Easter a look into Acts
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Tonight we’re going to look at what happened after the Resurrection… and how does it apply to our lives…
We’ll be looking at Luke’s account…
Luke wrote a Gospel and he also wrote Acts… [pause]
I’m going to read the entire chapter of Luke 24…
And from there we will go through at a high speed sections… in order…
We’ll break this down into many mini “so what’s” [pause]
We’re going to do this is a scientific type of way… using because clauses… [pause]
My 9th grade biology teacher had us write because then statements…
What that is… you write because this one thing is true… then the result is…
It’s a formal structure… where you are linking a cause to a specific logical outcome… [pause]
We’re going to go through this…
Because Jesus is alive….
We should do this…. [pause]
Let’s read to get the full account of Resurrection Sunday from Luke… and we’ll go a bit quicker from there…
The 24thchapter of Luke… [pause]
Luke 24
The Resurrection
1But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. [pause]
2And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, [pause]
3but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
4While they were perplexed about this, behold, [pause] two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. [pause]
5And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground,
the men said to them, [pause]
“Why do you seek the living among the dead? [pause]
6He is not here, but has risen. [pause]
Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” [pause]
8And they remembered his words, [pause]
9and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. [pause]
10Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, 11but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. [pause]
12But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves;
and he went home marveling at what had happened. [pause]
On the Road to Emmaus
13That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem,
14and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. [pause]
15While they were talking and discussing together, [pause] Jesus himself drew near and went with them. 16But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.
[pause] 17And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” [pause]
And they stood still, looking sad. [pause]
18Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, [pause]
“Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” [pause]
19And he said to them, “What things?”
And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, [pause] a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people,
20and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. [pause]
21But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. [pause]
22Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, 23and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. [pause]
24Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” [pause]
25And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! [pause]
26Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” [pause]
27And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. [pause]
28So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, 29but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.”
So he went in to stay with them. [pause]
30When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them.
31And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight.
32They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” [pause]
33And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 34saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” [pause]
35Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread. [pause]
Jesus Appears to His Disciples
36As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!”
37But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit.
38And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? [pause]
39See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”
40And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?”
42They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43and he took it and ate before them. [pause]
44Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, [pause]
that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” [pause]
45Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,
46and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, [pause]
47and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. [pause]
48You are witnesses of these things.
49And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” [pause]
The Ascension
50And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. [pause]
51While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven.
52And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, [pause] 53and were continually in the temple blessing God. [pause]
Because Jesus is alive,
We should seek Him
Luke 24:5b-6a
“Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6He is not here, but has risen.
We must seek Jesus…
First we must seek Him initially… which all of us have done…
If we do not seek Jesus and we do not come to Him for our salvation… we would still have a resurrection body…
But we would not be raised to heaven… rather we would be lowered into the depths of hell… [pause]
Number 1… we must seek Jesus for salvation.. for eternal life…
Number 2… and this is one I’m constantly struggling with…
We must seek Him daily and throughout the day… [pause]
The best way to live our lives is to live in such a way where we are completely dependent on Jesus and we are in constant communication with Him… [pause]
We want to have an open line of communication… like a walkie-talkie type of a deal… [pause] talking to God throughout the day informally…
“thank You Lord that I didn’t hit that car” or “help me Lord with patience right now…” [pause]
At the same time you want to have formal times set aside for prayer…
Where you go to a certain place or at a certain time you pray into specific situations…
Or just sit quiet before the Lord…
And all of that… you want to couple and pair with Bible reading… [pause]
You want to search the Scriptures…. Because there you have opportunity to meet with the Lord… [pause]
Number 2…
Because Jesus is alive,
We should store up His Words in our hearts and minds [pause]
Luke 24:8
8And they remembered his words [pause]
? where do we find His Words?
The Bible… and all of the Bible…
We’re going to see in a minute that all of the Old Testament is about Jesus… [pause]
And by the way…
Every other activity that we are going to go through tonight… is a practical way to do number 1… a practical way to seek Jesus… [pause]
How do we do this…
Two big things…
Be in the Bible consistently… And… memorize verses in the Bible… [pause]
If that sounds intimidating… just start small… you can start with the shortest verse in the Bible… Jesus wept…
Even having just that 1 short verse in the Bible memorized and stored up in your heart… that will help you in times of sorrow because that verse reminds you that Jesus cares about your sorrow and He enters into your sorrow and He weeps with you…
He is not a God that stands far off in pain and sorrow… but rather is a God who draws near.. comes close… and enters into pain and sorrow…
Start with “Jesus wept”… and I’m purposefully not including chapter and verse… because for practical use… that’s not most important
Just knowing some of these verses and what they say- that’s more important than the address… the chapter number and verse number… [pause]
Number 3…
Because Jesus is alive,
We should tell others
Luke 24:9
9and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. [pause]
Jesus is alive… He is a live right now in heaven and He is alive in our hearts…
We must tell others…
Those who are willing to hear… we must tell with our words…
Everyone else… we must tell with the way that we live our lives…
The joy and contentment we have… even when earthly things in our life are upside down and everything around us is falling apart…
We still have a joy in us… we respond in a different way… [pause]
Our love is genuine… our care is earnest…
Our motives are honest… and our words are kind [pause]
And to truthfully have each of those play out… we will need to be constantly connected to Christ through prayer… and
We will need to be constantly and consistently listening to the Holy Spirit and submitting to Him… [pause]
Number 4…
Because Jesus is alive,
We are not limited by earthly titles, positions or restrictions
Luke 24:10
10Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles
It was women who were the first eye-witnesses to the resurrection
? why is that important? [pause]
Because women in the first century we’re treated as second class citizens..
Officially… by both Jews and Romans… women were not even allowed to testify in court…
Society back then viewed women as untrust-worthy… [pause]
So this is a great apologetic…. Apologetic is a fancy word that just means evidence or reason…
This is a great apologetic for the Resurrection and truth of the Gospels…
All 4 Gospels tell the same story…
That the most important news in the history of mankind was to be carried by these women…
Who were in no position to give a testimony…
Back in first century… No one in their right mind would make up a story… and the most important detail would be carried by the testimony of a woman…
So this detail is telling us that the Gospel writers were righting the truth… [pause]
The Gospel accounts tell us that these women…
Despite their position in society… both Jewish and Gentile society…
Despite their earthly title as women…
Despite the earthly restrictions that they were not allowed to testify in human courts of law…
they were told to bear testify to what they had seen and heard… [pause]
You might not feel adequate to share the Gospel…
You might not feel like you know enough…
You might feel you don’t have what it takes to serve in a specific way…
You might feel you don’t have the words to pray outloud with someone…
Well… it doesn’t matter…
Above all else… follow the prompting and guiding of the Holy Spirit [pause]
That doesn’t necessarily mean you need to launch a Bible study…
But it does mean if you are feeling called to launch a Bible study… and you’re receiving confirmation from other people or circumstances to do so…
Then you need to pray about that… and you need to listen and obey the Lord… [pause]
Our first study… some of you guys already know what I’m about to say because I’ve shared it often…
I was challenged by Pastor Todd Peters to start a Bible study… this Bible study…
The first night… in the time leading up to the study… before the first person logged in…
I was honestly hoping that no one would log in- because I felt so inadequate to teach… and so intimidated by the idea of teaching God’s Word… [pause]
But in the end… and I’m often not a great example to follow… but for this one time…
Just obey the Holy Spirit and His guiding… [pause]
I can’t put into words how blessed I have been from our Wednesday night study and seeing the Lord move in my life and move in your lives… [pause]
You are not limited by your earthly position
? why?
Because of your position in the Lord… [pause]
You are a child of the Most High God… [pause] and if He calls you into something- [pause] He will provide for you everything you need to accomplish that which He has called you to accomplish… [pause] [pause]
Number 5…
Because Jesus is alive,
We should praise Him and love Him greatly
Luke 24:12
12But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves;
and he went home marveling at what had happened. [pause]
That word marveling… you can see the Greek on the screen…
It’s “Thou-Maz-On”
It means to wonder at… to praise… to esteem…
To love greatly… [pause]
? Why should we love Jesus greatly because of the resurrection?
Well…
Over the last couple of years as we have been going through Matthew… there have been countless times each of you has been touched by His Words…
You’ve been encouraged and comforted and loved by the Words Jesus has spoken to us…
The resurrection is what proves that Jesus is Who He claimed to be… [pause]
Because it proves that Jesus is actually the Messiah…
It proves that Jesus is God…
It also proves that those words which have encouraged our hearts are also true… [pause]
It proves that the moment we leave these earthly bodies we will be with the Lord…
Because that’s what the Bible says…
It proves that we will have resurrection bodies… and that because we put our faith in Christ… [pause] our resurrection bodies will be with Him in an eternal and everlasting heaven… [pause]
It proves that we have been forgiven of all of our sin at the Cross…
And that we have been made right with God… through Jesus… [pause]
That leads us to Praise Him… and to love Him greatly… [pause]
Play Gary Habermas 4 proofs Jesus is God 0:18-4:24
Poll Results
Because Jesus is alive,
He is the Messiah promised in the Old Testament
Luke 24:27
27And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
Peter and Paul quote Psalm 16 that the Messiah would be raised from the dead…
Hosea chapter 6 from the Old Testament tells us Messiah would be raised on the 3rd day…
Isaiah 53 tells us Messiah would make an offering for sin… dying… yet continuing to live forever…
? How do you die… and then live forever?
Resurrection… [pause]
Number 7…
Because Jesus is alive,
A fire for Christ burns brightly in our inner-man
Luke 24:32
32They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road,
while he opened to us the Scriptures?” [pause]
That last part is key…
You want that flame for the Lord to grow inside of your soul…
? how do you do it?
Open the Scriptures… open your Bible…
And ask the Holy Spirit to lead and guide you and to draw you closer and closer to Him… [pause]
Number 8…
Because Jesus is alive,
We are forgiven, restored and redeemed
Luke 24:34
34saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!”
Simon is talking about Peter… same guy…
A couple weeks ago we took some time to go through John chapter 21 where Jesus comes to Peter…
And He comes down to Peter’s level…
And because Peter had publicly denied Jesus 3 times… Jesus gives Peter the opportunity to publicly affirm Jesus 3 times… [pause]
That is forgiveness… restoration… and redemption… [pause]
Because Jesus is alive,
We have peace
Luke 24:36
36As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” [pause]
Jesus brings peace to our souls…
He brings peace into chaos… [pause]
When our world is falling apart and there is chaos all around… ? how do you have peace? [pause]
Look up… pray to God… and ask Him to take over this situation… [pause]
Philippians 4:7
7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. [pause]
Number 10…
Because Jesus is alive,
We should worship Him privately and publicly
Luke 24:52-53
52And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy,
53and were continually in the temple blessing God.
We should worship Jesus…
And we should do that both in private and publicly…
They went into the Temple continuously blessing God… [pause]
The 2026 equivalent to Temple is church… [pause]
Ok let’s flip over to Acts and let’s see how Luke continues on explaining what happened after the Resurrection… [pause]
If you have a physical Bible with you… I would encourage you to flip through as we go… [pause]
Acts 1 starts off with a greeting from Luke… and Luke explains that Jesus was alive on earth for 40 days…
And that He gave many proofs to many people… and during these 40 days Jesus was speaking about the kingdom of God [pause]
Paul writes later in 1 Corinthians that Jesus appeared to over 500 people at one time…
Paul’s says most of these people are still alive… go and ask them about this…
They all say and spoke and interacted with Jesus at the same event… [pause]
From an evidence standpoint this is important because it eliminates the theory that people hallucinated…
? why?
Never have people shared hallucinations…
There has never been a recorded event in history where 2 or more people have had the same hallucination at the same time…
So it would be impossible for more than 500 people to have all hallucinated this experience they had with Jesus… [pause]
Luke goes on in Acts 1 to explain the Ascension… which describes when Jesus was bodily taken back up into heaven…
Luke also says He will come back the same way He was taken up…
What Luke is saying is Jesus will come back on the clouds… which we know will happen based on John and Paul’s writings in Revelation and 1 Thessalonians…
Acts chapter 1 closes by explaining that the empty slot from Judas Iscariot…
That’s the Judas that betrayed Jesus and then committed suicide…
Matthias was chosen by lot to replace him… and he becomes the 12th apostle… [pause]
Now in this chapter… one more “so what” to take away- in our category tonight…
Because Jesus is alive,
We are His witnesses to the end of the earth
Acts 1:8
8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and
you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” [pause]
This lines up with the end of Matthew and the great commission… [pause]
Now we turn to Acts 2… and you can see from that so what part of what we didn’t immediately pull…
It’s Pentecost… and the promised Holy Spirit comes to the upper room and fills every believer there…
They begin to speak in tongues…
Outside people begin to see what’s going on… and Peter is about to respond…
Before we get to that… the so what from the upper room… [pause]
Because Jesus is alive,
The Holy Spirit lives within us
Acts 2:4
4And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit
Romans 8… 2 Timothy… John and 1 John… all speak to the truth that the Holy Spirit of God dwells inside of us…
? why?
Because Jesus went up into heaven and has sent the Helper to each of us…
This is what He promised to His disciples when He said in John 14 I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper,
to be with you forever [pause]
Now back to the upper room and the toungues… the result of that from the onlookers is found in verse 12
12And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”
13But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.” [pause]
Peter hears this… He says these guys are not drunk from wine…
Then Peter explains to them what has happened… in other words Peter gives a sermon and a teaching…
The Bible says about 3 thousand souls were saved…
Now I put in the “so what” the church was born…
Some scholars say the church was born at the Cross… some say at the Resurrection… some say at Pentecost…
I don’t know the technical answer to the exact moment the church was born… but I do know at this point in Acts chapter 2… there is a church…
It’s not a building… but a group of believers
Once you have a group of believers- that is going to provide the opportunity or the environment for the next so what to occur…
Because Jesus is alive,
We should be devoted to learning,
teaching,
fellowship,
communion,
and prayer
Acts 2:42
42And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. [pause]
Number 15 on our list… as we finish Acts chapter 2…
Because Jesus is alive,
We should be generous with others in need
Acts 2:45
45And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. [pause]
Turning to Acts 3…
The entire chapter is about Peter and John ministering to the needs of others…
In that.. there are incredible healings… miracles…
And there is teaching…
And in everything… humility and giving honor and praise to Whom it belongs…
Peter and John… they tell the people here… don’t Praise us… Praise our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
Because Jesus is alive,
We give Christ all the glory as we minister to others
Acts 3:6
6But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold,
but what I do have I give to you.
In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” [pause]
We turn to Acts chapter 4…
We read about Peter and John before the very same people who put Jesus to death… this council made up of Caiaphas and others… [pause]
They brought them in… they were arrested… and then brought before this council…
The council could not deny the miracles that were performed… but they didn’t want Peter and John proclaiming the Resurrection…
Verse 9… Acts chapter 4…
Because Jesus is alive,
We boldly speak truth
Acts 4:9-14
9if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel
that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,
whom you crucified,
whom God raised from the dead—
by him [pause]
this man is standing before you well. [pause]
11This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. [pause]
12And there is salvation in no one else, [pause]
for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” [pause]
13Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, [pause] they were astonished. [pause]
And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. [pause]
14But [pause]
seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, [pause] they had nothing to say in opposition. [pause]
this council is going to tell them to stop teaching about Jesus…
we see them explaining that they are to obey God before man
Acts 4:18-20
18So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.
19But Peter and John answered them,
“Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge,
20for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” [pause]
Because Jesus is alive,
We must obey God before men
Acts 4 goes on to talk about boldness and generosity… the chapter ends explaining how generous the people were and calls out by name a man… Barnabas… who sold a field and gave all of the money to the apostles…
Which right into chapter 5 where we see Ananias and his wife Sapphira who then sell a plot of land… and they say they gave all the proceeds like Baranabas had…
But in reality they held back some for themselves…
And then they lied about it…
And they were both struck dead on the spot… not by human hands… but by the Hand of the Lord…
The husband dies… then comes in the wife… and she is asked if the amount they gave matched the sales price…
She lies and says yes…
And Peter says in verse 9
9But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord?
Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.”
Because Jesus is alive,
We are to be honest in our dealings [pause]
Following this… the apostles were arrested and put into prison
They appear before the council… the high priest questions them…. Tells them to stop teaching and asks them why they didn’t listen the first time…
And Peter says We must obey God rather than men [pause]
This council wants to put these apostles to death…
Then a Pharisee named Gamaliel steps in and says “not so fast…
If these guys are of God and you put them to death… you will not be able to overthrow them and you will be found opposing God…
Let them go…
If this is not of God… it won’t go very far” [pause]
We turn to Acts chapter 6… Stephen is introduced to us as a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit…
They seized Stephen… because he is speaking truth and they hate that…
Acts chapter 7 begins with the high priest asking Stephen if these accusations against him are true…
Stephen responds and delivers this amazing speech full of truth and wisdom…
He take them all the way back to Abraham… walks them through their history and shows them that Jesus is the Messiah… and that they killed Him…
The council hears it… verse 54 says they were enraged and ground their teeth at him…
And then they took him outside the city limits and stoned him to death… [pause]
Verse 58 of Acts chapter 7
58Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him.
And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.
59And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
60And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice,
“Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”
And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
The “so what” there is
We must forgive and pray for those who hate us [pause]
Acts 8 verses 1 through 3 tells us Saul was ravaging the church and he approved of Stephens murder…
Then the rest of the chapter is about the apostle Phillip and how he went beyond Jerusalem proclaiming Christ… to the Samaritans and to an Ethiopian Eunuch [pause]
And this encounter with the Eunuch and Philip shows us that if someone ask us… we must teach them… that’s the so what there…
Acts 8:30-31
30So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked,
“Do you understand what you are reading?”
31And he said, “How can I,
unless someone guides me?”
And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
Verse 35
35Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. [pause]
As we turn to chapter 9…
And we’re going to stop here at the conversion of Saul to Paul…
Acts is 28 chapters… and there just isn’t anyway for me to go through each chapter… even at a high level… and still finish on time… [pause]
Acts chapter 9…
The chapter starts off telling us Saul was breathing threats and murder against Christians… and on his way to Damascus… as he approached that city…
Our Lord Jesus met him on that road…
Saul fell off his horse… became blinded from the bright light..
Saul immediately recognized this was God…
Acts 9:4-6
4And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him,
“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”
5And he said, “Who are you, Lord?”
And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
6But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” [pause]
Now Saul obeys that command… and at the same time the Lord comes to another man… a Christian named Ananias in a vision…
The Lord tells him that Saul is praying and he needs to go to Saul and lay hands on him so that he will regain his sight…
Ananias objects…
He’s like- this is Saul… he’ll kill me…
The Lord responds in verse 15…
Acts 9:15-16
15But the Lord said to him,
“Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.
16For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”
17So Ananias departed and entered the house.
And laying his hands on him he said,
“Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
In that… we see Number 22 on our list…
We must obey and trust Him even when we’re afraid
It’s possible even after Ananias decided to obey he was still afraid…
It’s also possible that he was afraid…. Let God know… and he fully trusted God and went to Saul with absolutely no fear… [pause]
We don’t really know exactly when the fear left Ananias… but we do know he was afraid…
The Lord told him to go…
And He made a decision to trust the Lord… and he went… [pause]
Acts 9 goes on and says Paul immediately proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues…
The Jews plot to kill Saul…
He escapes… the disciples help him… they lower him through an opening of the city wall using a basket… [pause]
Acts 9 goes on… and Luke’s account goes on…
We’re going to jump to the very very end of Acts…
Acts chapter 28…
And this is where we will end our study tonight…
Our Easter study…
Which I labeled in the subject line of this morning’s email…
“because Jesus is alive… we…” [pause]
And in this 28th chapter of Acts…
A lot has happened…
The death of James is recorded… which means our book James was written before Acts…
James was the half brother… the earthly brother of Jesus and he was marytered… Acts 12 tells us this…
Peter had been arrested and miraculously delivered… same chapter of Acts 12…
1 and 2 Thessalonians had been written on Pauls’ second missionary journey… 51 to 54 AD… that’s described in chapters 15 through 18
Paul’s 3rd mission trip… 54-58 AD… that’s described in Acts 18 through 21 and on that mission trip Paul wrote
1 and 2 Corinthians… Galatians… and Romans [pause]
Paul is thrown into prison… this is described in Acts 21 through 28…
He is imprisoned a first time and writes Philemon, Colossians, Ephesians, and Philippians… all 4 books written in 61 or 62 AD… [pause]
On the timeline the book of Acts stops there…
It does not record the 2nd imprisonment of Paul… [pause]
Acts ends with Luke writing about Paul in Rome… under house arrest… awaiting his trial before Ceaser…
And by the way… because of this… we have good reason to believe Acts was written as early as 62 AD…
Because it would make sense that Luke wouldn’t abruptly end the book if he had known Paul had been released…
Which Paul was released in 63 AD…
So Acts ends this way… Luke writing these words in chapter 28… verse 30
30He lived there two whole years at his own expense,
and welcomed all who came to him,
31proclaiming the kingdom of God
and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness
and without hindrance.
Because Jesus is alive,
We must welcome all who come seeking the Lord [pause]
And when they come we must proclaim the truth…
Teach about our Lord Jesus with boldness and without hinderance
? why?
Because Christ has generously and graciously welcomed us…
So we must be willing to welcome others… [pause] [pause] [pause]
Much different style of study tonight… thank you guys for patiently going through this tonight…
I pray you each have a blessed Easter…
And I hope there was some encouragement here for you tonight…
Questions… thoughts… comments…
