I thought I’d start imitating the Wall Street Journal’s tradition of reprinting Vermont Royster’s Thanksgiving and Christmas essays every year: Here are links to some of my past postings that are particularly relevant at Pentecost.
The apostles’ teaching at Pentecost didn’t include a divine Jesus: No, the apostles taught that Jesus was the mashiach, or messiah. But what did "messiah" mean to the apostles? It meant "anointed one" (Greek: christos, related to the English word chrism), the anticipated heir to David’s throne who would conquer Israel’s oppressors and release the nation from bondage. "Messiah" certainly didn’t mean God; if it had, the apostles would have been quickly stoned for blasphemy, nor is it likely they would have converted as many people, including Temple priests, as quickly as Acts claims.
The other crucial thing the apostles taught at Pentecost was that Jesus the messiah would be returning Any Day Now. That teaching was one of the most important foundation stones of the infant church. But the apostles blew it; judged by the standards of Deut. 18.21-22, their prediction was a false prophecy.
None of this means we should scorn the church fathers; make no mistake. The apostles and their successors called it like they saw it. Many of them were willing to go to the cross, the stake, or the arena in service to their Teacher and their fellow man.
Recall Isaac Newton’s famous dictum that he had been able to see a little farther than his predecessors because he stood on the shoulders of giants. We likewise stand on the shoulders of the church fathers — but if we refuse to face the facts about where they went wrong, we may find ourselves looking in the wrong direction.
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