THE VERSE
And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.~Acts 1:13-14
THE THOUGHT
This very first gathering of the early church, immediately after Jesus' ascension back to the Father, is remarkable precisely because the group assembled is so unremarkable. A motley assortment of uneducated fishermen and women from various backgrounds, 120 in all, was about to explode with divine power and upset the entire world. Two names in particular stand out as a powerful example about what was so world-changing about this group of people: Matthew and Simon.A little background is required to see why these two names are so remarkable. Matthew, before he had been called by Jesus, was a tax collector. Tax collectors were universally despised as greedy, sell-out lackeys of the brutal occupying Roman regime. The fact that Jesus would even associate with tax collectors, let alone invite one into his inner circle, was a major stumbling block for the Pharisees. Simon the Zealot, on the other hand, was as far on the other side of the political spectrum as one could possibly get-- much farther than the greatest liberal/conservative divide in politics today. The Zealots were the original mideast terrorist group, a subversive and violent guerilla group dedicated to liberating Israel from Roman rule. The fact that two people like Matthew, a tax collector for the Romans, and Simon, a zealot who used to kill people like Matthew, could even be in the same room together, let alone "with one accord devoting themselves to prayer," is a staggering witness to how Jesus radically transforms lives and breaks down barriers.
Today's verse sets a radical precedent of how the gospel breaks down every human barrier and unites sinners at the foot of the cross. Saying that Democrats and Republicans can both be equally broken down and healed by the cross doesn't even begin to scratch the surface. Tax collectors and Zealots alike are on level ground, and find themselves forgiven, accepted, and adopted because of the gospel. This is amazing. This is Palestinian suicide bombers and Israeli settlers embracing Jesus together. This is the Irish Republican Army and British Protestants finding that the gospel overcomes their differences. This is Black Panthers and Klu Klux Klan reconciled to God and each other by grace. This is the power of the gospel: peace with God, and peace with each other. "He Himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility... reconciling us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility."
THE PRAYER
Dear God, Your example of love towards Your enemies in dying for rebels like me is what empowers and motivates me to love others in the same sacrificial way. Give me a clearer understanding of grace, so that I can love those who are different from me. Holy Spirit, please give Your church a more consistent witness of overcoming racial, ethnic, and political boundaries, so that the world can see the reality of the gospel in how we love each other. Forgive us for our past wrongs, and make us a people after Your own heart, a people who strive for reconciliation, unity, forgiveness, and love.EXTENDED READING
Acts 1:12-14Ephesians 2:11-19
Galatians 3:26-29
John 17:20-23
THE QUOTE
"Most of us wish to serve God-- but only in an advisory capacity." ~AnonymousTHROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
Jeremiah 26-29Ecclesiastes 8
John 4:1-14
James 5:7-12
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