God's Mission Is There: Judea and Samaria

Introduction

We’re in the middle of a series talking about God’s Mission, and we’re being challenged to think of “missions” as being more than the trips we make once a year or once every few years to a foreign country to do VBS, offer medical attention and so forth.

Slide: lifestyle

We’re being challenged to think of “missions” as a lifestyle, a way of Being that happens all the time, wherever we are in the world and whoever we are with.

And really, it’s not even so much about us doing missions, as though making disciples of all nations depends on our activity and our planning and our effort.

Slide: God’s

This is God’s Mission. It is the Holy Spirit who is at work in the world moving hearts and transforming lives, and we are just His hands and feet.

I find that view of missions so powerful and so freeing. Sometimes I think, there are almost 8 billion people in the world, and over 5 billion who don’t consider themselves Christian. To put that into perspective, if I were to meet ten non-Christians every day and convert them on the spot, it would take me 1,369,863 years to evangelise the world! Let’s say everyone here, 300 of us, were to convert 10 people every single day. That would still take us 4,566 years to convert the world!

If our understanding of mission is that we have to go out there and convert non-believers to Christ, these statistics are not encouraging. Sometimes I hear people saying things like “I can’t even bring my own friends to church! I feel so guilty and so useless and such a bad Christian because I’m not obeying the Great Commission like I should.” And there is the implied thought of “What if I don’t convert enough people before I die? Will God still let me into heaven?”

But the more I read Scripture, especially what we’ll get into today,

Slide: quote

God’s mission does not seem characterized by guilt and fear. God’s mission is not primarily about how many people I can baptise and bring to church. We are not necessarily better Christians just because we go for more mission trips or because we give more money on Missions Sunday, which, by the way, is next week, and we’ll talk more about that later.

Those are good things, but that’s not the essence of God’s Mission.

Rather, God’s Mission begins with me, as Kyle shared two week ago. The first question of God’s mission is not, “Are those people saved?” It’s “How is the Holy Spirit at work in me? How am I becoming more like Jesus? How does my new lifestyle bring honour and glory to God?”

Our Lord once said, First remove the plank in your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. - Matthew 7:5.

Or again, as our Lord said to Peter when he asked about the fate of another disciple, Jesus said, “If I want him to live until I come, what is that to you? You come and follow me.” John 21:22.

God’s Mission is me. The Holy Spirit is at work in me to transform all of me into a witness, so that my daily habits, my disposition as I go through the day, the way I treat others, my entertainment choices—all these things bear witness to the gospel of Jesus whose Spirit is at work in me.

Last week, Irvin showed us how as we are becoming witnesses of Jesus, God’s mission expands into our homes; into the places and people right around us. And that’s not always intentional—it just spills out of us! On the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit filled the apostles, the whole city of Jerusalem could not help but notice that something was different about them. Some were convicted and joined them. Some laughed and called them drunk. Some were fearful of their influence and arrested them. But they could not deny that God’s Mission was at work, in the lives of these disciples, in the early church, and in all Jerusalem.

Tell The Story

Today we are moving beyond Jerusalem, and we’re entering that second sphere that Jesus talked about.

Slides: Fill in the blanks

Remember Acts 1:8: “You will receive power from the Holy Spirit, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.”

Slide: God’s Mission Is There.

We pick up today in Acts 8. God’s mission is growing. It’s moving past Jerusalem into foreign territory. It’s expanding from a place where people were generally familiar with Jesus and Jewish doctrine to places where people were less familiar with them. And we’re going to see what God’s Mission, what being a witness looks like in a foreign context.

Now, this chapter follows Philip through the lands beyond Jerusalem. We don’t spend much time in Judea;

Slide: Samaria

Our story begins in Samaria, we need to bring in some history.

The name “Samaria” refers to both the region as well as the name of the capital city. And the Samaritans have had a rocky relationship with the Jews for a long time.

Because Samaria is the capital city of the unfaithful kingdom of Israel.

Slide: City of Rebellion

They were the tribes that rebelled against the royal line of David, and they fell further and further into idolatry and outright blasphemy. And there were times when they fought against the kingdom of Judah and shed the blood of God’s chosen people.

Here is Hosea 13:7-8 “So I am to them like a lion; like a leopard I will lurk beside the way. I will fall upon them like a bear robbed of her cubs; I will tear open their breast, and there I will devour them like a lion, as a wild beast would rip them open.”

For anyone who thinks the Bible is just a collection of nice children’s stories, they clearly haven’t read the minor prophets.

Slide: disowned relatives

I say this just to show that in the Jewish mind, the Samaritans are like disowned relatives. They have thrown away their privileges as God’s children. They have earned God’s wrath, they don’t deserve His mercy or His promises. That’s the background to Acts 8, and why that story is so powerful.

Acts 8. We meet Philip, one the deacons from Acts 6, coming to Samaria to preach the gospel. Already that should set off alarms. Why is Philip, a good Jewish Christian, going to those good-for-nothing Samaritans?

Slide: violence

What will they do to him? Surely they will beat him up and mock the gospel! That’s what they’ve been doing for hundreds of years, rejecting God and opposing His people. What makes Philip think that this time will be any different?

Pause for a moment. I wonder if we sometimes feel this way when we think about telling others about Jesus. We all know that it’s a good thing to tell others about Jesus and make disciples of all the nations, but those people? Those ungrateful, nasty, depraved persons who I already know are rotten and hopeless. Why waste the good news on them? Better take the gospel to people who can appreciate it.

As it turns out, that is exactly where God’s Mission is.

Slide: There

Slide: unexpected

God’s Mission Is There in the Unexpected

God’s Mission takes us into unexpected places and people, places and people whom we would probably rather avoid.

Slide: every

But God desires for people from every tribe and nation and language, people from every race and socioeconomic background and education level, people with criminal records and history of mental problems—God desires these to call on the name of Jesus and enter the kingdom of heaven.

God’s mission is there, especially in the people whom we would rather stay far away from. God’s mission is there, especially in places that are far away and inconvenient to get to and uncomfortable to be in at least by Singaporean standards.

And that’s exactly where God’s Mission is, and of all people He could choose to send, He chooses us. That is both wonderful and terrifying at the same time.

In unexpected places

Acts 8:6–8 ESV

And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was much joy in that city.

What Philip is doing in Samaria is as close as it gets to a modern day mission trip. Philip is going to a different country, he is preaching and teaching about Jesus, he is blessing the community by performing miracles and casting out unclean spirits, and he has basically the entire city hanging on his every word.

Here’s where things get interesting.

Main character

In this passage, where is the emphasis placed? Who is the main character? Who is in the spotlight? We might think it’s Philip. He is the missionary, the evangelist, the miracle worker. Let’s read this again, a bit slower.

“Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ.” Okay, Philip is clearly the main character here. We are not told why he chose Samaria, if he had a vision or a voice from heaven or a business trip, but he chooses to go.

“The crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs that he did.” Who’s in the spotlight in this sentence? It’s not Philip anymore, is it? Now it’s the crowds and their response. We know that Philip is still doing things, but I believe Luke has purposely written this sentence to take the emphasis away from Philip, away from the “missionary.” Let’s keep reading.

“For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them”—not a single mention of Philip.

“Many who were paralyzed or lame were healed.” It doesn’t say by who.

What’s the effect of this? Why is the writer so deliberately dropping Philip’s name? One could say that it’s common sense, and so Luke doesn’t need to keep saying it’s Philip. But the more I read this, the more I wonder if this is to put the spotlight on the one who though, not mentioned, is the true actor in this story.

Philip is only the secondary actor, the agent of the greater power who sent him, whose power works inside him now, and whose power is turning the hearts of the Samaritans to hear Philip. Which brings us to our second big idea:

God’s Mission is There Through the Holy Spirit

The book of Acts is sometimes called the Acts of the Apostles, because it records the adventures and ministries of Peter and John and Paul. But as Kyle said last week, this book should probably be called the Acts of the Holy Spirit. This story isn’t about glorifying the apostles, saying “Look at how smart and wise and powerful they are!” The message of this story is, “Look at what God the Holy Spirit is doing in these people! Glory to God!”

Driving, waking up

Our church has been known and recognised for being a church of mission. We have a significant missions budget that we use to bless churches in the region. Pre-covid, we had multiple mission teams going to various countries. And as we look to the post-pandemic era, we anticipate our mission activities returning in full force.

I want to offer a note of caution and encouragement. A caution, because when things are going well and we have plans and structures in place, we tend to plan the Holy Spirit out of the equation. Are we rushing ahead based on what we can see and hear with our human capacities? Or are we making decisions by sitting, waiting, listening and discerning the will of the Holy Spirit? If the Holy Spirit is the main character in our story, let’s not try and take over.

But there is also an encouragement in all this. If the Holy Spirit is really the one responsible for God’s Mission, it’s not all on us. The burden of bringing people to Christ is not our sole responsibility. We bear witness with our lives, and the Holy Spirit takes that and works in the hearts of those who see and hear.

There Was Much Joy

Back to the text. Notice at last part of verse 8: “There was much joy in that city” as a result of what Philip is doing.

Healing

Healing sicknesses, casting out demons—those are things that would result in much joy. This is the kingdom of heaven coming to Samaria. This is the rule and reign of God that brings healing, renewal and restoration, so powerful that it reaches into the very bones of our bodies. The gospel of Jesus Christ truly is good news.

But it wasn’t just the physical and spiritual healing in the moment that people were delighted by.

White

There was also something deeper going on.

I mentioned earlier that the Samaritans were once part of the kingdom of Israel before they rebelled. They too had come out of Egypt under Moses. They too had the law of Moses and had the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, or the Torah.

Deuteronomy

And an important part of their religion comes from Deuteronomy 18:18: “I will raise up for them a prophet like [Moses] from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.”

The Samaritans also believed that God would one day send a new prophet, one who would bring moral and ethical renewal to God’s people. They thought of this prophet mainly as a teacher of law, and they called him “Ta-eb.”

So along comes Philip, saying, “Let me tell you about this prophet that God has prophesied all the way back in Deuteronomy. He has already come! He brings with him renewal and restoration, and the healing that you see me do is because of His power working in me! And that’s not all; He is more. He is more than just Ta-Eb, more than a teacher of law and morals.

Messiah

We Jews call Him the Messiah, God’s Anointed King, and He has come to redeem all people to Himself! Including you Samaritans, who have been estranged for so long!”

Philip’s witnessing about Jesus brought joy to the Samaritans because they were already looking for Jesus. They just had a different name for Him, and they had an incomplete understanding of Him. In my last sermon, I explored how Peter and the disciples must have felt when they realized that their long-awaited Messiah had come, how they must have been filled with joy and wonder and awe. How much more for the Samaritans to hear that their long-awaited prophet, and now much more than a prophet but God Himself, had come to them. How much greater their joy, when they realise that the God they rejected and rebelled and sinned against for a thousand years never forget about them, but has invited them to come back to him and experience His healing, forgiveness and restoration. No wonder they call it good news.

God’s Mission Is There

Meeting People Where They Are

I wonder how this affects our understanding of witnessing. Do we believe that telling others about Jesus brings them joy? Do we proclaim the good news like it’s really good news?

I think that our culture views religious conversion with fear, because it involves manipulating people’s feelings and arm-twisting them into joining that religion.

And I think we’ve bought into that. We fear to tell people about Jesus because we assume they don’t want what we are trying to offer. We assume that they are comfortable enough without the gospel, and the result has been that Christians have used fear and manipulation to force people into converting.

What if the story of Jesus is not a story of fear and condemnation, but a true story where people find what they are looking for the most? What if this story meets people where they are?

The Gospel can meet people where they are and offer them what they are looking for, even if they don’t know it yet.

We live in a world where it looks like everybody is chasing after wealth, power, attractiveness, fame, success. And we fear that the gospel does not speak to those things, so we need to use fear tactics that don’t work. But we are hearing more and more that underneath all that, what we’re really chasing are things like love, belonging, identity, peace. The gospel of health and wealth and success and fame cannot provide those things. Suddenly the Gospel of Jesus has a lot to say about that.

Live The Story

God’s Mission is There.

We find it in unexpected places, beyond our comfort zones and boundaries.

It exists because of the Holy Spirit, not because of anything we can do.

And it meets people where they are, offering what the human heart longs for the most.

For the early church, they realised that God’s mission starts with them and their surrounding area, but it also goes beyond, into Judea and Samaria.

Globe

What about us? Where are our Judeas and Samarias?

Where are those unexpected places beyond our boundaries and beyond our comfort zones? Are there communities or people groups whom we have labelled inferior or undeserving or not worth our time? May God have mercy on us and convict us

More of us are getting back into traveling after the pandemic, some for leisure and some for business. Perhaps we can ask the question: how can I be a witness for Jesus in this foreign land? It doesn’t have to be a church-organised “mission trip” where you “do mission work” and VBS and gospel rallies; you are always on mission for God wherever you go.

Here’s a wild idea: what if we used our overseas holiday time to intentionally participate in mission? What if, instead of going to an exotic country to visit tourist attractions and splurge on good food and pamper ourselves—nothing wrong with those, by the way—what if we used that time to visit one of our missions partners? You don’t have to do a VBS or have a program. It’s just spending time with them and encouraging the work that they are doing.

As we think about our Judeas and Samarias, how can we go forth in the Spirit? How can we be sensitive to His leading and guidance?

Maybe this is about forming a habit of prayer to ask God’s Spirit to fill us. We may not get immediate answers, but as we keep praying, we grow in awareness of the Spirit, so that when He says ‘go’, we will recognise His voice

How do we meet people where they are?

Overseas missions: what do they need?