Acts 5:12-13

Summary retelling of Acts 5:12-13:

As time goes on, there is a general sense that the Temple is a dangerous place to be – it might put one in trouble with the high priests and might get you arrested.  So soon only the apostles are regularly going to the Temple while the rest of the Christians are likely meeting with one another in their homes.  In any case, signs and wonders are still being done by the apostles.  And the people of Jerusalem still held them in good esteem – probably because of the signs and wonders being done.

Thoughts for Today:

First Thought:

At first take, it seems a little sad that the Christians are afraid to go into the Temple – likely because they are afraid of the Jewish leaders.  However, this is not necessarily a bad thing.  I read an interesting analogy yesterday in Crazy Love by Francis Chan that I’d like to share.  “Christians are like manure.  Spread them out and they can greatly improve the world around them.  Clump them together and they do absolutely nothing but stink and offend the people around them.”  What we can see here is that God is beginning to spread His people throughout Jerusalem.  Not everyone is going to the Temple to form a huge mass of people.  Rather, they are beginning to be spread out throughout the whole city.  (Or, at least we hope that’s what’s happening with the ones who aren’t coming to the Temple.)

When is it necessary to come together as Christians and what are the benefits to coming together?  Why is it necessary to understand that Christians must not always spend their time with one another but rather be spread out into the world, too?

Second Thought:

The apostles are the ones that still go to the Temple.  Jesus’ own hand-picked and hand-trained disciples continue to go into the Temple to preach and teach.  I don’t want to call them the best of the best – because they are still human.  But they certainly are the core of Christianity at this point.  It is the core that still goes into the “danger zone.”  This is interesting, because most organizations (militaries especially) believe in doing it the opposite.  Most organizations protect the core and send out grunts to do all the dangerous work.

Why is it important that Christianity is based on sending in the “most equipped” to the “most dangerous” spots?  Does that fact motivate you to become a person at the core of your group of spirituality or does it make you want to hang back and let someone else be the core?

Passage for Tomorrow: Acts 5:14-16