A Pastoral Response to the Olympic Last Supper Sketch (Acts 4:23-31)

The world as we know it is against Jesus. Because of this, we might face hard questions, attacks, and more that challenge our faith. In today's episode, we answer the question: How Should Christians Respond to Bold Opposition?

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How Should Christians Respond to Bold Opposition? 

• Define bold opposition: enemies of God, the cross
• Threats against our values, the truth of the Bible
• Olympic ceremony's 'Last Supper' sketch
• The segment… resembled the biblical scene of Jesus Christ and his apostles sharing a last meal before crucifixion and featured drag queens, a transgender model and a naked singer
• Hugo Bardin, whose drag queen character Paloma took part in the tableau, was disappointed Paris 2024 had felt compelled to apologise. "An apology means recognising a mistake, recognising that you deliberately did something to harm, which was not the case," Bardin said. "What bothers people isn’t that we're reproducing this painting," Bardin continued, "what bothers people is that queer people are reproducing it."
• Other examples in recent years:
• Andres Serrano's Piss Christ (1987): controversial photograph depicting a crucifix submerged in urine
• Authors like Richard Dawkins [The God Delusion (2006)] and Christopher Hitchens [God Is Not Great (2007)] 
• Comedians like George Carlin and Bill Maher 
• Criticism of Christian stances on social issues (such as LGBTQ+ rights, abortion, and contraception) has often been accompanied by mockery, portraying Christians as outdated or intolerant.
• Philippians 3:18-19 (NLT) 18 For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth.
• Bold enemies of the cross. Getting bolder every year. This makes me mad. How should we respond to this?
• We are told to be tolerant, inclusive, kind - yet we are mocked for our belief in Biblical values and our desire to follow Jesus
• Many Christians want to curse them: pray for their destruction, call down God’s judgment like James and John did in Luke 9
• Summarize story: Luke 9:51-54 (NLT) 51 As the time drew near for him to ascend to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. 52 He sent messengers ahead to a Samaritan village to prepare for his arrival. 53 But the people of the village did not welcome Jesus because he was on his way to Jerusalem. 54 When James and John saw this, they said to Jesus, “Lord, should we call down fire from heaven to burn them up?” 
• They thought this was God’s MO
• (Pillar New Testament Commentary) This flagrant image appeals to the precedent of Elijah, who called down fire to destroy companies of soldiers sent to him by King Ahaziah of Israel (2 Kgs 1:10, 12)

Trans: And Elijah wasn’t the only one who called for God’s judgment… 

The OT example

Hezekiah (2 Kings 18-19)

• Backstory: Assyria, the world power at the time, attacked powerless Israel during the reign of King Hezekiah. 
• Assyria’s King Sennacherib taunted Hezekiah
• The odds were stacked against Israel
• Hezekiah was one of the few good kings
• 2 Kings 18:5-6 (NLT) 5 Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before or after his time. 6 He remained faithful to the LORD in everything, and he carefully obeyed all the commands the LORD had given Moses.
• 2 Kings 19:10-11 (NLT) 10 “This message is for King Hezekiah of Judah. Don’t let your God, in whom you trust, deceive you with promises that Jerusalem will not be captured by the king of Assyria. 11 You know perfectly well what the kings of Assyria have done wherever they have gone. They have completely destroyed everyone who stood in their way! Why should you be any different?”
• 2 Kings 19:15-16 (NLT) And Hezekiah prayed this prayer before the LORD: “O LORD, God of Israel, you are enthroned between the mighty cherubim! You alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You alone created the heavens and the earth. 16 Bend down, O LORD, and listen! Open your eyes, O LORD, and see! Listen to Sennacherib’s words of defiance against the living God.”
• 2 Kings 19:19 (NLT) “Now, O LORD our God, rescue us from his power; then all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you alone, O LORD, are God.”
• Note: He prayed for deliverance
• 2 Kings 19:35 (NLT) That night the angel of the LORD went out to the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. When the surviving Assyrians woke up the next morning, they found corpses everywhere. 

Trans: This was the OT way. Seemed approved by God. But then Jesus showed up, and things started to change…

Jesus’ Teaching

Famous sermon on the Mount, packed with new interpretations:

Matthew 5:43-45 (NLT) 43 “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. 44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! 45 In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.”

• Notice the quotes there: only “love your neighbor” has them
• That’s because it’s the only biblical part! 
• Scripture doesn’t teach “hate your enemy” - that was a teaching of the religious leaders, an addition
• Basically the same religious leaders who had killed Jesus and were now persecuting his followers
• The ones who called themselves “children of the Father”
• Yet Jesus is saying the true children act differently
• They love their enemies and pray for them!?

Trans: Jesus taught this kind of stuff all the time. Was it just hyperbole? Was he just trying to make a point?

• Actually, no. This is how he wanted his followers to live. Acts 4 was their first test after his ascension….

The Believers’ Prayer

Acts 4:23 (NLT) 23 As soon as they were freed, Peter and John returned to the other believers and told them what the leading priests and elders had said.

• First opportunity to respond to persecution
• Similar to the Hezekiah situation; leaders rejecting God

Acts 4:24 (NLT) 24 When they heard the report, all the believers lifted their voices together in prayer to God: “O Sovereign Lord, Creator of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—”

• Reminiscent of how Hezekiah started his prayer
• Trusted in God’s sovereignty, God’s planning behind it all
• He’s big; his enemies are small
• Just exactly how I feel about the Olympic drag queens

Acts 4:25-26 (NLT) 25 you spoke long ago by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor David, your servant, saying, ‘Why were the nations so angry? Why did they waste their time with futile plans? 26 The kings of the earth prepared for battle; the rulers gathered together against the LORD and against his Messiah.’

• This is a quote from Ps 2
• (Expositor's Bible Commentary: Abridged Edition (2 Volumes)) Sometime just prior to the Christian period, Ps 2 was beginning to be used within some Jewish circles as a messianic psalm, and the early Jewish Christians knew of this usage, approved it, and applied it to Jesus
• “Gathered together” - 
• That’s what it feels like today - the whole world has lost it’s mind and has become an enemy of Christ
• This is why we need to gather together with other believers! We need community if we are to stand firm against the enemies of the cross

Acts 4:27-28 (NLT) 27 “In fact, this has happened here in this very city! For Herod Antipas, Pontius Pilate the governor, the Gentiles, and the people of Israel were all united against Jesus, your holy servant, whom you anointed. 28 But everything they did was determined beforehand according to your will.”

• Incredible (and offensive) understanding of Ps 2
• “The kings of the earth” = Herod + Pilate
• “The Messiah” = Jesus
• (Pillar New Testament Commentary) The surprising fulfillment of the psalm is that Herod and the people of Israel aligned themselves with foreign nations and their rulers in opposing the Lord and his Anointed One
• Again, notice their understanding of God’s sovereignty

And here’s the payoff, the answer to our question…

Acts 4:29-31 (NLT) 29 “And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. 30 Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31 After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.

• They didn’t pray for deliverance from enemies or judgment on enemies
• Prayed for boldness to preach the word
• Preach it to each other
• The “preached the word of God with boldness”
• But no one else was there
• It’s almost like they were practicing on each other
• Men’s group: how encouraging is it to hear the truth plainly and boldly spoken
• Podcasts as well, including men’s podcast
• Preach it to your kids at home 
• talk about our biblical values clearly and boldly - but with love toward the enemies of Christ
• Preach it to the world
• Don’t be afraid to open your mouth, even though you might be mocked or shamed
• But do it in love, and remember that it’s not your job to save anyone

Close

Back to James and John’s request…

Luke 9:54-56 When James and John saw this, they said to Jesus, “Lord, should we call down fire from heaven to burn them up?” 55 But Jesus turned and rebuked them. 56 So they went on to another village.

• But Jesus rebuked them
• (Pillar New Testament Commentary) The word for “rebuke” (Gk. epitiman) is intense, usually reserved for the rebuke and exorcism of demonic forces.
• Then they just moved on.
• To the next village, the next group to hear the gospel

Q. How Should Christians Respond to Bold Opposition?  

• A: Share the truth in love and boldness, and pray that God would open their eyes to it. 
• Go on to another village if they don’t.