Bible References: Acts 26:22-23
New International Version (NIV)
22 But God has helped me to this
very day; so, I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying
nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen— 23 that the
Messiah would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would bring the
message of light to his own people and to the Gentiles.”
Bible References: Ephesians 6:19 New International Version
(NIV) “Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I
will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,”
What does it mean to bring
Shalom? (God’s Peace)
To bring God’s Peace is to bring
His story – that great story of redemption. The story of how God chose the
Hebrew people, the Jews and set them apart as his treasured possession. A nation that was to live in such in a way
that they would be a light to the nations and make God’s name known to all
nations. Then people would be blessed
and the world would know God, know His story of redemption from sin and
chaos. The entire world could know
shalom (peace) and praise the Lord and Heaven and Earth.
Paul, a disciple of Jesus Christ,
a Pharisee, a student of the text (Torah) understood this. He also understood once he was met and was
saved by Christ Jesus; that the Church has been given the same task. To show God to the nations so that they too
can experience the Lord’s shalom – peace.
Centuries before, God had chosen a people – the nation of Israel to show
God’s plan. Their mission was to be
witnesses to the world by how they lived and spoke. They were to show that God wanted to bring
restoration/redemption to the world. To
bring them into the Father’s house. Use
the resources they were given to restore people into the family of God.
In the face of bringing the
gospel – the good news that Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah – which Israel
was to have carried out and then the Church (the body of Christ); that same
mission had not changed.
Jesus commissioned all of his
followers to continue by bringing the good news – Paul understood that the Good
News of Jesus Christ was coming up against a different gospel. The worldly gospel at that time due to Rome
being the dominant power was the gospel of Caesar. In the Greek/Roman world in
which Paul lived, the two gospels displayed their message differently, even
though both used similar wording.
Caesar was proclaimed in the
Roman world as bringing peace – he brought peace by conquering. Jesus brought
peace by his death on the cross to make the ultimate payment for our sin. Caesar brought his gospel by his Roman
legions and by enforcing roman rule and social structure.
Caesar proclaimed himself as
‘lord and god’ and he was the son of a god.
In the mix was a multitude of pagan gods and goddesses from nations that
had been conquered by Rome and surrounding communities of people who had integrated
into roman life.
Caesar was proclaimed as bringing
peace and prosperity to those who served him well. But Paul brought a story of a
different gospel, where the true Son of God, the God of creation and the Book
(Torah) had a son, Jesus Christ who obediently came and paid by this death and
shed blood for our sins and was raised to life by God, the Most High.
There were two kingdoms – the
kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of earth – there were two sons of gods, two
lords, two saviors. In this setting,
those who heard the two different gospels would need to choose.
So, Paul comes to Philippi where
the gospel of Caesar was on display and the city had brought into the gospel of
the emperor who gave them prosperity and peace. Philippi was a Roman colony. So, coming to Philippi was in essence as if
you were coming to Rome. If you want to
know what goes on in Rome, then you could visit a Roman colony. It was a leading city in Macedonia.
Acts 16:1-12: “Paul came
to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother
was Jewish and a believer but whose father was a Greek. 2 The believers at
Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. 3 Paul wanted to take him along on the
journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for
they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4 As they traveled from town to
town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in
Jerusalem for the people to obey. 5 So the churches were strengthened in the
faith and grew daily in numbers.
6 Paul and his companions
traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the
Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. 7 When they came
to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus
would not allow them to. 8 So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. 9
During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging
him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 After Paul had seen the vision,
we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us
to preach the gospel to them.
11 From Troas we put out
to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day we went on to
Neapolis. 12 From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading
city of that district[a] of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days…”
Paul would later write to the Philippians,
and tell them that their citizenship is in heaven. Philippians 3 What Paul
meant was act like you are already in Heaven.
He was giving them an example that they understood. The Philippians understood that in coming to
Philippi, you were essentially seeing what Rome was like. So too, the believers showed to the community
around them, they were in the colony of Heaven.
When people look at you, they would see how heaven is like. The “colony” of heaven was shown in Philippi
because people came together and caring and loving one another. Our citizenship is in heaven although we are
currently in ‘a colony.’
Caesar Augustus, the emperor at
the time, claimed he had been born of a miraculous birth and was a descendant
of the roman gods Venus and Apollo. Politically he was lord over the Roman
empire – through his military, political action, and official decree. However,
Jesus Christ brought a different gospel one where sacrifice, servanthood and
obedience were part of bringing peace those lost, suffering and in need of a
restored relationship with God. Caesar didn’t bring peace by sacrifice, he
brought ‘peace’ by war, overpowering the weak, trodden down the poor and those
who resisted his rule. Caesar wasn’t humble, nor obedient, he considered
himself equal among the gods.
Paul brings a different gospel -
one where a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. He was
born in Bethlehem as the Bible tells us in Micah 5:2; Jeremiah 23:5 – a
righteous king is coming of the line of David; Isaiah 7:14 – Wonderful
Counsellor, eternal father, prince of peace…
Which Kingdom really brings
peace? The kingdom which comes and
dominates with force, warfare, power, military control? Or the Kingdom that welcomes the lost, despairing,
confused, forgotten, fearful? A kingdom serves – with the King being the one who
redeems?
Philippians 2:5-11 New
International Version (NIV)
5 In your relationships
with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very
nature[a] God,
did not consider equality with God
something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself
nothing
by taking the very nature[b] of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in
appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
9 Therefore God exalted
him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every
name,
10 that at the name of
Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue
acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God, the Father.
So, as the early church grew
around the then known world, believers had two choices: (1) to go along with
the pagan world in order not to create offense and endanger themselves and
their families; or (2) to stand firm and declare that Jesus was Lord and risk
suffering, even death. The witness of the believers was a declaration of war on
the Roman statue and its satanic foundation. Here, two worldviews competed for
domination of the world, and there would be no compromise.
Today, believers face a similar
choice; will they totally submit to the Lordship of Jesus regardless the cost?
Will they serve him everywhere and in everything, whether the cost is economic,
social, or even life itself? Jesus is Lord. The battle is not between believers
and pagan authorities. Rather, it is a battle between Jesus and Satan, and the
outcome of that battle has already been determined (Rev. 20).
Today, there are still many
people confused about God. The world around us offers various attractions:
health, wealth, entertainment, romantic love, and promises that they will bring
happiness and prosperity. While these things are not evil in and of themselves,
they become problematic when people treat them like gods.
These false gods easily creep
into our own lives. We may visit the shopping centre, a modern-day
"temple" to the gods of materialism, and find ourselves seeking
self-esteem in the things we buy. Some pursue romance or financial investments,
seeking joy and security in love or money instead of looking first to God.
In our country we may not face
death or imprisonment. We may face
persecution and being laughed at. Those
in the roman world had heard the gospel of Caesar. To proclaim anything else
was treason. In contrast to the gospel of Caesar the early disciples preached
the gospel of Jesus Christ who brought peace by restoring relationship firstly
with God the creator and with each other, by living in harmony, encouraging one
another, knowing we have purpose and wholeness. Bringing God’s shalom (peace)
to a world in suffering and chaos.
How might you bring God’s shalom
– his peace to someone this week?
References:
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