The Gospel of the Holy Spirit: Acts I
Acts of the Apostles I: St. Peter
The Acts of the Apostles demonstrate the theological meaning of the hand of God in the first thirty years of the history of the early Church. It is expressed in a confident tone, reflecting the joy of the Holy Spirit. It demonstrates the accuracy of Jesus’ prophecy to His disciples that after the power of the Holy Spirit comes to you, "You shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:8). The author according to the Early Church Fathers was St. Luke, the Gentile physician, companion of St. Paul and native of Antioch. It was written about 63 AD or a year before the martyrdom of St. Paul and St. Peter. The first twelve chapters narrate the story of the leadership of St. Peter, providing more Biblical evidence of his primacy. The second half focuses upon St. Paul with whom there are a whole series of parallels to St. Peter (this is brought out in the Hahn-Mitch commentary of the Ignatius Study Bible), most importantly relating to their being filled with the Holy Spirit and employing the laying on of hands. Thus, the star of the piece is really the Holy Spirit, who controls the pace and direction of their evangelization efforts and guarantees their success despite hardships ranging from persecution to plots and imprisonments.
In John 16: 7ff, Jesus tells the disciples that it is to their advantage that He goes to the Father because otherwise He cannot send the Holy Spirit, the Counselor or Advocate, who will "teach you all truth" and in John 20:22-23, Jesus breathed on them and gave them the Holy Spirit and told them, "Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained." In Acts we see the Apostles, Mary and the Brethren waiting in the Upper Room for the descent of the Holy Spirit as promised by the Father.
The primacy of Peter is underlined by Scripture. In the Gospels and the first half of the Acts of the Apostles, Peter is the dominant personality. He is spoken of 191 times in Scripture, while according to Archbishop Fulton Sheen, all the other apostles together are spoken of only 130 times (John is second to Peter with 48 mentions). Peter is always listed first when a list of the Apostles is given (e.g., Mt. 10:2; Mk 3:16; Lk 16:14) and even the angel tells Mary Magdalene to go and tell "His disciples and Peter" that He is risen. Paul informs us in 1 Cor 15:5 that Jesus appeared first to Kephas, then to the twelve. So it is not surprising in Acts 1, that it is Peter who calls for the filling of the office [episkopos] of Judas (the Douay Rheims and KJV both translate this as "bishopric"). This is the beginning of Apostolic succession. St. John Chrysostom wrote, "Observe the admirable prudence of St. Peter. He begins by quoting the authority of a prophet and does not say, ‘My own word suffices,’ so far is he from the thought of pride. His entire behavior shows the degree of his authority and that he understood the apostolic office of government not as a position of honor [i.e., servant of the servants of God] but as a commitment to watch over the spiritual health of those under him." Some think it is curious that they cast lots for the choice of a successor, but this was the traditional Hebrew method of making a sacred choice in which God was too be involved [e.g., Ne 10: 34] along with prayer, which was also employed at this time. This method of divining God’s will was restricted to Levites to preclude it "degenerating into superstitious practice."
In Acts 2, Peter exercises primacy again on Pentecost when he becomes the first Christian to preach the Gospel in the Church age, explaining the speaking in tongues as a fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel 2 concerning the pouring out of the Holy Spirit. Thus, inspired by the Holy Spirit to convict their hearts about the true identity of their Messiah and Savior, Peter responded to their pleas of what must we do, with the words, "Do penance and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of your sins: and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost" (Acts 2:38). Three thousand souls entered Holy Mother Church that day. Notice the important thought added thereafter, "And they held steadfastly to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers." In other words, they accepted the doctrinal catechesis of the apostles faithfully, enjoyed close support of one another as in a family and were devoted the to the celebration of the Eucharist and community as well as personal prayer.
In Acts 3, he performs the first miracle of the Church age when he heals the lame man ( a sign that the Messianic age has arrived). Speaking in front of Solomon’s Portico, he tells them, "But you denied the Holy and Righteous one, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the author of life, whom God raised from the dead." There is the dreaded "k" word, "killed,", St. Peter will surely be accused of being anti-Semitic as would be St. John Chrysostom– but that is another later presentation. In Acts 4, after being arrested with John for preaching the Resurrection, Peter "filled with the Holy Spirit" speaks boldly in front of the Sanhedrin. He tells them that Jesus is the cornerstone of the new, living temple, the stone rejected by you builders. Afterwards Peter and John were released because the Sanhedrin feared the reaction of the people if they punished them, so they had merely ordered them not to speak the name of Jesus. Peter immediately told them this command could not be observed and when they returned to the growing Christian community, they prayed together in thanksgiving and the room where they were was shaken as they were once again filled with the power of the Holy Spirit and went and continued to preach Christ Jesus crucified boldly.
In Act 5, Peter prophesies, in turn, the immediate deaths of converts Ananias and his wife Sapphira within three hours of one another, for holding back some of the proceeds from their property, which they falsely alleged to have given entirely to the Church. Peter said they lied, not to him, but "to the Holy Spirit." St. Ephraem of Syria commented, "not only because they stole something and concealed it, but because they did not fear and sought to deceive those in whom dwelt the Holy Spirit who knows everything." This was the first anathema. [This same Holy Spirit would be formally defined as the third person of the Trinity at the First Council of Constantinople in 381 A.D.] Scripture notes, "And great fear came upon the whole church, and upon all who heard of these things." As it says in numerous places in Scripture, especially in the book of Sirach (or Ecclesiasticus), "fear of the Lord" with our soul is the beginning and the fullness of wisdom. "A wise man will fear in every thing and in the days of sins will beware of sloth" (Sir 18: 27). This is not servile fear, so much as it is reverence for the Lord our God, who is with us. St. Josemaria Escriva, cautions us, "Don’t forget that you are God’s temple. The Advocate is in the centre of your soul: listen to him and be docile to his inspirations." (The Way, p.57)
So effective is their ministry of healing, that even the shadow of St. Peter was sought after by those healing in Christ’s name. So much was the stir they created as the sick were brought in from neighboring towns outside Jerusalem, that they were arrested once again, but they could not be held in prison. An angel of the Lord came to these men while they were in prayer and told them to stand in the Temple and speak to the people all the words of Life. This got them arrested again and taken before the befuddled Sanhedrin. Again it was Peter, the spokesman, who boldly proclaimed that they must obey God rather than men. He did not count the cost but stated Jesus to be the Prince and Savior "to give repentance to Israel" and this "cut them to the heart." Their anger was cooled only by the wisdom of Gamaiel, who after citing the flash in the pan false prophecies of men like Theodas and Judas of Galilee, both of whom gained a temporary following before their deaths, suggesting this was a similar case, but if it were not, they should take care not be found to be struggling against God. They therefore relented more drastic means (namely a desire to have them stoned to death), but they nonetheless had them scouraged, showing that despite the power of the Holy Spirit in which they spoke, that suffering like their Savior’s was to be, after all, there cup as well. Not a day passed without their preaching Christ. [The Navarre Bible commentary notes that consciences need truth to be formed and God’s law and the witness of the Church provide it. An uninformed or unformed conscience cannot be the first norm of our conduct. Thus, it is not enough for good Christians to privately profess the Gospel and the Church’s moral teaching regarding human life, the family, marriage, freedom, etc. but they should make every effort to see that the laws of the government truly support the common good.]
Peter was, of course, not alone for we see the mighty speech of St. Stephen, whom the Apostles had appointed to serve the needs of the Hellenist Christians. He gives the Sanhedrin a powerful lesson in covenant history and ends by calling them a "siff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears" and always resisting the Holy Spirit. Hence he connects them with a long line of their predecessors who did to the prophets, what they were about to do to Stephen, the first martyr. While Saul, who held the cloaks of those who stoned Stephen, is laying waste to the Church and entering house after house hunting down Christians, St. Peter becomes the first to refute the heresy, namely that of Simon Magus in Acts 8. Simon Magus or Simon the magician had been converted by the preaching of Philip, but thought he could gain the power of the Holy Spirit with mere money. Peter, however, quickly rebuked him. Next we see the Holy Spirit directing Philip to go to the Ethiopian eunuch, who teaches us all about the difficulty of understanding the Holy Scriptures. When Philip asks him if he understands what he is reading from the Old Testament, he responds for us all, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" (Acts 8: 31) The Holy Spirit acting through the magisterium of the Church is the guarantee that God’s revelation is not corrupted, though individuals may do so, Holy Mother Church cannot and we need her clarity.
Chapter 9 recounts the shocking conversion of Saul, soon to be Paul. But it also recounts that Peter is the first after Christ to raise a man from the dead in Acts 9:40. The beloved disciple Tabita is raised by Peter, after he prayed, in perfect emulation of the Savior and in the Holy Spirit. In Acts 10, Peter exercises the power to bind and to loose by admitting the first Gentiles into the Church (Cornelius the centurion, a "God-fearing man") after receiving a vision from Jesus to do so. Peter himself was amazed when the "gift of the Holy Spirit" was poured out on Cornelius and his household, so he knew he must baptize them. Peter was exercising the power to bind and loose. Although some objections were later raised at the thought of admitting the unclean Gentiles, Peter’s explanation was accepted by the other Apostles in Acts 11–the Church was now Catholic (the word means universal--though the Church may not have been known by this designation formerly until the beginning of the second century when we see St. Ignatius of Antioch using the term). The prophecy that Jesus had made that they would baptize with the Holy Spirit was now fulfilled.
As part of the ongoing persecution since the martyrdom of Stephen, Herod Agrippa makes a martyr of James the Greater, the brother of John about 42 A.D. in chapter 12. To please the Jews, Peter is again imprisoned and again rescued by God’s holy angels, leading Herod to put his sentries to death instead of Peter. But an angel of the Lord soon struck Herod dead. While they were worshiping (or another words during the holy sacrifice of the Mass), "the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’"(Acts 13:2). Then Barnabas and Saul were sent to preach in Cyprus, and Paul rebuked the false prophet Bar-Jesus, just as Peter had done with Simon the Magician. They go on to preach and baptize in Antioch of Pisidia and in the Greek cities of Asia Minor, namely Iconium, Lystra and Derbe. Acts 14:23 notes, "And when they had ordained to them priests in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, in whom they believed." The word "ordained" is quoted from the Douay Rheims Bible and is also used in the KJV, both of which are based in large part upon the Latin Vulgate. Modern translations, including the RSV, CE use the word "appointed" instead of "ordained" allowing for a Protestant interpretation of this verse.
In Acts 15, Peter who annunciated the first dogmatic degree when he proclaimed Christ "the Son of the Living God," now annunciates another, declaring that Jewish Christians need not follow the Law of Moses as regards circumcision which is accepted by the first Church Council at Jerusalem about 49 A.D. without debate and sent out by letter to the Churches as the "decision of the Holy Spirit." This Jerusalem Council is the theological heart of the Acts affecting the salvation of all men and thus a defining moment in Christian history. The awesome authority of Peter and this Church Council is seen in the decision to set aside the Mosaic law and in effect rebuke the Judaizers amongst them. The pastoral initiative of St. James (to abstain from meat consecrated to idols or not properly drained of blood and to avoid sexual immorality is intended to promote fellowship between Jewish and Gentile believers and represents a discipline not a dogma. Even Paul underlined the priority of Peter when he notes that the risen Lord appeared "[first] to Cephas, then to the twelve." (1 Cor 15:5). Peter had the guiding role among the Apostles and in the Church (Lk 22:31) and Paul acknowledges as much in going to check his teaching with "those who were of repute" (primarily Peter, as Gal 1 indicates). This is perhaps the first testimony of the Church’s magisterium, in which Peter plays the central role. Other examples could be cited but I think the point is made that the papacy is biblically based and derived from the primacy of St. Peter, the sole recipient from the hands of Good Shepherd himself of the royal keys of David.
To Be Continued
The Acts of the Apostles demonstrate the theological meaning of the hand of God in the first thirty years of the history of the early Church. It is expressed in a confident tone, reflecting the joy of the Holy Spirit. It demonstrates the accuracy of Jesus’ prophecy to His disciples that after the power of the Holy Spirit comes to you, "You shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:8). The author according to the Early Church Fathers was St. Luke, the Gentile physician, companion of St. Paul and native of Antioch. It was written about 63 AD or a year before the martyrdom of St. Paul and St. Peter. The first twelve chapters narrate the story of the leadership of St. Peter, providing more Biblical evidence of his primacy. The second half focuses upon St. Paul with whom there are a whole series of parallels to St. Peter (this is brought out in the Hahn-Mitch commentary of the Ignatius Study Bible), most importantly relating to their being filled with the Holy Spirit and employing the laying on of hands. Thus, the star of the piece is really the Holy Spirit, who controls the pace and direction of their evangelization efforts and guarantees their success despite hardships ranging from persecution to plots and imprisonments.
In John 16: 7ff, Jesus tells the disciples that it is to their advantage that He goes to the Father because otherwise He cannot send the Holy Spirit, the Counselor or Advocate, who will "teach you all truth" and in John 20:22-23, Jesus breathed on them and gave them the Holy Spirit and told them, "Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained." In Acts we see the Apostles, Mary and the Brethren waiting in the Upper Room for the descent of the Holy Spirit as promised by the Father.
The primacy of Peter is underlined by Scripture. In the Gospels and the first half of the Acts of the Apostles, Peter is the dominant personality. He is spoken of 191 times in Scripture, while according to Archbishop Fulton Sheen, all the other apostles together are spoken of only 130 times (John is second to Peter with 48 mentions). Peter is always listed first when a list of the Apostles is given (e.g., Mt. 10:2; Mk 3:16; Lk 16:14) and even the angel tells Mary Magdalene to go and tell "His disciples and Peter" that He is risen. Paul informs us in 1 Cor 15:5 that Jesus appeared first to Kephas, then to the twelve. So it is not surprising in Acts 1, that it is Peter who calls for the filling of the office [episkopos] of Judas (the Douay Rheims and KJV both translate this as "bishopric"). This is the beginning of Apostolic succession. St. John Chrysostom wrote, "Observe the admirable prudence of St. Peter. He begins by quoting the authority of a prophet and does not say, ‘My own word suffices,’ so far is he from the thought of pride. His entire behavior shows the degree of his authority and that he understood the apostolic office of government not as a position of honor [i.e., servant of the servants of God] but as a commitment to watch over the spiritual health of those under him." Some think it is curious that they cast lots for the choice of a successor, but this was the traditional Hebrew method of making a sacred choice in which God was too be involved [e.g., Ne 10: 34] along with prayer, which was also employed at this time. This method of divining God’s will was restricted to Levites to preclude it "degenerating into superstitious practice."
In Acts 2, Peter exercises primacy again on Pentecost when he becomes the first Christian to preach the Gospel in the Church age, explaining the speaking in tongues as a fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel 2 concerning the pouring out of the Holy Spirit. Thus, inspired by the Holy Spirit to convict their hearts about the true identity of their Messiah and Savior, Peter responded to their pleas of what must we do, with the words, "Do penance and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of your sins: and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost" (Acts 2:38). Three thousand souls entered Holy Mother Church that day. Notice the important thought added thereafter, "And they held steadfastly to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers." In other words, they accepted the doctrinal catechesis of the apostles faithfully, enjoyed close support of one another as in a family and were devoted the to the celebration of the Eucharist and community as well as personal prayer.
In Acts 3, he performs the first miracle of the Church age when he heals the lame man ( a sign that the Messianic age has arrived). Speaking in front of Solomon’s Portico, he tells them, "But you denied the Holy and Righteous one, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the author of life, whom God raised from the dead." There is the dreaded "k" word, "killed,", St. Peter will surely be accused of being anti-Semitic as would be St. John Chrysostom– but that is another later presentation. In Acts 4, after being arrested with John for preaching the Resurrection, Peter "filled with the Holy Spirit" speaks boldly in front of the Sanhedrin. He tells them that Jesus is the cornerstone of the new, living temple, the stone rejected by you builders. Afterwards Peter and John were released because the Sanhedrin feared the reaction of the people if they punished them, so they had merely ordered them not to speak the name of Jesus. Peter immediately told them this command could not be observed and when they returned to the growing Christian community, they prayed together in thanksgiving and the room where they were was shaken as they were once again filled with the power of the Holy Spirit and went and continued to preach Christ Jesus crucified boldly.
In Act 5, Peter prophesies, in turn, the immediate deaths of converts Ananias and his wife Sapphira within three hours of one another, for holding back some of the proceeds from their property, which they falsely alleged to have given entirely to the Church. Peter said they lied, not to him, but "to the Holy Spirit." St. Ephraem of Syria commented, "not only because they stole something and concealed it, but because they did not fear and sought to deceive those in whom dwelt the Holy Spirit who knows everything." This was the first anathema. [This same Holy Spirit would be formally defined as the third person of the Trinity at the First Council of Constantinople in 381 A.D.] Scripture notes, "And great fear came upon the whole church, and upon all who heard of these things." As it says in numerous places in Scripture, especially in the book of Sirach (or Ecclesiasticus), "fear of the Lord" with our soul is the beginning and the fullness of wisdom. "A wise man will fear in every thing and in the days of sins will beware of sloth" (Sir 18: 27). This is not servile fear, so much as it is reverence for the Lord our God, who is with us. St. Josemaria Escriva, cautions us, "Don’t forget that you are God’s temple. The Advocate is in the centre of your soul: listen to him and be docile to his inspirations." (The Way, p.57)
So effective is their ministry of healing, that even the shadow of St. Peter was sought after by those healing in Christ’s name. So much was the stir they created as the sick were brought in from neighboring towns outside Jerusalem, that they were arrested once again, but they could not be held in prison. An angel of the Lord came to these men while they were in prayer and told them to stand in the Temple and speak to the people all the words of Life. This got them arrested again and taken before the befuddled Sanhedrin. Again it was Peter, the spokesman, who boldly proclaimed that they must obey God rather than men. He did not count the cost but stated Jesus to be the Prince and Savior "to give repentance to Israel" and this "cut them to the heart." Their anger was cooled only by the wisdom of Gamaiel, who after citing the flash in the pan false prophecies of men like Theodas and Judas of Galilee, both of whom gained a temporary following before their deaths, suggesting this was a similar case, but if it were not, they should take care not be found to be struggling against God. They therefore relented more drastic means (namely a desire to have them stoned to death), but they nonetheless had them scouraged, showing that despite the power of the Holy Spirit in which they spoke, that suffering like their Savior’s was to be, after all, there cup as well. Not a day passed without their preaching Christ. [The Navarre Bible commentary notes that consciences need truth to be formed and God’s law and the witness of the Church provide it. An uninformed or unformed conscience cannot be the first norm of our conduct. Thus, it is not enough for good Christians to privately profess the Gospel and the Church’s moral teaching regarding human life, the family, marriage, freedom, etc. but they should make every effort to see that the laws of the government truly support the common good.]
Peter was, of course, not alone for we see the mighty speech of St. Stephen, whom the Apostles had appointed to serve the needs of the Hellenist Christians. He gives the Sanhedrin a powerful lesson in covenant history and ends by calling them a "siff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears" and always resisting the Holy Spirit. Hence he connects them with a long line of their predecessors who did to the prophets, what they were about to do to Stephen, the first martyr. While Saul, who held the cloaks of those who stoned Stephen, is laying waste to the Church and entering house after house hunting down Christians, St. Peter becomes the first to refute the heresy, namely that of Simon Magus in Acts 8. Simon Magus or Simon the magician had been converted by the preaching of Philip, but thought he could gain the power of the Holy Spirit with mere money. Peter, however, quickly rebuked him. Next we see the Holy Spirit directing Philip to go to the Ethiopian eunuch, who teaches us all about the difficulty of understanding the Holy Scriptures. When Philip asks him if he understands what he is reading from the Old Testament, he responds for us all, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" (Acts 8: 31) The Holy Spirit acting through the magisterium of the Church is the guarantee that God’s revelation is not corrupted, though individuals may do so, Holy Mother Church cannot and we need her clarity.
Chapter 9 recounts the shocking conversion of Saul, soon to be Paul. But it also recounts that Peter is the first after Christ to raise a man from the dead in Acts 9:40. The beloved disciple Tabita is raised by Peter, after he prayed, in perfect emulation of the Savior and in the Holy Spirit. In Acts 10, Peter exercises the power to bind and to loose by admitting the first Gentiles into the Church (Cornelius the centurion, a "God-fearing man") after receiving a vision from Jesus to do so. Peter himself was amazed when the "gift of the Holy Spirit" was poured out on Cornelius and his household, so he knew he must baptize them. Peter was exercising the power to bind and loose. Although some objections were later raised at the thought of admitting the unclean Gentiles, Peter’s explanation was accepted by the other Apostles in Acts 11–the Church was now Catholic (the word means universal--though the Church may not have been known by this designation formerly until the beginning of the second century when we see St. Ignatius of Antioch using the term). The prophecy that Jesus had made that they would baptize with the Holy Spirit was now fulfilled.
As part of the ongoing persecution since the martyrdom of Stephen, Herod Agrippa makes a martyr of James the Greater, the brother of John about 42 A.D. in chapter 12. To please the Jews, Peter is again imprisoned and again rescued by God’s holy angels, leading Herod to put his sentries to death instead of Peter. But an angel of the Lord soon struck Herod dead. While they were worshiping (or another words during the holy sacrifice of the Mass), "the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’"(Acts 13:2). Then Barnabas and Saul were sent to preach in Cyprus, and Paul rebuked the false prophet Bar-Jesus, just as Peter had done with Simon the Magician. They go on to preach and baptize in Antioch of Pisidia and in the Greek cities of Asia Minor, namely Iconium, Lystra and Derbe. Acts 14:23 notes, "And when they had ordained to them priests in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, in whom they believed." The word "ordained" is quoted from the Douay Rheims Bible and is also used in the KJV, both of which are based in large part upon the Latin Vulgate. Modern translations, including the RSV, CE use the word "appointed" instead of "ordained" allowing for a Protestant interpretation of this verse.
In Acts 15, Peter who annunciated the first dogmatic degree when he proclaimed Christ "the Son of the Living God," now annunciates another, declaring that Jewish Christians need not follow the Law of Moses as regards circumcision which is accepted by the first Church Council at Jerusalem about 49 A.D. without debate and sent out by letter to the Churches as the "decision of the Holy Spirit." This Jerusalem Council is the theological heart of the Acts affecting the salvation of all men and thus a defining moment in Christian history. The awesome authority of Peter and this Church Council is seen in the decision to set aside the Mosaic law and in effect rebuke the Judaizers amongst them. The pastoral initiative of St. James (to abstain from meat consecrated to idols or not properly drained of blood and to avoid sexual immorality is intended to promote fellowship between Jewish and Gentile believers and represents a discipline not a dogma. Even Paul underlined the priority of Peter when he notes that the risen Lord appeared "[first] to Cephas, then to the twelve." (1 Cor 15:5). Peter had the guiding role among the Apostles and in the Church (Lk 22:31) and Paul acknowledges as much in going to check his teaching with "those who were of repute" (primarily Peter, as Gal 1 indicates). This is perhaps the first testimony of the Church’s magisterium, in which Peter plays the central role. Other examples could be cited but I think the point is made that the papacy is biblically based and derived from the primacy of St. Peter, the sole recipient from the hands of Good Shepherd himself of the royal keys of David.
To Be Continued
