Entering the Drama of God’s Story
January 4, 2009
As we begin a year of reading through the Bible, I get a jump start by taking a class called “Acts to Revelation” at the seminary. So along with Genesis and Psalms, I am reading through Acts in preparation for next week’s class, when we will cover Luke’s sequel.
In my reading I realized that I had completely missed a significant theme the previous 17 times I have read the beginning of Acts. The pattern comes from Peter’s public speaking in chapters 2-5:
“This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men” (Acts 2:23).
“Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified” (Acts 2:36).
“The God of our fathers glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the Author of life” (Acts 3:13-15).
“Rulers of the people and elders…let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead-by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone” (Acts 4:8-11).
“The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree” (Acts 5:30).
What stuck out to me in these verses was Peter’s unceasing indictment of the Jewish people and religious leaders for their rejection and execution of Jesus as Peter called them to repentance. This has multiple implications, including our approach to evangelism, but let me share something else that struck me as we read through the Bible this year.
The fact that I missed this obvious strand before tells me that I have a tendency to come to the Bible as if it were either the Arizona Republic or Poor Richard’s Almanac. That is, I bring either today’s assumptions or a presumed timelessness to the text. While God’s word is timeless, it also tells a story that took place in a very specific historical context. In this case, what I had failed to factor in before is that Pentecost is only 50 days after Passover, meaning that Peter’s preaching took place only months after Jesus’ crucifixion.
Think of all the pathos that must have been at work in these interactions. Jesus had been put to the ultimate shame in his crucifixion, then was exalted to the ultimate honor in his resurrection. His followers, whose emotions must have followed this roller coaster, were then charged with the task of proclaiming Jesus’ resurrection to the very people that, on a human level, caused his execution. This is the makings of a gripping story.
Much more could be teased out from this, but here is my overarching point. As we read through the Bible this year-whether Genesis or Lamentations or Acts-let us allow ourselves to enter the moment of the text in hopes of soaking in more of its meaning. God is telling a story in his Word, and the more we experience the drama of that story, the more our hearts will be moved to embrace it as our own and tell it to others.
Pastor Chris