The Jewish Final Solution to the World's Problem - The Transition Truth Within the New Testament, Acts Part 3

[0:00] You are turning to your Bible in the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 8. I want to remind you of an encounter that our Lord had with the woman at the well in John's Gospel, chapter 4.

[0:15] And he made a statement that, unfortunately, is overlooked by so many as to its significance. He had confronted this woman and asked her for a drink of water, which contextually and culturally was quite unusual, because a Jewish man would never speak to a woman alone out in a situation like that.

[0:38] But then this was not any ordinary Jewish man. And he struck up a conversation with her, and the long and short of it is this. Jesus ended up telling her, You worship you know not what?

[0:51] For salvation is of the Jews. Enormously significant statement for the Savior to make. And, of course, he, being a Jew, was very much involved with that, because he, in his own person, was going to become the very source of human salvation.

[1:13] Of course, she did not understand that, nor pick up on it at all. Matter of fact, there are a great many today who still do not. And the Jewish people have suffered an enormous amount of persecution and mistreatment, because people do not understand what is taking place, not only in John's Gospel, chapter 4, but in the remainder of the New Testament as well.

[1:39] And they have suffered unbelievable persecution and torment and isolation down through the centuries, very often with nothing but irrationality at the base of it.

[1:52] A great deal of ignorance, a great deal of misinformation and misunderstanding, so much so that there probably isn't any single element that the Jewish people fear more today than those who call themselves Christians.

[2:10] Because there has been such an unfortunate and non-Christian display from many who professed Christianity over the centuries that it's created a very negative mindset in the hearts and minds of most Jewish people.

[2:29] I guess today they may fear certain Muslim extremists even more than they do Christians, but the fear is still there.

[2:39] It is an inordinate fear of Christians, because Christianity has been so terribly misrepresented and poorly displayed, not only to Jews down through the centuries, but to others as well.

[2:56] And that's frankly the whole basis for our launching the program we did with Christianity Clarified. It's just an effort to try and explain some things that are not very clear to a whole lot of people.

[3:10] So, when Jesus said salvation is of the Jews, he of course was referring to the ultimate salvation that would be provided, and it will come through himself as a direct descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and down through the lineage of David the king, and in the line of the tribe of Judah, and so on.

[3:33] But that was little understood or appreciated then. Of course, our Lord knew because he was the one who was going to provide the very basis for it. So, what we've got even remaining to this very day is a huge distinction that is maintained between Jews and Gentiles.

[3:52] And everyone, I think, well not everyone, but almost everyone recognizes that Judaism is the cradle of Christianity. Christianity, that that which came to be known as Christian was born out of Judaism.

[4:11] And the observation has been made that Christianity is the logical conclusion of a fulfilled Judaism. And if you read the book of the Hebrews in the New Testament, you will see that theme played out very dramatically because that is principally what this is all about.

[4:31] So, today, we have these two great factions worldwide, Christianity and Judaism, and I'm not even going to deal with Islam and Hinduism and so on.

[4:42] Those are separate and apart. But there is a huge distinction that is maintained today between Jews and Christians. We know that Jews had a very prominent role to play in the Gospels because the Gospels are really very Jewish in their character.

[5:01] The four Gospels I'm talking about, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, even though they are located in our New Testament. And insofar as the location of the books are concerned, they're right where they belong.

[5:20] But they operate under an Old Testament dispensation or motif. And that's why Christ did everything Jewish in the four Gospels because he was a loyal Jew.

[5:33] He didn't come to destroy the law of Moses. He came to fulfill it. And he did so. He did so by keeping it perfectly. And he also did so by dying.

[5:43] Because when Jesus Christ died, when he was put to death, he suffered the penalty of the law. And the wages of sin is death.

[5:55] So the death he died, even though it was not for his sin, it was for the sins of the world, nonetheless, he made the full payment that the law demanded for sin.

[6:08] Except it was for somebody else's. It wasn't for his. So he met all of the demands of the law in every way. Now today we have this great distinction that still is maintained.

[6:20] And we may wonder, well, exactly how did this shift come about? Because when the book of Acts opens, the day of Pentecost, and the few chapters that follow thereafter, it is exclusively Jewish.

[6:36] Everybody involved and the 3,000 who were saved on the day of Pentecost were all Jews. They were not Gentiles. They were all Jews. And it was a Jewish feast that they were attending in the Jewish temple, in the Jewish city of Jerusalem.

[6:51] And this influence, this heavy emphasis of Judaism continues for several chapters and for several years into the book of Acts.

[7:02] But that is scarcely understood. And a long time ago, the Christian church, I'm sorry to say, simply got off the track by assuming that the book of Acts was a whole new thing.

[7:19] Because the Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost and some miraculous manifestations took place. But our contention is, it was not a holy new thing at all.

[7:31] It was a continuation of an old thing. And Peter, in giving his explanation, tells the people, this is what Joel was talking about.

[7:43] And Joel gave this as an Old Testament prophecy. And Peter was saying, this is what's happening here. It's what Joel was. Well, who was Joel? Joel was a Jewish prophet. To whom was he speaking?

[7:54] To Jewish people. With whom was this fulfilled? The Jew. So we've got an intensely Jewish constituency involved in these early chapters. And it's going to continue for quite some time.

[8:07] But there is a transition that's going to take place. There is a definite kind of break that is going to occur. And the break will be moving from exclusively Jewish to Jewish and Gentile.

[8:28] And then to almost exclusively Gentile. That's where we are today. So if you are wondering, how and when did Christianity develop in such a way that it came to Europe?

[8:43] And now that we here in America embrace Christianity, at least many of us do, who call ourselves Christians, how and when did this transition take place? This is what we're studying right now.

[8:55] This is what we're looking at right now. And I want to begin following hard on the heels of the stoning of Stephen, because that is a very significant landmark in the history of Israel.

[9:07] I'm not going to go into it. I think we've covered it sufficiently in the past. But just let me say this. The stoning of Stephen was a turning point in the nation of Israel. And what made it a turning point was in who stoned him.

[9:22] And that's very significant. Trust me, if you will. And later you can go back and look at it and read the chapter. But those who were carrying out this execution of Stephen by stoning him to death was the Sanhedrin.

[9:38] This was the Jewish council. These were the shakers and movers. These were the people who were in positions of power, influence, prestige, respect, and all the rest.

[9:49] They physically stoned Stephen to death. And he is constantly referred to as the first martyr of the Christian church. Now we want to just jump in with chapter 8 and pick up the theme that is taking place here.

[10:05] And we read that Saul, this is Saul of Tarsus, who is going to become Paul the Apostle. Another amazing transition. Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him, Stephen, to death.

[10:23] And on that day, the day Stephen was stoned, a great persecution arose against the church.

[10:34] This is the assembly. The ecclesia rose against the assembly in Jerusalem. And they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.

[10:53] They headed for the hills. The stoning of Stephen was a warning sign to all who embraced the same Messiah as Stephen did.

[11:05] And the message that was being sent with the stoning of Stephen on the part of the religious establishment of Israel, which of course was Jewish, was, It is time to clean house.

[11:19] These people who have embraced Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah and as the Son of God, they are like a cancer that is growing on Judaism.

[11:32] And we need to stamp these people out. And when they stone Stephen to death, that sent a message to everyone else, Folks, it's time to head for the hills.

[11:43] They're going to be coming after us next. And it is ironic to realize that, never thought of it in these terms, but I don't know what else you could call it, Saul of Tarsus, for all practical purposes, became a kind of unofficial Gestapo agent against the Jewish people, long before Adolf Hitler ever rose to power.

[12:09] He's going to employ Gestapo-like tactics, knocking on people's doors at two or three o'clock in the morning, pulling them out of their bed, taking them off to the jail, questioning them, interrogating them, putting them in jail, and some of them he's going to put to death.

[12:28] This is going to be Saul of Tarsus. And he is convinced he is doing God's service. Someone said, there isn't anyone who is more dangerous than people who think they're acting under the authority of God.

[12:44] Whether you're Muslim, or Jewish, or Christian. Christians, by the thousands, traipsed off into the Mideast, under the Crusades, thinking they were doing God a service.

[12:58] And God didn't have anything to do with it. But that's another story. So there's a whole lot of things that go on in the name of God, that God takes the blame for, that he has nothing to do with.

[13:12] And yet, the reason God doesn't step in, and put a stop to it, is because he has given man volition.

[13:23] And he will not intervene and take people's volition away from them and make them do the right thing. Volition comes with the ability to do the wrong thing.

[13:35] The ability to do the right thing. The ability to do the stupid thing. That's what volition involves. And when God gave that as a gift to humanity, he very seldom overrides it.

[13:47] So, we've got a situation here. Great persecution arose against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria.

[14:00] Now look at this. Except the apostles. Everybody headed for the hills. Except the apostles.

[14:11] This is Peter and James and John and Thomas and Bartholomew. What are they still doing there? And earlier, the Lord made it quite clear to them.

[14:21] You shall be witnesses unto me, Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, the uttermost parts of the earth. This is about a year later. This is about a year after the ascension of Christ.

[14:32] What are they doing still there in Jerusalem? Everybody else has fled for their life. And yet, the apostles are the only one that's staying there. Now that's really significant.

[14:44] And I must confess, in my ignorance, I overlooked that phrase for years. I didn't, I didn't have the insight to even ask the question. Except the apostles.

[14:57] What are they doing there? Why haven't they already left for regions beyond? What are they doing? Still stuck here in Jerusalem? And the answer is simple. Stop and think about it. The task in Jerusalem wasn't finished.

[15:10] Not nearly. When they have been commissioned by the Lord to proclaim this gospel, death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, and the extension and the offer of the kingdom of heaven coming to earth to the Jewish people, and it comes to the stoning of Stephen, and the persecution that arose, do you think there's any way in the world they could say, well, Jerusalem's finished, we might as well pass on.

[15:40] No, no. Jerusalem wasn't even close to being finished. They still had their work cut out for them. That's why they stayed in Jerusalem. The job wasn't done. It wasn't even close to being done. In fact, it was going in the other direction.

[15:54] That's very significant. That's very significant. Now, let's come over to the conversion. We're going to be moving rapidly through this, but that's the only way I know to do it, to have any cohesiveness to it.

[16:07] Come over to Acts chapter 9. And verse 15. I'm not going to read the account of the conversion of Saul of Tarsus. We've been through it before.

[16:18] It is very dramatic. Most of you are familiar with it. But I want you to notice what the Lord says to Ananias when he is to go to Saul of Tarsus and lay his hands on him. In verse 12, so that he may receive his sight.

[16:31] Ananias answered, Lord, I've heard from many about this man, how much harm he did to the saints of Jerusalem. Are you sure you've got the right guy? I don't want to go lay hands on him. I'm afraid he'll kill me.

[16:44] And the Lord said, verse 15, Go, for he, that is Saul, is a chosen instrument of mine to bear my name before the Gentiles.

[17:01] before the Gentiles. Oh, what would he want to do that for? The Gentiles. The Gentiles are nobodies.

[17:15] The Gentiles are dogs. That's the way the Jews regarded Gentiles. A Gentile was anyone who was not a Jew. And if you were not a Jew, you were a nobody.

[17:27] You were a Gentile. Everybody in the world everybody in the world is a Jew or a Gentile. And we all know the Jew, God's chosen people, select people, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Gentiles.

[17:44] A Jew, a faithful Jew would rise from his bed in the morning and pray, saying, God, I thank thee that thou hast not made me a woman, a slave, or a Gentile.

[18:02] How do you like them apples? Gentiles are referred to as dogs. Remember the Syrophoenician woman that came to Jesus and said, would you come and heal my daughter?

[18:18] She is sick. She is grievously ill. And remember what Jesus said? It is not appropriate for me to take food for the children and give it to the dogs.

[18:29] What? Jesus called this woman a dog? How unkind. No, Jesus wasn't being unkind.

[18:40] He was just speaking in the vernacular of the day. That's the way everybody viewed this. And you know, this woman said, well, you know, she didn't deny that she was classified like a Gentile dog.

[18:54] But she said, well, but even, even the little dogs get the scraps that fall from the table. And Jesus had compassion on her and he healed the woman.

[19:04] But what was that all about? It was that barrier. It was that distinction that was maintained. And what, what I am telling you and what this transition is telling you is that that's all going to come crashing down.

[19:17] because this distinction between Jew and Gentile is on the way to the grave. And it's going to happen this morning right here in the book of Acts.

[19:31] And it is dramatic. What is going to take place is remarkable. Chosen instrument of mine to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel.

[19:46] Now, I hadn't planned to go here, but I have to. So, just keep your place here and act. We'll be back shortly. You've got to come over to Ephesians because here, none other than Paul the Apostle really puts the icing on the cake in so far as explaining who and what the Gentiles were.

[20:03] And in Ephesians chapter 2. Ephesians chapter 2. Bear in mind, the Apostle Paul had been on his missionary journey, his second missionary journey.

[20:16] He had been to the city of Ephesus. He had preached the gospel of the grace of God there. And a number of these Gentiles had embraced Jesus Christ as their Savior.

[20:29] They were born again. They had become Christians. And now, Paul is writing a letter back to them, informing them of things they need to know, probably reinforcing what he told them when he was there before.

[20:47] And now, he is reminding them of what they were. And I want you to look at Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 11.

[20:59] Therefore, remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision by the so-called circumcision, which is performed in the flesh by human hands.

[21:18] In other words, when a Jew was circumcised, how was that done? Well, there was a man in the community who was specifically assigned to circumcise all the baby boys on the eighth day of their birth.

[21:30] He was the official circumciser. And he would go around the town when the baby boy was eight days old and perform the circumcision. And that was when they would name the baby. You see this in John's Gospel or in Luke's Gospel when John the Baptist was named and his father said his name is John.

[21:45] That's when he was circumcised. And a Jew, a Jew absolutely had to be circumcised. If he wasn't circumcised, he wasn't a Jew.

[21:56] It didn't make any difference if his mommy was a Jew and his daddy was a Jew. If he wasn't circumcised, he was not a Jew. He would be disowned. He would not be welcome in the commonwealth of Israel.

[22:08] This was absolutely essential because the circumcision was the sign of the covenant of the relationship between that person and God himself. it was a seal of the covenant.

[22:20] So it had a lot more than just some cultural significance. So he's reminding them that you people, you Gentiles, you weren't even circumcised. Remember, verse 12, that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

[22:51] Who's that? Gentiles. All of them. Didn't make any difference who they were. They were without God, without hope in the world. That was their status.

[23:02] They were as bad off as they could be. But now, oh, talk about a contrast. But now, as opposed to then, but now, in Christ Jesus, you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

[23:22] For he, Christ himself, is our peace, who has made both groups, that is, Jew and Gentile, into one. Unthinkable!

[23:34] What do you mean into one? Jew and Gentile? Together? You're crazy! That can't be! A distinguishing characteristic of the Jew from the get-go was you are to be a peculiar people unto me, separate and different from all the others.

[23:53] And now here, they're being amalgamated. What's going on? Listen, this is the beginning of a whole new order that previously had not even been dreamt of by the Jew.

[24:14] Embracing non-Jews, accepting them on an equal plane with a, that can't be! That's crazy! We'll show you in just a moment who else thought it was crazy.

[24:26] But now, in Christ Jesus, he himself is our peace, abolishing in flesh, made one new man. Look at verse 16. that he might reconcile them both, that is, Jew and Gentile, into one body to God through the cross by it having put to death the enmity.

[24:45] Wow! Verse 19, So then, you Gentiles, you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and are of God's household.

[25:01] This is totally new, never been thought of before. Jew and Gentile together. What are you going to call this thing? It's called the body of Christ.

[25:15] It is the spiritual body of Christ. And when someone puts their faith and trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior, whether they are a Jew or a Gentile, they are baptized without water.

[25:31] they are dry cleaned. They are baptized into one spirit and made to drink of one spirit, whether Jew, Gentile, bond, free, male, female, you are all children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

[25:49] This is a totally new thing. Never thought of, never dreamed of. And, it is not going to be well accepted by those in the Jewish community as a whole.

[26:03] They are not going to buy it. They are going to insist on maintaining their distinctiveness. They are going to insist on continuing to keep the law of Moses, the circumcision, the kosher diet, the Sabbath keeping, and everything that went with it.

[26:22] They are not about to be amalgamated with these Gentiles. This becomes the crux of a conflict in the book of Acts. And, the apostle Paul is going to receive tons and tons of grief from his own countrymen of whom he at one time had been among.

[26:46] And, had one time held the same positions that they are going to hold. And, he knows where they are coming from. So, his work is going to be cut out for him. Now, let's come back to Acts chapter 9.

[26:59] Pick up here. To bear my name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel. You know what? That is another way of saying he is going to bear my name to everybody.

[27:11] Who is left out here? Nobody is left out. This is why when Paul goes forth as an evangelist and as a missionary, he is going to preach in the synagogue, he is going to preach on the street corner, in the Greek agora, the marketplace, he is going to speak in private homes, he is going to speak on board ship, he is going to preach wherever he has the opportunity, wherever there is an audience.

[27:36] And, it doesn't make any difference whether they are Jew, Gentile, or whatever. They are going to be recipients of the message that he is going to preach. This is going to be a universal message, not just for the Jew, but for everyone.

[27:49] For you are all children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. Now, we must come to Acts 10.

[28:02] Acts 10, familiar territory. We've been there before with Cornelius, but I need to at least touch on a few verses here, because this is so significant, and it is, I think, very significant that God is going to use Peter to be the breakthrough person here.

[28:21] And, we read about Cornelius in chapter 10, a certain man at Caesarea named Cornelius, and he's a Gentile.

[28:34] He is a sympathizer with Judaism, but he is not a proselyte. He's not a full-fledged Jew. He is a God-fearer. A God-fearer in this economy, a God-fearer was a Gentile who embraced the concept of there is but one God, and that one God is the God of Israel.

[29:00] There's only one God. He is the God of Israel. Cornelius was a Gentile. He was a Roman army officer who had 100 men under his authority, 100 Roman soldiers, and he had been exposed to paganism like everyone else in that country, where they had adopted multiple gods.

[29:23] They were all into idolatry, but Cornelius saw the folly of that and embraced Jehovah as the one true God, God. But, he wasn't circumcised.

[29:37] That means he was not a proselyte. If you are a Gentile and you want to become a Jew, officially a Jew, if you are a male, then you have to make application to the proper authorities at the synagogue, and you have to undergo certain indoctrination and teaching, and you have to submit to the physical right of circumcision.

[30:05] If you don't do that, you are not a proselyte. That means you have not become an official Jew. You didn't go all the way. That's where Cornelius was.

[30:16] I imagine there were a lot of grown men who thought twice about going all the way involving the circumcision. The other part they would buy, but the circumcision, they don't know that I want to do that.

[30:27] So they are sympathizers, and that's what Cornelius was. And he was praying, and I don't know, we're not told what he was praying about, but I think we can surmise that he was praying for light.

[30:40] He was praying for information, and God is going to answer that prayer. And by the way, may I just inject something here and say this? Whoever you are, wherever you are, if you are really serious about wanting to know the truth, truth, about this content, or anything else involving the deity, if you really want to know, and as someone said, if what you believe now is wrong, would you want to know it?

[31:12] If you really want to know the truth, and you are open to the truth, I think Cornelius is a perfect example that you pray, and you ask God for the truth, because you want to follow the truth.

[31:25] You don't want to know the truth just out of curiosity. You want to know the truth so you can act upon it and walk in it. God will give you the truth.

[31:38] Don't worry about that. Our problem is we're not all that open to the truth because we like things the way they are too much. we don't want to upset anything.

[31:51] If you really want to know the truth, God will make the truth available to you. He will not leave anybody wanting information and going without it. Cornelius is a perfect example.

[32:04] So, he sees this vision and as a result, he sends to Peter and we read that Peter, explained this whole situation about this sheet let down from heaven and that was just absolutely remarkable.

[32:27] Let me see here. Where am I? We're almost already out of time. We're going to have to shorten this.

[32:40] to let's just jump in with verse 9 of chapter 10.

[32:54] We'll just have to do this. I don't have to shorten it. On the next day, as they went on their way, these are guys coming to Peter's house to bring him back to Cornelius. Approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray.

[33:09] This was about three o'clock in the afternoon. And he became hungry and was desiring to eat. But while they were making preparations, Peter, he fell into a trance.

[33:23] And behold, the sky opened up and a certain object, like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground.

[33:36] Now, remember, this is a panoramic vision that Peter is seeing. These things are not real, but they are real to Peter.

[33:47] And he is seeing them in this vision. He's awake. This is a trance. It's not a dream. When you have a dream, you're asleep. But this is a vision and he is wide awake.

[33:58] And as far as I know, he never had anything like this before or since. But the contents of this vision are just stunning.

[34:09] Look at what happens here. This great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground, and there were in it all kinds of four-footed animals, and crawling creatures of the earth, and birds of the air.

[34:31] And what we've got here is a veritable zoo. Just a mixture of all kinds of animals, all thrown together in this vision. And Peter is wondering, what is this?

[34:47] What's going on here? What's the significance of this? And a voice came to him saying, Arise, Peter, kill, and eat.

[35:00] Now remember, this is in the vision. He's not talking about taking a literal knife and killing literal animals. This is all in his mind, in this vision. And Peter said, By no means, Lord.

[35:14] I've never eaten anything unholy and unclean. And this thing here that's got all of these animals in it, it's got all kinds of unholy unclean animals in it, I wouldn't have anything to do with them.

[35:27] I'm a Jew. I don't eat unclean food. And he's very emphatic about it. And this is a restriction that the Jew had been placed under by God himself.

[35:42] And it's found in the law of Moses. So all Peter is doing is being obedient to the standard Jewish party line. He is being a good Jewish boy with his response here.

[35:56] Nothing doing. I wouldn't need anything like that. So look at what happens. And a voice came to him a second time.

[36:08] What God has cleansed no longer consider unholy. well now what does that mean? All of these animals were a combination of clean and unclean.

[36:29] Now this voice is saying to him they're all clean. They're all clean. There are no unclean animals here. They're all clean.

[36:40] And Peter is saying no they aren't. They're unclean. There's one there's one they're clean and unclean. And the voice says now wait a minute. What God has cleansed don't you call unclean?

[36:55] After all Peter who is the authority in this issue? You? or the God who is behind all of this? Now Peter is absolutely stunned.

[37:09] He is saying what is going on here? I don't understand. This isn't right. What is this? This is contradictory to everything Peter has known and learned and observed regarding the law of Moses and the dietary regulations and all the rest.

[37:29] and now it looks like he is being encouraged to break that? Scrap it? Treat it as though it doesn't even matter?

[37:42] I could never do that. That's what's taking place here. I've never eaten anything unholy or unclean. And this happened three times.

[37:55] And immediately the object was taken up into the sky. And Peter is standing there. Oy vey! What is this? What did I just see?

[38:06] What does this mean? What's going on? And no sooner could he entertain his thoughts until there's a rap at the door.

[38:19] And someone goes to the door door. And we are told that Peter was greatly perplexed in mind as to what the vision which he had seen might be.

[38:36] Behold, the men who had been sent by Cornelius, having asked directions for Simon's house, appeared at the gate. And calling out, they were asking whether Simon, who was also called Peter, was staying there.

[38:52] And while Peter was reflecting on the vision, the Spirit said to him, Behold, three men are looking for you, but arise, go downstairs, and accompany them without misgivings, for I have sent them myself.

[39:11] Now, why would Peter be reluctant to accompany them? They were Gentiles. Gentiles. They were Gentiles. Peter would say, I'm not going anywhere with these guys.

[39:25] These are not Jews. I don't have anything to do with Gentiles. Now, he's getting a completely contradictory message, and the voice is from the Lord, and he says, three men have been sent there.

[39:37] They're knocking at the door. They're looking for you. You go with them. And Peter, eventually, Peter will acquiesce and go with them.

[39:49] But you know what he's going to do? He's going to take six Jewish friends with him. And I don't blame him.

[40:01] Because what is taking place here, folks, is the beginning of an incredible religious upheaval. And Peter is trying to get his bearings about this.

[40:14] What in the world is this all about? What's going on? This does not compute. I don't understand what's happening. And here is where the break is going to really become manifest.

[40:31] Because, listen, this is Acts chapter 10, and it is several years after Pentecost.

[40:44] Several years after the resurrection and everything is still Jewish, Jewish, Jewish.

[40:55] And now it's about to change. And Peter's got to make a tremendous adjustment and he's going to have real difficulty with this.

[41:07] You know something? Lots of people today still do. They don't understand or see what's happening here. And I do want to allow some Q&A. So I'm not finished, but we'll take up here next week.

[41:20] And I tell you, this gets more exciting as it goes on. It is just absolutely stunning. All right, let's get our roving microphone out there. And if you can, please try to limit your questions to just what we've covered tonight or this morning rather than looking ahead because we'll be going ahead later on and we'll be tying some of this together.

[41:43] It is really dramatic stuff and it'll help a lot of dots to get connected. Anyone want to comment or question? Okay, up here, Dave. The mic is on the way.

[42:01] In Acts chapter 9, verse 15, where the Lord said to Ananias, go for Paul is a chosen instrument of mine.

[42:13] It seems like, at least in another Bible study, sometime or another, I wrote number one under to bear my name before the Gentiles, number two under kings, and number three under sons of Israel.

[42:27] So there may have been a progressive reason for that. Well, he's going to cover the waterfront. He's going to get to everybody. That's really significant.

[42:41] And remember this, it's going to be borne out later on and in several places, where Paul is going to be referred to as the apostle to the Gentiles.

[42:52] And what is really stunning and unique about that is the Gentiles had never had an apostle. Never.

[43:02] Not one. The Jews had 12 apostles. They were all Jews. In fact, they were all from the same area in Israel.

[43:13] They were all Galileans with the exception of one, and that was the one who betrayed him. That was Judas. So the Gentiles are going to have their first apostle.

[43:28] An apostle was one who is sent with the authority of the sending one. one. That's the definition of an apostle, and it's different from a disciple. So the apostles had never had it.

[43:41] I mean, the Gentiles had never had an apostle. Now they're going to have one, and they're just going to have one. There will be other teammates of Paul's, and there will be Silas, and there will be Barnabas, and others, but he is going to be the apostle who is going to be described as a pattern for those who should come after.

[44:01] And this is really, really groundbreaking stuff we're getting into here, and I'm excited to share it with you because I know what it's done for me personally and understanding of the scriptures.

[44:12] Other comments or questions? Anyone? Come on now, don't make me sorry, I quit early. All right, in the back. Yeah, when you were describing the Sanhedrin and Stoning and Stephen and everything, for some reason I got to thinking about the guys who stick in the bulletin, the Jews, and I was wondering, I wonder how many of them were saved by grace before they passed away, and of course some of them are still alive, being Jewish, they probably rejected their Messiah up to their death, more than likely most of them, wouldn't you say?

[44:57] I would say so, probably that's the case. Sad to say, but that's probably true.

[45:10] You know, there is a, I've pointed this out before, but it needs to be borne in mind, there is a disproportionate number of Jewish people who are atheists throughout the world.

[45:24] A disproportionate percentage of Jewish people are atheists, and they relate that to the Holocaust, and their thinking is, their thinking is, the God of the Bible could not possibly exist, or he would never have allowed six million of his so-called chosen people to be wiped out in concentration camps and ovens during World War II, and if perchance that God does exist, I wouldn't want anything to do with him anyway.

[45:58] And a lot of Jewish people, a lot of Jewish people worldwide have evolved into atheism, and one of the themes that we're going to develop, in fact, we probably won't have it ready for next week because I can't find the index, but when I find the index or make another one, we've made up a new CD that is devoted to the subject of the whys, and we are going to explore people's whys, and we all have a bunch of whys.

[46:35] Why has this happened to me? Why this? Why now? Why me? What did I do to deserve this? And we're going to deal with some of those issues, and where is God when you need him?

[46:49] And why did God allow that to happen to me? And why did God allow our little girl to die? And why did God allow this and allow that? And so on. This is what we're going to be dealing with on this next volume, maybe volume 22 of Christianity Clarified.

[47:05] Other comments or questions? Up front. We're going to have to have all you questioners sit together in the same place. We're going to run the legs off of Scott here. Right here, Ron.

[47:20] I suppose I have a comment. In the beginning, you said when Jesus met the woman at the well, and he said salvation is of the Jews, but then a little further in the conversation, Jesus said, if you knew it's the gift of God, and you asked of me, I would have given you living water.

[47:47] So, I guess right there, Jesus was saying there was going to be a transition right there. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.

[47:59] And you know, the really ironic thing about this, and this is just, I get stunned with this all over again. And Ron just referred to that verse in John 4, I think it's 34, salvation is of the Jews.

[48:14] And the theme that we developed several months ago that we continue to pursue is a takeoff on Hitler and Adolf Eichmann's phrase, the final solution to the Jewish problem.

[48:28] Remember that? And their final solution to the Jewish problem was annihilate them, kill them. That's the final solution to the Jewish problem. And we have labeled our series, the Jewish final solution to the world's problems.

[48:45] And this morning's session is probably 20 something in that series. I don't know what, I lost track of it. But anyway, the point that I'm making is the Jew has not only the final solution to the world's problem, the Jew has the only final solution to the world's problem.

[49:08] And most Jews don't even know it or realize it. Because the Jewish solution, final solution to the world's problem is all wrapped up in Yeshua HaMashiach, Jesus the Messiah.

[49:27] Messiah. And of course, they do not recognize him, but he is one of them. He is a Jew. And God is going to make good on the promises that he gave to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

[49:40] And all of this is going to involve where we are going from here. And we'll be into the prophetic portion soon, into the Olivet discourse, which is the longest that our Lord gave.

[49:50] And it all has to do with future events and what is coming upon this earth. And it could be a whole lot closer than we could ever imagine. So all of this is working toward the implementation of that final solution to the world's problems.

[50:07] It began with the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. It will culminate in his second coming when he returns, establishes the kingdom. Other comments or questions?

[50:17] Anyone? Ron? Ron? Chapter 9, verse 13 has an interesting word there called saints. And a lot of people think that's reserved for special people.

[50:29] Oh, yeah. But the way it's done here, these are the ones who believed upon Jesus Christ here in Jerusalem. Yeah. And you know, the reason for the confusion about that is that people just automatically assume that anyone who is actually, honestly, a saint, behaves only in a saintly fashion.

[50:57] Well, we all know there are saints and there are ain'ts. And sometimes saints look like ain'ts in the way they behave. But all the words saint mean, it doesn't mean, and you know, the world's got such a distorted view of what a Christian is.

[51:12] Someone said, if you want to know what a Christian is supposed to be like, just ask somebody who isn't one. And they give you this impossible caricature. You know, a Christian is somebody who never thinks anything wrong, and who never says anything wrong, and who never does anything wrong.

[51:29] That's a Christian. That's also a definition of a corpse. That's not a Christian at all. When one becomes a Christian, you do not shelve your brains, and you do not say goodbye to your old nature.

[51:43] You are still self-centered, or you have the potential to be self-centered, simply because that's part of our DNA, part of our spiritual DNA. You see, the first consequence of the fall, the first thing that was imposed upon Adam and Eve when they disobeyed God, was a self-centered focus.

[52:09] And that's where we are today. Every one of us, without exception, temptation tends to be self-centered. It's all about me.

[52:21] And it's only the gospel that can break that and make it into a Christ-centered life. That's a supernatural life. All the word saint means is a separated one.

[52:35] It's a hagios. It's a holy one, a separated one. And it means that when you receive Jesus Christ as your Savior, it is just as if God reached down and picked you up out of a mass of humanity and lifted you up and brought you over here and set you down in this new section.

[52:57] And that new section is made up of all believers. We're called out of the world unto himself. We are separated from the world so that we are in the world, but not of the world.

[53:12] It's a huge difference. That's what it means to be a saint. And it doesn't mean to be utterly, wholly, utterly. I'll close with this illustration.

[53:25] Years ago, Barb, my first wife, used to frequent this little beauty salon up in Lawrenceville, Ohio. She'd go up there every now and then and get her perm or get whatever girls need to have done to her hair.

[53:40] And this hairdresser said, Mrs. Wiseman, do I understand that you're married to a minister? And she said, yes.

[53:51] She said, I just can't imagine what that would be like. And she said, well, what do you mean?

[54:02] And she said, well, I just can't imagine what it would be like to live with somebody who is so, you know, so righteous and holy.

[54:14] And Barb said, neither can I. I said, well, you didn't have to be so blunt about it.

[54:29] Oh, would you stand with me, please? Father, we are so grateful for what you are revealing to us right here at Grace.

[54:42] And this truth has been in this book for 2,000 years, and yet it is so often misunderstood and overlooked and not appreciated.

[54:53] and we see it as vitally connected to who and what we are because it is. And you provided it for our blessing and our benefit and our enlightenment.

[55:04] You provided it so we could walk intelligently in it. And you've also provided it so that we could have maximum enjoyment in our relationship with you.

[55:15] And we are so grateful for that. We know that there are lots of questions that we don't have answers for, but we're so excited about the answers we do have, we want to share them with everybody who is willing to listen.

[55:29] Thank you for this gracious audience, for their attentiveness, for their interest in spiritual things, and for their being here on a consistent basis so they can learn these things.

[55:40] We pray that you will enable us to separate the word of man from the word of God and if I have uttered anything or taught anything that is not true and not of you, we certainly don't want it to produce anything that would be harmful.

[56:01] Help us to have a spirit of discernment and understanding and seal to our hearts and minds the things that are from you and anything from man may it pass away and come to naught.

[56:13] For anyone here today who may be without the Savior, we just pray that they will be challenged to pray and ask for truth and then be open to receive it when you present it.

[56:27] Nothing would please you more than communicating truth to willing hearts and we are grateful. Thank you for being the God you are. If there was anything about you that we could change, we wouldn't.

[56:40] We bless you for being who you are in Christ's name. Amen. Amen.