The Payback of Peace

Intro - Have you all ever heard of this word “scha·den·freu·de”…I read it the other day in an article about President Trump contracting COVID-19. It means to “derive pleasure from someone else’s misfortune”....interesting.

We live in a day and age where those who disagree with us are no longer tolerable. Instead they are to be ridiculed, belittled, mocked, and scoffed at. And IF they should fall on unfortunate times…we ought to rejoice. Especially those who caused us harm, discomfort, or pain...

TR: There’s a similar situation here…what can’t be lost in these 4 verses is the relationship.....

The Relationship

Let’s revisit this relationship between the Jews and the Greeks of this passage.

Jews had a long history of referring to and interacting with non-Jews as unclean dogs.

They loathed them. They believed they were misled, pagan, ignorant, colonizers that were vulgar and an embarrassment to humanity.

The Jews disliked the Gentiles so much that merely interacting with them was abhorrent cf. Peter eating with Gentiles.

In addition to that the Gentiles were at times abusive. They would demean the Jews, take advantage of them, and in fact in most cases denied them equal rights.

Yet here we are…not only were the Gentiles witnessed to but they were coming to faith in the JEWISH MESSIAH!!!

Zechariah 8:22 ESV

Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the Lord.

Initially that would’ve been great....but they’re coming to Yeshua and NOT completely giving up their Greek ways!!! THEY’RE STILL EATING BACON!!!

And yet, salvation was through the Jews and yet wasn’t…completely... Jewish if that makes sense.

From prophets of old, Jews believed that the nations would come and seek out their God but they assumed it would be through works of Judaism rather than faith.

Ephesians 3:6 ESV

This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

Have you ever had something great occur but it wasn’t exactly how you planned it out?

I always dreamed of making money…I just didn’t know that when I did there’d be 3 kids that wanted to use it all up

Yet here we are…Gentiles have come to faith as Brent preached last week, and God has sent people to not only vet them but disciple them cf. 11:25-26

Now with that backdrop let’s look at our verses...

Acts 11:27–30 ESV

Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius). So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.

So what was happening? During the time that Barnabas and Saul (later to be called Paul) were in Antioch discipling the new believers…prophets came down to foretell about a famine that was coming…why?

Why these people from Jerusalem? Why Antioch?

We see one by the name of Agabus, who seems to have resided in Jerusalem.

Yet, here’s what I believe we should take note of…previous walls of animosity and cultural differences were eradicated…there was now ONE church spread out over a vast region...

It seems simple right…we believe in the same Gospel…we all have been delivered from the power of sin and death…and yet somehow…after Jesus tore the veil separating God and man…we built a wall…separating man from one another.

The irony is it seems that the impossible relationship to reconcile isn’t between God and man but is Republican and Democrat Christians…Christians of African or European descent…rural and urban…rich and poor...

To such a degree that we not only erect these walls, reinforce these walls, protect these walls but we CELEBRATE these walls.

We retweet people that mock the people on the other side, ridicule each other, demean and even dare I saw celebrate when tragedy befalls them....schadenfreude....

Yet not here in Acts 11

Here in Acts 11, although there had previously been animosity and disbelief…when God sent prophets to those that had been ridiculed, with a message that trouble was coming to those that mocked them…what were they concerned about? THEIR WELFARE!

Why was that the case? Because they had become deeply aware that they THEMSELVES were sinful and needed redemption!

Something happens when your relationship with God shines brighter than your disagreement with others!

Something happens when your sin against God has more pungency than other people’s sins against you.

The beauty of the God’s wisdom is this…God will take those who were near to the truth the entire time and make them relient upon the charity of people that they previously looked down upon.

So here prophets came from the religious hub of Jerusalem, to the newly formed predominantly Gentile church in Antioch…and God gave them a revelation…it was at this point that something amazing happening...

TR: Rather than base their reaction on human relationship resulting in retaliation…they based it on their spiritual one resulting in reciprocity...

The Reciprocity

Now I know the term reciprocity might be loaded…what were they reciprocating?

First they were reciprocating the gift that they had received from Jewish hands…namely the Gospel

Romans 15:25–27 ESV

At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints. For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. For they were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings.

Here’s the truth…all that you have that’s of value beyond this fleeting and perishable earth has been given to you by the hands of someone else!

The Gentiles OWED the Jews in a manner of speaking because it was through them that salvation came, Jesus Himself being a Jew.

Here’s what didn’t happen with the disciples in Antioch…they didn’t take advantage of the Jewish plight…they didn’t revel in it.

Let’s be honest…there are few things more enjoyable then seeing an arrogant person get their comueppance…yet that’s not where their hearts were.

Story of people that cut you off and speed only to end up at the same stop light. Few things bring me more joy.

The gift that they had received GREATLY outweighed the offenses the Jews had done and greatly outweighed any arrogance or superiority of their own.

Acts 11:29 ESV

So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea.

The people showed maturity by setting their mind that rather than to take advantage of their momentary superiority, to leverage it to help others…in fact here identifying them as brothers living in Judea.

Here’s one of the things that astonishes me about the beauty of Scripture…how they use familial terms for people that have never met because of who THEY HAVE MET...

So they, without question being led by the Spirit, decided to put together all of their extra dollars and send relief to people they’ve never met all because God said something bad was going to happen to them.

I’m amazed…the famine hadn’t even HAPPENED yet and they were moved with generosity and concern.

They were overwhelmed by the peace of God they had received through the Gospel and were LOOKING for a way to respond to it.

Notice, in the prophecy, God never told them what to do! It came NATURALLY!!!

What about us?

It’s one thing to be generous but what about being generous to people that aren’t aligned with your beliefs?

What about people that haven’t done things the way you think they should, voted the way they ought to have, treated you the way you believe they should have?

See the church in Antioch not only reciprocated the gift they’d been given from the Jews but really the gift they’d been given from God....

Let me be clear…generosity, grace, and patience with those that offend you comes easier when you meditate on who you were in light of God’s holiness and who you are now in light of Jesus’ sacrifice...

Everything else in this world that identifies us is secondary to who that person is in light of Christ...

I can’t even keep up with the identities today…I mean one day I yell “black lives matter” and people were like “NO…ALL lives matter it’s not about color”...

Then they yelled “BLUE LIVES MATTER” and I was like “YEAH…All lives matter” then they were like “NO…were talking about the blue ones though”....I’m so confused…like who’s responsible for sending the memo for what color we’re on this week...

There’s people who have offended you years ago that we still won’t speak to no matter WHAT Jesus they worship...

LAND IT LOUD

Let’s be clear about this…one thing the church in Antioch seemed to be aware of is this…the well being of others in the faith, even those who they disagreed with, was of the utmost importance.

Make no mistake about it brethren…how you view those you disagree with says more about you then it says about them…

Let us be provoked to generosity! Let us be tempered by the grace we’ve received! Let us be proactive in helping those who name the name of Jesus NOT because we agree with them but because we agree with God....

They are our brothers…they are our sisters…let us operate from a spirit of humility!

Let us be there regardless of political affiliation, sexual orientation, social demographic, cultural distinction or whatever else!!!

Romans 8:38–39 ESV

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

And if that love resides in us....than nothing in this world ought to be able to divide us…I pray that loves reigns mightily in our hearts...