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

Acts 7:39-60

…and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us. (Acts 6:13-14) Stephen had been debating/preaching about Jesus in the Synagogue of the Freedmen when “people and elders and scribes” brought him before the Council. They had no serious charge against him except that some false witnesses had said that he spoke against the Temple and the Law and about Jesus destroying the Temple. So the Council (the high priest) asked to hear him and he basically recounted Jewish history until he got to the point where he did, in fact, speak out against the Temple: Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says… (v. 48), going on to quote Isaiah 66:1-2. But even then there was no crime for which they could charge him – he was simply quoting one of their own prophets. Then in Acts 7:51-53 he speaks out against them personally and makes them angry. Yes, he charged them with murder, but again he was simply leveling a charge against them, not committing any crime against their Law or their traditions. It’s only in verse 56 that he commits blasphemy: And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” Had he continued to speak out only about the charges leveled against him (the first 50 verses) the Council would have had no basis for punishing him. But he took the opportunity to preach Jesus and he was executed for his faith.

Stephen’s witness provides a model for us. In any conversation in which we are engaged (think, your server at a restaurant), whereas Stephen was talking about the Temple, it’s not difficult for us to bring up the topic of church, as in “Are you part of a local church?” You never know where the conversation might go…!

See also:

• January 28 (2020) / Acts 7:37-43
• January 29 (2020) / Acts 7:44-53
• January 30 (2020) / Acts 7:54-60

Acts 7:1-38

There is no good break point in this chapter short of reading the entire chapter. Breaks at verse 34, 36 and 38 are all reasonable. Or read on to the end…!!

At this time Moses was born; and … Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. (vv. 20-21) I am thinking of the action of Pharaoh’s daughter here, how her actions not only saved Moses from death but also brought him up in Pharaoh’s house and set him on a much different trajectory for the rest of his life than would have been his life had he remained a simple Israelite boy. As a parallel I was thinking of people who had a profound influence in my life. I can name three in particular and each of them came as an “accidental” introduction to me. The first was the professor in my first Economics course, a course that I took at random during the summer semester that I was graduating with my B.S. degree. He gave me a love for economics when I had no idea what economics was all about! The second was the first person who hired me to teach a college course – I met him in a Bible Study group, the first Bible Study group that I was a part of. Even then it was only in our prayer time together that we connected with his need and my academic background. Finally the third was the person who became my dissertation advisor. He was an agricultural economist and I was an economics major – I read about him in our campus newspaper, went to meet him, took his course and lateraled into Ag Econ. All three of these “mentors” were unplanned, “accidental” encounters that led me down the road to my professional path. But looking back I know that God’s hand was in all three encounters, gently guiding me to where He would have me serve Him as a professor. Pharaoh’s daughter “accidentally” discovered Moses and as they say, “the rest is history”!

See also:

• January 24 (2020) / Acts 7:1-8
• January 25 (2020) / Acts 7:9-16
• January 26 (2020) / Acts 7:17-29
• January 27 (2020) / Acts 7:30-36

Acts 6:1-15

Finally, today a shorter reading…!

I mentioned a few days ago that we have a number of “transition” sections and verses in Acts. Here we have two: Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number…; And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem… (vv. 1, 7)

My Study Bible noted that Tarsus, Saul’s hometown, was one of the major cities in Cilicia (v. 9). So Saul/Paul could have been one of those Jews who were arguing with Stephen, the Jews who …could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he [Stephen] was speaking. (v. 10) However, if Saul were present his “great learning” (Acts 26:24b) was not enough to match Stephen’s testimony! The Holy Spirit in us is powerful. We need only to ask for His presence in our lives and be open to opportunities He presents.

See also:

• January 22 (2020) / Acts 6:1-7
• January 23 (2020) / Acts 6:8-15

Last year we covered today’s reading over a five-day period, so I have a number of comments in the links below from reading this chapter in shorter segments.

I am not fond of physical pain so I wince at the thought of the apostles’ being “beaten” (v. 40, ESV). My NASB Study Bible uses the term “flogged” and explains that flogging and scourging were synonymous – that the apostles had received 39 lashes as their punishment for violating the order that the chief priests had instituted when Peter and John had been brought before them some time earlier: We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching… (v. 28) Jesus had warned the apostles of the suffering they would receive based on their faith and service to Him: Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues… (Matthew 10:17). Christians around the world continue to suffer for their faith in Jesus. We need to pray regularly for the persecuted church.

See also:

• January 17 (2020) / Acts 5:1-11
• January 18 (2020) / Acts 5:12-16
• January 19 (2020) / Acts 5:17-21
• January 20 (2020) / Acts 5:22-32
• January 21 (2020) / Acts 5:33-42

Acts 4:1-37

Today we continue with yesterday’s reading and my comments from yesterday are fully applicable today. Back then (46 years ago) I was truly struck when I first read about Peter and John, these …uneducated, common men… (v. 13b) speaking boldly before the Sanhedrin. I knew a lot about Jesus, but I knew little about His followers. That’s why this last half of 2021 is so important – as we read Acts and the Epistles we see the church developing and we continue to be part of that growth. Their model is our guide!

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them… (v. 8a) Here Peter and John are acting upon Jesus’ words to them when He was alive: When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. (Matthew 10:19-20, further amplified in Luke 12:12-15) The same is true for us today. We probably will not be taken before “rulers and authorities”, but we will have occasion to speak of Jesus to nonbelievers. And with a short pause and a prayer we can trust the Holy Spirit to help us …speak of what we have seen and heard. (v. 20b) We can do this!

See also:

• January 12 (2020) / Acts 4:1-4
• January 13 (2020) / Acts 4:5-12
• January 14 (2020) / Acts 4:13-22
• January 15 (2020) / Acts 4:23-31
• January 16 (2020) / Acts 4:32-37

I’m sure some of you have heard me say that Luke is my favorite gospel. But I doubt that many of you have heard me say that Acts is my favorite book in the Bible – not surprising in that Luke also authored Acts! But I can recall my first time reading through the book of Acts, especially my “being” on ship with Paul much later in the book. It was probably only in my second year “in Christ” (born again) that I led a younger college group from the campus Catholic church in a study of the book of Acts. Back then we were clearly learning together – I was more a facilitator than a leader. But this recall is not about me – even back then I was so attracted to Acts that I thought other young Catholics might also be “taken” by the book. I was just giving them a chance!

So, going back 46 years still… I spent that first year of my born-again life studying the first-century church. I already knew the Gospels reasonably well, having heard about Jesus weekly for 27 years. So Acts was the first Bible book that I read when I started to read the Bible regularly. And upon starting the book of Acts, Chapter 1 (the Ascension) was fairly well known to me, as was Chapter 2, Pentecost. But Chapters 3 and 4 were brand new to me, Peter and John and the lame man healed at the temple gate. A miracle accomplished through the Apostles’ ministry! Back then, my first time reading this story – it was awesome!! So when I read this chapter I’m taken back to when I read it for the first time, when I was amazed at what was being done at the Apostles’ hands – it’s still awesome!! I hope you find it the same!!

See also:

• January 10 (2020) / Acts 3:1-10
• January 11 (2020) / Acts 3:11-26

Acts 2:1-47

It was just last year (2020) that we read Acts and the Epistles together as we had the Gospels in 2019, averaging ten or eleven verses per day. So last year we read today’s 47 verses over a five-day span. (See my five days’ worth of comments in the links below.) So with full apologies, today’s reading is very possibly our longest reading for the rest of the year, but I could not find a good place to split it into two or three parts. So we read the whole of Pentecost in one day. Thankfully, it’s an event which we read every year, so it’s not unfamiliar to us!

Carol and I are touched every time we read these “nations” that are listed in verses 9-11. Why? In 2017 we visited our niece in Turkey and spent a few nights in Cappadocia – a fascinating geographical area! But while there we recalled the book of Acts and Luke’s mention of Cappadocia in his list of nations. That alone was a warm feeling. Then as we left the region we traveled west along a modern highway which years ago had been a caravan route and we imagined that the apostle Paul might have traveled this very route himself on his way back to Galatia on his second or third missionary journey. (Not likely, but possible…) Either way, the Bible truly came alive for us as we traveled this road!

Peter speaking: “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day…” (v. 29) I have used this verse in the past in sharing the gospel with someone who wanted “proof” of the Resurrection. This sentence does not offer full “proof”, but you and I are able to cite Peter’s comment and note that we can still go to the site of David’s tomb today – but we won’t find Jesus’ tomb anywhere nearby, not in all of Jerusalem or Judea or anywhere on this earth!! “He is risen, He is not here!!” (Mt. 28:6) Hallelujah!!

See also:

• January 4 (2020) / Acts 2:1-4
• January 5 (2020) / Acts 2:5-13
• January 6 (2020) / Acts 2:14-21
• January 7 (2020) / Acts 2:22-28
• January 8 (2020) / Acts 2:29-39
• January 9 (2020) / Acts 2:40-47