re confronted with such news? How do you respond? To answer that, you need to see just how much the church in Antioch mirrored the church in Jerusalem and then understand why they responded in that way.

Both churches, the original church in Jerusalem and now the church in Antioch, had seen rapid growth, with many coming to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and added to their numbers.

Also, both churches had congregations that had devoted themselves to the teaching of their leaders, with the church in Jerusalem devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the church in Antioch being taught by Barnabas and Saul.

So, when it came to responding to need, is it any surprise that the church in Antioch responded in a similar way to the church in Jerusalem? In fact, Barnabas himself had been an example of how the church in Jerusalem had responded when faced with the destitution and poverty of some of its new members. He had sold a piece of land, probably in Cyprus and, when he’d got the money for that sale, he’d brought it to the feet of the apostles and left it with them to use as they felt appropriate to meet the need. And he hadn’t been the only one, many others had given sacrificially to help meet those needs. So, here was the church in Antioch, probably also with lots of poor members itself, faced with the news of impending famine and hardship for their fellow ‘Christians’ in Judea

How did they respond? Well, each one of them gave as they were able. Some richer people gave more, and poorer people gave less, but all of them had the privilege of being involved in giving. (PAUSE)

Once the collection had been made, it was given to Barnabas and Saul to take to the elders and leaders of the church in Jerusalem to use as they saw fit to meet the needs of the people.

So, one church very much mirrored the other as: the Lord added to their numbers; they devoted themselves to sound teaching; and they enjoyed the privilege of being involved in giving to meet the needs of others.

God was at work in His churches and, in due time, the church in Antioch was to prove very important for the continuing spread of the Good News about Jesus around the world.

Episode NT41 – Opposition Comes

Story 41 – Opposition Comes

Based on Acts chapter 5 verse 17 to Acts chapter 6 verse 7

After Jesus had gone back to heaven, and sent the Holy Spirit, the apostles performed many miracles and the name of Jesus spread throughout Jerusalem. The Jewish leaders looked on with jealous eyes, determined to do away with the apostles, as they’d done away with Jesus before them.

In one swift move, all the apostles were arrested and put in jail – ready to be tried, condemned and punished to satisfy the hatred of the leaders. But God was still in control and, in the middle of the night, He sent an angel to them, who opened the gates of the jail and brought them all out. ‘Now go,’ the angel told them, ‘and stand in the Temple area and tell the people the full message of this new life!’ And so, at daybreak, just as they’d been told, the apostles entered the Temple area and, choosing to obey God rather than the Jewish leaders, they taught the people about Jesus.

However, without knowing what’d gone on, the leaders gathered to judge the apostles. At their request, Temple guards were sent to the jail to collect the apostles and bring them to the court. When they got there, they found the jail doors firmly locked with the guards standing in place, but the jail was empty! ‘How can this be?’ they thought, and ran back to the council to tell them.

As the leaders listened, beginning to wonder where it would all end, someone arrived hot foot from the Temple with the news that the men they’d arrested and put in jail the previous day were all now in the Temple area teaching the people.

At this, the captain of the Temple guard hurried off with his men to re-arrest the apostles – being very careful not to use any violence for fear that the people would stone his guards if they treated the apostles roughly. Having managed to persuade the apostles to come with them, they quickly took them to the waiting council who were still furious at the way Peter and John had disobeyed their command not to talk about Jesus when they’d been arrested before. (P)

‘Didn’t we tell you?’ the high priest demanded as the apostles arrived. ‘Didn’t we tell you that you must never again teach in this name?’ (He hated even to say the name ‘Jesus’.) ‘But instead of obeying us,’ he continued, ‘you’ve filled the whole city with your teaching and are determined to make US responsible for this man’s death!’

Rather than trying to save their own skins, Peter and the apostles spoke once again about Jesus. ‘We must obey God, not men,’ they replied. ‘The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead after you’d killed Him by crucifying Him on a wooden cross. Then, God raised Him even higher – to the place of highest honour at His own right hand side. He did this so that the people of Israel would have an opportunity to turn away from their sins and turn to God, so that their sins would be forgiven. We are witnesses of these things, as is the Holy Spirit whom God gives to those who obey Him.’

This was all the high council needed. Furious at what they’d heard, they decided to kill them all. However, God was still in control, and one member of the council, a Pharisee named Gamaliel who was very popular with the people, saw that more might be going on than they’d realised. Standing up to say his piece, Gamaliel ordered that the apostles be put outside the council so they could discuss the situation in private.

‘Men of Israel,’ he began as he addressed the leaders, ‘be careful about what you’re planning for these men! If you remember, some time ago there was that fellow called Theudas who pretended to be someone of great importance. Four hundred men joined him, but then he was killed, his followers went their separate ways and the whole thing came to nothing. And after that there was Judas of Galilee. He too got some people to follow him, but when he was killed, all his followers were also scattered!’

‘So listen, this is my advice to you all, leave these men alone! If they’re teaching and doing all these things merely on their own, then it will soon come to nothing. But if it’s from God, then you won’t be able to stop them and you may even find yourselves fighting against God!’ (PAUSE)

Gamaliel’s argument convinced the council and they accepted his advice. So, calling the apostles back, the council had them whipped – leaving their backs striped and bloody. And then, after warning them to never speak in the name of that Man again – they let them go. (P)

You’d have thought that after such a beating the apostles wouldn’t want to talk about Jesus again in case they were beaten some more or something worse happened! But while He’d been with them, Jesus Himself had warned them that they would suffer – and yet even in their suffering they would find God’s blessing! And so, instead of running away, feeling scared and not wanting to talk about Jesus, the apostles left the council absolutely overflowing with joy that God had considered them worthy of suffering for Jesus.

And why did they feel so glad and joyful about the situation? Because of Jesus! He’d told them to rejoice when He’d said, ‘God blesses you when you’re mocked and persecuted and lied about because you’re my followers. Be glad and joyful when this happens! Because a great reward awaits you in heaven.’ So the apostles rejoiced that God had given them the honour of suffering for the name of Jesus. And instead of being quiet and not talking about Him any more, they obeyed God and every day taught about Jesus in the Temple and from house to house, telling everyone: ‘The Messiah you’re looking for – is Jesus.’ (PAUSE)

Thanks to God’s blessing, the church was growing rapidly. But as it grew, there were rumblings of discontent! And Satan, the enemy of God’s people, showed that he was still at work, trying to destroy the new church with yet another attack. But this time, it was a much more subtle attack than the physical violence the apostles had faced before. This was an attack of distraction.

You see, Satan wanted to dull the sharp edge of the apostles’ effectiveness and he was going to try and do this by taking something good that the disciples were doing and causing them to concentrate on that good thing at the expense of the best thing, the thing that Jesus had actually called them to do, which was teaching people about Him!

If you remember, lots of gifts were being brought to the feet of the apostles to distribute to those in the church who had need – a really good thing. And, there was a lot of need! The apostles had taken charge of the distribution of these gifts. But this took time and effort; time and effort the apostles should’ve been using to tell more people about Jesus and for concentrating on prayer. And, as they tried to juggle all these responsibilities, things started to go wrong as one group of widows felt they were being overlooked in favour of another group.

There was a genuine danger of the early church splitting apart as the Greek-speaking group felt left out. That was exactly what Satan wanted – to see the early church broken apart and ineffective. But the Lord was still in control, looking after His church and helping the apostles realise what was happening and what needed to be done. And so a meeting of all believers was called!

‘Our job as apostles is to spend time preaching and teaching, not organising the distribution of food,’ they said. ‘So, to overcome this problem, we’d like you to choose seven men from amongst yourselves, men who are well respected, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom. These men will be put in charge of the fair distribution of food so that we can spend our time in prayer and in preaching and teaching.’

This idea pleased everyone and they chose seven men who were from the group who felt left out – showing the love and solidarity that the rest of the church felt for the hurting group. These men, all with Greek names, were presented to the apostles by the whole assembly. The apostles prayed for them and laid their hands on them as a sign that God had called them to this important work.

So once again, the plans of Satan were thwarted and, instead of seeing the church become ineffective and torn apart, the church became stronger and the message of Jesus continued to spread in ever widening circles!

Episode NT40 – Ananias and Sapphira

Story 40 – Ananias and Sapphira

Based on Acts chapter 4 verses 32 to 37 & chapter 5 verse 1 to 16

The thing about praying is that God answers your prayers – and the new church in Jerusalem had just prayed for great boldness when speaking about Jesus and the Kingdom of God. They had also asked for healing power and for signs and wonders to be done in the name of Jesus. And, in answer to that prayer and as confirmation that the Lord had heard and would give them what they’d asked for, the building they were in was shaken. As that happened, once again, they were filled with the Holy Spirit and went out preaching about Jesus with great boldness.

They also found that they were one in heart and mind – they belonged to each other as brothers and sisters. No one felt that what they owned was theirs alone, but was to be shared by everyone in the church as needed. This meant that, at times, some in the church would sell houses or land and bring the proceeds from that sale to the apostles so that they could distribute it as required, with the result that there were no needy people in the church.

An example of this was a man known as Barnabas. His real name was Joseph and he was from the tribe of Israel called the Levites who helped in the Temple, although his family was actually from Cyprus! He was known as Barnabas because it means ‘son of encouragement’ and that seemed to sum up who he was – so the nickname had stuck! One day Barnabas sold some land he owned, probably back in Cyprus and, when the money arrived, he brought it to the apostles and laid it at their feet to indicate that he was happy for them to use it in any way they saw fit.

However, when the enemy of the church, the devil, saw what Barnabas and many others were doing, he saw an opportunity to destroy the church, to make it rotten from the inside out and he looked for – and found – a couple in the church who he could use for his wicked purposes.

The idea was simple, destroy the church by destroying its integrity. Make one person a liar and the whole testimony of the church would be rubbished, with conflict and mayhem following in its wake.

The enemy prepared his attack well by playing on the pride and vanity of Ananias and his wife, Sapphira. They had watched as people like Barnabas had brought the money from the sale of land and houses to the apostles. No doubt the devil had encouraged them to feel envious of the way Barnabas was thanked, trying to make them believe that there was some kind of spiritual elite they could be part of. He must have reminded them that they also had some land they could sell and, just as they were about to sell the land so that they could look good in the eyes of people, the devil must have caused them to doubt the faithfulness of God. After all, selling a piece of land and giving the money away was a big thing to do – you couldn’t just get it back later! So the devil encouraged them to come up with a plan that would give them the best of both worlds: the security of a nice little hidden nest-egg from the sale of the land, while at the same time appearing to be one of the supposed spiritual elite by their giving. All they had to do was tell the apostles their plan to sell the piece of land, but not tell them the truth about the actual price they were going to get for it. It seemed such a small lie. They were going to give MOST of the money away and only keep back SOME for themselves. No one else need know except them. The buyer wasn’t part of the church and so they felt their secret would be safe.

When the transaction was completed, the day arrived when Ananias brought the money to the apostles. He brought most of what the land had actually sold for – and the exact amount he’d told the apostles it had sold for! So, walking up to Peter, knowing that all eyes were on him, Ananias swelled with pride. He was part of the elite now, they would look up to him after such sacrificial giving. No doubt with a pious and holy expression on his face, he placed the money at Peter’s feet. But that’s when it all went wrong, for you can hide nothing from God!

‘Ananias,’ asked Peter, ‘why have you let Satan fill your heart? You’ve lied to the Holy Spirit and kept back some of the money you got from selling the land for yourself!’

This was not going the way Ananias had expected. His holy expression dropped and a look of horror and shame fell across his face.

Then Peter continued, ‘The property was yours before you sold it – you didn’t have to sell it. And, after you’d sold it, didn’t the money from the sale belong to you to do whatever you wanted with it? How could you do something like this? Don’t you realise that you aren’t lying to us, but to God?’

No sooner had Peter stopped speaking than Ananias fell to the floor and died. (P) As you can imagine, everyone who heard what had happened was terrified! Some of the young men quickly wrapped up his body in a sheet and took it out to bury.

Satan’s plan was failing – and worse, the exact opposite to his intention was happening. Instead of others becoming hypocrites, saying one thing and doing another, everyone realised that God was watching them and they needed to be careful to continue to please and honour Him, knowing that you can’t hide ANYTHING from God.

About three hours later, Sapphira, Ananias’ wife, arrived, not knowing what’d happened to her husband. No doubt she too was excited about how holy the others would think she was and was eager to accept thanks from those they’d helped. But, instead of the smiles and gratitude she’d expected, she found herself face to face with Peter while the others looked on, serious expressions etched on their faces.

‘Tell me, Sapphira,’ Peter asked straight away, showing her the money he’d received from her husband, ‘was this the price you and your husband received for your land?’

Although alarm bells were ringing in her head, her course of action had been set in stone when she’d agreed with her husband to lie to the apostles about the full figure they’d got for the land. To change her story now was to drop herself and her husband into very hot water and so the lie continued. ‘Yes,’ she replied, ‘that is the price we got for the land.’

Peter’s heart must have been breaking as he heard Sapphira’s reply. The Lord Himself had revealed to him that it wasn’t true – that this was an attempt by the devil to get in and corrupt the church. And then the Lord also revealed to Peter what would happen next. Looking Sapphira in the eye, he shook his head and said, ‘How could the two of you even think of plotting together to test the Spirit of the Lord like this?’ Then, with a deep sigh he added, ‘The young men who buried your husband are just outside the door, and they will also carry you out and bury you.’

At that moment, Sapphira fell to the floor and died, just as her husband had done. Then, as Peter had said, the young men who’d buried her husband came back through the door and found her dead body. They picked her up and buried her beside her husband.

Such fear gripped the entire church and everyone else who heard about these things. The devil’s plans had failed and, instead of weakening the church, had strengthened it in line with the prayer they’d prayed. They’d asked for boldness, healings and signs and wonders – maybe not realising that ‘wonders’ could come in many different ways. And, these ‘wonders’ caused the church to stay pure.

The apostles performed many more miraculous signs and wonders in addition to what had happened to Ananias and Sapphira. The church, growing at a tremendous rate, met regularly at the Temple in an area know as ‘Solomon’s Colonnade’. No one else dared to disturb or join them there, no doubt mindful of what had happened to Ananias and Sapphira. But even so, in answer to their prayer, more and more people believed what the apostles boldly preached about Jesus and were brought to the Lord – crowds of them, both men and women.

In fact, as a result of the work of the Holy Spirit through the apostles, sick people were brought out into the streets on beds and mats so that Peter’s shadow might fall across them as he passed by. It wasn’t superstition, but an acknowledgement that God was powerfully at work through His people. Of course, this kind of news couldn’t stay hidden and spread to the villages around Jerusalem so that many people were brought from the villages who were sick or demon possessed and every one of them was healed!

Episode NT2 – Jesus’ Birth Fortold

tale2tell original Bible Stories series – New Testament

Based on Luke chapter 1 verses 26 – 80

Jesus Birth Foretold

What was she to think? This news was incredible! Amazing! Frightening! But how could it happen? She wasn’t even married and had never ‘been’ with any man? How could she have a baby? Gathering herself together, Mary spluttered out her question to the enormous and frightening angel who had just spoken to her. ‘But how can I have a baby? I’m not even married – I’m a virgin!’ (PAUSE)

In just a few moments – Mary’s life had been turned on its head. Just minuets before she’d been thinking about her engagement to Joseph and all they had to look forward too together. Joseph was a fine man, a carpenter who seemed to be doing very well, and although she was still young, Mary felt sure that all would be well. But now this – this angel – who suddenly appeared from nowhere, had changed everything! 

As Mary had been going about her normal jobs for the day, suddenly the angel Gabriel appeared. When Mary saw him, she didn’t know what to do or think! Terrified by his appearance, she watched opened mouth as he began to speak! ‘Greetings most favoured of women, the Lord is with you!’

What on earth did that mean? Why was he speaking to her? A no one from the backwater village of Nazareth in Galilee! Why was she favoured? Mary simply couldn’t understand! And then Gabriel spoke again. ‘”Don’t be frightened, Mary,” he said, “God’s decided to bless you! You’re going to become pregnant and have a son, and you’re to call him Jesus. He will be very great and called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over Israel forever – for his Kingdom will never end!”

And so Mary had asked her question, ‘But how can I have a baby? I’m not even married – I’m a virgin!’ And that’s also when Mary discovered just how special this baby was to be. As Gabriel explained, she realised that this child would not be like a normal baby who’s a completely new person, a mixture of their mum and dad. Nor was He to be some kind of terrible mixture of Mary and God (what a horrible thought that is)! (P) No, (P) this baby was to be no less than God Himself. But coming to be with us as a human being, just like you and me. The power of God the Father was going to overshadow her, God the Holy Spirit was going to rest upon her and the child that would be formed inside her was to be God the Son – the Son who had existed from eternity and who would continue to exist for ever and ever!

And not only that, this child would be the long awaited Messiah, the Saviour! No wonder the angel Gabriel had said she was the most favoured of women. Every Israelite woman who had every lived had hoped to be the mother of the Messiah, and now, completely unexpectedly, she was told that she was to be the one – the mother of the Messiah!

And, as if he couldn’t hold himself back, Gabriel continued with more wonderful news, this time about Elizabeth, Mary’s relative! ‘What’s more,’ He continued, ‘Elizabeth is now pregnant – in her old age! People used to say she was barren, that she couldn’t have children, but now she’s already six months pregnant! For with God, nothing is impossible.” (PAUSE)

This was the second time Gabriel had come to tell people about special babies, the first time was when he spoke to Zechariah about the birth of his son John. Zechariah hadn’t believed Gabriel, and, as punishment for not believing what the angel was telling him, he was made unable to hear or speak a word until all that the angel had promised came about. (P) So how would Mary respond? Would she believe him or not? (PAUSE)

Still shaken by all she’d seen, and almost overwhelmed by what the angel had said, Mary opened her mouth to speak. (P) ‘I am the Lord’s servant,’ she started, ‘and I ‘m willing to accept whatever He wants. May everything you’ve said – come true.’  – At that, the angel left.

Elizabeth lived some distance away in the hill country to the south, so Mary made her plans, and as soon as she could she arranged to go and see Elizabeth. A few days later Mary found herself at the door of Elizabeth’s house, and entering the house she called Elizabeth’s name. As soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s call, the baby inside Elizabeth’s womb leapt for joy and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. And in a loud voice she called out to Mary, ‘You are blessed by God above all other women, and your child is blessed. What an honour, that the mother of my Lord should visit me! When you came in and called my name, the baby inside of me jumped for joy! You are blessed, and especially so because you believed that the Lord would do everything He said.” (P) Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about 3 months and then left just before Elizabeth’s baby was born. (PAUSE)

When everybody heard that the Lord had given Elizabeth a baby son in her old age, they rejoiced at how good the Lord was. (P) Now, the Jewish custom with baby boys is that when they’re 8 days old they have a special ceremony where the boy’s circumcised and given his name. Although people were rejoicing with Elizabeth over the birth of her son, many still felt sorry for her because of Zechariah’s problem – not being able to speak and hear. However, the ceremony went ahead as usual, except, that when the time came for the baby to be given his new name Elizabeth stopped them! The men present wanted to call the boy Zechariah after his father, but Elizabeth wouldn’t let them, saying, ‘No! Don’t call him that! His name’s John!’ This didn’t please the men who felt it wasn’t proper for a woman to be deciding the name of her son. So they went over to Zechariah and made signs to him to ask him what the name of his son should be. Zechariah made signs back indicating that he wanted a writing table, and then, to everyone’s surprise he wrote, ‘His name is John.’ Instantly Zechariah could hear and speak again and began worshiping and praising God.

News of all that had happened in Zechariah’s household spread like wildfire around the whole region, and everyone who heard about it spent time thinking. ‘I wonder what this lad will become? He’s bound to become something important because the hand of the Lord’s on him in a special way.’

And so John grew up, becoming strong in spirit. And he lived out in the wilderness until the time came for him to start his public ministry.