Snot Rags That Heal: The Gap Between my Life and the Strangeness of the New Testament

There are strange stories in the New Testament. Sometimes, when I come across them, I am almost surprised. For instance, there is one situation that arises when a guy named Agibus takes off his belt and ties it around Paul’s ankles and hands to let Paul know of a coming imprisonment. There is another story about Peter where the Bible says that he “fell into a trance;” what does that mean? Yet another where Paul is so filled with God’s power to heal that the book of Acts states: “God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them” (Acts 19.11-12). Weird right? I’ve never had a snot rag that healed sick people or cast out demons… have you?

Or what about the time when Peter is so filled with the power of the Holy Spirit for healing that the sick would lay down in the streets where he walked so “at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by” (Acts 5.15). And if you think that story is wild, wait until you hear this one about Phillip as he is headed toward Gaza. He meets up with an Ethiopian eunuch and shares the gospel with him. Then, he baptizes this man, but did you ever notice what transpires next? Acts 8 says:

When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea. Acts 8.39-40

Are you picking up what happened? In Star Trek like fashion, the Holy Spirit “beams him up” and Phillip disappears! He is then transported to another region and preaches the gospel throughout the various towns along the way! That, my friend, is seriously ridiculous. Either we should look back at the early church and call it what it was, bizarre, or its time to ask a serious question of the people of God in our day: What has happened to the strange power of the Holy Spirit?

To take that question to a deeper level perhaps I need to ask: Why is there a gap between my regular experience and the strangeness of the New Testament? I would like to hear from you all on this issue.  Answer either of the two questions below or comment in a general way:

1) How have you experienced the strangeness of the Holy Spirit in a way that is outside of our regular modern experience?

2) Comment on why this large gap exists.  Why?