The focus of the manifestation
of Jesus in the Acts of the Apostles comes primarily through the lives of
two men, Peter and Paul. Why the author singles out these two as opposed
to others is not known. It may have been simply that he knew these two men
more closely.
On the other hand, since Paul’s authenticity was challenged every where
he went, the author may have wanted to give validity to Paul’s ministry.
By introducing the Acts with Peter, the apostle to the circumcision, he
may have been attempting to give credibility to the apostle to the
Gentiles. The Acts of the Apostles does show a similarities between
the two.
For example, there is a striking parallel in the events of the lives of
these two men. Both men had the healing of a cripple in their journey.
Healing in their ministries also occurred by strange means: the shadow of
Peter and the clothing of Paul. They both also have an encounter with an
sorcerer. A person was raised from the dead in both of their preaching of
the gospel. Finally, they both were miraculously set free from prison.
Since the legitimacy of the apostleship of Paul was a major concern for
some of the early believers, the author of the Acts of the Apostles may be
attempting to validate that Paul was just as much an apostle as Peter.
The Acts of the Apostles, however, may be just the telling of the story of
the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ as it moved from Jerusalem, to
Judaea, to Samaria, and to the rest of the world (Acts of the Apostles
1:8). As the history would unfold from Jerusalem to Antioch, Peter then
would be the individual that would carry the story. When the gospel began
to spread outside of the nation of Israel, Paul then became the emphasis
of the preaching of the gospel.
For example, in the Acts of the Apostles,
Peter seems to be in the forefront before and after Pentecost. It was
Peter taking the lead when he and John met the impotent man at the gate of
the Temple. Peter was the spokesman for the believers before the
Sanhedrin. Ananias and Sapphira were condemned by Peter when their
dishonesty was revealed to the church. Many people were healed as his
shadow passed over them. When he and John were sent to Samaria to confront
Simon the sorcerer, it was Peter who spoke and confronted the deceiver.
Through the gospel being manifested in his life, Dorcas was raised from
the dead and Aeneas was healed. It was Peter that was beckoned by
Cornelius to introduce the gospel to the Gentiles. He would later be the
spokesman to explain to the rest of the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem
that the opportunity of hearing the gospel was now open to the Gentiles.
Finally, this section of the Acts (chapters 1-12) ends with Peter being
miraculously delivered out of prison.
Paul is introduced to the reader of the
Acts of the Apostles at the stoning and death of Stephen. The persecution
of the believers by Paul and his conversion to the faith which he fought
brings him into focus for the second part (chapters 13-28) of the Acts of
the Apostles. After his conversion on the Damascus road, he began his
mission journeys with Barnabas from Antioch.
The first convert on these missionary
journeys was an official on the isle of Crete, Sergius Paulus. This
conversion brought also the first persecution of Paul by Elymas, a chief
consultant and servant of Sergius Paulus. The preaching of the gospel by
Paul always brought results: some believed, others wanted to hear more,
and some openly opposed the message of grace (Acts of the Apostles
17:32-34).
Through three missionary journeys, three
trip to Jerusalem, and to this final designation, Rome, the manifestation
of Jesus in the life of Paul as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles
brought many "sign and wonders." The dead was raised, the lame
walked, and devils were cast out. Many people were being set free from the
bondage they were experiencing in their lives.
The preaching of the gospel also brought
great persecutions to Paul. In addition, to the continually trouble Paul
faced on his missionary journeys, his third trip to Jerusalem was filled
with much tribulations. In the twelve days of Paul’s final visit to
Jerusalem (Acts of the Apostles 22-24), he was accosted by an angry crowd
when he was in the Temple. The same crowd threw him out of the Temple and
slam shut the doors. Certain Jews sought to kill him by attempting to beat
him to death. He was rescued by the chief captain only to be bound with
chains. Believed to be the leader of a band of 4,000 murderers, he was
kept in captivity. Although he was saved from being examined by scourging,
he nevertheless was mocked and bound with thongs. Commanded to be slapped
on the mouth for his preaching, the anger crowd was literally about to
pull him to pieces. A band of forty Jews swore an oath together that they
would not eat until they had killed Paul. The message of grace and truth,
amazingly, was being opposed by many of the people to whom God had sent
this great message of freedom.
The manifestation of Jesus in the Acts of
the Apostles is the recorded history of the preaching of the gospel as it
went forth from Jerusalem to Rome. It is the story of the continuing
ministry of Jesus among His people. Revealing the power of God intervening
into the affairs of man, the record of the Acts of the Apostles forever
proclaims the wonder of God’s miraculous deliverance of man.
The focus of the manifestation
of Jesus in the Acts of the Apostles comes primarily through the lives of
two men, Peter and Paul. Why the author singles out these two as opposed
to others is not known. It may have been simply that he knew these two men
more closely.
On the other hand, since Paul’s authenticity was challenged every where
he went, the author may have wanted to give validity to Paul’s ministry.
By introducing the Acts with Peter, the apostle to the circumcision, he
may have been attempting to give credibility to the apostle to the
Gentiles. The Acts of the Apostles does show a similarities between
the two.
For example, there is a striking parallel in the events of the lives of
these two men. Both men had the healing of a cripple in their journey.
Healing in their ministries also occurred by strange means: the shadow of
Peter and the clothing of Paul. They both also have an encounter with an
sorcerer. A person was raised from the dead in both of their preaching of
the gospel. Finally, they both were miraculously set free from prison.
Since the legitimacy of the apostleship of Paul was a major concern for
some of the early believers, the author of the Acts of the Apostles may be
attempting to validate that Paul was just as much an apostle as Peter.
The Acts of the Apostles, however, may be just the telling of the story of
the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ as it moved from Jerusalem, to
Judaea, to Samaria, and to the rest of the world (Acts of the Apostles
1:8). As the history would unfold from Jerusalem to Antioch, Peter then
would be the individual that would carry the story. When the gospel began
to spread outside of the nation of Israel, Paul then became the emphasis
of the preaching of the gospel.
For example, in the Acts of the Apostles,
Peter seems to be in the forefront before and after Pentecost. It was
Peter taking the lead when he and John met the impotent man at the gate of
the Temple. Peter was the spokesman for the believers before the
Sanhedrin. Ananias and Sapphira were condemned by Peter when their
dishonesty was revealed to the church. Many people were healed as his
shadow passed over them. When he and John were sent to Samaria to confront
Simon the sorcerer, it was Peter who spoke and confronted the deceiver.
Through the gospel being manifested in his life, Dorcas was raised from
the dead and Aeneas was healed. It was Peter that was beckoned by
Cornelius to introduce the gospel to the Gentiles. He would later be the
spokesman to explain to the rest of the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem
that the opportunity of hearing the gospel was now open to the Gentiles.
Finally, this section of the Acts (chapters 1-12) ends with Peter being
miraculously delivered out of prison.
Paul is introduced to the reader of the
Acts of the Apostles at the stoning and death of Stephen. The persecution
of the believers by Paul and his conversion to the faith which he fought
brings him into focus for the second part (chapters 13-28) of the Acts of
the Apostles. After his conversion on the Damascus road, he began his
mission journeys with Barnabas from Antioch.
The first convert on these missionary
journeys was an official on the isle of Crete, Sergius Paulus. This
conversion brought also the first persecution of Paul by Elymas, a chief
consultant and servant of Sergius Paulus. The preaching of the gospel by
Paul always brought results: some believed, others wanted to hear more,
and some openly opposed the message of grace (Acts of the Apostles
17:32-34).
Through three missionary journeys, three
trip to Jerusalem, and to this final designation, Rome, the manifestation
of Jesus in the life of Paul as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles
brought many "sign and wonders." The dead was raised, the lame
walked, and devils were cast out. Many people were being set free from the
bondage they were experiencing in their lives.
The preaching of the gospel also brought
great persecutions to Paul. In addition, to the continually trouble Paul
faced on his missionary journeys, his third trip to Jerusalem was filled
with much tribulations. In the twelve days of Paul’s final visit to
Jerusalem (Acts of the Apostles 22-24), he was accosted by an angry crowd
when he was in the Temple. The same crowd threw him out of the Temple and
slam shut the doors. Certain Jews sought to kill him by attempting to beat
him to death. He was rescued by the chief captain only to be bound with
chains. Believed to be the leader of a band of 4,000 murderers, he was
kept in captivity. Although he was saved from being examined by scourging,
he nevertheless was mocked and bound with thongs. Commanded to be slapped
on the mouth for his preaching, the anger crowd was literally about to
pull him to pieces. A band of forty Jews swore an oath together that they
would not eat until they had killed Paul. The message of grace and truth,
amazingly, was being opposed by many of the people to whom God had sent
this great message of freedom.
The manifestation of Jesus in the Acts of
the Apostles is the recorded history of the preaching of the gospel as it
went forth from Jerusalem to Rome. It is the story of the continuing
ministry of Jesus among His people. Revealing the power of God intervening
into the affairs of man, the record of the Acts of the Apostles forever
proclaims the wonder of God’s miraculous deliverance of man.
The purpose of the writing of
the Acts of the Apostles is clear, if the authorship of the books is
accepted as Luke. The author began his account of the history of the
primitive church by stating,
The former treatise have I made, O
Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, Until the day
in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given
commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: To whom also he
shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being
seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the
kingdom of God: And, being assembled together with them, commanded them
that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of
the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. (Acts of the Apostles
1:1-4)
The opening statement of the author
connects the book of the Acts of the Apostles to the former treatise of
the author, the Gospel of Luke.
In the first treatise of Luke, he gave the reason why he wrote both the
Gospel of Luke and this second treatise, the Acts of the Apostles. He stated,
Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to
set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely
believed among us, Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the
beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; It seemed good
to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very
first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus, That thou
mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been
instructed. (Luke 1:1-4)
The Acts of the Apostles was written to
declare the certainty of those things that have been delivered from the
beginning through the eyewitnesses and ministers of the word.
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