A Daily Bible Study in 7-Day Sections with a Summary-Commentary, Discussion Questions, and Daily Application
The author of the Book of Acts is generally considered to have been Luke. It is addressed to Theophilus, the same as the Book of Luke. “Theophilus” translates to “friend of God” and because of Luke’s manner of address “the most excellent” Theophilus is thought to have been a Roman of some stature, perhaps an military officer or a high official.
Jesus has been crucified and resurrected and at the end of the four Gospels has ascended back to His home in Heaven. The Apostles, disciples, believers, observers, and religious leaders are now left to sort out what has happened and what it means.
All Bible text is from the NET unless otherwise indicated - http://bible.org
Note 1: These Studies often rely upon the guidance of the NET Translators from their associated notes. Careful attention has been given to cite that source where it has been quoted directly or closely paraphrased. Feedback is encouraged where credit has not been sufficiently assigned.
Note 2: When NET text is quoted in commentary and discussion all pronouns referring to God are capitalized, though they are lower-case in the original NET text.
Commentary text is from David M. Colburn, D.Min. unless otherwise noted.
Copyright © 2011 by David M. Colburn. This is a BibleSeven Study — Section 1 (Chapters 1-5) of the series, “Acts” — prepared by David M. Colburn and edited for bible.org in October of 2011. This text may be used for non-profit educational purposes only, with credit; all other usage requires prior written consent of the author.
Jesus Ascends to Heaven
1:1 I wrote the former account, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach 1:2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after he had given orders by the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen.
1:3 To the same apostles also, after his suffering, he presented himself alive with many convincing proofs. He was seen by them over a forty-day period and spoke about matters concerning the kingdom of God.
1:4 While he was with them, he declared, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait there for what my Father promised, which you heard about from me. 1:5 For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
1:6 So when they had gathered together, they began to ask him, “Lord, is this the time when you are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” 1:7 He told them, “You are not permitted to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the farthest parts of the earth.”
1:9 After he had said this, while they were watching, he was lifted up and a cloud hid him from their sight. 1:10 As they were still staring into the sky while he was going, suddenly two men in white clothing stood near them 1:11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking up into the sky? This same Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will come back in the same way you saw him go into heaven.”
A Replacement for Judas is Chosen
1:12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mountain called the Mount of Olives (which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away). 1:13 When they had entered Jerusalem, they went to the upstairs room where they were staying. Peter and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James were there.
1:14 All these continued together in prayer with one mind, together with the women, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.
1:15 In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a gathering of about one hundred and twenty people) and said, 1:16 “Brothers, the scripture had to be fulfilled that the Holy Spirit foretold through David concerning Judas — who became the guide for those who arrested Jesus — 1:17 for he was counted as one of us and received a share in this ministry.” 1:18 (Now this man Judas acquired a field with the reward of his unjust deed, and falling headfirst he burst open in the middle and all his intestines gushed out. 1:19 This became known to all who lived in Jerusalem, so that in their own language they called that field Hakeldama, that is, “Field of Blood.”) 1:20 “For it is written in the book of Psalms, ‘Let his house become deserted, and let there be no one to live in it,’ and ‘Let another take his position of responsibility.’
1:21 Thus one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time the Lord Jesus associated with us, 1:22 beginning from his baptism by John until the day he was taken up from us — one of these must become a witness of his resurrection together with us.”
1:23 So they proposed two candidates: Joseph called Barsabbas (also called Justus) and Matthias. 1:24 Then they prayed, “Lord, you know the hearts of all. Show us which one of these two you have chosen 1:25 to assume the task of this service and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” 1:26 Then they cast lots for them, and the one chosen was Matthias; so he was counted with the eleven apostles.
Lord, I will pray that every Christian will come to know the truth of the Bible about the return of Jesus so that they will never be deceived by false Christs. I also pray that all believers be they male or female, old or young, rich or poor, across nationality and race will find fellowships where they may pray and study and worship as peers.
Luke briefly reviewed the final days of Jesus’ post-resurrection ministry “... all that Jesus began to do and teach until the day He was taken up to heaven … He presented himself alive with many convincing proofs ... spoke about matters concerning the kingdom of God.”
Luke noted the instructions of Jesus as to the coming of the Holy Spirit and the responsibility of His Apostles to “... be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all of Judea and Samaria, and to the farthest parts of the earth.” As they watched His ascent home to Heaven angels appeared next to them to remind them that He would return in the same way.
They traveled the half of a mile back to Jerusalem and gathered in the upstairs room that had become their most recent temporary place for fellowship; the gathered included the eleven living apostles, many believing men and women, Mary the mother of Jesus and His brothers, and together the gathering of about one hundred and twenty prayed.
Peter addressed the group, reminding them of the prophesy that Jesus would be betrayed by someone close to Him, and then that they were [according to Psalms 109:8) fill Judas’ now-vacant place of responsibility. They prayed and the Holy Spirit led them to choose Matthias.
Jesus instructed the apostles, to pass this on to all believers, that we are to “... be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all of Judea and Samaria, and to the farthest parts of the earth.”
How could anyone believe a false claim to the Messiah-returned for the One True Jesus?
Note: There are many speculations from people as to the return of Christ. Observe again the clear message of the Gospels, repeated here in Acts, that Jesus will return as He departed - down from the clouds in plain view. (Elsewhere we read that everyone will see His return all at once, accompanied by the blowing of horns.)
There was, and is, an intimate and peer-like relationship between men and women of true Biblical-Christian faith. Many of the institutional religious hierarchies, and the separation of the genders, are not seen in this part of the Word of God.
When have you experienced or observed the powerful and unique sense of family in a gathering of Christian believers?
Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you how He would have you “... be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all of Judea and Samaria, and to the farthest parts of the earth.”
Today I will humbly receive Your mission and I will prayerfully, in consultation with mature fellow believers, make plans to fulfill Your calling. It may be to share Your story with a fellow student or co-worker, a friend or family member, or the leader of a community in a far away land. It may be, rather, to assist a person or group in their efforts to reach a person or persons with the message of salvation.
The Holy Spirit and the Day of Pentecost
2:1 Now when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2:2 Suddenly a sound like a violent wind blowing came from heaven and filled the entire house where they were sitting. 2:3 And tongues spreading out like a fire appeared to them and came to rest on each one of them. 2:4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them.
2:5 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven residing in Jerusalem. 2:6 When this sound occurred, a crowd gathered and was in confusion, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 2:7 Completely baffled, they said, “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 2:8 And how is it that each one of us hears them in our own native language? 2:9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and the province of Asia, 2:10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 2:11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs — we hear them speaking in our own languages about the great deeds God has done!” 2:12 All were astounded and greatly confused, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 2:13 But others jeered at the speakers, saying, “They are drunk on new wine!”
Peter’s Address on the Day of Pentecost
2:14 But Peter stood up with the eleven, raised his voice, and addressed them: “You men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, know this and listen carefully to what I say. 2:15 In spite of what you think, these men are not drunk, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. 2:16 But this is what was spoken about through the prophet Joel:
2:17 ‘And in the last days it will be,’ God says,
‘that I will pour out my Spirit on all people,
and your sons and your daughters will prophesy,
and your young men will see visions,
and your old men will dream dreams.
2:18 Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.
2:19 And I will perform wonders in the sky above
and miraculous signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and clouds of smoke.
2:20 The sun will be changed to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes.
2:21 And then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
2:22 “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man clearly attested to you by God with powerful deeds, wonders, and miraculous signs that God performed among you through him, just as you yourselves know — 2:23 this man, who was handed over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you executed by nailing him to a cross at the hands of Gentiles. 2:24 But God raised him up, having released him from the pains of death, because it was not possible for him to be held in its power. 2:25 For David says about him,
‘I saw the Lord always in front of me,
for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken.
2:26 Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue rejoiced;
my body also will live in hope,
2:27 because you will not leave my soul in Hades,
nor permit your Holy One to experience decay.
2:28 You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will make me full of joy with your presence.’
2:29 “Brothers, I can speak confidently to you about our forefather David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 2:30 So then, because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants on his throne, 2:31 David by foreseeing this spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did his body experience decay. 2:32 This Jesus God raised up, and we are all witnesses of it. 2:33 So then, exalted to the right hand of God, and having received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, he has poured out what you both see and hear. 2:34 For David did not ascend into heaven, but he himself says,
‘The Lord said to my lord,
“Sit at my right hand
2:35 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’
2:36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know beyond a doubt that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ.”
The Response to Peter’s Address
2:37 Now when they heard this, they were acutely distressed and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “What should we do, brothers?” 2:38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 2:39 For the promise is for you and your children, and for all who are far away, as many as the Lord our God will call to himself.” 2:40 With many other words he testified and exhorted them saying, “Save yourselves from this perverse generation!” 2:41 So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added.
Lord, You offer blessings and gifts, sometimes people accept them — often many do not. May I accept the wisdom of your indwelling Holy Spirit and receive what You offer as an equipping for service to You.
The Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles, and perhaps many or all of the other 120 members of the close-knit group of believers who had been gathering at the upstairs room. They were in a public area surrounded by “Jews from every nation under Heaven” as well as non-Jewish converts to Judaism, Cretans, and Arabs who had gathered for the celebration of Pentecost.
Verse 2:4 is very clear that when the Holy Spirit came upon them they spoke in “other languages” and 2:8 that those languages represented the native tongues of people in the crowd.
The curious among them wondered what it could mean, the unteachable among them jeered and accused them of being drunk - though such a claim had no relevance to the evidence at all.
Peter declared to those gathered for Pentecost that not only were they not drunk that they were fulfilling prophesy from Joel and Jesus.
Many people responded repentantly to Peter’s message and about three thousand were baptized. [It is worthy of note that vss 2:40-41 include the text ““Save yourselves from this perverse generation!” So those who accepted his message were baptized,” another clear statement of the large invitation and the voluntary choice of individuals.]
God chose to bring the Holy Spirit upon the believers in the presence of non-believers across many ethnicities, nationalities, races, and religious traditions.
There was a fundamental difference between the scoffers and those who sought truth, and the resultant understanding of those seeking truth vs the blindness of the others. Have you observed the same divergent response among modern listeners?
Reflect upon the various teachings about “speaking in tongues” and how this text only addresses the miracle of a capacity to share the truth of God in a foreign language previously unknown to the speaker - but native to his or her listener. It does not say here that a “heavenly language” does not exist, it merely excludes this specific text from support of such a “gift”.
Reflect upon the various teachings as to how one comes to the final moment of saving faith, some which claim all will be saved, others which claim only those predestined will be saved, and yet another claim that only those who persist in “good works” will be saved -- this text says otherwise -- that those who heard God’s truth and believed came forward to be affirmed and baptized. [Note: It is not the baptism that saved them but their acknowledgement of God’s truth and their willing submission to it.]
When have you been among a group of people who experienced the same event yet interpreted the meaning of the differently?
Today I will ask the Lord for the boldness to share His story with someone who is teachable but unfamiliar with the language and message of the Bible - perhaps they have never heard or have only heard man-made religious distortions or the lies of the Enemy. I will also prayerfully seek an opportunity to share with a fellow believer something new that God has revealed to me that previously seemed like a foreign language but now is clear.
Today I will step-put in faith and with the boldness and clarity of the Holy Spirit to be His instrument of hope and of truth.
The Fellowship of the Early Believers
2:42 They were devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
2:43 Reverential awe came over everyone, and many wonders and miraculous signs came about by the apostles.
2:44 All who believed were together and held everything in common, 2:45 and they began selling their property and possessions and distributing the proceeds to everyone, as anyone had need.
2:46 Every day they continued to gather together by common consent in the temple courts, breaking bread from house to house, sharing their food with glad and humble hearts, 2:47 praising God and having the good will of all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number every day those who were being saved.
Lord, You call the members of Your family into an intimate relationship with you and one-another, and interdependent relationship with one-another. May I invest in fellow believers so that we may be come more-faithful in caring for each other and growing together in You.
The fellowship among the early believers consisted of a pattern of disciplines; “... devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching”, “...and to fellowship”, “... to the breaking or bread”, “and to prayer.”
The apostles taught the message of Jesus as the fulfillment of prophesy in the context of the narratives of the Creation, Fall, and the history that followed.
[Note: Study of the Word of God, facilitated by those who have demonstrated Biblical knowledge and spiritual maturity is an important model for Christians.]
The fellowship of the believers is shown here as a continuous and intentional investment of energy and time.
[Note: Fellowship among believers built community, intimacy, and a sense of ‘family’ that went beyond the mere genetic or legal traditional family.]
For the early believers breaking bread together served both social and symbolic purposes.
[Note: Breaking bread has two possible meanings, one is the “Lord’s Supper”, also known as communion, as it is part of a special time of structured worship, and the other refers to a meal shared with others, not necessarily believers, especially in the common use of the term. In verse 2:42 it likely refers to a casual reenactment of the Lord’s Supper whereas in 2:46 it likely refers to sharing a meal with others.]
Their investment of time and attention in prayer is an explanation of their intimacy with God and their power to endure suffering and experience the power of God’s presence.
[Note: The pattern of prayer modeled by Jesus found early and important emphasis throughout the text of the New Testament texts. As the early believers studied under the apostles they learned about prayer throughout the history of prophets and other faithful servants of God and were reminded of prayer in the life of Jesus and His closest followers.]
“Reverential awe” for the power of God came upon them all as a result of these disciplines which was enhanced by “... many wonders and miraculous signs ... by the apostles.”
[Note: Their faithfulness to the “Greatest Commandment” of Jesus created a spiritual environment where God’s power flowed freely.]
“All who believed were together and held everything in common ...” so that resources were fully shared within the family of Christ.
[Note: This was at the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, not a mandate of the secular State, nor by the manipulative guilt-motivation of a charismatic human.]
“And the Lord was adding to their number every day those who were being saved.”
[Note: Because of their faithfulness God was able to use them powerfully and trust them to disciple those whom He sent.]
Consider your spiritual disciplines, do they include study, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer?
Do you take those disciplines “to the streets” among fellow believers, sharing resources, sharing meals, enjoying fellowship, praising God, and building good will?
As your fellowship matures is God sending more?
When have you experienced or observed an truely-intimate Christian fellowship?
Ask the Holy Spirit to motivate you to be faithful to mature quickly through intentional discipline, dedicated fellowship, and service in His name so that He may bless your fellowship with others who may also share in His blessings and then go forth to multiply the model into similar fellowships.
Today I will prayerfully review my daily and weekly disciplines in order to make study, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayer represent a non-negotiable core. I will also look at my calendar to assure that sharing resources, sharing meals, enjoying fellowship, praising God, and building good will are integral to it.
Peter and John Heal a Lame Man at the Temple
3:1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time for prayer, at three o’clock in the afternoon. 3:2 And a man lame from birth was being carried up, who was placed at the temple gate called “the Beautiful Gate” every day so he could beg for money from those going into the temple courts. 3:3 When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple courts, he asked them for money. 3:4 Peter looked directly at him (as did John) and said, “Look at us!” 3:5 So the lame man paid attention to them, expecting to receive something from them. 3:6 But Peter said, “I have no silver or gold, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, stand up and walk!” 3:7 Then Peter took hold of him by the right hand and raised him up, and at once the man’s feet and ankles were made strong. 3:8 He jumped up, stood and began walking around, and he entered the temple courts with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 3:9 All the people saw him walking and praising God, 3:10 and they recognized him as the man who used to sit and ask for donations at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, and they were filled with astonishment and amazement at what had happened to him.
Peter Addresses the Crowd
3:11 While the man was hanging on to Peter and John, all the people, completely astounded, ran together to them in the covered walkway called Solomon’s Portico. 3:12 When Peter saw this, he declared to the people, “Men of Israel, why are you amazed at this? Why do you stare at us as if we had made this man walk by our own power or piety? 3:13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our forefathers, has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected in the presence of Pilate after he had decided to release him. 3:14 But you rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a man who was a murderer be released to you. 3:15 You killed the Originator of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this fact we are witnesses! 3:16 And on the basis of faith in Jesus’ name, his very name has made this man — whom you see and know — strong. The faith that is through Jesus has given him this complete health in the presence of you all. 3:17 And now, brothers, I know you acted in ignorance, as your rulers did too. 3:18 But the things God foretold long ago through all the prophets — that his Christ would suffer — he has fulfilled in this way. 3:19 Therefore repent and turn back so that your sins may be wiped out, 3:20 so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and so that he may send the Messiah appointed for you — that is, Jesus. 3:21 This one heaven must receive until the time all things are restored, which God declared from times long ago through his holy prophets. 3:22 Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must obey him in everything he tells you. 3:23 Every person who does not obey that prophet will be destroyed and thus removed from the people.’ 3:24 And all the prophets, from Samuel and those who followed him, have spoken about and announced these days. 3:25 You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your ancestors, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed.’ 3:26 God raised up his servant and sent him first to you, to bless you by turning each one of you from your iniquities.”
Lord, You proclaimed the coming of the Messiah from the moment You declared the consequences of Adam and Eve’s rebellion in the Garden, then over and over throughout history, because only a perfect One of Heaven could redeem us. May I never forget that all hope and all power for good comes from You.
Peter and John heal a lame man at the Temple, he wanted money, they gave him the miracle gift of healing “... on the basis of faith in Jesus’ name”. Once healed he responded with uninhibited praise for God.
Peter used the wonder of those observing this miracle as an occasion to chastise them to repentance. He noted that it was the power of God and not their “power or piety” which caused the healing.
He reminds them that they killed the “Originator of Life” and that their only hope for redemption was found in Him. In 3:26 Peter also reminds them that their “iniquities” are not singular but multiple; that they are guilty of rejecting and murdering Jesus but are also guilty of other sins.
The people knew enough from the Old Testament prophets to have recognized the Messiah, yet they were blinded by bad teaching and sick hearts, and so they not only killed Him — they continued to resist His offer of redemption.
Why was it so important that Peter make clear that the healing was totally a work of Christ and that he was merely His instrument?
There were many things for which the death and resurrection of Christ provided forgiveness, the obvious one is our prior rejection of Him, but what of the many ways that our rebellion against God has showed itself in a variety of sins?
When have you, or someone you know, been healed. Did you, or they, respond with uninhibited praise for God?
Ask the Holy Spirit to remind me of a healing work He has done in you. It may be emotional, intellectual, physical, or spiritual. In each case it would have been something that you could not done of your own strengths or talents.
Today I will share with another believer my uninhibited praise for God Who has forgiven me and I will praise Him specifically for at least one healing He has done and/or one sin from which He has set me free.
The Arrest and Trial of Peter and John
4:1 While Peter and John were speaking to the people, the priests and the commander of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them, 4:2 angry because they were teaching the people and announcing in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. 4:3 So they seized them and put them in jail until the next day (for it was already evening). 4:4 But many of those who had listened to the message believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.
4:5 On the next day, their rulers, elders, and experts in the law came together in Jerusalem. 4:6 Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and others who were members of the high priest’s family. 4:7 After making Peter and John stand in their midst, they began to inquire, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” 4:8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, replied, “Rulers of the people and elders, 4:9 if we are being examined today for a good deed done to a sick man — by what means this man was healed — 4:10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, this man stands before you healthy. 4:11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, that has become the cornerstone. 4:12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among people by which we must be saved.”
4:13 When they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and discovered that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed and recognized these men had been with Jesus. 4:14 And because they saw the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say against this. 4:15 But when they had ordered them to go outside the council, they began to confer with one another, 4:16 saying, “What should we do with these men? For it is plain to all who live in Jerusalem that a notable miraculous sign has come about through them, and we cannot deny it. 4:17 But to keep this matter from spreading any further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.” 4:18 And they called them in and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 4:19 But Peter and John replied, “Whether it is right before God to obey you rather than God, you decide, 4:20 for it is impossible for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard.” 4:21 After threatening them further, they released them, for they could not find how to punish them on account of the people, because they were all praising God for what had happened. 4:22 For the man, on whom this miraculous sign of healing had been performed, was over forty years old.
The Followers of Jesus Pray for Boldness
4:23 When they were released, Peter and John went to their fellow believers and reported everything the high priests and the elders had said to them. 4:24 When they heard this, they raised their voices to God with one mind and said, “Master of all, you who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them, 4:25 who said by the Holy Spirit through your servant David our forefather, ‘Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot foolish things?
4:26 The kings of the earth stood together, and the rulers assembled together, against the Lord and against his Christ.’
4:27 “For indeed both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, assembled together in this city against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, 4:28 to do as much as your power and your plan had decided beforehand would happen. 4:29 And now, Lord, pay attention to their threats, and grant to your servants to speak your message with great courage, 4:30 while you extend your hand to heal, and to bring about miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 4:31 When they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God courageously.
Lord, Your truth is undeniable, You make certain that none who seek truth will fail to find it in You. May I intentionally and prayerfully seek truth so that I am always seeking You.
The religious leaders arrested Peter and John for preaching and teaching Christ - five thousand “men” reportedly believed.
[Note: The reference to only to the males (or husbands) in the count was traditional, as it was when the Gospel texts described Jesus feeding the two large gatherings of people. It is difficult to accurately extrapolate to the true numbers, to include all of the women, and the children who had reached the age of accountability.]
On the next morning the religious leaders brought Peter and John to trial - Peter instead challenged them with the declaration that Jesus was the power that healed the lame man and was the only One “... by which we must be saved. The religious leaders were unable to deny the truth of the healing so they sent the men out and conferred as to how to silence them - they dared not punish them for fear of the people - so they warned them to be silent. Peter and John explained that silence was not possible, so they were warned again and then set free.”
Peter and John shared what had happened and the followers of Jesus prayed for boldness, their confidence was strengthened by the Holy Spirit, and they “... began to speak the word of God courageously.”
All of those with worldly power at that time were aligned against Christ-followers.
When challenged by the a resistant seeker or a rebellious enemy of truth which is your most common reaction; flee, apologize and be quiet, angrily confront with your human arguments, or a prayer for peace and wisdom from the Holy Spirit followed by a simple recitation of His-story of our needs met with His sacrificial provision and His blessings for our obedience?
Recalling the boldness of Peter and John - reflect upon your own boldness in the proclamation and teaching of the Word of God.
When have you experienced or observed false charges being brought against someone and their boldness in the truth caused them to be set free?
Ask the Holy Spirit to give me the courage to be a good witness for Christ in my life, second to quietly and respectfully tell His-story when challenged for my faith, and third to resist being drawn into debates or discussions with an unteachable unsaved person that can only happen on a walled-off emotional and intellectual level, closed-off to spiritual change.
Today I will, as the Lord trusts and uses me, reach out to a teachable person who is considering-Christ and I will share His-Story.
Conditions Among the Early Believers
4:32 The group of those who believed were of one heart and mind, and no one said that any of his possessions was his own, but everything was held in common. 4:33 With great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was on them all. 4:34 For there was no one needy among them, because those who were owners of land or houses were selling them and bringing the proceeds from the sales 4:35 and placing them at the apostles’ feet. The proceeds were distributed to each, as anyone had need. 4:36 So Joseph, a Levite who was a native of Cyprus, called by the apostles Barnabas (which is translated “son of encouragement”), 4:37 sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and placed it at the apostles’ feet.
The Judgment on Ananias and Sapphira
5:1 Now a man named Ananias, together with Sapphira his wife, sold a piece of property. 5:2 He kept back for himself part of the proceeds with his wife’s knowledge; he brought only part of it and placed it at the apostles’ feet. 5:3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back for yourself part of the proceeds from the sale of the land? 5:4 Before it was sold, did it not belong to you? And when it was sold, was the money not at your disposal? How have you thought up this deed in your heart? You have not lied to people but to God!”
5:5 When Ananias heard these words he collapsed and died, and great fear gripped all who heard about it. 5:6 So the young men came, wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him. 5:7 After an interval of about three hours, his wife came in, but she did not know what had happened. 5:8 Peter said to her, “Tell me, were the two of you paid this amount for the land?” Sapphira said, “Yes, that much.” 5:9 Peter then told her, “Why have you agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out!” 5:10 At once she collapsed at his feet and died. So when the young men came in, they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 5:11 Great fear gripped the whole church and all who heard about these things.
Lord, You have invited humankind to learn and to share in Your love. May I seek You in all things, especially in my relationships with fellow Christians.
Conditions among early believers were like the most healthy and loving family, sharing every resource necessary to assure that no member of the family was in need. [Note: This was not forced, as in a political statement from the community leaders (the Apostles), but was a voluntary response to the blessings and power of God through the Apostles and being poured out among the believers.]
Barnabas was one member who sold a field and brought the proceeds to the Apostles for distribution to needy believers. Ananias and Sapphira, seeking the praise of man without true sacrifice, sold property and lied to Peter and the Church claiming to have done as Barnabas in giving the entire proceeds. The discernment of the Holy Spirit in Peter revealed their deception and God took their lives. [Note: It was not necessary for them to give all of the proceeds, it was merely expected that they be honest as to what they were sharing.]
Verse 5:11 is the first place in ACTS where the text refers to the believing Christian community as “the church”. Reflect a moment on the confusion when people began to refer to buildings and man-made organizations as “the church” in contradiction to God’s purpose for that term.
Have you ever observed Christians who make a big show of doing or giving, overstating what they were doing or giving so as to garner praise? Were the leaders aware of the deception and did they correct or ignore it? What was the result?
Reflect upon a time, if you have experienced this, when you were among truly unselfish people who shared a common value system and who shared everything so that none in the group had a need. Perhaps it was on a retreat or a missions trip or as part of a sports-related activity or some other small group. Try to imagine that as a whole-life 24/7 philosophy of life.
When have you observed confusion between manmade institutions and organizations and the true Biblical definition of the people and purpose of “The Church?”
Ask the Holy Spirit reveal to you someone whom He wants you to encourage and pray who is generous toward fellow believers
Today I will encourage and pray for someone who is generous toward fellow believers in loving response to them as “eternal family in Christ”. I will pray for small communities of believers to become more intentional in serving one from the bounty and gifts and talents God has given.
I will also pray for the gift of discernment for leaders to recognize and challenge deception and selfish self-promotion among the Christian family.
The Apostles Perform Miraculous Signs and Wonders
5:12 Now many miraculous signs and wonders came about among the people through the hands of the apostles. By common consent they were all meeting together in Solomon’s Portico. 5:13 None of the rest dared to join them, but the people held them in high honor. 5:14 More and more believers in the Lord were added to their number, crowds of both men and women. 5:15 Thus they even carried the sick out into the streets, and put them on cots and pallets, so that when Peter came by at least his shadow would fall on some of them. 5:16 A crowd of people from the towns around Jerusalem also came together, bringing the sick and those troubled by unclean spirits. They were all being healed.
Further Trouble for the Apostles
5:17 Now the high priest rose up, and all those with him (that is, the religious party of the Sadducees), and they were filled with jealousy. 5:18 They laid hands on the apostles and put them in a public jail. 5:19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the prison, led them out, and said, 5:20 “Go and stand in the temple courts and proclaim to the people all the words of this life.” 5:21 When they heard this, they entered the temple courts at daybreak and began teaching.
Now when the high priest and those who were with him arrived, they summoned the Sanhedrin — that is, the whole high council of the Israelites — and sent to the jail to have the apostles brought before them. 5:22 But the officers who came for them did not find them in the prison, so they returned and reported, 5:23 “We found the jail locked securely and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them, we found no one inside.” 5:24 Now when the commander of the temple guard and the chief priests heard this report, they were greatly puzzled concerning it, wondering what this could be. 5:25 But someone came and reported to them, “Look! The men you put in prison are standing in the temple courts and teaching the people!” 5:26 Then the commander of the temple guard went with the officers and brought the apostles without the use of force (for they were afraid of being stoned by the people).
5:27 When they had brought them, they stood them before the council, and the high priest questioned them, 5:28 saying, “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name. Look, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood on us!” 5:29 But Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than people. 5:30 The God of our forefathers raised up Jesus, whom you seized and killed by hanging him on a tree. 5:31 God exalted him to his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 5:32 And we are witnesses of these events, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.”
5:33 Now when they heard this, they became furious and wanted to execute them. 5:34 But a Pharisee whose name was Gamaliel, a teacher of the law who was respected by all the people, stood up in the council and ordered the men to be put outside for a short time. 5:35 Then he said to the council, “Men of Israel, pay close attention to what you are about to do to these men. 5:36 For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and nothing came of it. 5:37 After him Judas the Galilean arose in the days of the census, and incited people to follow him in revolt. He too was killed, and all who followed him were scattered. 5:38 So in this case I say to you, stay away from these men and leave them alone, because if this plan or this undertaking originates with people, it will come to nothing, 5:39 but if it is from God, you will not be able to stop them, or you may even be found fighting against God.” He convinced them, 5:40 and they summoned the apostles and had them beaten. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus and released them. 5:41 So they left the council rejoicing because they had been considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name. 5:42 And every day both in the temple courts and from house to house, they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus was the Christ.
Lord, You heal through Your willing instruments as You deem best, and You allow the troubles of the world to afflict those same servants as a witness to Your power to carry them through and to illustrate the wickedness of the world. May I trust You to use me perfectly, no matter what.
The believers continued to gather in “Solomon’s Portico” which was an open area and part of the larger Temple complex. While the population of the believers continued to grow many others avoided them for fear of the religious authorities.
People brought the physically and spiritually ill for the Apostles to heal. The Apostles were used of God to perform other miraculous signs and wonders as evidence of God’s anointing.
The religious authorities were jealous, a mixture of their desire to preserve the purity of their religious traditions and their more personal selfish desire to retain the devotion of the people for themselves. They had the Apostles arrested and jailed but early in the morning an Angel released them from the jail, without disturbing the locked doors or alerting the guards, and sent them to preach and teach again.
The religious authorities sent for them, requesting that they come peaceably as the crowds favored the Apostles, and the Apostles came. The religious leaders chastised them for preaching and teaching when they had told them to not do so - to which they replied that they must obey God and not man. The religious authorities were furious and wanted to execute them but Gamaliel reminded them that men with small followings before had been killed and their followings dispersed, this was different and they did not want to risk a fight with God, so let them go and let God sort out what would happen.
The religious authorities had them lashed “forty times minus one” for disobedience to them then released them with a warning to not preach and teach. They left celebrating that their faithfulness to God had resulted in worthiness to be punished by His enemies then resumed their preaching and teaching in the Temple court and house to house.
Do you know of people in your neighborhood, school, workplace, or other network of associates who avoid Christian gatherings and/or discussions for fear of the opinions of others? Or are you struggling with that yourself?
Have you experienced, or observed, punishment for faithfulness to God?
Was the response a celebration that the faithfulness so challenged others that they punished them? Did you, or they, persevere in preaching and teaching His-story despite the risks?
When have you observed people in religious or secular authority persecuting those whom they believe have violated some custom or tradition that they hold valuable, even though it is either non-Biblical or simply silly even in a secular world? Have you done that in the past?
Ask the Holy Spirit to grant freedom from fear, for myself or others, so that God’s truth will be more important than the opinions of mere humans. Also, that people in authority will allow their eyes to be opened by the Holy Spirit to the difference between their petty human customs and traditions and the truth of God.
Today I will identify someone in local, national, or international ministry, perhaps missions or public service or a religious role who has been or is being persecuted for their Christian faith and pray in agreement for perseverance, protection, and power. I will also attempt to respectfully communicate a word of encouragement via E-mail or letter.
All Bible text is from the NET unless otherwise indicated - http://bible.org
Note 1: These Studies often rely upon the guidance of the NET Translators from their associated notes. Careful attention has been given to cite that source where it has been quoted directly or closely paraphrased. Feedback is encouraged where credit has not been sufficiently assigned.
Note 2: When NET text is quoted in commentary and discussion all pronouns referring to God are capitalized, though they are lower-case in the original NET text.
Commentary text is from David M. Colburn, D.Min. unless otherwise noted.
Copyright © 2011 by David M. Colburn. This is a BibleSeven Study— “Acts” — prepared by David M. Colburn and edited for bible.org in December of 2011. This text may be used for non-profit educational purposes only, with credit; all other usage requires prior written consent of the author.
The Appointment of the First Seven Deacons
6:1 Now in those days, when the disciples were growing in number, a complaint arose on the part of the Greek-speaking Jews against the native Hebraic Jews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.
6:2 So the twelve called the whole group of the disciples together and said, “It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to wait on tables.
6:3 But carefully select from among you, brothers, seven men who are well-attested, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this necessary task.
6:4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”
6:5 The proposal pleased the entire group, so they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, with Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a Gentile convert to Judaism from Antioch.
6:6 They stood these men before the apostles, who prayed and placed their hands on them.
6:7 The word of God continued to spread, the number of disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly, and a large group of priests became obedient to the faith.
Lord, Your desire was for the early Church members to be a true family, to care for one-another without regard for those worldly things which You specifically excluded “Neither male nor female, old nor young, Greek nor Hebrew”. May I love my fellow believer and treat no one differently because of a worldly-priority that is not a Godly-priority.
The early Biblical Christian community was in agreement with the Lord God that the care of all of their members was a high priority. Because of Biblical history, and the current socio-economic challenges of believers in an unfriendly society, widows were of special concern.
Within the population of Jewish converts to Christianity were two large sub-groups, the more traditional Hebrew-speaking (and overwhelmingly Jewish descended), and the newer Greek-speaking and culturally less-traditional (generally non-Jewish) group.
The Greek-speaking group complained that their widows were being unfairly under-served by the majority Hebrew-speaking leaders. This represented a significant challenge to trust within the early believing community.
The twelve Apostles called together all of the disciples. [Note: This would have been a large number of people as all believers are disciples and the Church had been growing rapidly. It may have referred to a leadership group of some sort rather than every believer.] They declared that their first obligation to Jesus was to preach and to teach; therefore, there was a need for some others to be recruited. These were to be prayerfully and reflectively identified ed as called by the Lord God to manage food and other physical care-giving resources.
The first seven "deacons" were to be "... men who are well-attested [respected by their peer-believers], full of the Spirit [saved], and (full of) of wisdom. [There was no stated Biblical reason to select only men but to have selected women at this time may have created an avoidable cultural rift in the early Biblical Christian community. There are no grounds in this immediate text to extrapolate a male-only mandate for a deacon, nor does this preclude such a male-only mandate elsewhere in the Biblical text, this text is neutral on the matter of Deacon-gender.]
Could your worship and study and prayer and fellowship group identify seven who would meet the qualification for a "deacon" who are "... well-attested [respected by their peer-believers], full of the Spirit [saved], and (full of) of wisdom?
Have you observed cultural sub-groups, cliques, within groups identified as "Christian"?
Have you observed favoritism, intentional or unintentional, among the sub-groups?
Reflecting on the dedication of the early Church to the care of the needs of their "members" then contemplate how our modern building-centric, program-centric churches prioritize the same level of commitment to care. When so many resources and so much time are diverted to buildings and to programs is it reasonable to expect awareness of true needs among all of the "members", not to mention actually meeting those needs?
When have you observed an effort to use ACTS 6:3-8 as justification to exclude women from a deacon-like role? [Note: There may be other NT texts that restrain a woman from serving in a deacon-like role, the point here is that this is not intended to do so and should not be misused as proof-text or otherwise misrepresented.]
Ask the Holy Spirit to empower you to pray that the gathering of believers with which you are associated (be it a traditional organization, a "house church", or some other format), will emulate the early Church in their Biblical priorities.
Today I will pray in agreement with an individual or organization standing for Christ (based on a Biblical principle, not misusing the name Christ to justify a personal crusade) despite attacks from individuals and/or organizations (perhaps even the government).
Stephen is Arrested
6:8 Now Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. 6:9 But some men from the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, as well as some from Cilicia and the province of Asia, stood up and argued with Stephen. 6:10 Yet they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke. 6:11 Then they secretly instigated some men to say, “We have heard this man speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 6:12 They incited the people, the elders, and the experts in the law; then they approached Stephen, seized him, and brought him before the council. 6:13 They brought forward false witnesses who said, “This man does not stop saying things against this holy place and the law. 6:14 For we have heard him saying that Jesus the Nazarene will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses handed down to us.” 6:15 All who were sitting in the council looked intently at Stephen and saw his face was like the face of an angel.
Stephen’s Defense Before the Council
7:1 Then the high priest said, “Are these things true?” 7:2 So he replied, “Brothers and fathers, listen to me. The God of glory appeared to our forefather Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he settled in Haran, 7:3 and said to him, ‘Go out from your country and from your relatives, and come to the land I will show you.’ 7:4 Then he went out from the country of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After his father died, God made him move to this country where you now live. 7:5 He did not give any of it to him for an inheritance, not even a foot of ground, yet God promised to give it to him as his possession, and to his descendants after him, even though Abraham as yet had no child. 7:6 But God spoke as follows: ‘Your descendants will be foreigners in a foreign country, whose citizens will enslave them and mistreat them for four hundred years. 7:7 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,’ said God, ‘and after these things they will come out of there and worship me in this place.’ 7:8 Then God gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision, and so he became the father of Isaac and circumcised him when he was eight days old, and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs. 7:9 The patriarchs, because they were jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt. But God was with him, 7:10 and rescued him from all his troubles, and granted him favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household. 7:11 Then a famine occurred throughout Egypt and Canaan, causing great suffering, and our ancestors could not find food. 7:12 So when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our ancestors there the first time. 7:13 On their second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers again, and Joseph’s family became known to Pharaoh. 7:14 So Joseph sent a message and invited his father Jacob and all his relatives to come, seventy-five people in all. 7:15 So Jacob went down to Egypt and died there, along with our ancestors, 7:16 and their bones were later moved to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a certain sum of money from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.
Lord, You called Stephen to Your service and You guided him as he reminded them of Your story. May I be more concerned about telling Your story than trying to defend or to promote my own.
Stephen, one of the first seven Deacons, is performing “... great wonders and miraculous signs among the people.” [From the NET Translator’s Notes: Although during the ministry of Jesus there were some who mimicked the casting-out of demons and other acts of power, about whom Jesus said if they did so in His name they’d be unable to criticize Him for a while, Stephen is the first non-Apostle described in the same terms “great wonders and miraculous signs” as the Apostles.]
Members (and perhaps descendants of) former slaves who had formed a religious organization known as the ““Freedmen” disliked Stephen’s Christian ministry work. As other religious leaders had done before them with Jesus they had Stephen arrested on deliberately falsified charges.
Stephen begins his defense before the Council - as did Jesus and Peter and John before him - with a review of history.
God appeared to Abraham, our ancestor, and instructed him to leave Mesopotamia - trusting God to show the way to an unknown new homeland.
God led Abraham to Haran then after his father died moved him again to “the Promised Land”, but at this time did not give it to him as an “inheritance” but only as a “possession”. This “possession” was for Abraham and “his descendants”, though he had no children yet. [The language here is awkward in English but vss 7:4-5 appears to recognize a right for Abraham and his people to live there but to not treat it as their permanent and exclusive property, at least not yet based on this text.]
Abraham’s descendant’s were to become slaves in a foreign land [Egypt] but God would punish Egypt and bring them back to the Promised Land. [Note: This is a prophesy re. Egypt - observe that this text is out of chronological order since Stephen then describes the events leading up to the Egyptian captivity.]
God gave Abraham the “covenant of circumcision” then a son, Isaac, who had Jacob, who then had ten of the twelve “Patriarchs” from whom came the twelve tribes of Israel. [Ten of the Patriarchs of Israel were from the twelve sons of Jacob, excluding Levi and Joseph. Levi’s descendants were cut-off and it was Joseph’s two sons who occupied the other two of the Twelve Patriarchical positions. Asher, Benjamin, Dan, Ephraim, Gad, Issachar, Judah, Manasseh, Naphtali, Reuben, Simeon, Zebulun.]
Joseph was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers then rescued by God Whose plan it was to bring him into the favor of Pharaoh so as to provide food for Egypt and for Jacob’s family who would come to buy grain and discover Joseph alive.
Jacob and the extended family of seventy-five moved to Egypt and multiplied rapidly there.
The Lord God God entrusted Stephen with power because his character and faithfulness to God made him trustworthy.
The evidence of Abraham's trust in God may be seen in his attitude and his actions, what that might look like in your life?
The text says some important things about Stephen which gives us guidance as to the qualifications for a Deacon and for the expectations of a maturing-believer.
When have you contemplated the faithfulness of God in converting Joseph's predicament into provision?
Ask the Holy Spirit to help you to compare the character of Stephen to your own character, on a regular basis, as a Biblical source of accountability and a Biblical source of reference for your growing maturity.
Today I will celebrate a time in my life when the world set me up for failure and God intervened and transformed it to good.
7:17 “But as the time drew near for God to fulfill the promise he had declared to Abraham, the people increased greatly in number in Egypt, 7:18 until another king who did not know about Joseph ruled over Egypt. 7:19 This was the one who exploited our people and was cruel to our ancestors, forcing them to abandon their infants so they would die. 7:20 At that time Moses was born, and he was beautiful to God. For three months he was brought up in his father’s house, 7:21 and when he had been abandoned, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. 7:22 So Moses was trained in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in his words and deeds. 7:23 But when he was about forty years old, it entered his mind to visit his fellow countrymen the Israelites. 7:24 When he saw one of them being hurt unfairly, Moses came to his defense and avenged the person who was mistreated by striking down the Egyptian. 7:25 He thought his own people would understand that God was delivering them through him, but they did not understand. 7:26 The next day Moses saw two men fighting, and tried to make peace between them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers; why are you hurting one another?’ 7:27 But the man who was unfairly hurting his neighbor pushed Moses aside, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and judge over us? 7:28 You don’t want to kill me the way you killed the Egyptian yesterday, do you?’ 7:29 When the man said this, Moses fled and became a foreigner in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.
7:30 “After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the desert of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning bush. 7:31 When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and when he approached to investigate, there came the voice of the Lord, 7:32 ‘I am the God of your forefathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’ Moses began to tremble and did not dare to look more closely. 7:33 But the Lord said to him, ‘Take the sandals off your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. 7:34 I have certainly seen the suffering of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to rescue them. Now come, I will send you to Egypt.’ 7:35 This same Moses they had rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and judge?’ God sent as both ruler and deliverer through the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 7:36 This man led them out, performing wonders and miraculous signs in the land of Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the wilderness for forty years. 7:37 This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers.’ 7:38 This is the man who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors, and he received living oracles to give to you. 7:39 Our ancestors were unwilling to obey him, but pushed him aside and turned back to Egypt in their hearts, 7:40 saying to Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will go in front of us, for this Moses, who led us out of the land of Egypt — we do not know what has happened to him!’ 7:41 At that time they made an idol in the form of a calf, brought a sacrifice to the idol, and began rejoicing in the works of their hands. 7:42 But God turned away from them and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: ‘It was not to me that you offered slain animals and sacrifices forty years in the wilderness, was it, house of Israel? 7:43 But you took along the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of the god Rephan, the images you made to worship, but I will deport you beyond Babylon.’ 7:44 Our ancestors had the tabernacle of testimony in the wilderness, just as God who spoke to Moses ordered him to make it according to the design he had seen. 7:45 Our ancestors received possession of it and brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our ancestors, until the time of David. 7:46 He found favor with God and asked that he could find a dwelling place for the house of Jacob. 7:47 But Solomon built a house for him. 7:48 Yet the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands, as the prophet says,
7:49 ‘Heaven is my throne,
and earth is the footstool for my feet.
What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord,
or what is my resting place?
7:50 Did my hand not make all these things?’
Lord, You worked around the choices of humankind but were never surprised, and when You dwelt among them You were never controlled or “contained” by them. May I be constantly aware of Your presence in me through Your Holy Spirit and that You do not indwell to serve my desires but to equip me to serve You.
Stephen continued his review of the Lord God’s working in the history of Israel.
Over time a new Pharaoh had assumed power and he had no knowledge of the honor due Joseph and his descendants but rather viewed them as free slave labor.
Moses was born just as the new Pharaoh, fearful of the size of the Jewish population, initiated a population control protocol. God arranged for the infant Moses to be set adrift and adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter. He was raised an Egyptian, but was aware of his heritage. As an adult he visited the work site of the Jews, where he was confronted with an abusive situation, he killed the slave-supervisor. When he later confronted two Jews fighting they asked if he intended to kill them as he had the slave-supervisor, so fearing retribution from the Egyptians, he fled Egypt.
After forty years God called Moses to lead His people out of bondage. [Note: This is a “type” or symbolic representation of Jesus.] The people resisted the leadership of Moses and even longed to return to slavery in Egypt rather than deal with the challenging unknown of the wilderness.
God gave them the “tabernacle of testimony”, a traveling altar containing His presence, which was central to the leadership of Joshua and later David.
Stephen was careful to note that God does not dwell in [is not contained by] “houses made by human hands”.
The Pharaoh forgot the history of Joseph’s value to Egypt.
What has been the consequence in modern civilizations or nations that forget the value of God’s centrality when they were created, in bring them prosperity, and in their protection?
Some people who refuse to follow healthy leadership and instead return to old things they rightly discarded of fads of the moment.
When have you observed believers following a leader or participating in a ministry because he or it was popular rather than because it honored the Lord God?
Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a place of bondage from which your He rescued you.
Today I will celebrate my freedom from bondage with another believer. I also commit to prayerfully consider under whose authority I voluntarily submit myself and ask if they are God-honoring according to the Biblical qualifications for a “Shepherd” or “Deacon” or if I tend to drift back into religious and social practices of the past and/or chasing after fads of the present, and if so I will repent (turn away) and seek-out where God would take me.
7:51 “You stubborn people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are always resisting the Holy Spirit, like your ancestors did! 7:52 Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They killed those who foretold long ago the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become! 7:53 You received the law by decrees given by angels, but you did not obey it.”
Stephen is Killed
7:54 When they heard these things, they became furious and ground their teeth at him. 7:55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked intently toward heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 7:56 “Look!” he said. “I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” 7:57 But they covered their ears, shouting out with a loud voice, and rushed at him with one intent. 7:58 When they had driven him out of the city, they began to stone him, and the witnesses laid their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. 7:59 They continued to stone Stephen while he prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” 7:60 Then he fell to his knees and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” When he had said this, he died.
8:1 And Saul agreed completely with killing him.
Saul Begins to Persecute the Church
Now on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were forced to scatter throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria. 8:2 Some devout men buried Stephen and made loud lamentation over him. 8:3 But Saul was trying to destroy the church; entering one house after another, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.
Lord, You blessed Stephen with clarity and purpose, and You also gave him courage and certainty of salvation. May I also find clarity and purpose and courage in the certainty of my salvation and in the perfect righteousness of the Lord God Whom I serve.
Stephen concludes his defense with a powerful challenge to the religious leaders, much the same as those previously given by Jesus and Peter and John and is murdered for it - Stephen becomes the first Christian martyr.
Immediately prior to his death Stephen is given a vision of Jesus standing next to God the Father, then as he dies Stephen reprises the words of Jesus on the Cross for His killers "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." [Note: Those who murdered Stephen carried enough sin to condemn them endlessly, Stephen perhaps did not want his martyrdom to add to that but instead still longed for them to accept and submit to the saving truth of Jesus.]
Saul, who oversaw and approved the stoning of Stephen, initiated a "great persecution" which drove all but the Apostles into hiding. He hunted and imprisoned many in the Church (believers), doing great harm to their fellowship.
The Bible says that all believers will face persecution and that the forces in power and at work in the world today are overwhelmingly aligned against God.
Begin with the context of the historic persecutions of the Church in China, most Muslim nations, and elsewhere - in both the past and in the present. Imagine for the moment that you lived there, how do you think your faith would serve you then?
Stephen demonstrated courage, knowing that the truth would likely cost him his freedom and as-likely his life, he remained undeterred.
When have you known men and women of truth, not noisy self-important or immaturely noisy people, but humble and mature and thoughtful people who valued truth above all else and spoke it boldly when asked without regard to personal consequence?
Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you someone who fearlessly shares God's truth whom He wants you encourage with a note or a call or a visit. It may be a missionary, a community or political leader, a religious leader, a student, a co-worker, or someone else who steps out in faith.
Today I will pray that political and religious leaders will listen to God and turn away from paths that lead to the repression and persecution of Christians and devastation to everything that they value in this temporary world.
Philip Preaches in Samaria
8:4 Now those who had been forced to scatter went around proclaiming the good news of the word. 8:5 Philip went down to the main city of Samaria and began proclaiming the Christ to them. 8:6 The crowds were paying attention with one mind to what Philip said, as they heard and saw the miraculous signs he was performing. 8:7 For unclean spirits, crying with loud shrieks, were coming out of many who were possessed, and many paralyzed and lame people were healed. 8:8 So there was great joy in that city.
8:9 Now in that city was a man named Simon, who had been practicing magic and amazing the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great. 8:10 All the people, from the least to the greatest, paid close attention to him, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called ‘Great.’” 8:11 And they paid close attention to him because he had amazed them for a long time with his magic. 8:12 But when they believed Philip as he was proclaiming the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they began to be baptized, both men and women. 8:13 Even Simon himself believed, and after he was baptized, he stayed close to Philip constantly, and when he saw the signs and great miracles that were occurring, he was amazed.
8:14 Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. 8:15 These two went down and prayed for them so that they would receive the Holy Spirit. 8:16 (For the Spirit had not yet come upon any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) 8:17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on the Samaritans, and they received the Holy Spirit.
8:18 Now Simon, when he saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, offered them money, 8:19 saying, “Give me this power too, so that everyone I place my hands on may receive the Holy Spirit.” 8:20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could acquire God’s gift with money! 8:21 You have no share or part in this matter because your heart is not right before God! 8:22 Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that he may perhaps forgive you for the intent of your heart. 8:23 For I see that you are bitterly envious and in bondage to sin.” 8:24 But Simon replied, “You pray to the Lord for me so that nothing of what you have said may happen to me.”
8:25 So after Peter and John had solemnly testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they started back to Jerusalem, proclaiming the good news to many Samaritan villages as they went.
Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch
8:26 Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go south on the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a desert road.) 8:27 So he got up and went. There he met an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship, 8:28 and was returning home, sitting in his chariot, reading the prophet Isaiah. 8:29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” 8:30 So Philip ran up to it and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. He asked him, “Do you understand what you’re reading?” 8:31 The man replied, “How in the world can I, unless someone guides me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 8:32 Now the passage of scripture the man was reading was this:
“He was led like a sheep to slaughter,
and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
8:33 In humiliation justice was taken from him.
Who can describe his posterity?
For his life was taken away from the earth.”
8:34 Then the eunuch said to Philip, “Please tell me, who is the prophet saying this about — himself or someone else?” 8:35 So Philip started speaking, and beginning with this scripture proclaimed the good news about Jesus to him. 8:36 Now as they were going along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look, there is water! What is to stop me from being baptized?” 8:37 [[EMPTY]] 8:38 So he ordered the chariot to stop, and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. 8:39 Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him any more, but went on his way rejoicing. 8:40 Philip, however, found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through the area, he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.
Lord, You empowered those whom You called, and You redeemed good from Saul's evil intent by using the flight of disciples to spread Your Word even further. May I trust You to provide whatever I need to do whatever You ask me to do.
As the disciples fled Jerusalem in the face of Saul's persecution they were dispersed in Samaria and beyond. The unintended, by Saul, consequence was that the Word was also dispersed.
Philip preached Christ in Samaria and performed "miraculous signs" of healing and the casting-out of demons. [Note: This was the second non-Apostle, Stephen was the other (Acts 6:8) reported as exercising this sort of power.]
A "magician" called Simon had claimed greatness to himself through acts of "magic" yet as the people around him heard Philip and were baptized, even Simon believed and was baptized. Simon then followed Philip closely in awe of the power flowing through him.
Peter and John came to Samaria to pray that the Holy Spirit would come upon the people there. They had been baptized, similar to those baptized by John the Baptist, but they had not yet received the Holy Spirit. [Note: The Apostles were among the few who had not fled in the face of Saul's persecution in Jerusalem.]
Simon remains confused and still trapped in his desire to be the focus of attention and the conduit of power, thus he asks the Apostles to sell him the ability to lay-on hands for the delivery of the Holy Spirit to people. Their discernment tells them that his heart is filled with envy, not a desire to serve others, so they rebuke him sternly and instruct him to pray that the Lord may forgive him. They then returned to Jerusalem, proclaiming Christ along the way.
An angel directed Philip to leave Samaria and follow the desert/wilderness road that connected Jerusalem to Gaza. Along the way he observed an Ethiopian eunuch, a high official to Queen Candace of the Ethiopians. After visiting the Pentecost celebrations in Jerusalem he was reading Isaiah as he traveled. The Holy Spirit prompted Philip to approach him and ask if he understood what he was reading - he invited Philip to explain Isaiah 53:7-8, which he did.
Philip explained how this OT verse prophesied Jesus. The Ethiopian Eunuch immediately asked to be baptized, which Philip did, then the Holy Spirit immediately relocated Philip to Azotus (a city on the southern coast of Palestine). The Eunuch went away rejoicing.
Philip proclaimed the good news of Jesus the Christ from Azotus to Caesarea.
Observe the sequence of faithful obedience which resulted in the baptism of the Ethiopian Eunuch; Philip travels where directed, Philip approaches the Eunuch, the Eunuch requests discipleship, Philip shares what God has taught him, the Eunuch requests baptism.
When have you observed someone claiming to be a follower of Biblical Christianity, and even assumed a role in leadership based on a charismatic personality, but then was exposed as a charlatan whose focus was really on their own popularity, power, and profit.?
The Ethiopian Eunuch was so teachable that the moment he understood what the Lord God wanted him to do he humbled himself and did so.
When have you observed that the enemy/the world had successfully attacked a Biblically-faithful ministry then God redeemed it to an even greater effectiveness?
Ask the Holy Spirit to empower you to pray for greater patience and discernment within the family of believers as they select and submit to spiritual shepherds at any level.
Today I commit to be available and teachable as the Holy Spirit leads and directs so that He may use me as effectively as He did Philip. I surrender that place of resistance to change and/or risk that I have allowed to be an impediment to Him.
The Conversion of Saul
9:1 Meanwhile Saul, still breathing out threats to murder the Lord’s disciples, went to the high priest 9:2 and requested letters from him to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, either men or women, he could bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 9:3 As he was going along, approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 9:4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 9:5 So he said, “Who are you, Lord?” He replied, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting! 9:6 But stand up and enter the city and you will be told what you must do.” 9:7 (Now the men who were traveling with him stood there speechless, because they heard the voice but saw no one.) 9:8 So Saul got up from the ground, but although his eyes were open, he could see nothing. Leading him by the hand, his companions brought him into Damascus. 9:9 For three days he could not see, and he neither ate nor drank anything.
9:10 Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias,” and he replied, “Here I am, Lord.” 9:11 Then the Lord told him, “Get up and go to the street called ‘Straight,’ and at Judas’ house look for a man from Tarsus named Saul. For he is praying, 9:12 and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and place his hands on him so that he may see again.” 9:13 But Ananias replied, “Lord, I have heard from many people about this man, how much harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem, 9:14 and here he has authority from the chief priests to imprison all who call on your name!” 9:15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, because this man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before Gentiles and kings and the people of Israel. 9:16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” 9:17 So Ananias departed and entered the house, placed his hands on Saul and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came here, has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 9:18 Immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 9:19 and after taking some food, his strength returned.
For several days he was with the disciples in Damascus, 9:20 and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “This man is the Son of God.” 9:21 All who heard him were amazed and were saying, “Is this not the man who in Jerusalem was ravaging those who call on this name, and who had come here to bring them as prisoners to the chief priests?” 9:22 But Saul became more and more capable, and was causing consternation among the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ.
Lord, You made the attacks upon Christians by Saul — at the behest of the religious leaders — personal. May I always remember that an attack on Biblical Christian faith, and faithfulness, is always an attack upon You.
Saul received letters of authority to persecute Christians in Damascus then set off on his evil mission. Jesus appeared to him as "a light from heaven" Saul "fell to the ground".
The voice, heard also by those accompanying Saul, challenged him "Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" to which Saul replied "Who are you Lord?" and received "I am Jesus Whom you are persecuting!"
Jesus instructed Saul to go to Damascus. Saul was blinded and fasted for three days.
Jesus appeared to Ananias in a vision instructing him to overcome his fears and to fulfill the vision given Saul that he would lay hands on him to restore his vision. Jesus informs Ananias that Saul will now be a friend of Christ. Ananias faithfully does as instructed and Saul is baptized.
Saul spent several days [Note: The precise length of time is unclear from this text.] and then this former enemy of Christ became an active and effective emissary of Christ in the synagogues of Damascus.
It was the obedient, rather than rebellious, responses which allowed God to use these men for His great plan.
Why did Jesus make it personal and what does that mean to us today?
Even Saul recognized the presence of God and responded with humility.
When did you, and perhaps also someone whom you know well, transform from an enemy of Christ to a valuable servant of His? How was that transformation obvious to others?
Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you those places in your life where you have been resistant and/or rebellious, and distracted, and/or procrastinating.
Today I will pray that the Lord God will find me obedient where I have been resistant - perhaps even rebellious, and cooperative where I have been distracted or procrastinating.
Saul’s Escape from Damascus
9:23 Now after some days had passed, the Jews plotted together to kill him, 9:24 but Saul learned of their plot against him. They were also watching the city gates day and night so that they could kill him. 9:25 But his disciples took him at night and let him down through an opening in the wall by lowering him in a basket.
Saul Returns to Jerusalem
9:26 When he arrived in Jerusalem, he attempted to associate with the disciples, and they were all afraid of him, because they did not believe that he was a disciple. 9:27 But Barnabas took Saul, brought him to the apostles, and related to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus. 9:28 So he was staying with them, associating openly with them in Jerusalem, speaking out boldly in the name of the Lord. 9:29 He was speaking and debating with the Greek-speaking Jews, but they were trying to kill him. 9:30 When the brothers found out about this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him away to Tarsus.
9:31 Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria experienced peace and thus was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and in the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, the church increased in numbers.
Peter Heals Aeneas
9:32 Now as Peter was traveling around from place to place, he also came down to the saints who lived in Lydda. 9:33 He found there a man named Aeneas who had been confined to a mattress for eight years because he was paralyzed. 9:34 Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you. Get up and make your own bed!” And immediately he got up. 9:35 All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.
Peter Raises Dorcas
9:36 Now in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which in translation means Dorcas). She was continually doing good deeds and acts of charity. 9:37 At that time she became sick and died. When they had washed her body, they placed it in an upstairs room. 9:38 Because Lydda was near Joppa, when the disciples heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to him and urged him, “Come to us without delay.” 9:39 So Peter got up and went with them, and when he arrived they brought him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him, crying and showing him the tunics and other clothing Dorcas used to make while she was with them. 9:40 But Peter sent them all outside, knelt down, and prayed. Turning to the body, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” Then she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. 9:41 He gave her his hand and helped her get up. Then he called the saints and widows and presented her alive. 9:42 This became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. 9:43 So Peter stayed many days in Joppa with a man named Simon, a tanner.
Lord, You called Saul — renamed Paul — but then he now faced the same deadly persecution that he had directed toward believers. May I serve You faithful without regard to personal sacrifice.
Paul/Saul had to escape from Damascus because the religious leaders, as had become their pattern, sought to murder him for preaching Christ.
Paul/Saul returned to Jerusalem and attempted to fellowship with the disciples there but they still feared and mistrusted him. Barnabas "son of encouragement" brought him to the
Apostles with the report of his "Damascus Road experience". They accepted him. Paul/Saul then preached Christ to the Greek-speaking Jews which prompted the murderous religious leaders to conspire against him - leading to Paul/Saul's relocation to Caesarea and then Tarsus.
Meanwhile Peter healed Aeneus in Lyddia then raised Dorcas from the dead in Joppa which led to many new believers.
The are many countries in the world where there are restrictions on evangelism (even Israel) and where it is illegal to the point of imprisonment and death.
Does the degree of fear and hatred toward Jesus make it clear what evil power is behind such persecution of and resistance to truth.?
Reflect on the pattern of reaction by those who are rebellious against proclamation of Christ, first they try to suppress the message, then failing they they violently attack the messenger.
When have you, or someone you know well, had to change their job, their neighborhood, their school, or other place of association due to persecution for their faith?
Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you someone who has suffered for their faith for whom He wants you to pray and to seek some other way to encourage.
Today I will pray that leaders throughout the world will recognize the truth of Christ and at least cease their persecution of the Church, and perhaps even lead their people to faith.
All Bible text is from the NET unless otherwise indicated - http://bible.org
Note 1: These Studies often rely upon the guidance of the NET Translators from their associated notes. Careful attention has been given to cite that source where it has been quoted directly or closely paraphrased. Feedback is encouraged where credit has not been sufficiently assigned.
Note 2: When NET text is quoted in commentary and discussion all pronouns referring to God are capitalized, though they are lower-case in the original NET text.
Commentary text is from David M. Colburn, D.Min. unless otherwise noted.
Copyright © 2011 by David M. Colburn. This is a BibleSeven Study— “Acts” — prepared by David M. Colburn and edited for bible.org in December of 2011. This text may be used for non-profit educational purposes only, with credit; all other usage requires prior written consent of the author.
Peter Visits Cornelius
10:1 Now there was a man in Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort. 10:2 He was a devout, God-fearing man, as was all his household; he did many acts of charity for the people and prayed to God regularly. 10:3 About three o’clock one afternoon he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God who came in and said to him, “Cornelius.” 10:4 Staring at him and becoming greatly afraid, Cornelius replied, “What is it, Lord?” The angel said to him, “Your prayers and your acts of charity have gone up as a memorial before God. 10:5 Now send men to Joppa and summon a man named Simon, who is called Peter. 10:6 This man is staying as a guest with a man named Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.” 10:7 When the angel who had spoken to him departed, Cornelius called two of his personal servants and a devout soldier from among those who served him, 10:8 and when he had explained everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.
10:9 About noon the next day, while they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10:10 He became hungry and wanted to eat, but while they were preparing the meal, a trance came over him. 10:11 He saw heaven opened and an object something like a large sheet descending, being let down to earth by its four corners. 10:12 In it were all kinds of four-footed animals and reptiles of the earth and wild birds. 10:13 Then a voice said to him, “Get up, Peter; slaughter and eat!” 10:14 But Peter said, “Certainly not, Lord, for I have never eaten anything defiled and ritually unclean!” 10:15 The voice spoke to him again, a second time, “What God has made clean, you must not consider ritually unclean!” 10:16 This happened three times, and immediately the object was taken up into heaven.
10:17 Now while Peter was puzzling over what the vision he had seen could signify, the men sent by Cornelius had learned where Simon’s house was and approached the gate. 10:18 They called out to ask if Simon, known as Peter, was staying there as a guest. 10:19 While Peter was still thinking seriously about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Look! Three men are looking for you. 10:20 But get up, go down, and accompany them without hesitation, because I have sent them.” 10:21 So Peter went down to the men and said, “Here I am, the person you’re looking for. Why have you come?” 10:22 They said, “Cornelius the centurion, a righteous and God-fearing man, well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to summon you to his house and to hear a message from you.” 10:23 So Peter invited them in and entertained them as guests.
On the next day he got up and set out with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him. 10:24 The following day he entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting anxiously for them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 10:25 So when Peter came in, Cornelius met him, fell at his feet, and worshiped him. 10:26 But Peter helped him up, saying, “Stand up. I too am a mere mortal.” 10:27 Peter continued talking with him as he went in, and he found many people gathered together. 10:28 He said to them, “You know that it is unlawful for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile, yet God has shown me that I should call no person defiled or ritually unclean. 10:29 Therefore when you sent for me, I came without any objection. Now may I ask why you sent for me?” 10:30 Cornelius replied, “Four days ago at this very hour, at three o’clock in the afternoon, I was praying in my house, and suddenly a man in shining clothing stood before me 10:31 and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your acts of charity have been remembered before God. 10:32 Therefore send to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter. This man is staying as a guest in the house of Simon the tanner, by the sea.’ 10:33 Therefore I sent for you at once, and you were kind enough to come. So now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to say to us.”
10:34 Then Peter started speaking: “I now truly understand that God does not show favoritism in dealing with people, 10:35 but in every nation the person who fears him and does what is right is welcomed before him. 10:36 You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, proclaiming the good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all) — 10:37 you know what happened throughout Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John announced: 10:38 with respect to Jesus from Nazareth, that God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with him. 10:39 We are witnesses of all the things he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, 10:40 but God raised him up on the third day and caused him to be seen, 10:41 not by all the people, but by us, the witnesses God had already chosen, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 10:42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to warn them that he is the one appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead. 10:43 About him all the prophets testify, that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
The Gentiles Receive the Holy Spirit
10:44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all those who heard the message. 10:45 The circumcised believers who had accompanied Peter were greatly astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, 10:46 for they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said, 10:47 “No one can withhold the water for these people to be baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?” 10:48 So he gave orders to have them baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay for several days.
Lord, Your truth is known, some who should recognize and respond to it do not and others unexpectedly do. May I be alert to observe and ready to obey.
Cornelius, Gentile believer and officer in the “Italian Cohort” (a regiment of 600 soldiers, about 1/10th of a legion), was instructed in a vision to send for Peter. He did so.
Peter, had a vision that challenged his Jewish-only definition of Christianity and community, then was sent to meet with Cornelius - something he would have refused to do prior to the vision.
Peter obediently traveled to Caesarea to meet with Cornelieus, bringing some other believers. Cornelius had gathered people to hear from Peter. Cornelius misunderstood who Peter was and tried to worship him but Peter corrected him, saying “I am a mere mortal ...”. [Note: It is important to recall that throughout the Bible no God-honoring being, man or angel, ever allowed anyone to worship them in any way. Only Jesus, God incarnate, did so.]
Peter and Cornelius shared their experiences with the Lord God through the visions, then, together they discovered that God wanted them to recognize that He plays no favorites based on racial or political or social standing but is interested only in the status of our faith in Jesus and our obedience before Him.
As Peter recited the works of Jesus during His public ministry, and His commandment to the Apostles, the Holy Spirit came upon the Gentiles whom Cornelius had gathered - the same as it had at Pentecost for those gathered for the Jewish celebrations. [Note: There were Jewish-Christians with Peter whom God needed to witness this because, like Peter, they still struggled with a Jews-only misconception of the ministry of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Note once again that this experience with “speaking in tongues” is clearly identified as the same as at Pentecost where they spoke in “known languages”. This text is unavailable for use as a proof-text for a “Heavenly language”, though such is not herein excluded from the NT, it is simply good scholarship to recognize that such was not reported anywhere in the Gospels, nor so up to this point in the Book of Acts.]
Peter then instructed his Jewish-Christian companions to baptize the Gentiles and to perform a “washing of the feet” act of humble-fellowship to illustrate the teaching - originally direct from Jesus - that there is no more any division between Jew and Gentile.
God repeats Himself in order to overcome our resistance to change. In the late texts of the OT God says that He was bringing a new covenant — one no longer exclusive to the Jewish tribes. Jesus said more than once that there was to no longer be a separation between Jew and Gentile - yet here again He had to repeat Himself because the Apostle Peter still didn't get it.
Can you recall a moment in history, or perhaps from your own personal observation or experience, where "a mere mortal” allowed, or even required, people to worship them? What was the result?
The religious leaders didn't get Jesus but Cornelius, a gentile, did.
When in your life has it has been necessary to cause cliques or other sub-groups to interact with one-another in order to bridge unhealthy divisions? Did it improve things?
Ask the Holy Spirit to remind you of a time, perhaps even recently, where you had been unaware of, or confused about, a Biblical teaching but the Lord God's persistence finally led to a correct understanding.
Today I will share the Lord's correction of my understanding with a fellow believer and ask that God will continue to find me teachable. I will also identify and pray for healing within the Christian family where divisions exist. It may be cliques within a youth group, competition between denominations, stylistic preferences about music or programs, or some other non-Biblical cause.
Peter Defends His Actions to the Jerusalem Church
11:1 Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles too had accepted the word of God. 11:2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers took issue with him, 11:3 saying, “You went to uncircumcised men and shared a meal with them.” 11:4 But Peter began and explained it to them point by point, saying, 11:5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision, an object something like a large sheet descending, being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came to me. 11:6 As I stared I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild animals, reptiles, and wild birds. 11:7 I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; slaughter and eat!’ 11:8 But I said, ‘Certainly not, Lord, for nothing defiled or ritually unclean has ever entered my mouth!’ 11:9 But the voice replied a second time from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, you must not consider ritually unclean!’ 11:10 This happened three times, and then everything was pulled up to heaven again. 11:11 At that very moment, three men sent to me from Caesarea approached the house where we were staying. 11:12 The Spirit told me to accompany them without hesitation. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. 11:13 He informed us how he had seen an angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter, 11:14 who will speak a message to you by which you and your entire household will be saved.’ 11:15 Then as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as he did on us at the beginning. 11:16 And I remembered the word of the Lord, as he used to say, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 11:17 Therefore if God gave them the same gift as he also gave us after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to hinder God?” 11:18 When they heard this, they ceased their objections and praised God, saying, “So then, God has granted the repentance that leads to life even to the Gentiles.”
Activity in the Church at Antioch
11:19 Now those who had been scattered because of the persecution that took place over Stephen went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the message to no one but Jews. 11:20 But there were some men from Cyprus and Cyrene among them who came to Antioch and began to speak to the Greeks too, proclaiming the good news of the Lord Jesus. 11:21 The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. 11:22 A report about them came to the attention of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 11:23 When he came and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with devoted hearts, 11:24 because he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith, and a significant number of people were brought to the Lord. 11:25 Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to look for Saul, 11:26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught a significant number of people. Now it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.
Famine Relief for Judea
11:27 At that time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 11:28 One of them, named Agabus, got up and predicted by the Spirit that a severe famine was about to come over the whole inhabited world. (This took place during the reign of Claudius.) 11:29 So the disciples, each in accordance with his financial ability, decided to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. 11:30 They did so, sending their financial aid to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.
Lord, You not only overcame the enemy's intent to harm Your mission to Jerusalem — by using the flight of Jews from persecution — You also overcame Jewish-Christian convert resistance to evangelizing Gentiles. May I resist the confused notions of humankind and view things through Your eyes.
Peter was challenged by the Jewish-Christians in Jerusalem and explains his interaction with God and the Gentiles to them in detail - they repented of their objections and praised God.
Disciples who scattered due to the murder-martyrdom of Stephen preached and taught Jews in Phonecia and Cyprus and Antioch but had refused to share with the Gentiles. God raised-up others from Cyprus and Cyrene to send to the Greeks and many were saved.
The gathered believers (the Church) in Jerusalem, recognizing that the “harvest” was ready among the Greeks, sent Barnabas to Antioch and many more were saved. It is here that the Biblical text first actually notes the use of “Christian” as applied to believers.
Famine throughout the Roman Empire is prophesied so the disciples donated relief funds for the Christians in Judea, to be delivered by Barnabas and Saul.
The early Church reacted with outreach to the evidence that many people in a certain area or among a certain population were responding to the invitation of the Holy Spirit - have you observed this in modern times?
The early Church recognized and met the needs of fellow believers - are we taking the same care of fellow believers around the world or do we support organizations that divert some of our funds to non-believers leaving believers in need still in need?
God overcomes fear and prejudice in order to deliver His Word to everyone. Have you observed this done in a faith-community of which you are a member?
When have you observed believers doubting something that clearly was of-God but which a detailed presentation of the circumstances and the relevant Biblical texts resolved the confusion and the potential conflict?
Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a ministry opportunity in a "harvest-ready area" and/or sub-population.
Today I will pray in agreement for more "workers for the harvest" and as-appropriate either offer to join them and/or send them a financial contribution to support their work.
James is Killed and Peter Imprisoned
12:1 About that time King Herod laid hands on some from the church to harm them. 12:2 He had James, the brother of John, executed with a sword. 12:3 When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter too. (This took place during the feast of Unleavened Bread.) 12:4 When he had seized him, he put him in prison, handing him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him. Herod planned to bring him out for public trial after the Passover. 12:5 So Peter was kept in prison, but those in the church were earnestly praying to God for him. 12:6 On that very night before Herod was going to bring him out for trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, while guards in front of the door were keeping watch over the prison. 12:7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared, and a light shone in the prison cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly!” And the chains fell off Peter’s wrists. 12:8 The angel said to him, “Fasten your belt and put on your sandals.” Peter did so. Then the angel said to him, “Put on your cloak and follow me.” 12:9 Peter went out and followed him; he did not realize that what was happening through the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. 12:10 After they had passed the first and second guards, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went outside and walked down one narrow street, when at once the angel left him. 12:11 When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from everything the Jewish people were expecting to happen.”
12:12 When Peter realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many people had gathered together and were praying. 12:13 When he knocked at the door of the outer gate, a slave girl named Rhoda answered. 12:14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she did not open the gate, but ran back in and told them that Peter was standing at the gate. 12:15 But they said to her, “You’ve lost your mind!” But she kept insisting that it was Peter, and they kept saying, “It is his angel!” 12:16 Now Peter continued knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were greatly astonished. 12:17 He motioned to them with his hand to be quiet and then related how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. He said, “Tell James and the brothers these things,” and then he left and went to another place.
12:18 At daybreak there was great consternation among the soldiers over what had become of Peter. 12:19 When Herod had searched for him and did not find him, he questioned the guards and commanded that they be led away to execution. Then Herod went down from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there.
12:20 Now Herod was having an angry quarrel with the people of Tyre and Sidon. So they joined together and presented themselves before him. And after convincing Blastus, the king’s personal assistant, to help them, they asked for peace, because their country’s food supply was provided by the king’s country. 12:21 On a day determined in advance, Herod put on his royal robes, sat down on the judgment seat, and made a speech to them. 12:22 But the crowd began to shout, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” 12:23 Immediately an angel of the Lord struck Herod down because he did not give the glory to God, and he was eaten by worms and died. 12:24 But the word of God kept on increasing and multiplying.
12:25 So Barnabas and Saul returned to Jerusalem when they had completed their mission, bringing along with them John Mark.
Lord, You protected Peter to complete the ministry which You had assigned to him. May I be confident that You protect and provide for the ministries that You have determined must be completed.
James was murdered by Herod, during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, in order to garner the approval of the religious leaders. James was the first Apostle to be martyred.
Herod then had Peter imprisoned under heavy guard with the intent of a public trial following Passover; however, the believers committed themselves to earnest prayer and God sent an angel to release Peter from prison. Peter walked out with the angel, gates opened without human action, and none of the guards noticed them as they passed.
Peter walked to the home of John and Mary (the mother of Jesus) where the believers had gathered for prayer. The believers doubted that it could be Peter at the gate—even though they had prayed for his protection and release—and thought it was “his angel”.
Peter explained all that happened, asked them to tell James and the “brothers”, then left for a place unmentioned in the text. [Note: It appears that Peter was not yet aware that James had been murdered.] Herod had the guards punished.
Herod traveled to Tyre and Sidon to resolve a conflict, in an effort to mollify the angry ruler the crowd called to him as if he were a god - he (Herod) failed to stop them from that blasphemy - so an angel struck him down and an infestation of intestinal worms slowly killed him from the inside.
Contemplate history since Jesus and try to recall any political or religious leader who has allowed himself to be worship as a god who has lived long and died peacefully.
Why would Herod have been so foolish as to tempt the wrath of the Lord God by permitting the people to worship him as a false god?
There was a convergence of God's plan to preserve Peter for additional ministry (recall that Peter had the prophesy from Jesus that he would die young because of his ministry) and the fervent prayer of the believers for their brother and leader.
When have you observed a leader of any sort permitting people to treat them as a sort of god?
Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a Christian who has been wrongfully persecuted.
Today I will identify and pray fervently for their freedom and vindication and that God will be glorified in the process. I will also pray for political and religious leaders that they be wise enough to stay far away from anything that approaches the encouragement or acceptance of god-like worship.
The Church at Antioch Commissions Barnabas and Saul
13:1 Now there were these prophets and teachers in the church at Antioch: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius the Cyrenian, Manaen (a close friend of Herod the tetrarch from childhood) and Saul. 13:2 While they were serving the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 13:3 Then, after they had fasted and prayed and placed their hands on them, they sent them off.
Paul and Barnabas Preach in Cyprus
13:4 So Barnabas and Saul, sent out by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. 13:5 When they arrived in Salamis, they began to proclaim the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. (Now they also had John as their assistant.) 13:6 When they had crossed over the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus, 13:7 who was with the proconsul Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. The proconsul summoned Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear the word of God. 13:8 But the magician Elymas (for that is the way his name is translated) opposed them, trying to turn the proconsul away from the faith. 13:9 But Saul (also known as Paul), filled with the Holy Spirit, stared straight at him 13:10 and said, “You who are full of all deceit and all wrongdoing, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness — will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? 13:11 Now look, the hand of the Lord is against you, and you will be blind, unable to see the sun for a time!” Immediately mistiness and darkness came over him, and he went around seeking people to lead him by the hand. 13:12 Then when the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, because he was greatly astounded at the teaching about the Lord.
Paul and Barnabas at Pisidian Antioch
13:13 Then Paul and his companions put out to sea from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia, but John left them and returned to Jerusalem. 13:14 Moving on from Perga, they arrived at Pisidian Antioch, and on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. 13:15 After the reading from the law and the prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent them a message, saying, “Brothers, if you have any message of exhortation for the people, speak it.” 13:16 So Paul stood up, gestured with his hand and said,
“Men of Israel, and you Gentiles who fear God, listen: 13:17 The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors and made the people great during their stay as foreigners in the country of Egypt, and with uplifted arm he led them out of it. 13:18 For a period of about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness. 13:19 After he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave his people their land as an inheritance. 13:20 All this took about four hundred fifty years. After this he gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet. 13:21 Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man from the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years. 13:22 After removing him, God raised up David their king. He testified about him: ‘I have found David the son of Jesse to be a man after my heart, who will accomplish everything I want him to do.’ 13:23 From the descendants of this man God brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, just as he promised. 13:24 Before Jesus arrived, John had proclaimed a baptism for repentance to all the people of Israel. 13:25 But while John was completing his mission, he said repeatedly, ‘What do you think I am? I am not he. But look, one is coming after me. I am not worthy to untie the sandals on his feet!’ 13:26 Brothers, descendants of Abraham’s family, and those Gentiles among you who fear God, the message of this salvation has been sent to us. 13:27 For the people who live in Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize him, and they fulfilled the sayings of the prophets that are read every Sabbath by condemning him. 13:28 Though they found no basis for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him executed. 13:29 When they had accomplished everything that was written about him, they took him down from the cross and placed him in a tomb. 13:30 But God raised him from the dead, 13:31 and for many days he appeared to those who had accompanied him from Galilee to Jerusalem. These are now his witnesses to the people. 13:32 And we proclaim to you the good news about the promise to our ancestors, 13:33 that this promise God has fulfilled to us, their children, by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second psalm, ‘You are my Son; today I have fathered you.’ 13:34 But regarding the fact that he has raised Jesus from the dead, never again to be in a state of decay, God has spoken in this way: ‘I will give you the holy and trustworthy promises made to David.’ 13:35 Therefore he also says in another psalm, ‘You will not permit your Holy One to experience decay.’ 13:36 For David, after he had served God’s purpose in his own generation, died, was buried with his ancestors, and experienced decay, 13:37 but the one whom God raised up did not experience decay. 13:38 Therefore let it be known to you, brothers, that through this one forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, 13:39 and by this one everyone who believes is justified from everything from which the law of Moses could not justify you. 13:40 Watch out, then, that what is spoken about by the prophets does not happen to you:
13:41 ‘Look, you scoffers; be amazed and perish!
For I am doing a work in your days,
a work you would never believe, even if someone tells you.’”
13:42 As Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people were urging them to speak about these things on the next Sabbath. 13:43 When the meeting of the synagogue had broken up, many of the Jews and God-fearing proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who were speaking with them and were persuading them to continue in the grace of God.
13:44 On the next Sabbath almost the whole city assembled together to hear the word of the Lord. 13:45 But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy, and they began to contradict what Paul was saying by reviling him. 13:46 Both Paul and Barnabas replied courageously, “It was necessary to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we are turning to the Gentiles. 13:47 For this is what the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have appointed you to be a light for the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’” 13:48 When the Gentiles heard this, they began to rejoice and praise the word of the Lord, and all who had been appointed for eternal life believed. 13:49 So the word of the Lord was spreading through the entire region. 13:50 But the Jews incited the God-fearing women of high social standing and the prominent men of the city, stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and threw them out of their region. 13:51 So after they shook the dust off their feet in protest against them, they went to Iconium. 13:52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
Lord, You prepare teachable hearts and then use the willing to reap Your harvest. May I be willing, available, and teachable.
The Holy Spirit prompted the Antioch Church (gathered believers) to fast and pray and then lay-hands on Barnabas and Saul/Paul to commission them to be sent-out.
Barnabas and Paul, with John, preached in Cyprus. A magician who was also a false Jewish-prophet tried to keep the proconsul from accepting the truth of God was struck blind by the Holy Spirit through Paul and the proconsul was saved.
John returned to Jerusalem and Barnabas and Paul continued through Perga to Pisidian Antioch where they were invited to share at the synagogue. There they reviewed the Biblical record, concluding with a challenging condemnation of those who rejected Jesus whom they should have recognized as the Messiah.
Many believed, the existing believers were encouraged, and they were asked to return for the next Sabbath gathering. The religious leaders were jealous and began personal and religious attacks upon Paul and Barnabas.
Paul and Barnabas replied that since the religious leaders did not find themselves worthy of eternal life they would instead go to the Gentiles. [Note: They abandoned the religious leaders and their followers, all of whom had proved unteachable.]
The Gentiles rejoiced and many were saved but the religious leaders incited the upper class citizens to persecute and ultimately banish Paul and Barnabas - who then “shook the dust off their feet” [symbolically condemning them to their rejection of God’s gift of salvation] and took their ministry to Iconium where “the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit”.
The enemy tried to use the magician to interfere with the evangelizing of the proconsul but the Lord God, through Paul, struck him blind — demonstrating His presence and His power.
Isn’t it amazing that all Paul and Barnabas had to do was to review the Biblical record, essentially what we know as the Old Testament, and many recognized and surrendered to the Messiah?
How interesting is the difference between those who were teachable - welcoming the truth even though it challenged much of what they had previously believed and would upset their social status - versus those who violently rejected obvious truth.
When have you or someone you know, had to "shake the dust off your sandals" and move on when someone with whom you were sharing truth demonstrated a rigid refusal to consider truth.
Ask the Holy Spirit to direct me to where the Lord God wants to send me where His truth will be heard.
Today I will ask a fellow believer to pray in agreement with me for the discernment to recognize the difference between someone whom the Holy Spirit has prepared for "harvest" and one who is unteachable - and the strength and wisdom to walk away from the unteachable.
Paul and Barnabas at Iconium
14:1 The same thing happened in Iconium when Paul and Barnabas went into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a large group of both Jews and Greeks believed. 14:2 But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. 14:3 So they stayed there for a considerable time, speaking out courageously for the Lord, who testified to the message of his grace, granting miraculous signs and wonders to be performed through their hands. 14:4 But the population of the city was divided; some sided with the Jews, and some with the apostles. 14:5 When both the Gentiles and the Jews (together with their rulers) made an attempt to mistreat them and stone them, 14:6 Paul and Barnabas learned about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and the surrounding region. 14:7 There they continued to proclaim the good news.
Paul and Barnabas at Lystra
14:8 In Lystra sat a man who could not use his feet, lame from birth, who had never walked. 14:9 This man was listening to Paul as he was speaking. When Paul stared intently at him and saw he had faith to be healed, 14:10 he said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And the man leaped up and began walking. 14:11 So when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” 14:12 They began to call Barnabas Zeus and Paul Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. 14:13 The priest of the temple of Zeus, located just outside the city, brought bulls and garlands to the city gates; he and the crowds wanted to offer sacrifices to them. 14:14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard about it, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting, 14:15 “Men, why are you doing these things? We too are men, with human natures just like you! We are proclaiming the good news to you, so that you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them. 14:16 In past generations he allowed all the nations to go their own ways, 14:17 yet he did not leave himself without a witness by doing good, by giving you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying you with food and your hearts with joy.” 14:18 Even by saying these things, they scarcely persuaded the crowds not to offer sacrifice to them.
14:19 But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and after winning the crowds over, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, presuming him to be dead. 14:20 But after the disciples had surrounded him, he got up and went back into the city. On the next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.
Paul and Barnabas Return to Antioch in Syria
14:21 After they had proclaimed the good news in that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, to Iconium, and to Antioch. 14:22 They strengthened the souls of the disciples and encouraged them to continue in the faith, saying, “We must enter the kingdom of God through many persecutions.” 14:23 When they had appointed elders for them in the various churches, with prayer and fasting they entrusted them to the protection of the Lord in whom they had believed. 14:24 Then they passed through Pisidia and came into Pamphylia, 14:25 and when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. 14:26 From there they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. 14:27 When they arrived and gathered the church together, they reported all the things God had done with them, and that he had opened a door of faith for the Gentiles. 14:28 So they spent considerable time with the disciples.
Lord, You said that You were opening the doors to Gentiles, that there would no longer be a separation between Jew and Gentile, and You made it happen. May I always beware of false divisions among the people of Your Church (believers, not buildings, not human-assembled religious institutions) and favoritism toward the people-groups to be reached, insisting that all be treated with equal regard, just as You have commanded.
Barnabas and Paul shared at the Word at Lystra, much the same conflict occurred there as in Pisidian Antioch with many new believers, challenges to the truth from religious leaders who did not want the truth to be told, and a threat against their lives which led to Paul and Barnabas moving on “to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra, Derbe, and the surrounding region.”
Paul called out the healing of God in a lame man whose faith the Holy Spirit disclosed to him and the pagan worshipers there offered sacrifices to them. Paul and Barnabas tore their clothes and cried out against their misplaced worship. Despite their efforts to persuade them to the truth the people resisted, then the religious leaders arrived to take advantage of the chaos and manipulated the crowd into dragging Paul out of the city where they stoned and left him for dead. The disciples gathered and prayed and Paul revived, returned to the city, then left with Barnabas for Derbe where they declared the Word.
Barnabas and Paul then return to Lystra, then Iconium, and Antioch in Syria where they “appointed elders for them in the various churches” [Note: Churches referred to the gatherings of believers in parts of the various communities. The term “elder” here refers to someone who would meet the requirements of a Deacon but serve as something like an Apostle.]
They continued on eventually arriving home in Antioch from where they had been commissioned for the journey, sharing all that God had done then staying a long while with the disciples.
How our modern-day notion of "pastor" may have drawn a parallel to the "elder" of ACTS 14.
Isn’t it amazing how quickly the people were turned from worship to murder?
Pagans often try to make everything fit their beliefs and practices, such as trying to make Jesus fit into an existing religious system, or forcing non-Biblical elements into an otherwise Biblical gathering.
When have you observed an idolatry of a celebrity or religious leader?
Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to me any place where I may have drifted into the acceptance of a non-Biblical belief about an organization or a person.
Today I will prayerfully consider all that I do in my daily walk and times of gathering together with other believers, looking carefully for any indication of an element of non-Biblical elements slipping in. I will also pray for safety and wisdom for the spiritual leader or leaders of my Christian fellowship.
The Jerusalem Council
15:1 Now some men came down from Judea and began to teach the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 15:2 When Paul and Barnabas had a major argument and debate with them, the church appointed Paul and Barnabas and some others from among them to go up to meet with the apostles and elders in Jerusalem about this point of disagreement. 15:3 So they were sent on their way by the church, and as they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, they were relating at length the conversion of the Gentiles and bringing great joy to all the brothers. 15:4 When they arrived in Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all the things God had done with them. 15:5 But some from the religious party of the Pharisees who had believed stood up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise the Gentiles and to order them to observe the law of Moses.”
15:6 Both the apostles and the elders met together to deliberate about this matter. 15:7 After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that some time ago God chose me to preach to the Gentiles so they would hear the message of the gospel and believe. 15:8 And God, who knows the heart, has testified to them by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, 15:9 and he made no distinction between them and us, cleansing their hearts by faith. 15:10 So now why are you putting God to the test by placing on the neck of the disciples a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear? 15:11 On the contrary, we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they are.”
15:12 The whole group kept quiet and listened to Barnabas and Paul while they explained all the miraculous signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. 15:13 After they stopped speaking, James replied, “Brothers, listen to me. 15:14 Simeon has explained how God first concerned himself to select from among the Gentiles a people for his name. 15:15 The words of the prophets agree with this, as it is written,
15:16 ‘After this I will return, and I will rebuild the fallen tent of David; I will rebuild its ruins and restore it,
15:17 so that the rest of humanity may seek the Lord, namely, all the Gentiles I have called to be my own,’ says the Lord, who makes these things 15:18 known from long ago.
15:19 “Therefore I conclude that we should not cause extra difficulty for those among the Gentiles who are turning to God, 15:20 but that we should write them a letter telling them to abstain from things defiled by idols and from sexual immorality and from what has been strangled and from blood. 15:21 For Moses has had those who proclaim him in every town from ancient times, because he is read aloud in the synagogues every Sabbath.”
15:22 Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to send men chosen from among them, Judas called Barsabbas and Silas, leaders among the brothers, to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. 15:23 They sent this letter with them:
From the apostles and elders, your brothers, to the Gentile brothers and sisters in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia, greetings! 15:24 Since we have heard that some have gone out from among us with no orders from us and have confused you, upsetting your minds by what they said, 15:25 we have unanimously decided to choose men to send to you along with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul, 15:26 who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15:27 Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas who will tell you these things themselves in person. 15:28 For it seemed best to the Holy Spirit and to us not to place any greater burden on you than these necessary rules: 15:29 that you abstain from meat that has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what has been strangled and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from doing these things, you will do well. Farewell.
15:30 So when they were dismissed, they went down to Antioch, and after gathering the entire group together, they delivered the letter. 15:31 When they read it aloud, the people rejoiced at its encouragement. 15:32 Both Judas and Silas, who were prophets themselves, encouraged and strengthened the brothers with a long speech. 15:33 After they had spent some time there, they were sent off in peace by the brothers to those who had sent them. 15:34 [[EMPTY]] 15:35 But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, teaching and proclaiming (along with many others) the word of the Lord.
Paul and Barnabas Part Company
15:36 After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s return and visit the brothers in every town where we proclaimed the word of the Lord to see how they are doing.” 15:37 Barnabas wanted to bring John called Mark along with them too, 15:38 but Paul insisted that they should not take along this one who had left them in Pamphylia and had not accompanied them in the work. 15:39 They had a sharp disagreement, so that they parted company. Barnabas took along Mark and sailed away to Cyprus, 15:40 but Paul chose Silas and set out, commended to the grace of the Lord by the brothers and sisters. 15:41 He passed through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
Lord, the early participants in Your “Church” faced many challenges, internal struggles with tradition-bound Jews and conflict among other members. May I pray regularly for peace and wisdom among believers — and to expect the same of myself.
The Jerusalem Counsel attempted to impose legalistic Judaism on the Gentile believers, Peter, Paul, Barnabas, and James all reflected on God’s sending of them to the Gentiles and His teaching that one is saved by responding to Jesus through the Holy Spirit in faith.
They agreed not to add the artificial “difficulty” of mandatory circumcision but instead sent a letter of instruction and encouragement to live righteously.
Judas-Barsabbas and Silas traveled with Paul and Barnabas to Antioch to explain the decision of the Apostles as to the Gentile believers, the others returned to Jerusalem while Paul and Barnabas remained.
Barnabas and Paul parted company due to Mark [apparently Mark had abandoned them in Pamphylia and lost Paul’s trust] so Barnabas took Mark and set out for Cyprus while Paul took Silas and went to Syria and Cilicia.
It took Peter, Paul, Barnabas, and James to persuade the Jerusalem Counsel not to impose legalistic Judaism upon the new Gentile believers.
Why would Jewish believers try to impose mandatory circumcision and other Jewish traditions upon Gentile converts?
Even apostles and disciples struggled with interpersonal relationships.
When have you Share a time when religious leaders, or others with influence and power, tried to impose extra-Biblical traditions upon new believers. What was the result?
Share a time when there was a disagreement among the leaders of a Christian fellowship and some leaders went separate ways. What was the result?
Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a relationship for which He wants you to pray for reconciliation between leaders who have gone separate ways due to a conflict.
Today I will Today I will pray that Christian religious leaders everywhere will refrain from distortions of the Word of God that come from confusing tradition with truth and the discouragement that may create for new and potential new believers.
Timothy Joins Paul and Silas
16:1 He also came to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple named Timothy was there, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but whose father was a Greek. 16:2 The brothers in Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. 16:3 Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was Greek. 16:4 As they went through the towns, they passed on the decrees that had been decided on by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the Gentile believers to obey. 16:5 So the churches were being strengthened in the faith and were increasing in number every day.
Paul’s Vision of the Macedonian Man
16:6 They went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been prevented by the Holy Spirit from speaking the message in the province of Asia. 16:7 When they came to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them to do this, 16:8 so they passed through Mysia and went down to Troas. 16:9 A vision appeared to Paul during the night: A Macedonian man was standing there urging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” 16:10 After Paul saw the vision, we attempted immediately to go over to Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them.
Arrival at Philippi
16:11 We put out to sea from Troas and sailed a straight course to Samothrace, the next day to Neapolis, 16:12 and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of that district of Macedonia, a Roman colony. We stayed in this city for some days. 16:13 On the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate to the side of the river, where we thought there would be a place of prayer, and we sat down and began to speak to the women who had assembled there. 16:14 A woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, a God-fearing woman, listened to us. The Lord opened her heart to respond to what Paul was saying. 16:15 After she and her household were baptized, she urged us, “If you consider me to be a believer in the Lord, come and stay in my house.” And she persuaded us.
Paul and Silas Are Thrown Into Prison
16:16 Now as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave girl met us who had a spirit that enabled her to foretell the future by supernatural means. She brought her owners a great profit by fortune-telling. 16:17 She followed behind Paul and us and kept crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation.” 16:18 She continued to do this for many days. But Paul became greatly annoyed, and turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out of her at once. 16:19 But when her owners saw their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities. 16:20 When they had brought them before the magistrates, they said, “These men are throwing our city into confusion. They are Jews 16:21 and are advocating customs that are not lawful for us to accept or practice, since we are Romans.”
16:22 The crowd joined the attack against them, and the magistrates tore the clothes off Paul and Silas and ordered them to be beaten with rods. 16:23 After they had beaten them severely, they threw them into prison and commanded the jailer to guard them securely. 16:24 Receiving such orders, he threw them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
16:25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the rest of the prisoners were listening to them. 16:26 Suddenly a great earthquake occurred, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. Immediately all the doors flew open, and the bonds of all the prisoners came loose. 16:27 When the jailer woke up and saw the doors of the prison standing open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, because he assumed the prisoners had escaped. 16:28 But Paul called out loudly, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!” 16:29 Calling for lights, the jailer rushed in and fell down trembling at the feet of Paul and Silas. 16:30 Then he brought them outside and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 16:31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household.” 16:32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him, along with all those who were in his house. 16:33 At that hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and all his family were baptized right away. 16:34 The jailer brought them into his house and set food before them, and he rejoiced greatly that he had come to believe in God, together with his entire household. 16:35 At daybreak the magistrates sent their police officers, saying, “Release those men.” 16:36 The jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent orders to release you. So come out now and go in peace.” 16:37 But Paul said to the police officers, “They had us beaten in public without a proper trial — even though we are Roman citizens — and they threw us in prison. And now they want to send us away secretly? Absolutely not! They themselves must come and escort us out!” 16:38 The police officers reported these words to the magistrates. They were frightened when they heard Paul and Silas were Roman citizens 16:39 and came and apologized to them. After they brought them out, they asked them repeatedly to leave the city. 16:40 When they came out of the prison, they entered Lydia’s house, and when they saw the brothers, they encouraged them and then departed.
Lord, You called Timothy to ministry and like-Paul he was willing to whatever was necessary to remove obstacles to his value as Your instrument of saving-truth. May I be as willing to set-aside that which may be a distraction to Your message to a dark and dying world.
Timothy joined Paul and Silas, but first Paul circumcised him so that the Jews who knew that his father was a Greek and his mother a Jew could not use that, or his failure to be circumcised, as an excuse to reject him as a leader.
The Holy Spirit prevented them from “speaking the message” in the Roman province of Asia or Bithynia but in Troas Paul had a vision (from God) of a man in Macedonia pleading for them to come there so they began the journey.
They first arrived in Philippi where they spoke with some women by the river, among them Lydia, a woman whose heart was inclined toward the Lord. She and her family were baptized then she invited them to stay at her home.
Paul cast the demon out of a young girl who was being used for profit as a fortune-teller and her slave-masters, angry at the loss of profit, had Paul and Silas imprisoned. They were beaten and thrown into prison where Paul and Silas prayed and sang hymns to God.
God freed them from prison, as He had Peter, and when the jailer threatened suicide due to their escape Paul stopped him and shared Christ. The jailer and his family were baptized. [Note: This is not about a parent being saved and their minor-children being saved by association. The same qualifications apply as elsewhere, one must be capable of comprehending what one is doing if one is to make a meaningful decision for-Christ. The Biblically-consistent presumption has to be that both of these families consisted of older children and adults, and/or that those who were baptised were such — and that very young children simply were not intended in the general “family” phrase. Example: “The whole family walked to the car and drove away.” Did the baby-in-arms walk? Of course not. The generic expression was not intended to be that detailed.]
When the magistrates came to set them free Paul challenged them with his Roman citizenship and their mistreatment without a trial - a serious crime against a citizen - terrified they apologized, personally escorted them away from the jail, then begged him to leave. They visited briefly with the “brothers” at Lydia’s house then left.
Timothy was not required by the Lord God to be circumcised, no Christian was, but he agreed in order to remove that from the excuses the enemy would give to those who might resist him as he served the Lord.
Lydia and the jailer heart the truth and because their hearts were teachable they accepted it and were saved — and they led their families to saving truth as well.
There are times when believers may be persecuted because non-believers blame them for lost income or lost influence, perhaps due to superstition, or perhaps a conflict of morality.
When have you had an experience where a sacrifice of comfort or convenience was made by a leader in order to bypass resistance to the truth of God?
Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a leader in the Christian family who has sacrificed in order to be a more effective servant of the Lord.
Today I will pray for that leader and for a believer, or a gathering of believers, who are being persecuted by non-believers for selfish reasons.
All Bible text is from the NET unless otherwise indicated - http://bible.org
Note 1: These Studies often rely upon the guidance of the NET Translators from their associated notes. Careful attention has been given to cite that source where it has been quoted directly or closely paraphrased. Feedback is encouraged where credit has not been sufficiently assigned.
Note 2: When NET text is quoted in commentary and discussion all pronouns referring to God are capitalized, though they are lower-case in the original NET text.
Commentary text is from David M. Colburn, D.Min. unless otherwise noted.
Copyright © 2011 by David M. Colburn. This is a BibleSeven Study— “Acts” — prepared by David M. Colburn and edited for bible.org in December of 2011. This text may be used for non-profit educational purposes only, with credit; all other usage requires prior written consent of the author.
Paul and Silas at Thessalonica
17:1 After they traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. 17:2 Paul went to the Jews in the synagogue, as he customarily did, and on three Sabbath days he addressed them from the scriptures, 17:3 explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and to rise from the dead, saying, “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.” 17:4 Some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large group of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women. 17:5 But the Jews became jealous, and gathering together some worthless men from the rabble in the marketplace, they formed a mob and set the city in an uproar. They attacked Jason’s house, trying to find Paul and Silas to bring them out to the assembly. 17:6 When they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city officials, screaming, “These people who have stirred up trouble throughout the world have come here too, 17:7 and Jason has welcomed them as guests! They are all acting against Caesar’s decrees, saying there is another king named Jesus!” 17:8 They caused confusion among the crowd and the city officials who heard these things. 17:9 After the city officials had received bail from Jason and the others, they released them.
Paul and Silas at Berea
17:10 The brothers sent Paul and Silas off to Berea at once, during the night. When they arrived, they went to the Jewish synagogue. 17:11 These Jews were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they eagerly received the message, examining the scriptures carefully every day to see if these things were so. 17:12 Therefore many of them believed, along with quite a few prominent Greek women and men. 17:13 But when the Jews from Thessalonica heard that Paul had also proclaimed the word of God in Berea, they came there too, inciting and disturbing the crowds. 17:14 Then the brothers sent Paul away to the coast at once, but Silas and Timothy remained in Berea. 17:15 Those who accompanied Paul escorted him as far as Athens, and after receiving an order for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they left.
Paul at Athens
17:16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was greatly upset because he saw the city was full of idols. 17:17 So he was addressing the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles in the synagogue, and in the marketplace every day those who happened to be there. 17:18 Also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with him, and some were asking, “What does this foolish babbler want to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods.” (They said this because he was proclaiming the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.) 17:19 So they took Paul and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are proclaiming? 17:20 For you are bringing some surprising things to our ears, so we want to know what they mean.” 17:21 (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there used to spend their time in nothing else than telling or listening to something new.)
17:22 So Paul stood before the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I see that you are very religious in all respects. 17:23 For as I went around and observed closely your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: ‘To an unknown god.’ Therefore what you worship without knowing it, this I proclaim to you. 17:24 The God who made the world and everything in it, who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by human hands, 17:25 nor is he served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives life and breath and everything to everyone. 17:26 From one man he made every nation of the human race to inhabit the entire earth, determining their set times and the fixed limits of the places where they would live, 17:27 so that they would search for God and perhaps grope around for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 17:28 For in him we live and move about and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we too are his offspring.’ 17:29 So since we are God’s offspring, we should not think the deity is like gold or silver or stone, an image made by human skill and imagination. 17:30 Therefore, although God has overlooked such times of ignorance, he now commands all people everywhere to repent, 17:31 because he has set a day on which he is going to judge the world in righteousness, by a man whom he designated, having provided proof to everyone by raising him from the dead.”
17:32 Now when they heard about the resurrection from the dead, some began to scoff, but others said, “We will hear you again about this.” 17:33 So Paul left the Areopagus. 17:34 But some people joined him and believed. Among them were Dionysius, who was a member of the Areopagus, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
Lord, Your truth is available to everyone but some will refuse to listen and others will reject You when they hear. May I be patient and respectfully-persistent in sharing, wise in moving-on when confronted by unteachable spirits, and joyful for those whom Your Holy Spirit has prepared to receive Christ.
Paul & Silas at Thessalonica once again preached Christ at the local Synagogue. Some Jews and many “God-fearing Greeks” responded. Once again the religious leaders bribed thugs to lie and to cause violence to disrupt things.
Paul and Silas departed for Berea where the local Jews were more receptive but the religious leaders from Thessalonica followed them to Berea and again caused trouble.
Paul moved on to Athens while Silas and Timothy remained in Berea. In Athens he was troubled by the many idols but preached Christ in the Synagogue to Jews and “God-fearing Greeks”. Some of the local philosophers invited him to share with them and he did so—using an idol he had observed labeled “The Unknown God” as a point of contact.
Some believed, but many scoffed and remained unteachable.
The pattern of response, as Jesus prophesied, His message was to be (and is) highly polarizing - people tend to either accept it or react violently against it - recruiting others through fear and misinformation.
How is it that some personalities draw a stronger reaction than others; Silas and Timothy were able to remain and continue the harvest and the discipleship of new believers in Berea whereas Paul needed to move on?
The boldness of Paul was amazing, in light of the many beatings and imprisonments and efforts to murder him, he faithfully preached Christ anywhere and everywhere.
When have you observed one Christian leader being effective in “plowing the ground” but another with a different style being the one who could most-effectively “reap the harvest” or disciple the new believers?
Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you someone who is facing aggressive opposition as they share Christ.
Today I will pray earnestly for the one whom the Holy Spirit has made e aware. This is not about someone in the political realm or someone engaged more in evangelizing for a denomination or a local philosophy (one that may confuse a pet religious theory or tradition with God's sovereign truth) but someone genuinely preaching the essential and uncluttered Word of God. I will pray for safety, a good harvest, and a powerful testimony.
Paul at Corinth
18:1 After this Paul departed from Athens and went to Corinth. 18:2 There he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to depart from Rome. Paul approached them, 18:3 and because he worked at the same trade, he stayed with them and worked with them (for they were tentmakers by trade). 18:4 He addressed both Jews and Greeks in the synagogue every Sabbath, attempting to persuade them.
18:5 Now when Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul became wholly absorbed with proclaiming the word, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. 18:6 When they opposed him and reviled him, he protested by shaking out his clothes and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am guiltless! From now on I will go to the Gentiles!” 18:7 Then Paul left the synagogue and went to the house of a person named Titius Justus, a Gentile who worshiped God, whose house was next door to the synagogue. 18:8 Crispus, the president of the synagogue, believed in the Lord together with his entire household, and many of the Corinthians who heard about it believed and were baptized. 18:9 The Lord said to Paul by a vision in the night, “Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent, 18:10 because I am with you, and no one will assault you to harm you, because I have many people in this city.” 18:11 So he stayed there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.
Paul Before the Proconsul Gallio
18:12 Now while Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews attacked Paul together and brought him before the judgment seat, 18:13 saying, “This man is persuading people to worship God in a way contrary to the law!” 18:14 But just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of some crime or serious piece of villainy, I would have been justified in accepting the complaint of you Jews, 18:15 but since it concerns points of disagreement about words and names and your own law, settle it yourselves. I will not be a judge of these things!” 18:16 Then he had them forced away from the judgment seat. 18:17 So they all seized Sosthenes, the president of the synagogue, and began to beat him in front of the judgment seat. Yet none of these things were of any concern to Gallio.
Paul Returns to Antioch in Syria
18:18 Paul, after staying many more days in Corinth, said farewell to the brothers and sailed away to Syria accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. He had his hair cut off at Cenchrea because he had made a vow. 18:19 When they reached Ephesus, Paul left Priscilla and Aquila behind there, but he himself went into the synagogue and addressed the Jews. 18:20 When they asked him to stay longer, he would not consent, 18:21 but said farewell to them and added, “I will come back to you again if God wills.” Then he set sail from Ephesus, 18:22 and when he arrived at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church at Jerusalem and then went down to Antioch. 18:23 After he spent some time there, Paul left and went through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.
Apollos Begins His Ministry
18:24 Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, arrived in Ephesus. He was an eloquent speaker, well-versed in the scriptures. 18:25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and with great enthusiasm he spoke and taught accurately the facts about Jesus, although he knew only the baptism of John. 18:26 He began to speak out fearlessly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained the way of God to him more accurately. 18:27 When Apollos wanted to cross over to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, he assisted greatly those who had believed by grace, 18:28 for he refuted the Jews vigorously in public debate, demonstrating from the scriptures that the Christ was Jesus.
Lord, You called many and blessed them with teachers as they came to You with teachable spirits. May I remember that no matter how You gift me, no matter how others may admire me because of those gifts, I am always merely Your instrument of ministry and the gifts are from You and for You.
Paul at Corinth worked making tents alongside of Acquila and Priscilla, relocated believing Jews from Rome. He preached Christ and again was opposed by the religious leaders—and again he symbolically “shook out his clothes”, declaring that he would instead share Christ with the Gentiles rather than the Jews.
Among the Jews who were saved was Crispus, President of the Synagogue, and he led his family along with him. God encouraged Paul to continue in Corinth, reminding Paul that He had many there who were among His Family.
Time passed and Sosthenes had assumed Presidency of the Synagogue from Crispus. The religious leaders made charges and had Paul brought before the Roman Proconsul Gallio. Before Paul could speak Gallio dismissed the case as a local religious dispute. The angry religious leaders physically attacked Sosthenes, more evidence of their evil natures.
Paul traveled with Aquila and Priscilla to Antioch in Syria, first shaving his head as a private vow of thanksgiving and commitment, then continued on to Ephesus. While they remained Paul continued on to Caesarea, Jerusalem, Antioch, Galatia, and Phrygia “strengthening all the disciples”.
In Ephesus a charismatic Jewish convert named Apollos began his ministry. While highly effective in sharing the message of John the Baptist - Aquila and Priscilla were sent by God to explain the rest of the “way of God” in Christ to him. Apollos then traveled to Achaia where he preached Christ and refuted the false teachings of the religious leaders.
Paul, formerly a member of the religious elite and now a Christian, was so humble as to willingly perform manual labor making tents alongside other converted (some would say "completed") Jews. The example of Paul here is a good one.
Have you experienced a gifted leader who shared the teachable spirit of Apollos? Although he was a charismatic personality with many admirers when he was approached by Aquila and Priscilla he humbly accepted their teaching and was enriched as a leader by it.
God was multiplying and distributing His leadership; first the Apostles, then the Deacons, and now disciples like Aquila and Priscilla and Apollos - discipling and preaching and teaching His truth in many cities and regions.
When have you experienced or observed a Christian fellowship that included an unusually-wide sociological range of saved people as a result of the faithful preaching of Christ? Compare that to the time of Paul's ministry when it ranged from the President of a Synagogue to the average Jew, to Greek philosophers to the average Gentile. God is "no respecter of persons" - drawing near anyone who freely responds to His invitation.
Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a Christian leader who may be laboring bi-vocationally, perhaps due to the enemy blocking their ministry, perhaps being humbled or taught something important by God.
Today I will Today I will pray for that Christian leader. I will also pray for new and bold and vigorous and teachable new leaders who will preach Christ with integrity and grit and that older leaders will make room for them.
Disciples of John the Baptist at Ephesus
19:1 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul went through the inland regions and came to Ephesus. He found some disciples there 19:2 and said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They replied, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 19:3 So Paul said, “Into what then were you baptized?” “Into John’s baptism,” they replied. 19:4 Paul said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus.” 19:5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, 19:6 and when Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they began to speak in tongues and to prophesy. 19:7 (Now there were about twelve men in all.)
Paul Continues to Minister at Ephesus
19:8 So Paul entered the synagogue and spoke out fearlessly for three months, addressing and convincing them about the kingdom of God. 19:9 But when some were stubborn and refused to believe, reviling the Way before the congregation, he left them and took the disciples with him, addressing them every day in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 19:10 This went on for two years, so that all who lived in the province of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord.
The Seven Sons of Sceva
19:11 God was performing extraordinary miracles by Paul’s hands, 19:12 so that when even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his body were brought to the sick, their diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. 19:13 But some itinerant Jewish exorcists tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were possessed by evil spirits, saying, “I sternly warn you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.” 19:14 (Now seven sons of a man named Sceva, a Jewish high priest, were doing this.) 19:15 But the evil spirit replied to them, “I know about Jesus and I am acquainted with Paul, but who are you?” 19:16 Then the man who was possessed by the evil spirit jumped on them and beat them all into submission. He prevailed against them so that they fled from that house naked and wounded. 19:17 This became known to all who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks; fear came over them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was praised. 19:18 Many of those who had believed came forward, confessing and making their deeds known. 19:19 Large numbers of those who had practiced magic collected their books and burned them up in the presence of everyone. When the value of the books was added up, it was found to total fifty thousand silver coins. 19:20 In this way the word of the Lord continued to grow in power and to prevail.
A Riot in Ephesus
19:21 Now after all these things had taken place, Paul resolved to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia. He said, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” 19:22 So after sending two of his assistants, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, he himself stayed on for a while in the province of Asia.
19:23 At that time a great disturbance took place concerning the Way. 19:24 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought a great deal of business to the craftsmen. 19:25 He gathered these together, along with the workmen in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that our prosperity comes from this business. 19:26 And you see and hear that this Paul has persuaded and turned away a large crowd, not only in Ephesus but in practically all of the province of Asia, by saying that gods made by hands are not gods at all. 19:27 There is danger not only that this business of ours will come into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be regarded as nothing, and she whom all the province of Asia and the world worship will suffer the loss of her greatness.”
19:28 When they heard this they became enraged and began to shout, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 19:29 The city was filled with the uproar, and the crowd rushed to the theater together, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, the Macedonians who were Paul’s traveling companions. 19:30 But when Paul wanted to enter the public assembly, the disciples would not let him. 19:31 Even some of the provincial authorities who were his friends sent a message to him, urging him not to venture into the theater. 19:32 So then some were shouting one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had met together. 19:33 Some of the crowd concluded it was about Alexander because the Jews had pushed him to the front. Alexander, gesturing with his hand, was wanting to make a defense before the public assembly. 19:34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” for about two hours. 19:35 After the city secretary quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, what person is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the keeper of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image that fell from heaven? 19:36 So because these facts are indisputable, you must keep quiet and not do anything reckless. 19:37 For you have brought these men here who are neither temple robbers nor blasphemers of our goddess. 19:38 If then Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a complaint against someone, the courts are open and there are proconsuls; let them bring charges against one another there. 19:39 But if you want anything in addition, it will have to be settled in a legal assembly. 19:40 For we are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no cause we can give to explain this disorderly gathering.” 19:41 After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.
Lord, You not only called converts You called them to be disciples and to grow and then to tell and teach others. May I be as alert to an opportunity to disciple as I am to one to evangelize.
Paul traveled through Macedonia and Greece with several disciples, including the author of Acts, Luke. On his last day in Troas he spoke until midnight and a young man fell asleep on the 3rd story ledge and fell to the ground. Paul threw himself upon him, a conduit for the healing power of the Holy Spirit, and the boys life was restored.
Paul set out on a voyage to Miletus, bypassing Ephesus, but asking them to instead meet him there. He reviewed his ministry with them, shared his understanding from the Holy Spirit that he would not live to return to Ephesus, and warned them to beware false teachers.
The seven sons of Sceva tried to copy Paul, though they were not saved, so when they challenged the demon in a possessed man the demon challenged them back and then empowered the man to beat them. Jesus was praised and fifty thousand silver coins worth of magic books and other items were voluntarily destroyed by the people.
The makers of silver artifacts to a false god stirred up trouble and violence broke out in Ephesus, nearly a riot, but a leader calmed the people — warning them that the Romans would treat them badly for causing trouble without cause — that if they had a legal complain against Paul and the others they needed to take it before a proper court.
Paul informed the disciples that he was going on to Jerusalem, knowing that there waited the most fierce and violent opposition to the Word of God about Christ.
The short-sightedness of the makers of silver statues to a false god not only almost got the into serious trouble with the Romans it kept them from eternal salvation.
Why were the sons of Sceva powerless before the demon-possessed man but Paul and the disciples could command the demons to depart and they had to obey?
The points of emphasis in Paul's parting words to the "elders of the church" from Ephesus:
I served you with humility
I declared Christ despite the threats of the religious leaders
I worked with my hands to support myself and those with me
I earnestly discipled you and now expect you to do the same for others
Just as Jesus had Judas you have weak men among you who will betray you
The "elders" are to care for and feed the flock, as Jesus instructed the Apostle Peter
When have you observed someone stuck in the “baptism of John”, repentant of their sins — pre-saved — but not yet surrendered to the Lordship of Christ and indwelt by the Holy Spirit?
Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to me His inventory of my service to Christ, based on the list from Paul's summary, and to motivate me where I need to make adjustments.
I will identify at least one of the items that "convicts" me where I fall-short and will ask a fellow believer to pray in agreement with me for improvement. Today I will take a look at the fellowship with which I am affiliated to measure health and teachability.
Paul Travels Through Macedonia and Greece
20:1 After the disturbance had ended, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging them and saying farewell, he left to go to Macedonia. 20:2 After he had gone through those regions and spoken many words of encouragement to the believers there, he came to Greece, 20:3 where he stayed for three months. Because the Jews had made a plot against him as he was intending to sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia. 20:4 Paul was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, and Timothy, as well as Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia. 20:5 These had gone on ahead and were waiting for us in Troas. 20:6 We sailed away from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and within five days we came to the others in Troas, where we stayed for seven days. 20:7 On the first day of the week, when we met to break bread, Paul began to speak to the people, and because he intended to leave the next day, he extended his message until midnight. 20:8 (Now there were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting.) 20:9 A young man named Eutychus, who was sitting in the window, was sinking into a deep sleep while Paul continued to speak for a long time. Fast asleep, he fell down from the third story and was picked up dead. 20:10 But Paul went down, threw himself on the young man, put his arms around him, and said, “Do not be distressed, for he is still alive!” 20:11 Then Paul went back upstairs, and after he had broken bread and eaten, he talked with them a long time, until dawn. Then he left. 20:12 They took the boy home alive and were greatly comforted.
The Voyage to Miletus
20:13 We went on ahead to the ship and put out to sea for Assos, intending to take Paul aboard there, for he had arranged it this way. He himself was intending to go there by land. 20:14 When he met us in Assos, we took him aboard and went to Mitylene. 20:15 We set sail from there, and on the following day we arrived off Chios. The next day we approached Samos, and the day after that we arrived at Miletus. 20:16 For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus so as not to spend time in the province of Asia, for he was hurrying to arrive in Jerusalem, if possible, by the day of Pentecost. 20:17 From Miletus he sent a message to Ephesus, telling the elders of the church to come to him.
20:18 When they arrived, he said to them, “You yourselves know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I set foot in the province of Asia, 20:19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears, and with the trials that happened to me because of the plots of the Jews. 20:20 You know that I did not hold back from proclaiming to you anything that would be helpful, and from teaching you publicly and from house to house, 20:21 testifying to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus. 20:22 And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem without knowing what will happen to me there, 20:23 except that the Holy Spirit warns me in town after town that imprisonment and persecutions are waiting for me. 20:24 But I do not consider my life worth anything to myself, so that I may finish my task and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the good news of God’s grace.
20:25 “And now I know that none of you among whom I went around proclaiming the kingdom will see me again. 20:26 Therefore I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of you all. 20:27 For I did not hold back from announcing to you the whole purpose of God. 20:28 Watch out for yourselves and for all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God that he obtained with the blood of his own Son. 20:29 I know that after I am gone fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 20:30 Even from among your own group men will arise, teaching perversions of the truth to draw the disciples away after them. 20:31 Therefore be alert, remembering that night and day for three years I did not stop warning each one of you with tears. 20:32 And now I entrust you to God and to the message of his grace. This message is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 20:33 I have desired no one’s silver or gold or clothing. 20:34 You yourselves know that these hands of mine provided for my needs and the needs of those who were with me. 20:35 By all these things, I have shown you that by working in this way we must help the weak, and remember the words of the Lord Jesus that he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
20:36 When he had said these things, he knelt down with them all and prayed. 20:37 They all began to weep loudly, and hugged Paul and kissed him, 20:38 especially saddened by what he had said, that they were not going to see him again. Then they accompanied him to the ship.
Lord, You caused the apostle Paul to evangelize and disciple, then he transferred leadership and instructed them all to persevere and to watch out for deceivers. May I also be a useful instrument but then not tarry when my service is complete and I need to be elsewhere.
Paul traveled through Macedonia and Greece with several disciples, including the author of Acts, Luke. On his last day in Troas he spoke until midnight and a young man fell asleep on the 3rd story ledge and fell to the ground. Paul threw himself upon him, a conduit for the healing power of the Holy Spirit, and the boys life was restored.
Paul set out on a voyage to Miletus, bypassing Ephesus, but asking them to instead meet him there. He reviewed his ministry with them, shared his understanding from the Holy Spirit that he would not live to return to Ephesus, and warned them to beware false teachers.
Paul informed them that he was going on to Jerusalem, knowing that there waited the most fierce and violent opposition to the Word of God about Christ.
Consider
The key points of emphasis in Paul's parting words to the "elders of the church" from Ephesus:
I served you with humility
I declared Christ despite the threats of the religious leaders
I worked with my hands to support myself and those with me
I earnestly discipled you and now expect you to do the same for others
Just as Jesus had Judas you have weak men among you who will betray you
The “elders” are to care for and feed the flock, as Jesus instructed the Apostle Peter
To what message from the Lord God to an Old Testament prophet was Paul referring when he said in Acts 20:26-27 “Therefore I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of you all. For I did not hold back from announcing to you the whole purpose of God.“
Paul warned them to be watchful because deceivers would come.
When have you experienced or observed a deceiver come into a fellowship?
Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a ministry you may need to hand-off to someone else, a threat to ministry from bad teaching or other deception, and/or and opportunity to be His instrument of emotional, intellectual, physical, and/or spiritual healing.
Today I will step out of my comfort zone of ministry in faith that He is in control.
Paul’s Journey to Jerusalem
21:1 After we tore ourselves away from them, we put out to sea, and sailing a straight course, we came to Cos, on the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara. 21:2 We found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, went aboard, and put out to sea. 21:3 After we sighted Cyprus and left it behind on our port side, we sailed on to Syria and put in at Tyre, because the ship was to unload its cargo there. 21:4 After we located the disciples, we stayed there seven days. They repeatedly told Paul through the Spirit not to set foot in Jerusalem. 21:5 When our time was over, we left and went on our way. All of them, with their wives and children, accompanied us outside of the city. After kneeling down on the beach and praying, 21:6 we said farewell to one another. Then we went aboard the ship, and they returned to their own homes. 21:7 We continued the voyage from Tyre and arrived at Ptolemais, and when we had greeted the brothers, we stayed with them for one day. 21:8 On the next day we left and came to Caesarea, and entered the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, and stayed with him. 21:9 (He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied.)
21:10 While we remained there for a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 21:11 He came to us, took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it, and said, “The Holy Spirit says this: ‘This is the way the Jews in Jerusalem will tie up the man whose belt this is, and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’” 21:12 When we heard this, both we and the local people begged him not to go up to Jerusalem. 21:13 Then Paul replied, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be tied up, but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” 21:14 Because he could not be persuaded, we said no more except, “The Lord’s will be done.”
21:15 After these days we got ready and started up to Jerusalem. 21:16 Some of the disciples from Caesarea came along with us too, and brought us to the house of Mnason of Cyprus, a disciple from the earliest times, with whom we were to stay. 21:17 When we arrived in Jerusalem, the brothers welcomed us gladly. 21:18 The next day Paul went in with us to see James, and all the elders were there.
21:19 When Paul had greeted them, he began to explain in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. 21:20 When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all ardent observers of the law. 21:21 They have been informed about you — that you teach all the Jews now living among the Gentiles to abandon Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs. 21:22 What then should we do? They will no doubt hear that you have come. 21:23 So do what we tell you: We have four men who have taken a vow; 21:24 take them and purify yourself along with them and pay their expenses, so that they may have their heads shaved. Then everyone will know there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself live in conformity with the law. 21:25 But regarding the Gentiles who have believed, we have written a letter, having decided that they should avoid meat that has been sacrificed to idols and blood and what has been strangled and sexual immorality.”
21:26 Then Paul took the men the next day, and after he had purified himself along with them, he went to the temple and gave notice of the completion of the days of purification, when the sacrifice would be offered for each of them. 21:27 When the seven days were almost over, the Jews from the province of Asia who had seen him in the temple area stirred up the whole crowd and seized him, 21:28 shouting, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people, our law, and this sanctuary! Furthermore he has brought Greeks into the inner courts of the temple and made this holy place ritually unclean!” 21:29 (For they had seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him previously, and they assumed Paul had brought him into the inner temple courts.) 21:30 The whole city was stirred up, and the people rushed together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple courts, and immediately the doors were shut.
21:31 While they were trying to kill him, a report was sent up to the commanding officer of the cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion. 21:32 He immediately took soldiers and centurions and ran down to the crowd. When they saw the commanding officer and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. 21:33 Then the commanding officer came up and arrested him and ordered him to be tied up with two chains; he then asked who he was and what he had done. 21:34 But some in the crowd shouted one thing, and others something else, and when the commanding officer was unable to find out the truth because of the disturbance, he ordered Paul to be brought into the barracks.
21:35 When he came to the steps, Paul had to be carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the mob, 21:36 for a crowd of people followed them, screaming, “Away with him!” 21:37 As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the commanding officer, “May I say something to you?” The officer replied, “Do you know Greek? 21:38 Then you’re not that Egyptian who started a rebellion and led the four thousand men of the ‘Assassins’ into the wilderness some time ago?” 21:39 Paul answered, “I am a Jew from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of an important city. Please allow me to speak to the people.”
21:40 When the commanding officer had given him permission, Paul stood on the steps and gestured to the people with his hand. When they had become silent, he addressed them in Aramaic,
Lord, You call us to be faithful in an evil and rebellious fallen world, and so sometimes we will suffer for our faithful obedience. May I worry less about what may happen if I am faithful then what won't happen through me if I am not faithful.
Paul’s traveled from Miletus to Tyre on his journey to Jerusalem. In Tyre he met with the disciples for seven days during which the Spirit revealed to them the danger to Paul in Jerusalem and they encouraged him to not go. [Note: It is unclear in the text if the Holy Spirit was affirming earlier warnings to Paul, which he continued to ignore, or if He wanted the disciples to comprehend the risk Paul was taking for the cause of Christ.]
Paul journeyed on to Caesarea (Palestinian coast south of Mount Carmel) where stayed with one of the original seven Deacons from Jerusalem named Philip, and his four daughters. The Holy Spirit was delivering prophesies via Philip’s daughters. [Note: The author, Luke, makes an intentional point of the parenthetical note both that Philip’s daughters we single and that God was using them in an important ministry role. It is also notable to recall that most Biblical “prophesy” was the re-telling of what God had done and only a small fraction was fore-telling of things to come. The text does not record any prophesy; that they prophesied appears to have been the purpose of their mention.]
Agabus, a prophet from Jerusalem [also mentioned in Acts 11:28], came to Caesarea and tied Paul’s hands and feet with Paul’s belt then prophesied that the same would happen to him in Jerusalem. Luke and the others pleaded with Paul, weeping as they did so, not to travel to Jerusalem but Paul was undeterred so they entrusted the matter to God.
Paul continued on to Jerusalem where he was warned of the rumors that he had taught Jews to abandon their law-keeping customs and even brought Gentiles into the inner courts of the Temple [presumed to be for Jews only]. They started a riot and Paul was attacked. The commanding officer of the cohort hear of the disturbance and stopped it.
He arrested Paul then had to remove him to the barracks so hysterical had the mob become. There Paul noted his citizenry of Tarsus and requested permission to address the crowd. He addressed them in their local dialect of Aramaic.
The Lord God used the Romans to rescue Paul and then to require the people to listen to him.
Isn’t it amazing that despite the danger to Paul and others - which they courageously ignored - how they were persuaded in their minds that the calling of Christ was worthy of any price?
Philip’s unmarried daughters were empowered by the Lord God to prophesy, actualizing His teaching that there was no hierarchy "male or female, Greek or Hebrew" in God's value system.
When have you been aware of someone who was faithful to the Lord in sharing His truth and suffered a violent reaction — physical or social — yet they persevered?
Ask the Holy Spirit to give you increased-courage to serve the Lord God.
Today I will share a word of encouragement with a woman whose calling is blocked by man.
Paul’s Defense
22:1 “Brothers and fathers, listen to my defense that I now make to you.” 22:2 (When they heard that he was addressing them in Aramaic, they became even quieter.) Then Paul said, 22:3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated with strictness under Gamaliel according to the law of our ancestors, and was zealous for God just as all of you are today. 22:4 I persecuted this Way even to the point of death, tying up both men and women and putting them in prison, 22:5 as both the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. From them I also received letters to the brothers in Damascus, and I was on my way to make arrests there and bring the prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.
22:6 As I was en route and near Damascus, about noon a very bright light from heaven suddenly flashed around me. 22:7 Then I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ 22:8 I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ He said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’ 22:9 Those who were with me saw the light, but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me.
22:10 So I asked, ‘What should I do, Lord?’ The Lord said to me, ‘Get up and go to Damascus; there you will be told about everything that you have been designated to do.’ 22:11 Since I could not see because of the brilliance of that light, I came to Damascus led by the hand of those who were with me.
22:12 A man named Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who live there, 22:13 came to me and stood beside me and said to me, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight!’ And at that very moment I looked up and saw him. 22:14 Then he said, ‘The God of our ancestors has already chosen you to know his will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear a command from his mouth, 22:15 because you will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard. 22:16 And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized, and have your sins washed away, calling on his name.’
22:17 When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance 22:18 and saw the Lord saying to me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’ 22:19 I replied, ‘Lord, they themselves know that I imprisoned and beat those in the various synagogues who believed in you. 22:20 And when the blood of your witness Stephen was shed, I myself was standing nearby, approving, and guarding the cloaks of those who were killing him.’
22:21 Then he said to me, ‘Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”
The Roman Commander Questions Paul
22:22 The crowd was listening to him until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, “Away with this man from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live!” 22:23 While they were screaming and throwing off their cloaks and tossing dust in the air,
22:24 the commanding officer ordered Paul to be brought back into the barracks. He told them to interrogate Paul by beating him with a lash so that he could find out the reason the crowd was shouting at Paul in this way. 22:25 When they had stretched him out for the lash, Paul said to the centurion standing nearby, “Is it legal for you to lash a man who is a Roman citizen without a proper trial?”
22:26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the commanding officer and reported it, saying, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman citizen.” 22:27 So the commanding officer came and asked Paul, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” He replied, “Yes.” 22:28 The commanding officer answered, “I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money.” “But I was even born a citizen,” Paul replied. 22:29 Then those who were about to interrogate him stayed away from him, and the commanding officer was frightened when he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that he had had him tied up.
Paul Before the Sanhedrin
22:30 The next day, because the commanding officer wanted to know the true reason Paul was being accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and the whole council to assemble. He then brought Paul down and had him stand before them.
Lord, the apostle Paul confronted the people with Your truth and they hated him for it. May I remember that Jesus warned His followers that those who rejected Him would also reject us as His messengers.
Paul’s defense began with a presentation of his mentoring and performance as a member of the religious leaders and their most aggressive persecutors of Christians.
He then shared the story of Jesus confronting him on the road to Damascus and how another man, respected by Jews-of-the-law, named Ananias delivered God’s healing of his sight and led him to be baptized.
Paul continued to share, noting that God spoke to him in the Temple, saying “get out of Jerusalem ... because they will not accept your testimony about Me.”
Paul protested to God that the Jews in Jerusalem knew of his zealotry against the Christians, even approving the murder of Stephen, but God declared that He was sending Paul to the Gentiles.
When Paul mentioned outreach to Gentiles the crowd burst into hysteria and Paul was returned to the barracks.
[Note: The Jews had been deceived by the religious leaders into believing that despite the clear Word of God they remained His unique people - to share God with Gentiles was considered the worst sort of betrayal to such a self-important people.]
The Roman commander ordered Paul lashed to force him to explain why the people were so angry. Paul informed them that he was born a Roman citizen and thus it was a crime against Rome to punish him without a trial. The next morning the commander brought him before the Sanhedrin.
As long as he did not stray from the "brainwashed" narrative the religious leaders had imposed upon their followers they were silent but the moment Paul crossed the socio-religious line of outreach to the Gentiles they reacted with a mindless corporate rage.
Does it trouble you that the Roman commander was more-reasoned than the Jews?
The people seemed OK with Jesus as long as His message was directed only to Jews.
When have you observed the same sort of blind emotional reaction, against certain culturally-uncomfortable truths, by people within the family of those who associate themselves with the name of Christ?
Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to me an individual, a ministry, or a gathering of believers among a certain people-group who are oppressed for their faith and/or hindered in sharing Christ freely.
Today I will pray for a quick harvest of those who remain open to the truth as the enemies of truth multiply, seize power, and move to silence those who would preach and teach Christ.
I will pray specifically for the individual, ministry, or gathering of believers whom the Holy Spirit has revealed to me. [This latter population may be in China or Vietnam, most of the middle east, and increasingly (though less visible) in the west as well.]
23:1 Paul looked directly at the council and said, “Brothers, I have lived my life with a clear conscience before God to this day.” 23:2 At that the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth. 23:3 Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Do you sit there judging me according to the law, and in violation of the law you order me to be struck?” 23:4 Those standing near him said, “Do you dare insult God’s high priest?” 23:5 Paul replied, “I did not realize, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, ‘You must not speak evil about a ruler of your people.’”
23:6 Then when Paul noticed that part of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, he shouted out in the council, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. I am on trial concerning the hope of the resurrection of the dead!” 23:7 When he said this, an argument began between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 23:8 (For the Sadducees say there is no resurrection, or angel, or spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.) 23:9 There was a great commotion, and some experts in the law from the party of the Pharisees stood up and protested strongly, “We find nothing wrong with this man. What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” 23:10 When the argument became so great the commanding officer feared that they would tear Paul to pieces, he ordered the detachment to go down, take him away from them by force, and bring him into the barracks.
23:11 The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Have courage, for just as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”
The Plot to Kill Paul
23:12 When morning came, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink anything until they had killed Paul. 23:13 There were more than forty of them who formed this conspiracy. 23:14 They went to the chief priests and the elders and said, “We have bound ourselves with a solemn oath not to partake of anything until we have killed Paul. 23:15 So now you and the council request the commanding officer to bring him down to you, as if you were going to determine his case by conducting a more thorough inquiry. We are ready to kill him before he comes near this place.”
23:16 But when the son of Paul’s sister heard about the ambush, he came and entered the barracks and told Paul. 23:17 Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the commanding officer, for he has something to report to him.” 23:18 So the centurion took him and brought him to the commanding officer and said, “The prisoner Paul called me and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you.” 23:19 The commanding officer took him by the hand, withdrew privately, and asked, “What is it that you want to report to me?” 23:20 He replied, “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as if they were going to inquire more thoroughly about him. 23:21 So do not let them persuade you to do this, because more than forty of them are lying in ambush for him. They have bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink anything until they have killed him, and now they are ready, waiting for you to agree to their request.” 23:22 Then the commanding officer sent the young man away, directing him, “Tell no one that you have reported these things to me.” 23:23 Then he summoned two of the centurions and said, “Make ready two hundred soldiers to go to Caesarea along with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen by nine o’clock tonight, 23:24 and provide mounts for Paul to ride so that he may be brought safely to Felix the governor.” 23:25 He wrote a letter that went like this:
23:26 Claudius Lysias to His Excellency Governor Felix, greetings. 23:27 This man was seized by the Jews and they were about to kill him, when I came up with the detachment and rescued him, because I had learned that he was a Roman citizen. 23:28 Since I wanted to know what charge they were accusing him of, I brought him down to their council. 23:29 I found he was accused with reference to controversial questions about their law, but no charge against him deserved death or imprisonment. 23:30 When I was informed there would be a plot against this man, I sent him to you at once, also ordering his accusers to state their charges against him before you.
23:31 So the soldiers, in accordance with their orders, took Paul and brought him to Antipatris during the night. 23:32 The next day they let the horsemen go on with him, and they returned to the barracks. 23:33 When the horsemen came to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they also presented Paul to him. 23:34 When the governor had read the letter, he asked what province he was from. When he learned that he was from Cilicia, 23:35 he said, “I will give you a hearing when your accusers arrive too.” Then he ordered that Paul be kept under guard in Herod’s palace.
Lord, You exposed the false teachers for the apostates that they were, and You protected Paul via the secular Roman authorities so that he could be Your instrument in Rome. May I rest in the truth that You preserve that which is necessary to Your great and perfect plan.
When Paul declared a clear conscience before God the high priest Ananias [a common name] ordered those near Paul to strike him [because he had preached Christ and had done so to the Gentiles, therefore they thought him a liar and now a heretic]. Paul chastised them for violating the law, they replied that to say so insulted the high priest, and Paul apologized as he had not known that Ananias was “ruler of the people”. [Note: The leadership rotated because of the distrust and competition among the religious leaders; Paul had been away for several years and had lost touch with the powers-that-be.
Also, Paul referred to Exodus 22:28, which forbade disrespect for God or the leader of His chosen people. Paul was not respecting the apostate who held the office but the office itself - he would continue to call upon them all to turn away from their false teaching as had Jesus before him.]
Paul then played the Pharisees against the Sadducees on the matter of resurrection, on which he knew that they strongly disagreed, and the argument became so heated that the commander removed Paul again to the barracks. The night the Lord encouraged him that he would share the same testimony in Rome.
Some among the religious leaders plotted to kill Paul but his nephew heard of it and informed him, and he sent him to the commander who transferred him under heavy guard to the Roman Governor of the region, Felix, in Caesarea. Based on the letter from the commander in Jerusalem Felix had Paul confined and guarded in Herod’s palace until the religious leaders could arrive to present their charges against him.
One must carefully separate respect for an office from an endorsement of a person or a policy. While the Bible teaches us to pay our taxes, to obey and respect secular and religious authority (so long as they do not demand that we disobey God), and to pray for our leaders it nowhere asks Christians to be silent about sin.
Why would the Romans care if the Jews killed Paul?
Paul’s history was of a zealous commitment to the truth, as he knew it at the time, first as a zealous “Pharisee of Pharisees” (as he put it) then sold-out to Christ when the blinders of tradition were removed.
When have you observed people with power attempting to silence someone who was attemtping to expose the truth?
Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a secular or Christian leader for whom He wants you to pray that they listen to God.
Today I will search my own Christian walk for the kind of zealous commitment to Christ that empowered Paul to be so bold.
All Bible text is from the NET unless otherwise indicated - http://bible.org
Note 1: These Studies often rely upon the guidance of the NET Translators from their associated notes. Careful attention has been given to cite that source where it has been quoted directly or closely paraphrased. Feedback is encouraged where credit has not been sufficiently assigned.
Note 2: When NET text is quoted in commentary and discussion all pronouns referring to God are capitalized, though they are lower-case in the original NET text.
Commentary text is from David M. Colburn, D.Min. unless otherwise noted.
Copyright © 2011 by David M. Colburn. This is a BibleSeven Study— “Acts” — prepared by David M. Colburn and edited for bible.org in December of 2011. This text may be used for non-profit educational purposes only, with credit; all other usage requires prior written consent of the author.
The Accusations Against Paul
24:1 After five days the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and an attorney named Tertullus, and they brought formal charges against Paul to the governor. 24:2 When Paul had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying, “We have experienced a lengthy time of peace through your rule, and reforms are being made in this nation through your foresight. 24:3 Most excellent Felix, we acknowledge this everywhere and in every way with all gratitude. 24:4 But so that I may not delay you any further, I beg you to hear us briefly with your customary graciousness. 24:5 For we have found this man to be a troublemaker, one who stirs up riots among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. 24:6 He even tried to desecrate the temple, so we arrested him. 24:7 [[EMPTY]] 24:8 When you examine him yourself, you will be able to learn from him about all these things we are accusing him of doing.” 24:9 The Jews also joined in the verbal attack, claiming that these things were true.
Paul’s Defense Before Felix
24:10 When the governor gestured for him to speak, Paul replied, “Because I know that you have been a judge over this nation for many years, I confidently make my defense. 24:11 As you can verify for yourself, not more than twelve days ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship. 24:12 They did not find me arguing with anyone or stirring up a crowd in the temple courts or in the synagogues or throughout the city, 24:13 nor can they prove to you the things they are accusing me of doing. 24:14 But I confess this to you, that I worship the God of our ancestors according to the Way (which they call a sect), believing everything that is according to the law and that is written in the prophets. 24:15 I have a hope in God (a hope that these men themselves accept too) that there is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous. 24:16 This is the reason I do my best to always have a clear conscience toward God and toward people. 24:17 After several years I came to bring to my people gifts for the poor and to present offerings, 24:18 which I was doing when they found me in the temple, ritually purified, without a crowd or a disturbance. 24:19 But there are some Jews from the province of Asia who should be here before you and bring charges, if they have anything against me. 24:20 Or these men here should tell what crime they found me guilty of when I stood before the council, 24:21 other than this one thing I shouted out while I stood before them: ‘I am on trial before you today concerning the resurrection of the dead.’”
24:22 Then Felix, who understood the facts concerning the Way more accurately, adjourned their hearing, saying, “When Lysias the commanding officer comes down, I will decide your case.” 24:23 He ordered the centurion to guard Paul, but to let him have some freedom, and not to prevent any of his friends from meeting his needs.
Lord, Your servant Paul was accused by the same type of apostate and dishonorable religious leaders as was out Lord Jesus, but it was not yet time for him to die — so he was protected by a corrupt but self-interested governor of Rome. May I be assured that as long as You choose to use me as Your instrument no power one heaven or earth may for long block my path or take my life.
Accusations are brought by the religious leaders against Paul, primarily formulated by their attorney, Tertullus.
Paul, in his defense before Felix, noted that falsehoods in the accusations and the ease with which they could be proven so. Felix was more familiar with Christianity than the religious leaders knew and was therefore unpersuaded.
Felix has Paul confined as he delayed his decision for the arrival of “Lysias the commanding officer”. Felix allows Paul’s associates to visit and to bring him things.
The same sort of unethical men, enemies of the truth, attacked the servants of Jesus just as they had attacked Him.
How could these religious leaders continue to doubt Jesus after all of the proofs of the Old Testament prophesies about Jesus and all of the miracles through Him and His followers?
The better-informed that people become about true Biblical Christianity the less prone they are to believe lies, this is true for the person next door and the person in power (religious or secular).
When have you observed a consistent Biblical-Christian being trusted as truthful because of the witness of their life?
Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a misunderstanding, by a Christian or a non-Christian, of Biblical Christianity.
Today I will correct a misunderstanding about Biblical Christianity, perhaps in a conversation with a friend, perhaps online, perhaps in a letter-to-the editor. I will be polite, respectful, avoid the use of insider-religious terminology, and I will avoid being emotionally-argumentative but will stick to the facts.
Paul Speaks Repeatedly to Felix
24:24 Some days later, when Felix arrived with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. 24:25 While Paul was discussing righteousness, self-control, and the coming judgment, Felix became frightened and said, “Go away for now, and when I have an opportunity, I will send for you.” 24:26 At the same time he was also hoping that Paul would give him money, and for this reason he sent for Paul as often as possible and talked with him. 24:27 After two years had passed, Porcius Festus succeeded Felix, and because he wanted to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison.
Paul Appeals to Caesar
25:1 Now three days after Festus arrived in the province, he went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea. 25:2 So the chief priests and the most prominent men of the Jews brought formal charges against Paul to him. 25:3 Requesting him to do them a favor against Paul, they urged Festus to summon him to Jerusalem, planning an ambush to kill him along the way. 25:4 Then Festus replied that Paul was being kept at Caesarea, and he himself intended to go there shortly. 25:5 “So,” he said, “let your leaders go down there with me, and if this man has done anything wrong, they may bring charges against him.”
25:6 After Festus had stayed not more than eight or ten days among them, he went down to Caesarea, and the next day he sat on the judgment seat and ordered Paul to be brought. 25:7 When he arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many serious charges that they were not able to prove. 25:8 Paul said in his defense, “I have committed no offense against the Jewish law or against the temple or against Caesar.” 25:9 But Festus, wanting to do the Jews a favor, asked Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and be tried before me there on these charges?” 25:10 Paul replied, “I am standing before Caesar’s judgment seat, where I should be tried. I have done nothing wrong to the Jews, as you also know very well. 25:11 If then I am in the wrong and have done anything that deserves death, I am not trying to escape dying, but if not one of their charges against me is true, no one can hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!” 25:12 Then, after conferring with his council, Festus replied, “You have appealed to Caesar; to Caesar you will go!”
Lord, You used the foolishness and hatefulness of the Jewish religious leaders and the Roman political leaders to bring Paul into places where he would not otherwise be allowed to preach Christ. May I not fear speaking honestly when asked the reason for my hope because I am sure that You have opened that opportunity and allowed me to be Your instrument.
Felix allowed Paul to visit him while he was his prisoner, hoping for a bribe, but Paul used those opportunities to evangelize Felix and those around him.
The religious leaders appeal to Festus to move Paul to Jerusalem, with a secret plan to ambush and murder him. Festus instructs them to present their charges at Caesarea - where Paul is and he is headed.
In Caesarea Paul again states his innocence and reminds Festus that he knows he is innocent. Festus wants to curry favor with the religious leader and asks Paul to return to Jerusalem - at which point Paul appeals to Caesar - guaranteeing he will be brought to Rome, as God prophesied - providing an opportunity to preach Christ there and also making his death probable.
That Paul used every possible opportunity to evangelize, even the misguided motives of the man who kept him jailed.
Isn’t it amazing how the political process ground continuously forward, the players unaware of the greater spiritual battle raging all round them; the rules and traditions of man forcing them to act without caring or knowing what were the consequences?
Contemplate the sacrificial commitment of Paul to the mission of evangelism.
When have you observed political and religious authorities, both with their own personal agendas, thrashing about as the Lord God caused His purpose to be completed?
Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you faithful men and women of Christ for whom He wants you to pray.
Today I will pray for protection for faithful men and women of Christ from evil schemers, agents of the enemy, intentionally or unintentionally so; in particular someone I know who is under apparent attack from the enemy. I will also pray for the wisdom to understand the realities of the way that the world, apart from Christ, functions; to interact wisely and to not underestimate the impact of ignorance, greed, and evil.
Festus Asks King Agrippa for Advice
25:13 After several days had passed, King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus.
25:14 While they were staying there many days, Festus explained Paul’s case to the king to get his opinion, saying, “There is a man left here as a prisoner by Felix. 25:15 When I was in Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed me about him, asking for a sentence of condemnation against him.
25:16 I answered them that it was not the custom of the Romans to hand over anyone before the accused had met his accusers face to face and had been given an opportunity to make a defense against the accusation. 25:17 So after they came back here with me, I did not postpone the case, but the next day I sat on the judgment seat and ordered the man to be brought.
25:18 When his accusers stood up, they did not charge him with any of the evil deeds I had suspected. 25:19 Rather they had several points of disagreement with him about their own religion and about a man named Jesus who was dead, whom Paul claimed to be alive.
25:20 Because I was at a loss how I could investigate these matters, I asked if he were willing to go to Jerusalem and be tried there on these charges.
25:21 But when Paul appealed to be kept in custody for the decision of His Majesty the Emperor, I ordered him to be kept under guard until I could send him to Caesar.” 25:22 Agrippa said to Festus, “I would also like to hear the man myself.” “Tomorrow,” he replied, “you will hear him.”
Paul Before King Agrippa and Bernice
25:23 So the next day Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp and entered the audience hall, along with the senior military officers and the prominent men of the city. When Festus gave the order, Paul was brought in. 25:24 Then Festus said, “King Agrippa, and all you who are present here with us, you see this man about whom the entire Jewish populace petitioned me both in Jerusalem and here, shouting loudly that he ought not to live any longer.
25:25 But I found that he had done nothing that deserved death, and when he appealed to His Majesty the Emperor, I decided to send him. 25:26 But I have nothing definite to write to my lord about him. Therefore I have brought him before you all, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after this preliminary hearing I may have something to write. 25:27 For it seems unreasonable to me to send a prisoner without clearly indicating the charges against him.”
Lord, You preserved the life of Paul, despite the efforts of the religious leaders to murder him. Your purpose to create an opportunity for him to tell Your story before increasingly higher-levels of Roman a officials and the members of their court. May I hold-tight to Your promise to provide for me a future (a purpose) and a hope (heaven) as I serve You with courage.
Festus sought advice from King Agrippa as to the matter of Paul, who was transferred to his care and judgment when he assumed power following Felix.
King Agrippa heard Festus' report that the religious leaders failed to bring any charges that he felt equipped to evaluate so he asked Paul if he would return to Jerusalem for that purpose — at which time Paul appealed to Caesar — the right of any Roman citizen.
Agrippa decided that he wanted to hear from Paul.
Paul appeared before King Agrippa, Bernice, and many of power and society in Caesarea. Festus introduced Paul as a sort of celebrity, explaining that he did not know how to explain to Caesar the reason for sending Paul to him since there were no legitimate charges.
It was Biblically-wrong of the religious leaders to bring Paul before secular authorities.
Why would Festus concern himself with the quality of the charges against Paul when he passed him on to Caesar?
Festus’s understanding of Paul and Jesus was so shallow that he merely thought of him as a celebrity whose fame had turned to infamy.
When have you observed a Christian wrongfully bringing a fellow Christian before secular authorities when they should have first tried to find a solution within the Christian family?
Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a conflict among Christians that needs to be kept out of the secular court system.
Today I will pray for peace and wisdom as two Christians who are at-odds choose Christian conciliation over secular courtroom warfare.
Paul Offers His Defense
26:1 So Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul held out his hand and began his defense:
26:2 “Regarding all the things I have been accused of by the Jews, King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate that I am about to make my defense before you today, 26:3 because you are especially familiar with all the customs and controversial issues of the Jews. Therefore I ask you to listen to me patiently.
26:4 Now all the Jews know the way I lived from my youth, spending my life from the beginning among my own people and in Jerusalem. 26:5 They know, because they have known me from time past, if they are willing to testify, that according to the strictest party of our religion, I lived as a Pharisee.
26:6 And now I stand here on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our ancestors, 26:7 a promise that our twelve tribes hope to attain as they earnestly serve God night and day. Concerning this hope the Jews are accusing me, Your Majesty! 26:8 Why do you people think it is unbelievable that God raises the dead?
26:9 Of course, I myself was convinced that it was necessary to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus the Nazarene. 26:10 And that is what I did in Jerusalem: Not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons by the authority I received from the chief priests, but I also cast my vote against them when they were sentenced to death. 26:11 I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to force them to blaspheme. Because I was so furiously enraged at them, I went to persecute them even in foreign cities.
26:12 “While doing this very thing, as I was going to Damascus with authority and complete power from the chief priests, 26:13 about noon along the road, Your Majesty, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining everywhere around me and those traveling with me.
26:14 When we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? You are hurting yourself by kicking against the goads.’
26:15 So I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord replied, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 26:16 But get up and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this reason, to designate you in advance as a servant and witness to the things you have seen and to the things in which I will appear to you. 26:17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you 26:18 to open their eyes so that they turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a share among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’
26:19 “Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, 26:20 but I declared to those in Damascus first, and then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds consistent with repentance.
26:21 For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple courts and were trying to kill me.
26:22 I have experienced help from God to this day, and so I stand testifying to both small and great, saying nothing except what the prophets and Moses said was going to happen: 26:23 that the Christ was to suffer and be the first to rise from the dead, to proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.”
26:24 As Paul was saying these things in his defense, Festus exclaimed loudly, “You have lost your mind, Paul! Your great learning is driving you insane!” 26:25 But Paul replied, “I have not lost my mind, most excellent Festus, but am speaking true and rational words. 26:26 For the king knows about these things, and I am speaking freely to him, because I cannot believe that any of these things has escaped his notice, for this was not done in a corner.
26:27 Do you believe the prophets, King Agrippa? I know that you believe.” 26:28 Agrippa said to Paul, “In such a short time are you persuading me to become a Christian?”
26:29 Paul replied, “I pray to God that whether in a short or a long time not only you but also all those who are listening to me today could become such as I am, except for these chains.”
26:30 So the king got up, and with him the governor and Bernice and those sitting with them, 26:31 and as they were leaving they said to one another, “This man is not doing anything deserving death or imprisonment.” 26:32 Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been released if he had not appealed to Caesar.”
Lord, You consistently prophesied of the coming of Jesus and the purpose of His ministry, and when You confronted Paul with that truth he immediately surrendered his legalism to Your grace. Paul risked his life to tell Your story. May I be bold in sharing You as well.
Paul offered his defense, noting that King Agrippa knew the culture and traditions of the Jews well. Paul began with his reputation as a “pharisee of pharisees. He then notes that all Jews look forward to “hope” based on the “promise” of God to send a redeemer.
He reviewed his experience with Jesus on the road to Damascus and the commission he was given by Jesus to preach both to Jews and to Gentiles.
Paul noted that he preached Christ as the fulfillment of the redeemer that Jews longed for and that he was being persecuted for that.
Festus exclaimed to Paul that he must have lost his mind, that his “great learning” has made him mad, but Paul replied that all was “true and rational”.
Paul then appealed to King Agrippa, affirming the awareness and knowledge of the King of both the prophets and the life of Christ, to which Agrippa protested that Paul was trying to convert him. Paul declared that such was his desire for all present.
Agrippa and Bernice and Festus departed, remarking that Paul could have been set free had he not appealed to Caesar.
If Paul had not had a teachable spirit when confronted by Jesus he would have been as useless as the other religious leaders.
Isn’t it amazing how simple was Paul's message? God promised a redeemer and He fulfilled His promise. The next step is up to us; accept or reject His terms for redemption.
It is very import that as many as possible have a true understanding of Biblical Christianity so that Christ is not misrepresented by cults and careless philosophers.
When have you observed someone of great learning exhibit the maturity to remain teachable — even in those things for which he was recognized as exceptionally-knowledgeable?
Ask the Holy Spirit for an opportunity to clarify Biblical truth for someone who is confused or misled, or encourage family or friends to join me in a new Bible study.
Today I will rehearse my explanation of the story of Christ with a fellow believer and share feedback as to how well it matches the powerfully-simple telling of the Apostle Paul.
Paul and Company Sail for Rome
27:1 When it was decided we would sail to Italy, they handed over Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan Cohort named Julius. 27:2 We went on board a ship from Adramyttium that was about to sail to various ports along the coast of the province of Asia and put out to sea, accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica. 27:3 The next day we put in at Sidon, and Julius, treating Paul kindly, allowed him to go to his friends so they could provide him with what he needed. 27:4 From there we put out to sea and sailed under the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against us. 27:5 After we had sailed across the open sea off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we put in at Myra in Lycia. 27:6 There the centurion found a ship from Alexandria sailing for Italy, and he put us aboard it. 27:7 We sailed slowly for many days and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus. Because the wind prevented us from going any farther, we sailed under the lee of Crete off Salmone. 27:8 With difficulty we sailed along the coast of Crete and came to a place called Fair Havens that was near the town of Lasea.
Caught in a Violent Storm
27:9 Since considerable time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous because the fast was already over, Paul advised them, 27:10 “Men, I can see the voyage is going to end in disaster and great loss not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.” 27:11 But the centurion was more convinced by the captain and the ship’s owner than by what Paul said. 27:12 Because the harbor was not suitable to spend the winter in, the majority decided to put out to sea from there. They hoped that somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete facing southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there. 27:13 When a gentle south wind sprang up, they thought they could carry out their purpose, so they weighed anchor and sailed close along the coast of Crete. 27:14 Not long after this, a hurricane-force wind called the northeaster blew down from the island. 27:15 When the ship was caught in it and could not head into the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along. 27:16 As we ran under the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were able with difficulty to get the ship’s boat under control. 27:17 After the crew had hoisted it aboard, they used supports to undergird the ship. Fearing they would run aground on the Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor, thus letting themselves be driven along. 27:18 The next day, because we were violently battered by the storm, they began throwing the cargo overboard, 27:19 and on the third day they threw the ship’s gear overboard with their own hands. 27:20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and a violent storm continued to batter us, we finally abandoned all hope of being saved.
27:21 Since many of them had no desire to eat, Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me and not put out to sea from Crete, thus avoiding this damage and loss. 27:22 And now I advise you to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only the ship will be lost. 27:23 For last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve came to me 27:24 and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul! You must stand before Caesar, and God has graciously granted you the safety of all who are sailing with you.’ 27:25 Therefore keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will be just as I have been told. 27:26 But we must run aground on some island.”
Lord, You blessed Paul's fellow travelers as a testimony to the truth of Paul's report about You. May I be faithful enough that You will choose to bless others in some small way through me.
Paul was transferred to a prison ship bound for Italy. After slow travel due to difficulties with the wind, and several planned stops -including one where the Centurion allowed Paul’s friends to meet his needs - they sailed on.
Paul warned them that due to the winter season they faced shipwreck but they continued on.
They found themselves in a violent storm and after struggling for many days gave up hope of survival. Paul reminded them that he had warned them, then he shared that an angel of God had promised him than none of them would be lost but the ship and cargo would.
As they were about to be shipwrecked Paul calls to them to eat for strength.
The Lord God protected Paul from murder, provided many ministry opportunities, told him he'd preach in Rome, and now protected him and his companions from harm on the way to Rome.
Isn’t it amazing how the Lord God either calms or manages storms as His great purposes require?
When all others have given up hope God assured Paul then Paul in turn assured them.
When have you observed a man of God being ignored, only to be the one people turn to when all else fails and they need a wise leader?
Ask the Holy Spirit to show me someone, or a group, that is sailing into an avoidable storm due to arrogance and/or ignorance.
Today I will pray for protection, for ministry opportunities, and to be used by God to bring eternal hope into the lives of the hopeless.
27:27 When the fourteenth night had come, while we were being driven across the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors suspected they were approaching some land. 27:28 They took soundings and found the water was twenty fathoms deep; when they had sailed a little farther they took soundings again and found it was fifteen fathoms deep. 27:29 Because they were afraid that we would run aground on the rocky coast, they threw out four anchors from the stern and wished for day to appear.
27:30 Then when the sailors tried to escape from the ship and were lowering the ship’s boat into the sea, pretending that they were going to put out anchors from the bow, 27:31 Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.” 27:32 Then the soldiers cut the ropes of the ship’s boat and let it drift away.
27:33 As day was about to dawn, Paul urged them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day you have been in suspense and have gone without food; you have eaten nothing. 27:34 Therefore I urge you to take some food, for this is important for your survival. For not one of you will lose a hair from his head.”
27:35 After he said this, Paul took bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all, broke it, and began to eat. 27:36 So all of them were encouraged and took food themselves. 27:37 (We were in all two hundred seventy-six persons on the ship.) 27:38 When they had eaten enough to be satisfied, they lightened the ship by throwing the wheat into the sea.
Paul is Shipwrecked
27:39 When day came, they did not recognize the land, but they noticed a bay with a beach, where they decided to run the ship aground if they could. 27:40 So they slipped the anchors and left them in the sea, at the same time loosening the linkage that bound the steering oars together. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and steered toward the beach. 27:41 But they encountered a patch of crosscurrents and ran the ship aground; the bow stuck fast and could not be moved, but the stern was being broken up by the force of the waves. 27:42 Now the soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners so that none of them would escape by swimming away. 27:43 But the centurion, wanting to save Paul’s life, prevented them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land, 27:44 and the rest were to follow, some on planks and some on pieces of the ship. And in this way all were brought safely to land.
Paul on Malta
28:1 After we had safely reached shore, we learned that the island was called Malta. 28:2 The local inhabitants showed us extraordinary kindness, for they built a fire and welcomed us all because it had started to rain and was cold.
28:3 When Paul had gathered a bundle of brushwood and was putting it on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand.
28:4 When the local people saw the creature hanging from Paul’s hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer! Although he has escaped from the sea, Justice herself has not allowed him to live!”
28:5 However, Paul shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm. 28:6 But they were expecting that he was going to swell up or suddenly drop dead. So after they had waited a long time and had seen nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.
28:7 Now in the region around that place were fields belonging to the chief official of the island, named Publius, who welcomed us and entertained us hospitably as guests for three days. 28:8 The father of Publius lay sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and after praying, placed his hands on him and healed him.
28:9 After this had happened, many of the people on the island who were sick also came and were healed.
28:10 They also bestowed many honors, and when we were preparing to sail, they gave us all the supplies we needed.
Lord, the enemy attacked Paul via a snake (You said that a serpent would attack the Savior, and a serpent was the form the deceiver took when leading Adam & Eve astray) but the superstitious people of Malta thought it was a judgment of his sin. You turned the enemy's attack upon Paul to good. When I am attacked because of my faithfulness to You, may I trust that You will use your overcoming of the attack as a testimony of His presence and power in you.
Paul warned the captain that everyone had to remain on the ship or none would be saved, and so the sailors who had schemed to sneak away in a small boat were stopped.
Paul encouraged them all to eat as it had been a long time in-crisis then gave thanks to God, broke-bread, and ate before them - they ate as well then discarded the rest of the wheat to lighten the ship. They grounded the ship in shallow water because the storm still threatened. They were successful and, as Paul had prophesied, all were safe.
The shipwrecked crew, including Paul, discovered that they had landed on the Island of Malta. The citizens there were friendly.
Paul was bitten by a viper and suddenly their superstition labeled him a murderer - but when he was not harmed they imagined him a god.
The Holy Spirit used Paul as His vessel of healing for the father of the chief official of the Island as well as many others. [Note: The text does not record Paul as having the opportunity to preach Christ, though he undoubtedly shared Christ with everyone he met, nor does it record any who accepted Christ at the time. It could be that the Holy Spirit used Paul to plant seeds for a future harvest there.]
Because of Paul's faithfulness to Christ the people were blessed by the Lord God and they sent he and his fellow travelers away with many gifts and supplies.
Paul, despite being a prisoner, became a major leader on the ship and on the island.
Isn’t it interesting that Paul was faithful as a vessel of God in healing and sharing on Malta despite the persistent confused-thinking of the people? Might one conclude that the Lord God discerned that they had teachable spirits and the Holy Spirit had prepared them to listen?
Does this seem to be yet another case where pagans attempted to impose their views upon God's work, first the superstition that one bitten by a viper must be an unpunished murderer (interestingly that was true about Paul), and then that he must be a "god" since the viper had no effect on him?
When have you observed a person in ministry first resisted then received?
Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you any place where any pagan value system may affect you.
Today I will ask a fellow believer to pray in agreement with me to discern any place in my life where a pagan value system has gained foothold unnoticed and the strength and wisdom to excise it.
Paul Finally Reaches Rome
28:11 After three months we put out to sea in an Alexandrian ship that had wintered at the island and had the “Heavenly Twins” as its figurehead. 28:12 We put in at Syracuse and stayed there three days.
28:13 From there we cast off and arrived at Rhegium, and after one day a south wind sprang up and on the second day we came to Puteoli. 28:14 There we found some brothers and were invited to stay with them seven days. And in this way we came to Rome.
28:15 The brothers from there, when they heard about us, came as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns to meet us. When he saw them, Paul thanked God and took courage.
28:16 When we entered Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with the soldier who was guarding him.
Paul Addresses the Jewish Community in Rome
28:17 After three days Paul called the local Jewish leaders together. When they had assembled, he said to them, “Brothers, although I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our ancestors, from Jerusalem I was handed over as a prisoner to the Romans. 28:18 When they had heard my case, they wanted to release me, because there was no basis for a death sentence against me.
28:19 But when the Jews objected, I was forced to appeal to Caesar — not that I had some charge to bring against my own people. 28:20 So for this reason I have asked to see you and speak with you, for I am bound with this chain because of the hope of Israel.”
28:21 They replied, “We have received no letters from Judea about you, nor have any of the brothers come from there and reported or said anything bad about you. 28:22 But we would like to hear from you what you think, for regarding this sect we know that people everywhere speak against it.”
28:23 They set a day to meet with him, and they came to him where he was staying in even greater numbers. From morning until evening he explained things to them, testifying about the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus from both the law of Moses and the prophets.
28:24 Some were convinced by what he said, but others refused to believe. 28:25 So they began to leave, unable to agree among themselves, after Paul made one last statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke rightly to your ancestors through the prophet Isaiah 28:26 when he said,
‘Go to this people and say,“You will keep on hearing, but will never understand,and you will keep on looking, but will never perceive.
28:27 For the heart of this people has become dull,and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have closed their eyes, so that they would not see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.”’
28:28 “Therefore be advised that this salvation from God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen!”
28:29 [[EMPTY]]
28:30 Paul lived there two whole years in his own rented quarters and welcomed all who came to him, 28:31 proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with complete boldness and without restriction.
Lord, You enabled Paul to survive murderous plots in order that he might be Your instrument to preach Christ in Rome. He did so and some received Your truth while others rejected it. May I be faithful, no matter the resistance, and know that I am in partnership with Your Holy Spirit and that the harvest is Yours.
After many months of travel Paul reached Rome, met some brothers-in-Christ, and was allowed to reside outside of prison with his guard.
Paul addressed the Jewish leaders in Rome, explaining the false charges in Caesarea and Jerusalem and his need to appeal to Caesar to avoid their efforts to murder him. The locals replied that they had received no letters or visitors carrying any charges against Paul. They did note that there was a general negativity against Christianity and wanted to hear about it first-hand from Paul.
Paul preached Christ to the religious leaders and their followers, some believed but many refused, at which time Paul declared that he would also share Christ with the Gentiles because they were more likely to listen.
Paul preached and taught anyone who would listen, Jew or Gentile in Rome, for two years.
According to the NET Translator’s Notes verse 28:29 is omitted in many modern translations as better scholarship has determined that it has a high probability of being a scribal addition rather than of the earliest antique sources.
No matter how he tried the enemy could not keep Paul from preaching in Rome.
Why were the Gentiles more receptive than the Jews?
Paul always started with the Jews by declaring his history of felicity to Jewish law and his service as a zealous religious leader, then he reminded them of the prophesies, and finally he showed them how it all led to Christ.
When have you been surprised at the unexpected receptivity of a person or group instead of those whom you expected to be receptive to Biblical truth?
Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you a person of group you have ignored but who are ready to hear.
Today I will reach out to that person or group whom the Holy Spirit has revealed and I will share with them the message of Christ.
All Bible text is from the NET unless otherwise indicated - http://bible.org
Note 1: These Studies often rely upon the guidance of the NET Translators from their associated notes. Careful attention has been given to cite that source where it has been quoted directly or closely paraphrased. Feedback is encouraged where credit has not been sufficiently assigned.
Note 2: When NET text is quoted in commentary and discussion all pronouns referring to God are capitalized, though they are lower-case in the original NET text.
Commentary text is from David M. Colburn, D.Min. unless otherwise noted.
Copyright © 2011 by David M. Colburn. This is a BibleSeven Study— “Acts” — prepared by David M. Colburn and edited for bible.org in December of 2011. This text may be used for non-profit educational purposes only, with credit; all other usage requires prior written consent of the author.