Sárospataki Füzetek 16. (2012)
2012 / 3-4. szám - TANULMÁNYOK
Jerusalem the Mother Churci í Immediately after the Ascension, had the time perhaps come for family reunions?13 If we continue this line of thought, verse 14 must be read as listing two separate groups: a. the disciples, mentioned by name, together with their wives (and families); b. Mary, the mother of Jesus, mentioned by name, together with his brothers and sisters. The physically absent Jesus, taken up into heavenly glory, brings these two core groups together. For both groups he forms the spiritual centre. The first group consists of his disciples and their immediate families; the second group is made up of his own immediate family: his mother, brothers and sisters. This, it should be noted, is the last reference to Mary in the New Testament. She receives a place of honour among those remaining in Jerusalem, but increasingly steps back into the shadow of her ascended Son, eventually disappearing from view altogether. In verse 14, Mary is recorded as the mother of Jesus. Her Son, physically absent, but explicitly present in the text through his mother, is the real central character of this account. It was he who had arranged for this meeting place; it was he who had commanded his followers to go back to Jerusalem, and to await there what was to happen next. Starting in verse 15, a larger group of disciples comes onto the scene. The text gives us no reason to think of a different location. Apparently, the meeting place is still the same house, but an upper room would not have provided enough space to accommodate them all. Might they have perhaps begun to use the whole house (cf. Acts 2:2)? Tuke relates how Peter began to speak, amid ‘the brothers’ (áJsAcjJOÍ in the Nestle-Aland edition, also the NIV and the ESV) or ‘the disciples’ (p.a0y]Tai, as in the Western Text and in the Majority Text). The former highlights their relationship to each other: this group belongs to a spiritual family. This is the first time they are referred to as such in Acts. The latter focuses on their relationship to Jesus: this group is a gathering of his followers. This would connect well with the language usage of Luke and Acts. One way or the other, this marks the first beginnings of a congregation in Jerusalem. As such, the reader is shown a fellowship including Jesus’ disciples, together with their families, along with all other disciples, in the broadest sense, both male and female. Verse 23 mentions two more by name: Joseph Barsabbas and Matthias. This situation is reflected in an expression found twice in Luke’s Gospel: ‘the Eleven and [all] those with them’ (Luke 24:9,33). 7. A communion of saints In Acts 9:31, the oldest manuscripts have ‘church’ (éxx.Xyj<TÍa) in the singular. This can be explained by the Greek expression that follows: xa.8’ cXyjc14; the ‘catholic’ 13 For the Western text of the book of Acts, see Josep Rius-Camps and Jenny Read-Heimerdinger, The Message of Acts in Codex Bezae. A Comparison with the Alexandrian Tradition. Volume 1: Acts 1.1-5.42: Jerusalem (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 2004). For comparison they point to Acts 21:5: Paul was being escorted by the Christians from Tyre, along with [their] wives and children. 14 In the NewTestament, the expression xafi’ 8A»]S is only used by Luke in his gospel (4:14; 8:39; 23:5) and in the Book of Acts (9:31,42; 10:37), and only here he connects it to the term éxxAr)cría. 2012/3-4 Sárospataki Füzetek 19
