Chapter By Chapter: Acts
Luke (the author of Acts) recalls Jesus’s promise to send the Holy Spirit and reviews Jesus’s ascension. Peter tells the assembled disciples they need to replace Judas among the twelve apostles; they cast lots, and Matthias is chosen.
The baptism of the Holy Spirit refers to the upcoming Pentecost event in the next chapter. Prior to Jesus’s ascension, He charges them with being His witness not only in Israel but the whole world, and promises the Holy Spirit will empower them to do so.
8: “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.”
On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit fills the disciples as promised. They begin witnessing to God’s wonders in many of the languages of the Roman Empire to the Jews who had gathered in Jerusalem for the feast. Peter preaches the first Christian sermon, and three thousand people are saved.
The coming of the Holy Spirit fulfills Joel’s prophecy (quoted by Peter) and Jesus’s promise. As Jesus charged them, the disciples begin their witness in Jerusalem. Peter’s sermon quotes many Old Testament scriptures to identify Jesus as the Messiah.
32: “This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.”
Peter heals a lame man in the temple; when a crowd gathers to witness, he preaches another sermon, this one about Jesus’s death and resurrection and their need to repent.
Peter’s miracle healing in the name of Jesus gives him another opportunity to witness to Jesus’s death and resurrection. He re-tells the story of Pilate and Jesus and Barabbas and connects Jesus’s ministry to God’s promises to Abraham and to Moses.
26: “God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.”
The Sanhedrin arrests Peter and John and questions them. Peter witnesses to them that he and John healed the man through the power of Jesus. The council charges them not to speak of Jesus, but they refuse. The apostles gather together and pray for boldness in the face of threats.
Just as the Sanhedrin arrested Jesus, so now they arrest His followers. But that arrest gives Peter a chance to witness to them. Luke reminds us that not just Peter and John but all the apostles are still together in Jerusalem bearing witness to Jesus.
29: “And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness…”
Ananias and his wife Sapphira lie about a gift to the church, and God kills them. The council imprisons the apostles, but an angel frees them. The council wants to kill them, but the respected rabbi Gamaliel convinces them not to.
Ananias and Sapphira sow dissent in the church by their lie, which is why they are punished. Peter’s healings are legendary, and the council cannot abide losing power. Gamaliel reasons that if the apostles are not from God, they will fail, but if they are, they cannot be stopped.
12: Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon’s Portico.
The Hellenistic (Greek-speaking) Jews complain that their widows aren’t being cared for. The apostles need to focus on ministry as the church explodes in numbers, so they commission seven Hellenists to handle the day-to-day charity. False witnesses rise up to condemn Stephen because his preaching is so powerful.
The commissioning of the seven Hellenists by the Canaanite apostles shows total trust among the early church. Stephen’s incredible witness is portrayed directly in Acts 7, where his shining face recalls Moses’s face after speaking with God on the mountain.
7: 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.
Stephen delivers an epic sermon. He recites the history of Israel before the Sanhedrin council, concluding with a condemnation of contemporary Jews for persecuting the prophets, rejecting the Messiah, and murdering Jesus. The people interrupt his speech and stone him while Saul holds their coats.
Stephen’s history includes repeated examples of Israel’s rejection of men sent by God: Joseph, then Moses (repeatedly), and finally Jesus. He also points to God’s presence outside of Israel (in Egypt) and outside the temple (quoting Isaiah). Stephen’s dying prayers echo Jesus’s.
52: “Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered…”
The stoning of Stephen sets off a persecution of the church, scattering them. Philip proclaims Christ in Samaria. A magician named Simon believes, but tries to buy the power of the Holy Spirit, and Peter rebukes him. Philip explains Isaiah’s prophecy of Jesus to an Ethiopian and baptizes him.
Saul sought to destroy the early church, but his work ultimately fulfilled Jesus’s command to expand the gospel out of Jerusalem to Israel and Samaria. The story of the Ethiopian shows the power and direction of the Spirit while teaching that sometimes we need guidance to see God clearly.
35: Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus.
On the road to Damascus, Saul encounters Jesus in a vision. Jesus announces Himself and blinds Saul. After Ananias heals him, he begins proclaiming Jesus as Messiah, but Jews plan to kill him; he escapes to Jerusalem, where he meets the apostles. Peter heals Aeneas and resurrects Tabitha.
Saul’s anti-Christian campaign in Jerusalem spread the Gospel to Samaria; now his infamy among Christians, despite his conversion, spreads the Gospel to Tarsus, a major city, heading out toward “the ends of the Earth” as Jesus commands in Acts 1. The Spirit’s power in Peter continues.
15: But the Lord said to [Ananias], “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.”
A Roman centurion named Cornelius, visited by an angel, invites Peter to preach to his household. Peter sees a vision of clean and unclean foods, which he understands to mean that the Gospel is available to Gentiles. Peter visits Cornelius and preaches the gospel. The Holy Spirit falls on the entire crowd.
Peter’s vision overturns the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament, declaring that God decides what is clean, not man. The Holy Spirit confirms his understanding when He baptizes the Gentiles without any Jewish rituals.
45: And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles.
Peter recounts the story of the Holy Spirit baptizing Cornelius to skeptical Christians in Jerusalem. The Gospel spreads to Antioch, where some Christians preach to Gentiles. Barnabas investigates, then retrieves Saul from Tarsus and they support the church there together.
Some Jewish Christians thought you had to become Jews first to become Christians; Peter’s story of Cornelius rejects that thinking. Barnabas goes to Antioch to validate the preaching there, but he and Saul end up making Antioch a major center of Christianity.
26: …and when [Barnabas] had found [Paul], he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.
Herod kills James and arrests Peter, intending to kill him too. An angel rescues Peter, who goes to Mary’s house (John Mark’s mother) and tells them what happened, then disappears. An angel kills Herod for comparing himself to God. John Mark returns with Saul and Barnabas to Antioch.
Peter’s visit to John Mark’s house transitions the story of Acts from Peter’s ministry in and around Jerusalem to Saul’s much wider-ranging ministry, following the command of Jesus to preach in Jerusalem, Samaria, and the ends of the earth.
7: And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him [Peter], and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his hands.
The church at Antioch commissions Saul and Barnabas to preach the gospel even farther afield. They contend with a magician in Paphos of Cyprus, where a high-ranking Roman official believes the gospel. They preach in Antioch in Pisidia, and the Gentiles beg for more, but the Jews drive them out.
Saul (now going by Paul) preaches first in the synagogue, going to the Jews first. But the Jews reject the message, so he turns to the Gentiles and preaches to them. This is the pattern of God, and of Jesus, and now of Paul.
46: And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.”
Paul and Barnabas preach in Iconium, but they flee from stoning and go to Lystra. There, Paul heals a cripple, but Jews from Antioch and Iconium catch up to them and stone Paul; they escape to Derbe. They set up elders in the new churches and return to Antioch.
Paul and Barnabas continue to preach the gospel despite strong opposition in each city they visit; they leave only when their lives are threatened. They show even more courage by returning to the cities that had driven them out on the way back to Antioch.
3: So they remained for a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord, who bore witness to the word of his grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands.
Paul and Barnabas go to Jerusalem for a council of Christian elders to debate whether Christians must first be Jews. Peter defends the mission to the Gentiles and rejects the requirement; James agrees with Peter and proposes a compromise. Paul and Barnabas return to Antioch with the decision, then later separate.
The strong rejection of Peter and James, giants of the early church in Jerusalem, of making Gentiles become Jews suggests that those raising the question were somewhat on the fringe. But they took the challenge seriously, following the will of God rather than the law.
28: “For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements…”
Paul returns to Lystra and meets Timothy, who accompanies him through Phrygia and Galatia hundreds of miles to Troas, where they sail to Philippi in Macedonia. There, Paul converts Lydia and heals a demon-possessed slave girl. Paul and Silas get imprisoned, convert their jailer, and are released.
Paul insists on returning again to the churches he just planted. Luke writes of the Holy Spirit powerfully calling Paul not to stop and preach in every city, but to travel directly to Troas and then Philippi to witness there, trusting others to bring the gospel elsewhere.
9: And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”
Paul preaches in Thessalonica, where a mob forms and endangers Jason, forcing Paul and Silas to leave for Berea. The Jews from Thessalonica follow them, forming another mob; Paul leaves for Athens, but Silas and Timothy stay. Paul’s preaching intrigues the Athenians, who request a longer sermon to a bigger crowd.
Paul continues his pattern in each city of starting with Jews and preaching to the Gentiles when the Jews reject him. Ironically, the polytheistic Gentile Athenians are the most receptive. Paul adapts his message to his audience, especially in Athens.
23: “For as I [Paul] passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.”
Paul goes to Corinth, again preaching to the Jews and turning to the Gentiles when they oppose him. God promises him support in Corinth, so he stays for more than eighteen months. Eventually, he returns to Antioch by way of Ephesus, where he starts a church.
Paul’s normal pattern of preaching to Jews, then to Gentiles, then leaving after setting up churches, is disrupted here by God’s will. Proconsul Gallio’s ruling confirms God’s will, and Paul stays in a city where he is hated for more than a year and a half.
11: And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.
Paul preaches in Ephesus for two years. Jewish exorcists and magicians fail to copy Paul’s miracles worked through the Holy Spirit, and some are converted. The silversmith Demetrius raises a mob against Paul on Artemis’s behalf, but the town clerk clarifies that Christianity is not in conflict with Roman law.
The magicians try to drive out spirits with the name of Jesus but not the faith; the demons recognize the lack of true God-given power and attack. The riot at Ephesus shows that Christianity should be permitted under Roman law.
18: Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices.
Paul leaves Ephesus for Corinth, where he spends three months until he is threatened and returns to Troas. While there, one of Paul’s sermons goes so long a man falls asleep, falls three stories, dies, and is revived by Paul. Paul continues his journey to Jerusalem.
Paul’s address to the Ephesian elders at Miletus shows first that he knew he had to get to Jerusalem and could not get caught up in farewells at Ephesus, and second that he knew he was heading into trials. This speech is the only one in Acts addressed to Christians.
22: “And now, behold, I [Paul] am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there…”
Paul arrives in Jerusalem via Caesarea, where Agabus prophesies he will be imprisoned there. Paul relates his ministry to the elders at Jerusalem. Paul participates in a Nazirite rite. He is beaten by a crowd almost to death, then saved but arrested by the local Roman military.
Agabus previously prophesied a famine. Paul already knew that he would be imprisoned in Jerusalem, but he persisted despite his friends’ entreaties. The Nazirite ritual showed that Paul did not insist on Jewish ceremonial law, but did not oppose it either.
30: Then all the city was stirred up, and the people ran together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple, and at once the gates were shut.
Paul addresses the mob that dragged him out of the temple. He testifies to his Jewish heritage and zeal, his encounter with Jesus and Ananias in Damascus, and his conversion and calling. The Jews call again for his death, and Paul has to reveal his Roman citizenship to avoid flogging.
Paul’s speech is intended to do the same thing as his participation in the Nazirite ritual in the temple: establishing his Jewish credentials and demonstration he was not anti-Jewish, just pro-Jesus. (It doesn’t work.)
22: Up to this word they listened to him. Then they raised their voices and said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live.”
At the tribune’s command, the Sanhedrin interrogates Paul. The Pharisees defend him, but the Sadducees accuse him. Jesus visits Paul and tells him he must go to Rome. The Jews plot to kill Paul again, but his nephew finds out, so Paul is sent to Caesarea under heavy guard.
Pharisees believed in resurrection, so they could believe Paul’s story about his vision of Jesus. Sadducees did not, so they continued to persecute him. Jesus’s visit confirms the prophecy from Acts 9 that Paul would witness before kings.
33: When they had come to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they presented Paul also before him.
Ananias and the Jews accuse Paul to Felix the governor of instigating a riot, being a Christian ringleader, and profaning the temple. Paul denies the first and third, but accepts the second. Felix keeps him in custody for two years, trying to extract a bribe.
Only the riot would have been meaningful to the Romans; the other two charges are religious charges, not civil. Since he had been in Jerusalem only twelve days, Paul asserts he could not have caused a riot. Felix keeping him jailed paves the way for him to witness before more powerful rulers.
24: After some days Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, and he sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus.
The new governor, Festus, listens to the charges against Paul and Paul’s defense. He offers to hold a trial in Jerusalem, but Paul, fearful of the Jews, appeals to Caesar. King Agrippa asks to hear Paul’s testimony.
The Jews’ plot against Paul causes him to appeal to Caesar, which allows him to witness in front of King Agrippa and later in Rome itself, the center of the world at the time.
12: Then Festus, when he had conferred with his council, answered, “To Caesar you have appealed; to Caesar you shall go.”
Paul testifies before King Agrippa, giving his history as a Pharisee and his persecution of Christians, then his conversion and preaching in Damascus. He claims he only preaches the fulfillment of the prophecy and hope of the Jews. Agrippa declares him innocent.
God engineered Paul’s witness in Rome. If Festus had released him, or not threatened him with a trial in Jerusalem as a favor to the Jews, he would not have appealed to Caesar. Except for that, Agrippa would have freed him, and he would never have gone to Rome.
32: And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”
Paul journeys to Rome by boat. Paul foresees stormy late-season weather, but they sail anyway. A storm drives them west away from land, terrifying them, but Paul encourages them with a vision he has had of an angel. They attempt to put in at Malta, but wreck the ship on a reef.
God intends Paul to testify before Caesar in Rome, giving Paul confidence that he will survive even the storm, the lack of food, and the shipwreck. Paul shares his confidence with the crew to encourage them, even though they are professionals and he a prisoner.
25: “So take heart, men, for I [Paul] have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told.”
The Maltese natives care for Paul and the sailors. Paul miraculously survives a viper bite and heals the chief’s father and many others. Three months later, when winter ends, they set sail again, provisioned by the Maltese. They meet Italian Christians and eventually come to Rome, where Paul lives for two years.
Paul surviving the viper bite fulfills the debated prophecy in Mark 16:18; his healing in Jesus’s name provisions them for the rest of their journey. Encountering Christians on Sicily shows the message of Jesus had reached Rome. Paul, as usual, starts with Jews and turns to Gentiles when they disbelieve.
28: “Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.”