More than red letters

How would you like to have 40 days of post resurrection teaching about the Kingdom from Jesus himself? Just you and a few friends. 40 days. What insights would you gain? What teaching could you image having, what questions answered?

Acts 1:3 shows us that that is what the disciples had. We have no record of these conversations. This teaching was for them.

If your friend goes to a masterclass in massage, or spreadsheets for business, healthy eating, or a short intensive course in counselling, because you know what they have had, you listen. You know they have had some extra teaching that you don't know about. Think about this for a minute. There are some who try to limit all of our focus to the gospels, the red letters (if you have one of those Bibles) of Jesus. But is this wise?

Firstly, Jesus himself appointed the apostles to be the one's to spread the gospel. Jesus appointed Peter to be the main leader of the disciples. They spent three years with Jesus and saw every miracle (when we read 'Jesus healed them all' there were the disciples) heard all the teaching, in all the contexts (which they understood). They ate with him every day and likely most of the meals of the day. Jesus poured everything into them. He trained them directly. They knew more of the earthly life and ministry of Jesus that we will ever know.

After this he appointed them with a special role, then the special moment of Act 1:3 40 days of teaching all about the Kingdom which we have almost zero record of. A few snippets at the end of the gospels and a little bit in Acts. And that's it. A few minutes of material for us, 40 days for them.

When we limit ourselves to the red letters we make a fundamental mistake and even undermine exactly what Jesus was training and teaching the disciples for. To evangelise, teach and make disciples of you and me. If we ignore them and undermine them, we ignore and undermine the purposes of Christ himself.

If I sent someone to you to bring you a message from me, to speak on my behalf, you insult me by ignoring them. Even more so if I had trained them for years, invested in them, poured into them. The disciples had special access to Christ, his teaching and ministry. They were his unique chosen apostles and they had special post resurrection teaching and Christ appointed task.

Paul was included in this when Jesus called him to be his chosen vessel to preach to the gentiles. Paul was intimately linked to the original disciples. Peter, John and Matthew are all significant writers of the New Testament. Also, in the book of Acts, we have a significant proportion of this book primarily following Peter and his early church leadership and teaching.

My point is:

if we only focus on the teaching in the gospels, the red letters of Christ, we miss further teachings of Christ which we only have access to via the rest of the New Testament.

These unique apostles had profoundly more insight into Christ and experience of his teaching of his earthly ministry. their role was so significant in fact that the early church devoted themselves to the apostles teaching (Acts 2:42). They didn't have a written New Testament at that point, but we do.

If we are to show the same early church level of commitment to those people appointed by Jesus himself, then it clearly means we are to devote ourselves to reading, studying and seeking to understand the whole New Testament for this consists of the teaching of the apostles. Those people who, remember, were uniquely taught, trained and appointed by Christ himself.

In order to honour and respect Christ himself we need to be more than red letter Christians, or limit ourselves to only portions of the New Testament. Dismissing people like Paul or Peter or John, is to dismiss the very people who Christ appointed for laying the foundation. Jesus was the chief cornerstone, the early church consisting of the apostles and prophets who wrote the New Testament, laid the foundation (Ephesians 2:19-22). Dismissing them, dismisses Christ. If you want to be an empowered Christian, honour those who Christ appointed to lay the foundations of your faith, to give you a sure, secure and strong foundation.