After the ascension of the Lord to heaven and the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost the church of God began to increase rapidly. Initially there was a concentration of Christians in Jerusalem, but the gospel spread further and further afield.
The main leadership in Jerusalem in those early days was in the hands of Peter and John, especially as James was one of the early martyrs for the faith. These two disciples gave spiritual direction to the work and exercised a long and fruitful ministry for the Lord. Peter tended to be more in the limelight, but John outlived his colleague and contributed five New Testament books.
John was involved with all that took place in the early church in Jerusalem. He was in the upper room when the gift of the Holy Spirit descended and they all began to speak in tongues. Also, he witnessed the mighty work of saving power that drew three thousand souls to Christ on that wonderful day.
John was present when the lame man was healed in ‘the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful’. The Lord performed that miracle through His servants and though Peter took the lead, John was part of that work, as our reading indicates, ‘And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us’.
Together with the other apostles, John demonstrated God- given courage, to face up to the most severe persecution and threats from the authorities in Jerusalem. He fully recognized the fact that it is much more important ‘to obey God rather than men’ and was part of the group of rejoicing believers who were ‘counted worthy to suffer shame for his name’. Maybe we need to exercise a similar commitment to the Lord, regardless of any negative consequences we might experience.
John was one of the first church leaders to show publicly that the gospel accepts both Jews and non-Jews. He recognized that the church was to be made up of both Jews and Gentiles and willingly preached and ministered the Holy Spirit to the Samaritans – this was in marked contrast to his hostility some years before, Luke 9. 52-56. He was also part of the group of church leaders who supported Paul in his mission to the Gentiles, Gal. 2. 9. John was an outstanding church leader.
