Acts 15:1-35

So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the brothers. (v. 3) It’s a small item, but it lends further support to my comments from yesterday that Paul and Barnabas were preaching and teaching wherever they went. I regularly recall the words from Peter and John to the Sanhedrin: we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard. (Acts 4:20b) While they were on this journey it’s very likely that some of the Jews from the “circumcision party” who had come down from Jerusalem to Antioch were now returning to Jerusalem with Paul and Barnabas, and traveling with them they were hearing the many events among the Gentiles that Paul and Barnabas were reporting. I’m sure that hearing these things softened their hearts even before the Jerusalem Council.

Peter speaking: But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus… (v. 11) There are other verses, mostly from Paul’s epistles (see, for example, Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 3:24, 28, II Timothy 1:9) that point to salvation by faith/grace, but I’ve never seen this verse from Acts quoted in support of the “grace, not works” theology. Interesting…

James is quoting the Old Testament in verses 16 and 17. These verses sound a lot like what Isaiah would have spoken, but in this case the author is Amos (Amos 9:11,12). I could only find one other quote from Amos in the New Testament, one that we read earlier in Acts 7:42-43 (Amos 5:25-27).

See also:

• February 27 (2020) / Acts 15:1-5
• February 28 (2020) / Acts 15:6-21
• February 29 (2020) / Acts 15:22-29
• March 1 (2020) / Acts 15:30-35

Acts 13:42-14:28

I didn’t comment directly on Paul’s speech yesterday (Acts 13:16-41), but his speech in Antioch is pretty much his standard talk to a Jewish crowd in a synagogue. We’ll see different speeches on different occasions down the road as he finds himself in different situations. I’m thinking particularly of his speech in Athens to an intellectual Gentile crowd. (See Acts 17:22, ff.)

But the Jews…drove them out of their district. (v. 50) A bit of geography here… Yesterday’s speech and today’s initial event occurred in Pisidian Antioch. So when the Jews drove them “out of their district”, Luke was literally referring to “out of their district”, in that their destination, Iconium is more than 100 miles from Antioch! Further in today’s reading, in the next chapter Lystra is another 20 miles from Iconium and Derbe is another 60 miles from Lystra. So Paul and Barnabas are doing a great deal of traveling for their missionary activity. NOTE: A typical day’s journey, walking, was about 30 miles. And with all that travel, Jews from Antioch felt it necessary to trail them and harass them along the way! (See Acts 14:19.)

Paul and Barnabas on their way back to Syrian Antioch: And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. (v.25) Typically we think of Paul’s first missionary journey as Cyprus, Antioch, and Galatia (Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe). But this small item in verse 25 points out that Paul was preaching Jesus wherever he went! Pisidian Antioch is more than 100 miles inland from Perga, so three or four days’ travel for Paul and Barnabas upon their arrival in Asia Minor – no doubt preaching to fellow travelers they met along the way. In addition there is another 3-4 days’ travel from Antioch to the Galatian cities and further travel within Galatia. All that on their “inbound” travel. Then they reverse their route (verse 21: When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch…), no doubt again preaching wherever they went. It’s a good model for us to follow – “preaching” wherever we go!

See also:

• February 23 (2020) / Acts 13:42-52
• February 24 (2020) / Acts 14:1-7
• February 25 (2020) / Acts 14:8-18
• February 26 (2020) / Acts 14:19-28

Acts 13:1-41

…but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. (v. 14a) Two things about this Antioch… First, this Antioch is always referred to as Pisidian Antioch, in contrast to the other Antioch which housed the “church” from which Paul and Barnabas had been sent, occasionally referred to as “Syrian Antioch”. This “Syrian Antioch” is a major city in the Roman Empire and is simply referred to as Antioch. Second, my Study Bible referred to Pisidian Antioch also as a major city – in the region of Asia Minor. It was a Roman colony with a large Jewish population and sat “at the hub of good roads and trade”. Again from our travel to Turkey in 2017 Carol and I can imagine these “good roads” being the caravan routes that were common in this dry land. This caravan road would have gone east to Cappadocia and west to Ephesus and the Aegean Sea, with another major road going south to the Mediterranean Sea and north to what is now Istanbul. Yes, a major city…!

Every time I have read this quote from Psalm 2, “You are My Son, today I have begotten You.” (v. 33), I have always thought that the verse (quoted again in Hebrews 1:5, 5:5) referred to Jesus’ Incarnation, but my Study Bible said that it referred to Jesus’ Resurrection. To support that claim, in the very next verse Paul says, “And as for the fact that He raised Him from the dead…” (v. 34a), so evidently Paul’s follow-up words reflect his intent that the Psalm referred to Jesus’ Resurrection – as he shows also in the next two quotes, especially verse 35: You will not let Your Holy One see corruption. I looked online for further clarification, but the theological explanations that I found were too deep for me!

The key line in Paul’s speech is in verse 30: But God raised him from the dead… That line is a game-changer for Paul – it was his evidence that Jesus is different from all the Jewish heroes that went before Him. And it is the fact that guides us in our worship: “Christ is risen. The Lord is risen, indeed! Hallelujah!!” Yes, Hallelujah!!

See also:

• February 19 (2020) / Acts 13:1-3
• February 20 (2020) / Acts 13:4-12
• February 21 (2020) / Acts 13:13-25
• February 22 (2020) / Acts 13:26-41

About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. He killed James the brother of John with the sword, and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. (vv. 1-3a) This Herod the king (Herod Agrippa I) in Acts 12:1-4,20-23 is not the same Herod who had John the Baptist beheaded or whom Jesus visited before His crucifixion – that was his uncle, Herod Antipas. With both of these rulers I am troubled at their violent nature, but I guess kingly cruelty was common back then. Sad…

When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. (v. 10) I wondered about this prison being outside the city (Jerusalem). But my Study Bible indicated that this prison was a tower inside the Temple area, more like a guardhouse than a formal prison. FYI.

And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had completed their service… (v. 25a) The “service” that Barnabas and Saul had completed was bringing an offering from the Antioch Christians to the church in Jerusalem (see yesterday’s reading, Acts 11:29-30). Now they are returning to Antioch, which will become the major city in Acts for the next many chapters. You’ll see that in chapter 13 beginning tomorrow.

See also:

• February 15 (2020) / Acts 12:1-4
• February 16 (2020) / Acts 12:5-10
• February 17 (2020) / Acts 12:11-19
• February 18 (2020) / Acts 12:20-25

Acts 11:1-30

Today what struck me was twofold – the unity within the church and the apostolic leadership. As for unity, Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him, saying… (vv. 1-2) There is initial doubt among the Jewish Christians of the Gentiles becoming believers, but then Peter tells his full story and When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God… (v. 18a). My Study Bible also pointed out a number of other unification items that we have seen thus far in Acts 6:5, 11:1, 11:22.

Second, the Jerusalem leadership of the church was quick to double-check work that was going on elsewhere. You may recall back in chapter 8 that Peter and John were sent to Samaria after Philip and others had been preaching to the Samaritans. Now we have the church “testing” Peter’s activities in Caesarea and Barnabas being sent to Antioch to verify evangelical activities there. We continue to have that apostolic leadership in our church today. Our priests are subject to our bishops and our bishops to our Archbishop and Archbishop Beach to God Himself. But this leadership is a two-way interaction. Foley Beach, our Bishop and Archbishop offers advice and counsel to rectors in ADOTS, but he also seeks their input on matters where discussion is needed. I am fully appreciative of Archbishop Beach wanting to meet with our new rector candidate and giving his assent for us to move forward. Without this model of apostolic leadership unrestrained pastors and teachers can create problems that wisdom “from above” might have forestalled. We at St. Andrew’s are truly blessed!

One more item on this apostolic leadership – think back to our own beginnings in 2003/2004. When this “group of 80” was willing to leave St. John’s and call David Brannen as their rector, the first thing that they did was to seek a “covering” for themselves. This they found in the Ugandan Diocese of Bunyoro – Kitara, wherein they received the Godly leadership of Bishop Nathan, a relationship that is still strong in our church today. GLORY!!

See also:

• February 13 (2020) / Acts 11:1-18
• February 14 (2020) / Acts 11:19-30

Acts 10:24-48

(Cornelius) Then they asked him to remain for some days. (v. 48b) I’m not surprised that Cornelius asked Peter to remain a few days – after waiting four days to hear from him and then having a Holy Spirit baptism, I can imagine how Cornelius and his friends would have wanted to hear more from Peter. Surprisingly, for my own “conversion” in May 1975 it was just the opposite – I had no one to stay behind a few days. My friend, Jim had graduated from college the day/evening that I gave my life to the Lord. I went to church with him the next day, then he was gone from college for good and Campus Crusade was inactive for the summer. Thankfully there were two “coincidences” in the next eight days that led immediately to my growth in the Lord. I won’t go into the details, but I’ve added those two “coincidences” to my “list”.

As to that “list” – I have been keeping a list of Holy Spirit activities or special events in my personal life. That list has three components: Miracles, God speaks to me, and Coincidences. That list now has more than 20 distinct events. I would encourage each and every one of you to think about keeping your own list. There are a number of sources in the Gospels, Acts, and the Epistles where we can read what Jesus had to say about the Holy Spirit (esp. John 14-16) and see the Holy Spirit at work in the lives of His disciples. Those descriptions and activities create for us a guideline to see the Holy Spirit at work in our own lives. You might be surprised when you start listing out particular events in your life that you might classify as miracles, coincidences, or God speaking to you. It will strengthen your faith to see God at work in you, personally!

See also:

• February 11 (2020) / Acts 10:24-33
• February 12 (2020) / Acts 10:34-48

Acts 10:1-23

The distance from Joppa to Caesarea was about 30 miles. Men could reasonably walk about three miles an hour, so that distance is a ten-hour journey. So on day 1 Cornelius has a vision around 3 pm. On day 2 the three men travel to Joppa and stay overnight. On day 3 Peter and the three men and other men from Joppa travel to Caesarea. So it’s day 4 before Peter and Cornelius spend time together – tomorrow’s reading. I am recounting all this to point out that God is not limited by time and distance. You may recall that this was a message we heard a week ago when our missionaries from Egypt spoke to us. If God were concerned with efficiency, he could have had Cornelius contact another apostle, Philip, who very possibly (very likely!) lived in Caesarea (Acts 8:40) and Philip could have come over the same day! But clearly God was working with Peter and it would be through Peter that the apostolic leaders in Jerusalem could extend a hand of discipleship to the Gentiles.

See also:

• February 8 (2020) / Acts 10:1-8
• February 9 (2020) / Acts 10:9-16
• February 10 (2020) / Acts 10:17-23

Acts 9:20-43

And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. (v. 26) It’s strange to me that three years had passed and the disciples in Jerusalem were still afraid of Saul. His prior history must have been fierce to have established that legacy. It’s worth us taking a few minutes and reading Paul’s own testimony in Galatians 1:13, ff. about his conversion and his trip to Jerusalem.

In verse 29 Luke writes that the Jews in Jerusalem were “seeking to kill him”, but then two verses later, So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace. There seems to be a bit of a chronological gap here! Or possibly, it could be that Saul had been the ringleader of those who were persecuting the Christians in Jerusalem, but with his conversion and his three-year absence that persecution had quieted. But then his return and his preaching stirred up the Jews again to the point of wanting to kill him, but his departure to Caesarea and Tarsus brought peace again to those Christians in Jerusalem and that entire region north to Samaria and Galilee. I can’t imagine any other explanation except that Saul’s personality was such that for evil and for good he could arouse the population to love him or hate him. We’ll see that playing out throughout the rest of the book of Acts.

See also:

• February 6 (2020) / Acts 9:20-30
• February 7 (2020) / Acts 9:31-43

Acts 9:1-19

Father David often spoke of “God’s echo”, where we hear the same “message” two or three times in a short time frame. It’s probably no coincidence that our Men’s Group is focusing on the Holy Spirit at the same time that our RTNT group is reading Acts. As I mentioned a few days ago different scholars have counted 56 and 57 times that the Holy Spirit is mentioned in the book of Acts. And we see one here today that I don’t remember noticing before, with Ananias speaking: Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. (v. 17b) No doubt, from this point on Saul led a Spirit-filled life!

Jesus refers to Saul by his given name: “Saul, Saul…” (v. 4b). Likewise, Ananias addresses him as “Brother Saul” (v. 17b) He is also referred to as Saul in chapters 11 and 12. It’s not until chapter 13 that we have Saul’s name changed to Paul, and there it is pointed out only incidentally: But Saul, who was also called Paul… (v. 13:9a) Thereafter (as I recall) he is never referred to as Saul again. This incidental re-naming of Saul to Paul stands in direct contrast to Jesus re-naming Peter: And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church… (Mt. 16:17-18a) So we have the two great leaders of the early church both undergoing a re-naming, Simon to Peter and Saul to Paul. Interesting…!

See also:

• February 4 (2020) / Acts 9:1-9
• February 5 (2020) / Acts 9:10-19

Acts 8:1-40

Although we are all Christian witnesses, we typically think of missionaries as those who have gone off to a foreign land to witness and to share the gospel. Under that categorization, then Philip becomes the first “named” Christian missionary: Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. (v. 5) But it was more the external events than a “missionary heart” that sent Philip to Samaria. You may recall from chapter 6 that Philip was the second named deacon in the church, Stephen being the first of the Seven. Now the first deacon, Stephen has been martyred and those who put Stephen to death may have set their sights on his associate, Philip, the second deacon. But I doubt that Philip “fled” to Samaria – it’s my guess that he was sent out by the apostolic leaders who did not want Philip to suffer the same outcome as Stephen.

We had guest preachers at church this past Sunday, the Petersons, our missionary couple living in Egypt who shared with us about their life in Egypt. One item that they covered was God’s economy or, more realistically, God’s non-economic ways! Elizabeth spoke of one woman with whom she had been sharing, that God would send her more than 5,000 miles to speak to this one woman. She referenced the “Parable of the Lost Sheep” to point out that God will go way out of His way to bring one sinner to repentance. I see God’s non-economic ways operating here with Philip. Rather than sending someone from Jerusalem to go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza (v. 26b), He commissions Philip to forego his Samaritan ministry (some 40-50 miles north of Jerusalem) and undertake this journey. Why Philip, why not someone else? Only God knows!

See also:

• January 31 (2020) / Acts 8:1-3
• February 1 (2020) / Acts 8:4-13
• February 2 (2020) / Acts 8:14-25
• February 3 (2020) / Acts 8:26-40