Acts 9:32-42

Dear RTB’ers,

Peter healing one man and raising one woman. 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). Peter was with Jesus on each of those occasions; he had witnessed those events. But there is one item particularly significant in Peter raising Dorcas – before he spoke and Dorcas awakened, Peter knelt down and prayed (Acts 9:40). He knew that he was powerless, except in the power of the Holy Spirit!

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! One interesting item to close today: And he stayed in Joppa for many days with one Simon, a tanner. (v. 43) A tanner works with dead animals, so Simon the tanner would have been “unclean” every day by Jewish standards. Surely Peter knew this and he was willing to move on from that restriction.

Blessings!

Acts 9:19b-31

Dear RTB’ers,

More Saul activity today. When many days had passed… (v. 23a). Luke writes “many days”, but to learn more we 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. An STS note suggests that Paul’s visit to Arabia fits in between verses 21 and 22. I would suggest that it fits equally well after verse 22 or after 23. Here’s Paul explaining those events in his own writing: But when He … called me … I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem …; but I went away to Arabia, and returned once more to Damascus. Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem… (Galatians 1:15-18)

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. (Acts 9:27) 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.

A few days ago when we met Gamaliel (Acts 5:38b-39) I commented that Paul was his student (Acts 22:3a). Here is more of Paul speaking of his training: “I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen, being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions.” (Galatians 1:14) Now today we see that training being played out as he preached Jesus: immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues… (v. 20a); But Saul kept … confounding Jews who lived in Damascus… (v. 22a); and …he was talking and arguing with the Hellenistic Jews… (v. 29a). Paul was well prepared for the ministry that God had set before him!

Blessings!

Acts 9:1-19a

Dear RTB’ers,

Damascus is about 150 miles from Jerusalem, a five- or six-day journey by foot. [NOTE: In paintings Saul is often depicted as falling from a horse.] Why would Saul request permission to travel so far to round up Christians? Galilee was less than half the distance. Were there no believers in the Apostles’ hometowns? Why Damascus?

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, 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!

The Lord has a long back-and-forth conversation with Ananias – seven verses (Acts 9:10-16). There are probably others, but I can recall only one other incident in Scripture when we see the Lord having a long conversation with one person – when He appears as a burning bush to Moses in Exodus 3:4-4:17 (36 verses!).

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… (Acts 13:9a) Thereafter (as I recall) he is never referred to as Saul again. This incidental renaming of Saul to Paul stands in direct contrast to Jesus’ renaming of 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 renaming, Simon to Peter and Saul to Paul. Interesting.

Blessings!

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See also: November 27 (2023) / Acts 8:4-9:43

Acts 8:26-40

Dear RTB’ers,

Yesterday we read about Philip, one of the seven deacons mentioned in Acts 6 going north from Jerusalem to preach to Samaritans. Today the Spirit takes Philip south of Jerusalem toward Gaza where he meets the Ethiopian eunuch. Then after the eunuch is baptized, the Spirit snatches Philip away and he “found himself at Azotus” (v. 40), one of the five Philistine cities (from King David’s time). Then he preaches to cities along the way (some sixty miles) until he gets to Caesarea. Then we don’t hear from Philip again until Acts 21:8 when Paul and Luke stay at his house in Caesarea some twenty-five years later. Put yourself into Philip’s place – north to the Samaritans, south toward Gaza, west to Azotus, then north to Caesarea. Quite a bit of traveling and Spirit leading!!

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. 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 he returns to Ethiopia “rejoicing”. (Acts 8:39) I’m sure that Philip’s teaching stayed with the eunuch and that he shared Jesus with others at 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 these Ethiopian Jews! 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! REJOICE!!

Blessings!

Acts 8:5-25

Dear RTB’ers,

Jesus speaking, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) We saw this verse a couple of weeks ago as an outline of the book of Acts. Today we see Jesus’ words being fulfilled: Philip went down to the city of Samaria…(v. 5a) and Now when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans. (v. 25) We have seen the apostles ministering in Jerusalem in Acts 2-7. Now Philip has moved north (down!) to Samaritan territory. Recall that upstanding Jews had nothing to do with Samaria, believing that they were an unholy people who had been “infected” by intermarriage with people from other religions. [Recall Jesus and the “woman at the well” in John 4.] Yet we see Philip going directly to Samaria to preach. We’ll see more outreach to non-Jews throughout the book of Acts. In fact, it’s a major issue within the early church, whether Gentiles had to “become Jews” when they believed as Christians.

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). Later the apostles will want to hear from Peter about his visit to Cornelius (Acts 10-11) and Paul’s outreach to the Gentiles throughout much of the rest of Acts. They provided us a good model for our own Anglican structure – from the parish (priest) to the diocese (bishop) to ACNA (archbishop). In our structure there is always oversight from above.

Blessings!

Acts 7:44-8:4

Dear RTB’ers,

Our third day of Stephen’s testimony – the climax. I’ve always loved Stephen’s change of tone at Acts 7:51 (and following): You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit… Before that he had been basically a story-teller, recounting Jewish history, although he was clearly leading up to temple worship and Jesus’ death. We have a hint of a change in tone in Acts 7:48: Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says… I can sense the Jewish leaders taking offense at that statement, but they let him go on, not wanting to challenge his Isaiah quote. But then Acts 7:51-53…!!

At times I wonder about these speeches (and even some of the events). Luke was not one of the twelve apostles; how did he get his information when he wrote his Gospel or when he wrote Acts? He had to have access to some insiders who could relay the details of the events or of the speeches. For this particular event and Stephen’s speech, however, Luke had a trusty eyewitness – Saul, later named Paul, who was present at the event. (Acts 7:58b, 8:1) Also, 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. (Acts 7:59b, 60b) It’s easy to ask whether Stephen really said these things, since these quotes from Jesus are from Luke, (Luke 23: 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…

Stephen sees Jesus …standing at the right hand of God. (Acts 7:55b, 56b) Jesus’ normal position is to be seated at the Father’s right hand, as He Himself said (Luke 22:69). But Stephen sees Jesus STANDING at God’s right hand. I picture 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. And Luke writes this exact word 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!

The Jews stoned Stephen outside the city (Acts 7:58). 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.

Blessings!

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See also: November 23 (2023) / Acts 6:1-8:3

Acts 7:9-43

Dear RTB’ers,

STS has Stephen’s long discourse broken down into three days’ readings. Yesterday, the first day was the introduction, going only as far as the patriarchs – Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Today’s reading touches on Joseph and his deliverance of Israel (his father, Jacob and his brothers (Acts 7:9-16)), but is mostly focused on Moses (Acts 7:20-40). The third day, tomorrow will be the climax to which Stephen is building. After we read tomorrow, it would be good to go back to verse 2 and read Stephen’s entire sermon as a whole.

…this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer… (v.35b) and This man led them out, performing wonders and signs… (v. 36a) Stephen is building his case, clearly looking forward to Jesus in these two sentences. His “this man” in both sentences is referring to Moses, but it is also clear to Stephen that another “this Man”, Jesus, was doing the same things – ruling and redeeming and performing wonders and signs. And as Moses was rejected by his own people, so will Jesus also be rejected by the Jewish leaders.

So, tomorrow, the climax of these three days’ readings of Stephen’s sermon.

Blessings!

Acts 6:1-7:8

Dear RTB’ers,

Mayday!! And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. (Acts 6:7) Here we have our fifth transition verse / section (see also Acts 2:42-47, 4:32-37, 5:42, 6:1a), but this verse gives us some really new information, that many of the Jewish priests are converting. This is huge! It’s not just the common people, even priests are hearing and believing! The priests are very learned in their Jewish heritage and faith while the apostles (Peter and John), in the eyes of the Council, were “uneducated and untrained men” (Acts 4:13). These priests, strong in their Jewish traditions are regularly ministering in the Temple, especially in offering the daily animal sacrifices. Their conversion is necessarily their recognition that Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross eliminated the need for these sacrificial rituals. These are major conversions!

Stephen is now brought before the Council. But they were unable to cope with the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. (Acts 6:10) These “men from the Synagogue” (Acts 6:9), possibly even including a rabbi or two?, were overwhelmed by Stephen’s claims. They were troubled enough that anger took root and they began to plot against him. Stephen is following the pattern set by Jesus, with false witnesses set against him also, even the charge of destroying the temple – the same charge brought against Jesus. And as we shall see in the next few days, Stephen will suffer the same outcome as Jesus. But not before he lays his counter-charges fully before his challengers! Stay tuned!

Blessings!

Acts 5:17-42

Dear RTB’ers,

Yesterday’s closing verse: The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed. (Acts 5:16) Today we see the Jewish leaders jealous of the apostles’ success with the people and angry that Peter and the others are disobeying their command not to teach or speak in Jesus’ name: “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” (Acts 5:28) It is interesting to me that the high priest is not willing to speak Jesus’ Name!! I wonder why. Guilt? Fear? Pride? All the above? He has been told by Peter and John that there is power in that Name (Acts 4:10); maybe he fears a negative outcome if he is the one who is speaking the Name!! Curious! And frankly (maybe only to me), somewhat amusing…!

Gamaliel’s wisdom: “…for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” (Acts 5:38b-39) We will learn later that Saul (later, the apostle Paul) was one of Gamaliel’s students. Paul speaking: “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel.” (Acts 22:3a) Interesting.

Blessings!