In the weeks after Yeshua's death, violence began quickly.
When it was apparent that Yeshua was not going to return with a few days or weeks, the band of followers sold their belongings and property in Galilee, moved to Jerusalem, and pooled their money to wait for Yeshua to return, assuming it would not be much longer. Two followers, Ananias and his wife Sapphira, sold a field, but didn't give all the money from the sale to the apostles to be used for the community.
Peter confronted Ananias about it with strong, vituperate language: "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart? Why do you lie to the Holy Spirit?" Ananias, Luke reported in Acts, fell dead on the spot. His wife, Sapphira came in three hours later. Peter confronted her about the money and she fell dead at Peter's feet.
Luke reported that "all the people who heard about this were very much afraid" (Acts 5:1-11).
Violence had intruded itself into the church within days of Yeshua's death. The occurrences were remarkable in their ferocity and provide insight into the early church. The deaths were very suspicious. Two people fell dead instantly when they displeased the apostles. However, apparently nothing was made of it at the time. Either God killed them or the apostles killed them. The fear of retribution from their exposure probably would not have been great, but even a fear that the group would be angry with them would hardly have killed two people within hours of each other, and the clear message was that they didn't die of natural causes—something killed them because they displeased the Holy Spirit.
Luke follows with a celebratory, "The apostles did many signs and wonderful things" (Acts: 5:12), as though the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira were among the "signs and wonderful things." The reader was to believe the deaths were wonderful acts. Luke stated that the people were "afraid," indicating that Peter and Luke apparently felt that God was an angry, irascible man who would snuff out someone's life if they disobeyed, rather like a Mafia Don. God should be feared.
Peter castigated Ananias saying, "Why do you lie to the Holy Spirit?" Already, the wishes of a group of men had come to be regarded as the will of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit spoke to the group by consensus or spoke to the apostles, and anyone who did not conform to the regulations they articulated could be put to death. That would be repeated and amplified through the following centuries.
Luke, writing 60 years after the incident, made a point of reporting it. If it had been counter to the tone of the church, he could have omitted it or downplayed it. Instead, it occupies a prominent position in its detail and length. It is apparent that the church by Luke's time and probably at the time of the incident, felt that violence to achieve God's ends, as interpreted and enforced by the church's leaders, was not only perfectly acceptable, it was a sign of the rightness of the church's position and God's presence in the body of believers. This attitude was to result in unspeakable atrocities in the centuries that followed.
Yeshua taught these lessons:
Love God and Love Others.
Love All People, Not Just Those Who Agree with You.
Make Peace among People Forgive without Reservation.
Do Not Judge Others.
Be a Servant to All Others
When it was apparent that Yeshua was not going to return with a few days or weeks, the band of followers sold their belongings and property in Galilee, moved to Jerusalem, and pooled their money to wait for Yeshua to return, assuming it would not be much longer. Two followers, Ananias and his wife Sapphira, sold a field, but didn't give all the money from the sale to the apostles to be used for the community.
Peter confronted Ananias about it with strong, vituperate language: "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart? Why do you lie to the Holy Spirit?" Ananias, Luke reported in Acts, fell dead on the spot. His wife, Sapphira came in three hours later. Peter confronted her about the money and she fell dead at Peter's feet.
Luke reported that "all the people who heard about this were very much afraid" (Acts 5:1-11).
Violence had intruded itself into the church within days of Yeshua's death. The occurrences were remarkable in their ferocity and provide insight into the early church. The deaths were very suspicious. Two people fell dead instantly when they displeased the apostles. However, apparently nothing was made of it at the time. Either God killed them or the apostles killed them. The fear of retribution from their exposure probably would not have been great, but even a fear that the group would be angry with them would hardly have killed two people within hours of each other, and the clear message was that they didn't die of natural causes—something killed them because they displeased the Holy Spirit.
Luke follows with a celebratory, "The apostles did many signs and wonderful things" (Acts: 5:12), as though the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira were among the "signs and wonderful things." The reader was to believe the deaths were wonderful acts. Luke stated that the people were "afraid," indicating that Peter and Luke apparently felt that God was an angry, irascible man who would snuff out someone's life if they disobeyed, rather like a Mafia Don. God should be feared.
Peter castigated Ananias saying, "Why do you lie to the Holy Spirit?" Already, the wishes of a group of men had come to be regarded as the will of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit spoke to the group by consensus or spoke to the apostles, and anyone who did not conform to the regulations they articulated could be put to death. That would be repeated and amplified through the following centuries.
Luke, writing 60 years after the incident, made a point of reporting it. If it had been counter to the tone of the church, he could have omitted it or downplayed it. Instead, it occupies a prominent position in its detail and length. It is apparent that the church by Luke's time and probably at the time of the incident, felt that violence to achieve God's ends, as interpreted and enforced by the church's leaders, was not only perfectly acceptable, it was a sign of the rightness of the church's position and God's presence in the body of believers. This attitude was to result in unspeakable atrocities in the centuries that followed.
Yeshua taught these lessons:
Love God and Love Others.
Love All People, Not Just Those Who Agree with You.
Make Peace among People Forgive without Reservation.
Do Not Judge Others.
Be a Servant to All Others
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