2018, April 22 ~ Acts 4:5-12; and 1 John 3:16-24
Acts 4:5-12
The book called “The Acts of the Apostles” was written around 85 to 90 CE by the anonymous author of the Gospel According to Luke. The first 15 chapters of Acts are a didactic “history” of the early Jesus Follower Movement starting with the Ascension. The last 13 chapters describe Paul’s Missionary Journeys – not always consistently with Paul’s letters.
As a background story to today’s reading, Peter healed a lame man in the Temple (3:6). After Peter made a long speech to the observers (3:12-26), the Temple Authorities (including the Sadducees — who denied resurrection for anyone) took Peter and John into custody. Next day, they brought Peter and John before the High Priestly family (4:6). Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit (v. 8), made another speech and stated the lame man was cured in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. He blamed the Temple Authorities for crucifying Jesus and said God raised Jesus from the dead (v.10).
In the late First Century, for their own self-protection, the Jesus Followers’ writings largely exonerated the Romans for Jesus’ death and instead blamed the Temple Authorities and the Pharisees for the Crucifixion. In fact, the Romans crucified Jesus as an insurrectionist.
This shift of blame also allowed the Jesus Followers (who continued to see themselves as Jews) to separate themselves from the other Jewish sects that were responsible for the Jewish Revolt against the Romans that began in 66 CE. These including the Sadducees, scribes, Zealots, Herodians and Essenes – all of whom were eliminated by the Romans in either the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE or the killing of the Essenes at Masada in 73CE.
After the Revolt, the Jesus Followers and the Pharisees were the only surviving Jewish sects. From 70 to 100 CE, the Jesus Followers and the Pharisees contended with each other for control of post-Temple Judaism until the “parting of the ways” around 100 CE. By that time, the Jesus Follower Movement had evolved into an early form of Christianity and the Pharisaic Movement had evolved into an early form of Rabbinic Judaism.
1 John 3:16-24
Today’s reading is from the first of three letters attributed to “John” – an attribution that was given to the letters in the late 2nd Century about the same time the four canonical Gospels were attributed to Mark, Matthew, Luke and John. (We do not know the actual authors of any of the Gospels.)
The author of 1 John was likely an individual speaking on behalf of a community of followers of the author of the Fourth Gospel.
Today’s reading and its emphasis on love follows the theology of the Fourth Gospel. It adds the moral imperative that persons who have the world’s goods must help their brothers and sisters in need (v.17).