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Chapter One.
(From Luke) When I wrote you my first book, Theo, I was writing to someone
who loves God. So I told you the things Jesus did and what he taught, right
from the start to the day he passed beyond time and space. Before he left,
he handed on some guidelines from God’s Spirit to the people he had chosen
as his special friends. There was no answer to the proofs Jesus gave to show
them he was alive after he had been dead. They saw him many times for well
over a month, and he talked to them about ‘God’s New World’. Once when Jesus
was having a meal with his friends, he told them, ‘Don’t go away from
Jerusalem. Wait till you get what my Parent means to give you. I’ve talked
about it before. John dipped people in water, but in a matter of days you’ll
be drenched with God’s Spirit.”
At a time when they were all together, the friends of Jesus asked him,
“Leader, are you now going to give political power back to the Jewish
people?” Jesus said, “The future course of the world’s history is none of
your business! It’s a matter for the Loving God. Your job, when God’s Spirit
gives you confidence, will be to stand up for me in Jerusalem and the
surrounding district, in Samaria and all over the world.” Soon after Jesus
said this, his friends watched him go up the mountain and disappear among
the clouds. As they were straining to get a last look at Jesus going on his
way, a couple of people wearing bright clothes came up to them and said,
“What are you folk from Galilee looking up there for? You’ve only lost sight
of Jesus for a while. He’ll come back the way he went, and he’ll still be
the same Jesus!
(12) Then they went back to Jerusalem from Olive Hill, just a short walk. As
soon as they got there, they went straight to their headquarters in the room
upstairs. They included Rocky, Jim and John, Andrew, Philip, Twin, Bart,
Matthew, Jamie Alson, Simon the Hothead, and
Jude Jameson. Some
women were there too, including Jesus’s mother Mary. They all spent a lot of
time together, talking with God.
On one occasion, there were about a hundred and twenty people in the room.
Rocky stood up to make a speech. He said, “Friends, you can’t stop the Old
Books coming true. God’s Spirit spoke through David and foresaw that Judas
would help to get Jesus arrested. Judas was one of us and helped us in the
work.” (You may like to know what happened to Judas. He bought a field with
the money he was given for betraying Jesus. He had a bad fall there and was
fatally injured. When the people of Jerusalem got to hear about it, they
called his field “The Bloody Field”.) Rocky went on, “One of our songs goes
like this,
‘His house will be empty,
Its owner gone:
And his job will be going too...’
We need a replacement to join us in the job of convincing people Jesus is
alive. It must be someone who belonged to our group all the time Jesus our
Leader shared his life with us, from the time John was dipping in the river,
to the day Jesus went out of our sight up the mountain.” There were two
candidates, Joseph (sometimes known as ‘Honest Joe’) and Matt. Then they
spoke to God like this, “God, you know what each of us is really like
inside. Show us who you’d like to have in this special job, which Judas gave
up to go his own way.” Then they put the names in a bag and Matt. was the
name picked out. He joined the other eleven friends of Jesus with special
duties.
Chapter 2
It was the spring holiday, and they were all there. It was just like a
hurricane sweeping out of the sky. You could hear the noise all over the
house. Sudden streaks of light darted about and lit up one friend after the
other. They were all filled by God’s Spirit, and she gave them the ability
to communicate in new ways.
There were many Jews staying in Jerusalem at that time, from every country
in the known world. The noise attracted a big crowd. It was strange that,
though they had different languages, they could all understand what the
friends were saying. They found it incredible and said, “They’re ordinary
working people from Galilee! How can they communicate with us? They’re
talking about the exciting things God has been doing, and we can understand
every word, just as if we were hearing it in our own language!” (There were
people there from the countries round the Persian Gulf and further east,
from the Celtic lands, from north Africa, Arabia, Crete and Rome, as well as
from districts nearby. Some had been born Jews, others were Jewish
converts.) They were impressed and confused at the same time, anxious to
know what it was all about. Some thought the whole thing funny and said, “It
looks as if they’ve been at the bottle!”
(14) This was the cue for Rocky to stand up where he could be seen, with the
other eleven special friends around him. He shouted to the crowd, “My own
people, and everyone here in Jerusalem, if you listen carefully, I’ll
explain what’s going on. We haven’t been drinking; it’s only nine in the
morning! What Joel said in his book is coming true:
One day,’ says God, ‘I will fill every living thing in a special way. My
Spirit will move your children to speak for me; she will excite teenagers
with new ideas and give old people dreams about the future. Even those who
have no rights, my favourites, will be full of me and speak my words. There
will be earth-shattering events. The sun will be eclipsed and the moon
appear red, as signs of God’s coming among us. Then anyone who acknowledges
God will be healed.’
My people, listen to me: I’m going to tell you about Jesus from Nazareth,
someone you remember being impressed by, because God did great things
through him, proving he was God’s agent. He fell into your hands. God knew
that was going to happen and made plans. You used foreigners to kill Jesus
by hanging him on a cross. But God knew that was going to happen and made
plans. You used the Romans to kill Jesus, by hanging him on a cross. But God
brought him back to life forever. Death couldn’t hold him down. One of the
songs David sang has words which could be Jesus talking:
‘God, I follow you,
You’re with me all the time;
Nothing breaks my back,
Always feeling fine.
Sing a song of joy;
Future holds no fears;
You will not let me rot,
Nor give my loved-ones tears.
You’ve told me what life’s all about:
With you I’ll always sing and shout.’
Brothers and sisters, it’s not very likely our hero David was talking about
himself. He’s dead and buried; you can go and see his grave any time you
want. He was looking into the future and remembering the promise God had
given him, that one of his descendants would carry on where he had left off.
David foresaw God’s Chosen would come back to life after being dead. That’s
what he meant by the words,
‘You will not leave me dead,
or let your Chosen rot.’
Jesus is the one he was talking about. God brought Jesus back to life, and
everyone of us here can swear to the truth of it. He has been granted the
highest honour by God his Parent, and God has given him the promised Spirit
to pass on to us. That’s the explanation of what you’re seeing and hearing
today! David didn’t become one with God in this way, but he said,
‘God said to my Leader Sit by me,
Then you’ll have no enemy.
So now you all know the truth. Jesus, the one you hung on a cross, God has
marked out as the Chosen Leader.”
When the people heard this they were deeply shocked and said to Rocky and
the others “Friends, what can we do about it?” Rocky said, “You can all turn
over a new leaf and be dipped in the name of Jesus the Chosen. All the wrong
things you’ve done will be forgiven, and you’ll have the gift of God’s
Spirit. She is promised to you and your families, including those who live a
long way away. God’s invitation is for everybody. Rocky went on speaking to
them and appealing to them, saying things like, “The society we live in is
rotten to the core. It’s time to take a stand and be different!” All those
who took notice of what Rocky was saying were dipped, and the number of
Jesus’s followers was increased by about three thousand. They spent their
time learning and getting to know one another. They shared their meals and
talked with God together.
(43) Everybody was very excited because the friends of Jesus were doing lots
of remarkable things. All those who accepted the Good News lived closely
together and shared everything they had. They sold their valuables and used
the money to help those who were hard up. Every day they spent a lot of time
together in the Temple and took turns to have one another into their homes
for a meal. These occasions were great times. Everybody enjoyed the food and
gave their thanks to God. The friends were popular with ordinary people, and
because of Jesus there were more people finding a better life every day.
Chapter 3
One day, at about three in the afternoon, Rocky and John were going into the
Temple for a service. A disabled man, who had never been able to walk, was
carried to the spot where he begged every day from the people going in to
worship. It was right by the well-known ‘Beautiful Gate’. As John and Rocky
passed he asked them for money. Rocky and John both stared at him, catching
his attention. He thought this meant he was going to get some money. But
Rocky said, “I haven’t any money on me, but I’ve got something better to
give you. I represent Jesus from Nazareth, God’s Chosen; so stand up and
walk!” Rocky took hold of his right hand and pulled him up, and he found
that his feet and ankles had a new strength in them. He bent his knees and
tried a few practice steps. Then he followed John and Rocky into the Temple,
walking and jumping up and down, shouting his thanks to God as he went.
Everybody turned to look, and when they recognized the beggar from the
Beautiful Gate, they were puzzled and couldn’t make out what had happened.
The man hung on tight to Rocky and John as they went through Solomon’s
Arches, because everybody was running towards them to be in on the
excitement. So Rocky faced them and spoke to them.
“What’s up, my dear people? Why are you looking at us? There’s nothing
special about us. We haven’t got this man to walk! The God who Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob and the rest of our ancestors worshipped, has given pride of
place to Jesus who acted on God’s behalf. He’s the one you handed over to
the Romans and gave the thumbs down to in front of Pilate, even though
Pilate had decided to set him free. You rejected this good man of God, and
asked to have a murderer set free instead. You killed the bringer of life.
But God has brought him back from the dead and we have seen him since. You
all know this man here; you’ve seen him many times before. He got his new
strength by relying on the reputation of Jesus. Because he trusted Jesus,
he’s now in perfect health. You can all see the difference!
I realize, friends, neither you nor your leaders knew what they were doing.
God’s speakers in days gone by said the Chosen One would be badly treated.
So it all went according to expectations. It’s time for you to show you’re
sorry and to seek God’s friendship again, so the wrong things you’ve done
can be put behind you. If you do this, God will give you a period of
recovery and then send you Jesus, the Chosen One. He must belong to the
world beyond time and space until that time when everything is made new
again. God’s speakers told us about this long ago. It was Moses who said,
‘God will give you a speaker just like me. He will be someone you can relate
to, and you should take notice of what he says. Anyone who doesn’t listen
will find themselves out on a limb.’ All God’s speakers have seen these
things coming, from Samuel onwards. You’re the lucky ones on the receiving
end of the promises made by God’s speakers, and you’ve inherited the special
relationship God had with your ancestors. God said to Abraham, ‘Your
descendants will be a good influence for everyone all over the world.’ It’s
all happening! God’s representative has come to influence you first of all,
by getting you to give up your bad ways.”
Chapter 4
While Rocky and John were still speaking, some members of the temple staff,
and some leading public figures, came with the temple security officer and
objected to their teaching the people. In particular they were annoyed the
case of Jesus was being used to prove there is life after death. They
arrested them both and, because it was late in the day, they locked them up
till next morning. But a lot of people accepted what John and Rocky had been
saying. The numbers by this time had grown to about five thousand.
The next day a special court was held in Jerusalem. Most of the high-ranking
clergy were there, all related to one another. John and Rocky were brought
before them. They asked, “What’s the trick? Who’s put you up to it?”
Rocky felt inspired by God’s Spirit and said, “I want all you important
people to know, since we’re being had up for an act of kindness shown to a
disabled person, and since there’s some doubt about how he was healed, it’s
Jesus from Nazareth, God’s Chosen who has put us up to it, the one you
strung up, but God brought back to life. It’s Jesus you must thank that this
man stands in front of you in full health! As the old books say about Jesus:
‘The stone the builders
tossed away
Stands in the central spot today.’
Jesus is the only one who can give complete healing. There is no-one else
like him anywhere else in the world.”
Those conducting the hearing were impressed by the courage shown by John and
Rocky, and very surprised to hear they had no formal education. The only
explanation was that they had got it from Jesus. It was difficult for them
to say anything, because the man who had been healed was standing right
there. So they cleared the court and discussed the case in private. They
asked, “What on earth are we going to do with them? Everybody in Jerusalem
knows they’ve done something quite extraordinary. We can’t deny it. But
we’ve got to stop this movement from spreading. So let’s caution them and
forbid them to talk about Jesus.
The court called back John and Rocky and gave them an order not to teach or
speak about Jesus. But Rocky and John answered, “What do you think God would
prefer? For us to do what you want or to do what God wants? We can’t stop
talking about the things we’ve seen and heard.” So after warning them in
even stronger language, the court let them go. It was obviously impossible
to punish them, in view of what had happened. Everyone was thanking God. The
man who had been healed was over forty years old.
(23) As soon as they had been allowed to go, John and Rocky went to their
friends and told them what the clergy had said. Then together
they spoke to God:
‘Wonderful God, you brought about the earth, the sea and the skies, and
everything in them; your Spirit inspired our ancestor, David, your helper,
to sing
With anger stirred they made their plans,
Nations and all peoples known;
Leaders, shoulders side by side,
Challenged God and Gods Own.
In this city Herod and Pilate united Jews and non-Jews against Jesus, your
special agent. But they couldn’t defeat your plans. We are your agents now.
Look how they’re threatening us! Give us the guts to speak your words. Let’s
have more big surprises and more people healed when we use the name Jesus.’
When the friends had finished talking to God, a tremor of excitement went
round the room, and they were inspired by God’s Spirit to speak God’s words
with confidence.
Those who accepted the Christian message were a very united group of people.
They shared all their belongings and kept nothing for their private use. The
leaders spoke with great conviction from their first-hand knowledge that
Jesus had returned to life, and everybody felt good. No-one went short of
anything, because those who owned property put it up for sale and gave the
money to the leaders who used it to help anyone in need. That’s how Joseph
from Cyprus, one of the temple assistants, got his new name. The leaders
called him, “Cheery” , because he sold his field and gave them the money.
Chapter 5.
A married couple, Nye and Sapphire, sold some of their property. Nye made
out he was bringing all the money from the sale to the leaders, but actually
kept some of it back. His wife knew what he was up to. Rocky challenged him,
“Nye, why are you behaving in such an evil way? You’ve pocketed part of the
money you got from the sale of your property! Do you think you can play a
trick on God’s Spirit? It was your property before you sold it, and
afterwards you were free to do what you liked with the money. Why all this
deceit? It’s not us you’re trying to cheat, but God!” Rocky’s words caused
Nye to have a heart attack, and he collapsed dead on the floor. Everybody
who got to hear about it was very shocked. Some of the younger people took
charge, wrapped him in a sheet, and took him away to be buried.
About three hours later, Sapphire arrived, not knowing what had happened.
Rocky challenged her. ‘Did you and your husband sell your land for the
amount you told me?” “Yes” she said, “that’s what we got from the sale.”
Rocky said, “Why did you two plan together to find out if God’s Spirit could
catch you cheating? The people who’ve just buried your husband will be back
any minute for you!” She then collapsed in front of him and died. The young
people came in, made sure she was dead, then carried her out to bury her
beside her husband. The members of the church and others who got to hear
about it were very frightened.
The followers of Jesus continued to impress the people by their actions.
They met under Solomon’s Arches. People who were not members of the group
were too frightened to join them, though they talked of them with respect.
Despite this, the numbers of those who put their trust in Jesus, the Leader,
continued to grow, women and men. Sick people were carried out into the
streets and put on mats and camp beds so Rocky’s shadow could fall on them
as he went by. Lots of people came in from the towns round Jerusalem,
bringing those who were unwell or mentally disturbed, and they were all made
better.
(17) The religious chief decided it was time to act. He and those who held
the same religious views as he did felt they were being upstaged. They
arrested the leading followers of Jesus and put them in the public jail. But
in the night someone sent by God organized their escape, and told them, “Go
and stand in the Temple and tell people how your life has changed.” So they
went into the Temple as soon as it was light and carried on teaching. The
chief and his colleagues called a special meeting with all the important
people in the Jewish community. They sent to prison for the followers of
Jesus to he brought before them. But when the police got there, they
couldn’t find them in the prison. So they came back and told the meeting,
“We found the prison was locked and well guarded at every door, but when we
opened the doors there was no-one inside.” This puzzled the chief of police
and the religious leaders. They could not work out how it was possible to
escape. Then someone came in and told them, “Your prisoners are standing in
the Temple and teaching the people.” Then the police officer went with some
of his squad and brought them to the meeting. The police did not use
violence. They were too afraid of having stones thrown at them!
When the followers of Jesus had been brought in, they were made to stand in
front of the meeting. The religious chief started to question them. “We made
it quite clear you were not on any account to teach in the name of this
leader of yours, but you’ve done the very opposite. You’ve been all over
Jerusalem spreading his teachings and making it look as if we are
responsible for his death.” But Rocky, backed up by the others, answered him
by saying, “We intend to do what God wants, rather than listen to people
like you. The God our ancestors worshipped brought Jesus back to life, the
one you strung up on a piece of wood. He’s now God’s number one, the Leader
and Healer who will bring God’s people to a change of heart, and make their
bad behaviour a thing of the past. It’s our job to make this known, with the
help of God’s Spirit. She has been given to those who do what God asks them
to do”.
These words caused the members of the meeting to lose control of their
feelings, and they wanted to kill the followers of Jesus. But one of the
strict set who was at the meeting, Liam, an expert in the rule books and
highly thought of by the ordinary people, stood up and asked for the
followers of Jesus to be taken outside for a while. Then he spoke to the
meeting. “Tm speaking to you as members of my own race. I think you ought to
be careful how you deal with these people. You remember Ted and his gang? He
claimed to be somebody special and attracted about four hundred followers.
But he was killed, and his gang went into hiding. And that was that. It was
the same with Judas from Galilee. He led a protest against the Poll Tax and
came to a sticky end. So your best course with these people is to leave them
alone. If their movement is just a political thing, it won’t last. But if
God is behind it, then there’s no stopping it. Try and you will find
yourselves up against God!”
Liam won his point. They called the followers of Jesus back and had them
flogged. They ordered them not to mention Jesus in their public speaking,
and let them go. As they left the meeting, the followers had smiles on their
faces. They felt privileged to have been badly treated because of their
loyalty to Jesus. Every day they carried on teaching, telling people about
Jesus, God’s Chosen, in the temple and from house to house.
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