Acts 10:34-43 for Sunday, January 13, 2008

Translation:
(34)And opening his mouth, Peter said "Now I truly understand that God does not show favoritism, (35)but in every nation one who worships him and does what God requires is acceptable to him. (36)The word which he sent to the sons of Israel--preaching peace through Jesus Christ, he is lord of all. (37)You have known the thing that happened throughout all of Judea, from Galilee after the baptism which John proclaimed, (38)how God anointed Jesus from Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, how he went doing good and healing all of those oppressed by the devil, that God was with him. (39)And we were all witnesses of what he did in both the region of Judea and Jerusalem, they they also killed him by hanging from a tree. (40)God raised him in the third day and he allowed him to be revealed (41)not to all the people, but to the witnesses, the ones having been chosen in advance by God, we who ate and drank with him after he arose from the dead. (42)And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one who has been appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead. (43)All the prophets testify to him that all who believe in him receive forgiveness of sins through his name.

I sometimes think of the history of our God like an hour glass. You know how an hour glass looks--two wide ends with a slender center. I think sometimes that the history of our God looks like that. Everything that came before; all the people, all the events, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Elijah, the great prophets, all of that was an important part of the history that builds up to the advent of Christ, the coming of the Word. It is not just a prelude. No, it's more than that. Its as if each of those people were perfectly placed, chosen for specific reasons that lead to the ultimate salvation story.

And then the history narrows to that slender center when Jesus comes, giving his life for us on the cross so that those who believe can experience forgiveness of sins. That humble act is a definite point in history. Things changed after that. We entered a new era where death could not have a say. Death cannot hold any of us captive any longer.

And that message, the saving truth, then must be preached to all who will hear it. It is not a message only for Jews. Not a message only for Gentiles. Not a message only for men. Not a message only for adults. It is a message for everyone. The history of God's work in the world becomes wide again, like the reverse side of the hour glass. And wider and wider it gets as each of us become part of what God has for the future.

I think Peter's point in these verses was that God shows no partiality in who should hear the Gospel message. The Gospel is for all people. In fact, it is the responsibility of every person who believes in Jesus Christ to tell about God's work in Jesus Christ. The widening of the Gospel message so that it reaches all people relies on us, every believer.