The scripture text tells the story of Jacob, who must leave his home and family as a refugee, fleeing for his life toward an uncertain future. He is in this predicament because of his bad motive in stealing his brother Esau’s blessing from their father, Isaac. Esau is angry and vows to kill Jacob. On his journey, he encounters God and God’s blessing on him, his family, and future generations.

Before he leaves, his father gives Jacob a blessing. This parting blessing advises him to go to Paddan-aram and take as a wife of one of Laban’s daughters. Isaac gives him a blessing that was also given to his father (Isaac) and grandfather (Abraham). Isaac tells Jacob that God would bless him, make him fruitful and many, and that his descendants would possess many lands (Genesis 28:1–3).

On his journey, he stops for the night at an unexpected place and has a dream that changes his life. In his dream, he sees a stairway that reaches from Earth to heaven with angels climbing and descending. The Lord stands beside him and says, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac” (v. 13). God then blesses him and his descendants. As Jacob awakes, he says, “Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it!” (v. 16). He then takes the stone that he used a pillow and makes a pillar. He pours oil on it and calls the place Bethel—house of God. In so doing he names what will become the northern kingdom of Israel’s major shrine of Bethel.

This story shows God wants to bless us despite where we find ourselves; regardless of our bad decisions. We can encounter God in the middle of our most desperate times. In Jacob’s darkest moment, when fleeing for his life, God comes and stands with him. He is assured that God will be with him and bless him on his uncertain journey.

This message is powerful for us today. God wants to pour blessings on us. We are always worthy of an encounter with God and to receive a blessing. In our lowest points of life, God is with us. God wants to engage with us—sometimes disrupting our lives—and help us get to a better place.

Faith Unfiltered Podcast

Hosts Karin Peter and Blake Smith consider how this week's scripture connects to our lives today.

LISTEN

Central Ideas

1. God is always seeking ways for us to encounter the Divine Presence.
2. We may have made some bad choices that put us in a difficult place, but God wants to have a relationship with us.
3. We are worthy of God’s presence and blessing. God is standing with us.
4. When our future is uncertain, God wants to bless us.

Questions to Consider

1. Why does God want to have such a relationship with us?
2. Who in your congregation and neighborhood does God want to stand with and bless?
3. Where is your holy place where you know that “surely the Lord is in this place”?
4. Where is your holy place that you are invited to experience and say, “Surely the Lord is in this place—and I did not know it” (Genesis 28:16)?

Parables challenge what we already know. When Jesus tells parables it causes us to rethink what it means to be part of God’s kingdom. The kingdom is never what we expect; there is always an element of surprise. The parable of the sower is no exception. This parable also appears in Mark 4:3–9 and Luke 8:5–8. In Matthew’s Gospel—following stories of opposition in chapters 11 and 12—Jesus shares the parable of the sower.

By the end of Matthew, chapter 13, Jesus is rejected in his own hometown. Matthew’s telling of this parable could explain why some people respond to the message of the gospel and others do not. Or, it might answer the question, “What are the right conditions to share the gospel message?”

The sower can be identified as teacher, preacher, Jesus, or God. In fact, the sower becomes anyone who shares the good news. Strangely, the sower does not prepare the soil before sowing seeds. The soil is not plowed or turned over. The sower does not know where rocks or hard clumps of dirt are located. Weeds and thorns grow wild. Soil preparation is not the focus of the sower; instead, he or she is simply called to indiscriminately sow the seed.

The seed in this parable refers to the gospel message. The yield becomes disciples who hear and allow the seed (word of God) to grow in their lives. Soil and the right conditions are required for the “seed” to grow. The parable describes four kinds of soil: hardened, shallow, thorny, and good. The soil differences are a reminder to the church there are ideal conditions suited for growing disciples. Ideal conditions allow disciples to gain proper nourishment, roots, and the ability to persevere through hardship. Matthew’s Gospel also describes the reality of the many obstacles disciples face including persecution, anxiety, and a wish for riches.

The end of the parable describes God’s miraculous yield, “some a hundredfold, some 60, some 30” (Matthew 13:8). A good harvest in ancient times could be as much as four to 10 times what was sown. Considering the lack of soil preparation and all the obstacles, it is surprising there was any yield at all! And that may be the whole point of the parable: God provides an extravagant, plentiful harvest beyond even our imagination. We can be caught up in a sense of failure or be discouraged by a sensed lack of response but this parable calls us to keep spreading the word no matter how rocky or thorny the circumstance.

Despite the difficulty and opposition we face as disciples today, God calls us to spread seed everywhere and then trust in God’s harvest. We don’t know why the word of God takes root in some people. The scriptures tell us faith is a gift from God. Our calling is to throw seed as widely and as generously as we can and trust in God’s miraculous yield.

Faith Unfiltered Podcast

Hosts Karin Peter and Blake Smith consider how this week's scripture connects to our lives today.

LISTEN

Central Ideas

1. We are called to share the good news as often, as widely, and as boldly as we can. We do not have to worry about how rocky, thorny, or hard the places and circumstances might be; we only need to continue sharing the message of God’s peaceable kingdom.
2. Some people will not respond as we would hope. When that happens, we turn to this parable for encouragement to trust in God’s harvest and know God’s work brings miraculous results.
3. As disciples it is realistic for us to experience anxiety, hardship, and even opposition. As we continue to study, grow, and make changes in our lives, we can trust the gift of the Holy Spirit to provide understanding, perseverance, and faith.

Questions to Consider

1. What are the ideal conditions for sharing God’s good news? What conditions slow the growth of God’s kingdom?
2. What prevents you from sharing or “sowing” the good news? What barriers do you need to remove so you can be more generous in how you share?
3. When has the good news of God’s peaceable kingdom been generously sown in your life? In your community? In the world? How do you hear and understand the good news?
4. How does the sower’s message of perseverance influence our call to engage in Mission Initiatives?

This passage opens with Jesus identifying comparisons people make between him and those with whom he has been associating. It is almost as if Jesus is saying he is tired of being accused because of guilt by association. As he responds, he tells the people God keeps reaching out to them by sending different kinds of messengers. John was accused of keeping to himself and was called a recluse. Jesus spends time with people and still they complain that he should have picked different people. The people were listening to one message and Jesus was sharing a different message; people ridiculed Jesus because his message was countercultural.

As the passage continues, Jesus’ mood changes sharply. Maybe Jesus decides you cannot please everyone so he thanks God for those willing to give all for the kingdom of God. He is the shepherd—the pastor—inviting people to him, to a place where they can begin to trust, and therefore know God. He senses each need people have but his message isn’t about fulfillment of every wish.

The spiritual journey is often neglected for more pressing priorities in people’s lives. In this portion of the passage, Jesus invites the people hearing the message, and even us today, to reframe what is pressing. His invitation is to “Come to me.” Jesus specifically addresses those who are overworked and carrying heavy loads. In the crowd that day, were people who were poor, yoked by the conditions of political and religious oppression. Jesus’ invited them to be yoked to him and find relief and rest.

The willingness to be yoked with Jesus requires vulnerability by each person to be open to God. It opens an understanding that each would be available for God’s purposes in their lives. To do that, they would need relief from the daily oppression they were living under so twice Jesus invites them to rest—for their physical needs and for their souls. Verse 28, is an invitation to a Sabbath rest, the rest that puts a person on the road to recovery. In that rest, they will experience the freedom Christ offers.

The scripture passage for today reminds us of Jesus’ humanness as he expresses his frustration at people’s lack of understanding, and then his grace as he welcomes people to come to him. We also often lack understanding, yet Jesus still welcomes us home with a wide embrace. Let us find comfort, peace, and strength as we come to Jesus this day.

Faith Unfiltered Podcast

Hosts Karin Peter and Blake Smith consider how this week's scripture connects to our lives today.

LISTEN

Central Ideas

1. Jesus’ followers lacked understanding of his message, just as we often misunderstand his message.
2. Through his grace and mercy, Jesus still invites us to cast all our cares and concerns on him and find rest.
3. We are reminded of Jesus’ humanness as well as his grace, mercy, and love for us as we come weary and burdened and leave filled with peace and love.

Questions to Consider

1. What are some ways you have resisted resting and found yourself weary?
2. What are some ways you have rested in God and found yourself fully alive in God’s Spirit?
3. This passage is about giving life to our souls; what can you do to help give life as you serve with Jesus?
4. This passage is also about trust. How have you been vulnerable and available to God in your ministry this week?

Last week, we explored the idea of taking part in Jesus’ death and resurrection through baptism. Buried with Christ in the waters of baptism, we die to sin’s power. We rise to new life, “alive to God” through our union with Christ. This week, Paul uses the symbols of slaves and soldiers to move from the theory of justification to the practical application for everyday life.

He begins by speaking about power and control, using the word “dominion.” Imagine sin as a ruler who commands loyalty and service. He begs the Roman faithful to avoid offering their “members” (faculties, abilities, and desires) as weapons to be used to serve sin. They are to offer all they are to God, for Godly purposes, knowing that sin has no control over their lives any longer.

Verse 14 states, “you are not under law, but under grace.” As a Jew, being “under the law” would recall the Jewish law, Torah, and the many interpretations and additions to the original Mosaic law. But many of the Roman church members were Gentiles. Being “under the law” for them would have meant striving to obey multiple civic, social, and religious laws. For both groups, the law stresses human striving for perfection and holiness, an unending task. Humans are not equal to God. God alone offers the gift of grace as the key to righteousness.

Paul expands the idea using the imagery of slaves. Note the contrast is not slavery and freedom, but rather two kinds of slavery. We are never entirely free. We owe allegiance to one Master or the other (See Matthew 6:24). Whose are we? Where do our loyalties and obedience lie? What occupies our minds and controls our spending?

Paul asserts that we were all once slaves to sin, obeying the impulses and passions of broken human nature. The result is spiritual death. By opening our hearts to the teachings of the Spirit, we have “been set free from sin.” The sins that control us are not just reduced but are conquered. We have transferred our obedience to a different Master. We are now “slaves of righteousness.” Righteousness means being in the right relationship with God due to the combined forces of God’s grace and our continued faith.

Paul sums up the result in one word: sanctification. When we were slaves to sin, we were free from the expectations of being in a right relationship with God. But the outcomes led to death—dysfunctional lifestyles, broken relationships, physical death, moral break down, and spiritual death. Now, forgiven and justified by faith, we become slaves to God. The result is sanctification—the process of becoming ever more righteous and holy, as we live sacramental lives based on the covenant we made in baptism. We choose to live sanctified lives, not to earn God’s love and acceptance, but as the natural result of receiving God’s grace and mercy.

How we act reveals whose we are. “The end is eternal life” (v. 22) within the love and grace of God, both in our daily existence and in eternity. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (v. 23)

Faith Unfiltered Podcast

Hosts Karin Peter and Blake Smith consider how this week's scripture connects to our lives today.

LISTEN

Central Ideas

1. Christian ideas of Jesus’ death and resurrection have ethical and practical implications.
2. Either sin or God has control and power over our lives. The choice is ours.
3. Being set free from sin results in a right relationship with God based on God’s grace, human faith, and sacramental living.
4. Sanctification is the process of becoming more aligned with God, more holy, and more open to Spirit’s movement.

Questions to Consider

1. To whom do you give allegiance? What is the evidence for your answer? How do you deal with the split loyalties in your life?
2. How does sanctification relate to our idea of sacramental living? Which comes first?
3. What present-day imagery would you substitute for the ancient symbols of slavery in this discussion of loyalty, allegiance, and masters?
4. How does this passage affect your understanding of Christ’s mission and the hope of the kingdom?

Today we continue exploring justification by faith: a sinner becomes right with God not through works but by faith in Christ. Paul affirmed not only that Jesus died and lived again, but that all baptized Christians take part in Jesus’ death and resurrection! Participation is more transforming than merely watching dramas of a deity dying and rising, as Greco-Roman religions practiced.

Romans 5:20 affirms that “where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” Can Christians continue to sin, so God can keep showering us with more grace and forgiveness? No! Such reasoning leads to moral bankruptcy, and Paul immediately rejects it. If we have died to sin, which happens in baptism, then we cannot continue to live in sin.

Ancient writers used various metaphors to explain baptism. The Gospel of John presents baptism as a new birth and resulting growth (John 3:1-15). Colossians explained baptism using the symbol of Jewish circumcision to cut away unwanted acts and desires to begin a new covenant with God (Col. 2:11-15). Some churches focused on the cleansing power of water, like the historic flood in Noah’s time (1 Peter 3:18-22).

In Romans, Paul may have used the Exodus as a pattern. People are slaves to sin like the Hebrews were slaves to Pharaoh. Pharaoh’s power died in the waters of the Red Sea. Sin’s power dies in baptism. But we do not go through the water of baptism alone. We are buried with Christ. “With” makes all the difference. Death itself dies. When we rise from the water, we live again. We have a new identity as part of the living Body of Christ.

Paul repeats the reasoning in more detail in verses 6-11. His statement that Christ died to sin (v. 10) refers not to the physical death on the cross but rather the end of sin’s control over Jesus. The temptation of sin no longer controlled Jesus, nor affected by society’s sin of rejecting and condemning Jesus. In the same way, Christ’s followers are crucified with Christ and die to sin. Paul alternates between what “we know” and what we can infer as a result. Here is what the followers know and accept without question:

1. We are crucified with Christ. Our sinful self (“the body of sin”) dies in the process.
2. We are no longer slaves to sin but free from sin’s power to control us.
3. The risen Christ will never die again. Death has no power over him.
4. He died to sin, but he lives to God in unbroken fellowship

Based on those known beliefs, Paul affirms the following:

1. If we have died with Christ, we will also live with Christ.
2. We are dead to sin’s control over us but alive to God because of our union in Jesus Christ.

Being “alive to God” (v 11) means being open and responsive to the promptings of the Spirit in everyday life. Faith is united to action. We notice where God is acting in the world and take part in those efforts. It means living fully and joyfully here and now in relationship with the Divine. It also implies the promise of being “united with [Christ] in a resurrection life like his” (v. 5).

Faith Unfiltered Podcast

Hosts Karin Peter and Blake Smith consider how this week's scripture connects to our lives today.

LISTEN

Central Ideas

1. Baptized Christians take part in Jesus’ death and resurrection. They do not just mimic and play-act a dying and rising myth.
2. Paul stressed that immersion is like being buried with Christ in death. When we arise from the water, we live again,
3. In baptism, we become dead to sin’s control over us, but alive to God, open and responsive to God’s Spirit, in a joyful relationship with the Divine.

Questions to Consider

1. What metaphor would you use to explain baptism’s significance? Do you feel you took part in Jesus’ death and resurrection in this sacrament?
2. What does it mean in your world to be “dead to sin?” What kinds of actions, attitudes, and relationships show that sin no longer has control?
3. What characterizes a person who is “alive to God?” Whom have you known that shows this life? When have you displayed it most fully?
4. Paul uses the phrase, “We know…” several times in this passage. Which of the statements that he affirms “we know” can you claim to know and believe? Which ones do you question? What conclusions would you draw from what you do know?

The book of Genesis can be divided into two main parts. The first part covers God’s creation of the world and people’s early cultural and religious development (Genesis 18:1–11). The second, the lineage of God’s chosen people, prospering amid human struggles and strife (vv. 12–50). Genesis writers captured the word-of-mouth histories of ancestors as passed from generation to generation of those who lived before their time and beyond their memories or experience. They included good, bad, and difficult stories to make the book a truthful telling. In their understanding, ancestors and details did not need to be perfect or accurate for their journeys to be divine and true. Genesis is the beginning, the birthplace of their existence, lineage, and their community’s lasting covenant with God.

Abraham and Sarah appear at the start of the lineage portion of Genesis (chapters 12–25). Abraham kept covenant with God by obeying commandments and following God’s will. Abraham’s lineage is claimed by Judaism and Christianity through Isaac (vv. 21:1–4) and Jacob (vv. 25:21–26), and Islam through Ishmael (vv. 16:9–13). Abraham not only fathered bloodlines, he also journeyed to settle in the land given him by God (vv. 12:1–3) and be an example of faithfulness.

Today’s passage focuses on how God surprised Abraham and Sarah with news that they would be blessed in their old age with a child. God appears to Abraham as three visiting strangers. Abraham treats the visitors with high esteem, providing water and a feast. After eating, the visitors ask Abraham about his wife Sarah. They tell Abraham that after a fullness of time they will visit again and Sarah will have a son. Listening from the tent, Sarah laughed to herself at such news. The divine visitor hears her thoughts and surprises Abraham and Sarah by asking why Sarah laughed. Sarah denies out of fear saying, “I did not laugh.” “Oh yes, you did laugh,” God replied (v. 18:15).

The pronounced time passed and despite her advanced age Sarah gave birth to a son. Abraham named him Isaac, from the Hebrew word for laughter, and circumcised him at eight days old as God commanded (vv. 17:10–12). Sarah proclaims that God brought her laughter so others will laugh with her, for no one could imagine she would bear Abraham a son so late in life (vv. 21:6–7).

God’s grace and generosity are revealed in this passage as life-giving for everyone involved. The passage begins with Abraham’s uncommon generosity toward the three visitors. We understand the visitors as personifying God. However, Abraham welcomes the guests as nobility without knowing their station or nature. Abraham has his household provide foot-washing, refreshment, and relaxation, with Sarah willingly preparing snacks and a feast. It was a gift that involved everyone’s participation. In return, God gives Sarah a son, despite her laughter at the idea. Abraham receives his son Isaac and treats him as his firstborn (vv. 25:5–6). In this way, gratitude begets gratitude, and blesses generations.

God’s generosity can also be surprising in our own lives and communities. Sarah’s laughter at God’s pronouncement soon turned to joy. Like Sarah, each one has potential waiting to be revealed through God’s blessings and joyfully given to others. Sometimes we laugh at God’s promptings, doubting the possibilities. Yet when we step forward to receive God’s offering, we are blessed with joy. God visits us faithfully. It is never too late to receive and respond.

Faith Unfiltered Podcast

Hosts Karin Peter and Blake Smith consider how this week's scripture connects to our lives today.

LISTEN

Central Ideas

1. Be open to God’s surprise for your life and congregation.
2. Be available to receive God’s generosity.
3. Be ready to respond to God’s call.

Questions to Consider

1. What do you see God giving birth to in your life, congregation, and community?
2. How are you or the congregation experiencing God’s generosity?
3. How can you and the congregation respond
   faithfully to where the Holy Spirit is leading you?

Last week began a 15-week series from Paul’s letter to the Romans. The letter was Paul’s effort to introduce himself and summarize his perspective on the nature of God, Christ, the church, and life as a disciple. The Christian faith was still new. Neither Paul nor his contemporaries had answers to the questions and controversies that would later divide Christianity. Paradox, simple reasoning, and obscure explanations mix with clear, straightforward affirmations—fertile ground for later theological exploration and digression.

Paul uses the religious history of the Jews to summarize God’s long-ranging plan for salvation. His purpose was to convince the Romans that faith, rather than Law, is the gauge for claiming God’s promise and grace. Today’s passage focuses on Abraham, a faith model and the “father of many nations” (v. 17).

In a culture that believed both human and divine beings were ruled by an unchangeable cycle of life and death, Abraham heard God calling him to do a something new. In faith, he left his home in Ur to travel to a new land. In return, God promised that he would father a great nation, despite his age. Through him, “all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3). Abraham was a Chaldean, not a Jew. God’s promise came before any wandering Hebrews before “Jews” were a people before there was Moses-the Law-Giver. Abraham “believed the Lord, and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6). “Righteousness” meant being in a right relationship with God.

Paul’s interpretation affirms Abraham as the father of both Jews and Gentiles—all who trust God and act on faith. Trying to win God’s approval by obeying the Law is doomed. No one can obey the Torah one hundred percent of the time. Therefore, God’s wrath (holy judgment) is certain. The promise becomes a threat. Besides, using the Law as the gauge for righteousness is futile for Gentiles who do not know the Law (v. 15). Instead, the gauge for being right with God must be faith, given by God through grace.

Only a God of surprises, who “gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist” (v. 17), can turn an elderly, childless man with a barren wife into the “father of many nations.” Abraham’s faith in a life-giving Creator put him into the right relationship with God. The faith of those who believe that God raised Jesus from death into life is also “reckoned to them as righteousness.” In other words, they, too, have built the right relationship with this God of the Impossible. Faith counts as fulfilling all the Law. Christ’s resurrection is proof of God’s ability to bring life out of nothingness.

Twenty-first-century believers doubt miracles, rely on reason, and scoff at the impossible. Or, we act as though we have the power to make the impossible happen if our faith is strong enough. Paul reminds us 1) that with God, all things are possible, and 2) faith is a gift, not a weapon with which to blackmail God into doing what we want. God gives faith to all those with open hearts and then counts it as righteousness.

Faith Unfiltered Podcast

Hosts Karin Peter and Blake Smith consider how this week's scripture connects to our lives today.

LISTEN

Central Ideas

1. Rather than adherence to Jewish Law, faith is the gauge for claiming God’s promise and grace.
2. Look for the acts of God in the strange and unexpected—and then respond in faith.
3. Jews, Gentiles, all humankind are called to covenant with God in right relationships. There are no exceptions.
4. Faith is a gift given by grace from a God for whom all things are possible.

Questions to Consider

1. How has Christianity continued to promote Law, rather than faith, as the test of righteousness?
2. What journey into the unknown is God calling you to undertake?
3. How has God displayed restorative and creative power within your congregation or community?
4. When has someone surprised you by being in right relationship with God? What does that say about grace and judgment?
5. If faith is a God-given gift, why doesn’t everyone show unwavering faith in Christ?

The primary message of the book of Matthew is to tell the story of Jesus, not just as a remarkable and gifted human being, but as the focus and instrument of God’s involvement with creation. The author’s primary goals appear to be to share the good news that in and through Jesus, God has reasserted the rule of the kingdom of heaven on earth; in and through Jesus, God’s forgiveness is offered to every person; and all are invited to life as a disciple and, indeed, to God’s kingdom.

This is seen clearly in today’s passage, commonly known as the Great Commission. Note that the author quotes Jesus at the end of the book rather than simply sharing a report of what Jesus said, perhaps thinking it would give more power to these instructions given as Jesus’ earthly ministry was drawing to an end. While this “commission” is most often considered in its entirety, it can be divided into several themes, each of which can be a sermon in itself.

First, Jesus is quoted as saying, “Go.” This suggests rather clearly that Christ’s mission is not about being stationary, but about going intentionally to witness of and live the good news of Jesus. In recent revelation, we have been reminded that we should “look also beyond your walls to the far-flung places where the church must go” (Doctrine and Covenants 162:7d).

Next, the reader is told that this going should be to all nations. The word nations means “people groups.” Jesus was not referring to political boundaries, more commonly called “countries” in today’s language. He was referring to cultural and ethnic groups, foreigners, people who aren’t like you, the “other.” So, Jesus’ directive wasn’t so much about going to geographic areas as it was about going to all people regardless of ethnicity, gender, life circumstance, or sexual orientation. Again, we have been reminded of this in recent revelation: “Reach out in understanding, clasp their hands, and invite all to share in the blessings of community created in the name of the One who suffered on behalf of all” (Doctrine and Covenants 161:3a). This theme is also lifted up in several Community of Christ Enduring Principles: Worth of All Persons, All Are Called, Unity in Diversity, and Pursuit of Peace (Shalom) (Sharing in Community of Christ, 4th Edition)

The third theme found in today’s passage is making disciples. This includes baptism and teaching. Jesus showed the importance of baptism by seeking this sacrament from John the Baptist. Baptism is how individuals are united in community as disciples through the same baptism Jesus experienced. By definition, disciples are followers or students of a teacher, a leader, or a philosopher. To be a disciple is to be a learner. Jesus’ commission teaches his followers not only to baptize people, but also to teach them. It is a both/and proposition, each clearly being equally important. By telling his followers to teach “them to obey everything that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:20), Jesus provides the blueprint for bringing the peaceable kingdom to creation.

A final theme is the promise Jesus makes—to be a constant presence as his disciples embark on mission: “Lo, I am with you always to the end of the age.” Here Jesus makes clear that his disciples would not simply have a fading memory of him. Instead, he promises to be ever-present, carrying with him and extending to his disciples “…all authority in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18). This is a powerful and far-reaching authority. As Jesus said multiple times, disciples should not be afraid or hesitant as they go forth to engage in his mission.

Faith Unfiltered Podcast

Hosts Karin Peter and Blake Smith consider how this week's scripture connects to our lives today.

LISTEN

Central Ideas

1. Christ’s mission requires that followers go. The mission cannot be carried out by being stationary and taking care of oneself.
2. The intentional witness, invitation, and living out of mission must be directed to all people with no exceptions.
3. The task of the disciple is not simply to baptize people. As important and valuable as that sacrament is, it must be tied to helping people become true disciples of Jesus.
4. Disciples can go forth in mission with the confidence that Jesus, the one to whom all authority in heaven and on Earth has been given, goes with them every step of the way.

Questions to Consider

1. How is this congregation intentionally identifying opportunities to go into new places beyond its walls?
2. What specific methods is this congregation using to help individuals develop as disciples of Jesus? How can the congregation be challenged to look for more ways to expand such disciple-formation experiences?
3. How can you challenge people to further develop themselves as disciples?
4. How can you challenge people to “go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations” where we have been told that opportunities abound?

Pentecost comes at the end of the Easter season. Christ had promised to return and promised his disciples would not be left alone. With the coming of the Holy Spirit those promises are fulfilled.

Today’s text is set in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. Pentecost was one of three most important festivals for the Jews (the others being Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles). They celebrated Pentecost seven weeks after Passover. The word Pentecost meant “fiftieth.” It was celebrated on the 50th day after the Sabbath on which Passover began. For Christians Pentecost is celebrated 50 days after Easter.

Acts was written by the same author as the Gospel according to Luke. There are many parallels between the two books. If the Gospel is the story of Jesus, the book of Acts is the story of the Holy Spirit. Just as the Spirit is responsible for the birth of Jesus in Luke chapters 1 and 2, in today’s text the Spirit is responsible for the birth of the church. The promise of John the Baptist in Luke 3:16 that people would be baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire, is fulfilled in today’s text. The Spirit that descended on Jesus (Luke 3:22), now descends on the disciples giving power to the church. Just as Jesus began his ministry filled with the Holy Spirit, the disciples are beginning their ministry filled with the Spirit.

The Jewish festival of Pentecost is a celebration of giving the Law on Mount Sinai. During that encounter with God there were dramatic signs—thunder, lightning, smoke, and fire (Exodus 19:16–24). Now, as God comes to the church in the Holy Spirit similar signs appear. In the Hebrew Scriptures, the words breath, wind, and spirit are all the same word. So it is not surprising the Spirit arrives as “a rush of a violent wind” (v. 2).

While fire might be feared, fire in the Hebrew Scriptures was understood to purify or cleanse. When Isaiah was called to be a prophet, hot coals from the fire were touched to his lips as a cleansing agent (Isaiah 6:5–8). Just as giving the law was a key founding event for the Jewish people, giving the Holy Spirit will start the church.

The noise of these events obviously draws a crowd. The text goes into some detail listing all the nations present. The people of Israel had hoped the Messiah would bring together Jews from all nations. Peter will connect this with prophecy suggesting they are in “the last days” (Acts 2:17). By the end of the book of Acts the Spirit will be leading the church not just to Jews of all nations but to all people of all nations. This passage connects Jewish expectation with God’s vision for an inclusive community that goes beyond Judaism.

For the gospel to go to the entire world, to every ethnic group, culture, and tribe, it will have to be taught in all languages. Some people have understood this passage to describe the speaking in tongues Paul talks about in his letter to the Corinthians. But the miracle of this story is that everyone could understand in their own languages. This is what continues to happen today as people are led by the Spirit to learn languages and share the gospel around the world.

Faith Unfiltered Podcast

Hosts Karin Peter and Blake Smith consider how this week's scripture connects to our lives today.

LISTEN

Central Ideas

1. The church is dependent on the Holy Spirit for its life.
2. The Pentecost experience takes place among a diverse community, where all are invited to hear apostolic witness.
3. The book of Acts is not so much the story of what the apostles did as it is the story of what the Holy Spirit came to do in and through the church.
4. The same Peter who had denied Jesus three times, is now on fire with the Spirit and preaching the gospel so all the nations can understand. The Holy Spirit is prepared to do the same for us.

Questions to Consider

1. What has the Holy Spirit done in your life and in the life of your congregation in the past? How has that Spirit led you beyond your human weaknesses
2. What is the Spirit doing in your life today and in the life of your congregation?
3. How can you and your congregation be involved in bringing the gospel to all ethnic groups, cultures, and nations? What groups are present in your neighborhood or city?
4. Have you sometimes felt despair in your life or in the life of the church, only to realize the Holy Spirit is breathing new life into you and the church?

Today’s passage is part of the longer account in Luke 24 that includes the empty tomb and the encounter of two disciples with Christ on the road to Emmaus. These stories are in harmony with Luke’s entire message that Jesus has come to bring restoration to Israel. In other words, Jesus’ mission is fulfilling God’s promise.

Specifically, the text encompasses Christ’s appearance in Jerusalem and includes Christ’s blessing and his ascension. Consistent with author’s purpose, verses 44–53 provide continuity between the past and present, then move toward the future. In verse 44 Jesus refers the disciples to the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms. Jesus stresses this link with the past. God was involved from the beginning. God is faithful and engaged in history.

People in modern cultures have a tendency to discount the past. But it is important to recognize that tradition and history have much to contribute. The Holy Spirit has encountered many who have gone before us. We are not the first to be blessed by God. We would do well to listen to their stories and testimonies about their encounters with the Divine.

In verse 45 Jesus opens their minds. In the following verses the disciples witness where God is moving at their particular moment in history. He describes divine events they witnessed. It is a reality for them. They know it as truth. Now, Christ has their attention. He challenges them to proclaim repentance and forgiveness of sin to all.

As disciples, we, too, need to be aware of where God is moving today. When we allow God’s grace to enter our lives, transformation occurs. When we worship, pray, study, hear the word, and share in the sacraments, God appears and blesses. We are called to share that good news with the world.

Then, in the text, Jesus brings the future into the story. Jesus tells the disciples he is sending what God has promised. He directs them to stay in Jerusalem until they have power from on high. The power they will receive is no theirs. Rather, it is God’s power. It is a gift. This power will come from the Divine. Because they are to wait for it, they have a heightened sense of expectancy and excitement. Something is going to happen. How will the power be revealed?

In verses 50–53, Jesus leads his followers to Bethany and blesses them before he ascends. The Greek word the author uses for bless means “to speak well of.” So, in this text Jesus speaks well of them and praises them. He is asking God to help them gain peace, well-being, and wholeness. We, too, receive Christ’s blessing. As disciples, we are called to share that blessing with others. There are many among us who need blessing. We are to “speak well of” them and ask God’s Spirit to give them peace and wholeness.

In the text, after being blessed, the disciples worship Jesus. They return to Jerusalem with great joy and continually “speak well of” God (vv. 52–53). Our families, congregations, and faith community should also be continually full of joy and praise. Today we speak “well of God” because of our experience that God’s unbounded love and unconditional grace embraces all.

Faith Unfiltered Podcast

Hosts Karin Peter and Blake Smith consider how this week's scripture connects to our lives today.

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Central Ideas

1. Jesus came to fulfill everything written about him in the Law of Moses, the prophets, and in the psalms.
2. The power we receive is from God. It is a divine gift to be used for God’s purposes. It is not power to use for our own benefit.
3. We are called to be witnesses—proclaimers of repentance and forgiveness of sins—to all nations. Christ’s mission is our mission.

Questions to Consider

1. How do the traditions of your congregation reflect God’s presence? (past)
2. When has your “mind been opened to scripture”? (present)
3. Have you ever felt expectant to receive from God? (future)
4. What are some ways you and your congregation witness of and proclaim the Risen Christ?
5. How would you explain the ascension of Jesus to a new disciple?