Learning From History

Acts 13:13-43

Introduction

One of my favourite things is studying history. In another life, I could have seen myself as a history teacher rather than a pastor. I like history because it is interesting and often entertaining. But I love history because it is relevant to today.

Spanish philosopher George Santayana is credited with the aphorism, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” while British statesman Winston Churchill wrote, “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

My favourite quote on history is often attributed to Mark Twain, “History doesn’t repeat itself but it often rhymes.” There is a lot of truth in that.

But what if you are not as interested in history as I am? What if you just want to learn about the Bible? That is an interesting idea. Because when we turn to the Bible, we see a lot of history in it. Both the Old and New Testaments are filled with history, in fact many of the books belong to the genre of history. I have an interest in world religions and one of the things that I have noticed when I look at scriptures of other religions is that there is nothing comparable to the Bible when it comes to a focus on history. Other scriptures present spiritual truths and commands about how to live but do not include long historical narratives as found in the Bible.

I would go so far as to say that the God of the Bible is the God of history. With that in mind, we are going to look at this passage from Acts, a book that is also a book of history.

Paul’s History Lesson

The passage we are looking at is a transition point in Acts. We see two things. One is that Saul is now primarily going by the name Paul. The second is that Paul is no longer the junior partner to Barnabas but rather it is Paul who comes across as being the main spokesperson. 

As they came to a new city, Paul did what he would often do and that was to go into a synagogue. Christianity was still closely connected to Judaism and so it made sense to start there. They would have access to the Jews and to those Gentiles who were interested in the Jewish God. 

While visiting the synagogue, following the reading of the Law and the Prophets, Paul was invited to share any reflections he might have. If they thought they were only going to get a few sentences, they were wrong. Paul took them on a tour of Israelite history very similar to what Stephen had done at his trial. The message that Paul had for them did not begin at the cross. It was a part of a larger story of what God had been doing. He showed them some of the highs and lows of their own history and how Jesus fit into that. Even the death of Jesus was recent history and they were reminded of the decisions some Jews had made. 

These Jews were not just individuals sitting in a synagogue. They were people who were part of a larger history and Paul was asking them see themselves in that way and respond accordingly. This struck a chord with a number of people and they responded in a positive way.

Our History

So that history lesson worked for Paul. But so what? That was for the Jewish people, they had a long story that they had been part of. That’s not relevant to us. Or is it?

What are the stories that we belong to? Hopefully our primary identification is that of a Christian. So when does our story start? It starts long before the first English Baptists. It starts at Pentecost with the birth of the church and that is why we are spending so much time in Acts. But our story doesn’t end with Acts 28. We have two thousand years of church history. We can look at the Israelite history and be critical but the truth is that church history is just as checkered. Many of the crimes we condemn others for are the same crimes that the church has committed. We need to know our history.

We also have a story as people connected with Queen Street Baptist Church. Our story goes back to 1833, although we were not called Queen Street Baptist Church then and we were not located on Queen Street. We have gone through five names, numerous locations and two buildings on this property. We have gone through church splits and have started ministries that have helped transform our community.

As people living in Canada, we also have a story here, whether or not we were born here or are citizens. I love Canada and I would not want to live in another country but we also have a complicated history. We have recently been confronted with the injustice of the residential schools. However, our abuse of indigenous peoples goes far deeper than that. Like all stories, Canada has a complicated history of both good and bad.

Our Lessons

We could go through more stories that we are part of but these are enough. It is important for us to know our history, as Christians, as people of this congregation and as people in Canada. But it is not enough to just know it, we need to learn from it. That is what Paul did with the Jews. He did not give them new historical information, rather he helped them to reflect upon what they had already known. The way people learn is through trial and error. We need to look at our history and to learn from what was good and what was bad. What are the principles that we need to emulate? What are the mistakes that we need to avoid? What are the things that we need to celebrate? What are the things that we need to repent of?

Notice that when Paul took them through their story, he showed where Jesus fit in that story. If you imagine Jesus walking along a path, where are the points that our ancestors were walking with him and where were they far from him? 

Once we look at all that, what do we do with that information? How does it shape us Christians and Canadians? How does it shapes us members or adherents of Queen Street Baptist Church? It is not enough to gain knowledge of the past, we must learn from it so we can improve the future.

Conclusion

The Apostle Paul was given an incredible opportunity. He was asked to share a message in a synagogue. Being a Jewish teacher, this was perfect for him. He chose to use that opportunity to remind them of their story. Not just what had happened but how Jesus fit with that story. People listened and responded with faith.

We belong to a bigger story, in fact we belong to numerous bigger stories. Unlike the Jews, our religious and ethnic heritage is different. We may or may not know much of that story but it is worth investigating. You do not have to become a professional historian but it is important for us to know the basics. What had God been doing in our story then and what is he doing now? How does our story include Jesus? And in what ways do we have to change our current behaviour to get closer to Jesus?