The Acts of the Apostles
Part 1: The Jerusalem Church
A Continuation of Luke’s Gospel
• Also addressed to Theophilus
• It’s an account of the progression from a Jewish movement to
a Gentile faith.
• Christianity is a legitimate religion that does not threaten the
Roman government.
• Many of the events involving the apostles in Acts mirror
events involving Jesus in Luke.
• Through the proclamation of the risen Lord, God opens the
way for “all peoples” to join his flock.
– Acts 10:34-36 “Then Peter began to speak to them: ‘I truly understand
that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears
him and does what is right is acceptable to him. You know the
message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus
Christ—he is Lord of all.”
Key Questions
You may not be able to answer each of these questions
“perfectly,” but you should be able to offer some ideas and be
able to support those ideas with evidence from Acts.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
How did a Jewish messianic movement develop into a Gentile
religion? What sequences of events and ideas affected this
transformation?
How is it that Paul, who did not know the historical Jesus, became his
chief interpreter?
How does Acts show Jesus’ disciples, motivated by the same Sprit that
had inspired Jesus, carrying his work into the Greco-Roman world.
Why/How does this new way appeal to the people?
According to Acts, what are the essential elements for becoming a
believer.
What is Paul’s contribution to the international mission?
Acts 1:8
An outline for the growth of “the new way” (9:2)
 You will receive power
when the Holy Spirit
has come upon you;
At Pentecost, the gift of the Holy Spirit fulfills
this (2:1-13)
 and you will be my
witnesses in
Jerusalem,
The preaching of Peter and others in
Jerusalem brings about the witness there
(2:14-8:3)
 in all Judea and
Samaria,
Persecution in Jerusalem forces Christians
out into Judea; the Samaritan mission
follows (8:4-25)
 and to the ends of the
earth.
Less clear, but it happens in many ways.



The Ethiopian comes from a long way (8:26-40)
Cornelius is the first gentile convert (10:1-11:18)
Paul arrives in Rome (28:14)
Themes
•
•
•
•
God’s ancient promises to Israel through Abraham and Moses are
fulfilled in the life and work of Jesus and his successors, who constitute
a Spirit-blessed community, the true Israel.
“The new way” [Christianity] is a universal means of salvation
encompassing all nations, Jewish, and Gentile alike. Luke shows biblical
promises being fulfilled when the Jewish disciples are empowered by
the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (2:1-47).
The author illustrates the step-by-step process by which the divine
promises were extended to non-Jewish peoples, beginning with
campaigns in Samaria and Syria (8:1-12:25).
The climactic events of this first section are the conversions of Paul, a
Pharisees, and Cornelius, a Roman soldier, the first Gentile anointed by
the Holy spirit.
Response to the Good News
Acts 2:38 offers four elements of the desired
response to the Good News.
•
“Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the
name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
1.
2.
3.
4.
repentance
baptism
the forgiveness of sins
reception of the Holy Spirit
Acts 1: The end of Jesus’ ministry
• Jesus promises the H. S.
• The disciples’ last question
– “Lord, is this the time you will restore the kingdom
to Israel?”
– How does Jesus respond?
• He ascends
– Two angels (like the ones at the tomb) say he will
return in the same way.
• Matthias replaces Judas
Acts 2: The Holy Spirit Comes
• Disciples were obediently waiting
• Happened on Pentacost (50 days after the ExodusGod gave the 10 commandments)
• Spoke in many languages.
– Message is for all people
•
•
•
•
Peter’s first sermon
Positive response by the people
They lived communally with neither rich nor poor
About 3000 joined the new movement.
Acts 3-4: Peter and the Crippled Beggar
• Follows same pattern as Jesus’ miracles.
• 3:13 Luke connects God’s action in Jesus to God’s
action in all of Israel's history.
• 4:1 Luke makes a clear distinction between the
people and their leaders.
• 4:13 The message is especially compelling because
the speakers are uneducated but they don’t sound
like it.
• Leaders threaten them
• Followers unite in prayer and fellowship
Jesus in Solomon’s Portico, the same area where the
earliest Christians regularly met.
Acts 5-6: Issues within the church
• Fear over the situation with Ananias and
Sapphira
• Further persecution
– Gamaliel (a Pharisee) defends the new way.
• Seven set apart to serve
– Like Moses needed helpers
– Introduces Stephen
Acts 7: Stephen: The First Martyr
• Stephen’s speech summarizes Israel’s history and
places Jesus in it.
• Stephen’s attitude at his death mirrors Jesus’
Luke 23
Acts 7
46Then
Jesus, crying with a loud voice,
59: Lord Jesus, receive my
said, ‘Father, into your hands I
spirit
commend my spirit.’ Having said this,
he breathed his last.
34Then
Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive
60 Lord, do not hold this sin
them; for they do not know what they
against them
are doing.’
Acts 8: The word spreads
• Stephen’s death stimulates further
persecution. Saul is a leader in it.
• Philip preaches in Samaria
– Simon the Sorcerer wants to buy the H. S.
• Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch
– Starting with Isaiah 53:7-8, Philip explains the
gospel and the Ethiopian is converted and
bapstized.
Acts 9: Saul’s conversion
Acts 10: Conversion of Cornelius
• Peter has a dream first about unclean food
made clean.
• Miraculous events lead up to the conversion
• Cornelius and his household receive the H. S.
• Cornelius becomes the first completely
Gentile full convert.
Acts 11: Church decentralized
• The church was centralized in Jerusalem, but
Antioch becomes a new center.
• The conversion of Cornelius takes the church
in a new direction.
• The disciples were first called “Christians” at
Antioch
Acts 12: James killed and Peter
imprisoned
• One of Jesus’ inner circle is killed
• Peter is also imprisoned but is delivered by
God’s power.
• Unlike Peter, who praises God for his rescue,
Herod Agrippa fails to praise God and is struck
down and dies.
• The movement continues to grow and
exapand
Acts 13 to the end
• The narrative shifts to focus around the
missionary journeys of Paul.