Chapter 24: The Birth of the Church UNDERSTANDING THE SCRIPTURES.

Chapter 24: The Birthof the Church

UNDERSTANDING THE SCRIPTURES

ANTICIPATORY SET Read the first chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, which narrates the Ascension of Christ and the election of St. Matthias.

1. The Restoration of Israel (pp. 432–435)

BASIC QUESTIONS What final preparation did Christ give his disciples before his Ascension? What was the mission of the Apostles? What was St. Peter’s criterion for choosing a replacement for Judas?

KEY IDEAS Christ taught his disciples about the Kingdom of God during the forty days after his Resurrection. The disciples were not to know when Christ would restore the kingdom to Israel; instead, they received the Holy Spirit to bring Christ’s message to the world, beginning in Jerusalem. On St. Peter’s initiative, the Apostles, representing the Twelve Tribes of Israel, elected St. Matthias to replace Judas. St. Matthias was a disciple of Christ during his public ministry and an eyewitness of the Resurrection.


FOCUS QUESTIONS For what ministry did the Apostles spend forty days preparing? Their mission was to restore the Kingdom of David. Why did the Apostles remain in Jerusalem? Jerusalem was David’s capital city and the place the prophets promised would be the capital of the new Davidic kingdom. What was Christ’s answer to the Apostles when asked when he would restore the kingdom to Israel? Christ said it was not for them to know, but they would receive the power of the Holy Spirit and take Christ’s message to the whole world, beginning in Jerusalem.


GRAPHIC ORGANIZER Complete the following table according to the map “Judaism at the Time of Christ” (p. 433).



FOCUS QUESTIONS What does it mean to sit at the right hand of God? The right‑hand side of a king is a place of honor. It is the place promised to the Anointed One (cf. Ps 110). What is the order of the restoration of David’s kingdom? First it would be restored in Israel, then Samaria, and then the rest of the world. What was the criterion for choosing the successor of Judas? Judas’ replacement had to be someone who had been with Christ from his baptism until the Ascension so he could have been an eyewitness to the Resurrection.


GUIDED EXERCISE A focused reading of the paragraph “In Greek, the word...” (p. 435) using the following question: In the Church, what is the connection between the words office and bishop?


CLOSURE Write a paragraph explaining why St. Peter thought Judas’s replacement should have been.

“One of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us” (Acts 1:21–22).


HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT Study Questions 1–6 (p. 442) Practical Exercise 2 (p. 442) Workbook Questions 1–7 Read “Pentecost” through “What the Early Christian Community Was Like” (pp. 436–439)


ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT Work in groups of three or four to complete Practical Exercise 2.


ANTICIPATORY SET Review how it can be known St. Peter has primacy in the Church. Christ gave Simon a new name—Cephas, or Peter—meaning rock; he said he would build his Church on the rock of St. Peter. Christ said he would give St. Peter the power to bind and loose. Christ reaffirmed St. Peter’s primacy after the Resurrection when he told him to “feed my sheep.”

2. Pentecost and the Apostolic Church (pp. 436–439)

BASIC QUESTIONS What was the effect of the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles? What is the birthday of the Church? How did St. Peter exercise his office in the Church? Why was St. Stephen martyred? How did the first Christians worship?

KEY IDEAS On Pentecost, the Apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit; St. Peter preached to pilgrims in Jerusalem, converting some 3000 to Christ. Pentecost is the birthday of the Church, Christ’s instrument of salvation and communion. St. Peter showed his primacy by calling for a replacement for Judas, preaching at Pentecost, and representing the Church. The deacon St. Stephen delivered a courageous summary of Jewish history before the Sanhedrin and, accused of blasphemy, he became the first martyr; the Pharisee Saul led a persecution of early Christians across Israel. The first Christians worshiped in the synagogue on the Sabbath, and then they met privately to celebrate the Eucharist on the day of the Lord’s Resurrection.


GUIDED EXERCISE A think / pair / share using the following question: What relationship binds God with his people until the Second Coming of Christ?


FOCUS QUESTIONS What does Pentecost mean, and what did this Jewish festival celebrate? Pentecost comes from the Greek for fifty. Fifty days after Passover, the Jews celebrated the giving of the Law to Moses on Mt. Sinai. What two similes did St. Luke use to describe the descent of the Holy Spirit? There was a sound like the rush of a mighty wind and an appearance of tongues as of fire. How did Jews from the various nations react to the Apostles’ speaking in various languages? Some were amazed; others said they were drunk.


FOCUS QUESTIONS What did St. Peter inherit from Christ? He inherited Christ’s teaching authority. What powers did St. Peter and the Apostles also inherit? They inherited the powers to heal and to forgive sins. Who represented the Apostles before the Sanhedrin? St. Peter spoke for the Church.


GUIDED EXERCISE Work with a partner to summarize the Catechism, no. 553 (p. 443).


FOCUS QUESTIONS Who was St. Stephen? St. Stephen was a Greek and a convert to Christianity, one of the seven deacons appointed to do charitable works in the Church, and the first martyr of the Church. Why was St. Stephen accused of blasphemy? St. Stephen told of his vision of Jesus Christ at the right hand of God. Extension: This was blasphemous to Jews because St. Stephen was saying Jesus, whom the Sanhedrin had condemned to death, was God’s Messiah, or Christ. What was the effect of Saul’s persecution? It helped the Church to spread all over Judea and Samaria and as far as Damascus.


GUIDED EXERCISE A focused reading of the two paragraphs “When the people ask...” and “Already, less than two...” (p. 437) using the following question: How did the apostolic Church conduct herself?


FOCUS QUESTIONS How did the earliest Christians view themselves with respect to Judaism? They considered themselves Jews who had been entrusted with a special mission to spread the Good News of the Messiah. How did the earliest Christians worship? They worshiped at the synagogue every Sabbath and then celebrated the Eucharist privately in their homes on the Lord’s Day. What does it mean to say the synagogue and Temple are united in the Mass? The first part of the Mass, the Liturgy of the Word, is similar in structure and content to synagogue worship; the second part of the Mass, the Liturgy of the Eucharist, is derived from the Temple Liturgy of the thank‑offering and the Passover.


CLOSURE Write a paragraph summarizing Christ’s formation of the Apostles from the time of their calling until the descent of the Holy Spirit.


HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT Study Questions 7–16 (p. 442) Practical Exercises 1, 3 (p. 442) Workbook Questions 8–25


ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT Use a missal and the Catechism, no. 1345, to write a well‑organized paragraph comparing the present‑day Mass to the Liturgy described by St. Justin Martyr. Briefly share results.


The End

Chapter 24: The Birth of the Church UNDERSTANDING THE SCRIPTURES.

Documents

restoration of israel

ascension of christ

tribes of israel

time of christ

apostolic church

disciple of christ

christ reaffirmed

peter exercise