Distant Echoes

By Richard Esterline

Clearly, Paul was violating the long-established guidelines for receiving Gentiles into fellowship. The circumcision party had enough clout within the growing community of believers to necessitate a formal hearing with the apostles and elders in Jerusalem. They insisted that the writings of Moses were binding upon anyone who wished to have a relationship with one true God. The debate was lengthy, detailed, and heated. We can imagine what much of the discussion was since the disagreement spilled out beyond the confines of that momentous meeting. We are motivated to note those disagreements in much of Paul’s writings. Distant Echoes invites the reader to observe as the apostles and elders grappled with the issues. Even after an arduous effort, the decision letter published by the leaders was not universally accepted. The echoes of their debate continue to ripple through the Christian community today. The questions continue to be considered, and answers contested. In the final analysis, what does God require of us for sustaining our relationship with him? What standard do we use to come to a conclusion? If we are to include the Old and New Testaments as a guide for our Christian lifestyle, which parts do we accept as binding? What principle do we use to determine which portions to include or exclude? Are we willing to use the letter published in Jerusalem as our primary guide for acceptance of ourselves and others?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Jan 25, 2022
• ISBN: 9781638853527

Book preview

Crisis in Antioch

What is truth?—he thought it a legitimate question given their conversation, but it would have to wait. The carefully orchestrated cacophony outside required immediate attention. His brief exchange had convinced him that the man was not guilty of anything warranting his death. Viewing the crowd from the portico, he could see that the unemployed carpenter had stirred the wrong pot this time. It was abundantly clear that the seething mass was not interested in any truth from this man.

Certainly, some of the unruly mobs were no more than common rabble who could be convinced to riot for a flagon of wine, but mixed in the gaggle were men of a different sort. They were leaders, elders, priests, and judges, men of high station, some of whom had political connections in Rome. Why were they here so early in the morning of Passover? It was those faces that he scanned most carefully. They were in no mood for discussion. Their minds were made up. They were only seeking approval of their plans for a speedy execution. The deed needed to be finished before the Sabbath. Was this a properly conducted conviction or a conspiracy to rid the community of a perceived nuisance?

Pilate was met with a number of disturbances in Jerusalem during his ten-year tenure there. He seemed to be oblivious to the special needs of this devoutly religious community. He usually dispatched these challenges with brute force and was reported to be vindictive and quick-tempered. Also, the Jewish leaders did have him at somewhat of a disadvantage. His seeming disregard for the religious customs and sensitivities had provided plenty of fodder for them to complain to Rome. Their not-so-subtle threats to report to Rome did not go unnoticed. He was conflicted as to how to handle this situation.

Before this occasion, he had often signed numerous death warrants without much regard. After all, his primary subjects (the Jews) were not Romans. But as he contrasted what he saw in this man with the accusers, he was hesitant to give approval for the death penalty. He didn’t like the accusers, nor did he trust them. Nor was he completely ignorant of the carpenter’s reputation for kindness, compassion, and service to the general community. Jesus seemed to be more trustworthy and believable than they. His persona seemed to match his good reputation rather than that of some seditious zealot. So he made some attempts to bargain with them for the life of Jesus. Pilate also attempted avoidance in hopes that another court would make the pernicious decision, all to no avail.

How difficult it is to face the truth if it challenges our preconceived ideas. Aristotle once said, It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. However, even the educated mind can also become an impregnable vault in the face of challenges to its practiced discipline, present company included. Pride associated with the high stations of life is an intoxicating brew. Seeking the approbation of such will surely influence your understanding of the truth.

Pilate did not repeat his query about truth. Upon hearing the accusation that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God, he became more reluctant to pass judgment and sought to get some supportive evidence from him. Meeting with silence, it became clear that someone was going down that day, and he decided that it was not going to be him. That was the overriding truth. His decision was to save himself and his lofty position rather than to align himself with what he knew to be the truth: This man was innocent of the charges presented. The rest was history.

The resurrection of Jesus confirmed Pilate’s initial conviction regarding his innocence. His glowing report to Caesar quoted by the Ante-Nicene Fathers included the comment, I have perceived that the wonderful works by him are greater than can be done by the gods whom we worship. Because of his fears, he is now primarily known as the judge who condemned an innocent man to save his own life and still failed to accomplish his intentions. Tertulian was pleased with the report regarding Jesus and informed the senate, intending to have Jesus declared as a god. They declined to make such a declaration at that time, and the issue was tabled until Constantine’s leadership. While Pilate was not successful in his desire to retain his appointment, it remained to be seen if Jesus was completely successful with his intentions.

So what is truth? Pilate’s unanswered question was left hanging. Was Jesus beaten and crucified because he told the truth, or was he just a misguided visionary who crossed the wrong people? It could be argued that he was tried and convicted in accordance with the law regarding blasphemy. However, the evidence pointed to a number of violations of the law regarding the conducting of a capital case before the Sanhedrin. It could also be argued that he refused to offer any evidence to support his claim. When Jesus said to Pilate, Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice. Word association would probably have led the prefect to think of the correspondence theory of truth present at that time through the works of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Correspondence theories emphasize that true statements correspond to the actual state of affairs. Was he the Son of God? Which god?

Unfortunately for Jesus, the claim of having a kingdom, which was not of this world, could not be corroborated; but it did answer Pilate’s concern for the viability of his own position. Even Jesus’s parentage was a matter of doubt and gossip in some circles. It seemed reasonable that someone in authority should demand that some sign or evidence be provided like the prophets of old had given. Especially since the claims seemed to parallel the narrative of the idolaters worshipping Ishtar and Tammuz. What evidence could he provide? His impending death, burial, and resurrection was the only sign he was willing to offer, so they would be unable to verify his claims unless he was bodily resurrected from the dead.

While the ethical standards promoted by Jesus may be commendable, they were not the real test of his testimony. Even his consistent commitment to community service was not enough to mitigate the concerns of thinking people, considering his far-fetched claims. We may be impressed with his platform for government without being convinced that he was as he claimed. We could even decide to emulate all of his suggestions and ways without believing that he was equal to or, in actuality, the great I Am. His resurrection from the dead would be the only evidence powerful enough to equal those strange claims. Paul recognized this reality in his letter to the Corinthians, writing, And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty, and your faith is also empty. After his crucifixion, the chief priests and the Pharisees also were so concerned that they met with Pilate during High Sabbath hours and requested that he set a guard on the tomb to prevent the disciples of Jesus from taking the body away in order to fraudulently claim that he was resurrected from the dead.

Many of the disciples of Jesus were reported to have had contact with him after his resurrection. Bribes were delivered, and rumors were spread in attempts to discount the reports of his ambulation around Jerusalem, but many believed in spite of these efforts. With up to five hundred eyewitness accounts of seeing him alive, the narrative continued to spread. Jesus had been beaten, crucified, speared and confirmed as dead, laid in a tomb guarded by a contingency of Roman soldiers; rose from the dead on the third day; walked among witnesses, identified and handled by close friends; was confirmed alive; and ascended bodily into the heavens in view of a large group of followers. Additionally, it was reported that he had promised eternal life to those who believed.

With the departure of Jesus, the disciples were commissioned to share their testimony about him with the intention of inviting them to also become followers of Jesus. It did not take long for them to realize that differences of opinions, perspectives, and expectations afflict every group. These afflictions reached a boiling point in Antioch, which had become a major base of operations for the mission to the Gentiles. From a distance, we, with our own inclinations and presuppositions, review the remaining record to see if we can understand the challenges they faced and the conclusions they reached.

After the death of Alexander the Great, Seleucus I Nicator, one of his generals, named two of the cities he founded Antioch in honor of his father, Antiochus. We will be focused on Antioch in Syria, located on the southern bank of the Orontes River, about fifteen miles from the Mediterranean. From the founding of Antioch in about 300 BCE, the Jews were afforded equal privileges with the Greeks. Seleucus II and Antiochus IV brought in settlers, which included many Jews enlarging the city. By 64 BCE, it had become a prosperous city within the Roman Republic known as the Queen of the East, bustling with several hundred thousand people. Having become the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, they were basking in its political stature and wealth; and they loved to flaunt it.

With the main streets marble paved by Herod the Great and a hippodrome for chariot racing, seating eighty thousand, Antioch was well-known for its pursuit of pleasure and wealth. It would only take an hour to walk from Antioch to Daphne in order to attend the Olympics in their hippodrome. Moral purity would not be an epithet attached to Antioch and its suburb Daphne. One might say that this pair is where traditional conservative mores go to die. While the worship of the moon had been banned, Apollo and the goddess of fortune remained. The abundant good fortunes of this cosmopolitan city were used in dissipation, licentiousness, and ostentatiousness. At the peak of their high life, the spiritual forces were being drawn to Antioch like storm clouds to seven hundred millibars of atmospheric pressure.

Apparently, the worship of the Creator God had gained considerable respectability because there were reportedly two synagogues and a large number of Gentile proselytes. Among those proselytes were a considerable number of influential, politically connected women. A new dynamic was introduced after the stoning of Stephen. Many of the new Jewish Christians moved to Antioch to escape persecution in Jerusalem, taking the message of the resurrected Messiah with them. Their testimonies of faith and courage found resonance with many who were excited to learn that the long-awaited Messiah had arrived, been resurrected, and ascended to heaven, gifting the believers with the Holy Spirit as promised.

Evangelistic efforts were going well enough that the Christian leaders in Jerusalem sent Barnabas to Antioch to continue fanning the flames. Barnabas soon realized that he needed help and invited Paul to join him in his ministry within the community. They worked well enough together for a year that believers in Antioch were the first to be called Christians. Regardless of whether or not this was intended to be a compliment, news was making its way back to Jerusalem.

Upon hearing the distant echoes of liberties being extended to the Gentiles by Paul and Barnabas, a group of missionary-minded Jewish followers of Jesus traveled from Judea intent on instructing the