Intro:
What does it mean to follow Jesus? And how do we do it together, as a community, as a church?
In the second chapter of Acts, there is a description that helps to answer that question, a description of what the very first followers of Jesus did together.
On the day of Pentecost - the day that the Holy Spirit comes - there are maybe 120 followers of Jesus in Jerusalem. But by the time the day ends, they are joined by three thousand more! So what comes next? What happens to all those people?
They form a community, that’s what. What we might call a church. And here is what they do together:
They get to know Jesus. And they learn about him from the very people who spent three years with him. These people are called apostles - a word that simply means “sent” - people chosen by Jesus himself to tell the world about him.
The apostles talk about what they saw Jesus do. And they talk about what they heard Jesus say. So that these new followers of Jesus will know how best to follow him.
Next, they get to know one another. They hang out together. Many of these new followers have come from different parts of the world. So they are strangers to that original group of 120, and strangers to each other. And that is probably also true of at least some of the new followers who were already living in Jerusalem.
Yes, it’s Jesus who binds them together, but what makes each of them unique still needs to be explored and understood. And maybe the best way to do that is to eat together. So that’s what they do, swapping stories over their daily meals. And probably also sharing in that simple supper of bread and wine that Jesus introduced to his first followers on the night before he died.
This eating together is more than just a religious exercise. It’s a matter of life and death. Many of these new followers of Jesus are far from home. So how do they survive? Everyone shares, that’s how. Those who have, sell what they have, so that those who need, get what they need. Simple as that!
Finally, they pray and go to the temple to worship, because getting to know God more fully is as important as getting to know one another. He is the One behind this newfound community of theirs, after all. He sent Jesus. He raised Jesus from the dead. He sent the Holy Spirit. So if this community is to be the community he created it to be, then these followers of Jesus need to stay close to God, to listen to Him, to be guided by Him.
And to be helped by him. Which is exactly what God does by giving the apostles the power to do amazing things - miracles of healing. Miracles that make the jaws of these new Jesus followers drop in wonder and awe. And miracles that amaze people outside of their community, too. People who are then drawn to that community, both by those miracles and by the care that this community of Jesus followers shows to one another.
And, as a result, the number of people following Jesus just keeps on growing.
Outro:
How much of what those first followers of Jesus did together applies to followers of Jesus today? Is there one thing that they did that stands out more than any other? What might that be? And is there anything they didn’t do that churches do today that you think is also important? Why do you think the focus of the passage is one what they did together and not individually? What would you say to someone who asked you what it means to follow Jesus?
