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The Family Model in the Gospels and Acts.
Jesus was raised in a Family.
The first fact presented in the New Testament is that Jesus was born and raised in a humble, Jewish family.
Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king.
(Matthew 2:1)
He went to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them.
(Luke 2:51)
Isn’t this the carpenter's son? Isn’t his mother, Mary, and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas?
(Matthew 13:55)
He grew up like a root out of dry ground. He was neither striking nor majestic;nothing special to attract us to him.
(Isaiah 53:2)
Jesus did not create a human organisation.
He gave no instructions on how to set up and operate a ‘local church’.
Have no doubt that Jesus was perfectly capable of giving detailed instructions on how to set up and operate a human organisation. Read his instructions to Moses in the Torah!
Jesus could have created a ‘new covenant organisation’ for His Church, but he didn’t.
He didn’t need to, the family model had already proven itself to be a highly effective way for humanity to be “fruitful and multiply”.
Family is the only model proven to raise healthy children to maturity.
There is only one reference in the gospels that could be viewed as a definition of the church and in it, we find the intimacy of the family model.
Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them.
(Matthew 18:20)
Doesn’t this sound a lot like Genesis 2:24?
A man will leave his father and mother and unite with his wife and they will become a new family.
We will soon see how important the family model proved to be in the weeks and months following the Day of Pentecost.
The Great Commission.
The Great Commission is Jesus Christ’s version of “be fruitful and multiply”!
Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you.
(Matthew 28:19-20)
As the Law and the Prophets hung on the the two greatest commandments in the Law of Moses (see Matthew 22:40) , so too, all that Jesus commanded can be summed up in His new commandment;
I give you a new commandment; Love one another as I have loved you. The world will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.
(John 13;34-35)
The Day of Pentecost.
Literally minutes before his ascension Jesus told the apostles to wait for the Holy Spirit.
“Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for what my Father promised, which you heard from me. John baptized with water but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit a few days from now.
(Acts 1:4-5)
The operative word being ‘wait’; wait for the promised Holy Spirit and then take action!
You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
(Acts 1:8)
The Holy Spirit was poured out on the disciples on the Day of Pentecost.
Suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues of fire appeared and rested on each one of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
(Acts 2:2-4)
Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost.
Jerusalem was awash with devout Jews from across the known world. While many of these devout Jews were visiting Jerusalem for Passover and Pentecost, many were actually living in Jerusalem, expecting the Messiah’s imminent arrival.
Now, there were devout men, Jews from every nation under heaven, living in Jerusalem. At the sound, the multitude came together and were bewildered, because each one heard them speak in his own language.
(Acts 2:5-6)
There were Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt and parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene; Jews and proselytes from Rome, Crete and Arabia.
(Acts 2:9-11)
As you will find out in the next Bible study, this is not an insignificant fact.
Explosive growth.
The Day of Pentecost.
After the Holy Spirit had come upon the disciples, Peter preached and 3,000 of these devout Jews believed his message.
Those who received his message were baptized and about three thousand souls were added that day.
(Acts 2:41)
Every day, gathering together at the temple and breaking bread in their homes; they shared their meals with glad and generous hearts.
(Acts 2:46)
First Weeks.
By Acts 4 there are about 5,000 men who have accepted the Gospel, many of whom have wives and children living in Jerusalem.
Many of those who heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.
(Acts 4:4)
How many believers could there have been by this time? Ten thousand? Maybe twenty thousand?
By Acts 5:14 they have lost count of the number of believers.
More and more believers were being added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women.
(Acts 5:14)
First persecution.
Persecution broke out in Jerusalem after the martyrdom of Steven and the believers were scattered into neighbouring territories;
A great persecution arose against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.
(Acts 8:1)
Philip, one of the seven ‘good men’, travels to Gaza for an encounter with an Ethiopian eunuch.
Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place.
(Acts 8:26)
After his encounter with the eunuch Phillip travels up the coast to Caesarea.
Philip found himself at Azotus and, as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.
(Acts 8:40)
Peter travels to Lydda and Joppa.
Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him, urging him, “Please come to us without delay.”
(Acts 9:38)
By Acts 9 there are believers in Damascus.
But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
(Acts 9:1-2)
In Acts 10 we find the first encounter with Gentiles, non-Jews, in Caesarea; an encounter inspired and directed by the Holy Spirit.
You know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without objection. I ask then why you sent for me.
(Acts 10:28-29)
By Acts 11 there are disciples in Cyprus, Phoenicia, Cyrene and Antioch.
Those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen, travelled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. But some men of Cyprus and Cyrene who, on coming to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus.
(Acts 11:19-20)
Everywhere these new disciples went, they continued meeting in homes with virtually no guidance or organisation from the apostles who, by the way, were all still in Jerusalem.
At least, that is how the Church started out.
How many believers could there have been?
Considering this explosive growth, how many believers could have joined the Church within the first year?
Fifty thousand?
Maybe a hundred thousand?
Could it have been as many as a million?
But something went terribly wrong!
By 100AD iy is estimated that there were fewer than 25,000 Christians in the entire Roman Empire and by 200AD that number had grown to around 200,000 Christians.
Compared to the explosive growth of the first few weeks and months, church growth had literally ground to a crawl.
What went so horribly wrong?
Can you imagine Satan standing idly by as the Church blew up?
Not a chance! He got to work as soon as Jesus ascended into heaven.
Next Bible Study.
In our next Bible study we will consider “The Apostles’ BIG Mistake” and the disastrous consequences that followed.
There has never been a better time to be a disciple of Jesus Christ!
