Luke narrates the story of the resurrection community in the book of Acts. These disciples had just received a charge from Jesus to take the good news of His kingdom to the world. To equip them for this reality, they would soon receive the Holy Spirit and be formed into the body of Christ, the church. Two words in the Greek which characterized this band of disciples are homothumadon and prothumadon: usually translated as “of one accord,” “one mind,” or “together.”
They were of one accord as they waited for the gift of the Spirit. They were together as they sought to understand and obey God’s Word, as they prayed, and as they broke bread together in their homes. They were of one mind as they endured persecution and as they praised God for his presence and deliverance.
Both homothumadon and prothumadon refer to a predisposition toward passion and loyalty. It is defined as a hard-breathing fierceness and indignation. It had the energy of anger, but without the anger. It was a surging emotion without violence. Something was burning and drawing them together in mind and Spirit.
It is a not whipping-up of enthusiasm for Jesus. It is not contrived. “It is the passion of a consensual, unanimous response to something that God is doing.” We follow, obey, believe, worship, and then thumadon.
[stextbox id=”info”]The recent series of blogs come directly from the lesson preparation and class participation of our weekly gatherings called “Reversed Thunder.” Join us each week until November 13th or view the video archives by clicking HERE.[/stextbox]