The Messianic King

The Threat of Jesus and this Jesus movement (Acts12-Acts20)

Many followers of this Jesus movement recieved severe punishment which included flogging, risk of arrest, and even death (i.e. Stephen the first Martyr)

Paul went against the grain of this belief, however he did so in many different ways… when Paul left on his first journey into the interior of Asia minor (located in modern day Turkey) this is seen in Acts 15, his second trip is through Asia Minor and into ancient Greece (Acts 16-18), and the third trip goes through the same territory once again, concluding with Paul’s journey back to Jerusalem (Acts 18-20). Upon entering a new city, Paul always first visits the Jewish synagogue to share how Jesus is the risen King who is now forming a new multiethnic people of God. Many Jewish people come to recognize Jesus as their Messiah. Others, however, oppose Paul and sometimes even run him out of town as a dangerous rebel who opposes the Torah and Jewish tradition.

We can see that the tension not only lies from the Romans but from the Jewish traditions.

This tension culminates after the first journey and leads to an important council in Jerusalem (Acts 15) Paul discovers that there are some Jewish followers of Jesus in Antioch claiming that unless non-Jewish people become Jewish by practicing circumcision, the Sabbath, and obeying kosher food laws, they can’t be a part of Jesus’ redeemed people. Paul and Barnabas radically disagree with this claim, so they take the debate to a leadership council in Jerusalem. There, Peter, Paul, and James, the brother of Jesus, discuss and discern from the Scriptures and from their experience that God’s plan was always to include the nations within his covenant people. While they do require non-Jewish Christians to stop participating in pagan temple sacrifices, they don’t require them to adopt an ethnically Jewish identity or become Torah-observant.

This decision was groundbreaking for the history of the Jesus movement. Jesus, who is the risen King of all nations, is an ethnically Jewish Messiah. However, a person’s membership among his people is not based on ethnic identity or Torah observance. Instead, one must simply trust in Jesus and follow his teachings.

Context of Rome and its beliefs - Greek mythology and the many Gods that encompass this idea and belief. Many Romans of the time had this belief that if their Gods were worshipped that it would bring fame and fortune to their city or lives. There was also another belief that these Gods protected their cities.

This leads into the next point that Luke is trying to emphazsize

The Roman empire had a polytheistic belief… how does this compare to modern day interpretations...

What are some of the things you see in todays society that can be deemed as a God

What are the Gods that we see in society today… who is the king in the story of now