Mark's Story: The Gospel According to Peter Read online

  “Of course it was! I—”

  “And after the parcel was sold, was not the profit in your personal control?”

  “Certainly!”

  “Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”

  Ananias dropped to the floor and died.

  Terror seemed to sweep the room as Mark and Joses (now called Barnabas) enlisted other young men to help them wrap the body and carry it out to be buried.

  About three hours later, Ananias’s wife trotted up the stairs, asking Mark in passing, “Is my husband here?”

  Mark froze, and before he could answer, Peter lifted the money her husband had donated and said, “Sapphira, tell me, is this the amount for which you sold the land?”

  “Yes,” she said, looking puzzled. “Exactly.”

  Peter said, “How is it that you and your husband have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, those who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.”

  Immediately she fell at his feet and breathed her last.

  Great fear came upon the church and all those who heard about this.

  Meanwhile, the apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people every day in Solomon’s Porch—healing the lame and the deaf and blind, indeed doing, as Jesus had prophesied, greater things even than He had done. The welcoming of new believers suddenly stopped, however, as it seemed everyone—though they respected the Christ followers—was scared of what the authorities might do. Still, multitudes of both men and women brought the sick out into the streets on beds and couches, many saying they hoped that even the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on them.

  Barnabas began working more closely with the disciples, and Mark was proud of his cousin—though in his heart of hearts had to admit he was envious. He felt privileged to be a close friend of Peter, but the chief disciple had become so busy that it seemed Barnabas got more time with him than Mark did. Barnabas helped keep order when a multitude gathered from the cities surrounding Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those tormented by unclean spirits. Every one of them was healed.

  Finally the day came when the high priest and the Sadducees had had enough. They rose up, filled with indignation, and threw the apostles in prison. Barnabas barely avoided arrest, and he and Mark ran back to the upper room, where Mark’s mother and many of the other believers prayed fervently for the imprisoned.

  In the morning word came that Peter and John and the others were teaching again at the temple! How had they gotten out of prison? Mark and Barnabas ran the whole way, only to find that the disciples reported that in the middle of the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, telling them, “Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of life.”

  Even as Mark stood there, mouth agape, word came that the high priest and those with him had called together the council and all the elders of the children of Israel, and had sent notice to the prison to have the disciples brought before them. But the officers returned and reported, “We found the prison shut securely and the guards standing before the doors, but we found no one inside!”

  The high priest, the captain of the temple, and the chief priests huddled, apparently trying to decide what to do, when someone came and told them, “The men you put in prison are in the temple teaching the people!”

  As the officers approached, Mark heard the captain command his charges to avoid violence, “unless you want the crowds to stone us.”

  Peter and John kept the peace, surrendering to the guards and keeping the people quiet. And when they had been brought before the council, the high priest said, “Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s blood on us!”

  Mark had to fight to keep from shouting and cheering when Peter stood and said, “We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. We are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

  The council glared and reddened, and the high priest rose and shook his fist in the faces of the disciples. “You are bringing about your own deaths!”

  But one from the council stood, the Pharisee Gamaliel, whom Mark recognized as Barnabas’s former teacher of the law. He was held in wide respect. “I suggest we excuse these men for a moment while we deliberate further on this matter.”

  The disciples were held under guard outside, but Mark found a place where he could hear the discussion. Gamaliel said, “Men of Israel, take heed what you intend to do regarding these men. For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody. A number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was slain, and all who obeyed him were scattered and came to nothing. After this man, Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of the census and drew away many people after him. He also perished, and all who obeyed him were dispersed. And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing; but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it—and you just may find yourselves fighting against God Himself.”

  The disciples were summoned back in, and the high priest ordered them savagely flogged thirty-nine times each. “I command you once again that you should never again speak in the name of Jesus!”

  Mark was shaken by the violence done to his friends, but when they left the presence of the council, he found them rejoicing! “Peter, how can you be happy after what has come to pass?”

  “I rejoice that we were counted worthy to suffer shame for Jesus’ name.”

  Daily in the temple, and in many homes, they continued to teach and preach Jesus as the Christ.

  IT WAS ONLY NATURAL that as the number of disciples was multiplying, conflict might arise among them. Mark found this hugely disappointing, but Barnabas reminded him, as Peter often had, that these were all mere men.

  There arose a complaint against the Hebrews among them by those who spoke Greek, because, they said, the widows among their number were being neglected in the daily distribution of food. Peter and the other eleven summoned the multitude of the disciples to the upper room, and Peter said, “It does not make sense that we should leave the preaching and teaching of the word of God in order to serve food. Therefore, brethren, we suggest that you select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. That way, it will fall to them to be certain everyone is fairly served, and we will be allowed to give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

  “I like that idea!” Barnabas said, and the entire body seemed pleased with it too.

  Mark was impressed that the first man they chose was Stephen, a man Barnabas had been telling him was full of faith and the Holy Spirit. They also selected a man named Philip, along with five others they set before the apostles. When the disciples had prayed for them, they laid hands on these seven and blessed them for the work upon which they were to embark.

  Immediately the word of God seemed to spread even more quickly, and the number of disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem. And Barnabas certainly proved right about Stephen. He was full of faith and power and performed great wonders and signs among the people.

  “He is a man of the Scriptures,” Barnabas said. “A devout and diligent student.”

  Soon, however, there arose some from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen (Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia), who seemed jealous of Stephen. Mark had heard him preach and saw that these Freedmen were not able to counter his wisdom or the Spirit by which he spoke. Soon they had induced people to start spreading rumors about him, saying, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.”

  It wasn’t long befo
re they stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes, and they seized Stephen and brought him before the council. Some swore testimony that he spoke “blasphemous words against this holy place and the law; we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses delivered to us.”

  Mark was impressed that not only did Stephen not appear frightened, but his countenance also appeared to glow, as if he had the face of an angel.

  The high priest demanded of him, “Are these things so?”

  Stephen stood respectfully and spoke calmly. “Brethren and fathers, listen: The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran, and said to him, ‘Get out of your country and from your relatives, and come to a land that I will show you.’ Then he came out of the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Haran. And from there, when his father was dead, He moved him to this land in which you now dwell. And God gave him no inheritance in it, not even enough to set his foot on. But even when Abraham had no child, God promised to give it to him for a possession, and to his descendants after him.

  “But God spoke in this way: that his descendants would dwell in a foreign land, and that they would be brought into bondage and oppressed four hundred years. ‘And the nation to whom they will be in bondage I will judge,’ said God, ‘and after that they shall come out and serve Me in this place.’ Then He gave him the covenant of circumcision; and so Abraham begot Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot the twelve patriarchs.”

  Barnabas seemed to gaze at Stephen with the same admiration and awe Mark felt at the man’s obvious command of history and the ancient Scriptures.

  Stephen continued, still in a conciliatory tone, “And the patriarchs, becoming envious, sold Joseph into Egypt. But God was with him and delivered him out of all his troubles, and gave him favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house.

  “Now a famine and great trouble came over all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers found no sustenance. But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first. And the second time Joseph was made known to his brothers, and Joseph’s family became known to the Pharaoh. Then Joseph sent and called his father Jacob and all his relatives to him, seventy-five people.

  “So Jacob went down to Egypt; and he died, he and our fathers. And they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham bought for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem.”

  This was a story Mark was familiar with from his studies, as were Barnabas and many among the multitude. Still, Stephen made it compelling, and Mark could only imagine that others were hearing it afresh as he was.

  “But when the time of the promise drew near which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt till another king arose, who did not know Joseph. This man dealt treacherously with our people, and oppressed our forefathers, making them expose their babies, so that they might not live.

  “At this time Moses was born, and was well pleasing to God; and he was brought up in his father’s house for three months. But when he was set out, Pharaoh’s daughter took him away and brought him up as her own son. And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds.

  “Now when he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel. And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended and avenged him who was oppressed, and struck down the Egyptian. For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand. And the next day he appeared to two of them as they were fighting, and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brethren; why do you wrong one another?’

  “But he who did his neighbor wrong pushed him away, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? Do you want to kill me as you did the Egyptian yesterday?’

  “Then, at this saying, Moses fled and became a dweller in the land of Midian, where he had two sons. And when forty years had passed, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire in a bush, in the wilderness of Mount Sinai.

  “When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight; and as he drew near to observe, the voice of the Lord came to him, saying, ‘I am the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and dared not look. ‘Then the Lord said to him, “Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground. I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt; I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.” ’

  “This Moses whom they rejected, asking him, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ is the one God sent to be a ruler and a deliverer by the hand of the Angel who appeared to him in the bush. He brought them out, after he had shown wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness forty years.

  “This is that Moses who said to the children of Israel, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear.’”

  More than a mere recitation, this history lesson clearly was headed toward a meaningful conclusion. Stephen, Mark decided, had become a gifted teacher and preacher.

  “This is he who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the Angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, the one who received the living oracles to give to us, whom our fathers would not obey, but rejected. And in their hearts they turned back to Egypt, saying to Aaron, ‘Make us gods to go before us; as for this Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’

  “And they made a calf in those days, offered sacrifices to the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands. Then God turned and gave them up to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the Prophets:

  “‘Did you offer Me slaughtered animals and sacrifices during forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? You also took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, images which you made to worship; and I will carry you away beyond Babylon.’

  “Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as He appointed, instructing Moses to make it according to the pattern that he had seen, which our fathers, having received it in turn, also brought with Joshua into the land possessed by the Gentiles, whom God drove out before the face of our fathers until the days of David, who found favor before God and asked to find a dwelling for the God of Jacob. But Solomon built Him a house.

  “However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says:

  “‘Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. What house will you build for Me? says the Lord, or what is the place of My rest? Has My hand not made all these things?’”

  Suddenly the mild-mannered Stephen stared at his listeners and appeared stern. “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears!” he said. “You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it.”

  It became clear that those listening were sorely offended. They gnashed their teeth and shook their fists at Stephen. But his countenance appeared angelic again as he gazed into the sky. “Look!” he said, “I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”

  The crowd covered their ears, then charged him, grabbing him and dragging him out of the city. Mark and Barnabas could only run along behind in terror as the men slung off their cloaks and left them at the feet of a young man among them and found stones to throw.

  “Beware that man,” Barnabas said, pointing out the one watching the cloaks. “We were clas
smates under Gamaliel. His name is Saul, and he is a brilliant scholar and a hater of Christians.”

  The mob hurled their rocks at Stephen as he was calling out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” As he was driven to his knees by the blows, he cried with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And soon he was dead.

  ELEVEN

  Mark stared, speechless and terrified, at the still form of the beloved Stephen. Was this to become the price for being a bold follower of Jesus? Mark could not imagine fear as great as the day he saw the Master Himself put to death in the most gruesome Roman way. But to see an acquaintance, a beloved coworker, stoned to death before his very eyes, allowed him a glimpse of the fear Peter must have felt when Jesus was arrested.

  As Mark and his cousin stole away in silence, Barnabas pointed at Saul, who was smiling and clapping his compatriots on the back while helping them into their cloaks. A wiry little nondescript man. What kind of a monster was he?

  Peter assigned devout men to carry Stephen to his burial, where he was both eulogized and bitterly mourned. Mark wished he had gotten to know Stephen better. It was obvious he had endeared himself to the disciples, and had been a fearless warrior for the faith. His stoning ignited great persecution against the church at Jerusalem. Many of the new believers escaped throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, but the apostles remained.

  Though Saul had merely looked on as Stephen was stoned to death, he now seemed suddenly emboldened and began to wreak havoc. He led bands of marauders from door to door throughout Jerusalem, demanding to know whether Christ followers were within. All over the city he gained a name for himself among the rulers for hauling off men and women to prison.

  The disciples and Barnabas and Mark received word from many who had been scattered that they had gone everywhere preaching the word. Philip had departed to the city of Samaria and preached Christ. Apparently multitudes agreed with everything he said when they witnessed the miracles he performed. He cast unclean spirits out of many, and others who had been paralyzed and lame were healed. Peter said he had been told of great joy in that city.