Acts - episode 1

To the uttermost parts of the earth

Regarding the author, the recipients and the date of composition of the Acts of the Apostles I invite you to read what I wrote about the gospel of Luke, with which the Acts form one work in two parts. The main theme of the Acts of the Apostles is the diffusion of Jesus’ Word «in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth» (Acts 1,8) by His envoys. That Word is the true protagonist of the story, while the preachers change (Peter and John, Stephen, Philip, Paul, Barnabas, ...).
Luke starts the narration of the Acts connecting it to the epilogue of his gospel: in both we find Jesus who entrusts the mission to the apostles, the promise of the Holy Spirit and Jesus’ Ascension (Luke 24,45-53; Acts 1,1-11). After substituting with Matthias the treacherous Apostle Judas, the Twelve are ready to receive the Spirit: it is the Pentecost feast (fifty days after Easter). The Hebrews remember on that day God giving them the Law on Mount Sinai, after the liberation from the Egyptian slavery (Hebrew Passover); Christians instead commemorate the fulfillment of the promise of a Law written in the heart, of a new heart, a gift that became possible thanks to the liberation from the slavery of sin and death due to Jesus’ sacrifice (Christian Easter). We can say that Pentecost is the birthday of the Church, the community of the persons who believe in Jesus and spread His message: it is founded on the apostles’ preaching and it speaks in all the languages of the world (see Acts 2,1-11). Those first believers «continued steadfastly in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread [Eucharist], and prayer» (Acts 2,42). A clarification about the word “Church” (from the Greek “ekklēsía”): in today’s language if it has the capital letter it indicates the Christian community (all around the world or in a particular place), if it has the lower case it is instead the worship building in which the community itself gathers for the celebrations. In the New Testament we find only the first of the two meanings: the meetings generally took place in the houses of the richest Christians (see e.g. Rom 16,5; 1Cor 16,9; Col 4,15; Phlm 2). In politics the “ekklēsía” was the assembly of some place’s free citizens (see e.g. Acts 19,39).
The first Christian community has a question: is Jesus’ “Good News” addressed only to the Hebrew people or even to the Gentiles? That was a doubt which was present since the time of Jesus’ preaching (see the story of the Syrophoenician woman that we examined in the gospel of Mark). Apostle Peter, inspired by God, will have a clarifying experience. «Now there was a certain man in Caesarea, Cornelius by name, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, a devout man, and one who feared God [sympathetic to the Hebrew religion, without having joined it by the circumcision] with all his house, who gave gifts for the needy generously to the people, and always prayed to God. At about the ninth hour of the day, he clearly saw in a vision an angel of God coming to him, and saying to him, “Cornelius!” He, fastening his eyes on him, and being frightened, said, “What is it, Lord?” He said to him, “Your prayers and your gifts to the needy have gone up for a memorial before God. Now send men to Joppa, and get Simon, who is surnamed Peter. He lodges with one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the seaside.” When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he called two of his household servants and a devout soldier of those who waited on him continually. Having explained everything to them, he sent them to Joppa. Now on the next day as they were on their journey, and got close to the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray at about noon. He became hungry and desired to eat, but while they were preparing, he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and a certain container descending to him, like a great sheet let down by four corners on the earth, in which were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, crawling creatures and birds of the sky. A voice came to him, “Rise, Peter, kill and eat!” But Peter said, “Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.” A voice came to him again the second time, “What God has cleansed, you must not call unclean.”



This was done three times, and immediately the vessel was received up into heaven. Now while Peter was very perplexed in himself what the vision which he had seen might mean, behold, the men who were sent by Cornelius, having made inquiry for Simon’s house, stood before the gate, and called and asked whether Simon, who was surnamed Peter, was lodging there. While Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men seek you. But arise, get down, and go with them, doubting nothing; for I have sent them.”» (Acts 10,1-20). Peter obeys the vision and goes to Cornelius’ house, speaking to him and to all who were present there: «He said to them, “You yourselves know how it is an unlawful thing for a man who is a Jew to join himself or come to one of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean. Therefore also I came without complaint when I was sent for. [...] Truly I perceive that God does not show favoritism; but in every nation he who fears him and works righteousness is acceptable to him [...]”. While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all those who heard the word. They of the circumcision who believed were amazed, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was also poured out on the Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in other languages and magnifying God. Then Peter answered, “Can any man forbid the water, that these who have received the Holy Spirit as well as we should not be baptized?” He commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ» (Acts 10,28-29.34-35.44-48). That divine initiative will be confirmed by the first council of the Church (meeting of the «apostles» and the «elders»: Acts 15,6) in Jerusalem. They decided that the Gentiles who became Christian do not have to obey the full Mosaic Law or to be circumcised to receive Jesus’ salvation. «For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay no greater burden on you than these necessary things: that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality, from which if you keep yourselves, it will be well with you. Farewell» (Acts 15,28-29). The food rules seem more to be useful to support a peaceful coexistence in “mixed” Christian communities (with members coming from both the Hebrews and the Gentiles, «that I do not cause my brother to stumble»: see 1Cor 8), than having an intrinsic importance. The «sexual immorality» refers to unions between man and woman that were possible in the Greek culture, but not in the Hebrew one (for example between stepson and stepmother: see 1Cor 5,1).
In the next posts we will begin to tell Apostle Paul’s story.