The Acts of the Apostles- part 2

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The themes of the book:

• The birth of Christianity
• The final rejection of God’s attempt to reach Israel through priests, judges, kings, prophets, and finally His Son
• The rise of the predominantly Gentile church

Approaches to Reading the Bible

• Read intellectually, literally as:
• History (Acts, Kings)
• Literature, poetry (Job, Psalms)
• Philosophy (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes)

• Read for its metaphors, symbolic meaning
• Example — Abraham nearly sacrificing Isaac

Rom 8:32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all-how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things.

• Example –
• Joseph in the Old Testament, a “type” of Christ
• A faithful son
• A faithful servant
• A faithful sovereign
• A faithful savior

• Read to reveal spiritual truths and mysteries (The ram, a type of Christ—Christ the sacrifice for our sins—a mystery hidden from the Devil)

1 Cor 2:7-8 We speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 

• For application to our lives / practical

Prov. 10:19 In the multitude of words sin is not lacking,But he who restrains his lips is wise. Prov. 10:21 The lips of the righteous feed many,But fools die for lack of wisdom. Col. 3: 9, 13 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds…¹³ bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. 

• Read as meditation: speaking to God; hearing from God

Acts Chapter 1:

• The resurrected Jesus teaches the disciples for forty days
• Jesus ascends to heaven
• The apostles have an expectation that the kingdom of God will come immediately
• The eleven pick a twelfth apostle, Matthias

• The kingdom of God is both:
• A realm (a place)
• A reign (an authority)

• The Holy Spirit:
• Indwells for the benefit of the believer
• Empowers for the benefit of others

• Urim and Thummim in the OT—used to determine yes/no; guilt/innocence decisions
• How the priests and leaders heard from God in addition to prophetic words, dreams, and visions 
• Had something to do with the high priest’s breastplate, which was worn over his ephod or vest 

Acts Chapter 2

• The Holy Spirit falls at Pentecost
• The twelve are suddenly bold and filled with the Holy Spirit

• Peter preaches to the Jewish participants of the Feast of Weeks (Harvest), teaching that:
• The outpouring of the Holy Spirit they are witnessing fulfills Joel 2:28-32
• The Jews have crucified their king and Messiah
• All is not lost: if the Jewish nation repents, is baptized, and believes, Jesus will return 

• Thousands initially respond to the gospel

• The visitors at Pentecost were Hellenistic Jews and Jewish proselytes
• Hellenistic Jews were followers of the Jewish religion in areas outside of Judea, in the regions that once were Alexander the Great’s empire (died in 323 BC)  
• The Hebrew OT was translated into Greek (Septuagint)- between 200- 132 BC in Alexandria, Egypt   

• The four languages of 1^st Century Palestine
• Hebrew
• Aramaic (common language) -- the Hebrew dialect that developed in Palestine after the Babylonian captivity
• There were two major dialects of Aramaic:
• Eastern (Chaldean or Babylonian) 
• Western (Mesopotamian or Palestinian--also called Syriac.
• Greek
• Latin 

• The New Testament was written in Greek but includes a few Aramaic words such as:
• Abba
• Rabboni
• Beelzebub
• Golgotha
• Eloi, Eloi, lama Sabachthani (Ps. 22:1-2)
• Hosanna 

• A summary of Peter’s first sermon:

1. Jesus performed miracles
2. He was “delivered into the hands of lawless men (the Romans)”
3. He was crucified and resurrected
4. David prophesied about this: that the Messiah would die but His body would not suffer decay (Ps. 16:10)
5. This Psalm cannot be referring to David himself, for David did die, and his body saw corruption 
6. The one who is spoken of in the Psalm must be the Messiah, Jesus

• Repent: Greek: metanoeo: to have another mind, to change the mind

• Features of the early church: fellowship, prayer, preaching, doctrine, baptism, the Lord’s Supper, miracles, signs and wonders

Acts Chapter 3

• Summary
• The Holy Spirit through Peter and John heals a lame man
• Peter teaches that if Israel repents and receives Jesus
• Then Jesus will return to restore the glory of Israel
• And Jesus will usher in the millennial period promised by the Old Testament prophets

• Peter’s second sermon to the crowd at the temple:

1. Jesus is the Messiah
2. It is in His name the man was healedThe God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob glorified, certified Jesus by His resurrection
3. Unfortunately, God’s chosen people, the nation Israel, rejected and crucified Him
4. He is the Prince of Life (offers eternal life, the promise of our resurrection)
5. He is God’s Servant predicted in the Old Testament

• Peter promises a “time of refreshing,” a soon return of Christ and a worldwide blessing
• But this depends on the repentance of Israel
• A restoration of glorious, ruling Israel
• A theocracy under the authority of David’s Son

• Restoration: Greek: apokatastasis

• The returning Messiah would fulfill God’s promises to:
• Abraham
• David   
• The nation Israel; that it would:
• Rule the nations around it
• Evangelize the earth
• Establish:
• Justice
• Peace
• Health
• Long life

Gen. 12:2-3; 2 Sam 7:16; Jer. 23:5-6; Zech. 8: 20-23; Is. 42:4; Is. 11:6-9; Hos. 2:18; Micah 4:3; Is 65:20

• Peter presents Jesus as the second Moses (Dt. 18:18)

• Peter encourages the Jewish nation to repent and receive their Messiah, Jesus

Acts Chapter 4

• Summary:
• The first persecution of the Church begins
• Peter and John are arrested by the Sanhedrin and forbidden from preaching Jesus
• The believers together are filled a second time with the Holy Spirit
• The believers experience the kingdom of heaven on earth, sharing property and goods in common

• The first persecution arises from the Sanhedrin:
• The Jewish ruling body: like the Supreme Court
• Members of the Sanhedrin were mostly Sadducees, with some Pharisees 71 elders including the high priest
• With a smaller council of 23

• The religious beliefs of the Sadducees
• There is no “fate”
• Man has free will
• Souls are not immortal
• There is no afterlife, and no rewards or penalties after death

• Peter boldly addresses the Sanhedrin proclaiming that:
• Jesus is the Messiah
• There is salvation only in His name
• He is the rejected “cornerstone” of Ps. 118: 22-24

• Peter tells the Sanhedrin that he must preach the truth about Jesus despite their threats

• The young Christian community responds to the persecution by asking for boldness, not protection

• The Lord sends a second filling or empowering of the Holy Spirit to the fellowship

• The Church has grown to 5000 men plus their households

• The Church shares goods and property, making sure no one is in need

• Barnabas, a wealthy Jew from Cyprus, joins the Church