Stress Test Devotional April 27
April 27, 2024
ACTS 10:34-43 | Then Peter began to speak to them: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all. That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
Peter sets a high bar for effective preaching in these verses! In one minute he summarizes the story and work of Jesus. But he begins with his new insight—“God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.” Coming from a Jew this sentence would surprise his Gentile audience, and delight them. Jewish history is primarily a story of partiality, of being chosen out of and away from other nations.
The Jesus Peter preaches is “sent to the people of Israel” and his good deeds and healings were done in Jerusalem and Judea. He fulfills Jewish prophecy and offers a new route to God’s mercy. But the last line shows his shift: “everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
Have you experienced the international, intercultural reality of the church?
