Cities Filled With The Gospel

“And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, saying, 'We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.'” (Acts 5:27–28, ESV)

Typically Overlooked

This passage in Acts if very well known. Many people go to this passage regularly and quote Peter’s response to the leaders: “We must obey God rather than men.” (Acts 5:29, ESV). We love the boldness of Peter staring down the leaders of his day, and we focus there. 

Yet, as I came across this passage in my devotions, something else jumped out at me. When the high priest is bringing his sentence upon the disciples, he accuses them by saying, “you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching” (Acts 5:28, ESV). Take a moment to let that sink in. They had filled Jerusalem with their teaching about Jesus Christ. 

Let That Be Said of Us

As I read that, I put my Bible down and prayed, “Lord, may that be said of us.” Can you imagine if people in your community were accusing you of “filling the city with the teaching of Jesus Christ”? I imagined people saying, “All of Beaver Dam has been filled with your teaching about Jesus Christ!” 

Sure, they may say that as an attack or an accusation, but I would hear it as the fulfillment of the Great Commission. Remember, the Great Commission is to “make disciples” by going out into the world, baptizing and teaching. If we were faithfully going out with the gospel, teaching our communities about Jesus Christ to the point that someone accused us of “filling the city with our teaching,” that would be quite a compliment. 

How Did They Do It?

As I spent some time dreaming about this and praying about it, eventually a question came to my mind, “How do we do this?” Then another question came to mind, “How did the disciples do this?” We can find the answer to the second question a few verses later: “And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.” (Acts 5:42, ESV). That’s how the disciples filled Jerusalem with their teaching. They continued to faithfully preach and teach the gospel EVERY DAY in Jerusalem. They did it in public—at the temple—and in private—from house to house, and they kept on doing it day after day after day. 

How Do We Do It?

So, what about the answer to my first question, “How do we do this?” The answer to that question is going to vary based on our context. HOWEVER, the principles remain the same. 

If we want to see our cities filled with the teaching of Jesus Christ, we need to be faithfully teaching and preaching Jesus Christ EVERY DAY. It needs to become part of who we are and how we operate. It needs to become ingrained in the way we live and move and have our being. It needs to become such a part of our life that we are talking about it in public AND as we enter people’s homes.

Imagine The Impact

Take a moment to imagine the impact this would have on our communities—even from a small church of about 70-80 people. Of those 70-80 people, at least 50-60 of them will be adults living out their Christian faith in the world. Let’s say each of those 50-60 people encounter the same 3-4 people every day at work and 2-3 new people around town. In a month, those 50-60 people would heavily influence 150-240 people in their workplace and would influence an additional 300-540 people in the community. On the high end, that’s influencing 780 people per month with the gospel of Jesus Christ.  

With that kind of influence, it wouldn’t take long for people to accuse us of “filling the city with the teaching of Jesus Christ.” So, I encourage you to begin faithfully talking about Jesus Christ EVERY DAY as you go throughout your day—in public and in private.