PEACE IN THE NEW JERUSALEM (6th Sunday of Easter - Cycle C)

Homily for the 6^th Sunday of Easter (Cycle C)

Based on Jn 14:23-29 (Gospel), Ac 15:1-2, 22-29 (First Reading) and (Second Reading)

From the Series: “Reflections and Teachings of the Desert”

PEACE IN THE NEW JERUSALEM

“I will show you… the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God” (Rev. 21:10)

The gospel narrative for this 6^th Sunday of Easter (Cycle C) is taken from Jn 14:23-29. Verses 23, 24 and 25 says: Jesus replied: “If anyone loves me he will keep my word^p, and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him and make our home with him. Those who do not love me do not keep my words. And my word^q is not my own: it is word of the one who sent me. “I have said this things to you while still with you; Footnote ^p  -says  “As the world does not: 8:37,43,47.”;  and  Footnote ^q  says “‘himself’ refers to God the Father who will glorify the Son of Man by taking him to himself in glory. Cf. 17:5,22,24.”

Parallel texts for verse 23 are:

1.       Jn 3:11 - I tell you most solemnly, we speak only about what we know and witness only to what we have seen and yet you people reject our evidence^e.   Footnote ^e says “Jesus does not speak on his own initiative, 7:17-18; he declares what he has seen ‘with the Father’, 1:18, 3:11, 8:38, cf. 8:24+; it is the Father’s words and teaching that he hands on to man, 3:34, 8:28, 12:49,50, 14:24, 17:8,14; he is himself the Word, 1:1,14. This Word is not idle: it calls all things from nothing, 1:1+, it calls the dead from the tomb, 11:43,44, 5:28-29; it gives life to the soul, 5:24, 6:63, 8:51; it confers the Spirit, the source of immortality, 1:33+; 20:22, and so makes men children of God, 10:35, 1:12. It is required only than man should have faith in the Word, 1:12, ;dwell’ in it, cf. 8:31, ‘keep’ it, 8:51,55, 12:47, 14:23, 15:20, 17:6, obey its command which is love, 13:34. Nevertheless, the Word is enigmatic, 2:20+, and difficult, cf. 6:60, 7:36; it makes its way only into humble hearts. Those who hear it, therefore, respond differently, 7:43, 10:19; some believe, 4:41, 7:40f,46, 8:30, others go away disappointed, 6:66, in spite of the ‘signs’, 2:11+; this same rejected Word will judge them at the last day, 12:48.”

2.       Mt 11:27 - Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father; an no one knows the Son except the Father, just as no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.^j Footnote ^j –says  “V. 27 has a Johannine flavor: awareness of Christ’s divine sonship exists in the deepest stratum of the synoptic tradition as well as in Jn”.

3.       1 Jn 2:5 - But when anyone does obey what he has said. God’s love comes to perfection in him.^b Footnote ^b says: “Lit.’in him the love of God has been perfected (reached its goal)’ this refers more to God’s love fo us than to our love for him.”

4.       Dt 7:12-13  - ‘Listen to these ordinance, be true to them and observe them, and in return Yahweh your God will be true to the covenant and the kindness he promised your fathers solemnly (v. 12), He will love you and bless you and increase your numbers; he will bless the fruit of your body and the produce of your soil, your corn, your wine, your oil, the issue of your cattle, the young of your flock, in the land he swore to your fathers he would give you.

5.       Si 4:10,14 - Be like a father to orphans, and as good as a husband to widows^a (v. 10). Whoever holds her close will inherit honor, and wherever he walks the Lord will bless him. Footnote ^a says ‘widows’ Hebr.; ‘their mothers’ Greek.

6.       Ep 3:17…so that Christ may live in your hearts through faith, and then, planted in love and built on love…

7.       Rv 3:20 - Look, I am standing at the door, knocking. If one of you hears me calling and opens the door, I will come in to share his meal; side by side with me

Verse 26 says: But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all I have said to you^r. Footnote ^r says “In place of the departed Christ, the faithful will have the Spirit, 14:16, 17; 16:7, cf. 1:33+. He is the ‘parakletos’  who intercedes with the Father, cf. 1 Jn. 2:1, and whose voice is heard in human courts, 15:26,27, cf. LK. 12:11p., Mt. 10:19-20p. Ac. 5:32. He is the Spirit of truth, leading men to the very fullness of truth, 16:33, teaching them to understand the mystery of Christ – fulfillment of the scriptures, 5:39+, the meaning of his words, 2:19+, of his actions, and his ‘signs’, 14:26, 16:13, 1 Jn. 2:20f,27, all hitherto obscure to the disciples, 2:22, 12:16, 13:7, 20:9. In this way the Spirit is to bear witness to Christ, 15:26, 1 Jn. 5:6,7, and shame the unbelieving world, 16:8-11.”

Parallel texts are:

1.       Jn 2:22…and when Jesus rose from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the scripture and the words he had said.

2.       Jn 12:16 - At that time, his disciple did not understand this, but later, after, after Jesus had been glorified, they remembered that this had been written about him and that this was in fact how they had received him.

3.       Jn 13:7 - Jesus answered and said to him, “At the moment you do not understand what I am doing, but later you will understand.

4.       Jn 14:17 - That Spirit of truth^j whom the world can never receive since it neither sees nor knows him; but you know him, because he is with you, he is in you.^k Footnote ^j says “He who reveals and inspires the true worship of God, 4:23f, as opposed to the prince of this world who is ‘the father of lies’, 8:44; 1 Jn 4:3f.”; and  Footnote ^k says “Var. ‘he will be in you’.”

5.       Jn 15:26 - When the Advocate comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who issues from^g  the Father, he will be my witness. Footnote ^g says “The sending of the Spirit into the world rather than the eternal ‘proceeding’ from the Father within the Trinity.”

6.       Jn 16:7,13-15 - Still, I must tell you the truth: it is for your own good that I am going because unless I go, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you (v. 7).  But when the Spirit of truth comes he will lead you to the complete truth, since he will not be speaking as from himself but will say what he hears, and will say only what he has learnt; and he will tell you of the things to come.^e (v.13).He will glorify me, since all he tells you will be taken from what is mine (v.14). Everything the Father has is mine; that is why I said: All he tell you will be taken from what is mine.^f (v.15). Footnote ^e–says “The new order of that things that is to result from Christ’s death and resurrection; and  Footnote ^f  says “By revealing the hidden depth of the mystery of Jesus, the Spirit makes his glory known. Jesus, in his turn, manifests the glory of the Father, 17:4, from whom comes everything he possesses, 3:35; 5:22,26; 13:3; 17:2. The Father is the source of the revelation communicated by the Son and brought to completion by the Spirit who in his way glorifies both Son and Father. There are not three revelations but one.”

7.       Jn 20:9 - Till this moment they failed to understand the teaching of scripture,^c that he must rise from the dead. Footnote ^c says “Cf. Ps 16:8-11; 2:7; Ac 2:24-31; 13:32-37; 1 Co 15:4.”

8.       1 Co 2:10 - This are the very things that God has revealed to us through the Spirit, for the Spirit reaches the depth of everything, even the depths of God.

9.       Ep 3:5 - This mystery that has now been revealed through the Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets^c was unknown to anyone in past generations. Footnote ^c says “The NT prophets, cf. 2:20+. The OT prophets had only an obscure and imperfect knowledge of the mystery of the Messiah, cf 1 P 1:10-12; Mk 13:17.”

10.   1 Jn 2:20,27 - But you have been anointedⁱ by the Holy One, and have all received the knowledge.^j (v. 20). But you have not lost the anointing that he gave you, and you do not need anyone to teach you;ⁿ the anointing he gave teaches you everything; you are anointed with truth, not with a lie, and as he had  taught you, you must stay in him (v. 27) Footnote ⁱ says “In the OT, the chrism that was to anoint the messiah (the ‘anointed’’) was identified, Is 11:2; 61:1, with the (holy) Spirit or Breath of Yahweh. Christians share in this anointing that teachers them the true gnosis or knowledge.“; Footnote ^j  says “var. ‘you know all things’.’ and  Footnote ⁿ says “Christians are taught by the apostles, 1:3,5; 2:7,24m, but merely hearing what is said is not enough, the message must penetrate them and this it cannot do except through the grace of the Holy Spirit, cf. 2:20+.”

Verse 27 says: Peace^s I bequeath to you, my own peace I give you, a peace the world cannot give, this is my gift to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. Footnote ^s says “The customary Jewish greeting and farewell, cf. Lk. 10:5p; it means soundness of body but came to be used of the perfect happiness and the deliverance which the Messiah would bring. All this Jesus gives.”

Parallel texts are:

1.       Rm 5:1 - So far we have seen that,  through our Lord Jesus Christ by faith, we are  judged righteous and at peace with God.

2.       Ep 2:14-18 - For he is the peace between us, and has made the two into one and broken down the barrier which used to keep them apart^,l actually destroying in his own person the hostility (v. 14).Caused by the rules and decrees of the Law. ^m This was to create one single New Man ⁿ in himself out of the two of them and by restoring peace… (v. 15). Through the cross, to unite them both in single Body^o and reconcile them with God. I his own person he killed the hostility (v. 16). Later, he came^p to bring the good news of peace, peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near at hand (v. 17). Through him, both of us have  in the one Spirit^q our way to come to the Father (v. 18). Footnote ^l says “The wall separating the court of the Jews from the court of the pagans in the Temple, cf. Ac. 21:28f”; Footnote ^msays “The Mosaic Law gave the Jews a privileged status and separated them from pagans. Jesus abolished this Law by fulfilling it once for all on the cross, Col. 2:14+.; Footnote ⁿ – This new man is the prototype of the new humanity that God recreated (2Co. 5:17+) in the person of Christ, the second Adam (1 Co. 15:45) after killing the sinfully corrupt race of the first Adam in the crucifixion (Rm. 5:12f, 8:3, 1 Co. 15:21). This New Adam has been created in the goodness and holiness of the truth, 4:24, and he is unique because in him the boundaries between any one group and the rest of the human race all disappear, Col. 3:10f, Ga. 3:27f). Footnote ^o says “This ‘single Body’ is both the physical body of Jesus that was executed by crucifixion, Col 1:22+, and the Church or ‘mystical’ body of Christ in which, once they were reconciled, all the parts function in their own place, 1 Co 12:12+.”; Footnote ^p says “Through the apostles who in his name preached the Good News of salvation and peace”; Footnote ^q says “The one spirit that gives life to the single body (of Christ who is one with his Church) is the Holy Spirit who has changed the form of the body now it has risen, and by doing so has come down on each of the parts of which it is made up. The Trinitarian structure  of this section is repeated in v. 22”

3.       2 Th. 3:16 - May the Lord of peace himself give you peace all time and in every way.^d The Lord be with all of you. Footnote^d says “We do not know what Paul refers to when he talks about a cause that delays the parousla of Christ. All he says if that it is something, v.6, or someone, v.7, that can ‘delay’ it. This person or power blocks the coming of Christ by preventing manifestation of the Messiah’s enemy who must precede the coming of the Messiah himself.”  

Verse 28 says: You heard me say: ‘I am going away, and shall return.’  If you loved me you would have been glad to know that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.^t  Footnote ^t says “Through the Son is the Father’s equal, 10:30+; 8:24+, his glory is for the moment veiled, 1:14+; his return to the Father will reveal it again. 17:5+. Cf. Ph 2:6-9; Heb 1:3.”

Parallel text is Jn 8:14 that says: Jesus replied:  “Even if it is true that I am testifying on my own behalf, but my testimony is still valid, because I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from or where I am going^e. Footnote ^e says “It is enough for the Son to be his own witness since he alone knows the mystery of his heavenly origin, cf. Mt 11:27p.”

Verse 29 says: I have told you this now before it happens, so that when it does happen you may believe.

Parallel texts are:

1.       Jn 13:19 - I tell you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you may believe that I am He^m. Footnote ^m  says “Because it demonstrates Christ’s superhuman knowledge and fulfills the scripture, Judas’ betrayal and Christ’s death will confirm the disciples’ faith.” 

2.       Jn 16:4 - But I have told you all this, so that when the time for it comes you may remember that I told you.

The First Reading is from Ac 15:1-2, 22-29. This is about the Controversy at Antioch. Parallel text is Ga 2:1-9 that says: It was not fourteen years^a had passed  that I went up to Jerusalem again. I went with Barnabas and took Titus with me (v. 1). I went there as a result of a revelation, and I privately I laid before   the leading men the Good News as I proclaim it among the pagans; I did so for fear the course I was adopting or had already would not be allowed ^b (v. 2). And what happened? Even though Titus who had come with me is a Greek, he was not obliged to be circumcised.^c (v. 3).  The question came up only because  of some who do not really belong to the brotherhood have furtively crept in to spy on the liberty we enjoy in Christ Jesus, and want to reduce us all to slavery (v. 4). I was so determined to safeguard for you the true meaning of the Good News that I refused even out of deference to yield to such people for one moment ^d (v. 5) As a result, these people who are acknowledge leaders – not that their importance matters to me, since God has no favorites – these leaders, as I say, had nothing to add to the Good News as I preached it. ^e (v. 6). On the contrary, they recognized that I had been commissioned  to preach it to the uncircumcised, just as Peter to the circumcised (v. 7). The same person whose action made Peter the apostle of the circumcised had give men a similar mission to the pagans (v. 8). So, James, Cephas and John,^f these pillars, these pillars, shook hands Barnabas and me as a sign of partnership; we were to go to the pagans and they to the circumcised^g (v. 9). Footnote ^a says “ Reckoning from the last meeting with Peter or else, preferably, from Paul’s conversion. It is possible that the ‘three years’ of 1:18 and the ‘fourteen’ of 2:1 are no more the one-and-a-half and twelve-and-a-half respectively, since it was customary to court even the last few days or the first days of a year as a whole year; Footnote ^b says “Lit ‘for fear I was running or had run to no purpose’. Paul is not having second thoughts about the truth of his gospel, he is concerned that when new churches are founded they should keep in touch with the mother church; this is why he felt the collection for the poor’ in Jerusalem to be important, cf. 1 Co 16:1+:see v.10.; Footnote ^c say “Paul insisted that Timothy be circumcised since his mother was a Jewess. Ac 16:3, cf. 1 Co 9:20; a Jew being defined as one whose mother is Jewish.; Footnote ^d say “Lit, ‘we did not yield’ . . . ‘By omitting ‘not’ the Old Latin version makes Paul admit that he gave way for a moment. Om, ‘out of deference’; Footnote ^e says “Lit, ‘laid down nothing more for me’, cf. v.2.”; Footnote  ^f says “‘James, Cephas and John’; var. ‘James, Peter and John’, or ‘James and John’”; and Footnote ^g says “This distinction is not racial but geographical: ‘the circumcised’ (lit. ‘the circumsion’) refers primarily to the Jews in Palestine, and when Paul went among the gentiles the resident Jews were his first concern, Ac 12:5+.”

Verses 1 and 2 of the First Reading say: ^aThen some men  came down from Judea^b and taught the brothers. “Unless you have yourselves circumcised in the tradition of Moses, you cannot be saved.” This led to disagreements,  and after Paul and Barnabas had had a long argument with these men, it was arranged that Paul and Barnabas and others of the church^c should go up to Jerusalem and discuss the problem with the apostles^d and elders.  Footnote ^a says “The events of this chapter raise several difficulties: 1. Vv. 5-7a repeat vv. 1-2a as if the author, having two different accounts of how the controversy started, decided to give both as they stood. 2. V.6 gives the impresio9n that the community leaders held a private meeting, but vv. 12, 22, suggest the debate took place before the whole Christian assembly. 3. The meeting issues a decree about how Christian  converts from paganism must observe purity rites, and it entrusts this decree to Paul, vv. 22f; later, however ( in 21:25), James seems to assume that Paul was then being informed of this decree for the first time. Paul himself does not speak of the decree either in Ga 2:6 (speaking of the Jerusalem meeting) or in 1 Co 8-10; Rm 14 (discussing similar problems); 4. Through the decree of Ac 15:29 was primarily intended for the churches of Syria and Cilicia, 15:23, Luke has nothing to say about Paul publishing it when he traveled through those provinces, 15:41. Luke does not mention it when speaking about Lycaonia, 16:4, but the terms of 15:19-21; 21:15 suggests that the decree was for all regions. All these difficulties may be explained by supposing that Luke has combined two distinct controversies and their varying solutions (Paul distinguishes them more clearly in Ga 2). One controversy was about the obligation of convert pagans to observe the Law, and Peter and Paul both took part, cf., Ga 2:1-10; the other  controversy, which took place later, was about the social relations between the groups of Christian converts, hose from Judaism and those from paganism, cf. Ga 2:11-14. In this James, in Peter’s absence, took the leading part. Any contact with pagans involved impurity for Jews; cf. Ac 15:20+; Footnote ^b says “In Ga 2:12, there are several of them and they came from James;” Footnote ^c says “Ga 2:1-3 mentions Titus who had pagan blood”;  Footnote^d says “The apostles, who are not mentioned either in 11:30 or in 2:18, are grouped here with the elders, cf. Ga 2:2-9, where Peter and John are grouped with James, ‘brother of the Lord’, as authorities in the Jerusalem church.” 

Parallel text of verse 1 is from Ac 21:21,25 that says: and they have heard that you instruct all Jews living among the pagans to break away from Moses,^h authorizing them not to circumcise their children or to follow customary practices (v. 21). The pagans who have become believers, as we wrote them when we told them our decisions, must abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from fornication^l (v. 25)” Footnote ^h says “Paul’s doctrine of faith as the one source of justification, cf. Rm 1:16+; 3:22+, did indeed lead to this, since it meant that the Mosaic Law no longer gave the Jews superiority over the gentile. But Paul’s purpose in expounding this principle was to leave converts from paganism free of Jewish observance, cf. Ga. 2:11f, not to dissuade devout Jews from it; and Footnote ^I says “Western Text ‘Of the pagans who have become believers they have nothing to say to you. For our part, we have sent our decisions, namely that they have no observance to practice but that of abstaining from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, and from fornication.”

Verse 22  says: Then the apostles and elders decided to choose delegates to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas.  The whole church concurred with this. They  chose  Judas, known as Barsabbas,^w and Silas,^x  both leading men in the brotherhood. Footnote ^w says “Not mentioned either elsewhere, cf. 1:23”; Footnote ^x says “Silas, missionary companion of Paul, 15:40-18:5, is the same as the Silvanus mentioned in 1 Th 1:1; 2 Th 1:1; 2 Co 1:19; 1 P 5:12”.

Parallel texts are:

1.       Ac 15:40 - Before Paul left, he chose Silas to accompany him and was commended by the brothers to the grace of God.^aa  Footnote ^aa –says “Var. ‘the grace of the Lord’.”

2.       1 Th 1 - From Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, to the Church in Thessalonika which is in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: wishing you grace and peace^a (v. 1) We always mention you in our prayers and  thank God for you all (v. 2) and constantly remember before our God and Father how you have shown your faith in action, worked for love and persevered through hope, in our Lord Jesus Christ (v. 3). We know, brothers, that God loves you, and that you have been chosen (v. 4),because we brought the Good News^b to you, it came to you not only as words, but as power and as the Holy Spirit and as utter conviction. And you observed the sort of life we lived when we were with you, which was for your instruction (v. 5),and you were led to become imitators of us, and of the Lord; and it was with joy from the holy Spirit that you tock to the gospel, in spite of the great opposition all round you, (v. 6). This has made you a great example to all believers in Macedonia and Achaia (v.7) since it was from you that the word of the Lord started to spread – and not only throughout Macedonia and Achaia, for the news of your faith in God has spread everywhere. We do not need to tell people about it (v.8):other tell us we started the work among you, how you broke with idolatry when you were converted to God and became servants of the real, living God (v. 9);and how you are now awaiting for Jesus, his Son, whom he raised from the dead, to come from heaven to save us from the retribution which is coming (v. 10). ^c Footnote ^a – says “Add ‘from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ’, cf. 2 Th 1:2.”; Footnote ^b  says “Var. ‘the Good News of God’, or ‘of our God’.”; and Footnote  ^c  says “Lit. ‘wrath’. Vv. 9-10 seem to give an extremely condensed summary of Paul’s characteristic ‘proclamation’. The two main elements of the Good News as preached by Paul were: his emphasis on monotheism, and the prominence he gives to the return of the risen Lord, cf. Rm 1:1-4, 20f; 1 Co 1:18,21; Ga 1:3f; 3:1; Ac 14:15-17; 17:21-31, etc.”

3.       2 Th 1:1 - From Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy to the Church in Thessalonica which is in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

4.       1 P 5:12 - I write these few words to you through Silvanus, who is a faithful brother I know I can trust, to encourage you never to let go  this true grace of God to which I bear witness.

Verse 23 says: And gave them this letter to take with them: “The apostles and elders, your brothers, send greetings to the brothers of pagan birth in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia.  Parallel text is from Ac 16:4 that says:  As they visited one town after another, they passed on the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem, with instructions to respect them.

Verse 24, 25 and 26 say:  We have heard that some of our members have disturbed you with their demands and have unsettled your minds. They acted without any authority from us; and so we have unanimously decided to elect delegates and to send them to you with Barnabas and Paul, men we highly respect, who have dedicated their lives to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Parallel text of verse 24 says:

1.       Ac 15:1 -  ^aThen some men came down from Judaea^b and taught the brothers, ‘Unless you have yourself circumcised in the tradition of Moses you cannot be saved’. Footnote ^a says “The events of this chapter raise several difficulties: 1. Vv. 5-7a repeat vv. 1-2a as if the author, having two different accounts of how the controversy started, decided to give both as they stood. 2. V.6 gives the impresio9n that the community leaders held a private meeting, but vv. 12, 22, suggest the debate took place before the whole Christian assembly. 3. The meeting issues a decree about how Christian  converts from paganism must observe purity rites, and it entrusts this decree to Paul, vv. 22f; later, however ( in 21:25), James seems to assume that Paul was then being informed of this decree for the first time. Paul himself does not speak of the decree either in Ga 2:6 (speaking of the Jerusalem meeting) or in 1 Co 8-10; Rm 14 (discussing similar problems); 4. Through the decree of Ac 15:29 was primarily intended for the churches of Syria and Cilicia, 15:23, Luke has nothing to say about Paul publishing it when he traveled through those provinces, 15:41. Luke does not mention it when speaking about Lycaonia, 16:4, but the terms of 15:19-21; 21:15 suggests that the decree was for all regions. All these difficulties may be explained by supposing that Luke has combined two distinct controversies and their varying solutions (Paul distinguishes them more clearly in Ga 2). One controversy was about the obligation of convert pagans to observe the Law, and Peter and Paul both took part, cf., Ga 2:1-10; the other  controversy, which took place later, was about the social relations between the groups of Christian converts, hose from Judaism and those from paganism, cf. Ga 2:11-14. In this James, in Peter’s absence, took the leading part. Any contact with pagans involved impurity for Jews; cf. Ac 15:20+; Footnote ^b says “In Ga 2:12, there are several of them and they came from James.”

2.       Ga 2:12 - His custom had been to eat with the pagansⁱ but after certain friends of James arrived he stopped doing this and kept away from them altogether for fear of the group that insisted on circumcision. Footnote ⁱ says “Converts from paganism, so also in v. 14, as opposed to the ‘circumcised’ who are converted Jews”.

Verse 27 says: Accordingly we are sending Judas and Silas who will confirm by word of mouth what we have written in this letter:

Parallel text is from Ac 9:15-16 that says: The Lord replied, “You must go all the same because this man is my chosen instrument to bring  my name before pagans, pagan kings and before the people of Israel (v 15);^h I myself will show him how much he himself must suffer for my name (v. 16).” Footnote ^h says “Cf Jr 1:10. Paul’s mission is ‘to all men’, Ac 22:15, to the pagan nations, 26:17; this agrees with what Paul himself writes in Ga 1:16, cf Rm 1:5; 11:13; 15:16-18; Ga 2:2,8,9; Ep 3:8; Col 1:27; 1 Tm 2:7. On the ‘kings’, cf. Ac 26:2+.”

Verse 28 says: It has been decided by the Holy Spirit and by ourselves not to saddle you with any burden beyond these essentials.

Parallel texts are:

1.       Ac 1:8 - But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you,ⁱ and then you will be my witnesses^j not only in Jerusalem but throughout Judea and Samaria, and indeed to the ends of the earth’.^k Footnote ⁱ says “The Holy Spirit is a favorite theme of Luke (Lk 4:1+); he talks mostly about the Holy Spirit as a Power, Lk 1:35; 24:49;Ac 1:8;10:38; Rm 15:13,19; 1 Co 2:4,5; 1 Th 1:5; Heb 2:4, sent  from God by Christ, Ac 2:38, to broadcast the Good News. 1. The Spirit gives the charismata, 1 Co 12:4f, that guarantee the message; the gift of tongues, Ac 2:4+, of miracles, 10:38, of prophecy, 11:27+; 20:23; 21:11, of wisdom, 6:3,5,10:2, the Spirit fives strength to proclaim Jesus as Messiah in spite of persecution 4:8,31; 5:32; 6:10;cf. Ph 1;19 and to bear witness to him, Mt. 10;20p; Jn 15:26; Ac 1:8; 2 Tm 1:7f,cf. following note; 3. The Spirit guides the Church in her major decisions: the  admission of pagans, Ac 8:29,40; 10:19,44-47; 11;12-16; 15:8, without obligation to observe the  Law, 15:28; Paul’s mission to the pagan worlds, 13:2f; 16:6-7; 19:1 (Western Text) cf. Mt. 3:16+,Ac also mentions the Spirit  as received in baptism and forgiving sins, 2:38, cf. Rm 5:5+.’; Footnote ^j says “The primary functions of the apostles is to bear witness: not only to Christ’s resurrection, Lk. 24:48, Ac 2:32, 3:15, 4:33, 3:32, 24:48,13;31, 22:15, but also to the whole of is public life, Lk 1:21, Jn 15:27, Ac. 1:22, 10:39f.”; and Footnote ^k says “nothing can limit the apostolic mission”.

2.       Ac  5:32 - We are witnesses to this, we and the holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.’

Verse 29 says: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from meat of strangled animals, and from fornication. Avoid these, and you will do what is right.^y Farewell.’” Footnote ^y says “Western Text adds ‘under the guide of the Holy Spirit’.”

Parallel text is from Ac 21:25 that says: The pagans who have become believers, as we wrote them when we told them our decisions, must abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from fornication^l (v. 25) Footnote ^l  says “Western Text ‘Of the pagans who have become believers they have nothing to say to you. For our part, we have sent our decisions, namely that they have no observance to practice but that of abstaining from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, and from fornication.’”

The Second Reading is from Rv 21:10-14, 22-23.

Verse 10 says: In the spirit he took me to the top of  an  enormous mountain and showed me Jerusalem, the holy city, coming down from God out of heaven.^j Footnote ^j says “This is Jerusalem on earth during the last or messianic days since the pagan nations have not yet been destroyed, 21:24, and have a chance of conversion, 22:2; but it foreshadows the heavenly the heavenly Jerusalem that develops from it. The details of the description are most from Ezk 40-47.”

Parallel texts are:

1.       Ezk 40:2 - In a divine vision he took me away to the land of Israel,^c and put me down on a very high mountain, on the south of which there seemed to be built a city.^d  Footnote ^c says “‘took me… Israel’ Greek”; and Footnote ^d  says “Jerusalem evidently, through a Jerusalem expanded and idealized”.

2.       Heb 11:10 - He lived there in tents while he looked forward to the city founded, designed and built by God.

3.       Rv 21:2- I saw the holy city, and the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of the heaven, as beautiful as a bride all dressed for her husband^d  Footnote  ^d says “The new and joyful wedding of Jerusalem and her God has taken place, cf. Is 65:18; 61:10; 62:4-6; the Exodus ideal has at last been achieved, cf. Ho 2:16+.”

Verses 11, 12 and 13 say: It had all the radiant glory of God and glittered  like some precious jewel, diamond,  crystal clear. The walls of it were of a great height, with twelve gates; at each of the twelve gates there was an angel and over the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. On the east there were three gates on the north  three gates, on the south  three gates, and on the west three gates.

Parallel text for verse 11 is from Is 60:1-2 that says: Arise, shine out, for your light has come, the glory of Yahweh is rising on you,  (v. 1) though night still covers the earth and darkness the peoples. Above you Yahweh now rises and above you his glory appears.(v. 2).

Verses 14 and 22 say: The city walls stood on twelve foundation stones, each one of which bore the names of one of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. I saw there was no temple in the city,^m since the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb were themselves temple. Footnote  ^m says “The destruction of Jerusalem Temple symbolizes the end of the old covenant; there is now a new Temple, the Body of Christ, cf. Jh 2:19-21.”

Parallel text for verse 14 is from Ep 2:20 that says: You are part of a building that has the apostles and prophets,^s for its  foundations, and with Christ Jesus himself for its main cornerstone. Footnote  ^s says “The N.T. prophets, cf. 3:5; 4:11; Ac 11:27+, together with the apostles, are the witnesses to whom the divine plan was first revealed and who were the first to preach the Good News, cf. Lk 11:49; Mt 23:34; 10:41. This is why the Church as well as being founded on them.”

Verse 23 says: and the city did not need the sun or the moon for light, since it was lit by the radiant glory of God, and the Lamb was a lighted torch for it.

Parallel texts are:

1.       Is 60:1-2, 19-20 - Arise, shine out, for your light has come, the glory of Yahweh is rising on you,  (v. 1) though night still covers the earth and darkness the peoples. Above you Yahweh now rises and above you his glory appears. (v. 2).No more will the sun give you daylight, nor moonlight shine on you; but Yahweh will be your everlasting light, your God will be your splendor (v. 19) your sun will set no more nor your moon wane, but Yahweh will be your everlasting light, and your days of mourning will be ended (v. 20).

2.       2 Co 3:18 - And we, with our unveiled^d face reflecting like mirrors ^e the brightness of the Lord,^f all grow brighter and brighter as we are turned into the image^g that we reflect; this is the work of the Lord who is Spirit.  Footnote^d says “As that of Moses had been”: Footnote^e  says “Or ‘contemplating’; Footnote ^f says “The ‘brightness of the Lord’ is glory of Jesus, being ‘the glory on the face of Christ’, 4:6.”; and Footnote ^g says “The contemplation of God in Christ gives the Christian a likeness to God, Rm 8:29+, cf. 1 Jn 3:2”.

Jerusalem is the City of Peace. The Second Reading talks about the first Christian controversy in the first Christian church that disturbed the peace of the first Christians at Jerusalem.

Jerusalem, even today, is the center of contention for control between Palestinian Arabs and the state of Israel that peace is quite estranged in this city of Peace.

The Zionist Movement would like to restore the second temple that was destroyed by the Romans about the year 70 AD at Jerusalem. Is this happens, they believe that Israel’s take over will be complete and will bring back the peace in the New Jerusalem. What Christians believe is the peace of Christ that will take effect in the new Jerusalem that is heavenly-see Third Reading in Rev 21.

An article “Jerusalem: Center of Conflict, Center of Peace” by John Ross Schroeder at www.ucg.org says:

“Putting aside all the claims and counterclaims about the ownership of Jerusalem, what does the Bible say about this historic city? Who is its real owner, and what is its ultimate destiny? How will the city of almost continuous conflict become a city of enduring and everlasting peace? Let's examine the intriguing biblical story—past, present and future. Jerusalem has been synonymous with conflict, sieges, wars and battles almost from its very first mention in the Bible. It is now the capital of the state of Israel, whose very existence has been threatened by wars and conflicts with the surrounding nations. Today the Palestinians desperately want to take control of East Jerusalem—which includes the Temple Mount, the Western Wall and the old City of David.

Jerusalem is destined to become the glorious global capital city of peace and truth to which all countries on earth will look. Peace with justice will be administered to all peoples from Jerusalem…Yet these promises of God are absolutely sure! In faith the patriarch Abraham "waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God" (Hebrews:11:10). The Creator is the divine architect of the New Jerusalem. All men and women of faith have envisioned the fulfillment of God's promises, "having seen them afar off" (verse 13). They know that God "has prepared a city for them" (verse 16).

In His message to one of the seven churches of Revelation, Jesus Christ referred to "the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven" (Revelation:3:12). Then the dwelling place of God will be with spirit-transformed men and women in a transformed world (Revelation:21:3). Death, sorrow, pain and suffering will have passed into history as the ultimate new world order takes shape on a brand-new earth (verses 4-5).

In summary, this is the true message of the enduring presence of Jerusalem in the world. In spite of today's terrible conflicts, it remains a city like no other, one with an awesome future that is unique. This is one reason Jerusalem is mentioned some 850 times in the Bible. It is the symbolic cornerstone of crucial prophetic messages promising permanent peace to all of mankind— forever.”