Pentecost: The New Church and Acts in the Flow of Biblical Thought January 18, 2026

Philippians 4:19 NKJV

19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Psalm 37:25 NKJV

25 I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread.

Isaiah 41:10 NKJV

10 Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’

2 Corinthians 9:8 NKJV

8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.

Prayer

REVIEW

In our Pentecost: The New Church study we have been working through Acts, and are in the midst of the Narrative of Paul’s missionary journeys and now of his imprisonment. We have a few verses to finish up, for this section of the study.

Paul's Defense Acts 25:12-26:32

To review We began this paragraph with Paul’s appeal to Caesar:

After having been kept a prisoner for two years by the Roman governor Felix, Paul stood before the new Governor, Festus, who Paul may have hoped was going to right wrongs and release Paul. But i9t was not to be so.

We reviewed

Acts 25:11

Acts 25:11 NKJV

11 For if I am an offender, or have committed anything deserving of death, I do not object to dying; but if there is nothing in these things of which these men accuse me, no one can deliver me to them. I appeal to Caesar.”

If he is guilty, then he doesn’t mind paying the price; but if he is innocent, then no one should turn him over to the Jewish leadership.

First, it would be illegal since Paul, as a Roman citizen, should not be subject to the justice of the Sanhedrin, and second, if he were released to them, he would not be given justice but would be executed.

Now understand these Roman governor’s had the lattitude to let the local people deal with local issues, up ot, but not including death penalty cases - which only the governor himself could rule on, like Pontius Pilate did with Yeshua-Jesus.

At this point, Paul has recognized that Festus is not going to do anything better than Felix had done; he will not release him, but will probably continue to keep him in jail. Paul wants to move things forward, and so he appeals to Caesar. This prompts Festus to convene a conference with his council. This is not the Sanhedrin because the Sanhedrin wouldn’t have any power or authority over an issue involving Roman law. Paul’s appeal has a specific legal term. It is called a provocatio. It was the citizen’s right to appeal to Caesar for judgment.

Provocatio?

Definition: Provocatio was the right of a Roman citizen to appeal a magistrate’s decision—especially a capital sentence—to a higher authority.

Origin: Rooted in Republican-era laws like the Lex Valeria (509 BC) and Lex Porcia (199 BC), it protected citizens from arbitrary punishment by magistrates with imperium (coercive power).

Mechanism: A citizen could cry out “provoco!” to halt proceedings. Initially, this transferred judgment to the comitia centuriata (popular assembly); under the Empire, it meant appealing directly to the emperor.

Paul’s Status:As a Roman citizen, Paul had full provocatio rights. When Festus proposed a trial in Jerusalem (where Paul faced assassination), Paul invoked his right: “I appeal to Caesar!” (Acts 25:11).

Festus’ Response:Though Festus had authority as procurator of Judea, once Paul appealed, he was legally bound to send him to Rome (Acts 25:12). He could not override or delay the appeal without violating Roman law.

Political Pressure: Governors like Festus were under scrutiny from both Rome and local elites. Mishandling a citizen’s rights—especially one who had already been imprisoned for two years—could result in imperial censure or recall.

Legal Significance

Supersedes Local Jurisdiction: Provocatio was a constitutional check on provincial power. Once invoked, the governor’s role shifted from judge to facilitator of the appeal.

Requires Formal Charges: Roman law demanded a libellus accusationis (written indictment) before forwarding a case to the emperor. Festus’ dilemma in Acts 25:26—“I have nothing definite to write to my lord about him”—reflects this procedural bind.

Not a Loophole: Provocatio was not a legal trick but a core right. It was especially potent in provinces where governors might be tempted to appease local factions or act unjustly.

Paul’s appeal to Caesar was not a clever maneuver—it was a legal trump card. As a Roman citizen, he had the right to bypass the provincial governor and demand imperial adjudication. Festus, though governor, had no authority to deny this. His only option was to prepare the case and send Paul to Rome, even if he personally found no guilt.

Next we saw that Festus included King Agrippa and his wife Bernice, hoping that they would help him come up with some legal reason to be sending Paul to stand before Caesar. It had to be valid charges, and at this point, Festus doesn’t have any, as Felix before him did not have any.

Let’s pick up at the beginning of this defense that Paul gives, with minimal explanation as we taught through this last week.

Acts 26:1-20

Acts 26:1–20 NKJV

1 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You are permitted to speak for yourself.” So Paul stretched out his hand and answered for himself: 2 “I think myself happy, King Agrippa, because today I shall answer for myself before you concerning all the things of which I am accused by the Jews, 3 especially because you are expert in all customs and questions which have to do with the Jews. Therefore I beg you to hear me patiently. 4 “My manner of life from my youth, which was spent from the beginning among my own nation at Jerusalem, all the Jews know. 5 They knew me from the first, if they were willing to testify, that according to the strictest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee. 6 And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers. 7 To this promise our twelve tribes, earnestly serving God night and day, hope to attain. For this hope’s sake, King Agrippa, I am accused by the Jews. 8 Why should it be thought incredible by you that God raises the dead? 9 “Indeed, I myself thought I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 This I also did in Jerusalem, and many of the saints I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. 11 And I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly enraged against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities. 12 “While thus occupied, as I journeyed to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests, 13 at midday, O king, along the road I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who journeyed with me. 14 And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 15 So I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 16 But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. 17 I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, 18 to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’ 19 “Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20 but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance.

Acts 26:21

Acts 26:21 NKJV

21 For these reasons the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me.

He points out that this is a theological issue, not a legal issue under Roman law. The Jews want to kill him for a theological reasons, that he believes in the resurrection.

Acts 26:22

Acts 26:22 NKJV

22 Therefore, having obtained help from God, to this day I stand, witnessing both to small and great, saying no other things than those which the prophets and Moses said would come—

He grounds what he is teaching in the Word of God.

Now he summarizes the Old Testament: that what Moses and the prophets said was that the Messiah was to suffer.

Acts 26:23

Acts 26:23 NKJV

23 that the Christ would suffer, that He would be the first to rise from the dead, and would proclaim light to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.”

The focal point here is that the Messiah would be brought back to life, the sign being the sign of Jonah: three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish.

Now, he has presented the gospel to Agrippa; he has presented it to kings, to all the rulers, and now Festus interrupts him.

Acts 26:24

Acts 26:24 NKJV

24 Now as he thus made his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, you are beside yourself! Much learning is driving you mad!”

The typical response from unbelievers is that we are irrational when in fact they are the ones who are irrational. Keep in mind also that Agrippa is in bed with the Saducees. He appoints the HIgh Priest, and he in part derives his power by the approval of the Sadducees in a highly political situation. But it is not Agrippa who objects, it is Festus who is fully entrenched in the Cosmic World System who objects. As we have note previously, the Epicureans denied any afterlife. The stoics taught a a repeating cycle of the cosmos, but not resurrection. To a Roman who would be educated in these views, Paul’s claim that Jesus rose from the dead and now offers eternal life is absurd to Festus’ worldview. From this viewpoint, holding to resurrection is madness.

Acts 26:25

Acts 26:25 NKJV

25 But he said, “I am not mad, most noble Festus, but speak the words of truth and reason.

Notice Paul’s subtle appeal to Herod.

Acts 26:26-27

Acts 26:26–27 NKJV

26 For the king, before whom I also speak freely, knows these things; for I am convinced that none of these things escapes his attention, since this thing was not done in a corner. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you do believe.”

Paul is putting the king on the spot and is asking him to make a decision in relation to the gospel.

Acts 26:28

Acts 26:28 NKJV

28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.”

This is a literal translation, but it doesn’t reveal what is really happening. He is not making a statement that Paul was about to persuade him, but rather that Paul wished to. In another sense, he is saying,

“You are trying to convince me to become a Christian.”

He is not saying, “You are close but you haven’t quite closed the deal, and because you haven’t closed the deal, I am not going to become a Christian.”

That is not the sense of this imperfect tense. Rather, he is saying, “You have tried/attempted to persuade me to become a Christian.”

Acts 26:29

Acts 26:29 NKJV

29 And Paul said, “I would to God that not only you, but also all who hear me today, might become both almost and altogether such as I am, except for these chains.”

And this concludes the interview.

Acts 26:30-32

Acts 26:30–32 NKJV

30 When he had said these things, the king stood up, as well as the governor and Bernice and those who sat with them; 31 and when they had gone aside, they talked among themselves, saying, “This man is doing nothing deserving of death or chains.” 32 Then Agrippa said to Festus, “This man might have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”

In a real sense, what Paul has done by appealing to Caesar is bring about what God has promised him, namely, that he would take the gospel to Rome. He would be heard in Rome and before Caesar, before kings, and he would proclaim that.

Paul's Roman Sea Voyage. Acts 27:1-20

Part of the challenge as we go through the last four or five chapters in Acts is that we are covering historical narrative. Historical narrative is handled differently than an epistle, a discourse, or specific prophecies given in the prophets of the Old Testament. When dealing with narrative, there is a lot of story. And it is essential to realize that when the Holy Spirit slows things down and provides this much detail in a story, He is making a point. Still, they are not made in quite the same way that they are made in epistolary literature or some of the other forms of literature.

What we see in Acts chapter twenty-six is that Paul is speaking before Agrippa. And not only Agrippa, but he is speaking before Festus, before the commanders of the five legions that are headquartered in Caesarea by the sea, and before political dignitaries, most of whom would come from the immediate Gentile city of Caesarea, and various other lower-level political entities. Additionally, there would likely be a number of other people from the local population who would want to hear what the apostle Paul had to say. So it is a tremendous opportunity for him to present the gospel, and he takes the opportunity to do that.

Acts 26:1

Acts 26:1 NKJV

1 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You are permitted to speak for yourself.” So Paul stretched out his hand and answered for himself:

AS we have seen, the verb here is ἀπολογέομαι—APOLOGEOMAI, and it is related to the noun ἀπολογία—APOLOGIA, which is in, for example, 1 Peter 3:15, that we are always to be ready to answer the hope that is in us.

1 Peter 3:15

1 Peter 3:15 NKJV

15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;

The word has a technical sense of presenting a legal case to a prosecutor, a judge, or a jury; it also connotes a more general sense of presenting a logically thought-out case for any case a person is presenting. Even though this is not a courtroom situation or a legal hearing, Paul is presenting a logical defense of his position, explaining how he came to be who he is at this present time and how God has worked in his life. And he uses this as an opportunity to present the gospel to all those in his hearing.

In previous verses, e.g., Acts 9:15, the Lord addressed Ananias:

Acts 9:15

Acts 9:15 NKJV

15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel.

So, God’s intent in Paul’s ministry as an apostle was to take the gospel to the entire social and economic spectrum of both Gentile and Jewish society. God has a similar intent for every one of us. He may not have articulated it as precisely. Still, we are all beneficiaries of the mandate that Jesus gave to the initial disciples, and through them to everyone else in the church, that we are to make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and “teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you”.

That is a broad mission statement for the Christian church and for the church age, and we all have a role in accomplishing that mission. Some of us play a more overt role, while others play a more covert and behind-the-scenes role. Some of us are on the front lines, teaching, witnessing, and evangelizing, while others do it in quieter and more reserved situations. However, we all play a role in that to some degree. One of the reasons we are saved is to carry out this kind of ministry. What we see in this chapter is the Apostle Paul taking advantage of every opportunity that comes his way.

End of 11/9/2025

Beginning of 2nd Service 11/9/2025

We need to consider the situation of the apostle Paul. This is probably sometime in the late summer of 59 AD (possibly 60). He was arrested approximately two years previously when he was in the temple. At that time, he received a specific revelation from God that he would indeed eventually arrive in Rome in good health, where he would present the gospel and teach the Word of God to the believers in Rome. So, Paul has a specific revelation from God regarding God’s plan for his life. We don’t have that. We have a blueprint. We are told that God has a mission for us in terms of being members of the body of Christ, ministering to one another, praying for one another, utilizing our spiritual gifts to the benefit of the body of Christ, and that we are all supposed to play a part in the ministry of producing disciples, people who will pursue spiritual maturity. But we don’t have the specificity that God gave to Paul.

But even though God told Paul he would go to Rome, He didn’t tell him when he would go to Rome. If you were the apostle Paul and God had told you this, that you would bear witness for the Lord in Rome, and it had come to this point where you had been rescued by the Roman cohort in Jerusalem, brought down to Caesarea, had had interviews with Felix, and at that point if we go back two years, Paul would be thinking he would be getting out maybe in the next week or two. But the months go by, and there is no movement. Waiting is something we all enjoy, isn’t it! It is one thing to stay when we know there is an end game and we have some sense of the time involved. It is a test when we don’t know when that endgame is going to come to pass. We sit and we wait upon the Lord. In a sense, that is a real parallel to our lives. We don’t have a specific statement from the Lord, like Paul did, that he would take the gospel to Rome. We don’t have any special revelation that we are going to live where we are now for the rest of our lives, that we are going to have so many children, so many grandchildren, that we are going to retire at a certain age; we don’t have that kind of specificity.

We have a similar situation to Paul did in that we don’t know when the Lord is going to take us home or whether the Lord is going to come during our lifetime. We don’t know when it will end. It could be tomorrow. Life can be surprisingly short and can end abruptly. All we know is that God has given us this mission. Paul has this same mission. He may have greater gifts, greater responsibilities, greater visibility, but we still have the same basic mission. So, the mission for us is how responsive we are going to be, regardless of what happens in our everyday lives. Are we going to be responsive to whatever opportunities come our way to give the gospel to whomever shows up?

Most of us live a rather mundane existence. That is how the lives of most people run. But within that framework, we have a responsibility to grow and mature as believers, to minister to one another, as well as to make disciples, to witness, to evangelize. Are we receptive and responsive to the opportunities that come our way? I would suggest that most Christians are so self-absorbed and so busy that they probably have hundreds of opportunities to witness, go right past them, and they don’t even know it. They are so concerned about getting what they want to get done right now. We become so consumed with our activities and working through our to-do list every day that we don’t really pay attention to the opportunities that come along. And what we see with the apostle Paul is an illustration of how we can operate in this kind of situation.

Paul gets an opportunity to give the gospel, and he does it in an organized manner. Paul’s example suggests that we should consider different ways to share the gospel with people. I don’t mean just drive-by evangelism, where you run past them, and say, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved,” and then move on down the road, but to stop and have a conversation with them. And be patient about it because sometimes it takes multiple conversations; it involves building a relationship with people. With some people, you may not directly discuss the things of the Lord for six months or a year, or even two years, because it takes time to lay the foundation with them. With other people, they are ready to pray and trust the Lord right there on the spot as soon as you mention His name. It depends on where they are in the process and what opportunities are available.

But like the apostle Paul, we should think through how we are going to present the gospel, depending on the circumstance, so that we have a basic outline in our mind that can be compressed to one minute or up to one hour, and what the basic elements are that we need to communicate in terms of the gospel.

One of the things that we should have in our arsenal is the ability to tell our personal testimony. Many people have never considered this because, for many of us, there doesn’t seem to be anything exciting, dramatic, or interesting about how we came to know the Lord as our Savior. Some people have a dramatic testimony, and these are the ones that are usually trotted out at some banquet or even where we hear how the Lord worked remarkably in the life of this really nasty, obnoxious sinner. The problem is that we are still looking at that from a human viewpoint because every one of us is a really nasty, obnoxious sinner. We may not have had the same kinds of sins as this other person, but we were just as obnoxious, just as fallen, and just as lost as anyone else.

At some time in life, we have to decide what to do with the fact that we are a believer. This is especially true for people who become believers as children and grow up in an environment where they attend church every Sunday. They don’t make volitional decisions to go to church; it is something that isn’t up for discussion! But when a person grows up a little bit and leaves home and goes out on his own, he has to decide how he is going to run his life, what the priorities are going to be, whether he is going to continue down the path that his parents provided for him, or whether he is going to go the way of the world. In many cases, there is a struggle. They go out, and all of a sudden, they have freedom. They want to try this and that.

The apostle Paul uses his own personal testimony in a distinctive way to communicate the gospel to Agrippa, Festus, and the others in the crowd. He uses his own personal story because it engages people. People are interested and like to hear things like that. It is not that he is basing his salvation on an experience, but that he is using his experience within a framework of divine viewpoint to teach how God works through the ordinary, everyday events of life, and how God worked to bring him to a knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ and understanding the grace of the gospel. It focuses attention on how Paul understands God's work in his life through the gospel. Paul uses his testimony to engage his audience on a deeper level, allowing him to explain the gospel more effectively. It is not just a testimony of how he was saved, though he goes into that in detail; he also shows through it how God is directing his life and how God is protecting him in his mission. That is one aspect that we can learn from this and understand when we are witnessing to people. We should reflect on our own personal testimony and how to communicate it to others effectively.

A second thing that we learn from this is that Paul gives us a pattern for personal evangelism. As we have seen, Paul is responsive to every opportunity that comes his way. Every time he gets a chance to talk to somebody, he is going to present the gospel. In all of these trials and other investigations, he consistently focused his presentation on the core issue of resurrection, emphasizing that Jesus rose from the dead.

From this, too, we learn from his focus. Are we willing to consider how we can introduce the gospel in conversation, simply by asking questions? Some tend to want to tell people more than ask them. It is very effective in personal discussions to ask people questions and let them wrestle with the answers, rather than giving them the answer ahead of time. However, when we do so, we must maintain a focus on Jesus.

Another lesson that we learn is that Paul is incredibly successful at accomplishing his mission in this chapter. Success in witnessing isn’t measured by the number of converts we have; it is not even measured by any converts at all. Noah preached for 120 years and didn’t have any converts, but he is listed in the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11. Who else could present the gospel more logically, more coherently, or rationally than the apostle Paul? And he does this before this audience, and there is not a single convert. In fact, he gets interrupted at the end and has a kind of reaction that many of us are somewhat fearful of: he is rejected and ridiculed. Festus jumps up and says that all this learning has driven him to the brink of insanity, and he is actually insane because he thinks somebody has risen from the dead. And Agrippa says, “You are trying to convert me”. Agrippa doesn’t want to have anything to do with it. We can see here that we need to move past the point where we think that failure or a failed response is an issue. It is not; it is up to that individual. Our job is to proclaim the gospel as clearly and coherently as possible to the person and answer any questions we can.

We never know what the future holds. Just because there is no immediate response doesn’t mean they are not thinking about it. There may be no response right now, but that doesn’t mean the Holy Spirit won't use it. If that person is going to come to the Lord, it may take them some time. There are going to be many people to whom we give a very clear presentation of the gospel who will reject it. That is their decision, but that doesn’t mean you weren’t successful. Ultimately, it is not up to us; it is up to the Holy Spirit to use what we give to the individual, and it is up to the individual to make the decision. We can’t make it for them.

Paul is a great illustration for us in that he skillfully presents the gospel of salvation; he accurately conveys the gospel, yet he is ridiculed and rejected. However, he is indeed extremely successful in accomplishing his goal.

Now, in Chapter 27, we don’t know the time frame that has passed. This probably is close to the end of the two-year imprisonment in Caesarea. Now they decide, because it has become clear to Agrippa and Festus that Paul must be sent to Caesar. And so we come to the next section, which is on Paul’s cruise to Rome. He doesn’t know how things are going to work out on this cruise. He knows that God has promised him that he will arrive in Rome to proclaim the gospel. He can count on that. To a certain degree, as we read about the storms, delays, and eventual shipwreck in this story, Paul could be somewhat relaxed because he knew he would eventually reach Rome. But he had lots of other decisions to make in the course of this voyage.

That is important for us in terms of considering it for application, because many times, even though we don’t see the endgame, we proceed without knowing if we will be alive three or four years from now. Nevertheless, on the assumption that we will be, we need to live just as the apostle Paul lived on this voyage. He had divine revelation telling him what would happen at the end, but he didn’t have divine revelation to guide him in making decisions during the interim period. He just had to rely on the doctrine that he already had in his own soul. He had to respond based on the spiritual maturity he had in giving guidance and answers to questions, as well as responding to issues that arose. Even though he knew that he was headed to Rome, he still had to live his life on a day-to-day basis applying the Word of God. God does not guide us by giving us direct revelation on how to handle life's issues or make decisions. He is not going to move the circumstances in that particular way.

In fact, often the circumstances are very negative. If you were the apostle Paul and you didn’t have the confirmation from God, direct revelation that you were headed to Rome, and imagine that you think that is what God wants you to do, or you think that is what God wants you to do, or in light of everything you have been told, you feel that it is a wise thing for you to do to go on to Rome and to witness there; if you got on a ship and had the kind of problems that this ship had, it may be that like most Christians, the way they are taught in modern evangelicalism, you would have landed at Malta and said: “It is pretty clear that God doesn’t want me to go to Rome. If he had wanted me to go to Rome, we wouldn’t have had all these problems in the process. I am going to catch the next ship and go home because maybe I am like Jonah and am going in the wrong direction”. That is what happens when we base our decision-making on circumstances. Often, when we make the right decision, the circumstances may not be the most pleasant, but that doesn’t mean it is not the right decision. And that is why circumstances are not the ultimate criterion for deciding the terms of divine guidance.

The voyage is covered from 27:1 through 28:16. We will examine it in terms of the initial departure, the first stage of the journey, when they are on the first ship. It runs from Caesarea to Myra, which is in Asia Minor. That is covered in the first five verses. The second part is the rest of chapter 27, a rather lengthy description of the voyage from Myra, concluding with the shipwreck in Malta in verse 44. In Chapter 28, we see their arrival in Malta and Paul’s miraculous vindication by God through several events that unfold. One focuses on the fact that a poisonous viper bites him. Nothing happens to him, and he survives it. Another thing that happens is when they enter the village, where he heals a number of people of their various diseases and illnesses. This validates his position as an apostle and his message of the gospel. Then in 28:11-16 we are told about his final trip to Rome, which involves changing to another ship and going from Malta to Italy, and from there he walks to Rome.

Some things are apparent in this passage. We see that 44 verses describe this voyage. This is one of the longest chapters in the Book of Acts and one of the longest narratives related to a single event in the book. Why has God the Holy Spirit given this information to us? Why do we have so much detail related to this voyage? It is important. If we believe that God breathes out all Scripture and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness, then we have to pay attention to the fact that these details are important. They are not important in the sense that every single word is as significant as if it were studying, for example, the Sermon on the Mount, the book of Romans, etc. It tells a story, but the story is designed to illustrate the key principle that we keep seeing throughout Acts, namely that God’s sovereignty is the hidden hand guiding all these events. Everything that happens is under the control of God's sovereignty. Paul doesn’t know how things will turn out. He knows what the result will be. Still, he doesn’t know, actually, how things are going to work out in the process until later on, when he gets some special revelation from an angel who tells him that everybody in the shipwreck is going to survive. But up to then, there are a lot of opportunities that bring anxiety and worry and fear and caving in to different other sins.

The principle is that God’s sovereignty is just as much behind the events of your life as Paul’s life. God is directing all events, including the good, the bad, and the mundane. So when things change from what we thought was going to happen, we need to adapt mentally to the changed circumstances instead of moaning and groaning (which we all do). When we are truly set on a course of action, we have a dream, we want certain things to happen in a certain way in our life, and they don’t happen that way; we have to recognize that it's the hand of God. Then we have to learn to adapt to the changed circumstances. God had a different plan for us, and He is in charge of those circumstances, even though we may not fully understand what is taking place. Now we have to ask the question: “How do I fulfill the mission that God has given me to grow to spiritual maturity, to minister to the body of Christ, and be involved in the discipleship process through these new circumstances.

Secondly, Paul, like every believer, has the opportunity, privilege, and insight to influence the events as they progress. God oversees the overall progress, but in this voyage, Paul has the chance to speak, to witness to others on the ship, and to exercise leadership, providing guidance and direction. And because of the doctrine that he has in his soul, which is influencing his decisions, by the time they land at Malta, he has gained the respect of everyone on the ship. All the soldiers and commanders now look to this prisoner for leadership and guidance, having seen the way he has handled himself along the way. Just like us, he has no clue about the specific events or what to do in each of these changing instances; he relies on the doctrine that is in his own soul, and that is the same thing we do.

In the first five verses of chapter 27, we come to his travels.

Acts 27:1

Acts 27:1 NKJV

1 And when it was decided that we should sail to Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to one named Julius, a centurion of the Augustan Regiment.

This event took place around September 59 AD. The voyage they are anticipating, under the best of conditions, would usually take about five weeks. Julius is not under the command of Agrippa. Josephus indicates that this regiment was comprised of soldiers from Syria and Judea and that part of their responsibility was to handle prisoners.

They have been given a title related to the Greek name for Augustus, which is Sabastos. This Julius is a centurion of this Sabastos, which is Typically 480 soldiers, divided into 6 centuries of 80 men each. There are 80 men in the century, with about 20 men in support roles as clerks and admins, servants and engineers, making the total about 100 as it had been in the beginning of the republic.

Another thing to notice here is the use of the pronoun “we”. We now see that Luke has joined Paul and is travelling with him. He will be with him all the way to Rome. In verse 2, we see Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, also accompanied them.

In the ancient world, when people wanted to travel by sea, they would go down to the docks and find a cargo ship headed to their destination, or one where they could transfer to another ship.

The timing of this is rather late in the season. Starting in about mid-October, the weather would shift, with cold fronts beginning to descend from the northwest, making it difficult to sail across the Mediterranean. In fact, most shipping would shut down by the first of November and wouldn’t resume until about the first of March. Most Jews would not travel from about the 1st of October until the 1st of April. We can see that they are likely to encounter some problems.

Acts 27:2-3

Acts 27:2–3 NKJV

2 So, entering a ship of Adramyttium, we put to sea, meaning to sail along the coasts of Asia. Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, was with us. 3 And the next day we landed at Sidon. And Julius treated Paul kindly and gave him liberty to go to his friends and receive care.

We see the respect that the apostle Paul has already engendered. They recognize and probably have been told that he is probably not guilty and that he is a Roman citizen, so treat him with respect.

Acts 27:4

Acts 27:4 NKJV

4 When we had put to sea from there, we sailed under the shelter of Cyprus, because the winds were contrary.

They are having to sail into the wind, so this is already going to slow them down. They slower they go the more they are going to spend time out in the middle of the Mediterranean and more inclement weather.

Acts 27:5

Acts 27:5 NKJV

5 And when we had sailed over the sea which is off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra, a city of Lycia.

yra is identified with the modern city of Demra in Turkey. There, they are going to change ships.

Acts 27:6-8

Acts 27:6–8 NKJV

6 There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing to Italy, and he put us on board. 7 When we had sailed slowly many days, and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus, the wind not permitting us to proceed, we sailed under the shelter of Crete off Salmone. 8 Passing it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near the city of Lasea.

Acts 27:9

Acts 27:9 NKJV

9 Now when much time had been spent, and sailing was now dangerous because the Fast was already over, Paul advised them,

The fast refers to the fast observed on the Day of Atonement. In 59, it would have fallen in the middle to late October.

Acts 27:10

Acts 27:10 NKJV

10 saying, “Men, I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also our lives.”

Paul is simply deducing this from his own experience. We know from 2 Corinthians 11 that Paul had been on many voyages and been shipwrecked more than once. He is experienced with the sea and knew the problems and dangers, and here he is just voicing his own opinion. This isn’t prophecy, and there is no indication that it is a prophecy. If it were a prophecy, there would be a problem because he is predicting that they might lose their lives, and in the end, no one uses their life.

Acts 27:11-12

Acts 27:11–12 NKJV

11 Nevertheless the centurion was more persuaded by the helmsman and the owner of the ship than by the things spoken by Paul. 12 And because the harbor was not suitable to winter in, the majority advised to set sail from there also, if by any means they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete opening toward the southwest and northwest, and winter there.

The harbor at Fair Havens isn’t sheltered enough, so they are hoping they can make it to Phoenix and shelter there. The problem is that they don’t get there.

Acts 27:13-14

Acts 27:13–14 NKJV

13 When the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their desire, putting out to sea, they sailed close by Crete. 14 But not long after, a tempestuous head wind arose, called Euroclydon.

Two interesting words show up in this passage. The tempestuous wind is the Greek word τυφωνικός--TUPHONIKOS, from which we get our word typhoon. Then the word Euraquilo, in Greek Εὐροκλύδων -- EUROKLUDON· , essentially means a northeaster.

So, they are facing these north-easterly winds and are blown off course.

Acts 27:15

Acts 27:15 NKJV

15 So when the ship was caught, and could not head into the wind, we let her drive.

They just ran before the wind and are now being driven into the open Mediterranean, headed off further to the east in their direction.

Acts 27:16

Acts 27:16 NKJV

16 And running under the shelter of an island called Clauda, we secured the skiff with difficulty.

It is these little details that give us the sense of historical accuracy. An eyewitness is writing all of this down and telling us what happened along the way. They are having trouble stabilizing the boat. They don’t want to get too far south because if they get too far south, they run into a combination of shoals and sand bars that are very dangerous.

Acts 27:17

Acts 27:17 NKJV

17 When they had taken it on board, they used cables to undergird the ship; and fearing lest they should run aground on the Syrtis Sands, they struck sail and so were driven.

They are trying to secure the ship with these rope cables, and there are three suggestions as to what this could mean. The first is a process called frapping, where they wrap the cables around the boat from side to side, going under it and pulling them tight to reinforce the hull better. Another option was to run cables from front to back, from the bow to the stern. This was known as hogging. The other option was to run the ropes along the deck from one side to the other, securing them from the top, as it were. The

The Greek term used, ὑποζώννυμι—HUPOZONNUMI (“to undergird”), strongly suggests this side-to-side method. The other two options—hogging (bow-to-stern) and deck-top lashing—are less supported by the text and ancient maritime practice.

Acts 27:18-19

Acts 27:18–19 NKJV

18 And because we were exceedingly tempest-tossed, the next day they lightened the ship. 19 On the third day we threw the ship’s tackle overboard with our own hands.

This is the third day since they left Cyprus, and we will see that they spent about two weeks before they finally wrecked on Malta. There is also a Targum from Ecclesiastes 3:6 that says that there is a time for throwing a thing into the sea, namely, the time of a tempest.

Acts 27:20

Acts 27:20 NKJV

20 Now when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest beat on us, all hope that we would be saved was finally given up.

They are in a desperate situation. There is no hope. Everyone on the ship except Paul is defeated. They don’t believe that they will make it; they believe they are all about to die. This gives Paul an excellent opportunity to speak and to encourage them from the Word.

Paul's Roman Sea Voyage, Part 2. Acts 27:21 - Acts 28:6

We continue as they basically lost control and had to go with the wind wherever it took them. Our point of application: Sometimes in our lives, that is what we feel like. God is directing us, but we have no idea where His sovereignty is leading us. Things are happening in terms of circumstances that are beyond our control, and they are not at all what we expected. However, we must learn to adjust our thinking to God's plan, relax, and let Him be in charge, trusting Him.

As Proverbs 3:4-5 says, He will make our paths straight.

Proverbs 3:4-5

Proverbs 3:4–5 NKJV

4 And so find favor and high esteem In the sight of God and man. 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;

This is precisely what happens with the apostle Paul, and because of that, he is in a crisis where everyone on board thinks that this is the end, and they are going to lose their life, and there is nothing they can do about it. Paul is the only one who doesn’t lose his head, the only one who isn’t panicking, and he is the only one, therefore, who can think clearly, calmly, and objectively. He is the one who can give proper guidance, and that is what we are going to see.

In Acts 9, God promised that Paul would be a witness before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. This is expanded upon later in Acts 23:11, which is the promise that lies in the background of these events in chapters 24-28.

Acts 23:11

Acts 23:11 NKJV

11 But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.”

The Lord told him that he would testify and be a witness for Him in Rome. This is certain. And so, Paul, unlike those of us in this room, has a specific promise regarding his destiny. But there is no time factor there. In the meantime, Paul must wait day by day, trusting the Lord to provide for him. Because even though he knows of the end game and that he is going to end up in Rome, he doesn’t know what will happen in between. But he does know that in life-threatening situations, his life is not going to be lost; God is going to protect him.

We know that God has a destiny for us. It may include death; we don’t know. However, we know the same principle that Paul trusted in: God is in control. Therefore, we must relax in whatever circumstances we face at the moment, so that we can be an effective witness for Him. And we can’t be an effective witness if we have a brain seizure, where we have a spiritual seizure, where we just quit trusting the Lord and start operating on our sin nature, and start panicking and letting fear and anxiety take over. Therefore, we must learn to relax.

One of the things we note in this chapter is the tremendous amount of detail provided. The human author of Acts is Luke, the physician.

And Luke, we know, has joined Paul on this journey, as evidenced by Acts 27:1, where the first-person plural pronoun is used, and Luke begins to write about “we”.

Acts 27:1

Acts 27:1 NKJV

1 And when it was decided that we should sail to Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to one named Julius, a centurion of the Augustan Regiment.

So, he is now travelling with the apostle Paul, along with another young man from Thessalonica, Aristarchus. Luke is giving a lot of detail because he is building to a climax, a lot of tension into the story related to all the storms, all the disasters that are taking place, creating a sense of tension in the reader and leaving him wondering if Paul is actually going to get to Rome, and asking, how is God going to protect him and get him out of this mess?

Another aspect we notice is the detail Luke provides, which suggests he had a good understanding of the workings of an ancient ship. He was there. It gives the whole story that sense of authenticity.

We ended up last time as the ship had come off the southern coast of Crete and headed around an island 23 miles off the coast. It did not have a harbor; there was no place for them to find shelter from the wind, but there was enough shelter for them to take the dinghy that the ship had, bring it on board, and attach it more securely to the ship itself. Then they were blown off course down to the south and narrowly avoided being blown too far south to be caught in an area of quicksands and shoals off the coast of Libya.

At this point, Paul speaks for the second time. And this is where Paul really begins to challenge them with his own testimony and faith in God.

End of 11/9/2025

Sunday, November 16, 2025

Good Morning:

Silent Prayer - Grace Recovery

Scripture reading

Scripture Reading:



Lamentations 3:22–23 NKJV

22 Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.

Psalm 46:1–2 NKJV

1 God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;

Psalm 91:4–5 NKJV

4 He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. 5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day,

Isaiah 43:2 NKJV

2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.

1 Peter 4:19 NKJV

19 Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.

Prayer

REVIEW

Paul's Roman Sea Voyage, Part 2. Acts 27:21 - Acts 28:6

In Review, we continue Paul’s Sea Voyages they basically lost control and had to go with the wind wherever it took them. Our point of application: Sometimes in our lives, that is what we feel like. God is directing us, but we have no idea where His sovereignty is leading us. Things are happening in terms of circumstances that are beyond our control, and they are not at all what we expected. However, we must learn to adjust our thinking to God's plan, relax, and let Him be in charge, trusting Him.

As Proverbs 3:4-5 says, He will make our paths straight.

Proverbs 3:4-5

Proverbs 3:4–5 NKJV

4 And so find favor and high esteem In the sight of God and man. 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;

This is precisely what happens with the apostle Paul, and because of that, he is in a crisis where everyone on board thinks that this is the end, and they are going to lose their life, and there is nothing they can do about it. Paul is the only one who doesn’t lose his head, the only one who isn’t panicking, and he is the only one, therefore, who can think clearly, calmly, and objectively. He is the one who can give proper guidance, and that is what we are going to see.

In Acts 9, God promised that Paul would be a witness before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel.

Acts 9:15

Acts 9:15 NKJV

15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel.

This is expanded upon later in Acts 23:11, which is the promise that lies in the background of these events in chapters 24-28.

Acts 23:11

Acts 23:11 NKJV

11 But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.”

The Lord told him that he would testify and be a witness for Him in Rome. This is certain. And so, Paul, unlike those of us in this room, has a specific promise regarding his destiny. But there is no time factor there. In the meantime, Paul must wait day by day, trusting the Lord to provide for him. Because even though he knows of the end game and that he is going to end up in Rome, he doesn’t know what will happen in between. But he does know that in life-threatening situations, his life is not going to be lost; God is going to protect him.

We know that God has a destiny for us. It may include death; we don’t know. However, we know the same principle that Paul trusted in: God is in control. Therefore, we must relax in whatever circumstances we face at the moment, so that we can be an effective witness for Him. And we can’t be an effective witness if we have a brain seizure, where we have a spiritual seizure, where we just quit trusting the Lord and start operating on our sin nature, and start panicking and letting fear and anxiety take over. Therefore, we must learn to relax.

One of the things we note in this chapter is the tremendous amount of detail provided. The human author of Acts is Luke, the physician.

And Luke, we know, has joined Paul on this journey, as evidenced by Acts 27:1, where the first-person plural pronoun is used, and Luke begins to write about “we”.

Acts 27:1

Acts 27:1 NKJV

1 And when it was decided that we should sail to Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to one named Julius, a centurion of the Augustan Regiment.

So, he is now travelling with the apostle Paul, along with another young man from Thessalonica, Aristarchus. Luke is giving a lot of detail because he is building to a climax, a lot of tension into the story related to all the storms, all the disasters that are taking place, creating a sense of tension in the reader and leaving him wondering if Paul is actually going to get to Rome, and asking, how is God going to protect him and get him out of this mess?

Another aspect we notice is the detail Luke provides, which suggests he had a good understanding of the workings of an ancient ship. He was there. It gives the whole story that sense of authenticity.

We ended up last time as the ship had come off the southern coast of Crete and headed around an island 23 miles off the coast. It did not have a harbor; there was no place for them to find shelter from the wind, but there was enough shelter for them to take the dinghy that the ship had, bring it on board, and attach it more securely to the ship itself. Then they were blown off course down to the south and narrowly avoided being blown too far south to be caught in an area of quicksands and shoals off the coast of Libya.

At this point, Paul speaks for the second time. And this is where Paul really begins to challenge them with his own testimony and faith in God.

Acts 27:21

Acts 27:21 NKJV

21 But after long abstinence from food, then Paul stood in the midst of them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me, and not have sailed from Crete and incurred this disaster and loss.

He moves into a leadership role. Believers have doctrine in their souls because they can trust the Lord, understand the plan of God, and can move into leadership positions where others are falling apart. Paul reminds them and says they should have listened to him. Back when they were coming around Crete and seeking harbor at Fair Havens, everybody wanted to keep going. Paul warned them that if they continued, they would risk losing everything. He was speaking from his own experience and background, not from revelation. Nobody had listened to him, and now disaster was upon them. He is talking about the fact that now they had to dump the wheat into the ocean and were losing the investment in the ship, and they feared that they might even lose their own lives.

Now he challenges them twice—vv. 22, 25.

Acts 27:22

Acts 27:22 NKJV

22 And now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship.

Those who heard him would be wondering how in the world he could say that. It is a dogmatic announcement that comes because of a revelation from the Lord, which he begins to explain in the next verse.

Acts 27:23

Acts 27:23 NKJV

23 For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve,

He talks about the fact that there is a real angel; he hasn’t just had a dream. The term “angel” means a messenger. The initial function of angels was to serve as messengers of God and to carry out various functions in the universe long before God ever created the human race. Regarding the term “angel of God,” he doesn’t say “angel of the Lord,” which would be a more technical term, as it was a reference to the Lord Jesus Christ in the Old Testament. It is used a couple of times in the New Testament, but only in reference to an angel, not the Angel of the Lord. Here, it is simply an angel of God, or not just God, not the Lord God, but he says, 'the God to whom I belong and whom I serve.' That tells us something about the context of Paul’s listeners. He knows he is speaking to pagans, most of whom do not believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But he knows that they believe in any number of different Roman or Greek deities, if they believe in any at all, and so he is making a contrast between the God whom he serves and worships and their gods and goddesses. He doesn’t want his talk about God to get sucked into their incorrect frame of reference.

This is always what happens with human viewpoint. It always seeks to wrap itself around and envelop any divine viewpoint ideas, reshaping them into its own image. This is part of the methodology of suppressing the truth in unrighteousness, as described in Romans 1:18. Both unbelievers and believers engage in this practice. Often, we hear a truth of Scripture, and our sin nature says: I don’t want it quite that way because that is really emphasizing the authority of God; I want it my way. So we seek to redefine it. Paul is not going to allow that kind of redefinition to occur; he will use a generic term for God. theos would be the Greek word that is translated here. He wants to give a specific definition to the God he is speaking about and distinguish Him from all the other gods that are worshipped by those who are listening.

That is something that we should learn when we are witnessing. When we use terms like 'God' and 'Jesus', we often become so familiar with them that we expect people to understand what we mean. There are way too many people, even church-goers, who really don’t understand God or Jesus. Many people have no clue who Jesus is at all. And if we start talking about God without defining who this God is, we open the door to a lot of miscommunication and misunderstanding, because people will read into the term 'God' whatever their frame of reference is. So we have to stop that at the very beginning.

Romans 1:18

Romans 1:18 NKJV

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,

Paul is making it clear here that this God he is mentioning is the one to whom he belongs and whom he serves, and He sent an angel. This God is a God who intervenes in human history and guides it. He sent an angel to direct Paul and to give him a specific promise.

Acts 27:24

Acts 27:24 NKJV

24 saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.’

It is clear here that God promises Paul will indeed make it to Rome. But it is the way the angel says it. He says, “You must be brought”. This is a Greek word that indicates absolute necessity, meaning it is not something optional in God's plan. Then he reiterates this: “God has granted you all those who are sailing with you.” Not only will Paul survive, but everyone who was sailing with him.

Then he draws an application and drives it home, again encouraging the men.

Acts 27:25

Acts 27:25 NKJV

25 Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me.

He is very confident in God's promise. When you are in a leadership position and you take a position of confidence, that is something that catches. Other people will depend on you and rely on your confidence, which will give them confidence.

Acts 27:26

Acts 27:26 NKJV

26 However, we must run aground on a certain island.”

What he is saying is that if this is going to work out, then we must run aground. That is not an option; we will lose the ship. But we will all survive. That is his promise. This is a remarkable announcement because Paul shows that he is confident in this. It is the truth. He treats the angelic appearance as an objective reality. However, we soon discover that this is the foundation of everything that happens in the episode until they arrive in Rome. This is precisely what will take place. The ship will wreck; they will survive; they will all make it to Rome. So Paul’s encouragement to them captures their imagination. They are willing to follow his leadership, a trait that is evident throughout the rest of the story. Paul’s faith, his trust in God, gave him confidence and hope, which in turn became a foundation for confidence and hope in the people.

Note that Paul doesn’t encourage them by saying the storm is going to let up; it is not going to be that bad. He doesn’t promise that somehow the hardships will go away. He doesn’t say that there won’t be any loss. He says that they will survive. This contradicts the prevailing view among many Christians today regarding hardship and difficulty. Paul doesn’t say he is just going to trust God for a miracle. That is not the usual way in which God operates in this generation, in this church age. We don’t expect God to bail us out through some supernatural intervention, but we trust God through His promises to sustain us, no matter what happens or what comes up.

There is another aspect that comes up, and that is that in the last part of the promise (v. 24), the angel says that God has granted Paul all those still with him. This is an instance of blessing by association. Where we learn about blessings by association initially in the Scriptures is in the Old Testament. In Genesis 18, we have the prelude to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, where God brought judgment upon the homosexual perversity. The background is that God has come, along with these two angels, to Abraham at his encampment at Mamre, which is near Hebron. They have had a meal with Abraham who has provided for them, and then the Lord says,

Genesis 18:17-18

Genesis 18:17–18 NKJV

17 And the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, 18 since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?

In other words, if Abraham is going to have this position of rulership in the future, then I should start training him now for that future position. So, God is going to talk to Abraham about His plans and see how Abraham handles it—a sort of test case here.

Genesis 18:20-21

Genesis 18:20–21 NKJV

20 And the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, 21 I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know.”

Notice that God’s opinion of homosexuality is that it is a sin. It doesn’t mean they are going to go to hell because they are homosexuals any more than anybody else is going to go to hell because of a particular sin. It is because all sins have social consequences, and some sins have more devastating social implications than others. Because of that, the sin has to be dealt with.

Genesis 18:22-23

Genesis 18:22–23 NKJV

22 Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. 23 And Abraham came near and said, “Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked?

His nephew Lot and his family are living in Sodom.

Genesis 18:24-26

Genesis 18:24–26 NKJV

24 Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it? 25 Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” 26 So the Lord said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.”

That is his point: God will do the right thing. This is not righteous to slay the righteous with the wicked.

Genesis 18:28

Genesis 18:28 NKJV

28 Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous; would You destroy all of the city for lack of five?” So He said, “If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it.”

In other words, even though all the rest of the city is wicked and evil and deserving of punishment, they are going to be blessed by being associated with the few righteous who were there. In verse 32, the Lord said He would not destroy it for the sake of ten. What is going to happen is that God is going to move the few that are left (Lot and his family), and then no righteous will be left in Sodom, and God can bring judgment upon it. That is the principle laid down in the earliest episode. That tells us that God will bless the unrighteous through the presence of the righteous. And that is what we see here with Paul.

Acts 27:27

Acts 27:27 NKJV

27 Now when the fourteenth night had come, as we were driven up and down in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors sensed that they were drawing near some land.

They are driven towards Malta and are starting to take soundings.

Acts 27:28-29

Acts 27:28–29 NKJV

28 And they took soundings and found it to be twenty fathoms; and when they had gone a little farther, they took soundings again and found it to be fifteen fathoms. 29 Then, fearing lest we should run aground on the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern, and prayed for day to come.

Acts 27:30

Acts 27:30 NKJV

30 And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship, when they had let down the skiff into the sea, under pretense of putting out anchors from the prow,

They panicked and were no longer paying attention to anything on the ship. They had taken the dinghy they had on board the vessel and let it down into the water. While they were putting out the anchors, they had been trying to protect themselves, and at this time, Paul addresses the centurion.

Acts 27:31

Acts 27:31 NKJV

31 Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.”

If they bail out, there won’t be any sailors left, and we won’t survive. This is an excellent illustration of divine sovereignty and human responsibility. On the one hand, God has made a promise, a promise that is certain and cannot be changed. However, on the other hand, there is a problem with human volition, and it persists. These men have panicked and want to jump ship.

Paul, rather than just throwing up his hands in fatalism and thinking that no matter what happens, God made a promise, goes to the centurion, exercising leadership and responsibility, and having them take action to ensure that the sailors cannot jump ship. We see the balance between the sovereignty of God and how He allows and works together with the free will of man. The free will of man is genuine, but it operates within the way that God determines compatibility with His own will. We also note that Paul, because of his confidence in God, can provide leadership for everyone.

Acts 27:32-33

Acts 27:32–33 NKJV

32 Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the skiff and let it fall off. 33 And as day was about to dawn, Paul implored them all to take food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day you have waited and continued without food, and eaten nothing.

After two weeks, they are weak and tired, and Paul understands the need for nourishment. He makes the promise that this is the day when it is all going to end.

Acts 27:34

Acts 27:34 NKJV

34 Therefore I urge you to take nourishment, for this is for your survival, since not a hair will fall from the head of any of you.”

This is an idiom, a figure of speech related to God’s protection of them. He will not let the least little thing harm them.

Acts 27:35

Acts 27:35 NKJV

35 And when he had said these things, he took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of them all; and when he had broken it he began to eat.

This is what we should do whenever we eat. According to Acts, we are giving thanks for the food.

In 1 Timothy 4:3-4, we are taught to ask God to sanctify or set apart the food for the nourishment of our bodies. This is what Paul does. He is not having a communion service on the deck of the ship while it is being tossed about in the storm. Some people suggest that.

Acts 27:36-37

Acts 27:36–37 NKJV

36 Then they were all encouraged, and also took food themselves. 37 And in all we were two hundred and seventy-six persons on the ship.

Acts 27:38

Acts 27:38 NKJV

38 So when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship and threw out the wheat into the sea.

Acts 27:39-40

Acts 27:39–40 NKJV

39 When it was day, they did not recognize the land; but they observed a bay with a beach, onto which they planned to run the ship if possible. 40 And they let go the anchors and left them in the sea, meanwhile loosing the rudder ropes; and they hoisted the mainsail to the wind and made for shore.

But what they didn’t count on was that there was a place where two opposing currents came together, coming from around the island, which created a sandbar going into the bay.

At that point, they were still too heavy, the ship ran aground, the bow stuck fast and remained unmovable, and then the boat was broken up by the violence of the waves.

With the natives of Malta, the traditional site for Paul’s shipwreck is known today as St. Paul’s Bay; and Smith maintained that this site probably is the correct location.

The main port of Malta is further to the west, and St. Paul’s Bay would not likely have been familiar to ancient seamen.

The west side of the bay has two creeks, one of which has a sandy beach, and it was perhaps here that the sailors decided to beach the ship.

The four stern anchors were cut free. The rudders of ancient ships consisted of large paddles. In a storm, these would be lifted from the water and tied down.

Now, to guide the ship to the beach, they were untied and let back down into the water. The next preparatory step was to hoist the foresail, the small sail in the bow of the ship that was primarily used for guiding it.

Acts 27:42-44

Acts 27:42–44 NKJV

42 And the soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim away and escape. 43 But the centurion, wanting to save Paul, kept them from their purpose, and commanded that those who could swim should jump overboard first and get to land, 44 and the rest, some on boards and some on parts of the ship. And so it was that they all escaped safely to land.

Again, we see the centurion. He likes Paul, he is a hero, and he has respect for him, and he wants to save Paul. So, he stops them from killing the prisoners.

What we see here, as we conclude Chapter 27, is an example of God’s sovereign control, not only over the ship and the lives of those on it, but also on a broader scale, His sovereignty over Paul's life. However, even in terms of Paul's sovereignty over his own life, we see how God can protect him. He can bring Paul to his ultimate destination. And even in the midst of that, Paul has the freedom to exercise responsibility towards God and make decisions all along the way. We see a great picture of how the sovereignty of God and the free will of man work together. We also see a parallel to events in the life of Jesus, where He was in control of the winds and the waves on the Sea of Galilee, and how He used the storms to teach about the power and authority that He had over the storms.

So we come to chapter twenty-eight.

Acts 28:1

Acts 28:1 NKJV

1 Now when they had escaped, they then found out that the island was called Malta.

The meaning of Malta meant refuge. Luke doesn’t make anything of that etymology, but that is how it was named at some point in the past. Malta is 58 miles south of Sicily; it is 180 miles north of Africa. It has a length of 18 miles and a width of eight miles, making it relatively small. The natives who lived there were Phoenician in origin. Luke refers to them as Barbarians, from the Greek word barbaroi. The Greeks thought that anybody who couldn’t speak Greek and was speaking some other language was as though they were saying, Bar, bar, bar, bar, bar… i.e., gibberish.

Acts 28:2-3

Acts 28:2–3 NKJV

2 And the natives showed us unusual kindness; for they kindled a fire and made us all welcome, because of the rain that was falling and because of the cold. 3 But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand.

This is a fulfillment of the end of Mark chapter sixteen, which says that people will pick up serpents. This is not telling people to pick up serpents. The Bible merely predicted that various miracles would take place to authenticate the ministry of the apostles as they went about their work.

Acts 28:4-5

Acts 28:4–5 NKJV

4 So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to live.” 5 But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm.

God was miraculously protecting Paul. Nothing was going to prevent him because he must make it to Rome.

Acts 28:6

Acts 28:6 NKJV

6 However, they were expecting that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had looked for a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god.

God's Faithfulness. Acts 28:11-16

Acts 28:7-8

Acts 28:7–8 NKJV

7 In that region there was an estate of the leading citizen of the island, whose name was Publius, who received us and entertained us courteously for three days. 8 And it happened that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and dysentery. Paul went in to him and prayed, and he laid his hands on him and healed him.

This is roughly 60 AD, and this is probably the last time historically that we see a positive reference to healing in the apostolic period.

Paul will write from prison in Rome about a year later, when he writes to the church at Philippi, and he mentions Trophimus and others, as well as Timothy, later on.

In these epistles, there is no reference to miraculous healing of any kind. There are references to illnesses that individuals have, but there is no reference to miraculous healing. So, these sign gifts are beginning to die out towards the end of this period.

Acts 28:9

Acts 28:9 NKJV

9 So when this was done, the rest of those on the island who had diseases also came and were healed.

Luke draws a number of parallels like this to events that occurred in the life of Christ. We went through it a little bit when we were going through the opposition to Paul by the Jewish community in Jerusalem and comparing that and the opposition and trial of Paul by the Jews to the opposition to the Lord Jesus Christ.

What Luke is doing is connecting these two: that just as Jesus was rejected and suffered, He warned His disciples that they, too, would be rejected and suffer in the same way.

So we see this rejection with Paul, not only in terms of the rejection and suffering, but also in terms of imitating the ministry of Christ as His representative as an apostle.

Acts 28:10

Acts 28:10 NKJV

10 They also honored us in many ways; and when we departed, they provided such things as were necessary.

The word "honored" here is the Greek word τιμη [time], which also conveys not just giving somebody respect but also providing gifts and perhaps financial support. So the people took care of them. The word is also used in 1 Timothy chapter four in relation to the pay of elders.

1 Timothy 5:17

1 Timothy 5:17 NKJV

17 Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine.

The πρεσβύτερος who teaches well or rules well is worthy of double honor. That doesn't mean just double respect. It is Paul's way of saying they should get double the salary because their service to the Lord is significant.

Acts 28:11

Acts 28:11 NKJV

11 After three months we sailed in an Alexandrian ship whose figurehead was the Twin Brothers, which had wintered at the island.

From here to verse 16, we will essentially be presented with a travelogue, and Paul provides some specific details. It is important to note things like this because

a) We have a human author who is present, and this shows us that he is writing many details here to give us the sense that he is actually there. He is writing an eyewitness account; he is not just speaking in generalities but using his imagination to describe what a voyage would be like. He was actually there, and so he could provide these details.

b) And the other question we should ask is: why does the Holy Spirit care that we know these details? Because if we believe in the inerrancy and infallibility of Scripture and the verbal, plenary inspiration of Scripture, then everything in Scripture has a point and a purpose. So why is it necessary for us spiritually to know these kinds of details? It is details like these that enhance our respect and trust in the Word of God, and that this isn't just something written by someone making it up. It indicates a firsthand account, an eyewitness account, and other details that reveal aspects that may be amusing. This makes authenticity credible for us.

Earlier in Acts, God had made two promises to Paul. He had said that he was a chosen vessel to take His name before Gentiles and kings, as well as the children of Israel. That occurred right after Paul's salvation.

In Acts 23:11 the Lord appeared to him at night and told him that he would also bear witness of Him in Rome.

These were specific promises that God gave Paul. Despite all the chaos and uncertainty that might have clouded his mind about whether God was still paying attention, Paul had a promise from God that he would end up in Rome. He could rely on that and trust it. God is working out His plan, He is in charge, and the same thing is true for each of us. God is just as much in charge of the details of our lives as the details of the apostle Paul, no matter how chaotic, how disruptive, how out of control things may appear to us. So, God is working in our lives to teach us to trust in Him.

Acts 28:11 " … which had the Twin Brothers for its figurehead."

Why in the world would that be included in the text of Scripture? Who are the Twin Brothers?

They are known by the Greek noun Διοσκούροις -- DIOSKOUROIS.

They are Castor and Pollux, the twin sons of Zeus. They are known as the Gemini twins and they are in the zodiac.

There were numerous statues of them in the ancient world. However, what made them significant was that they were the patron gods of sailors, providing protection.

So, Luke, sort of with tongue-in-cheek, observes that Julius, the centurion in charge, made sure he added a little extra protection for them on this route, and the figurehead on the ship is the lucky sailor “twins”. Essentially, in our language, we would say he went and got a good luck charm to ensure a safe arrival. Luke is poking fun at them.  Or put differently, this is a polemic – showing that the patron gods of protection for sailors were useless, and God alone is in charge.

Luke notes that Paul’s ship bore the figurehead of the Gemini Twins, Castor and Pollux, the patron gods of sailors. This detail is historically loaded: in Greco‑Roman culture, the Dioscuri (sons of Zeus and Leda) were invoked for protection at sea. Luke’s mention is polemical—it contrasts pagan reliance on mythological guardians with the true providence of Israel’s God, who had just preserved Paul through shipwreck.

Acts 28:12

Acts 28:12 NKJV

12 And landing at Syracuse, we stayed three days.

This was the main port of Sicily. What is interesting is what is not said here. When we arrive at Paul's final destination at Puteoli, there is a church there. And whenever a group of Christians or Jews is present, Paul always seems to find them and talk with them. Nothing like that is said about the stop in Syracuse.

Acts 28:13

Acts 28:13 NKJV

13 From there we circled round and reached Rhegium. And after one day the south wind blew; and the next day we came to Puteoli,

Acts 28:13 The NKJV says “circled around"

Acts 28:13 NIV

13 From there we set sail and arrived at Rhegium. The next day the south wind came up, and on the following day we reached Puteoli.

Darby, and the Darby says “Whence, going in a circuitous course” which is a better translation than the KJV.

Acts 28:13 KJV      the KJV

Acts 28:13 NIV    Or the NIV

Acts 28:13 NKJV The word περιελθόντες -- PERIELTHONTES has the idea of going around. This is a critical issue, as there are textual variants that need to be examined and resolved. It is not in the majority of manuscripts, but is found in some of the older manuscripts and in some recently discovered manuscripts. It is considered a superior reading for textual and practical reasons.

Manuscript Evidence

Περιελθόντες

Found in older Alexandrian witnesses: Codex Sinaiticus (א), Codex Alexandrinus (A), Codex Vaticanus (B), Codex Bezae (D), plus some Old Latin and Coptic versions.

Also attested in some recently catalogued manuscripts, showing it wasn’t confined only to the earliest Alexandrian tradition.

Adopted in the Critical Text (NA28/UBS5).

ἀναχθέντες

Found in the Byzantine Majority Text (later manuscripts, including K, L, Ψ, and most minuscules).

Adopted in the Textus Receptus, hence in KJV and NKJV.

Ancient Nautical Usage of Περιελθόντες

About Sailing Maneuvers: Ancient ships, especially grain ships from Alexandria (like Paul’s), were large and dependent on wind. To reach Rhegium from Syracuse, sailors often had to “sail around” coastal currents or tack against prevailing winds.

Re: Maritime Papyri and Inscriptions: The verb περιέρχομαι appears in descriptions of coastal navigation, meaning “to round a point” or “to make a circuit around a headland.”

As a Practical Detail: From Syracuse (on Sicily’s east coast), ships would often “sail around” the southern tip of Italy to reach Rhegium. Luke’s verb reflects this maneuver.

Here is what we are talking about cartographically

So, they left there and came to Rhegium, which is located on the toe of Italy's boot. They had to wait there a day for the wind to shift to make it through the Straits of Messina, then north to Puteoli on the Bay of Naples.

Acts 28:14

Acts 28:14 NKJV

14 where we found brethren, and were invited to stay with them seven days. And so we went toward Rome.

Here, Luke uses the term "brethren" to refer to other believers. He will use the term "brethren" when addressing the Jewish leaders of the synagogues in Rome in verse 17, but the context there indicates that he is speaking ethnically, not spiritually. The churches here and in Rome predated Paul and Peter. They were founded by others other than the apostles.

Acts 28:15

Acts 28:15 NKJV

15 And from there, when the brethren heard about us, they came to meet us as far as Appii Forum and Three Inns. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.

Acts 28:16

Acts 28:16 NKJV

16 Now when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard; but Paul was permitted to dwell by himself with the soldier who guarded him.

Paul is going to rent his own quarters. The Christian community in Rome supplied his financial needs. He is under house arrest, but he has relative freedom there, where anyone could visit him. So, God was faithful to His promise that He would bring Paul to Rome.

What we learn from this spiritually is an example of God's faithfulness. This has been a long, detailed episode that Luke has given us, but it is to remind us that God is true to His promises and that no matter how difficult things might appear, He is always faithful.

The doctrine of the faithfulness of God

In the Old Testament, we have a word for faithfulness that is related to the word AMEN. It is a verb that has a meaning related to belief, and in other forms it refers to faithfulness. In some forms of the word, it was used to describe the foundation stone of the pillars of Solomon's temple. The core idea in the word has to do with stability, that which doesn't shift or change, and thus it has come to mean faithfulness. AMEN as a firm comes to mean to confirm something, to support it, to hold it, to be established, or to be faithful. The noun means to be faithful or trusting. And another form implies faithfulness.

In the New Testament, the adjective used to describe faithfulness is PISTOS, indicating that God is faithful and trustworthy. He is worthy of our faith, our trust. We can depend upon Him because He will never fail us. The root idea in defining faithfulness is the idea of something firm, stable, unshakeable, or immovable. This is the idea of faithfulness. God is immovable; He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and we can always rely upon Him.

His faithfulness in the Old Testament is closely tied to the concept of covenants.

Deuteronomy 7:9

Deuteronomy 7:9 NKJV

9 “Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments;

Deuteronomy 7:9 His covenant faithfulness is usually expressed by the word חֶ֗סֶד – CHESED, lovingkindness in the NASB and mercy in the NKJV, which indicates His loyal love. He is always loyal to His covenant.

Psalm 36:5

Psalm 36:5 NKJV

5 Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

This is a dramatic way of expressing the infinite faithfulness of God. You can't measure it; it is boundless.

Psalm 89:1

Psalm 89:1 NKJV

1 I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever; With my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations.

Lamentations 3:22-23

Lamentations 3:22–23 NKJV

22 Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.

The New Testament states that God is faithful at least three times. There are other ways in which that is expressed, but these straight-out statements that God is faithful are found in

1 Corinthians 1:9

1 Corinthians 1:9 NKJV

9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

This relates to the doctrine of eternal security, which holds that God will complete what He has begun. He will complete the process of salvation.

1 Corinthians 10:13

1 Corinthians 10:13 reminds us that God is faithful in the midst of trials and difficulty:

1 Corinthians 10:13 NKJV

13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

God will not allow us to be tested beyond our ability. That doesn't mean He removes it, but He has provided the Holy Spirit and the Word of God to enable us to face any testing.

2 Corinthians 1:18

2 Corinthians 1:18 NKJV

18 But as God is faithful, our word to you was not Yes and No.

1 John 1:9

1 John 1:9 NKJV

9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

In terms of the definition, divine faithfulness refers to God's perfect consistency with His character and promises. When he says it, He will do it. He may not do it as we think He will or in the time we expect, but God will fulfill His promise perfectly. His faithfulness is always related to other aspects of His character—to His righteousness, to His justice, to His love, and to truth. That means that He is the only dependable reality.

He is faithful to His promises.

Hebrews 10:23

Hebrews 10:23 NKJV

23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.

He will always fulfill his promises. So we need to learn the faith-rest drill. We need to learn to mix our faith with the promises of God in His Word.

He is faithful to us when we fail. 1 John 1:9.

God's faithfulness is a divine protection for the believer in times of trouble. He is our rock, our shield, our strong tower. In Psalm 91:4 it is the idea of an eagle, a bird protecting its young.

Psalm 91:4

Psalm 91:4 NKJV

4 He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.

End of 11/16/2025

Sunday, November 23, 2025

Good Morning:

Silent Prayer - Grace Recovery

Scripture reading

Scripture Reading:

1 Peter 3:15 NKJV

15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;

Matthew 5:16 NKJV

16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Revelation 12:11 NKJV

11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

Prayer

REVIEW

We are in the tail end of our study in Acts and have a few sessions remaining to finish up.

To the Uttermost Part of the Earth. Acts 28:17-31

As we come to this last section, we see that in terms of Luke's purposes, he has brought us to the end of his intention. His intention wasn't to give a biographical sketch of Peter and Paul. It wasn't designed to take us all the way through the foundation period of the church age. His intention was to show the fulfillment of the mandate that the Lord gave to the disciples at the very beginning, just before He ascended into heaven.

Acts 1:7-8

Acts 1:7–8 NKJV

7 And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

We have come to the end of the earth now that we have arrived in Rome. It is the expansion of the gospel and the establishment of the church as the body of Christ. This is the opening chapter of something that has been unfolding through the Holy Spirit's expansion over the last 1900 years.

Paul has finally arrived in Rome. This is the fulfillment of God's promise to Paul that He would bring him to Rome and that he would proclaim the gospel there. As we get into this next section, beginning in verse 17, we will see a reminder of one of the key themes in Acts: the kingdom of God. This section gives us insight into the impact on the Jewish community in Rome. This is one of the greatest evangelistic consequences that we have seen in Paul's ministry to the Jewish community. In many places, we have seen a number of converts, but we also seen a hostile reaction. What we will see here is that a large proportion of the Jewish community in Rome responded to the instruction that Jesus was indeed the Messiah. We don't know whether the number was half; the grammar suggests it was roughly equivalent. In verse 17, Paul is just rehearsing for the Jewish leaders how he came to be in Rome. He had been placed under house arrest, which gave him some freedom but kept him under close guard by members of the Praetorian Guard.

Acts 28:17

Acts 28:17 NKJV

17 And it came to pass after three days that Paul called the leaders of the Jews together. So when they had come together, he said to them: “Men and brethren, though I have done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans,

During those three days, Paul is not just resting; he is organizing. He is finding out who the leadership in the Jewish community is and inviting them to a meeting so that he can determine what they have heard about his imprisonment: what they have heard from Jerusalem and what they might know about the gospel. They would not be completely ignorant about the gospel because we know from a comment from …. that the reason that Claudius had expelled the Jews from Rome about ten years earlier was due to a conflict and riots over someone known as Chrestos, as opposed to Christos. Most believe that this is identifying some disagreement within the Jewish community at that time over Jesus as Messiah. The Jews were expelled from Rome, and then they returned. Somewhere between 10,000 and 40,000 would be the population of the Jewish community in Rome at this time.

Jewish leadership in the synagogue was composed entirely of men, and this same pattern carried over into the early Christian church. Male leadership was the norm because neither the synagogue nor the church was conceived as a collection of isolated individuals; they were understood as communities bound together under ordered leadership. By contrast, American society has gradually shrunk its vision of community, democratizing it to the point that the emphasis now falls almost entirely on the individual.

In the early years of the republic, however, people still recognized that the basic unit of the nation was the family. This explains why the voting franchise was given to men. It was not because the founders were hostile to women, nor because they were misogynists, but because they recognized that the stabilizing force in society was the family, and that the father was the head of the household. Thus, when a man voted, he did so as the representative of his family. This principle was rooted in Christian influence. Admittedly, the practice sometimes lent itself to abuse, but that does not negate the underlying truth of male leadership. From Genesis onward, Scripture consistently emphasizes that God’s design places men in the role of leadership. The man is the spiritual head of the home, and it is the man whom God holds accountable for the spiritual welfare of the household.

Paul begins to summarize the events. He doesn't go into details. First, he asserts his innocence. He deals with the fact that he didn't violate the Law of Moses, and he didn't violate any of the traditions of the fathers.

Acts 28:18-20

Acts 28:18–20 NKJV

18 who, when they had examined me, wanted to let me go, because there was no cause for putting me to death. 19 But when the Jews spoke against it, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar, not that I had anything of which to accuse my nation. 20 For this reason therefore I have called for you, to see you and speak with you, because for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.”

Here again, he is emphasizing the gospel. He focuses on the hope of Israel and has mentioned it earlier in several passages.

Compare this with Acts 23:6

Acts 23:6

Acts 23:6 NKJV

6 But when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged!”

So he makes the gospel the centerpiece of what he is proclaiming. In Acts 26:6 he refers to this as "the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers".

Acts 26:6

Acts 26:6 NKJV

6 And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers.

The hope is resurrection. The resurrection comes through Jesus Christ because He is the Messiah, the one who conquered death. The term "hope of the resurrection" summarizes all of Christ's work on the cross, His burial, and His resurrection. In Acts 26:7 he references it again when he was giving testimony to king Agrippa: "for this hope's sake I am accused by the Jews".

Acts 26:7

Acts 26:7 NKJV

7 To this promise our twelve tribes, earnestly serving God night and day, hope to attain. For this hope’s sake, King Agrippa, I am accused by the Jews.

So he emphasizes the hope of the resurrection, which emphasizes God's plan of salvation and the fulfillment of the promises of God in the Old Testament.

Remember the episode in John chapter eight when the Pharisees confronted Jesus because of His claim to be the Messiah, and He said: "Before Abraham was I AM". Then, in another passage, he confronts the Sadducees to discuss the promise of the resurrection to Abraham, and His response to them was that Abraham never saw the promise of ownership of the land. Therefore, if God was going to be true to His promise to give the land to Abraham, there must be a future resurrection so that God can fulfill His promise. He particularly pointed that argument at the Sadducees because they denied the reality of physical, bodily resurrection.

Then they respond to Paul.

Acts 28:21

Acts 28:21 NKJV

21 Then they said to him, “We neither received letters from Judea concerning you, nor have any of the brethren who came reported or spoken any evil of you.

The word "letters" is the Greek γράμμα (GRAMMATA), which can refer to a letter but also to official documents. What this shows us is that even though Paul had been transferred to Rome, the Jewish leadership didn't follow him. They stayed behind and didn't even send letters of condemnation. They didn't follow him to Rome to provide an accusation before Caesar. They probably never did. We are not told because Luke's account ends here. Paul will remain a prisoner in Rome for two years, and we are not told whether the Jewish leadership from Jerusalem ever showed up. Likely, they didn’t, and this is why Paul was ultimately released to continue his ministry.

Acts 28:22

Acts 28:22 NKJV

22 But we desire to hear from you what you think; for concerning this sect, we know that it is spoken against everywhere.”

This indicates that they are already knowledgeable about Christianity. (Christianity in the early church was viewed as a sect, a subset of Judaism; it wasn't viewed as a different religion. It really wasn't until the late first century and early second century that a clear distinction was made between Christianity and its Jewish roots. They understand that this is highly controversial, but they are willing to give it an objective hearing. This is one of the most unusual gatherings because in other places where Paul has taught (except for Ephesus, where he had about three months free of trouble), it caused a great controversy.

Paul decides they need to have a meeting with more people, so they arrange a later date, at which he will teach them about Jesus' claims to be the Messiah.

Acts 28:23

Acts 28:23 NKJV

23 So when they had appointed him a day, many came to him at his lodging, to whom he explained and solemnly testified of the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets, from morning till evening.

Many came to him at his lodgings. It was a much larger group, and so obviously the place where he was staying was not just a small apartment, or at least it had access to a much larger area that could accommodate a large number of people. The two words "explained" and "solemnly testified" are worth paying attention to.

The word "explained" is the Greek word ἐκτίθημι -- EKTITHEMI, which means to explain something, to go through it point by point, to expose the heart of the matter, and to do what we would call exposition.

The word exposition comes from the word expose. It is to bring out the details of a passage. We often refer to this in terms of its root process, which is exegesis, the Greek verb EXEGEO, meaning to draw something out. The result of exegesis is what Paul is doing here. He is explaining many points related to Jesus' claims to be the Messiah. Coming to conclusions and teaching what the passage says based on that conclusion really isn't exegesis; it is exposition. What Paul is going to do here is explain.

Then the second word, "solemnly testified", is a compound word in Greek: DIA, the prefix to the verb διαμαρτύρομαι -- DIAMARTUROMAI, MARTUROMAI, meaning "to bear witness in court," to give testimony.

This is the word that Jesus used in Acts 1:8, "You will be my witnesses …" Paul is fulfilling that mandate.

It has been fulfilled throughout Acts with Peter, Stephen, Philip, John, and the apostle Paul. The object of his testimony or the content of his explanation and testimony here relates to the kingdom of God. We know this is a broad, important doctrine, and it is mentioned numerous times in the book of Acts, as it is in the Gospels. He is talking about the kingdom of God and explaining it to this Jewish audience.

Acts 28:24

Acts 28:24 NKJV

24 And some were persuaded by the things which were spoken, and some disbelieved.

"Persuaded" is the Greek verb πείθω -- PETHO. He is persuading them concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the prophets from morning until evening. So he is not just teaching from 7 o'clock to 8 p.m. He is not just teaching on Sunday morning with a little ten-minute break in between; he is teaching from morning until evening. This is an all-day Bible class. This was common in many parts of the world up until the 20th century, when cars were standard and you could easily get to church and drive long distances. Back in the horse-and-buggy days, Bible classes were lengthy. Another reason Bible classes are lengthy is that when you are dealing with sophisticated and significant concepts, you often can't develop them in 15 or 20 minutes.

The other thing to observe here is that Paul is persuading them. That means he wants to change their mind. So, he is organizing his material in a way that contrasts it with what they have heard in Judaism. That is a form of apologetics: contrasting truth with error so they can understand that there are similarities but also differences. That is how you develop critical thinking skills in people. Sadly, some people want to be told what to think; they don't want to be told why they should believe something that way or how what they have learned fits with other components of Scripture. That leads to a lot of superficial Christianity. Paul is persuading them. And notice that it takes from morning until evening to go through all the messianic prophecies and promises of the Old Testament.

So Paul is talking about the kingdom of God. Why is he explaining about the kingdom of God? The first time the kingdom of God is mentioned in Acts is in 1:3-6. There are about five passages in Acts that reiterate something about the kingdom of God. I

n chapter one, Jesus is speaking about matters pertaining to the kingdom of God. For forty days between the resurrection and the ascension, He is instructing the disciples about the kingdom of God. What is He telling them? Well, part of this goes back to understanding the parables of the kingdom, which are designed not to teach about the kingdom per se but about the interim between the time of Jesus and the future coming of the kingdom.

That was a significant topic Jesus was focusing on, yet the disciples were still confused. In Acts 1:6, they asked: "Lord, will you restore the kingdom at this time to Israel?" He doesn't correct their understanding of the kingdom. He is still emphasizing it is a literal, physical, geopolitical kingdom with Jesus on the throne of David ruling from Jerusalem; it is not a spiritual reign or rule.

The next time this is mentioned is in Acts 8:12, where the Samaritans are the focus:

Acts 8:12

Acts 8:12 NKJV

12 But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized.

The Samaritans had their own view of the kingdom. So, Peter and John had to straighten out their concept of the kingdom: that Jesus had offered it, that the Jews had rejected, and that it was postponed and would not come until Jesus Christ returned to establish it.

The third place in which the kingdom is taught is in Acts 14:22. Paul is teaching in Asia Minor (Turkey):

Acts 14:22

Acts 14:22 NKJV

22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.”

Notice here that he is talking to believers. And this is crucial for understanding Matthew and the Sermon on the Mount. He is talking to disciples. He has just led them to the Lord in the last few weeks; they are already believers.

But now he is going to teach them how to enter the kingdom—how to go into, the Greek verb εἰσέρχομαι — EISERCHOMAI. Many times, we think of entering the kingdom as equivalent to being saved, to being justified. But here is a clear passage where entering the kingdom doesn't mean getting eternal life or ending up in heaven; it's about entering into the fullness of the kingdom's blessings. He is addressing those who are already disciples, already believers, and he says the way into the kingdom will be through many tribulations, through much adversity. That is not a free grace gospel. You gain eternal life by grace through faith; you believe the gospel. But if you want a full experience in the kingdom, that will involve suffering with Jesus, according to Romans 8 as well. He is talking about spiritual life and truth there, and he says that, as believers, if we are going to live for the Lord, we will encounter suffering and adversity in this life. Although there are Gentiles in this audience (there is a mixed audience of Jews and saved Gentiles), the objects of his teaching are Jews, because Jews have a frame of reference for understanding the kingdom of God. The Gentiles had no frame of reference for understanding the kingdom of God.

Then, in fourth place, he mentions this is in Acts 20:25

Acts 20:25

Acts 20:25 NKJV

25 “And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more.

He is talking to the Ephesian elders. Again, he is reminding a mixed audience of Jews and Gentiles that they are all saved.

From these passages and in Acts 28, first of all, the primary people to whom the kingdom message is given are unbelieving Jews, Jewish believers, and Samaritans who believed in a messianic kingdom. Second, he never presents the kingdom to an unsaved Gentile audience; they lack a frame of reference to understand it. Jews would because they know the Torah. When he is talking to unsaved Gentiles, he keeps the focus on the cross. The principle for us is, don't get distracted by non-essentials in communicating the gospel.

Then, in Acts, we see that the kingdom of God is never equated with the church, and it is not viewed as something that has come into existence. We are not living in some mysterious form of the kingdom; we are not living in a spiritual form of the kingdom; it is presented as something distinct from the church and yet future.

Why is it that Paul is explaining the kingdom program to the Jews? It is because the question that kept coming up in the first century was: if Jesus is the Messiah, why didn't we see the kingdom?

And that is still a problem today. In the history of Judaism, it took about 800-1000 years before they could really articulate some profound answers to Christian witnessing.

In the process, they finally got around to constructing answers to Christian presentations of the gospel in the 10th and 11th centuries. They redefined Isaiah 53, Psalm 22, and some other passages.

In the 12th century, an individual came along who was one of the most remarkable leaders in the history of Judaism, a man by the name of Maimonides. His Hebrew name was Moses ben Maimon. He was a Jewish rabbi, a physician, and one of the greatest philosophers of any generation. He wrote volumes on the Torah. So, what were some of the things that he said Messiah would do when He comes? How would we identify the Messiah? He said He is going to restore the throne of David, He will rebuild the temple, He will gather the exiles, He will restore the Torah, He will be a descendant of David, He does not have to perform any signs or wonders, He will be a student of the Torah, and He will force Israel to study the Torah. He will fight the wars of the Lord, Elijah will come before the Messiah, the battle of Gog and Magog will precede the Messiah, the Messiah will purify the priesthood of the Levites, the Messiah will identify those who are truly those who are of Israel, Messiah will identify the tribes of Israel and in His reign there will be no hunger or wars. And lastly, in Messiah's reign, all will study the Lord.

What does that describe? That describes the millennial kingdom—outside of a couple of those in the middle related to the fact that He will be a descendant of David, and He won't perform signs and wonders, everything else relates to establishing the kingdom. Many rabbis recognized that there were messianic prophecies depicting a suffering Messiah, and several emphasized a ruling Messiah. Still, they saw these as two different Messiahs: one the son of David and the other a descendant of Joseph. But in the first century, they wanted the crown before the cross, the glory before the suffering. They looked at these and said Jesus wasn't the Messiah because Jesus didn't bring in the kingdom. And basically, all of these things that Maimonides listed here characterized the kingdom, what Jesus will do at the Second Advent, not what would be accomplished at the first advent. This is typical of Judaism. They argue that because He didn't bring in the kingdom, He couldn't be the Messiah.

The Jews had to be taught that the kingdom was offered, rejected, postponed, and will come fully when Jesus returns at the second coming. The problem is they don't understand that the kingdom has been postponed. This is why the kingdom is such a significant issue throughout Acts.

End of 11/23/2025

After a day of intense, in-depth Bible study, presenting the case for Jesus as Messiah, there were two groups.

Acts 28:24

Acts 28:24 NKJV

24 And some were persuaded by the things which were spoken, and some disbelieved.

The Greek should be translated this way: "On the one hand, some were persuaded; on the other hand, some disbelieved.” The text treats these two groups as roughly equivalent in size.

A problem arose about ten years ago, and it became an issue in the Grace Evangelical Society. There were some, and there are still some, who believe that persuasion is what faith is. Persuasion is passive, and so they would say you don't exercise a volitional decision to believe.

But persuasion is a process. You present your facts along the way, and you have to decide whether each point is convincing. When you get to the end of the process, if you have voluntarily decided to accept the argument each step of the way, then the result is that you will believe. It is an active voice verb. What we have in verse 24 is a present active participle: some were persuaded, and then some disbelieved (active voice); their volition was engaged. What happened was that some people in a scholarly, academic community drilled down beyond common sense. And one of the errors that they made was the belief that both PISTEUO and the verb PETHO come from the same root. But in languages, even if two words come from the same etymological root, if their usage differs, they are not synonyms. Even though in some places they almost overlap as synonyms, there are substantial differences. To be persuaded that something is true results in believing it to be true, but being persuaded is not the same as believing. One leads to the other.

Acts 28:25

Acts 28:25 NKJV

25 So when they did not agree among themselves, they departed after Paul had said one word: “The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers,

So there was a significant response from the Jewish community, and they went home arguing among themselves. There is an old Jewish adage that where there are two Jews, there are three opinions. What upset them was Paul's quote from Isaiah 61:9, 10. This is quoted by Jesus in Matthew chapter thirteen, right after the Pharisees reject him. When He begins to instruct the disciples in parables, He quotes from Isaiah 61.

Acts 28:26-27

Acts 28:26–27 NKJV

26 saying, ‘Go to this people and say: “Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand; And seeing you will see, and not perceive; 27 For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.” ’

They have become dull because of negative volition. Because they have exercised negative volition, they have shut themselves off from understanding or wanting to know the truth. In Matthew 13, Jesus started talking in parables to enshroud the truth to make it more difficult for them anyway, not for any other reason than that they had already decided in terms of negative volition. Paul applies this principle that God has brought a judgment against some of the Jews—not all of them, but some of them—because of their negative volition.

Acts 28:28

Acts 28:28 NKJV

28 “Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it!”

Sadly, in the history of Christianity, there have been some Christians who have taken this verse to indicate that God has completely wiped His hands of the Jewish people under a curse, and this verse has been used to promote anti-Semitism.

That is not what this verse is saying. It is not saying there won't be any more salvation among the Jews because, in the context, there is a considerable number of Jews who have just been saved. It is simply that God is going to be taking the gospel to the Gentiles because the Jewish community (the Jewish leadership) rejected Jesus as Messiah.

Some people have asked the question: why is it that, down through the ages, only a small percentage of Jews have trusted in Christ as Messiah? We need to ask a similar question: why is it that throughout the ages, only a small percentage of Gentiles have ever responded to the claim that Jesus Christ is the Messiah? It is possible (it is impossible to know until we get to heaven) that the percentage of Gentiles who have responded to the gospel is probably not much different than the percentage of Jews who have responded to the gospel. The church age is not a time when we will see a massive response to the gospel. That may surprise many people. There were times when responses were considerable in some countries. Still, overall, when we look at the billions of people who have lived on this earth since the time of Christ, only a small percentage of Gentiles have responded positively to the gospel. And the same is true among the Jews.

Acts 28:29-31

Acts 28:29–31 NKJV

29 And when he had said these words, the Jews departed and had a great dispute among themselves. 30 Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him, 31 preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him.

Paul's Later Life. Review

In Acts chapter 28, we come to the end of Acts, but we don't come to the end of Paul's life. He is still in prison in Rome, and he has spent two years there. We know that Luke is with him currently because of his use of the first-person plural in several passages. He is also associated with Epaphras, who is mentioned in Philemon 23. Philemon lived in Colosse and owned the slave Onesimus, who had escaped, and Paul met Onesimus in Rome. When Paul wrote to Philemon, he included a greeting from Epaphras, who also helped establish the church in Colosse (Colossians 1:7; 4:12).

Colossians 1:7

Colossians 1:7 NKJV

7 as you also learned from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf,

Colossians 4:12

Colossians 4:12 NKJV

12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.

Epaphras was the pastor there, and he had come to Rome to report to Paul on what was going on in the church at Colosse. That was the occasion for Paul to write the epistle to the Colossians, and he sent it back by Tychicus, who was returning Onesimus to his owner, Philemon.

There is a good point there because it shows that there was no social activist element to the gospel message. Even though slavery was not the best situation or an ideal situation, Paul was not telling Philemon that he should free Onesimus. He gave him the principles, and it was up to him to make the decision. The first person he spent time with while in prison was Epaphras, the second was Onesimus, who was the slave of Philemon. And there he spent time teaching him. Onesimus had escaped as an unbeliever. He had come to faith in Christ, so Paul taught him principles regarding authority, the Word of God, and obedience to a master for slaves. So Onesimus is demonstrating his submission to the Word of God and is returning to Philemon, another believer. Paul addresses, in the epistle to Philemon, principles for how a Christian master should treat slaves.

The third person Paul spent time with during those two years in Rome was Epaphroditus, who visited Paul and brought him gifts from Philippi. During the time he was in Rome, he became very ill, and Paul thought he might die. Paul mentions him in Philippians 4:18. Paul did not heal him, which is a great illustration that just because someone becomes ill doesn't mean God will heal them or that there will be miraculous healing. Epaphroditus did recover, but it was not through a miraculous healing.

Another thing that we learn from reading bits and pieces in the prison epistles is that Paul expected to be released from his imprisonment. We see this in Philippians 1:19, 25, 26.

Philippians 1:19

Philippians 1:19 NKJV

19 For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,

Philippians 1:25-26

Philippians 1:25–26 NKJV

25 And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith, 26 that your rejoicing for me may be more abundant in Jesus Christ by my coming to you again.

Also at this time, Demas was still with him. He has some associates with him. He mentions Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke. In 2 Timothy, we learn that Demas has apostatized and left the faith. That is one of the problems we have reconciling the content of 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus with the chronology in Luke. Some believe Paul died at the end of his two-year imprisonment in Rome, though there is debate among biblical scholars.

The problem is that the details we see in the pastoral epistles don't fit with the chronology in Acts. But that is no problem for those who come with a theologically liberal mindset. Remember, the theological liberal assumes that the Word of God is man's word about God, not God's Word to man. The mindset of the theological liberal is to approach the Scripture and say that this isn't the Word of God because it contains contradictions. But there are contradictions only because they have approached the text with a false understanding and haven't sought to reconcile what appears to be contradictory.

So Paul spent two years in Rome, and then it is believed, based on what is said in the pastoral epistles (nothing overtly said, it is an inference) that Paul was released and had a ministry for another four or five years before he was again imprisoned in Rome, a much worse imprisonment that led to his martyrdom. So we believe Paul was released after two years.

The biblical and historical records suggest that it happened and that his accusers never showed up in Rome, so he was released. This would have occurred somewhere around 63 AD.

So we are now going to investigate Paul’s “fourth missionary journey,” which is the one Acts never wrote — pieced together from pastoral epistles and early church testimony, it shows a man released, traveling, writing, and finally pouring out his life as a drink offering.

The evidence that we have comes from the church fathers. One of them, the apostolic father Clement, was a pastor in Rome and wrote an epistle to the Corinthians, known to us as 1st Clement. It was written around 95 or 96 AD, about the same time that the apostle John was writing Revelation. In chapter five of his epistle, he mentions that Paul had been released from Prison. Eusebius, who writes in the 4th century, says that Paul was released.

Eusebius is not the most substantial evidence, but he clearly shows that the tradition that dominated through the early church was that Paul was released.

Then we know that there are three events explicitly mentioned in Paul's life after Rome that just don't fit anywhere in the book of Acts. The first of these is mentioned in 2 Timothy 4:20

2 Timothy 4:20

2 Timothy 4:20 NKJV

20 Erastus stayed in Corinth, but Trophimus I have left in Miletus sick.

He is writing in 2 Timothy, his last epistle. So, this can't refer to his visit to Miletus at the end of his third missionary journey; this is another visit to Miletus, which doesn't fit anywhere within the record of Acts. Also, it indicates that he goes to Corinth again, accompanied by Erastus. So, the two things that come are another visit to Corinth and another visit to Miletus, which are not mentioned in Acts.

In 2 Timothy 4:13, Paul mentions to Timothy that he had left some things behind in Troas—

2 Timothy 4:13

2 Timothy 4:13 NKJV

13 Bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas when you come—and the books, especially the parchments.

What scholars believe he meant by the parchments is Scripture. But we don't know when he was in Troas. We know he was at Troas at the beginning of the second missionary journey and that he returned there in the third missionary journey, but there is no evidence that he left there close to the end, when he left something. It just doesn't fit anything in Acts. Remember that in Acts, after he was arrested in Jerusalem, he sailed to Rome and didn't go anywhere near Troas. So, if we are going to fit this into the chronology of Acts, this would be something he had left at Troas four or five years earlier. That doesn't really fit either.

A third thing that is mentioned in Paul's ministry in Crete.

Titus 1:5

Titus 1:5 NKJV

5 For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you—

For Paul to leave him in Crete, Paul would have to be in Crete. When did he go to Crete? That is something we are not clear about. He is writing to Titus, and this doesn't fit anywhere within the chronology of Acts. These things clearly happened outside of that chronology, and they can't be fit within it.

Another reason we believe he was released is that the prison situation he describes later in 2 Timothy is a much harsher prison situation than the one identified in Acts, where he is under house arrest. In Acts chapter 28, when he was talking to the Jews who came to him, he mentions and shows them the chains on his hand. But it was house arrest, whereas tradition indicates that he was in the Mamertine dungeon, which was a very horrible place to be, just before his execution. This would fit with the way he describes the harsh conditions of his imprisonment at the end of 2 Timothy.

2 Timothy 2:9

2 Timothy 2:9 NKJV

9 for which I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of chains; but the word of God is not chained.

He is not found guilty in Acts. Then he goes on to mention in 2 Timothy 4:10

2 Timothy 4:10

2 Timothy 4:10 NKJV

10 for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica—Crescens for Galatia, Titus for Dalmatia.

Titus is not in Crete anymore. At this time, he has gone to Dalmatia. This indicates that his imprisonment is quite different by the end of 2 Timothy. Also, he indicates that he is prepared to die. He expects that.

2 Timothy 4:6-8

2 Timothy 4:6–8 NKJV

6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.

This evidence indicates that there were discrepancies, different circumstances, situations, and people (specifically Demas), and at the end of 2 Timothy, he expected death to come very soon.

So, after his two years of imprisonment, he was travelling for a while. He went to places not mentioned in the book of Acts, and then he was arrested. So, what happened?

There was a post-imprisonment journey. This would have occurred in a four to five-year period between 63 and 68 AD. Remember what else was going on. In 66, the Jewish revolt broke out. Suppose Paul dies in 68, which was right before Nero died in 69 or 70. This was why Vespasian returned to Rome to assume the title of emperor. He relinquished his siege of Jerusalem for a short time, and the troops pulled back to Caesarea before the final assault on Jerusalem. It was the pulling back that allowed the Christians who were still in Jerusalem to follow the advice of the Lord and to get out of Jerusalem. That caused a lot of problems in subsequent decades between Christians and Jews as well.

It is during this fourth missionary journey that Paul writes two epistles. He writes 1 Timothy and Titus. Several passages indicate that he moved around. He went to Colosse as indicated in Philemon 22

Philemon 22

Philemon 22 NKJV

22 But, meanwhile, also prepare a guest room for me, for I trust that through your prayers I shall be granted to you.

He also went into Macedonia in Greece.

Philippians 2:24

Philippians 2:24 NKJV

24 But I trust in the Lord that I myself shall also come shortly.

1 Timothy 1:3

1 Timothy 1:3 NKJV

3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia—remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine,

By this period, roughly 64 or 65, Timothy is pastoring the congregation in Ephesus. Then we read in 1 Timothy 3:14 that he made another journey to Ephesus.

1 Timothy 3:14

1 Timothy 3:14 NKJV

14 These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly;

From there, perhaps, he finally made it to Spain. His desire to go to Spain is mentioned in Romans 15

Romans 15:24-28

Romans 15:24–28 NKJV

24 whenever I journey to Spain, I shall come to you. For I hope to see you on my journey, and to be helped on my way there by you, if first I may enjoy your company for a while. 25 But now I am going to Jerusalem to minister to the saints. 26 For it pleased those from Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints who are in Jerusalem. 27 It pleased them indeed, and they are their debtors. For if the Gentiles have been partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister to them in material things. 28 Therefore, when I have performed this and have sealed to them this fruit, I shall go by way of you to Spain.

That was his hope at the end of his life to go beyond Rome. And there is also a passage in Clement that he "went to the limits". And the limits wouldn't be Rome because that is the capital of the Roman Empire. It would indicate something beyond that, which, though it is not stated, would make sense that he had made it to Spain.

This was written when he wrote Romans, so it is before his first captivity. There are some traditions that Paul made it up into what we now call France, and some traditions that he made it to Britain. There is no evidence that he reached either location.

Titus 1:5

Titus 1:5 NKJV

5 For this reason I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that are lacking, and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you—

 So he visited Crete as well on this journey, also to Corinth, Miletus, and Troas.

Titus 3:12

Titus 3:12 NKJV

12 When I send Artemas to you, or Tychicus, be diligent to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there.

The chronology seems to be like this. In 63, he is released from the first imprisonment. From there, he went to Philippi and Colosse (or perhaps the other way around), and he probably went to Spain from there. Later in 66, he went to Ephesus and Macedonia, and Ephesus again. In 67, he wrote 1 Timothy, went to Miletus and Corinth, and from there wrote the epistle to Titus, then went to Nicopolis. That seems to be the general order of events. Following that, he was arrested and brought to Rome, where he faced trial. At this time, Rome burned, and Nero needed someone to pin the blame on. He blamed the Christians, and it was during this time that the Christians were horribly persecuted, thrown to the wild beasts in the Coliseum, and things of that nature. At this time, Paul and Peter were martyred. Peter was crucified upside down, according to tradition. Paul, because he was a Roman citizen, could not be crucified and was beheaded. This occurred sometime late in 66 or in 67.

The evidence we have of this comes from several writers. Clement, who wrote about 30 years after Paul's martyrdom, said that Emperor Nero beheaded him. Dionysius, who wrote about 80 years later in AD 170, mentioned that Paul was martyred in Rome. Then, about 20 years after Dionysius Tertullian wrote that Paul was beheaded in Rome. At the beginning of the 3rd century, Gaius stated that Paul was beheaded on the Ostian Way in Rome. Not long after Gaius, Origen wrote in 325 that Nero martyred Paul. Eusebius, who wrote at about the same time as Origen in his Ecclesiastical History of the Church, wrote that Paul was martyred under Nero.

This brings us to the conclusion of Acts and the apostle Paul. We now take some time to review the book of Acts, go back over the twenty-eight chapters, and think it through a little bit in terms of the lessons we have learned.

Going back to chapter one, Luke is writing to Theophilus, a Gentile, and he says in Acts 1:1

Acts 1:1

Acts 1:1 NKJV

1 The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,

So, he writes book one —the Gospel of Luke —and then book two —the Acts of the Apostles—a poor name historically; it is really the Acts of the Holy Spirit. His purpose in writing was to give Theophilus an orderly account of the birth and the growth of the early church, as well as to establish him as a young believer in his understanding of Christianity. We see that it is structured around Acts 1:8

Acts 1:8

Acts 1:8 NKJV

8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

The book's message is to explain the birth and expansion of the church. It doesn't begin until chapter two, and then its expansion cannot be attributed to human effort or human power but is the result of the work of God, the Holy Spirit. Throughout the book, Luke gives these various progress reports on how the church is growing and expanding.

There are eight sub-purposes that Luke accomplishes in writing this.

The first relates to his initial message to Theophilus: he is writing to establish Theophilus in the faith. He wants Theophilus to understand the foundation of the church and to give him a foundation for a solid theology of the church. The word we use for that is ecclesiology, related to the teaching of the church. So, Luke writes to explain to Theophilus how the church was born, the primary dynamic for the church, which is God the Holy Spirit, and how the Holy Spirit expanded the church. The expansion of the church did not just happen; God, through the Holy Spirit, directed it.

Second, Luke, in the details he includes, does not mention the expansion of the church into Africa or east into Babylonia; the focus is on its expansion west and north. Why would that be? Think back to the prophecy of Noah in Genesis chapter nine, that Shem would dwell in the tents of Japheth, not the tents of Ham. So, the primary ethnic groups that will dominate human history are the descendants of Shem, which will eventually narrow to Israel, and the Japhethites, which include Indo-European peoples. It would consist of the Iranians because they are Persians and not Arabs, and it would include Slavic people, the Gauls, the Latins, the Scandinavians, and the British; all of the groups that dominated Europe. This is the area Paul headed toward; it is part of biblical prophecy.

The third thing that is on Luke's mind is to show the numerical expansion of the church. The church grew rapidly, and he mentions this in several places:

Acts 2:47; Acts 6:7; Acts 9:31; Acts 12:24; Acts 16:5; Acts 19:20; Acts 28:30-31.

Acts 2:47 NKJV

47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

Acts 6:7 NKJV

7 Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.

Acts 9:31 NKJV

31 Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.

Acts 12:24 NKJV

24 But the word of God grew and multiplied.

Acts 16:5 NKJV

5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.

Acts 19:20 NKJV

20 So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.

Acts 28:30–31 NKJV

30 Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him, 31 preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him.

There are also some smaller areas where he gives concise progress reports, but the large ones are the ones he provides to teach about the expansion of the church.

The fourth purpose that Luke has is to validate Paul's ministry as an apostle—to show that Paul was commissioned by the Lord Jesus Christ and given a mission to take the gospel to the Gentiles. He demonstrates this, and one way he does so is by comparing Paul's ministry with Peter's. Peter is clearly the lead apostle, starting in Acts chapter two. He fades out by the time we get to Acts 10, 11, and 12, but initially, he is the lead apostle in the church.

Peter heals the man lame from birth in chapter three; Paul heals a man lame from birth in chapter fourteen. Peter heals people by his shadow in Acts 3:15, 16; Paul heals people by his handkerchief in Acts 19:11-12.

Peter's success was the cause for Jewish jealousy in Acts 5:17;

Acts 5:17

Acts 5:17 NKJV

17 Then the high priest rose up, and all those who were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with indignation,

Paul's success was also a cause of Jewish jealously in Acts 13:45.

Acts 13:45

Acts 13:45 NKJV

45 But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul.

Peter confronted Simon, a sorcerer in Acts 8:9-24;

Acts 8:9-24

Acts 8:9–24 NKJV

9 But there was a certain man called Simon, who previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished the people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great, 10 to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the great power of God.” 11 And they heeded him because he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time. 12 But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. 13 Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done. 14 Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, 15 who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. 16 For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. 18 And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, 19 saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20 But Peter said to him, “Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! 21 You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. 22 Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.” 24 Then Simon answered and said, “Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me.”

Paul confronted Bar-Jesus, another sorcerer in Acts 13:6-11.

Acts 13:6-11

Acts 13:6–11 NKJV

6 Now when they had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus, 7 who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man called for Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. 9 Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him 10 and said, “O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? 11 And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time.” And immediately a dark mist fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand.

Peter raised Tabitha (also known as Dorcas) to life in Acts 9:36-41;

Acts 9:36-41

Acts 9:36–41 NKJV

36 At Joppa there was a certain disciple named Tabitha, which is translated Dorcas. This woman was full of good works and charitable deeds which she did. 37 But it happened in those days that she became sick and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. 38 And since Lydda was near Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to him, imploring him not to delay in coming to them. 39 Then Peter arose and went with them. When he had come, they brought him to the upper room. And all the widows stood by him weeping, showing the tunics and garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them. 40 But Peter put them all out, and knelt down and prayed. And turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. 41 Then he gave her his hand and lifted her up; and when he had called the saints and widows, he presented her alive.

Paul raised Eutycus back to life in Acts 20:9-12.

Acts 20:9-12

Acts 20:9–12 NKJV

9 And in a window sat a certain young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep. He was overcome by sleep; and as Paul continued speaking, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead. 10 But Paul went down, fell on him, and embracing him said, “Do not trouble yourselves, for his life is in him.” 11 Now when he had come up, had broken bread and eaten, and talked a long while, even till daybreak, he departed. 12 And they brought the young man in alive, and they were not a little comforted.

Peter was jailed and miraculously freed by God in Acts 12:3-19;

Acts 12:3-19

Acts 12:3–19 NKJV

3 And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also. Now it was during the Days of Unleavened Bread. 4 So when he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover. 5 Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church. 6 And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison. 7 Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, “Arise quickly!” And his chains fell off his hands. 8 Then the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and tie on your sandals”; and so he did. And he said to him, “Put on your garment and follow me.” 9 So he went out and followed him, and did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. 10 When they were past the first and the second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, which opened to them of its own accord; and they went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. 11 And when Peter had come to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people.” 12 So, when he had considered this, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying. 13 And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a girl named Rhoda came to answer. 14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, because of her gladness she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter stood before the gate. 15 But they said to her, “You are beside yourself!” Yet she kept insisting that it was so. So they said, “It is his angel.” 16 Now Peter continued knocking; and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. 17 But motioning to them with his hand to keep silent, he declared to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, “Go, tell these things to James and to the brethren.” And he departed and went to another place. 18 Then, as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers about what had become of Peter. 19 But when Herod had searched for him and not found him, he examined the guards and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judea to Caesarea, and stayed there.

Paul was also jailed and freed miraculously by God in Acts 16:25, 34.

Acts 16:25,34

Acts 16:25 NKJV

25 But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.

Acts 16:34 NKJV

34 Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.

End of 11/23/2025

Sunday, November 30, 2025

Good Morning:

Prayer Request Updates

Silent Prayer - Grace Recovery

Scripture reading

Scripture Reading:

1 Peter 3:15 NKJV

15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;

Matthew 5:16 NKJV

16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Revelation 12:11 NKJV

11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

Prayer:

REVIEW

We continue our review of the book of Acts. We have a few ways we need to summarize and recount what is going on in this very unique history of God’s work on planet earth following the rejection of the Jewish Messiah.

Luke’s History of the 2nd Feast of First Fruits, or Pentecost: The New Church

Going back to chapter one, Luke is writing to Theophilus, a Gentile, and he says in Acts 1:1

Acts 1:1

Acts 1:1 NKJV

1 The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,

So, he writes book one —the Gospel of Luke —and then book two —the book of Acts.

Traditionally and euphemistically it is called the Acts of the Apostles—a poor name historically speaking; it is actually a history of the Acts of the Holy Spirit. His purpose in writing was to give Theophilus an orderly account of the birth and the growth of the early church, as well as to establish him as a young believer in his understanding of Christianity. We see that it is structured around Acts 1:8

Acts 1:8

Acts 1:8 NKJV

8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

The book's message is to explain the birth and expansion of the church. It doesn't begin until chapter two, and then its expansion cannot be attributed to human effort or human power but is the result of the work of God, the Holy Spirit. Throughout the book, Luke gives these various progress reports on how the church is growing and expanding.

We were reviewing eight sub-purposes that Luke accomplishes in writing the book of Acts

The first relates to his initial message to Theophilus: he is writing to establish Theophilus in the faith. He wants Theophilus to understand the foundation of the church and to give him a foundation for a solid theology of the church. The word we use for that is ecclesiology, related to the teaching of the church. So, Luke writes to explain to Theophilus how the church was born, the primary dynamic for the church, which is God the Holy Spirit, and how the Holy Spirit expanded the church. The expansion of the church did not just happen; God, through the Holy Spirit, directed it.

Second, Luke, in the details he includes, does not mention the expansion of the church into Africa or east into Babylonia; the focus is on its expansion west and north. Why would that be? Think back to the prophecy of Noah in Genesis chapter nine, that Shem would dwell in the tents of Japheth, not the tents of Ham. So, the primary ethnic groups that will dominate human history are the descendants of Shem, which will eventually narrow to Israel, and the Japhethites, which include Indo-European peoples. It would consist of the Iranians because they are Persians and not Arabs, and it would include Slavic people, the Gauls, the Latins, the Scandinavians, and the British; all of the groups that dominated Europe. This is the area Paul headed toward; it is part of biblical prophecy.

The third thing that is on Luke's mind is to show the numerical expansion of the church. The church grew rapidly, and he mentions this in several places:

Acts 2:47; Acts 6:7; Acts 9:31; Acts 12:24; Acts 16:5; Acts 19:20; Acts 28:30-31.

There are also some smaller areas where he gives concise progress reports, but the large ones are the ones he provides to teach about the expansion of the church.

The fourth purpose that Luke has is to validate Paul's ministry as an apostle—to show that Paul was commissioned by the Lord Jesus Christ and given a mission to take the gospel to the Gentiles. He demonstrates this, and one way he does so is by comparing Paul's ministry with Peter's. Peter is clearly the lead apostle, starting in Acts chapter two. He fades out by the time we get to Acts 10, 11, and 12, but initially, he is the lead apostle in the church.

Peter heals the man lame from birth in chapter three; Paul heals a man lame from birth in chapter fourteen. Peter heals people by his shadow in Acts 3:15, 16; Paul heals people by his handkerchief in Acts 19:11-12.

Peter's success was the cause for Jewish jealousy in Acts 5:17; In this comparison, Luke shows that the same power that worked with Peter also worked with Paul. The same divine power that authenticated Peter's ministry is also authenticating Paul's ministry. Paul had the same authority as the original disciples, even though he was saved, as he said, out of time. He was not saved at the same time as the others. Paul's ministry needed some additional verification.

Now Peter's success was the cause for Jewish jealousy in Acts 5:17;

Acts 5:17

Acts 5:17 NKJV

17 Then the high priest rose up, and all those who were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with indignation,

Paul's success was also a cause of Jewish jealously in Acts 13:45.

Acts 13:45

Acts 13:45 NKJV

45 But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul.

Peter confronted Simon, a sorcerer in Acts 8:9-24;

Acts 8:9-24

Acts 8:9–24 NKJV

9 But there was a certain man called Simon, who previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished the people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great, 10 to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the great power of God.” 11 And they heeded him because he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time. 12 But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. 13 Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done. 14 Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, 15 who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. 16 For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. 18 And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, 19 saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20 But Peter said to him, “Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! 21 You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. 22 Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.” 24 Then Simon answered and said, “Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me.”

Paul confronted Bar-Jesus, another sorcerer in Acts 13:6-11.

Acts 13:6-11

Acts 13:6–11 NKJV

6 Now when they had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus, 7 who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man called for Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. 9 Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him 10 and said, “O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? 11 And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time.” And immediately a dark mist fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand.

Peter raised Tabitha (also known as Dorcas) to life in Acts 9:36-41;

Acts 9:36-41

Acts 9:36–41 NKJV

36 At Joppa there was a certain disciple named Tabitha, which is translated Dorcas. This woman was full of good works and charitable deeds which she did. 37 But it happened in those days that she became sick and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. 38 And since Lydda was near Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to him, imploring him not to delay in coming to them. 39 Then Peter arose and went with them. When he had come, they brought him to the upper room. And all the widows stood by him weeping, showing the tunics and garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them. 40 But Peter put them all out, and knelt down and prayed. And turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. 41 Then he gave her his hand and lifted her up; and when he had called the saints and widows, he presented her alive.

Paul raised Eutycus back to life in Acts 20:9-12.

Acts 20:9-12

Acts 20:9–12 NKJV

9 And in a window sat a certain young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep. He was overcome by sleep; and as Paul continued speaking, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead. 10 But Paul went down, fell on him, and embracing him said, “Do not trouble yourselves, for his life is in him.” 11 Now when he had come up, had broken bread and eaten, and talked a long while, even till daybreak, he departed. 12 And they brought the young man in alive, and they were not a little comforted.

Peter was jailed and miraculously freed by God in Acts 12:3-19;

Acts 12:3-19

Acts 12:3–19 NKJV

3 And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also. Now it was during the Days of Unleavened Bread. 4 So when he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover. 5 Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church. 6 And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison. 7 Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, “Arise quickly!” And his chains fell off his hands. 8 Then the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and tie on your sandals”; and so he did. And he said to him, “Put on your garment and follow me.” 9 So he went out and followed him, and did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. 10 When they were past the first and the second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, which opened to them of its own accord; and they went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. 11 And when Peter had come to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people.” 12 So, when he had considered this, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying. 13 And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a girl named Rhoda came to answer. 14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, because of her gladness she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter stood before the gate. 15 But they said to her, “You are beside yourself!” Yet she kept insisting that it was so. So they said, “It is his angel.” 16 Now Peter continued knocking; and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. 17 But motioning to them with his hand to keep silent, he declared to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, “Go, tell these things to James and to the brethren.” And he departed and went to another place. 18 Then, as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers about what had become of Peter. 19 But when Herod had searched for him and not found him, he examined the guards and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judea to Caesarea, and stayed there.

Paul was also jailed and freed miraculously by God in Acts 16:25, 34.

Acts 16:25,34

Acts 16:25 NKJV

25 But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.

Acts 16:34 NKJV

34 Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.

A fifth thing we learn in terms of Luke accomplishing his purposes is that he wrote to explain to Roman authorities that Christianity was not a threat to the Roman Empire. He showed in the text (it is subtle) that Christianity is not a competitor for the imperial throne, and that the trouble that was caused in the colonies, as it were, e.g., Philippi, Thessalonica, and other places, was because of unbelieving Jews who were antagonistic to the Christians. That is mentioned in a number of passages in Acts. There are a few instances where the Gentiles persecuted Paul, for example, in Philippi, but they did this usually because there was a loss of income. This also happened in Ephesus when the silversmiths were losing their trade. So Luke is taking pains to show that the authorities were keen to vindicate Paul. Whenever he was taken before a Gentile court, they could not find any legitimate charge against him, but the Jews were consistently reacting to him and were hostile to him.

Sixth, Luke also contrasts the Gentile reception of the gospel with Jewish rejection. The Gentiles responded. Paul always went to the Jews first. He had a reasonably lengthy time in Ephesus, where he explained the gospel for about three months before they finally became upset with him and expelled him. In other places, it didn't last but two or three weeks before the Jews kicked him out, and then he went to the Gentiles, and they responded. Luke shows that a dispensational shift and transition were taking place during this time.

Seventh, Luke wanted to show that although the church had its roots in Judaism and in the Old Testament, it was distinct from Judaism. There is a distinction now between God's plan for the church, which is universal, taken from Gentiles, where there is no distinction between Jew and Gentile. And there is a distinction between the church and Israel.

Eighth, Luke shows that the gospel is for all people. The gospel is universal: it is for all nations, all people, all cultures, and all strata of society. It is not just for the rich, the powerful, or the educated; it is for everyone. Luke is demonstrating the power of the gospel.

The unique things in Acts.

The Acts describe numerous first-time events. It is a dispensational shift, as we will see. It marks the beginning of a whole new era in God's plan and purposes for man, and there are several firsts. For example, in Acts chapter two, we have for the first time the descent of God the Holy Spirit, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and the filling of the Holy Spirit.

The second thing that happens in Acts chapter two is that the disciples spoke in tongues (languages). These were languages they had never learned before. This is the first time this has ever occurred, and there was a purpose for it. Peter ties that to Joel chapter two, showing that this kind of thing is what the Holy Spirit performs.

There was also a large number of conversions. You never see a large number of conversions in the Old Testament. In Acts 2:41, there are three thousand who are saved because of Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost, and then in Acts chapter four, there are five thousand males who are saved.

Acts 2:41

Acts 2:41 NKJV

41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.

Acts 4:4

Acts 4:4 NKJV

4 However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.

In Acts chapter five, we have the death of Ananias and Sapphira under divine discipline, the sin unto death, because they had lied against God the Holy Spirit.

We also see the first selection of leadership, a non-apostolic leadership, in Acts chapter six.

In chapter seven, we see the martyrdom of Stephen, who, as he is about to die physically, the heavens open, and Jesus Christ in heaven is ready to receive him.

We see the conversion of the Samaritans as a result of miracles that are performed there, as well as the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts chapter eight.

Then, in 11:26, we see the apostle Paul and Barnabas are chosen for the first missionary journey. They never had missionaries go out from Israel in the Old Testament.

Acts 11:26

Acts 11:26 NKJV

26 And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.

The first identification of Christians appears in Acts 12:2, where followers of Jesus are called Christians.

Acts 12:2

Acts 12:2 NKJV

2 Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword.

It is very important to understand that the book of Acts is transitional in nature. It is showing a shift from one dispensation to another. It shows that, under this new dispensation, there will be new characteristics and that God will accomplish new things.

We also see the emphasis on the Holy Spirit. Luke emphasizes the ministry of God the Holy Spirit, mentioning the Holy Spirit over 50 times in the book of Acts. That, on the basis of emphasis, tells us this is extremely important. He also emphasizes prayer. This is a central theme for Luke in Acts. Believers need to pray, to be dependent upon God, and to express that dependence through prayer.

Acts represents the mission of the church. Following the great commission when Jesus said, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you", Acts emphasizes the mission of the church to evangelize the lost and to instruct all people on the gospel and the Word of God.

Acts also emphasizes that the purpose of the church is instructional. Some sermons teach evangelism, while others teach doctrinal points. There are 23 sermons in Acts, underscoring that it is through oral communication of the Word that God is teaching and training believers in the church age.

Another thing that we see is an emphasis on miracles. This aligns with the apostolic focus of Acts, as miracles were part of the apostles' validation. Paul mentions this in 2 Corinthians chapter twelve.

2 Corinthians 12:12

2 Corinthians 12:12 NKJV

12 Truly the signs of an apostle were accomplished among you with all perseverance, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds.

These were the signs of the apostles. There were various miracles performed by Peter, as well as those that were performed by Paul, and others that were also miracles of discipline or divine judgment, as well as healing miracles. All this was to demonstrate that God validated the apostles and, by extension, the apostolic message.

Also, as part of the transitional nature, we see numerous non-normative receptions of God the Holy Spirit.

God, the Holy Spirit, shows up in Acts chapter one for the Jews.

He shows up in Acts chapter eight for the Samaritans.

He comes again in chapter ten for the Gentiles,

and again in chapter nineteen for the disciples of John the Baptist representing Old Testament believers.

Those elements indicate that each has one thing in common: the presence of an apostle, which underscores that the unity of the church is based on apostolic authority; as Paul says in Ephesians 2:20, the apostles and prophets are the foundation of the church.

Ephesians 2:20

Ephesians 2:20 NKJV

20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,

The book of Acts provides the historical background and context for understanding the Pauline epistles in the New Testament. We learn where he went, something about the churches, and the problems and people Paul faced in those locations. So that gives us a historical and cultural context for understanding the Pauline epistles.

Acts, then, is the only book that gives us the history of the early church. It provides a historical transition from the resurrection of Christ to the end of the first century, and sees the expansion of the church until the close of the canon of Scripture.

Acts shows a shift from Israel to the church. God's purpose now is directed to the church, but it will be restored to Israel. After the rapture of the church, the shift goes back to Israel.

Last, we see emphasis on the kingdom of God. In Acts chapter one Jesus is teaching the disciples about the kingdom of God. The last thing we hear Paul teaching the leaders about in Acts 28 is the kingdom of God. It is the same kingdom all the way through, a literal millennial messianic kingdom of Christ upon the earth. These are just some of the things that make Acts a distinct and unique book.

Genuine Church Growth by the Holy Spirit

Acts written by Luke as the “second act” following his Gospel

Context: forty day period between resurrection and ascension

Addressed to Theophilus to explain church expansion by the Holy Spirit, not human effort

Theme: God’s sovereignty and human responsibility working together

The Church began as a small Jewish sect, hidden after Jesus’ crucifixion

Resurrection brings new hope and a mission for disciples

Jesus’ final forty-day teaching focused on the kingdom of God

The kingdom of God is a central doctrine studied in depth by George N.H. Peters (The Theocratic Kingdom) and Alva McClain (The Greatness of the Kingdom)

The Kingdom offered to Israel, which was postponed due to the rejection of the Messiah

Israel temporarily set aside; the church was born at Pentecost

Church age ends with the Rapture, followed by the Judgment Seat of Christ and rewards

Rewards determine roles in Christ’s future kingdom, fulfilling Daniel 7 prophecy

The kingdom promises are literal: the son of David ruling on a throne in Jerusalem

Jesus taught his disciples that the kingdom was postponed, preparing them for church age ministry

Disciples asked about restoring the kingdom; Jesus redirected them to their Spirit-empowered mission

Acts 1:8 is the key verse: witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth

First section (Acts 1–7): focus on Jerusalem, the central figure Peter, and persecution after Stephen’s death

Second section (Acts 8–12): expansion into Judea and Samaria, Philip’s ministry, Peter’s outreach to Gentiles

Third section (Acts 13–28): expansion to the ends of the earth, focus on Paul

Paul’s first missionary journey (Acts 13–14): Galatia and Cyprus, wrote Galatians, and the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15

Second missionary journey (Acts 16–18): Macedonia and Greece, wrote 1 & 2 Thessalonians

Third missionary journey (Acts 18–21): Asia Minor and Greece, wrote 1 & 2 Corinthians and Romans

Journey to Rome (Acts 21–28): arrested in Jerusalem, two years in Caesarea, two years in Rome, wrote Philemon, Philippians, Colossians, Ephesians

Later journeys: possibly Spain, Illyricum, Macedonia, Ephesus; wrote 1 Timothy and Titus

Final imprisonment in Rome: wrote 2 Timothy

We need to review what we have studied and focus on the key ideas and elements in the book. Acts, written by Luke, is one of the great dramas in Scripture. It is really the second act. We have come back from the intermission, the forty-day period between the resurrection and the ascension. Acts one was the Gospel of Luke. He picks up with that in Acts chapter one, writing to Theophilus, a Gentile, to give him a clear understanding of how the church expanded: that this was not done through human means and effort; it was ultimately done through God the Holy Spirit. That doesn't mean the disciples just sat there, folding their hands, waiting for the Holy Spirit to kick them. Jesus Christ controls history, but you realize that you still have to cut your grass, right?

Think about that.

As human beings, we are volitional agents and we still have to choose to obey or disobey. We have to get up off our posteriors and do what God says to do. Those two aspects work together in human history: God's sovereignty and human responsibility.

So what we see is how the church begins, from a small, innocuous start, when it is nothing more than a Jewish sect virtually unknown outside Judea and Galilee. It was a sect that had gone into hiding for the most part because of Jesus' arrest and crucifixion, and now, because of the resurrection, there is new hope, and the disciples have learned of a new, significant mission given to them in reference to a coming age.

But they are not clear on it.

Interestingly, the last thing we see Jesus teaching the disciples, during the forty days between His resurrection and His ascension, is about the kingdom of God.

This topic is one of the least understood in Scripture, yet one about which much can be said.

Jesus’ last forty days were devoted to teaching about the kingdom of God — a theme often overlooked but deeply important.

There was a Lutheran pastor in the 19th century who was relatively impoverished because he wasn't well paid, by the name of George N.H. Peters.

Over the period of 30 years, he wrote a three-volume tome on the Theocratic Kingdom. It is the most in-depth study on the kingdom of God in print. Lewis Sperry Chafer said it was: “The greatest work on prophetic interpretation ever written.”

There is another book, The Greatness of the Kingdom, by Alva McClain, the founder of Grace Theological Seminary, that essentially says the same thing in a single volume.

George Peters wrote most of his three volumes on scraps of paper. He was so poor he couldn't buy paper. He had napkins, tablets, and blank scraps of paper on which he wrote. The point being made is, that the kingdom of God is not a small subject. It is a doctrine, as we see in Matthew and Hebrews, that is crucial for understanding and interpreting Scripture.

The kingdom was offered to Israel. The kingdom was postponed because Israel rejected the Messiah. There is now a parenthesis in terms of God's plan for Israel, because Israel has been temporarily set aside as God's primary agent in the world. During this intervening period, a new entity, the church, was born on the day of Pentecost. The end of the church age will be with the Rapture of the Church at some time in the future.

At that instant, we will be transported into the presence of our Lord, and immediately we will be evaluated at what is called the judgment seat of Christ. At that time, we are given rewards. Those rewards have to do with how well we have served the Lord in this life, how well we have walked by the Spirit, how much we have grown and matured. Based on that evaluation it will be determined what our roles and responsibilities will be when we rule and reign with Jesus Christ in the kingdom when He comes in His kingdom: when the Ancient of Days, according to Daniel chapter seven, gives the kingdom to the Son of Man when He comes to the earth at the end of the Tribulation and establishes His kingdom.

This is why this doctrine is so vital: it provides a framework for understanding why we live the Christian life today, why it is so important, and what the ultimate goal is.

And it also shows that it can't be understood apart from all the Old Testament promises and from God's plan and purposes for Israel, because the promise to Israel was a future literal kingdom ruled by a son of David on a literal throne in literal Jerusalem. All of these things fit together.

So what our Lord was doing during the forty-day period was teaching the disciples that things had changed, because the kingdom had been postponed.

It was an elucidation of what he taught in Matthew chapter thirteen, in the parables of the kingdom, preparing them for their future ministry in the church age in relation to the kingdom.

Not all of these things sank in because their last fundamental question to Him was: "Lord, is it at this time you will restore the kingdom?"

Jesus' response was basically, No, it was not at that time, and it was not for them to know the times and the seasons; that wasn't the issue.

This issue: Your role in the intervening age is in relation to God the Holy Spirit. Acts 1:8 became the prime verse for Acts, as we have seen.

Acts 1:8

Acts 1:8 NKJV

8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

The drama's starting point and first part focuses on Jerusalem; the primary player in the first seven chapters is Peter. John and Stephen, who were among those appointed to help the apostles in Acts chapter seven, are minor players. John never speaks.

Then a significant persecution arises after they have stoned Stephen, and the church begins to scatter, and they go out into Judea and Samaria. That covers the middle part of this drama, and is covered in Acts 8-12, where we see the expansion of the church into Samaria through Philip, who was one of those chosen in chapter six.

There is also a return emphasis on Peter, who takes the gospel to Simon the tanner, who was socially rejected because he worked with dead animals and was ceremonially unclean most of the time. Yet Peter is living with him.

It is then that he receives directions to take the gospel to the Gentiles at Caesarea. Following this period in Acts 8-12, we see the third part of the book, which is the expansion of the church to the remote parts of the earth in chapters 13-28.

In chapters eight and nine, we are introduced to the apostle Paul, who undergoes his conversion,

and in chapter thirteen, he and Barnabas head out on the first missionary journey.

There are four basic missionary trips. The first is to southern Galatia, basically, as well as Cyprus. That is covered in chapters 13 & 14. There is a pause when he goes back to Jerusalem to give a report, then in chapter fifteen is the Jerusalem Council, where they are dealing with the question: what do we do with these Gentiles now that we have them? On the first missionary journey, he wrote one letter: the epistle to the Galatians.

On the second missionary journey, he returns to the places he visited on the first journey in south Galatia. Still, the Holy Spirit prohibits him from going into either the province of Asia or the areas of Bithynia. It directs him across to Troas, where he eventually has a vision to "come over to Macedonia". So the second missionary journey focuses on going to Macedonia and Greece, and during this journey, when he is in Corinth, he will write two epistles: 1 & 2 Thessalonians. The second journey is covered in Acts 16-18.

The third missionary journey is covered in chapters 18-21, and during this journey, he writes 1 & 2 Corinthians and Romans.

After the third missionary journey, he went to Rome. He was arrested in Jerusalem and spent two years in Caesarea before being taken by ship to Rome, where he was a prisoner for another two years. While he was in Rome, he wrote the four prison epistles: Philemon, Philippians, Colossians, and Ephesians.

He was released and went on another journey. He was probably sent to Spain. He went to areas in Illyricum (modern Yugoslavia), Macedonia, and Ephesus. He eventually made his way back to Rome and was arrested for his final imprisonment. During the fifth journey, he wrote 1 Timothy and Titus, and then, in his final imprisonment, 2 Timothy.

So much for the overview.

Sunday, December 7, 2025

Good Morning:

Prayer Request Updates

Silent Prayer - Grace Recovery

Scripture reading

Scripture Reading:

1 Peter 3:15 NKJV

15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;

Matthew 5:16 NKJV

16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Acts 1:8 NKJV

8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Prayer:

REVIEW

We continue our review of the book of Acts. We have a few ways we need to summarize and recount what is going on in this very unique history of God’s work on planet earth following the rejection of the Jewish Messiah.

Luke’s History of the 2nd Feast of First Fruits, or Pentecost: The New Church

Going back to chapter one, Luke is writing to Theophilus, a Gentile, and he says in Acts 1:1

Acts 1:1

Acts 1:1 NKJV

1 The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,

So, he writes book one —the Gospel of Luke —and then book two —the book of Acts.

Traditionally and euphemistically it is called the Acts of the Apostles—a poor name historically speaking; it is actually a history of the Acts of the Holy Spirit

Acts shows the church growing under God's direction, not human effort.

The initial group of disciples was small and obscure, gathered in the upper room.

Luke emphasizes progress reports showing expansion beyond human capability

The same Spirit who built the church in Acts builds the church today

Pentecost: Holy Spirit comes upon the twelve with the sound of rushing wind and tongues of fire

Disciples speak in unlearned languages; Jewish visitors hear the gospel and return home → first missionary outreach

Some accuse them of drunkenness; Peter explains using Joel 2 as an analogy, not fulfillment

Central theme: resurrection of Jesus repeatedly emphasized, agitating the Sadducees and dividing the Sanhedrin

Prophecy fulfilled in Acts 2:25 and following; many attest to Jesus’ resurrection

Church expands: 3,000 believe (Acts 2), later 5,000 added (Acts 4)

Believers share possessions (Acts 2:44–45) → intimacy and mutual support, not socialism

Peter and John heal a lame man (Acts 3); Peter preaches repentance and the promise of “times of refreshing”

Sanhedrin arrests Peter and John; they insist salvation is only in Jesus (Acts 4:12)

Episode of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5): lying to the Spirit → sin unto death, protecting church purity

Miracles authenticate apostles’ authority; persecution increases from Pharisees and Sadducees

Angel frees apostles from prison; Peter declares, “We must obey God rather than men.”

Gamaliel counsels caution, citing failed movements like Theudas

Internal division: widows of Hellenized Jews were neglected → seven men appointed (Stephen, Philip)

Stephen’s speech (Acts 7): Israel’s pattern of rejecting God and His messengers; rebukes the Sanhedrin

Stephen stoned; Saul of Tarsus introduced holding garments

Stephen’s death illustrates Israel’s rejection of “the Prophet” (Christ) → transition to Paul’s ministry

Expansion into Judea and Samaria (Acts 8): Philip preaches in Samaria, converts, and is baptized by Peter and John

Philip evangelizes the Ethiopian eunuch, a proselyte reading Isaiah → believes and is baptized

Saul’s conversion on the road to Damascus (Acts 9): pivotal for church growth, retold three times in Acts

Expansion to Gentiles begins (Acts 9:32 onward): Peter takes the gospel to Gentiles, and a church is established in Antioch

Antioch becomes the mother church for Paul’s missionary journeys

First missionary journey (Acts 13–14): Antioch → Cyprus → southern Galatia; converts and opposition; Timothy converted

Jerusalem Council (Acts 15): debate over Gentiles and the Law

Second missionary journey (Acts 16–18): revisits Galatia; vision at Troas → Macedonia; churches in Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, Corinth; writes 1 & 2 Thessalonians

Third missionary journey (Acts 18–21): Ephesus (two years teaching), Macedonia, Greece; writes 1 & 2 Corinthians and Romans; returns to Jerusalem

Riot in Jerusalem over Gentile rumor; Paul was arrested, imprisoned in Caesarea for two years, then taken to Rome

Fourth journey: imprisonment in Rome for two years; Acts ends here

Focus of Acts: church expansion from Jewish beginnings to the Gentile majority

Expansion due to willingness to be used by the Holy Spirit, not human strength

Acts provides a framework for understanding the NT epistles in light of Paul’s chronology

Application: Believers today must carry on the mission, training pastors and missionaries like Paul did

Pattern: local churches send out missionaries and train leaders, following Antioch’s example

Warning: if training future leaders is neglected, the next generation is lost

Cultural pressures challenge the next generation, especially in education; churches must prepare leaders faithfully

As we look at the first seven chapters, the Holy Spirit comes upon the disciples and, in the second chapter, directs them to expand their witness in Jerusalem. God then expands their witness from 6:8-9 -31 through Judea and Samaria. Then, third, God expands the church to the ends of the earth.

Luke’s central theme in Acts is unmistakable: God the Holy Spirit is the true agent of church growth. It is not the obscure twelve men huddled in Jerusalem who drive the expansion. Luke deliberately begins by showing how small and seemingly insignificant this group is. They are tucked away in an upper room, joined by only 138 others, simply meeting to replace Judas.

This humble beginning sets the stage. Throughout Acts, Luke provides progress reports that trace the church’s expansion — growth that is clearly beyond human capability. That is the heartbeat of the book: the unstoppable advance of the gospel through the Spirit’s power.

And that same power has not changed. The Holy Spirit who built the church in Acts is the same Spirit who builds the church today. The tragedy is that too few believers choose to walk by the Spirit. True expansion, then and now, rests entirely on the work of God the Holy Spirit.

After chapter one, the disciples are staying in Jerusalem because After chapter one, the disciples remain in Jerusalem because Jesus commanded them to wait until the coming of God the Holy Spirit. Pentecost arrives — one of the three major pilgrimage festivals on the Jewish calendar, requiring all Jewish males from Judea, Samaria, and the wider diaspora to gather at the temple.

As the twelve disciples assemble in the upper room, preparing to go to the temple, the Holy Spirit descends upon them. It is an unmistakable audio‑visual event: they hear a sound from heaven like a rushing wind, and they see tongues of fire resting on each of the twelve. This does not include the larger group of 150, who would not have remained together for ten days awaiting Pentecost.

This moment marks the beginning of the Spirit’s ministry to individual believers — the indwelling, baptism, and filling of the Holy Spirit occurring simultaneously for each of the twelve. Immediately afterward, they move into the temple precincts and begin speaking in languages they had never learned. Luke emphasizes that Jewish visitors from across the empire were present, hearing the gospel in their own tongues. When these pilgrims returned home, they carried the message with them. This was the first wave of missionary outreach: the gospel spreading through Jews returning to their own lands.

The question asked was, What in the world was going on? As Galileans, they were pretty ignorant, yet they could speak all these different languages. Some accused them of being drunk. We have yet to see anyone who was intoxicated and could speak their native language better, much less a foreign language they had never learned before. But Peter reminds them, quoting Joel 2:30ff, that this was the kind of thing Jews should expect to happen because God had promised it would happen at the time of the day of the Lord, when the kingdom would be established. These are the same kinds of miraculous events. He is not saying this is the fulfillment of the Joel passage; he is saying it is similar to the types of things Joel predicted. Nothing that Joel predicted occurred on the day of Pentecost. Speaking in unknown languages was not indicated in Joel chapter two. He is just saying this is like that, and you should have expected this kind of thing.

Joel 2:28-32

Joel 2:28–32 NKJV

28 “And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. 29 And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. 30 “And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. 32 And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, As the Lord has said, Among the remnant whom the Lord calls.

He goes through quotes from the Joel 2 passage and then challenges them in relation to their belief in Jesus of Nazareth: that Many signs and wonders attested to him, and that he was delivered up by the plan of God and raised from the dead. This is another central theme that runs throughout the book of Acts. This is what really agitated the Sadducees in Acts chapter four as a result of Peter and John's preaching and their emphasis on the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. And this became a significant problem later on in Paul's ministry. And he used that for his own purposes, causing a division among the Sanhedrin during his interview with them. We see this emphasis again and again and again on Jesus' resurrection. That has several significances, but above all, it is an attestation that God raised Jesus from the dead. Numerous people attested to his resurrection.

This also fulfills prophecy, as Peter mentions in his quotations in Acts 2:25 and following:

Acts 2:25

Acts 2:25 NKJV

25 For David says concerning Him: ‘I foresaw the Lord always before my face, For He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken.

We also get a report here that, as a result of this, the church is expanding. Three thousand believed. Later on, in chapter four, 5000 males are added to the church.

There was a distinction made during this time that, instead of continuing to meet in synagogues, they would begin meeting together to study the Word and encourage one another.

Acts 2:44-45

Acts 2:44–45 NKJV

44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.

This wasn't a socialist-type experiment; it shows there was intimacy and that they depended on one another for their physical and material sustenance.

In chapter three, Peter and John return later, heal the lame man, and that gives Peter the occasion to deliver another sermon in which he promises that if the Jews would repent and accept Christ as Messiah, the times of refreshing would come. So they could have technically responded, as I have said, but they still would have had to go through the judgments of AD 70. There wouldn't have been a lengthy church age, because once Israel repents, that will set in motion the coming of the Messiah. But they did not, and the church age has lasted now for almost 2000 years. As a result of that message, Peter and John are arrested and brought before the Sanhedrin, and Peter uses resurrection as an issue when he addresses them. They try to prohibit them from preaching the gospel, commanding them not to speak at all or to teach in the name of Jesus. Acts 4:12 is a great verse to memorize.

Acts 4:12

Acts 4:12 NKJV

12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

They are told not to preach the gospel, but they continue to do so anyway. They are eventually released and return to the other disciples who had been praying for them.

In chapter five, we have the episode of Ananias and Sapphira who lie against the Holy Spirit. Everybody else is selling their assets and converting them into cash so that it can be used for the benefit of others in the body of Christ. Ananias and Sapphira sold some of their land, but they kept back some of the money for themselves. There is nothing wrong with that, but they lied about it. They wanted everybody to think they were a lot more generous than they actually were, and at this stage of the church in its infancy, God the Holy Spirit enacts a miraculous discipline upon them, and they both instantly are executed. It was the sin unto death because it is designed to protect the church from this kind of corruption at this early stage of infancy.

From this point on, there is an emphasis on the expansion through many signs and wonders, mentioned in Acts 5:12.

Acts 5:12

Acts 5:12 NKJV

12 And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon’s Porch.

It started with Peter and John healing the lame man in chapter three, and all of these miracles are designed to attest to their credentials: that they were indeed who they claimed to be. In this period, we also see attacks against the church, both external from the Pharisees and Sadducees and internal, represented by Ananias and Sapphira. Peter and John are imprisoned and released miraculously by an angel, who orders them to proclaim the words of this life to the people. This again shows that God is working to protect and expand the church. They are put on trial again, and when they do that, Peter makes the famous statement: "We ought to obey God rather than men". This is when Gamaliel says to the rest of the Sanhedrin: "Men of Israel, take care what you propose to do with these men. A long time ago, Theudas rose up, claiming to be someone, and a group of about 400 men joined him. But he was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing." Those are the words that Luke chose to quote because, in the words of an unbeliever, this carried weight. After all, God was indeed at work building and expanding the church.

The church grew so rapidly and extensively that a division arose within it. Some were residents in Judea or Galilee, and others were Hellenized Jews from out of town. Some of the Hellenized Jews had reached an age where they had to go back to Judea, and so there was a need to help distribute financial aid to the widows. The widows of the Hellenized Jewish community felt they were overlooked, so they organized administrative work to ensure they received the financial aid they needed. In chapter six, they appointed seven men who showed spiritual maturity. These included Stephen and Philip.

Acts chapters 1-7, which is basically the first part of the book that deals with the church in Jerusalem, concludes with the death of Stephen. He is arrested and put on trial (somewhat illegally), and he gives a magnificent address where he rebukes his Jewish audience and demonstrates historically that they fit the pattern that has been established since the beginning of the Jewish race, that there has been a trend toward rejection of God and His messengers. He begins with Abraham. Abraham had partial obedience when he left Ur of the Chaldeans. He was to leave all his relatives, but he took his father and nephew with him; he didn't completely separate. Stephen emphasized that Israel had a pattern of initial rejection of God, and he covers this pattern in its entirety from vv. 6-38. He illustrates it with figures such as Joseph and Moses, and with their rejection by others. He notes the people's rebellion against Moses. Forty days after Moses went up Mount Sinai, he was met with a rebellion by all the people. It doesn't take them long to turn against God. He shows that, once they entered the land, the people turned to idolatry; they weren't faithful to Moses' teaching. Even when the tabernacle and, later, the temple were built, they were simply places of worship and not intended to be permanent manifestations of God. They did not fully keep the Law regarding the worship of the tabernacle and the temple. And during this period of time, because they were turned back to idolatry, God would send prophets, and they resisted the Holy Spirit, killed the prophets, and broke God's Law. The Sanhedrin became so incensed at what he said, and they became convinced of its truth, that they began to pick up stones and began to stone him. It is at that point that we are introduced to Saul of Tarsus, who is standing at the edge of the crowd holding their garments.

Stephen's speech is brought in to give us insight into the ultimate reason why God has set aside Israel temporarily during the present age: they not only rejected the prophets, but they have rejected "the prophet" as Deuteronomy said was like Moses, which is the Lord Jesus Christ, who was greater than Moses. And this also serves as a transition from Peter to the beginning of a focus on Saul, who will become the apostle Paul.

End of 1st Service 12/7/2025

In chapter eight, we get into the expansion into Judea and Samaria. We see the expansion through Philip, who goes to Samaria, where there is a massive response to his preaching of the gospel, and he brings John and Peter up from Jerusalem to baptize these recent converts. That shows the unity of the church. Following the conversion of the Samaritans, he is whisked away by God the Holy Spirit to meet with the Ethiopian eunuch, and there he communicates the gospel to him, who is not the first Gentile because he was considered a proselyte. He is reading through Isaiah and is confused about the Scripture. Philip explains it to him, and he believes in Jesus as the Messiah, and then Philip baptizes him.

This is the prelude to chapter nine, which focuses on Saul. Saul is saved through the appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ to him on the road to Damascus. This is significant because it provides insight into the apostle Paul's background and his salvation. Three times in the book, Paul is going to retell the story. That shows that Paul's conversion is crucial to understanding the church's growth in the first century. At this point, they are expanding out from Judea and Samaria to the uttermost parts of the earth.

The third section begins with Acts 9:32.

Acts 9:32

Acts 9:32 NKJV

32 Now it came to pass, as Peter went through all parts of the country, that he also came down to the saints who dwelt in Lydda.

Peter is going to take the gospel to the Gentiles. This shows the church's expansion to Antioch due to the confusion that broke out after the death of Stephen. Most of the Christians had to leave Jerusalem; some of the apostles were able to stay. They scattered not only to Judea and Samaria but also to places in Syria, such as Antioch. The church is established in Antioch, which will become the mother church for the apostle Paul's missionary activities.

This was the time of the first three missionary journeys. The first two are covered in Acts 12:25-19:20.

The first journey began in Antioch and went to Cyprus and up the southern coast of modern Turkey, to Antioch in Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. Then he retraces his steps and returns to Antioch. This is a short journey; they have numerous converts, and they meet a lot of opposition and hostility from the Jews in the synagogues. One of the most significant converts will be Timothy, who will become his travelling companion on his second journey.

Following the first journey, he returned to Jerusalem to give the apostles a progress report on what had happened. What has happened in the meantime? The word has gotten out that the church is now going to the Gentiles, because, of course, Peter had taken the gospel to the Gentiles in chapters ten and eleven and reported on that. Now, by Acts chapter fifteen, this becomes a problem. What were they going to do with the Gentiles? Do they become Jewish? Do we become Gentiles? What is the deal? So the Jerusalem Council met, and this is covered in chapter fifteen. This is sandwiched between the first and second journeys.

On the second journey, Paul retraces his steps. He does follow-up in Lystra, Iconium, and Derbe. As they go to Antioch, the question is: where do we go from here? Instead of going into the province of Asia, the Holy Spirit prevents it. They will eventually get there, but not now. It was a matter of the Lord's timing. They are prevented from going to Bithynia and Pontus in the north, so they end up at Troas on the Aegean Sea. This is where he has his vision of the man calling to Macedonia, and so they catch a boat to cross to Neapolis. They visit and establish churches in Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea. They meet opposition from the Jews, and Paul is thrown into jail in Philippi. He is beaten and whipped, against Roman law. It is not until later that he tells them he is a Roman citizen, so they kick him out of town. He heads down to Thessalonica and is only there for a short time—maybe two or three months at the most—and then the Jews cause an uproar. He goes to Berea and then down to Athens and Corinth. He is in Corinth for a more extended period than in the other places, and this is where he establishes another church, eventually leaving for Ephesus. That is the second missionary journey.

He returns to Jerusalem to give a report and then heads back to Antioch. Then we go to the third missionary journey, which is similar to the second.

He revisits the church from the first journey, but this time he goes into Asia, to Ephesus, establishes himself there, and teaches for two years. He also travels to Macedonia and Greece, visits all the previous locations, returns, goes to Ephesus, meets the church leaders in Miletus, and then returns to Jerusalem. He tries to make it there by Pentecost. When he gets to Jerusalem, the rumor spreads that he has come with a Gentile. They assume that he has brought an uncircumcised Gentile into the temple precinct. This causes a massive riot. The Romans rescue him, and this leads to his imprisonment.

They discover a plot against him, so the Romans move him to Caesarea, where he is kept in prison for two years before he is put on a ship and eventually arrives in Rome. This is the fourth journey I mentioned. It is not usually called a missionary journey. Of course, everywhere Paul went it was a missionary journey. He was there for two years, and this is where the book of Acts ends.

The book's focus is on the church's expansion. At the very beginning, it is Jewish. At the end, it is beginning to be primarily Gentile. At the beginning, it is obscure and unknown. There were probably 30 or 40 thousand, but they are not really identified or mentioned, and the focus is on the fact that there are just the twelve as the key leadership, and then on the expansion throughout the world as a result of what they did. And it was not because of them; it was because they were willing to be used by God the Holy Spirit in this expansion throughout the world. It was from this base that we came to understand the background of all the New Testament epistles. We can fit that into this framework to understand how God the Holy Spirit worked, and we can interpret those books in light of the chronology of the apostle Paul's life.

When we come out of this, we understand that our role is to carry this on. That is the challenge for us. It is to be like these early Christians. We see that the apostles were transferring that responsibility to others. Paul is training other pastors as his entourage who go with him—Timothy, Epaphras, and Epaphroditus. Others who went with him went out from him, were taught by him, and prepared to go and pastor the churches. This is to be a pattern that is repeated down through the centuries, down through the generations, from pastor to pastor. And it is part of the responsibility of every local church to send out missionaries in the pattern of the church at Antioch, and to train future leaders and provide for them.

Because if we lose sight of training for the future, then we lose the next generation. And there are many challenges before us right now because of how our culture operates and how the transition to the next generation is being handled. There is so much pressure for the next generation to conform to the world because of what has happened in the education system. There are some extraordinary exceptions in different places. Still, the pressures continue, especially at the high school and college level, in ways much greater and much more overt than in times past.

Sunday, December 14, 2025

Good Morning:

Prayer Request Updates

Silent Prayer - Grace Recovery

Scripture reading

Scripture Reading:

1 Peter 3:15 NKJV

15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;

Matthew 5:16 NKJV

16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Acts 1:8 NKJV

8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Prayer:

REVIEW

We continue our review of the book of Acts. We have a few ways we need to summarize and recount what is going on in this very unique history of God’s work on planet earth following the rejection of the Jewish Messiah.

Handout Outline Notes

Acts in the Flow of Biblical Thought

All of these main points are generally not covered in some Bible studies on Acts, where the introductory material is covered quickly. Still, Acts is one of those battleground books, not in the same sense as Hebrews, 1 John, and James, and other battlegrounds are fought over the book of Acts. And it is because the book has a unique nature to it, being a history book, the only book of its type in the New Testament, and because of the way it straddles two dispensations, and we see this transitional flow. So it is essential to go into several aspects related to the interpretation of Acts—the background, the history, the theology—so that, as we go through it, these ideas will be expanded a little more.

Acts in the flow of Biblical thought

If we look at the map, we see the area around the Mediterranean Sea. To the south is North Africa; to the east is the area we refer to as Syria-Palestine; to the north are modern Turkey, Greece, and then the boot of Italy. Looking at the map, we see that the focal point of the gospel's expansion from Jerusalem lies to the north and west. The book of Acts does not focus on what goes on south of the border, except for a very brief hint about the Ethiopian eunuch, whose salvation occurs, and, of course, he is going back to Ethiopia taking the gospel with him.

We don’t see Peter going east to Babylon, though, based on 1 Peter, that is precisely what he did, because Babylon had the second-largest Jewish population in the ancient world, and he is the apostle to the Jews. We don’t hear anything about that in Acts. Acts goes north and west. Why did God ignore these other areas? Why is it so important that the gospel went north and west? Why is it that God’s sovereign, directive will through the apostle Paul took the gospel north and west into Europe and not into these other places?

Some people might say it was more logical because of the Roman empire and because of the existence of the Pax Romana, the peace of Rome that existed for about 300 years and made it possible for the gospel to expand throughout the Roman empire because everyone in the empire spoke Latin, because of the highways, the roads, transportation and it was easy for the gospel to expand. But why couldn’t God have raised a different empire? Why did He raise this empire in Western Europe? Previous empires expanded throughout the Middle East.

For example, under Alexander, the expansion of the Greek empire was not only in Greece in the west, but also the empire moving across into Persia and all the way to the Hindu Kush. Why didn’t God send the Lord Jesus Christ during that particular era?

To understand this, we have to go back into the Old Testament to Genesis chapter Nine. In Genesis 9, we have the interesting episode between the drunk Noah and his sons. As a result, Noah gives a prophetic announcement that essentially outlines the history of the world through his descendants.

We have to look at the Bible, all 66 books, as being what they claim to be, and that is a revelation from God to us, and that they all fit together and complement each other and intersect so that we can’t really understand one part without fitting it into the other parts that make up the whole.

And at the very beginning of history in the book of Genesis, we have two or three events that come one right after another in the unfolding of revelation in Genesis that set the stage for the rest of human history. Without these three events, we really can’t make sense of human history; it just becomes a lot of details. Without having that overview, it is easy for people to misunderstand and misinterpret the details, and also many people will come in and take those details and reconstruct them and fit them into different frameworks.

In this episode with Noah, the first picture we see is of Ham. Ham is the father of Canaan. The text makes an important point to emphasize who Ham is in relation to his son. To understand why the text says “the father of Canaan,” we have to remember that Moses wrote Genesis through Deuteronomy to give the Jews in the wilderness an understanding of who they are, why they are, and what God’s purpose is for them before they go into the land. They are standing there in 1406 BC, ready to go into the land, and God tells them to go in and annihilate man, woman, and child, and in some cases, all of their animals, and it would be very common for the Jews to say, Why do we need to kill everybody? It goes back to this episode; it gives us a foreshadowing of that, and so Moses says, “Ham, the father of Canaan.” The critical part of that isn’t Ham, it is Canaan, because in Ham we see the foreshadowing of the sexual deviancy and perversion of the Canaanites.

Genesis 9:22

Genesis 9:22 NKJV

22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside.

Rather than treating his father with respect, he laughs about it and makes his father the brunt of his jokes. In contrast, Ham, Shem, and Japheth take a garment and put it on both of their shoulders and walk backward into the tent so that they are not looking at the shameful behavior of their father, and then they cover up his nakedness. They are showing respect and deference for their father.

Genesis 9:24-25

Genesis 9:24–25 NKJV

24 So Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done to him. 25 Then he said: “Cursed be Canaan; A servant of servants He shall be to his brethren.”

So this is this little prophecy.

There are a lot of people who say this happened, or that happened between Ham and his father, but there is no mention of that in the text. There is just the nuance there that this is disrespect, and something is going on here that foreshadows the sexual perversion of the Canaanites. So there is going to be a curse or a judgment statement made about Canaan, not Ham, because it is not related to all the descendants of Ham; it is just related to Canaan as a precursor to the contemporary Canaanites of Moses’ day.

In contrast, there is a blessing statement made to Shem and to Japheth. Notice there is no blessing or curse related to the rest of the Hamites. So low man on the totem pole is the descendants of Canaan. One step up is the Hamites, who are neither blessed nor cursed. Next level up is the Shemites,

Genesis 9:26-27

Genesis 9:26–27 NKJV

26 And he said: “Blessed be the Lord, The God of Shem, And may Canaan be his servant. 27 May God enlarge Japheth, And may he dwell in the tents of Shem; And may Canaan be his servant.”

The focal point here, the one who gets the lion’s share of the blessing, is Japheth. He and his descendants will be the focal point of God’s blessing in history. Japheth is the father of all Western European peoples, and that is why Western Europe is what it is. Dwelling in the tents of Shem is a reference to the religion of the Old Testament, and that Japheth is going to be blessed by association with the Judeo-Christian religion. So, where God emphasizes the very beginning, it is on Japheth, because it is through Japheth that the world will be enlarged through their missionary endeavors to take the gospel throughout the world. That is why the focal point in Acts drives us to western Europe and the Japhetic peoples. That prophecy becomes a framework for understanding all of history and this division between the Japhetic, Hamitic, and Semitic peoples.

The next event is in Genesis chapter eleven, with the tower of Babel and the division of languages. As a result of that division and the failure of humanity as a whole to be the vehicle through which God would communicate His Word to mankind, God calls out Abram in Genesis chapter twelve. This is the next significant event.

Genesis 12:2

Genesis 12:2 NKJV

2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing.

“You shall be a blessing” is a command to Israel.

Genesis 12:3

Genesis 12:3 NKJV

3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

The first word for “curse” is different from the second word for “curse.” The first “curse” means to show disrespect to someone; it is a light kind of disrespect, to treat someone lightly, to not esteem them very highly. So the ones who treat Israel lightly and with disrespect are the ones God will judge harshly.

“… And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

Abram becomes the fountain of blessing to the entire world. He is a descendant of Shem, so that fulfills the Shemitic blessing aspect of the Noahic prophecy. Japheth will dwell within that tent, within that covering of the religion of Abraham.

The following key passage, which we have to address to see how Acts fits into the flow of biblical thought, is in Deuteronomy chapter thirty.

Deuteronomy 30:1-2

Deuteronomy 30:1–2 NKJV

1 “Now it shall come to pass, when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God drives you, 2 and you return to the Lord your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul,

The key phrase there is to “return” to God, and this will be the message we hear in the first part of Acts to the Jews. It is to repent, and it is based on this word, to turn back to God. So, in terms of how Acts fits into biblical thought, first of all, in terms of the Noahic prophecy, it says that eventually the descendants of Japheth, those European nations, will be the focal point of the blessing that takes the gospel throughout the world. That is why Acts focuses on Europe. The Abrahamic promise of blessing is still significant because even though Israel as a nation formally rejects the gospel, there are still hundreds of thousands of Jews who accept Jesus as Messiah in the first century, and there is no reason for anti-Semitism. There is a distinction in the Scripture between Israel and the church, and that distinction was lost by the end of the second and into the third century AD. Then there were the seeds of what has been called, in modern times, “replacement theology.” It is the idea that God just got Israel, wiped them out, and replaced them in His plan with the church. But that would negate the promises of both the Abrahamic promise of blessing and the Mosaic covenant promises of a future return and future blessing by God.

So when we look at the book of Acts, we see how it fits within this flow of history that God has a plan and a purpose to bring about a worldwide blessing through the descendants of Abraham. Paul is going to pick up on this in both Romans and in Galatians, and we see elements of this in some of his messages in the book of Acts: that through Israel, through the rejection of the gospel by Israel, God then takes the gospel and blessing to all the nations of the world.

The Davidic covenant

Psalm 89 is a meditation on the Davidic covenant, and 2 Samuel 7 is the precise passage that addresses it.

This is important because Jesus is identified as the son of David several times in the book of Acts. The Davidic covenant is unconditional, just as the Abrahamic covenant is; it is a permanent covenant that cannot be taken away, and it is a promise God gave to the house of David. I want to start with an overview of Psalm 89, which we don’t have time to dig super deep into, but we will look at this very important Psalm to understanding the Davidic Covenant and promise, which Christ is the ultimate fulfillment of.

Psalm 89 - God’s Faithful Promise of Messiah

It expresses the covenant relationship of Israel with God.

It documents the Davidic Covenant or Promise. (vv.3-4)

- this includes the election and protection of David himself (v. 19-29)

It declares the consequences to Israel if unfaithful, yet declares YHWH’s faithfulness to HIs covenant promise.

It presents the Judgment of YHWH on Rebellious Israel, and invokes a Lament Petition (v. 38-52)

Let’s notice God’s Covenant with David in verses 3-4

Psalm 89:3-4

Psalm 89:3–4 NKJV

3 “I have made a covenant with My chosen, I have sworn to My servant David: 4 ‘Your seed I will establish forever, And build up your throne to all generations.’ ” Selah

Per Eugene Merrill, The “Davidic Covenant” is a logical and theological continuation of the stream of redemption that commenced hard on the heels of mankind’s sin in the garden of Eden (Genesis 3:15),

Genesis 3:15

Genesis 3:15 NKJV

15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”

Then, it broadened in scope from the “seed of the singular woman” to the seed of a man, namely, Abraham, who would become the father of a servant nation through which all the peoples of the earth will be blessed (Genesis 12:1-3; Genesis 22:17b-18).

Genesis 12:1-3

Genesis 12:1–3 NKJV

1 Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Genesis 22:17-18

Genesis 22:17–18 NKJV

17 blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”

This unilateral pledge was sealed to Abraham by a covenant. The ceremony of that Abrahamic covenant involved the staggering idea of slaughtering animals as a sign of the judgment Yahweh would bring upon Himself should He fail to keep His promise .

Genesis 15:12-21

Genesis 15:12–21 NKJV

12 Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. 13 Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. 14 And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15 Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. 16 But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” 17 And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces. 18 On the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying: “To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates—19 the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites, 20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”

Genesis 17:1-8, 15-21

Genesis 17:1–8 NKJV

1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. 2 And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: 4 “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. 7 And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. 8 Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”

Genesis 17:15–21 NKJV

15 Then God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16 And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her.” 17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” 18 And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!” 19 Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him. 20 And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. 21 But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year.”

Isaac, son of Abraham, was heir to him of the grace of transmitting the covenant further (Genesis 26:3-4),

Genesis 26:3-4

Genesis 26:3–4 NKJV

3 Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. 4 And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed;

as was his son Jacob, who, renamed “Israel,” was the father of 12 sons (tribes), one of which, Judah, was selected to be the covenant bearer (Genesis 27:27-29).

Genesis 27:27-29

Genesis 27:27–29 NKJV

27 And he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him and said: “Surely, the smell of my son Is like the smell of a field Which the Lord has blessed. 28 Therefore may God give you Of the dew of heaven, Of the fatness of the earth, And plenty of grain and wine. 29 Let peoples serve you, And nations bow down to you. Be master over your brethren, And let your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, And blessed be those who bless you!”

Moreover, from Judah someday would come the ruler of the chosen nation, a promise fulfilled eight centuries later with the coronation of King David.

Genesis 49:10

Genesis 49:10 NKJV

10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.

Ruth 4:12

Ruth 4:12 NKJV

12 May your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring which the Lord will give you from this young woman.”

1 Samuel 16:6-13

1 Samuel 16:6–13 NKJV

6 So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him!” 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 8 So Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 10 Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” 11 And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all the young men here?” Then he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here.” 12 So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!” 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah.

End of 1st Service

2 Samuel 2:4

2 Samuel 2:4 NKJV

4 Then the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. And they told David, saying, “The men of Jabesh Gilead were the ones who buried Saul.”

2 Samuel 2:7-11

2 Samuel 2:7–11 NKJV

7 Now therefore, let your hands be strengthened, and be valiant; for your master Saul is dead, and also the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.” 8 But Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, took Ishbosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim; 9 and he made him king over Gilead, over the Ashurites, over Jezreel, over Ephraim, over Benjamin, and over all Israel. 10 Ishbosheth, Saul’s son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. Only the house of Judah followed David. 11 And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.

2 Samuel 5:3-5

2 Samuel 5:3–5 NKJV

3 Therefore all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord. And they anointed David king over Israel. 4 David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. 5 In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah.

Psalm 89 is a meditation on the Davidic covenant, and 2 Samuel 7 is the precise passage that addresses it.

2 Samuel 7:9-10

2 Samuel 7:9–10 NKJV

9 And I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a great name, like the name of the great men who are on the earth. 10 Moreover I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more; nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore, as previously,

That has never happened in history, so it refers to a future time.

2 Samuel 7:11-13

2 Samuel 7:11–13 NKJV

11 since the time that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel, and have caused you to rest from all your enemies. Also the Lord tells you that He will make you a house. 12 “When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

 So through Solomon the kingdom is going to be developed and eventually the only one who can fulfill that in terms of eternality is going to be one who is eternal.

2 Samuel 7:16

2 Samuel 7:16 NKJV

16 And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.” ’ ”

So the Davidic covenant is also a background. There are a couple of places in Acts where the message is to reflect on the promises of the Davidic covenant.

The New Covenant

Then the new covenant, as stated in Jeremiah 31-33, is the only passage where it is specifically identified as such.

Jeremiah 31:31-33

Jeremiah 31:31–33 NKJV

31 “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

The new covenant is what gets instituted and goes into effect when Jesus Christ returns and establishes the kingdom. The new covenant becomes the rule of the Messianic or Millennial kingdom. The reason it is crucial to understand these covenants is that when Jesus came, He was proclaiming the kingdom. He was sending out His disciples as John the Baptist had before Him to announce the message, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Then, when He is rejected, crucified, put in the grave for three days, and rises from the dead, the main topic of instruction in the interim period, when He is talking to His disciples and teaching them before the ascension, is the kingdom.

Acts 1:3

Acts 1:3 NKJV

3 to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.

In Acts chapter two we hear Peter in the famous sermon on Pentecost quote from Joel chapter two which is related to the establishment of the kingdom and the new covenant.

Acts 2:17

Acts 2:17 NKJV

17 ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams.

He never mentions the new covenant in Acts 2, but the description of what happens at that time is identical to that in the new covenant. So understanding these covenants and their background in terms of God’s message to Israel is critical to understanding what will happen in the initial transition period, especially in the first nine or ten chapters of Acts. By the time we get to chapter ten, the emphasis shifts from Israel to the Gentiles. But in the first nine chapters, the message is still “Repent, and the kingdom will come,” the times of refreshing will come. A lot of the passages we have been programmed to think of as justification passages in Acts 1-8 aren’t really justification passages at all; they are passages addressed to Israel to turn back and accept Jesus as the Messiah. In a broad sense, we can say that they are justification passages. Still, in a strict interpretive framework, they are not really talking about getting saved in phase one; they are talking more about Israel turning back to God to experience the fullness of the blessing God promised with the coming of the Messiah and the establishment of the kingdom.

The transition between Peter and Paul

We see this transition in Acts as we move from Peter to Paul. There are similarities between Paul and Peter and what God the Holy Spirit is showing us is what authenticated Peter in his ministry as the representative of the disciples in the first part of the book of Acts are duplicated by the Holy Spirit in the apostle Paul in the second part of Acts, showing that Peter and Paul imitated each other in terms of the miracles that they performed, in terms of the various ministries that they performed, and in terms of the messages that they proclaimed. There is no competition or debate, as it were, between Peter and Paul. Peter is primarily the apostle to the Jews, but in that ministry, most Jews reject Jesus as Messiah, so the ministry shifts to the Gentiles, and God raises a new person to be the point man for the Gentiles. That is the apostle Paul. So the book pretty much ignores all the other apostles; the only two emphasized are Peter and Paul, even though there is a brief mention of John and James.

Peter is the central figure in the first twelve chapters. Paul is introduced at the end of chapter seven, and then he undergoes his conversion, but Peter remains the central figure in the first twelve chapters. There is a major sermon on the day of Pentecost in Acts chapter two, and there is a second event in chapter three when he, accompanied by John, commands a lame man to walk. Then there is another sermon. It is Peter who addresses the Sanhedrin in Acts chapter four; it is Peter who explains why Ananias and Saphira are disciplined by God the Holy Spirit with the immediate sin unto death in chapter five. He performs many miracles. People who needed to be healed, if they just got into his shadow expressing faith, were healed—chapter nine. It is through Peter and John that the Samaritan believers are initiated into the church; it is not a separate, distinct act. The Holy Spirit doesn’t come upon the Samaritan believers until Peter and John are present, showing a unity between that beginning and the events on the day of Pentecost. Peter heals the paralyzed Aeneas in chapter nine, raises Dorcas from the dead in chapter ten, and then initiates taking the gospel to Cornelius (the first to take the gospel to the Gentiles) in chapter ten. Then he goes back to Jerusalem, reports to the church there, and that lays the groundwork for taking the gospel to the Gentiles.

Paul, in his miracles, mirrors the events in Peter's life. He also heals a cripple in chapter fourteen. In like ways, Peter, through his shadow, Paul, with his clothes, someone touches his garment and is healed. Paul has an encounter with a sorcerer, as Peter did with Simon the sorcerer. He is also involved in the restoration of the ministry to the Gentiles through his three missionary journeys, and he is miraculously released from prison in Philippi in chapter sixteen. All of these events demonstrate Paul's credentials as an apostle and that he is the one who takes the ministry from Peter; so we see this transition again.

Understanding dispensations and the book of Acts

The first thing we have to address is the question: What is a dispensation? We may not realize it, but dispensationalists are sort of the whipping boys in the theological community out there, and even in the political community.

Dispensationalism is a theological system that derives from the specific, consistent, literal interpretation of Scripture. The word “dispensation” isn’t used that much in the more modern translations—NIV, ESV, and so on. Usually they translate the Greek word oikodomeo [o)kodomew] or its equivalents with the word “administration” or “stewardship.” They don’t use the word “dispensation,” which had these same ideas, but it is more of an old English word. The root meaning of the Greek word is 'economy' or 'period of administration'. So it views history as God administering it, or as God ruling over history through various administrations defined by Him.

A dispensation is a distinct and identifiable administration in the development of God’s plan and purposes in history. In other words, there are specific characteristics of each period of time based on what God told man, how God told man to worship Him, and various things that were a part of the revelation.

Even many covenantalists and those in replacement theology believe to some degree in dispensations. They realize that something is different between the Old Testament way in which people came to God and the way people come to God after Jesus Christ. Dispensationalists, i.e., scholars within dispensationalism, have defined it in different ways. Dispensational theology didn’t become focused and clearly articulated until the early nineteenth century. We might say the father of modern dispensational theology was John Nelson Darby. He influenced a number of people via his writings, one of whom was C.I. Scofield, who had been a highly decorated soldier in the Confederate Army, afterwards became a lawyer and a drunk, and then heard the gospel and was saved. He entered the ministry and was finally influenced by a Presbyterian pastor in St. Louis named Brookes, one of the early dispensationalists. Scofield was famous for writing a study Bible that was very popular, and through it, people came to understand dispensationalism. He defined a dispensation as a period of time during which man is tested in respect of obedience to some specific revelation of the will of God.

A dispensation is distinct and identifiable; there are specific characteristics, and things God says to do. For example, under the Mosaic law, there are specific instructions on how to worship God, what kinds of sacrifices to bring, dietary laws, and related matters. Then, after Jesus dies on the cross, Peter has a vision in Acts 10 where God lowers a tablecloth from heaven, where all these unclean animals and food are laid out, because all of that was forbidden under the Mosaic law as unclean. Peter received the message that what God declared clean was now clean. So there was obviously a shift in what could be done, what God mandated in the Old Testament, and what was now legitimate and admissible in the New Testament. That is why these administrations are distinct, but there are tests regarding the revelation that God gives.

Another British man who was highly influential in the early 19th century was Graham Scroggie. He defined “dispensation” in terms of the Greek word oikonomia – it “bears one significance and means an administration, whether of a house, or property, a state or a nation; or, as in the present study, the administration of the human race or any part of it at any given time.” Notice “any part of it.” There’s a shift that occurs in Genesis 12 with Abraham. What if you were a believer like Job was living before Abraham, and he is living somewhere else? Or what God is telling Abraham didn’t get to Job? How do we factor that in? These are differences. For most of the population during the time of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, they didn’t have any idea what God was doing through these three guys. They are living off in Europe or down in Africa or over in India or China and have no idea God has called this wandering shepherd over in the Middle East to be the one through whom He is going to bless all the nations of the earth. It is really important to understand that aspect of the definition he provides, or any part of it at any given time. “Just as any parent would govern his household in different ways according to varying necessity, yet ever for one good end, so God has at different times dealt with men in different ways according to the necessity of the case, but throughout for one great, grand end.”

Charles Ryrie wrote a book called “Dispensationalism,” which is probably the best single-volume work in dispensational theology today. He identified a dispensation as “a distinguishable economy in the outworking of God’s purposes.”

A closely-connected but not interchangeable word is “age.” Age picks up a time factor. Dispensation itself doesn’t mean time; it just means administration. God manages the entirety of human history as a household, moving humanity through sequential stages of His administration, determined by the level of revelation He has provided to that point. That is important because we have to understand that there is progress in revelation. Abraham knew more than Noah did; David knew more than Abraham did; Paul knew more than David did; John knew more than Paul did, especially in the area of eschatology. So there is progress in revelation down through time until the canon is closed. Especially, each time there is a covenant shift or an additional covenant, something new is required and expected by God of a particular part of humanity.

In conclusion, each administering period is characterized by a revelation that specifies responsibilities, a test regarding those responsibilities, failure to pass the test (which occurs in every dispensation), and God’s gracious solution when failure occurs.

A dispensationalist is not simply someone who believes that God operates in different ways at different time periods in history. So what makes a dispensationalist a dispensationalist? What is the key element that makes a person a dispensationalist as opposed to replacement theology? That’s really all there is.

What happens these days is that people want to create a boogey-monster out of the Roman Catholic Church and their extreme Christian anti-Semitism in the Middle Ages, and say that is real replacement theology. But the guys down at the Reformed Baptist Church who are into covenant theology and the guys who are reconstructionists and preterists are just as much into replacement theology as anybody else; they just try to disavow the bad side. The issue is if you believe that God’s promises to Israel in the Old Testament are not going to be fulfilled in the future to Israel, then you have replaced Israel with the church, and what the Jews are doing really doesn’t matter; what is going on in Israel really doesn’t matter.

Ryrie asked the question: What makes a dispensationalist a dispensationalist? He came up with three things:

a) a consistent, literal interpretation [the normal plain meaning of language] applied equally to all Scripture against spiritualizing or allegorizing portions of the text, especially in relation to prophecy, Israel and the church;

b) there is a consistent distinction in the Scriptures between God’s plan and purposes for Israel and the physical ethnic descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and God’s plan and purposes for the church—which is something that is new, something which comes into existence in Acts 2 on the day of Pentecost; that is the church, the body of Christ; it comes into effect only after the cross. It does not replace Israel; the church will be removed from history at some point in the future, and God will finish out His plan for the nation of Israel.

c) The overriding purpose of history is to bring glory to God.

In covenantal theology, God’s purpose is salvation. The problem with that is, what do you do with the angels? That is why in Reformed theology, in Calvinistic theology, very little was said until the 20th century, about spiritual warfare, about the angels, or about demons. Because they don’t get saved, so they don’t fit into God’s plan and purpose for the earth, this is a significant flaw in their theology. Another problem is that they don’t really understand the ministry of God the Holy Spirit. Up until the 20th century and the pressure of the Pentecostal movement, which finally forced Reformed theologians to wake up and realize, Golly gee, there is a third person mentioned throughout the New Testament, and He does seem to have something to do with the spiritual life (and they still don’t know what). For them, the church existed from Adam; it didn’t start in Acts 2.

The essence of dispensationalism, then, is the distinction between Israel and the church, which grows out of a consistent, plain interpretation and reflects the basic purpose of God in His dealings with man in ultimate glory.

====

Handout Outline Notes

=====

Outline Notes: Historical Accuracy of Acts

I. Background: Enlightenment & Biblical Criticism

Enlightenment reaction against Roman Catholic authority.

Misportrayal: “reason vs. religion” → actually competing forms of reason.

Influence of Platonism & Aristotelianism distorted medieval theology.

Rediscovery of manuscripts + printing press → Renaissance revival of sources.

Northern Europe turned to Scripture; authority of Rome challenged.

Rise of secular humanism → rejection of external authority, questioning biblical accuracy.

18th–19th century liberalism: denied miracles, authorship, deity, resurrection; treated Bible as fallible.

II. Attacks on Luke & Acts

Enlightenment/liberal scholars claimed Luke inaccurate.

Documentary hypothesis applied to Pentateuch; similar skepticism toward Acts.

Late 19th–20th century archaeology disproved many liberal claims.

William Ramsay validated Luke’s accuracy through archaeology and historical research.

III. Luke’s Historical Accuracy

Correct use of provincial titles and political terms.

Accurate geography and cultural references.

Examples:

Cyprus: proconsul title correct.

Philippi: Roman colony status correct.

Thessalonica: unique term politarches confirmed by inscriptions.

Malta: “chief man” title accurate.

Ephesus: government organization correctly described.

Conclusion: Luke wrote mid 1st century, not later.

IV. The Herods in Acts

Herod the Great (37–4 BC): accomplished but paranoid; executed sons; kingdom divided.

Herod Archelaus: ethnarch, brutal, deposed.

Herod Antipas (Galilee/Perea): ruled until AD 39; executed John the Baptist; exiled.

Herod Philip: tetrarch, minor role.

Herod Agrippa I (AD 39–44): Acts 12; messianic aura; struck down by God.

Herod Agrippa II: Acts 25; Paul’s gospel defense before him.

V. Growth of the Church in Acts (Progress Reports)

Acts 2:47 — daily additions in Jerusalem.

Acts 6:7 — priests obedient to the faith.

Acts 9:31 — peace, growth in Judea, Galilee, Samaria.

Acts 12:24 — Word multiplied.

Acts 16:5 — churches strengthened, increasing daily.

Acts 19:20 — Word grew mightily.

Acts 28:31 — preaching kingdom of God unhindered.

VI. Structure of Acts

Key verse: Acts 1:8 — witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea/Samaria, ends of earth.

Divisions:

Jerusalem (1:1–6:7).

Judea & Samaria (6:8–12:25).

Ends of earth (9:32–28:31).

Holy Spirit authenticates, empowers, directs witness.

Prologue (Acts 1:1–3): Jesus’ resurrection proofs, teaching on kingdom of God.

Addressed to Theophilus, likely a real patron.

Luke’s style consistent with 1st century historiography.

====

Historical Accuracy of Acts

There was a shift in Biblical scholarship, with the groundwork laid during the Enlightenment, when there was a reaction to the authority of the Roman Catholic Church. In Enlightenment thinking, the Middle Ages were often referred to as the Dark Ages because they were seen as intellectually dark. It was not a time of intellectual darkness; in terms of the Enlightenment philosophers, it was intellectually dark because of what they considered the church's teaching. Often this is misportrayed in history classes as a struggle between reason and religion, and it is not. It was a struggle between two different kinds of reason. What really shaped, twisted, or distorted the teaching of the Bible and theology in the Middle Ages was the influence first of Platonism and then the influence of Aristotelianism. Both philosophers and theologians became enamored with Greek thought, and it was within the framework of Platonism and Aristotelianism that theology and the Bible were interpreted. That led to a certain amount of superstition and distortions of biblical teaching.

End of Second Service

Sunday, January 18, 2026

Good Morning:

Prayer Request Updates

Silent Prayer - Grace Recovery

Scripture reading

Scripture Reading:

Luke 1:1-4

Luke 1:1–4 NKJV

1 Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, 3 it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus, 4 that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.

Acts 1:1-3

Acts 1:1–3 NKJV

1 The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, 2 until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, 3 to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.

2 Peter 1:16

2 Peter 1:16 NKJV

16 For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty.

John 19:35

John 19:35 NKJV

35 And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe.

Psalm 119:160

Psalm 119:160 NKJV

160 The entirety of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.

We continue our review of

Acts in the Flow of Historic Thought

====

Handout Outline Notes

=====

Outline Notes: Historical Accuracy of Acts

I. Background: Enlightenment & Biblical Criticism

Enlightenment reaction against Roman Catholic authority.

Misportrayal: “reason vs. religion” → actually competing forms of reason.

Influence of Platonism & Aristotelianism distorted medieval theology.

Rediscovery of manuscripts + printing press → Renaissance revival of sources.

Northern Europe turned to Scripture; authority of Rome challenged.

Rise of secular humanism → rejection of external authority, questioning biblical accuracy.

18th–19th century liberalism: denied miracles, authorship, deity, resurrection; treated Bible as fallible.

II. Attacks on Luke & Acts

Enlightenment/liberal scholars claimed Luke inaccurate.

Documentary hypothesis applied to Pentateuch; similar skepticism toward Acts.

Late 19th–20th century archaeology disproved many liberal claims.

William Ramsay validated Luke’s accuracy through archaeology and historical research.

III. Luke’s Historical Accuracy

Correct use of provincial titles and political terms.

Accurate geography and cultural references.

Examples:

Cyprus: proconsul title correct.

Philippi: Roman colony status correct.

Thessalonica: unique term politarches confirmed by inscriptions.

Malta: “chief man” title accurate.

Ephesus: government organization correctly described.

Conclusion: Luke wrote mid 1st century, not later.

IV. The Herods in Acts

Herod the Great (37–4 BC): accomplished but paranoid; executed sons; kingdom divided.

Herod Archelaus: ethnarch, brutal, deposed.

Herod Antipas (Galilee/Perea): ruled until AD 39; executed John the Baptist; exiled.

Herod Philip: tetrarch, minor role.

Herod Agrippa I (AD 39–44): Acts 12; messianic aura; struck down by God.

Herod Agrippa II: Acts 25; Paul’s gospel defense before him.

V. Growth of the Church in Acts (Progress Reports)

Acts 2:47 — daily additions in Jerusalem.

Acts 6:7 — priests obedient to the faith.

Acts 9:31 — peace, growth in Judea, Galilee, Samaria.

Acts 12:24 — Word multiplied.

Acts 16:5 — churches strengthened, increasing daily.

Acts 19:20 — Word grew mightily.

Acts 28:31 — preaching kingdom of God unhindered.

VI. Structure of Acts

Key verse: Acts 1:8 — witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea/Samaria, ends of earth.

Divisions:

Jerusalem (1:1–6:7).

Judea & Samaria (6:8–12:25).

Ends of earth (9:32–28:31).

Holy Spirit authenticates, empowers, directs witness.

Prologue (Acts 1:1–3): Jesus’ resurrection proofs, teaching on kingdom of God.

Addressed to Theophilus, likely a real patron.

Luke’s style consistent with 1st century historiography.

====

Historical Accuracy of Acts

Acts: A Historically Tested Book

Why Luke’s accuracy matters in a skeptical age

There was a shift in Biblical scholarship, with the groundwork laid during the Enlightenment, when there was a reaction to the authority of the Roman Catholic Church.

In Enlightenment thinking, the Middle Ages were often referred to as the Dark Ages because they were seen as intellectually dark. It was not a time of intellectual darkness; in terms of the Enlightenment philosophers, it was intellectually dark because of what they considered the church's teaching. Often this is misportrayed in history classes as a struggle between reason and religion, and it is not.

It was a struggle between two different kinds of reason.

Medieval Framework (Very Brief)

“Before the Renaissance: Theology in Greek Categories”

Platonism → allegory

Aristotelianism → scholasticism

Scripture filtered through philosophy

Result: distortions + superstition

What really shaped, twisted, or distorted the teaching of the Bible and theology in the Middle Ages was the influence first of Platonism and then the influence of Aristotelianism. Both philosophers and theologians became enamored with Greek thought, and it was within the framework of Platonism and Aristotelianism that theology and the Bible were interpreted. That led to a certain amount of superstition and distortions of biblical teaching. The issue in the Middle Ages wasn’t simply that theologians “used philosophy.” The deeper problem — from a Bible framework — is that they imported pagan metaphysics into the structure of Christian doctrine, violating the Creator–creature distinction and replacing biblical categories with autonomous human reasoning. The Root Problem is a Wrong Starting Point, which is a wrong Framework: that denies the Creator–Creature Distinction.

Platonism and Aristotelianism both begin with autonomous human reason trying to interpret reality without divine revelation.

Once that starting point is accepted, the entire interpretive structure becomes distorted. Because, if you start with the wrong presuppositions, you will end with the wrong theology. In Platonismwe find that Spiritual–Material Dualism Undermines Biblical Categories

Platonism introduced:

• a hierarchy of being instead of Creator vs. creature

• a denigration of the physical world

• a tendency toward allegorical interpretation

• a mystical, non‑historical view of God’s actions

This produced:

• sacramental mysticism

• monastic withdrawal

• allegorical exegesis that ignored the text

• a loss of the biblical emphasis on real space‑time history

As a result Platonism dissolves the historical backbone of Scripture.

Aristotelianism brought us the Autonomous Rational System That Replaced Revelation. It was a return to the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Aristotle brought:

• a closed, cause‑and‑effect universe

• natural law without the Creator’s personal involvement

• a rationalistic system imposed on Scripture

• the idea that theology must fit a philosophical grid

This produced:

• scholasticism

• the elevation of “natural theology” over biblical revelation

• the idea that reason judges revelation

• a drift toward works‑based soteriology

Aristotelianism subordinates revelation to human logic.

The Result of the incursion of Platonic and Aristotelean thought is a Pagan Framework Wrapped in Christian Vocabulary

When the church borrows pagan thought forms, it ends up with:

• Christian words

• pagan meanings

This is exactly what happened:

• “grace” became a substance instead of God’s unmerited favor

• “faith” became intellectual assent rather than trust in God’s promise

• “salvation” became infused righteousness rather than forensic justification or imputed righteousness

• “church” became a sacramental institution rather than the Body of Christ

The Bible was still quoted — but interpreted inside a Greek philosophical box.

This change in resources and perspective caused the Church to essentially lose a thousand years of adherence to the Biblical standard and orientation to Scripture. We shunned our Jewish and Old Testament roots for a paganized sham. With some noteworthy exceptions

God preserves a remnant.

Even in the medieval period, there were:

• faithful exegetes

• literal interpreters

• pockets of biblical clarity

• movements that resisted philosophical intrusion

But they were exceptions, not the norm.

The dominant system was Greek philosophy baptized into Christian terminology.

So, Why does This Matters for Acts?

Acts is a book of space‑time historical events.

It records:

• real geography

• real political structures

• real eyewitness testimony

• real miracles in real history

Platonism and Aristotelianism both erode the historical character of Scripture:

• Platonism spiritualizes it

• Aristotelianism rationalizes it

If you lose biblical history, you lose biblical authority.

This is why Enlightenment critics attacked Acts — and why archaeology’s vindication of Luke is so important.

Next we come to the shift of the renaissance.

The Renaissance Shift

“Back to the Sources” Ad Fontes

Rediscovery of Greek & Hebrew manuscripts

Printing press spreads original‑language Bibles

Monastic libraries flee into Europe with manuscripts

Northern Renaissance —>> Scripture, not Plato

When Western civilization rediscovered the original-language manuscripts of the Bible, it led to a study of the original.

And at the same time—late 1400s—the combination of the printing press and the ability to mass produce Bibles in Greek texts, plus the invasion into Europe of the Muslim hordes, caused the monasteries that were in the areas which had the treasures of ancient MSS and scrolls to gather them up and flee into Europe. Things that had been hidden away in monastic libraries for literally a thousand years or so suddenly came to light.

This was part of the Renaissance: In southern Europe, the Renaissance drove scholars to consult the sources of Aristotle and Plato through the Greek and Roman writers.

But in central and northern Europe, especially Germany, Switzerland, and France, it drove them to the sources of the Scripture.

That is what caused genuine revival; that is what brought light into darkness. But it also brought about the overthrow of the authority of the Roman Catholic Church.

The Reformation Consequence

Authority of Scripture Restored

Sola Scriptura

Biblical languages revived

Church authority questioned

Light replaces medieval distortion

This recovery of original‑language texts set the stage for renewed confidence in Scripture — a confidence later challenged by Enlightenment skepticism, especially in historical books like Acts.

The Enlightenment Reaction

Throwing Off All Authority

Not reason vs. religion

Reason vs. two kinds of reason

Secular humanism emerges

External authority rejected

Once the authority that had really dominated everybody and kept everything under control for over a thousand years in Western Europe began to be questioned and thrown off, some really weren’t interested in being under God's authority either, so they became independent.

They were the forerunners of modern secular humanists. They became Enlightenment thinkers seeking absolute truth, paying no attention to the Bible and rejecting any external authority. That led to a questioning of Biblical accuracy.

Rise of Skepticism

Can God Speak? Enlightenment Says No.

Miracles denied

Revelation denied

Scripture treated as human literature

Historical books attacked first

So, starting in the late 1600s and early 1700s, there were these Enlightenment thinkers who assumed that God certainly couldn’t communicate with people. That took root and eventually flowered in the early nineteenth century, giving birth to what has become known as nineteenth-century European Protestant liberalism.

It has affected everything, so that today, when we think of Presbyterian theology, Methodist theology, or even Judaism, we see its influence.

Presbyterian and Methodist theology is not today what it was 130 years ago. Everything changed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and among Protestants, that was called the fundamentalist-modernist movement.

Modernists, for those who rejected Biblical authority, rejected miracles, rejected Pauline authorship as much as they could, rejected the deity of Christ, rejected the literal resurrection of Christ, all on the presupposition that the Bible is just a fallible human book written by fallible human beings. There is no such thing as God inspiring an inerrant and infallible Scripture. Fundamentalists were simply conservative Christians defending historic orthodoxy.

They affirmed:

• the inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture

• the virgin birth

• the deity of Christ

• the substitutionary atonement

• the bodily resurrection

• the literal second coming

• the historical accuracy of Scripture (including Acts)

They insisted that Christianity must be defined by Scripture, not by Enlightenment philosophy.

Part of that was an attack on both the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts for supposedly being historically inaccurate in various places.

19th‑Century Liberalism

The Flowering of Skepticism

Documentary hypothesis

Denial of Pauline authorship

Denial of miracles

Denial of Christ’s deity & resurrection

Acts & Luke targeted as unreliable

Archaeology Enters the Scene

The 19th‑Century Surprise

Excavations explode

Ancient inscriptions discovered

Administrative titles recovered

Geography clarified

Liberal assumptions collapse

But those attacks made in the late 1700s and the early 1800s, even though they gave rise to an anti-Biblical theological system, had their foundational ideas disproved by historical and archaeological discoveries in the late 19th century and into the 20th century.

Nevertheless, those liberal ideas had taken hold, and people still would teach them. There was the documentary hypothesis about the multiple documents behind the Pentateuch, which was clearly disproved by archeology and the discovery and analysis of many ancient documents in the early 20th century. Yet you can still go to university and be taught this as fact by many historians.

Enter Sir William Ramsay

The Skeptic Who Changed His Mind

Began as a critic

Traveled Asia Minor

Compared Acts to inscriptions

Concluded Luke was a first‑rate historian

Luke’s accuracy as a historian was challenged throughout the 1700s and 1800s. But there was a scholar by the name of Sir William Ramsey who was one of the early archeologists and historians and theologians who did a tremendous amount of work, especially in the area of Greece and what is now Turkey, to validate the history that we have in Luke and Acts, and to validate the fact that Luke was exactly right in the way he wrote things. Sir Ramsey was an Archaeologist, Historian, and Classical Scholar. The man set out to disprove Acts — and ended up defending it.

Born in Scotland, educated at Aberdeen and Oxford. He trained in classical studies, ancient geography, and archaeology, specialized in Asia Minor (which is modern Turkey), and was initially influenced by German higher criticism, and so began his career skeptical of the New Testament, especially Luke’s history of Acts. Ramsay fully expected archaeology to disprove Luke.

Ramsay spent over 30 years traveling, excavating, and mapping:

• Asia Minor

• Greece

• Cyprus

• Galatia

• Lycaonia

• Phrygia

• Pisidia

• The Roman roads and cities of Paul’s journeys

He was one of the first scholars to walk the routes of Paul with inscriptions, coins, civic records, and geography in hand.

His fieldwork was exhaustive and firsthand — not armchair theorizing.

As Ramsay compared Acts to:

inscriptions

civic titles

provincial boundaries

Roman administrative structures

ancient road systems

local terminology

geography

…he discovered that Luke was consistently accurate — often in ways no 2nd‑century writer could possibly know.

Ramsay famously concluded:

“Luke is a historian of the first rank.”

“You may press the words of Luke in a degree beyond any other historian.”

Examples of Luke’s Accuracy

Luke Gets the Details Right

Politarchs in Thessalonica

Proconsul in Cyprus

Philippi as Roman colony

“Chief man” (PROTOS) of Malta

Ephesus civic structure (ASIARCHS)

Correct geography & travel routes

For example, when he refers to certain provinces in Asia Minor, he uses the correct terms and those appropriate to his period. The terms for leaders, government officials, and similar positions would change. Those who were rulers in Thessalonica used different terms than those that were used in Athens, and those were different from the terms that were used in Corinth. Maybe 100 years earlier, they were different, and 200 years later, they were different, but the terms Luke uses in Acts were accurately correct for that time period. His geography is correct. All of the things that he refers to just as an aside reflect the culture, the history, the geography, the politics, and the administration of this period of time, and have clearly been demonstrated to be accurate, so that no legitimate scholar today doubts or questions the historicity of either the Gospel or the book of Acts. Luke has it right, and it has been demonstrated.

Why This Matters

Acts Could Not Be a 2nd‑Century Forgery

Administrative terms changed over time

Geography changed

Political boundaries changed

Only a first‑century eyewitness could know these details

The author of Acts was acquainted with the various political arrangements in the provinces covered in the narration of Paul’s missionary journeys. When Paul was in Cyprus, the proconsul was in charge, and although there had been many changes in a brief period, Luke used the correct title when describing the proconsul. Philippi is accurately described as a Roman colony in Acts. This was when Paul was thrown into prison, and the next day, he emphasized that he was a Roman citizen. If that city was a Roman colony and he was a Roman citizen, then how they treated him was entirely outside the law, and that meant they could be brought up on charges and executed for treating a Roman citizen in such a manner. In Thessalonica, the unusual term politarches [politarxej] is used. That term was not used anywhere else in the entire Roman empire, but evidence now shows that that is what the rulers in Thessalonica were called. In Malta, the ruler is called “chief man,” but the Greek term used is accurate for that period. Also, at Ephesus, there are correct references to the local government organization. All of this is to show that when Luke talked about the rulers, the different terms he used, and the ways he described the geography and travels, accurately reflect what we have learned about that time through archaeology, scriptural evidence, and historical writings. Luke shows that he genuinely is a man of that era. Luke could not have been written in the second century after Christ, because conditions were very different then, so it must have been written in the middle of the first century.

The Verdict of Scholarship

No Serious Scholar Doubts Luke’s Accuracy Today

Attacks disproven

Archaeology confirms Luke

Acts stands as reliable history

The Herods

Now we can go on with a look at a major factor in the time of the book of Acts: the Herods

The Herods: The trouble is that the term “Herod,” like Caesar, came to be applied to all of his sons, those of the family, and so it can get a little confusing. Herod the Great, in his youth, really was an incredible, accomplished, educated individual. He had a passion for architecture, and the projects he worked on were just incredible. But he was a man who, as time went by, became erratic, neurotic, psychotic, and paranoid. He believed, with some good reason in some cases, that his sons were all out to kill him so that they could take over the kingdom. To forestall their conspiratorial attempts to overthrow or kill him, he had them executed. Reading the life and times of Herod the Great and his family, as he marries one woman and divorces, and then marries another, would outdo any soap opera on television.

Herod ruled from 37 BC to 4 BC. When he died, his kingdom was divided among his sons. Herod Archelaus, who ruled from 6 BC, is called an ethnarch. Another son, Herod Antipas, is called a tetrarch and is significant in the book of Acts because he reigned until 39 AD. Herod Philip, then tetrarch, is barely involved in the period of Acts and rules only until 34. When Antipas died, he was succeeded by Herod Agrippa I, who ruled from 39-44, and he is specifically mentioned in Acts 12. Herod Agrippa II succeeded him.

Herod the Great was an Idumite, i.e., a descendant of Esau.

The territory of the Idumites is in the south of Judea. In 47 BC, he was appointed governor of Galilee. At the time of his appointment, he got into trouble with the Jewish authorities on several occasions. He was stirring up too much trouble, so the Romans appointed him to be the governor of Syria within a couple of years. In 41 BC, Mark Anthony appointed Herod and his brother to be tetrarchs of Judea. Then, in 40 BC, the Parthians invaded and gained control of Jerusalem. They worked with various rebellious elements among the Jews and caused a revolt to take place. The Parthians came from the area of Persia and Iraq, which was the same area as the old Babylonian empire, made up of the Medes and the Persians. The Parthians were the inheritors of the Medes and the Persians, and one of the Medes' tribes was called the Magi. They had an extensive background in various types of magic, astronomy, and astrology, and it is believed that, because of the use of that term in the Aramaic text of Daniel, Daniel, because of his ability to interpret Nebuchadnezzar's dreams, was made a member of this Magi caste. Later, this caste became so powerful within the basic structure of the Parthian empire that they determined the succession to kingship. So the Magi actually played a significant role in appointing the successive kings in the Parthian empire.

In 40, with Herod in power, this insurrection occurs in Judea, fomented by the Parthians, and he has to flee. They installed Antigonus, one of the leaders of the Maccabean dynasty, as a puppet ruler in Jerusalem. His brother was captured, and before he could be tortured, he committed suicide. Herod took his family to Masada, where he was protected in a fortification, and then he went to Rome for help against the Parthians. He approached Mark Anthony and Octavian Augustus, and they appointed him king of the Jews. They sent him back with the appropriate Roman support, and he eventually succeeded in expelling the Parthians from Judea and Galilee. In the process, thousands of Jews are slaughtered. They are fighting against Herod with the Parthians because they don’t want Rome to dominate them. So this does not make Herod very popular among the Jews.

The succession to Herod was a mess. His sons Alexander and Aristobulus, the sons of Mariamne I, were his favorites. He dotes on them, but as they come to adulthood and have been spoiled, they become a little impatient for his death, so that they could inherit the kingdom, and decide to help nature along a little bit, maybe. They are found guilty of conspiracy to kill him and are executed by strangulation in 7 BC. Antipater is then the one, the son of his first wife Doris, who is brought back from exile, but he grows impatient as well and attempts to poison Herod. But it didn’t go well, and instead, Herod’s other brother drank the poison. Antipater was imprisoned. Herod had to wait for Caesar's permission to execute him. In the meantime, he designated Archelaus as king in his place, then appointed his next son, Antipas, as the tetrarch of Galilee and Perea, and Philip as the tetrarch of the area of Eritrea.

Herod died miserably in 4 BC. He had Antipater executed just a few days before his death. Archelaus and Antipas then go to Rome to dispute the inheritance line. Augustus compromised by making Archelaus the ethnarch—ruler of Idumea, Judea, and Samaria. Antipas is made tetrarch over Galilee and Perea.

Archelaus doesn’t last very long, but he is the worst of Herod’s sons. Before going to Rome to dispute the inheritance with Antipas, he had 3000 killed by putting down a revolution that was led by people who were avenging those his father had killed. He was so brutal that the Jewish authorities sent a delegation to Rome to protest his being appointed as the ethnarch. He further angers the Jews by marrying his half-brother, Alexander’s, widow. And he is so repressive and intolerable that finally, he is removed by the emperor. The birth of Jesus occurred just before 4 BC, and the death of Herod the Great. So, Jesus had to have been born about a year before Herod died.

Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee and Perea, is the ruler through the first nine chapters of the book of Acts. He is the Herod who imprisoned and executed John the Baptist, Mark 6:14-28.

Jesus refers to him as the fox, Luke 13:32.

Luke 13:32

Luke 13:32 NKJV

32 And He said to them, “Go, tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.’

Like his father, he is a gifted architect and administrator. He built the city of Tiberius, which he named for the emperor. His family life and marriages are just about as confusing as his father’s. Initially, he married the daughter of the Nabatean king. Then he divorced her to marry Herodius, the wife of his half-brother Herod Philip. This is the marriage John the Baptist announced as unlawful. This is what eventually led to John losing his head. The Nabatean king wasn’t happy that his daughter had been divorced. He took it as an affront, so he attacked Antipas in AD 36. Antipas was defeated, and this is viewed as divine judgment for the execution of John the Baptist. In AD 39, his nephew Herod Agrippa informed the emperor Caligula that Antipas was plotting against him, and so Antipas was deposed and exiled until his death.

The last significant figure in Acts is Herod Agrippa, also referred to as Herod the king in Acts 12. He is the son of Aristobulus, the grandson of Herod the Great, and following the execution of his father in 7 BC, he grew up in Rome with extremely close ties to the emperor’s family. There was a messianic thought about him. That is important to understand. A lot was going on behind the scenes. There was a sort of messianic aura about Herod Agrippa, and so when he came to take his place as ruler of the kingdom, he was idolized by the people. Acts doesn’t go into much detail on this. Still, it is thought that this is one of the reasons that when the people in Caesarea are idolizing him, and they are shouting that he is like a god, God took him out of the picture at that point because a sort of messiah cult could have developed around him. This is another way God protects the infant church. He had a son, Herod Agrippa II, and two daughters, Berenice (Acts 25:13) and Drusilla. It was to Herod Agrippa that Paul explained the gospel.

Progress through Acts

There are seven progress reports in the book of Acts. In Acts 2:47, we are told that the people who heard Peter’s first sermon on the day of Pentecost were praising God, having favor with all the people, and the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. In Acts chapter seven, the Word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith. So there were many who trusted Jesus as the Messiah.

In Acts 9:31 NASB

Acts 9:31

Acts 9:31 NKJV

31 Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.

So, there are literally tens of thousands of Jewish people being converted. The church was primarily Jewish until the period of the sixties, so for the first thirty years, it was Jewish, and then the gospel went to the Gentile nations via Paul.

Acts 12:24 is the fourth marker.

Acts 12:24

Acts 12:24 NKJV

24 But the word of God grew and multiplied.

The next is in Acts 16:5

Acts 16:5

Acts 16:5 NKJV

5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.

Next, Acts 19:20

Acts 19:20

Acts 19:20 NKJV

20 So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.

Finally, in Acts 28:31,

Acts 28:31

Acts 28:31 NKJV

31 preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him.

Remember Acts 28:31. This is near the end of Acts and is a sort of summary, talking about what is going on. They were preaching the kingdom of God. What does that mean? We must think about that because this idea of the kingdom of God, as we will see, is present from the very beginning.

The key verse in Acts is 1:8 NASB “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” Those three divisions are Jerusalem, 1:1-6:7; Judea and Samaria, 6:8-12:25; to the end of the earth, 9:32-28:31.

In the first section, God the Holy Spirit authenticates, empowers, and directs the apostles’ witness in Jerusalem. God always authenticates what He is doing. Nothing happens in private; God always authenticates with some public validation, the greatest of which is the resurrection.

In Acts 1:3 we are told NASB

Acts 1:3

Acts 1:3 NKJV

3 to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.

There is validation. Jesus gives them confirming empirical evidence that He is alive.

“… appearing to them over {a period of} forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.”

So during those forty days from the resurrection until ten days before the day of Pentecost, Jesus is teaching them about the kingdom of God. Then the last verse in the book of Acts says that, as the church expands, it is teaching about the kingdom of God. So what does that mean? It is very important to understand.

So, God through the Holy Spirit authenticates what He is doing, validates it. He empowers the church through the coming of the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised that not many days from then, they would receive power when the Holy Spirit had come upon them. So, the growth of the church is not a natural phenomenon; it is the result of the work of God the Holy Spirit within the church. The Holy Spirit empowers and directs their witness initially in Jerusalem, as described in the first five chapters. The division in the first two chapters is the birth of the new spiritual entity, the church. At the very beginning is the prologue in the first three verses. Jesus provided convincing evidence of His resurrection and taught the disciples about the kingdom of God.

Acts 1:1

Acts 1:1 NKJV

1 The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,

Here, Luke is just starting a second volume of something he has already started. He is continuing the record of all that had taken place, initially with Jesus in His public ministry up to the resurrection, and now he is going to continue with what happened after the resurrection. In Greek, the second word, which is untranslated, is men [men]. It is often untranslated and is put into a narrative because it is one of those words that, in Greek writing and storytelling, creates an expectation in the reader’s mind that something else is coming. As soon as you see the word, you know that there is more to come; it raises the expectation of ongoing action.

He writes this to Theophilus. This is the same Theophilus that is mentioned in Luke 1:3 – NASB

Luke 1:3

Luke 1:3 NKJV

3 it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus,

He investigated carefully. This is how Luke was; he was a historian. The name Theophilus literally means—Theo from Theos/God; philus from phileo/love—someone who is dear to God or loved by God. Some people think this was a pseudonym for someone high up in Caesar's household. Others think this was just an idealized name for someone, not a particular individual, but for anyone who was a lover of God. But none of this is really necessary. Theophilus was a common name, as attested by documents from the first century. This also fits the style typical of how someone would address a patron, someone who perhaps helped finance them so they could carry on their research and write this kind of book. We see this with Josephus’ writings. At the beginning of his first volume of Against Apion, he addresses the volume to Epaphroditus, whom he refers to as “the most excellent of men.” The second volume of Against Apion is introduced by the words “by means of the former volume, my most honored Epaphroditus, I have demonstrated our antiquities.” So we see that the way Luke begins the book of Acts is very typical of the way things were written at that time. He is going to write about the things that Jesus began both to do and to teach. That was what was in the former account: the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry, the miracles He performed, and what He taught.

Acts 1:2

Acts 1:2 NKJV

2 until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen,

In this verse, to make good sense, it is necessary to rearrange all of the clauses in the Greek. So, to retranslate:

“Until which day He was taken up, He had already [aorist participle] given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen through the Holy Spirit.”

This introduces us to the doctrine of apostleship.