By St. Luke
The Great Commission
 Jesus last recorded words have come to be known as the
“Great Commission”: “You shall be witnesses to Me in
Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of
the earth” (1:8). These are the basic steps of Evangelism.
 The Book of Acts, written by Luke, is the story of men and
women who took that commission seriously and began to
spread the news of a risen Savior to the most remote
corners of the world.
 All available Greek manuscripts designate it by the title
“Praxeis”, a word that was commonly used in Greek
literature to summarize the accomplishments of
outstanding men.
Book of Acts
 While there are four accounts of the life of Jesus, this is the
only book that carries on the story from his ascension to
the period of the New Testament epistles. Thus Acts is the
historical link between the Gospels and the Epistles.
 Because of Luke’s strong emphasis on the ministry of the
Holy Spirit, this book could be regarded as “the acts of the
Spirit of Christ working in and through the Apostles”.
 From a theological standpoint, Acts was written to trace
the development of the body of Christ over the onegeneration transition from a primarily Jewish to a
predominantly Gentile membership. This work
presents Christianity as distinct from Judaism but also as
its fulfillment.
Book of acts
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Acts is a pivotal book of transitions:
From the Gospels to the Epistles (history),
From Judaism to Christianity (religion),
From law to grace (divine dealing),
From Jews alone to Jews and Gentiles (people of God),
and
 From kingdom to church (program of God).
 While the apostles are mentioned collectively at
several points, this book really records the acts of
Peter (1-12), and of Paul (13-28).
Survey of Acts
Focus
Witness in
Jerusalem
Witness in Judea
and Samaria
Witness to the
remotest part of
the earth
Reference
1-7
8-12
13-28
Division
Beginning and
growth of the NT
church
Expansion of the
church
Paul’s 3 missionary
trips and his trials
Topic
Jews
Samaritans
Gentiles
Main character
Peter
Peter and Philip
Paul
Time
2 years (A.D. 33-35) 13 years (A.D. 3548)
14 years (A.D. 4862)
1. Witness in Jerusalem (1-7)
The birth and progress of
church
 After appearing to His disciples for 40 days (1:3), the Lord told
them to wait in Jerusalem for the fulfillment of His promise
concerning the Holy Spirit.
 While waiting for the promise, Peter suggested replacing Judas
and Matthias was appointed after praying and casting the
lots.
 Ten days after His ascension, His promise was significantly
fulfilled as the disciples were empowered and filled with the
Holy Spirit. Chapter 2 records the earth-changing events of
the Day of Pentecost.
 The Spirit transformed a small group of fearful men into a
thriving, worldwide church that is ever moving forward and
fulfilling the Great Commission. The disciples were filled with
courage to proclaim the brand-new message of the resurrected
Savior.
1. Witness in Jerusalem (1-7)
[cont.]
 Peter’s powerful sermon, like all the sermons in Acts, is built upon the
resurrection, and 3000 persons respond with saving faith.
 After dramatically healing a man who was lame from birth (Chapter 3),
Peter delivers a second crucial message to the people of Israel resulting
in thousands of additional believers.
 In chapter 4, the religious leaders arrest the apostles (Peter and John)
and this gives Peter the opportunity to preach a special sermon to
them. After release, they all prayed for Boldness.
 In the same chapter, the pattern of unity and voluntary sharing in
the early church is apparent “Now the multitude of those who believed
were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of
the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in
common. And with great power the apostles gave witness to the
resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all”.
1. Witness in Jerusalem (1-7)
[cont.]
 The enthusiasm and joy of the infant church are marred by internal
and external problems (chapters 5-7):
 a)
Ananias and Sapphira receive the ultimate form of discipline
because of their treachery and lying to the Holy Spirit.
 B)
The apostles are imprisoned and persecuted because of their
witness “But at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and
brought them out, and said, “Go, stand in the temple and speak to the
people all the words of this life.” They went out to preach in the Temple
on the next day, only to be captured again and tried. Then Peter said
his famous saying “: “We ought to obey God rather than men.” The
apostles were beaten up and then released “rejoicing that they were
counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. 42 And daily in the
temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and
preaching Jesus as the Christ. “
1. Witness in Jerusalem (1-7)
[cont.]
 C)
“Now in those days, when the number of the disciples
was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the
Hebrews by the Hellenists, because their widows were
neglected in the daily distribution. 2 Then the twelve
summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, “It is
not desirable that we should leave the word of God and
serve tables”. Therefore, 7 deacons including Stephen and
Philip, were selected to assist the apostles (delegation).
 d) Stephen is brought before the Sanhedrin; in his
defense, Stephen surveyed the scriptures to prove that the
Man they condemned and killed was the Messiah Himself.
The members of the Sanhedrin reacted to Stephen’s words
by dragging him out of the city and making him the first
Christian martyr.
2. Witness in Judea and Samaria
(8-12)
 The Samaritans were half-breeds, descended from
Israelites in the Northern Kingdom who intermarried
with the Gentile settlers brought into Palestine by the
Assyrians after the fall of Samaria (northern kingdom)
in 722 B.C.
 The Jews hated the Samaritans.
2. Witness in Judea and Samaria
(8-12) [cont.]
 Philip goes to the province of Samaria and successfully
proclaims the new message to a people hated by the Jews.
Peter and John confirm his work and exercise their
apostolic authority by imparting the Holy Spirit to these
new members of Christ [chapter 8]
 Simon the Sorcerer believes and offers money to the
apostles to give him the power to impart the Holy Spirit by
the laying of hands which made Peter rebuke him “the gift
of God cannot be purchased by money”.
 Philip witnesses to the Ethiopian treasurer and baptizes
him.
2. Witness in Judea and Samaria
(8-12) [8-12]
 God sovereignly transforms Saul the persecutor
into Paul the apostle to the Gentiles. Paul started
right away by preaching in Damascus after he restored
his sight at the hands of Ananias. The Jews plotted to
kill him and he was sent to Jerusalem where he
preached, after being introduced by Barnabas, but the
Jews planned to kill him, so he was sent to Tarsus
[chapter 9].
 Peter heals a paralyzed man and raises Dorcas who
was full of good works and charitable deeds.
2. Witness in Judea and Samaria
(8-12) [cont.]
 Even though Paul is the apostle to the Gentiles, God
used Peter to introduce the gospel to the Gentiles
[chapter 10].
 In a special vision Peter realizes that Christ has broken
down the barrier between the Jews and the Gentiles.
Cornelius the centurion in Caesarea, his family and
other Gentiles accepted Christ through Peter’s
teaching.
2. Witness in Judea and Samaria
(8-12) [cont.]
 In chapter 11, Peter defends his ministry to the Gentiles and
convinces the Jewish believers in Jerusalem that “the Gentiles
had also received the word of God”.
 Persecution that arose over Stephen was a blessing to the
church as those who were scattered after the persecution
traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch preaching the
word. The church in Jerusalem sent out Barnabas as far as
Antioch. He was glad having seen the Grace of God.
 Barnabas went to Tarsus to recruit Saul. He brought him to
Antioch and preached there for a whole year after which they
went to Jerusalem to take donations to the church in
Jerusalem because of the famine in those days.
 The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.
2. Witness in Judea and Samaria
(8-12) [cont.]
 King Herod waves persecution against the church
killing James and putting Peter in prison, but constant
prayer was offered to God for him by the church. Peter
was miraculously released from prison by an angel of
the Lord.
 This section ends by the frightening death of Herod,
being eaten by worms, as he did not give glory to
God. Hence came the dictum “if someone wants to
commit suicide let him harass the church”.