Get Ready
The Acts of the Apostles is really part two of a two-part work on Jesus’s life and ministry and the development of the early Christian church – the Gospel of Luke (which precedes John’s Gospel) dealt with Jesus’s life, ministry, death and resurrection. Acts is the story of what happened next.
Author
As noted in Lesson 57, the writer does not identify himself in either book; however, almost all authorities agree that Luke – the physician who traveled with Paul [Col 4:14] – wrote these two books. Luke was a Gentile and probably Greek. The literary quality of his writing indicates a classical education, appropriate for a physician.
There is less agreement regarding when Luke wrote. Most scholars believe he had access to Mark’s Gospel which puts his writing sometime after 60 CE. He also mentions the destruction of Temple, which Jesus prophesied, which leads some to conclude he wrote after that event (70 CE). However, Acts ends before Jerusalem was destroyed, which points to a date sometime between 60 and 65.
Context
Luke probably wrote Acts while in Rome with Paul during the Apostle’s house arrest [2 Timothy 4:11]. This was a period of great growth in the church as the message reached the Gentile’s throughout the Roman Empire. It was also a time of fairly constant dissension and growing persecution:
- The dissension came from differences between Judaizers, who insisted that a Gentile had to follow Jewish law in order to become a Christian, and Paul’s followers who preached salvation by grace through faith, [which is a gift of God] – not the result of works, so that no one may boast, Eph 2:8-9].
- The persecution increased as emperors presented themselves as gods and demanded allegiance from all subjects of the empire, while persecuting those who did not acknowledge their divinity.
Structure
Luke opens this part of his work with a brief introduction: In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the day when he was taken up to Heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen, [1:1-2]. He follows with a quick synopsis of his resurrection appearances before describing his ascension and final instruction to the Apostles: You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth, [1:8].
Luke then presents three primary sections – each presenting a “history” of the emerging Christian church:
- The twelve years following Jesus’s ascension, focusing primarily on the development of the church in Jerusalem, but including Saul’s conversion on the road to Damascus, [chapters 1-12].
- Paul’s three missionary journeys to Greece and Asia Minor, which expanded the church geographically and spiritually by including Gentiles, [chapters 13-21].
- Paul’s arrest, imprisonment, trials in Palestine, and trip to Rome for his trial before Caesar (which actually did not happen), [chapters 21-28].
Major Themes
While the narrative of Acts follows the development of the church according to Jesus’s direction (Jerusalem, then Judea and Samaria, then all the earth, Luke also traces the development of Christian theology.
The church began as a small-but-growing group of Jews. These early followers of “The Way” continued to follow all the requirements of the Mosaic law. They even met in the temple in Jerusalem (and in synagogues as the church spread to other areas in Palestine). They believed following Jesus was the culmination of their Jewish faith.
God starts to break this pattern when he sends Peter to meet with Cornelius and his family. Peter realizes the same Holy Spirit that he received has “fallen” on Cornelius’ entire family, so he baptizes them [10:44-48]. He reported back to Jerusalem that God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life, [11:18].
The issue comes to a head when Paul, along with Barnabas (who originally introduced him to the leaders [9:27]), returns to Jerusalem. The Apostles and other leaders conclude the church should not trouble those Gentiles who are turning to God, [15:19], by requiring circumcision or adherence to the law. They did require abstaining from food sacrificed to idols (which became a problem in several Greek churches), and from eating food with blood or that had resulted from strangulation, and from fornication [15:29].
Luke makes it very clear that the Holy Spirit is the primary force behind the growth and development of the church. The Holy Spirit led, nudged and sometimes yanked the early Christians to spread the “Good News” of salvation through Christ to the Gentile world. He does not tell us everything that happened, and he does not detail how the Holy Spirit worked in the early church – which is a very similar picture to his work in the church today.
Get into the Word
1. Who wrote this book? What other Biblical book has the same author? What do we know about this author? Who was a major source of information for this book? When was this book probably written?
2. Where was the book probably written? What was happening during the time this book was written? How might these events have affected the book? How might they have affected the church?
3. How did the author organize this book? How does it begin? How does the author characterize Jesus and the Apostles? What direction does Jesus give them? How do you suppose they responded to this direction? How do you respond?
4. What are the three major sections of this book? How are they organized? What are the key events in each section? Why do you think the author chose the events he did and not others? What sort of picture do they present of the early Christian church?
5. What is the overall pattern of this book? Who established this pattern? What does the author describe that parallels this pattern?
Bible Trivia
This book has also been called “The Acts,” “The Gospel of the Holy Ghost,” and “The Gospel of the Resurrection.” It deals almost exclusively with the ministry of Peter and Paul, so it is really “The Acts (or some of them, at least) of a couple of the Apostles.”
6. How did the church begin? Who was involved? What was the major source of guidance or direction? Where did the early believers meet? Why was this appropriate then? Why is it not appropriate now?
7. How did this pattern of worship and ritual begin to change? Who was responsible for these changes? What events contributed to this change? Who was involved in these events? What decisions did the church ultimately make regarding religious practices?
8. Who is the major instigator of the expansion of the Christian church, according to Luke? Who is the primary initiator of change in today’s Christian church?
61: Pentecost: the Holy Spirit & Peter’s Message – Acts 2:1-36
Get Ready
What is the largest crowd you have been part of? What was the crowd for? Where was it? Where were you in the crowd? Was there a long wait for something to happen? What did happen? How did you feel about your experience? Was it the kind of experience you would like to repeat? Why?
The Word
2When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
5 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6 And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each.
7 Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?
8 And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” 12 All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”
14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. 15 Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning.
16 No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
17 ‘In the last days it will be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams.
18 Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
and they shall prophesy.
19 And I will show portents in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
20 The sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.
21 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
22 “You that are Israelites, listen to what I have to say: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders, and signs that God did through him among you, as you yourselves know— 23 this man, handed over to you according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of those outside the law. 24 But God raised him up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power. . . .
32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you both see and hear. 34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,
‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand,
35 until I make your enemies your footstool.”’ 36 Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.” NRSV
Get into the Word
1. What is significant about the day of this incident? What were the apostles doing? Where were they?
2. How does Luke describe what happened to the apostles? What happened to them spiritually? How do you think they felt at first? How did they respond to the situation? Who was really at work here?
3. Why do you think Luke lists all the different countries? What was happening to the people in the crowd? How did they react? What did some people say was the reason for the Apostles’ speech? What difference did this make to the apostles?
4. How does Peter begin his message to the crowd? Why did he go to the Old Testament? Why did he choose this particular passage? What point is he trying to make about the tongues? Do you think the crowd understood?
5. What does Peter say about Jesus? How does he demonstrate who Jesus really is? What aspects of Jesus’s story does he focus on? What message about God is he trying to convey? What message about Jesus?
Get Personal
How does the fact of Jesus’s resurrection affect your life today? How is he Lord in your life? How is he exalted in your life today?
Notes . . .
2:1. Pentecost — originally the Feast of Weeks, because it takes place seven weeks after the Sabbath of Passover. It was also called the Feast of Harvest because it involved bringing the first fruits to the celebration.
2:4. Other languages — Jesus alerted the disciples to this event when he told them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation. The one who believes and is baptized will be saved, but the one who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues,” [Mark 16:15-17].
2:9-11. Parthians . . . Cretans and Arabs — Luke’s list of peoples and countries demonstrates the reach of the Holy Spirit. People had come from as far away as the Persian Gulf (Mesopotamia), the Caspian Sea (Parthia), the Black Sea (Cappadocia and Pontus), and modern Lybia (Cyrene).
2:18. Servants — Joel’s prophesy [2:28-32] describes a major difference between the former covenant when only leaders had received God’s Spirit, and the new covenant when all people will receive the Holy Spirit.
2:22. Miracles, wonders and signs — the Apostles began to realize the spiritual significance of Jesus’s miracles, which verified his claim to be the Messiah. John wrote his Gospel so people “may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name,” [20:31].
2:23. Foreknowledge — Peter makes it clear that Jesus’s crucifixion was part of God’s “definite plan” of salvation; he was not just aware that it would happen. Peter’s goal is to make it clear to his Jewish audience that Jesus’s death and resurrection, as well as the presence of the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues, is part of the same history the Jews had celebrated for centuries.
2:25-31. David’s prophecy regarding Jesus.
2:36. Lord and Messiah — the central point of the apostles’ teaching was that God raised Jesus from death and exalted him as both Lord (ruler) and Messiah (“God’s anointed”). It was not what the Jews were expecting, but it is what God did.
Memory Verse
In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams,[Acts 2:17; Joel 2:28].
Next Lesson
Acts 9: Saul meets Jesus.
I love the imagery of your “your young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams” that resonates as a promise–are we receiving that promise now? or are we still waiting–or was that in the past when the ministry of Jesus first started?