The Zone Gathering

Overview

Acts, written by Luke around 63 A.D., is one of the most exciting books of the Bible.  The title of this book is appropriate, because it is action-packed and tells the story of the spread of the Gospel and the development of the church.  The book of Acts serves as the link between the Gospels (which focus on the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ) and the Epistles (which serve to guide the church and its leadership).  In essence, Acts paints a vivid picture of how Jesus’ disciples (now apostles) fulfilled the Great Commission: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28:19).  It marks the beginning of the Journey we are still taking today, some 2,000 years later.

The book of Acts can be broken down in several ways.  It marks the spread of the gospel both to the Jews and the Gentiles.  It provides extensive background on the ministries of Peter, Paul and the other apostles.  In fact, nearly one-fifth of Acts consists of speeches or sermons delivered by Peter, Stephen and Paul.  These speeches provide the basic framework of the gospel message.

Perhaps most importantly, the book of Acts provides the best introduction of the “most mysterious” member of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit.  He is mentioned approximately 60 times in Acts, and without Him, the church never would have developed.  Without His power at work in the lives of the apostles, the person of Jesus wouldn’t be as real and personal to us today. 

And so we begin the Journey…

Gospel Spreads At Home/Among the Jews

Acts begins where the Gospels left off.  Just before ascending to heaven, Jesus gathers His disciples and promises that they will be baptized with the Holy Spirit (1:5).  His parting words to the disciples are the key verse and theme of Acts: “but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth” (1:8).  After Jesus leaves them, the 11 remaining disciples/apostles retreat to an upper room in Jerusalem to pray and prepare (1:12-14).  They also appoint Matthias to take the place of Judas Iscariot (1:15-26).

Chapter 2 may be the most important in the book of Acts — it describes the Day of Pentecost, the day when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the apostles:

“When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.  Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.  They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.  All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”  (Acts 2:1-4)

The Holy Spirit’s mighty work begins with the apostles speaking in various languages, and the multitudes are able to understand and hear about the “mighty deeds of God” in their own dialects (2:5-13).  While some were skeptical and argued that the apostles were drunk, Peter counters the argument by recounting the prophecy given by Joel: “I will pour forth My Spirit upon all mankind; and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams” (Acts 2:17; Joel 2:28).  Peter delivers the first gospel message recounting the ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (2:22-36).

The people are “pierced to the heart” by the gospel, and ask the apostles what they should do (2:23).  Peter urges them to “repent…and be baptized,” promising them they will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (2:38-39).  On that day, 3,000 souls are saved and baptized (2:39-41).  Thus, the early church is formed and the new converts begin their discipleship journey, as we see in the all-too-familiar Acts 2:42-47:

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.  Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.  All the believers were together and had everything in common.  Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.  Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.  They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.  And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”

Isn’t this exciting stuff?  Once the Holy Spirit came, the floodgates broke open and the gospel message couldn’t be contained.  Peter and John heal a lame man (3:1-8), which gives Peter an opportunity to praise God and present the Gospel to the Jews in Jerusalem (3:9-26).  Naturally, this bothers the Sadducees (who do not believe in the Resurrection — that is why they are sad, you see?) who throw Peter and John into jail.  However, this didn’t stop their message from having an impact — over 5,000 believed (4:1-4).

The following day, Peter addresses the rulers, elders, scribes, and priests, including Annas and Caiaphas (4:5-7).  “Filled with the Holy Spirit” (4:8), Peter shares that the lame man was healed by the name of Jesus Christ “whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead” (4:10).  He preaches Jesus as the only way to salvation (4:11-12).  The Council deliberates on what to do with Peter and John, commanding them to cease speaking and teaching in the name of Jesus (4:15-18), which they refuse to do (4:20).  Once they are released from custody, Peter and John go on praising God and more people receive the Holy Spirit (4:31-33).

In chapter 5, we learn the dire consequences of testing and lying to the Holy Spirit through Ananias and Sapphira (5:1-10).  Their actions and subsequent deaths fill the church with fear but the Gospel still advances (5:11-14).  The apostles continue to heal the sick and afflicted and once again, they are arrested (5:15-18).

Fortunately, a human jail is no test for the power of the Holy Spirit (5:19-20), and the apostles are delivered by an angel of the Lord to the astonishment of the prison guards and the governing Council (5:21-26).  They preach in the temple in violation of the command, and Peter stresses why it is more important to obey God than man (5:29-32).  The Council wants to slay the apostles (5:33), but a Pharisee named Gamaliel intervenes and advises them to stay away from the apostles (5:34-39).  They heed the advice, flog the apostles, and send them away to continue spreading the Gospel (5:40-42).

The Word of God spreads as more apostles, including Stephen and Philip, are commissioned for service (6:1-7).  Stephen, “full of grace and power,” performs great signs and wonders and immediately is labeled a blasphemer (6:8-15).  He is brought before the Council and gives an eloquent defense of the faith, reminding the Jewish governing elite of God’s faithfulness to the Jews throughout the generations (7:2-47).  He ends his impassioned statement by asserting that God does not dwell in houses made by human hands (7:48-50).  He chides the Council for being stiff-necked and resisting the Holy Spirit, and for receiving the Law but not keeping it (7:51-53).  Not able to bear his indictment, the mob stones Stephen, who remains true to his Savior and praises the Lord even as he dies (7:55-60).

Chapter 8 introduces us briefly to Saul, a Jew who persecutes the church (8:1-3)  The Gospel spreads to Samaria by Philip (8:4-13).  Peter and John join Philip in Samaria, praying for the new converts to receive the Holy Spirit (8:14-18).  A well-meaning, newly baptized Samaritan by the name of Simon offers the apostles money for the gift of the Holy Spirit, but is rebuked by Peter (8:18-24).

Philip leaves Samaria to journey toward Gaza and along the way encounters an Egyptian eunuch who is reading Isaiah’s prophecy (8:25-30).  Emboldened by the Holy Spirit, Philip offers to explain the prophetic passages about Jesus to the eunuch, who yearns to know more and asks to be baptized immediately (8:31-36).  Pronouncing his belief that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the eunuch is baptized and the two men part (8:38-40).

Chapter 9 marks a transition in the focus of Acts from the ministries of Peter and the other apostles to that of Paul (formerly Saul).  When the chapter opens, Saul is still persecuting the church (9:1-2) until he is struck blind by a blinding light and the voice of Jesus on the road to Damascus (9:3-8).  After three days, the Lord comes upon a disciple named Ananias and sends him to lay hands on Saul and to restore his sight (9:9-12). Ananias knows what Saul has done and is skeptical, but he obeys, and Saul not only regains his sight, but receives the Holy Spirit and is baptized (9:13-19). 

Saul begins to proclaim Jesus as the Son of God and his Jewish cohorts subsequently plot his demise (9:19-23).  Saul is rescued by the disciples and is brought to Jerusalem, where some doubt the authenticity of his conversion (9:24-26).  Barnabas steps in and comes to Saul’s defense (9:27-28).  The church continues to grow in Judea, Galilee, and Samaria.  Peter heals Aeneas and raises Tabitha from the dead, and many come to believe in the Lord (9:32-43).

 

Come back next week – the Journey continues! 

 

 

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 26th, 2006 at 9:35 am and is filed under Bible Drills. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.