First Century C.E./A.D. Messianic Jewish Believers in the Messiah Yeshua (Jesus)
turned the world upside down. This is so potently portrayed in author Luke?s
18,374 words that the book has come to be known as The Acts of the Apostles
(Emissaries). Luke was a physician, a careful historian, and showed a deep
knowledge about Jewish laws and customs in the land of Israel and the Temple.
His recording of the Spirit-filled birth and explosive growth of Messianic
Judaism is divided in half: chapters 1-12 focus on Kefa (Peter) in Jewish
regions, while chapters 13-28 concern themselves with Sha?ul (Paul) in largely
Gentile regions. The known world of the First Century was not turned upside down
because Yeshua-followers all believed the same thing. The inclusion of Gentiles
in the plan of God and how both Jewish and Gentile Believers were to work out
questions of their identity and relationship to one another in a pagan world ?
with opposing claims from both Jewish and Roman leadership ? sparked much
debate, conflict, and controversy about faith and practice. Even amidst
imprisonments, rioting and personality conflicts, Dr. Luke details the influence
of Ruach Hakodesh (the Holy Spirit) in all of this. In short, the faith of these
early Yeshua-followers was demonstrated daily in tangible, practical ways. They
fed the hungry, healed the sick, clothed the naked, invited strangers into their
homes, visited prisoners, etc? Truly, when the world around them looked closely
at those who said they believed the claims to deity and of messiahship from an
obscure Jewish teacher from a backwater of the empire, their lives were
different.