The Prime Minister stood, proudly clutching a piece of paper. It offered good news he announced, confrontation and war had been adverted, we could look forward to peace in our time. The Prime Minister was Neville Chamberlain and he incorrectly believed that he had managed to appease Adolph Hitler. He was brutely proved wrong.
We don’t like confrontation, do we? We will do anything to avoid it and if we see someone who seems to be willingly confrontational, then we are likely to treat them with a little suspicion. However, I want to suggest that there is an unavoidable confrontation that you have to face and that this confrontation is good news.
Have a read of Acts 4:1-22. The background is that Peter and John had headed up to the Temple to pray. On the way in, they were met by a beggar who asked them for money. They did something that we probably all have done or have experienced and something that most of us probably would never think of doing. They refused to give money, truthfully answering that they had nothing to give. However, they said that they could offer something, commanding him to get up and start walking, in the name of Jesus, they healed him.
The miracle drew a crowd and Peter used the opportunity to preach the good news about Jesus, his death on the Cross and resurrection. It was this, more than the miracle that drew the ire of the Jewish religious leaders.
So, in Acts 4:1-4, we discover that the leaders are disgruntled with Peter and John and come to arrest them. Their issue was that Peter and John were “proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.”
They demand answers from the apostles, by what power or authority were they doing this? In whose name were they acting? Notice that in responding the apostles take time to point out that the religious leaders were getting worked up over what was in fact “a good deed” (v9). However, the crucial point was their answer to the question, “if you really are that bothered”, they seem to say “it’s by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth” (v5-11).”
The priests are astonished. They cannot believe that these men without academic learning are able to speak with authority. However, instead of responding in faith, they try to intimidate the disciples into silence. Telling them not to “speak … in the name of Jesus” (v18). Peter and John refuse to back down. They ask not to “Should we listen to you or to God?” (v19). The leaders have no option but to let the disciples go because they haven’t done anything wrong (v13-22 ).
Did you spot the repeated response of the disciples. They didn’t back down, they didn’t appease, they didn’t attempt to negotiate. They were willing to confront. Their response throughout was to make explicitly clear that the leaders’ problem was with Jesus and the good news of his resurrection.
The confrontation that you and I need, the one we cannot avoid, the one that is good for us is a confrontation with Jesus, his life, death and resurrection for the forgiveness of our sin. I sometimes refer to this as a Gospel confrontation.
This is important, starting with our job as Christians, we are first and foremost witnesses to Jesus and the power of his resurrection. That’s what evangelism is about, that’s a central reason for us planting churches. We want to see people’s lives changed and our communities transformed. There are lots of things we can get involved in to try and get this to happen, from politics to environmental action, to offering counselling, advice and advocacy. We can open food banks, do English classes, we can even offer to pray for healing. I’m not knocking these things, I’ve been involved in quite a few of them over my lifetime -and after all, Peter and John did respond to the immediate physical need of the man. However, unless at the centre of this is a confrontation with the Gospel, a meeting with Jesus, then we are wasting our time.
Notice, that this also means that we want to make sure that if people have a problem, then it is with Jesus. Paul would also talk about the message of the Cross being offensive and a stumbling block. The point is that this should be the only stumbling block, the only offence. If people find me a stumbling block, if my words, views, actions put people off and actually stop them from coming to Jesus, then there is a problem. We want people to have a confrontation with the Gospel but that doesn’t mean that we have to be confrontational.
Secondly, it means that this is where we need to go with the specific problems you and I might be facing. You may be experiencing difficulties, there may be a big need in your life. This might include questions about your asylum status or welfare benefits. Maybe you are worried about your health or currently grieving the loss of a loved one. Has there been a falling out in your family and you don’t know how it will ever be resolved. Reconciliation seems impossible.
Those needs are real and big. However, you have a bigger need. Your first priority is your relationship with Jesus. Put first things first, get that right and then together with him you can face the specific issues. This doesn’t mean that if you come to Jesus all of your problems will go away. Sometimes he does intervene through the Holy Spirit to resolve an issue immediately, that’s why we are right to pray about things. However, the primary thing that Jesus wants is for you to learn to trust him and cling to him, not to escape your troubles, not just to survive them even but to thrive through them by learning to be holy.
So, what will your response be today? Are you ready for that confrontation with Jesus? Are you ready too to bring others to that point where they are face to face with him, a Gospel confrontation where they discover the power of his resurrection?
Faithroots 