PEOPLE OF COLOR

PART 2 

ACTS 17:24-26 

          Last year for Black History month we took a walk through the Old Testament looking at people of color.  We talked about the origin of the races explaining that they resulted from the three sons of Noah, Japheth, Shem and Ham (Gen. 6:9-10).   At that time we said that Japheth which means bright or fair was the father of the Caucasian and Indo-European races.  We said that Shem which means dusky or olive colored was the father of the Semitic and Arab races.  That left Ham which means dark or black to be the father of the Black, Indian and Mongoloid races.   This then means that in order to study people of color in the Bible we must look at the descendents of Ham.  We also looked at the regions populated by Ham and his descendents and the nations of people they either mothered or fathered.  Finally we end last year with three women of color who are listed in the lineage of Jesus in Matthew and Luke. 

At that time we mentioned very little about the influence of people of color on Christianity and the spread of the Gospel.  Today I would like to mention a few New Testament believers who were people of color. 

Mark 15:21

          Simon was from Cyrene.  The people of Cyrene were African people who live in what is now Libya.  Cyrene, on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa, was the chief city of a region then known as Cyrenaica.   Though this region is heavily populated with Arabs today, in Bible days it was populated with African descendents of Phut, the third son of Ham.  The Arabs did not begin moving into this region until the 7^th century A. D., about 600 years after the Bible was finished.  Also keep in mind that the Arab people were descendents of Abraham through Ishmael.  But Ishmael’s mother was not Sarah.  His mother was Hagar, Sarah’s Egyptian slave.

          The way that Mark is written makes one feel that Simon was a slave who was forced to carry the cross because he just happened to be strolling by.  Or perhaps we thought that he was the slave of someone else who was in the crowd.  Let’s investigate the question of why Simon of Cyrene was even there.

          First how does Mark describe Simon?  To distinguish him from others like Simon Peter, Mark says he is the father of Alexander and Rufus.  Commentators agree that they way these two names are just mentioned implies that they may have been well known in the community.  Many believe that Simon was a Jewish proselyte who had come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover.  A proselyte is a Gentile who signified his wish to convert to Judaism by being circumcised, and offering sacrifices in the temple.

ACTS 2:5-10

          Once again we see masses of Jews and Proselytes gathered in Jerusalem.  Though the Holy Ghost fell on this day, these people are not here with the purpose of receiving the Holy Ghost.  They are here because it is a Jewish holiday and they have come to Jerusalem to celebrate.  Among the masses are Jews and proselytes from many nations, one of which is Libya and specifically Cyrene.

          As Jesus drug the cross through the streets of Jerusalem, there were many Jews and Jewish proselytes lining the streets.  Simon and his sons were among the masses.  Many in the masses were Jewish followers of Christ.  They were following Jesus to Golgotha.  Some angry, some weeping, some walking with bowed heads, hurting for Jesus and the pain he was suffering.  The fact that Simons sons appear to be well know to the Christians leads some to believe that Simon and his sons where among the masses of believers who were following their savior to his death.

          We know nothing else of Simon of Cyrene.  But what do we know about his sons, Alexander and Rufus?  

ROMANS 16:13

          Among the list of fellow workers in the Gospel, Paul sends greetings to Rufus.  Paul calls him “chosen in the Lord”.  We do not know what part of the ministry of the Gospel Rufus was involved in.  But we do know that Paul recognized his work in spreading the gospel and greeted him as a fellow laborer in Christ. 

ACTS 19:32-34

          This is an event that happened when Paul and some other ministers of the Gospel were in Ephesus.  The idol makers of Ephesus wanted to force Paul and the other preachers out of Ephesus because they preached against idol gods.  When these preachers pushed Alexander out to talk to the mob, it was not because he looked like the other preachers.  They though that Alexander may be able to quiet the crowd and get them to listen because he was different.  However, when Alexander opened his mouth and began to talk, the people recognized that he sounded just like the people he was with and they didn’t want to hear what he had to say.  (Example:  Mykal with white friends in South Raleigh)  So Alexander, like his brother worked with Paul in spreading the gospel. 

ACTS 13:1-3

          Here we see Lucius of Cyrene listed among the prophets and teachers at Antioch.  Lucius was there to lay hands on Paul and Barnabas and commission them for the ministry appointed to them by God.  In the closing remarks of Romans, Paul greets Lucius as a fellow worker.

          Also in Acts 13:1, we see Simon called Niger listed among the prophets and teachers.  Niger means black.  This Simon was a man of dark complexion.  Some speculate that this might be Simon of Cyrene, maybe, maybe not.  However, the description given implies that he is a man of color. 

ACTS 11:19-21

          After the stoning of Stephen, when Christians were being harshly persecuted men from Cyrene and Cyprus traveled to Phenice, Cyprus and Antioch preaching the Word of God.  Many people got saved in Antioch as a result of their preaching. 

ACTS 8:26-39

          The fact that this man is reading Isaiah implies that he also might be a Jewish proselyte returning home after a period of worship.  This man was a high ranking government official in the court of Queen Candace of Ethiopia.  Philip led this man to Christ.  We can only wonder how many in Ethiopia came to Christ as a result of this man’s testimony.

These are Biblical examples of the work of people of color in spreading the gospel.  As with all races, our total influence is not written in the Bible.  Though our American history books have gone to great deception to keep us ignorant of our impact  on the world and our influence in moving the world forward, books are now surfacing that speak of our contributions in all areas of life.  Here are a few examples of writing that are now being recorded.  In most cases the people talked about are believed to be people of color because the dominant race in their homelands, were people of color.

Perpetua and Feliciti

          These two women were from Carthage, a city of North Western Africa on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in a region called Numidia then, but is now Tunisia.  One of these women was wealthy and the other was her servant.  These women were fed to the lions and wild beast for refusing to denounce Christ and worship Roman gods.  When thrown in the arena with the lions, the lions and beast would not kill them.  They were then order to be beheaded.  To the Catholics these women are St. Perpetua and Saint Feliciti. 

Maurice

          Maurice, an African general in the Roman Army, and his 6000 men were sent to a place called Aganaum which is in present day Switzerland.  He was ordered by the Roman Emperor Maximian to stop a rebellion.  When Maurice arrived he found the rebels to be Christians objecting to Emperor Maximian’s persecution of their fellow Christians.  Maurice refused to kill these rebelling Christians because he and his men were Christians.  Maximian sent another army to Aganaum and killed Maurice and all of his soldiers.  To the Catholics he is Saint Maurice.  The highest civilian medal in Italy called the Sardinian Order of St. Maurice is named after him.

          There were 3 Popes of the Roman Catholic Church who were believed to be people of color.

Victor (A.D. 189-199)

          During his reign a conflict arose over the true date of Easter.  The Asiatic churches celebrated Easter on the 14^th day after the Vernal Equinox, no matter on which day it fell.  Victor decided that Easter would be celebrated on the Sunday after the 14^th day of the Vernal Equinox.

Militiades (A. D. 311-314)

          It was Militiades’ reign as pope that all persecutions of Christians by Romans stopped.  In 313 A.D. this pope received a grant from the emperor giving freedom of religion to all.

Gelasius (492-496)

          Gelasius was born in Rome of African parents.  As pope he ordered that the revenue of the church should be divided into 4 parts: one for the bishops, one for the clergy, one for the poor and one to support the church and its services.  He settled the dispute over the use of real wine for communion.  He did away with Catholic participation in the pagan festival of Lupercalia.  This was a ceremony where men and boys beat women with thongs of goatskins supposedly to insure the woman’s fertility.

          There are many who came from Carthage, Egypt and other regions of North Africa who have served as Bishops or have been deemed saints of the Roman Catholic Church.

          In studying people of color in both the Old and New Testaments and in early church history we show that as a race we were not 1) left out of the Bible and thus out of God’s plan, and 2) introduced to Christianity by our White slave masters.  In fact just the opposite is true.  As a people we have a long history with God, our roots going back to Ham.  We were represented in the lineage of Jesus through Tamar, Bathsheba, and Rahab all Canaanite women who bore sons in the line of Jesus.  We were among the masses lining the street and mourning as Jesus walked to Calvary.  We were among the prophets and teachers sharing the gospel at the dawn of Christianity.  And yes we too were fed to lions, massacred and martyred refusing to deny Christ as our savior.  As a people we have a history with God and a long standing relationship with Christ.  As false teachings now seek to rob us of our history and Christian heritage, we who are Christians of color must as individuals teach the truth.  As many now say of Jesus that he is a White man’s God, we who are Christians of color must loudly proclaim him to be a God of all people.  For He is the one true savior of the world.