Abraham appointed Isaac; Moses appointed Joshua; Elijah appointed Elisha and David appointed Solomon but did Jesus appoint a supreme leader to take over after He returned to Heaven?
The Bible tells us about the sins and faults of the Apostles and preachers love to preach about them.
A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest.
And he said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors.
But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. Lk 22:24-26 (ESV)
What were the Apostles disputing? Was each of the twelve claiming to be number one? I don't think so.
What most preachers fail to notice is this. Jesus had not conformed to the perfectly reasonable expectation of any group of leaders.
If Jesus had appointed a supreme leader, this discussion would be unthinkable.
Peter, James and John were obvious favourites, but Jesus had not named a number one man.
But who was the chosen one? Since Jesus had not told them, they did what any group of men would do. They tried to work it out themselves.
After Jesus returned to heaven, Peter seemed to take the lead in Acts chapters 1 to 3. Nevertheless, the writer of Acts emphasises the collective leadership of “The Apostles.”
In Acts 2, Peter preached the first sermon but the main emphasis is on the inspired and inspiring unity of all the disciples.
All this is not because of any neglect or forgetfulness of Jesus or the Father in Heaven.
In Galatians, we read how Paul visited the leaders in Jerusalem. He spoke of Peter, James and John “who seemed to be pillars.” (Gal 2:9)
Jesus declared a whole new approach to leadership in Matthew 23.
But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers.
And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Mt 23:8-9 (ESV)
This is so radical, that most of us have not even begun to understand it. I have been a member of Pentecostal churches for 35 years and I have never heard any preacher explain this important text.
The mystery does not end here.
The first witness of the resurrection of Jesus Christ was not an Apostle.
It was Mary Magdalene, a woman with a sinful past and a testimony but not an ordained leader.
When she told the Apostles, they did not believe her. Then Jesus came and rebuked the men of God for not receiving her testimony!
Leadership is important but God’s idea of leadership is not always what we expect.
The founders of the first mission to the non-Jewish pagans were not Apostles, and they were not appointed or sent by the Apostles.
Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen travelled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews.
But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus.
And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. Acts 11:19-21 (ESV)
These Spirit led pioneer missionaries were not ordained preachers and we don’t even know their names.
Peter emerged as the chief apostle in Jerusalem, but there was no strict hierarchy.
In the book of Acts we something new, team leadership and spontaneous initiative directed by the Holy Spirit.
What can we learn from this?
If the Holy Spirit inspires you to reach out to your neighbours, your workmates or whoever, don’t wait for a leader to give you permission.
Just do it!
For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” Mt 18:20
No comments:
Post a Comment