‘Revolution and inclusion’ by Owen Lynch - 22 June 2025
From the series ‘A community of hope’ on the book Acts of the Apostles.
We continue to evolve as a church as different people join and leave the orbit of Severn, because the like any community, Severn is the sum of it’s parts - it’s people. In other words, each one of us adds our flavour to the community and we are a diverse and ever changing community.
That said, I wanted us to discover again what the early church looked like so as to learn from their experiences. So eighteen months ago we started to study Acts together, and as well as listening to these talks, I know that some of you have been studying the book for yourselves.
What I have discovered in this series, is less a model for how to do church, and more an incredible retelling of a revolution that occurred amongst the Jewish population of Israel and then throughout the Roman Empire including both Jews and Gentiles.
It seems to me that the author Luke has two key themes - revolution and inclusion.
The revolution started with the festival of Pentecost when, in my opinion, the biggest miracle was that everyone from all over the known world heard the disciples proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah in their own language. These uneducated, peasant farmers and fishermen who had been disciples of Jesus suddenly gained the capacity to speak all the known languages of the world!
Previously, I had missed the significance of this event. Without this miracle, the revolution of Jesus the Messiah would have probably stayed local in Jerusalem and Judea and would probably have been crushed by the Sanhedrin and local Roman governors.
Instead, Jews from all over the world, visiting Jerusalem at that time for the ancient festival of Pentecost, heard that the resurrected Jesus was the promised Jewish Messiah and took this news back to their nations.
Through the miracle of Pentecost, the Jesus revolution spread from Judean Jews speaking only Aramaic, spilling out into Jewish communities all over the known world.
A modern comparison could be the way that the Arab Spring uprising in 2010 and 2011 spread through social media. The miracle of Pentecost was like the miracle of social media, sending this Messianic revolution viral.
No wonder the Sanhedrin [the Jewish ruling council] wanted to destroy it. And the General that they deployed to destroy this movement was a man called Saul. He could be described as a murderous fascist, intent on the suppression of this Messianic revolution.
Not surprising then that Saul’s Damascus road experience of the resurrected Jesus was treated with suspicion and cynicism at first and possibly even throughout his remaining life.
Saul, who used his Roman name Paul from then on in the story, becomes the new leader of the revolution. Luke spends half of Acts focused on Peter and the original Judean disciples, but the second half is focussed on Paul.
But Paul takes the revolution to the next level by insisting that Gentiles can be part of the revolution too, without converting to Judaism.
Most Messianic Jews thought that this was a heresy and their arguments with Paul often turned into violent riots where Paul and his companions were beaten to within an inch of their lives.
I wonder whether Paul found it easier to imagine a world where gentiles could align themselves with Jesus the Jewish Messiah without converting to Judaism?
See although Paul was a highly educated Jewish Pharisee, he was also born a Roman citizen in Tarsus, he had experienced life outside of the Jerusalem bubble, he would have had cousins, aunts and uncles who still lived in Tarsus. Perhaps this enabled him to imagine a world where both Jew and gentile could have faith in Jesus.
In contrast, Peter and the early disciples were Judean, they were poor and perhaps found difficulty imagining a world where gentiles could have faith in Jesus the Messiah without converting to Judaism.
Let me be clear, it was commonplace for gentiles to convert to Judaism at that time - many preferred the Jewish to the Roman way of life. However, gentiles who converted were required to strictly observe all the Jewish laws and traditions.
So Paul caused consternation and anger when he travelled through the Roman Empire, telling gentiles that they could have faith in the Jewish Messiah Jesus without observing the strict Jewish laws and traditions.
He effectively said that gentiles were part of the Jewish Messianic community and tradition, simply because Jesus was the Messiah for all ethnic groups not just the Jews.
Like all revolutions, this Messianic revolution turned violent, and Luke does not shield his readers from the horrible reality of violence that Jesus and his disciples experienced. But the sad reality was that most of the violence and abuse levelled at Paul was from other Jews who passionately disagreed with him.
It was sectarian violence between different sects of Jews against the backdrop of the brutal Roman suppression of insurrection.
See the Romans used violence to suppress the threat of revolution, and crucifixion was a very visible, humiliating and tortuous form of execution that was designed to terrorise local populations into submission.
It should not surprise us that as well as Jesus, tradition has it that Peter, Paul and many of the disciples were executed. They presented a threat to the Roman system and they were executed in the same way that many other revolutionaries were executed.
So Acts is a story of violent revolution; but it is also a story of inclusion.
Paul’s revolution was different from that of Peter and the early disciples which confused and angered them. Initially they found it hard to accept that Gentiles could align themselves with the Messiah Jesus without having to obey the strict Jewish religious rules and regulations. But Paul was adamant that this was the case and eventually they agreed with him.
In his letters, Paul offered lots of guidance to his readers, but all of it was pastoral designed to help people live well with their families, workplace and neighbourhoods.
None of it was a religious code of conduct which he could have used to make heretics out of non-conformists. It was the sort of stuff that pastors like me often come across when we lead church communities like Severn. Stuff like how to resolve disputes between people, raise kids, handle money, and have a healthy marriage.
Paul’s commission given to him by Jesus was to include every person in the revolution - Jew and Gentile - that meant every human being. This was much more radical that Peter’s initial understanding of his own commission from Jesus. Peter had a big problem accepting Gentiles into the revolution, but it was a vision described in Acts 10, that persuaded him of Jesus’ plan to include everyone.
Paul and Peter came to realise through their visions of Jesus, that Gentiles could be part of the Messianic revolution and there was no requirement to convert to the Jewish religion and no requirement to adhere to strict religious traditions. There were no conditions to getting caught up in this Messianic revolution, everyone was included regardless of their identity, lifestyle or behaviour.
As we wrap up our study of Acts, let’s read a final example of Paul’s radical approach to inclusion.
In the rich tradition of authors who have spun a good yarn about adventure on the high sea, Luke treats us to his own unique insight as he and Paul crossed the eastern Mediterranean when most ships had moored up for winter.
We are left in no doubt by Luke that both he and Paul and the rest of the ships company nearly lost their lives in treacherous seas. Perhaps, Luke’s account is all the more detailed, because he himself nearly died!
It was an awful trauma - not only had they nearly drowned because of the weather, but the prisoners were almost killed by the soldiers on board. What do you need when you have survived a traumatic experience? You need someone to look after you!
Acts 28:1-10,
1 Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta. 2 The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold. 3 Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. 4 When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, the goddess Justice has not allowed him to live.” 5 But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. 6 The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead; but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.
7 There was an estate nearby that belonged to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us to his home and showed us generous hospitality for three days. 8 His father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and, after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him. 9 When this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured. 10 They honoured us in many ways; and when we were ready to sail, they furnished us with the supplies we needed.
Did you notice that Luke said, that the islanders showed them “unusual kindness”, “unusual hospitality”. The greek word is “Philanthropy” - it’s outsized generosity, it’s overwhelming kindness.
Which left me wondering why? All they did initially was build a fire and welcomed them. But isn’t it true that when we feel vulnerable, acts of kindness from other people can have a really big impact on us? I am always moved by acts of kindness towards vulnerable people in movies.
Their ship has been destroyed and they have staggered ashore after weeks fearing that they would drown in the ocean. They are exhausted, famished and close to death. Is it any wonder that the kindness of strangers moved them emotionally.
On top of that Paul is bitten by what they think is a snake. Paul’s having a bad day!! In reality, scholars think that there were no venomous snakes on Malta back then. But nevertheless, when Paul suffered no ill effects, these islanders think he is a god! You can almost see Luke rolling his eyes in disbelief at their response!
The greek word translated as “islanders” here is “barbaros” which the would “Barbarians” is based on and means “foreigner”. So even though Luke and his companions are the visitors, to Luke the indigenous islanders are the foreigners! Why is it that anyone who is different from ourselves is the foreigner!?
That said, Luke is astonished and impressed by the kindness of these foreigners!! The chief official welcomes them into his home and looks after all their needs, including the provision of supplies to help them on the next stage of their journey.
The kindness, generosity, restoration and love shown by the Maltese to Paul and the ships company should be seen as what it was - signs of the presence of the Holy Spirit in them.
In Galatians 5: 22-23, Paul describes evidence for the divine Holy Spirit with the same virtues that Luke uses to describe the actions of these foreigners.
Perhaps Luke and Paul see the Spirit in foreigners like in Acts 10 and 16, where they see the fruit of the Spirit present in people like Cornelius and Lydia.
It is as though wherever Paul went around the Roman Empire and he saw the presence of the Spirit in people, he would bless it and move on. Yes, he showed pastoral concern through his letters, but he blessed many more communities through his actions than he wrote letters to. I don’t remember seeing a letter in the New Testament to the Maltese! But I’m not in much doubt that he included them in the revolution.
Did Paul insist that the Maltese convert to Judaism and strictly observe the Jewish law and traditions? Not that we can see from Luke’s account. Were they included in the revolution - I bet they were!!!
So what can we learn from these two themes in Acts - revolution and inclusion? Have a chat with those around you.
How is Jesus causing a revolution in our lives, our families and our communities?
How is Jesus reminding us that he includes everyone in his revolution?
More in this series
