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To: mdmathis6
I was talking about what is written ABOUT Peter. He is easily the most prominent of the Twelve in the Gospels and, of course, in Acts, he is the leading "character" in the first half of the book. Since I first read Acts, by the way, I always wonder why the story ends so abruptly. It leaves one wondering about "the rest of the story."
157 posted on 01/20/2003 8:19:00 PM PST by RobbyS
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To: RobbyS
There was a change in focus..what Jews could be reached had been reached, the rest remained resistent to the Gospel; the physician Luke wrote the book, and he ends up Traveling with Paul(who had been Saul), spreading the light of God's word to the Gentile nations, thus it stops being about the Jewish Apostles in Palestine, and instead it becomes about Paul. Peter himself had had a Dream about being exhorted to eat "unclean" foods 3 times each time being told, "That which is called clean, let no man call unclean!", symbolizing that God was wanting the Jewish Christians to expand their ministries beyond the Jews to include the gentiles as well.(You see the first major controversy was whether or not Gentiles should share in the same faith as the converted Jews) After the dream, of course as you read, a representative came to Peter, from a noted centurian Cornelius, Peter went to his house, witnessed and Cornelius was saved, the Holy Spirt falling on them all...Peter knew then that the gospel was meant for all men, not just the Jews. Paul was the first major missionary to the Gentiles("to the Jew first...then the Greek"), that's why Peter suddenly diminishes in stature. The scriptures later record that that Paul, later returns to Jerusalem to deal with ongoing problems in the relationship between Jews and Gentile believers(the circumcision issue and the reluctance of Jews to associate with gentiles) and Paul "upbrades" the Apostles(Peter, et al), re-minding them not to place the shackles of the law on the Gentiles, when the Jews them-selves couldn't live under the law, that all were to live by faith under God's grace. Paul and Barnabus get into a fuss, and separate(over John Mark who had back-slid for a while and Paul didn't want to take him) going on separate missionary journeys. Paul makes the declaration to the Jews,"Hence-forth, I will go unto the Gentiles!"
158 posted on 01/20/2003 9:13:34 PM PST by mdmathis6
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