Acts 9:31-43

My Study Bible pointed out that Jesus had brought three people back from death – Jairus’ daughter (Mark 5), the only son of a widow (Luke 7), and Lazarus (John 11). But there is one item particularly significant in Peter’s raising Dorcas – before Peter spoke and Dorcas awakened, Peter knelt down and prayed (v. 40). He knew that he was powerless, except in the power of the Holy Spirit. And I wonder about his demeanor. Was Peter certain of the Lord working through him or did he have some doubt that Dorcas could come alive? Was he surprised when Dorcas woke up or was he more confident than ever? And what exactly had he prayed – “…Your will be done…”? Intriguing!

So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. (v. 31) I wonder if Saul’s conversion was the main reason that the church had peace. Certainly he was a dominant figure in the early persecution of the Christians, but had he been the ringleader, the acknowledged head of the opposition? Also intriguing…!

Now as Peter went here and there among them all… (v. 32) Peter, a modern-day bishop, visiting “congregations” throughout the region… What a remarkable turnaround for the man who had denied Jesus!

Slava Bohu!

Acts 9:20-30

More Saul activity today… When many days had passed… (v. 23a) Luke writes “many days”, but to learn more we have to go to Paul’s own writings. He tells his story in Galatians 1:13 ff, and his “many days” turns out to be three years. So he was in Damascus and the neighboring Arabian desert for these three years before he ever went up to Jerusalem. During that time in the desert he apparently spoke regularly with either Jesus or the Holy Spirit. A good bit of Internet searching yielded this statement regarding the Galatians 1:13, ff. text: “The point Paul is making to the Galatians is that there has never been any question about the content of the Gospel. The same Christ taught Peter and Paul, and both men were in complete agreement.” The source of this statement goes into greater detail and is worth reading: https://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/the-preparation-of-paul/.

More on Saul… Many are fond of saying that “Paul became a basket case.” (v. 25) One item that I always like to point out is the role of Barnabas, one of my favorite Bible characters. When even after three years the disciples in Jerusalem were afraid to meet with Saul, it was trustworthy Barnabas who brought him forward and defended him. (v. 27) We had earlier met Barnabas in Acts 4:36 when he sold land and gave the money to the apostles. We will see him again at length in Acts 12:25, ff.

We have often heard that Paul on his missionary journeys would begin in the local synagogues. Here in verse 20 we see the beginning of that activity. Ironically Saul was on safe ground in the synagogues. After all, he had come to Damascus to arrest followers of “the Way”, so to faithful Jews Paul was a friend and would have been freely admitted. However, once in their midst he began preaching Jesus – that must have been a shocker to the Jews!! I remember in my own early “born again” days how excited I was in my new faith – how I got the local (campus) Catholic Church to begin a Bible Study on Mark; how I visited the Christian bookstore in my hometown and connected with some of the churches there; and how I met up with a former girlfriend to tell her of my new life in Christ. I’m still excited about Jesus – come to Avanza and see!!

Slava Bohu!

Acts 9:10-19

Ananias: Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to Your saints at Jerusalem. (v. 13) Luke writes that The witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. (Acts 7:58) I’ve always imagined this “young man named Saul” to be a young bystander – and maybe he was. But only a few verses later Luke writes that “…Saul was ravaging the church.” He must have been a violent young man – his reputation had spread some 100 miles north, to one of the major cities in the Roman Empire. And his humbling was as powerful as his ravaging. Knocked from his horse, struck blind, upbraided by Jesus Himself, led like a beggar to town, and no food or water for three days. Ananias must have been a welcome sight – when he finally regained his!

I’m imagining the conversation between Ananias and Saul. From the text (vv. 10-16) we know that Ananias had a personal relationship with the Lord, to have such a lengthy conversation with Him. We can also imagine Ananias to be one of the leading Christian figures in Damascus – or at least clearly plugged in – since he was well aware of Saul’s Jerusalem activities and that Saul had authority from the chief priests to ravage Damascus. So I imagine Saul rightly and completely humbled before Ananias and I imagine Ananias to be a loving, forgiving father-type to him. I can imagine Ananias quoting Joseph, …you meant evil…, but God meant it for good…, (Genesis 50:20). And I imagine that Saul was fully comforted by Ananias and his loving demeanor. What a joyful baptism that must have been for all who were there! Glory!!

Slava Bohu!

Acts 9:1-9

I have often joked that Saul’s conversion was easier than mine. Paul was knocked from his horse. (Really? Yeah, maybe not in the text, but check out the hundreds of paintings of Saul’s conversion!) And Jesus identified Himself and spoke directly to him! It took a young man named Jim 3-1/2 years to get through to me!! But like I said, I joke…!

I’m trying to imagine this “light from heaven” (v. 3). And what I see is a lightening strike that STAYED! Not a flash, but a prolonged presence, enough to blind Saul, all the while that Jesus was speaking to him.

In verse 2 we see the first use of the term “the Way” in reference to these new Christian believers. We’ll see this reference again in Acts 19:9, 19:23, 22:4, 24:14, 24:22. This is another item close to home for me… There is a pseudo-Christian group out there calling themselves “The Way (International)”. Many (if not most) Christian leaders would refer to this group as a cult, but to the uninformed they look very much like Christians and are particularly attractive to students and are strong on college campuses. On the day that Carol and I met – 40 years ago this past January 24^th – I had been invited to a Bible Study by a student who had attended this Bible Study group. She had heard of groups like The Way and wanted me to see if this group was legitimate. (It was!) Carol was also invited that night for the first time. So a connection to “the Way” is what brought us together!

Slava Bohu!

Acts 8:26-40

Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch… But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea. (v. 40) My Study Bible points out that we do not hear from Philip again until Acts 21:8 when Paul and Luke stayed at his house in Caesarea around 57 AD. The Spirit had taken Philip to the south, toward Gaza where he met the Ethiopian eunuch. Then after the eunuch was baptized, the Spirit “snatched” Philip away and he “found himself at Azotus”, one of the five Philistine cities (from King David’s time). Then he preached along the way until he got to Caesarea. The Chronological Study Bible places Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch at 32AD, with Philip later in Caesarea in 57AD. So upon arriving at Caesarea, he stayed, evidently for a long period of time. What’s new to me here is that I’ve often connected Philip in Acts 21 with Philip in Acts 8, but I’ve never made the connection in Acts 8 that we ever heard from Philip again. Small item – interesting to me…

After being baptized the eunuch went on his way “rejoicing”. So I wonder what happened after that? The eunuch had come to Jerusalem to worship (Acts 8:27), so clearly he was familiar with Judaism. I’m guessing that there must have been a synagogue in the capital city where he lived and he might have been a regular there, one of those “God-fearing Gentiles” that we read about later. Now as he returns to Ethiopia “rejoicing” I’m sure that Philip’s teaching stayed with him and that he shared Jesus with others in his synagogue. No doubt many of the Jews at his synagogue had been in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, so they would have known about Jesus. Put it all together and I can see many conversions of the Jews there, maybe even a full-scale revival! We don’t know that, but the excitement that new believers exude can be infectious! So where does that leave us “old believers”? Are we rejoicing and sharing? I regularly go back to Peter and John in Acts 4:20: We can’t help but speak of the things we have seen and heard!

Slava Bohu

Acts 8:14-25

Yesterday I suggested that we list Simon the Sorcerer as a believer and see what follows in the next reading. Well, the next reading, itself, is mixed. First Peter condemns Simon for wanting to buy “Holy Spirit power”. Then Simon apparently “repents” and asks for prayer that Peter’s condemnation not fall on him. But does Simon really ask forgiveness and truly repent? To me, it seems not. It seems that he was mainly concerned, in the immediate, …that nothing of what you have said may come upon me (v. 24b), but was more interested in the miracles and having that power that he saw displayed from the laying on of hands. The Chronological Study Bible has a large box item on Simon, with a focus that he was considered a heretic by the early church. I would encourage you to read that for yourselves or look him up online. Here’s one reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Magus. (Please forgive the Wikipedia cite, but it’s a good starting point.)

Theologians and Bible scholars have a lot of fun with Acts 8:14-17, specifically …they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. (v. 17) In a nutshell, the argument is whether the Samaritans received the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands or was that simply a manifestation of the Holy Spirit that they had received at Baptism? In simple terms, overstated, it is basically a Baptist vs. Pentecostal issue.

I am impressed by the early church’s apostolic oversight – sending Peter and John to Samaria when …the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God (v. 14a). In so doing they uncovered the beginning of this possible heretical work of Simon the Magician. Later the apostles will want to hear from Peter about his visit to Cornelius (Acts 10-11) and Paul’s outreach to the Gentiles. They provided us a good model for our own diocesan structure.

Slava Bohu!

Acts 8:4-13

We were talking in our Men’s Group recently about healing. I asked/wondered why we saw all these miraculous healings in the 1^st century church, but we see fewer miraculous healings today. There followed a lengthy discussion, the most of which I recall as the “miracle of modern medicine”, which did not satisfy me as to my earlier questioning. Today’s reading possibly enlightened me a bit: For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. (v. 7) I began to wonder if these 1^st century infirmities were the result of unclean spirits inhabiting peoples’ bodies, and that the miraculous healings were the results of the casting out of these unclean spirits. The text mentions the paralyzed and the lame, but I also wonder if the blind and deaf would be included in those (or later) healings, again all the result of the casting out of unclean spirits. We pray and ask God for healing today. But do we need to engage in more spiritual warfare? To me, that’s a really scary thought.

We’ll read more about Simon the Sorcerer tomorrow, but for today let’s embrace the fact that Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip (v. 13). So let’s list him as a believer today and talk more about him tomorrow.

Slava Bohu!

Acts 8:1-3

Only three verses today, but an information-packed three verses, with Saul as a major player. …they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. (v. 1b) My Study Bible made two points here. First, this verse is the fulfillment of Jesus’ prediction/charge from Acts 1:8, “…you will be My witnesses…, and second, that the apostles remained behind in Jerusalem so as to offer comfort and encouragement to those in prison. They also provided the necessary leadership for other believers in Jerusalem.

I’m trying to understand the “great persecution” that arose following Stephen’s death. Was it the “smell of blood” that turned normal men into savages? (Please forgive the overstatement.) Or was it the fear of the new Christian “sect” upsetting the Jewish status with the Roman authorities? And how could they simply imprison men and women? On what charge? And whose prison? And were the Romans compliant in all this? All in all, sad events – but the beginning of worldwide evangelism…!

Slava Bohu!

Acts 7:54-60

I have often commented on Stephen’s seeing Jesus …standing at the right hand of God. (vv. 55b, 56b), noting that Jesus’ normal position is to be seated at the Father’s right hand, as He Himself said (Luke 22:69, Matthew 26:64, Mark 14:62). But Stephen sees Jesus STANDING at God’s right hand. I’ve pictured Jesus as Stephen’s defense attorney standing before the Father, the judge if you will, pleading for Stephen’s life, his entry into heaven upon his death. But what I had not noticed before is that Luke writes these exact words TWICE, in verses 55 and 56. I sense that Luke wanted to make that point crystal clear, that Jesus stands before the Father in defense of any who come before the Father and have committed their life to Him. That’s powerful!

Stephen also …saw the glory of God… (v. 55), something that I don’t recall reading anywhere else except in John’s Revelation.

The Jews stoned Stephen outside the city (v. 58). They had cast him out (driven him out, dragged him out, according to different translations), so it was imperative to them that they commit this deed outside the city. Did they consider the city itself, not just the temple, such a holy place? Strange.

Stephen has two of the same quotes as Jesus on the cross: Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. and Lord, do not hold this sin against them. (vv. 59b, 60b) It’s easy to ask whether Stephen really said these things, since these quotes from Jesus are from Luke, chapter 23 (vv. 34, 46), and are not in the other Gospels. I accept all words of Scripture as “God-breathed” (II Timothy 3:16), so I do not dispute that Stephen said these words. But it’s one of the ways in which non-believers attack Scripture as a product of men, not inspiration from the Holy Spirit. Just that…

Slava Bohu!