Acts Overview

Having finished the gospels, it’s time for our story to move forward. What next? Jesus’ death and resurrection have occurred, but now what? This is where the book of Acts comes in. Meant to be a direct sequel to Luke’s gospel, it is the second book written by Luke to a Theophilus also likely written between 70-90 CE.

We noted at the start of Luke that tradition tells us that Luke was a travelling companion to Paul (who we will meet in this book) and a doctor. Having covered the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus in his gospel, Luke is now going to explore the birth and growth of the early church.

Acts 1 - Introduction - The call to go into Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth

Acts 2-7 - In Jerusalem

• Acts 2 - Pentecost
• Acts 3-5 - Jesus vs the temple
• Acts 6-7 - The first persecution of the church

Acts 8-12 - In Judea and Samaria

• Acts 8 - Philip in Samaria
• Acts 9 - Conversion of Paul
• Acts 9-11 - Peter and Cornelius
• Acts 11-12 - The church in Antioch

Acts 13-20 - The missionary journeys into all the earth

• Acts 13-14 - Mission 1: Asia Minor
• Acts 15 - The Jerusalem Council
• Acts 16-18 - Mission 2: Asia Minor and Greece
• Acts 18-20 - Mission 3: Asia Minor and Greece

Acts 21-28 - Paul’s journey to Rome

• Acts 21-22 - Paul arrested in Jerusalem

• Acts 23-26 - Paul in trial before different leaders

• Acts 27-28 - Paul in Rome

At the start of Luke we saw the Holy Spirit mentioned a lot, as it empowered people to do things. This becomes a key theme within Acts as the church spreads and grows. The Spirit empowers the followers of Jesus in the mission he has given them to spread his kingdom.

This mission is clearly stated at the start of the book. Jesus tell his disciples, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8).

This flow demonstrates the expanding of the kingdom of God. We’ve already seen it in work in the gospels, but Jesus has come to redeem all creation. First are the Jews (Jerusalem). Then the Samaritans (Samaria) who were descendants of many of the northern kingdom of Israel. This reflects a reuniting of the nation of Israel. And then finally all humans (the ends of the earth).

This would represent a massive shift for the Jews, who had maintained a sense of separateness until this point as they thought to keep their cultural identity. The second half of the book deals with this wrestling to be open to new peoples while the Jews try to hold on to these things that make them Jewish.

Finally, Acts models what faithful disciples who spread God’s kingdom look like. It looks like a multi-ethnic community of believers, empowered by the Holy Spirit who are will to be bold in sharing Jesus in words and actions.

Acts 1-2

Luke opens with a brief recap of the end of his gospel. Jesus gives his disciples a mission, to be his witnesses “in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

As mentioned, these three different groups will make up the structure of this book; Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and the ends of the earth. But Jesus encourages his disciples to wait here in Jerusalem first. They are to be baptised by the Holy Spirit and this Spirit with empower them to do all that Jesus is telling them to do. And at that, Jesus disappears.

So the disciples return to Jerusalem to wait for the Holy Spirit. As they’re waiting, they realise there is a problem. Jesus called twelve disciples to be his key followers. This was symbolic. Jesus was creating a new people of God, and just as the Israelites had twelve tribes, Jesus called twelve men to lead his church.

But their twelve was now just eleven. Judas had betrayed them and then hanged himself out of grief. Luke describes, in very gory detail, how Judas’ rotting body finally fell from the tree and burst open on the ground.

The group decide to choose two men that had been with them since the beginning who were known to be faithful. They prayed over these men and then drew lots to decide who would be the new apostle. Matthias was chosen.

Drawing lots might seem like a weird way to choose your leaders, but it was fairly common practice. The belief was that in a contest of chance, God will make sure the chance falls in favour of the right option. In the Old Testament, we saw the Thummim and Urim used. These were likely dice like objects that were used to make decisions or determine God’s will (see 1 Samuel 14:41, 1 Samuel 28:6, Ezra 2:63).

And so here are the disciples, all together, waiting on God to send his Holy Spirit. Get ready, because we’re going to get a lot of connections back to the Old Testament here.

Suddenly, a sound like a rushing wind fills the house and tongues of fire appear on all their heads. Throughout the Old Testament, wind and fire were used to show God’s presence. For example, in the wilderness, God appeared to his people as a pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire.

But perhaps more importantly for this moment was what happened when Solomon had finished building his temple. Fire fell down and God’s presence filled it (2 Chronicles 7:1-3). As the Holy Spirit fills the disciples, they become God’s new temple.

Jesus warned at about the destruction of the temple in Luke’s gospel, but that doesn’t matter now because the temple in Jerusalem doesn’t mean anything. God’s people are his new temple. They are the place where his presence dwells and where people encounter God.

The disciples also start speaking in different languages, led by the Spirit. There were plenty of Jews in Jerusalem that day that were from various different nations. Remember, after the exile, many Jews never returned to Jerusalem, and so you would find little pockets of Jews scattered right across the known world.

Each of these Jews heard their native language spoken by the disciples and were amazed. This is significant. If we think back to Genesis 11 and the tower of Babel, we’ll remember how God broke up his dominion and divided the people into different nations, giving them different languages.

Now Jesus has come to reunite God’s dominion as king over all the earth. We know that here Luke is pointing back to the first dividing of the nations because the nations listed in Acts 2:9-11 map onto the nations named in Genesis 10. As a sign of his new kingdom, the Holy Spirit gives Jesus’ followers tongues to unite people from every nation.

Those listening to the disciples are confused and start to wonder if they’ve had a little too much to drink. At this, Peter stands up and begins to explain to them what is happening. They’ve not had too much to drink.

This was what was prophesied in Joel when God said he would pour out his Spirit on all flesh, so that anyone can be saved. God has brought this about through Jesus, whom they had killed. This had always been God’s plan, and Peter quotes Psalm 16:8-11 to show that God did not abandon Jesus on the cross. David saw that this would happen, and now God has made Jesus the king and Lord over all the earth.

Many of those listening are immediately convicted and ask Peter what they need to do. Peter leads them to repent and be baptised, and 3,000 do. Back in Exodus, we saw Moses bringing down the Law for the first time, and the people rebelled. On that day, 3,000 people were killed (Exodus 32:25-29). Now, on the day that the Holy Spirit comes down, 3,000 people are saved. The church is born.

And so we get an insight into that early church. The people would gather together, sometimes daily. They would learn as the disciples taught them about the scriptures, and they would remember Jesus through the breaking of bread.

This body of people grew closer together. Not only did they do life together, but they shared all they had with one another. The result? “the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47).

Psalm 119:97-128

We are continuing on with Psalm 119. This psalm isn’t attributed to anyone in particular and falls into the category of wisdom psalm. Each stanza has eight verses each, and each verse within a stanza starts with the same letter of the Hebrew alphabet. With twenty-two stanzas, we have a different stanza for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In many ways, this psalm can be seen as the A-B-Cs of Biblical wisdom.

Psalm 119:97-104 - Mem (מ): Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day

Psalm 119:105-112 - Nun (נ): Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path

Psalm 119:113-120 - Samekh (ס): I hate the double-minded, but I love your law

Psalm 119:121-128 - Ayin (ע): I have done what is just and right; do not leave me to my oppressors

Stanza thirteen (Psalm 119:97-104) again focuses on how much the psalmist loves the Lord’s laws and commandments. Because the psalmist has spent all their time meditating on the Lord’s teachings, they now have more understanding than their teachers or others much older than they are. The psalmist has kept from evil to better follow God’s way. They can do this because of the understanding they now have to see evil and avoid it.

In stanza fourteen (Psalm 119:105-112) the psalmist talks about how the word of the Lord is like a lamp to their feet. Whether they are struggling with health, or avoiding traps laid by their enemies, the psalmist knows where to place their feet because of God’s commands. The psalmist does their best to live by this guidance and is their joy to do so.

The psalmist spends stanza fifteen (Psalm 119:113-120) reflecting on those who don’t hold to the Lord’s commands. There are those who are double-minded. Who claim to follow the Lord, but don’t know him or his ways well enough to do so. Meanwhile, the psalmist hides in the Lord’s teaching for safety. They see evildoers as a blocker to keeping God’s commands and so wants nothing to do with them. While the Lord holds the psalmist up for his faithfulness, he spurns the wicked and those who turn from his teachings.

Then, in stanza sixteen (Psalm 119:121-128), the psalmist talks more about the struggles and oppressors. The psalmist has held to God’s teachings, so they now ask that the Lord keep them from their oppressors and from the wicked. They have waited patiently for God’s salvation, but now their eyes are failing them. Therefore, let the Lord rescue his servant with love, giving them understanding and punishing those who have breached God’s commands.