“And they said to him, ‘We have received no letters from Judea about you, and none of the brothers coming here has reported or spoken any evil about you. But we desire to hear from you what your views are, for with regard to this sect we know that everywhere it is spoken against.’ When they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in greater numbers. From morning till evening he expounded to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets. And some were convinced by what he said, but others disbelieved.” Acts 28:21-24
Devotional Thought For The Day
We often hear talk about a “Judeo-Christian” heritage. Biblically speaking, this is hard to fathom. Reading through the Gospel accounts Jesus is in constant conflict with the leaders of Judaism. Reading through the book of Acts, the apostles are in constant conflict with the leaders of Judaism and the Jewish communities spread across the Roman Empire. It is true that a common “Scripture” was shared between these two groups, the 39 books of the Old Testament which were divided into the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms [Luke 24:44]. However, the one group saw and understood Jesus as fulfilling all of these Scriptures, while the other group adamantly disregarded Jesus and judged Him to be evil, a false prophet worthy of death. Those following Jesus and teaching about Him from the Old Testament Scriptures were also judged to be deluded, apostate, and worthy of death. Paul carried out such persecutions prior to his conversion, and was subsequently the victim of such persecution.
Christians through the ages have tended to simplistically lump all Jewish people [those who continue to hold to one of the various sects of Judaism – there were four already in existence at the time of Christ: Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, and Zealots] into one big category, and may have an aversion to all Jewish people because of their continuing rejection of Jesus. However, this division is not one of nationality or cultural origin. After all, all of the major figures in the foundation of the church, including Jesus Himself, were Jewish. All of the authors of Holy Scripture were Jewish, and these authors are among my closest and dearest friends – as I have poured over their writings and received their wisdom and still cherish our oneness of faith and trust and hope in God and His Christ, the Lord Jesus. I’m certain it is the same for most of you. And we might remember that there are many Jewish Christians in the world today. And there are many more non-Jewish unbelievers in the world than Jewish unbelievers – we have an abundance of such unbelieving scoffers all around us in every community in America.
So we dare not categorize and lump all people with common backgrounds into one pot. The issue is never nationality or genetic ancestry; it is always a matter of faith and trust in Jesus, and a proper understanding of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms, and of course, also the New Testament Scriptures written by Jesus’ apostles: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, Peter, Jude, and James. The issue is always one of either knowing God as He truly is, full of love, mercy, forgiveness, providing redemption in His Son, the Lord Jesus, and with the will that all people should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth [1 Tim. 2:4], or ignorance of God as He truly is. Our attitude toward all people still caught in unbelief and ignorance of God should be one of deep love and care and concern – and this was Paul’s continuing devotion to his fellow Jews [see Romans 9:1-5]. But this does not mean that we can speak of a common “Judeo-Christian” heritage; this is in almost all respects fictitious.
In our interactions with unbelievers today we often do not share a common reliance and dependence upon the Holy Scripture – Moses, the Prophets, the Psalms, and the true Apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the presumption that their writings are the very Word of God, and absolute truth. So, obstacles may have to be removed before we are able to begin “testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets.” This is the nature of the destructive and misanthropic activities of those who cast aspersion and doubt upon the nature and authority of the Bible. However, ultimately it is this Word that will bring people to faith for “faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” [Rom. 10:17]
There is no question that a time comes when rejection of the Word is so set in stony hearts that we need to move on – as Paul did on numerous occasions; however, like Paul, we should make sure that we do all that we can to winsomely, gently, and persuasively present Jesus as Savior, Lord, and King, on the basis of God’s Word. Pray God for these opportunities. Prepare for these opportunities by thorough study of the Bible, true friendship and fellowship with the authors. Pray God to enable all of us to bear faithful and winsome witness to His gracious love and salvation in Christ Jesus, and that many more come to join us in faith!
Prayer For The Day
Dear Lord Jesus, forbid that any hatred, animosity, prejudice, and bigotry infect our hearts and minds. Teach us Your gentle and loving heart, that we may love even as You have loved us. Help us also to mourn for those still in the darkness of unbelief, who have not been blessed with the knowledge of Your goodness and love. Prepare us and help us to know Your Word and to speak it kindly and affectionately so that others may join us in Your kingdom. Amen.