Galatians 2:1-21 About Paul’s time line… Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. (v. 1) Scholars can make different arguments as to when this event occurred – some that this 14-year trip occurring when Paul and Barnabas brought an aid gift to the Jerusalem church …
Category Archives: RTB 2021 – New Testament
July 19 / Galatians 1:1-24
Galatians 1:1-24 Today we begin the Epistles – as an interruption to the Acts narrative, but chronologically consistent with Acts. That is, scholars maintain that Paul wrote to the Galatian churches (Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe) sometime after his first missionary journey (Acts 13-14) and before his second missionary journey (which begins at Acts 15:36). But …
July 18 / Acts 15:1-35
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 …
July 17 / Acts 13:42-14:28
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 …
July 16 / Acts 13:1-41
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”. …
July 15 / Acts 12:1-25
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 …
July 14 / Acts 11:1-30
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… …
July 13 / Acts 10:24-48
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 …
July 12 / Acts 10:1-23
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 …
July 11 / Acts 9:20-43
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 …