Read: Acts 2:42  They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

On the Day of Pentecost, the Spirit was given to the praying and worshipping church. As they believed in Jesus and submitted to His rule as their Lord, they experienced the reality of Jesus as the Messiah who would bring about the Jubilee. As a result, their lives were transformed and their community began to reflect the glow of Jubilee life and principles. Acts 2:42–47 graphically depicts the earliest church community immediately after the Pentecost event:

A gathered community. Firstly, the church gathered for apostolic teaching (of God’s Word), the breaking of bread, prayer, and fellowship (Acts 2:42). Today, churches still do these things when they gather to worship God on the Lord’s Day, setting aside the Christian Sabbath for worship and fellowship.

As a result, their lives were transformed…

The fear of God. Secondly, “everyone was filled with awe” (v. 43). The original Greek word for awe is phóbos, from which we get the English word “phobia”. This word is best translated as “fear” and was used repeatedly when God addressed His people in Leviticus 25 regarding the Jubilee. Because of the fear of God, Israel was to obey God, keep the Jubilee Year, and not take advantage of each other. The fear of God continued to be a central characteristic in the early Christian community; it enabled and motivated them to live in a way that embraced the reality of the Jubilee Year.

Wonders and miracles. Thirdly, “many wonders and signs [were] performed by the apostles” (Acts 2:43). Acts 3:1–10 describes how Peter and John brought healing to a man crippled from birth. What Peter told the amazed onlookers is important. Attributing this miracle of complete healing (v. 16) to the power of the name of Jesus, he highlighted the fact that Jesus the Messiah would bring a new reality into their lives, and this would be marked by the forgiveness of sins, cancellation of the debt caused by sin, and “times of refreshing” (v. 19)—in other words, the arrival of the Jubilee. Peter also emphasised that Jesus would return “to restore everything” (v. 21), anticipating the eternal Sabbath rest that awaits us. The miracles that the apostles performed were like those of Jesus: they helped the poor, restored them from poverty, and pointed to the Jubilee reality that follows when we put our faith in Christ.

…they lived out the teaching of their Lord Jesus sincerely.

Radical sharing. Fourthly, the early believers not only “had everything in common”, but also, “they sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need” (Acts 2:44–45). With the reality of Jubilee bursting forth among them and through the power of the Spirit filling them, they lived out the teaching of their Lord Jesus sincerely. They did not hoard nor hold on to their possessions, but, realising that all they had had come from God and belonged to Him, they trusted in God for their provision. They were therefore able to part with their possessions when it became necessary to help others in need. This Jubilee spirit was exemplified in a Levite from Cyprus named Barnabas, who “sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet” (Acts 4:37).

No one left behind. Fifthly, Acts 4:34 notes that “there was no needy person among them”. The believers were sharing everything, and as a result, the just and fair flow of resources eliminated need and poverty.

The believers were sharing everything…

If Israel had observed all the stipulations of the Jubilee Year in letter as well as in spirit, they too would have been able to achieve the same result. No one in Israel would have been alienated from his God-given ancestral land and home, and no one would have been left without a livelihood. But Israel had not done this.

However, what was neglected in ancient Israel had taken root in the early church. A long-dead bulb was now glowing with new light—as it was meant to be.

 

Consider this:

Review the attitudes that characterised the early church. How applicable are they to your own Christian community?

Excerpted and adapted from Jesus Our Jubilee: Finding True Liberation, Perfect Justice, and Everlasting Peace by Robert M. Solomon. ©2015 by Robert M. Solomon. Used by permission of Discovery House Publishers. All rights reserved.

 

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The Church We Need.. The church we need is one that sees people the way Jesus did. Discover what the church is meant to be, and how we can make it a reality. Find out more here.

 

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