And another thing! Jesus didn’t look like they thought the Messiah would look. He was more like the itinerant teachers and miracle workers that dotted the landscape of Palestine. He was born in obscurity and reared in a small rural town. His disciples were not men of renown either. Then he died a very indigent death. Except to the faithful few, it seemed like he was another misguided messiah-type. Then came the feast of Pentecost, where unusual phenomena began to take place. There were tongues of fire on the heads of the people, who began to speak in foreign languages; there was the sound of a mighty wind. The people watching wanted to know what was happening, so Peter stood up and explained in terms of fulfilled prophecy. He said that what Joel had promised was happening there and then. He explained how Jesus was the final piece of the prophetic puzzle, and that he was the long anticipated Messiah. He had been crucified by the plan of God and the ruthless hands of rebellious Jews and pagan Romans. But he had been raised from the dead and declared Lord by God himself.

The people cried out, "What shall we do?" They knew that things would never be the same again. How should anyone behave in light of this new information? If Jesus is Lord and Christ, then all Jews and gentiles are confronted with some eternal consequences. Peter’s answer was sufficient for them then and for us today. We who are blessed to hear the announcement of the kingdom still want to hear what we can do to align with it.

THAT GENERATION

What were the obvious characteristics of that generation that required the disciples to save themselves? Let’s see if we can expose it with just three phrases. First, it was blinded by blessings. The Jews had mistaken their calling. They had come to believe they were in a special class with God because they were called his people and would not be held to the same standards as others. It is easy to jump ahead in presumption when God is being so kind to you. They evidently thought that they were called because they were special and became very judgmental toward all who were not Jews. They did not get it; they were called to be the instruments of mercy to the whole world. Their calling was "missionary" in its nature. The covenant with Abraham was to the end that his seed would bless the world. Over time the Jews began to believe they were better than and above the pagan gentiles. Their "righteousness" was based on ethnicity and possession of the Law. Those who did not have the blood pedigree and the cultural inheritance were looked down upon as less than the Jew.

Secondly they were distracted by delay. Israel as well as all mankind has always had trouble with "now." Remember when they had looked for so long for the promised land of Canaan? Even when they were standing on the border and looking over the fruitful plains, they refused to believe it was theirs for the taking.

When you have longed for something for a long time, you develop a way of thinking and living that is focused on the future. Jesus had clearly told them that the kingdom was at hand. He had demonstrated the superiority of his world to theirs by healing, raising the dead, casting out demons, etc. But they were locked into a world that was built on a hope for future victory but no faith for the present. It would require a whole new way of explaining things. For instance, how could one explain the continued existence of the Roman occupation if the kingdom had already come? What about sickness, crime, and death? It was easier to believe that the kingdom was still in the future. That way, speculation could ease the pain of unexplained questions. We can speculate about the future and in fact create whatever scenario will fit our expectations.

The third phrase that characterizes that generation is trapped by the temporal. God had revealed his ways through the physical world all through the Old Testament. In the process of progressive revelation he had led his people through a series of types and patterns. He had given them a physical piece of real estate. They had a physical temple with physical blood sacrificed. They had the books of the Law and a priesthood prescribed by the Law. But all of these were pointing forward to a day of fulfillment when all the shadows would become the substance that was behind them. Jesus is the substance of all previous revelation, and his world consists of an inheritance beyond real estate, a temple made without hands (first his physical body and then the many-membered body of believers), the eternal sacrifice of his blood, a priesthood that, like Melchizedek, transcends the lineage of Levi, and an internal law of the Spirit fulfilling the Law of Moses.

For the Jew whose focus was on the natural and temporal, the transcendent and eternal were hard to see. They would choose to wait until a future event produced a Messiah more to their liking. Attached to the land, the temple, and the Law, they could not embrace the full inheritance that came in Jesus.

THIS GENERATION

It is obvious that our generation struggles with the same issues that generation did. Added to those obstacles we have some others that need to be identified if we are to take action to save ourselves from the trappings of our generation.

We also are captured by consumerism. Since the customer is always right, the message of God has to be marketed to the consumer. In our effort to maintain relevance, we have given in to allowing the self-centered consumer to dictate what we offer as the gospel. It must not be offensive or judgmental. It must always speak of blessings and never of pain. It must allow us to continue to live with the values of the American dream while being in good standing with God. We find ourselves in the quagmire of measuring the success of a church or ministry on the number of people who come to the gathering. Church leaders are frustrated as they try to meet the expectations of the consumer while their hearts long to preach the transforming gospel.

We are obsessed with options. We find it difficult to make decisions because we are never sure we have enough information. Commitments are hard because we might get a better offer if we wait longer. The more wealth we accumulate the more options we have. We can go more places, do more things, and engage more people. It is difficult to find a hard and fast commitment to the most important values. For instance, in years past church meetings lasted for a week, now you can’t get people to give that much time. Too many other things to do. Maybe we wasted a lot of that time and we have become better stewards of our time, but it is difficult to develop meaningful relationships and find necessary training for disciples in just a few minutes a week.

We also are ravaged by religion. Even as we try to unshackle ourselves form unnecessary religious trappings, we continue to struggle with our need to be considered righteous. "Spirituality" is in vogue now. It seems everyone has a new angle on exploring and developing their spirituality. Of course the mention of the Holy Spirit as the source of the only true spirituality is anathema. Remember! It is a consumer’s market. Everyone’s product is as good as the next. The good news is that there are thousands who are tired of the religious game and are seeking for some real purpose to living. They have tried the self fulfillment route and are looking for God and the world he has sent in his Son.

We also are warped by wealth. We tend to think that everyone in the world sees things the way we in America see them. We have accepted the gospel of worldly prosperity. We are told that God is into helping us get more of everything we want. Many know that can’t be true no matter how much we twist the scriptures, but few offer an alternative. Not many are interested in the message that God calls us to serve, sacrifice, and suffer in the victory he gives.

So the message of escape is popular. If things get too painful we can expect the God of pleasure to snatch us out. After all, this ole world is doomed anyway. We need not try to change things. Our main job is to make sure every tribe and tongue has heard of Jesus. Then our job is done, and he can end the world.

With that kind of thinking it is no wonder that we have more people attending churches today than ever before and yet have so little impact on society. There is no need to learn how to live and transform our society if we are sure we are going to leave soon.

WHAT IS THE RIGHT RESPONSE?

Did Peter mean to tell us to escape the world when he said to save ourselves from the crooked generation? I don’t think so. That is not what they did in response to his announcement. The book of Acts and subsequent history tell the story of disciples penetrating their world with a lifestyle that challenged the culture and ultimately changed it.

Peter was telling them how to embrace the new world that had come upon them. They were to act as the people of God on earth.

In our busy world, it is ridiculous for us to think we can make it with a few nice lectures periodically. George Barna says that his polls show less than 9% of professing Christians have a Christian worldview. That is, they don’t know how to think biblically. Enjoying the music and having a good youth program is important, but what about the quality of the apostles’ doctrine? By the way the apostles’ doctrine is not just teaching that comes from the Bible, but also the foundational truths regarding the new kingdom that has come and what the ramifications are.

The faith community was also characterized by meaningful fellowship. They ate and worked with each other. They shared their belongings with each other. No one went without in this community. They were committed to each other’s success. They knew each other well enough to give without becoming enablers, and they valued each other above their wealth and possessions. It is evident from the remaining pages of the book of Acts that they recognized each other’s various giftings and submitted accordingly. They were a worshipping community. Not only did they share their meals with each other, they shared the Lord’s Table regularly. And they celebrated the Lord. He was the center of their thinking and their worship. They prayed with joy and expectancy. They gave generously, and they couldn’t quit praising God for the marvelous gospel of Jesus. Their praise was regarding what God had done in sending his Son to fulfill all prophecy and satisfy the longings of men’s hearts. They were captured by the awesome reality that Jesus had come and brought a new world with him. They were determined to embrace that world and enjoy all the inheritance that was now theirs. They believed what they were taught and engaged the community of faith as God’s channel of grace to all disciples.

We, like the early disciples, must ask, "What should we do to save ourselves from our generation?" We can’t embrace the values of our fallen culture and still live like the people of the Messiah. Something has happened and all things are different. We must not die before we learn how to live in such grace.