5/30/2021 0 Comments Acts CommentaryLuke, a Gentile man of many hats (historian, physician, travelling missionary), write a second letter to a powerful political figure. It is dated AD 60-62, before the end of Paul's first Roman imprisonment. The apostles literally become supermen when compared with what they were like pre-understanding of the OT. Having gone to Jesus’ 40-day OT bootcamp, they bleed out Scripture. God provides the perfect excuse for an audience: a miraculous noise. All too perfect. A sermon motivates people through guilt, and negative consequence if you don’t respond to the gospel. Judgment has been announced to Israel already through tongue-speaking: you no longer have to be a Jew to be a believer.
3: The apostles really thought Jesus was imminently coming back to end the world, like in their life time imminent. They were on a ticking countdown. Every day counted. With that level of emergency, you have nothing to lose by doing things that could get you killed. Also you have nothing to gain from worldly pleasures. Which is why Peter is able to ward off the temptation to bask in the fuzzy adulation of men, and be satisfied with being able to get along with the people. They have everything the Sanhedrin wanted to have. But Peter drops the bomb on the people’s worthless celebrity worship: you killed God. 4: acts: Pre-requisite beliefs for courage: 1. man’s resistance is futile, and also under sovereignty of God. 2. God will work miracles. 3. God will deal with the threats as He sees fit. Acts5: Matthew 5 Beatitudes on display. The lashings only embolden the gospel preachers. The elites make good politicians. Court of public opinion wins the day. And also, did they just bring back the guys whom an angel of God released from prison in order to talk sense into them? Killing Mr. and Mrs. Wonderful Church members in order to make an example out of them that you don’t hang out with Church with ulterior motive and get away with it doesn’t stop church growth. acts 6: out of display of love for Hellenistic Jews, they choose all Hellenistic Jews and one Greek all to be deacons. The word of God is so powerful that it even reaches even the worst sinners, the religious and self-righteous. Some high society guys can’t win a fight in a logical debate, so they resort of verbal aggression: slander. Stephen is so honoured to suffer shame for His name. In the midst of frenzy of hell-bound people, Stephen is unfazed. It is all part of the plan. Acts 7: Ignoring the cowardly attempt to caricature and misrepresent what he said (Moses and the temple), Stephen builds rapport first with the people by starting with their common history. Stephen employs empathy and effectively bypasses the hearers’ emotional defenses and secures their attention for maximum impact later on. Stephen talks about joseph the deliverer of Israel being jealously hated by the patriarchs. Stephen talks about Moses the deliverer of Israel being rejected by Israel. Stephen talks about the idolatry of Israel and being given over by God to worship the work of their own hands. Stephen masterfully splits the red sea and lulls them into false security and brings crashing down on their heads the full weight of indictment upon idolatrous, Moses-rejecting, rebellious God-murderers who worship the temple and all it represents for their place in society. Mic dropped. Acts 8: The power of death cannot stop the growth of the church. The more fire it undergoes, the greater its yield. The gospel breaks out like millions of pollen in the wind. Miracles serve to authenticate the veracity of the preaching. In those early days, as the gospel adds new kinds of people to the church who are not Jews, it was necessary for them to have the seal of certification from the recognized church founders, like new believers are recognized through baptism. An angel sending Philip to be a Bible expositor On-Demand to a guy reading his Bible on his sofa: That one time in the first century before Internet was invented when the logistics of being gratified with instant knowledge was more convenient and infinitely more interactive than searching for answers on Google. You would have to wait hours for someone to arrive who can baptize you even if you could order such a thing online. Acts 9,10 Saul acting in ignorance burns with zeal against Christ. After traumatic experience of meeting with the risen Jesus, Saul loses all appetite, and thirst. In darkness, Saul goes through repentance like Jonah. Saul’s personality burns with zeal for the Lord, but accomplishes nothing but death threats from the fellow Jews. Saul is sent far away, and the church enjoys its consistent growth. For the first time, the Gentiles are treated as equal to the Jews in every way without having become Jews first. Acts 11 Being a Jew and keeping Jewish customs in relation to separating themselves from the Gentile presence no longer has significance because Jesus is their Lord also, and that apart from any Jewish trappings. The hand of the Lord was with the preachers who carried out the intent of the Lord to reach the remotest part of the world, and decided to touch the untouchables. acts 12 Peter sleeps soundly having received guarantee from the Lord that he would die a death that would glorify his Lord. No fear. Already made peace with his fate. But then an angel pokes Peter’s side, and it is not yet his time. What ensues is a humourous series of events in the midst of some deadly times. Without a good humour, you cannot operate a ministry well. Deadly end for some rather innocent foot soldiers following orders. When it comes to polarizing Jesus, it is not safe to even stand on the sidelines. You are for Him, or against Him. Fitting end for the man who considered molesting even one member of God’s family as trivial, and goes on to a vacation by the sea. His odiousness keeps on attracting God’s special attention, until he finally fills up his cup to the brim. Ac 13 The first missionary journey of Paul. Paul is written as the leader of the trips from here on. John Mark ditches the mission and goes back home. Paul is heard preaching his first sermon to his kinsmen: Paul persuades his audience: reference back to their history, and familiar texts, exposition of those texts as pointing to the Messiah, warning of consequences of rejecting, ac 14,15 More oppositions to the gospel, and physical violence to which Paul does not respond or retaliate. He remains solely focused on his mission to preach the gospel. His life is expendable and in the hands of the Lord. He lives for as long as the Lord chooses. A good weather and good living itself is a witness enough to lead people away from demonic idols, and to a compassionate and loving God. A hint to the fact that all men everywhere are culpable for rejecting whatever light they have been given, and while not enough to bring salvation is enough to condemn should they reject it. Those who by grace follow the bread crumbs of light are sure to be led to the full revelation which gives salvation. Even for a miracle-working apostle, he is not beyond the reach of criticism, and must submit to accountability system and give an account of his activities. The heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. The first and last battle of theology is about the way of salvation: in this , by grace through faith, or by keeping the law. In response to the challenge to the gospel from nobodies, The Council, rather than instructing Gentiles to do some things, tells them to NOT do some things, thus focusing on the matter at the most pertinent stage of insidious development of heresy: if the Gentile brothers continue to violate the sensibilities of their Jewish brothers, the Jewish brothers would be more tempted to run into the arms of legalism. If the church is thus divided, there can be no hope for testimony to the world. The serious letter is certified by the war-scars of the messengers and miracles. Laser focused on the ministry and plan the Lord has for him, Paul has nothing to lose, and will not take any prisoner. ac 16,17 Luke joins Paul for the ride from Troas. Demon-possessed woman finally gets on Paul's nerves, and gets rebuked. Even a free advertisement from demonic source is just distasteful. Behind overt anti-Semitism is a greed for money. Paul feels like asserting his citizenship right and making the incompetent leaders sweat a little bit. Jewish leaders continue their crusade of jealousy against Jesus. Noble-minded = diligent, sincere, analytical, able to learn, committed to truth. Paul, master of communication, builds rapport, and quickly employs persuasive tactics, reframing pagans' references to feign common ground. Paul: find a beachhead in their belief system. Take their sincerity and conviction and use it to siphon their attention toward God. Use logic to separate God from idols. Paint God as having worked invisibly throughout history, and that knowledge of Him was accessible all along. It is urgent to turn to Him now due to coming judgment. There is no more excuse not to believe in Him, since there is proof of His resurrection. ac 18,19 Paul's fear of persecution is expressed by his anger. Encouraged by Jesus to stay the course, Paul is fruitful. True to His Word, Jesus thwarts the attempt to persecute Paul. Paul verifies the inclusion of OT believers. All groups of people are now covered. Paul does not waste time trying to persuade bad soils, but focuses his effort on growing the good soil. Taking the Lord's name in vain is also using it like a formula or incantation. Motivation behind idolatry is for money and livelihood. A good bulk of the group has a herd mentality, and will go with the crowd even though they don't know for what purpose. ac 20 Paul is in a hurry to reach Jerusalem, when knowing what awaits him would make a natural man to flee the other way. Paul leads Ephesian elders through example of diligent self-sufficiency and comprehensive teaching and warnings. Paul is the best mentor who cares that you really understand, and that you are prepared for life. ac 21 Paul is fixed to go to Jerusalem in obedience, regardless of his friends' natural reaction to the Holy Spirit's caution notices. It is wrong to interpret the caution notices as God saying not to go to Jerusalem. It is not wrong for Jews to continue the ceremonies. It is just no longer necessary. The kingdom of God is not of this world, and the kingdom is no longer identified by external ceremonies. It is Christ. ac 22 Paul wants to still make his people hear the truth and believe in Jesus. Prejudiced against the Gentiles, they refuse to believe a Messiah who would include into the kingdom the Gentiles. Paul makes use of his right as a Roman to forego unnecessary pain. ac 23 Hypocrisy is not in Paul's blood. When he sees it, he cannot resist but speak. Paul is reassured of his survival in Jerusalem by the Lord, and of his mission to Rome. ac 24 the battle of persuasion and argument. The opponent, having no evidence for accusation, tries to butter up Felix. Spirit convicts of sin, righteousness, and judgment. Felix had enough time to repent through Paul. Then the time was over. Ulterior motive of hearing Paul speak was for a bribe from Paul. ac 25 Paul escalates the reach of his ministry to Caesar. Faithful in little things, Lord increases the breadth of ministry. Jesus fulfills His word that His followers will testify to kings. ac 26 Paul gives his testimony before kings and governors, fulfilling Jesus' words taht His disciples will stand before them. The suffering and resurrection of the Messiah are all written in the OT. Paul reveals his inner desire for the conversion of Jews and Gentiles alike, to populate the kingdom. ac 27 adventures in the sea: Paul takes the opportunity to speak out against the voyage. Later, Paul has credibility to witness for God, and becomes a emotional morale leader. ac 28 Paul witnesses to his fellow prisoners and the Roman guards through miracles. Paul is encouraged by believers in Rome in his weary and uncertain days. Paul witnesses to his fellow Jews through preaching from OT. Paul quotes the Isaiah's chapter 6 pronouncement of judgment against Israel, but here the quote has the hint of persuading the stubborn hearts through reverse psychology and warning.
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CategoriesAll Discourse Doctrines Gospel Humour NT Commentaries OT Commentaries Tactical Life Date
August 2023
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