Jump Start # 1738

Acts 10:38 “You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”

Our verse today comes from Peter’s opening statements to Cornelius, the famous centurion who became the first Gentile convert to Christianity. And in a simple summation of the life of Christ Peter reveals that:

• God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit
• God worked power through Jesus
• God was with Jesus
• Jesus healed all who were oppressed by the devil
• Jesus went about doing good

What isn’t mentioned here in this verse, which is most important to the life of Christ, is that He died on the cross for our sins and was raised to reign forever in Heaven. That was still to come in Peter’s words. There is something simple yet very profound in the thought, “He went about doing good.”

First, Jesus went about. He wasn’t stationary. He didn’t have a headquarters and people made appointments to come to see Him. Jesus was in Jerusalem, but he was also in villages of Galilee. He traveled to Samaria. He was even in the Gentile regions beyond Tyre and Sidon. On the sea, on the hillside, in synagogues, in homes, in the Temple—reading the Gospels, we find our Lord on the move, often. He went about. He went to the people. He went to where they were. As news about Him spread, crowds gathered. They filled a house so full that four men carrying a crippled friend could not get in. The feeding of the multitudes numbered 5,000 men, not counting women and children. The number may have been upwards to 20,000 people fed. Seeing Jesus in a boat, along the shore, crowds raced to the place where he was headed. They lined the streets so thick, that little Zacchaeus, had to climb a tree just to get a glimpse of the passing Jesus. Luke reports that so many thousands gathered, that they were stepping on each other. It’s hard to imagine all the events in the Gospels from the beginning wedding in Cana to the cross in Calvary cover just three years. Three years isn’t very long. It takes longer to finish high school. He went about. He was busy. He did this without a personal secretary to keep his schedule straight. He did this without drivers, travel agents, and people who booked His next appearance. So often, on these journeys, as Jesus was traveling from place to the next, He healed people along the way. Even on the journey to Jerusalem, to be crucified, He healed the ten lepers.

Second, Jesus went about doing good. He left people better than He found them. For many, it was physical healings. The miracles proved that Jesus was the Christ, but for so many of the people, the miracles gave life back to the people. The crippled walked. The blind saw. The deaf could hear. The demons were cast out. The lepers were cured. The dead were raised. Incurable diseases. Conditions that had plagued some for decades were changed. The quality of life was made better for hundreds and hundreds of people. News about Him spread. The crowds that gathered were full of sick, crippled and demon possessed people. The audience looked more like an emergency waiting room, that the crowd at church. People did all that they could to get the attention of Jesus. Some stood as He passed by and shouted at Him. Some begged. Some fell at His feet pleading for Him to come and heal. Some were so desperate, that they tore up a roof and lowered a crippled friend down in front of Jesus. He did good. He was popular because of this very fact.

Peter probably wasn’t including this in his statement, but not only did Jesus do good, but He taught good. What He said was fresh, different and full of hope. He forgave. He showed prophecies fulfilled. He included the outcast and the forgotten. The hero of His stories were not war veterans, but Samaritans and faithful servants. His words lifted spirits. His words challenged and led to changed behavior. His words were personal and specific.

Not only did He do good, and teach good, but He, Himself, was good. He was perfect. He was without sin. The negative things said about Him, were made up. There was nothing negative that would stick. Jesus was good. He was the definition of good. He thought good of others. He illustrated good. Even when angry, He never crossed the line and did wrong. He never had to apologize. He never had to back down from something He said. He never spoke out of turn. He never cussed. He never gossiped. He never trashed anyone, even though many deserved it. He forgave His crucifers. He gave Peter chance after chance, when Peter’s little faith kept failing. Be like Jesus, is the theme of the N.T. Be holy as He is holy, found in Peter. Be imitators of Him, found in Corinthians. Be conformed to His image, found in Romans. The absolute perfect person is Jesus. He is good.

Third, the outcome of Jesus’s doing good, is that we have learned to become good. He didn’t just do good, He showed us how we can become good and in turn we do good to others. We can’t heal as He did, but we can teach, influence, show and lead people to Jesus. We are good because He was and is good. He has changed us. Gone are the self centered, stingy ways that we walked in. We no longer feel better than others. Christ has changed us. We find ourselves caring for others. We find ourselves being patient and kind with others. We rejoice with good news. We hate evil. We see the ugliness of sin. We stand for something and with those who love the Lord. We have become good because Jesus is good. We have learned to love, as He loved. We have learned to pursue unity instead of being a radical and a rebel. We have come to love truth and righteousness. Our language has changed. Our attitudes have gotten better. Our families have benefited. We have become trustworthy, honest and righteous. None of this would have been possible without Jesus. And now, we find ourselves, telling family and others, about this Jesus. He changed our lives for the better and we want the world to taste the goodness of God.

One simple statement, He went about doing good. If that is how we are remembered, we will have done well.

Roger