As the church grows outside Israel, the church within Israel suffers under the hand of Herod. Herod has James, son of Zebedee and brother of John (writer of John and Revelation) killed by the sword and puts Peter in jail. Peter was asleep in jail (remember John 21!) when suddenly he is released by God’s mercy. He passes the guards and the gate opens itself (what!?!?) and he makes his way to John Mark’s mom’s house. The servant girl, Rhoda, is so excited that it is Peter, she doesn’t open the gate but runs inside excited. Peter eventually gets into the house after knocking a lot. Herod has the guards put to death and leaves Judea to return to Caesarea.

Herod dies and the church grows. I like that reality. Nothing stops God’s church from growing and spreading like wildfire.

Peter’s amazing experience with Cornelius leads him to go back and tell the church exactly what is going on “out there.” The bridge was being built! God cared for the whole world and the idea that He only loved the Jews was a wrong ideal and mentality by the Jewish people. God had chosen Abraham and blessed him “to be a blessing to all people.” God was setting things straight and moving mankind back to where they were meant to be.

The key of Peter’s report is when the others who hear Peter’s report that “If then God gave the same gift to them (Gentiles) as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?” they reply “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.” Oh, God had plans to save them too! We think, “Duh” because we are recipients of this thinking. We are Gentile followers because of the grace given to us. This was radical at the time because the Jews had misunderstood their place in history. I believe we still do this today, unfortunately. We decide to do things our way instead of God’s way and it misses the mark.

The chapter ends with a spontaneous church breaking forth in Antioch. This becomes significant because Barnabas and eventually Saul/Paul settle in at this church. Here is where the followers of Jesus are first called “Christians” or “little Christs.”

Cornelius (another centurion – look at Luke 7) has a vision and seeks out Simon Peter.

Simon Peter has a vision of unclean and common animals on a sheet.

What happens next is huge. God says “what God has made clean, do not call common.” Peter refuses to eat what he thinks shouldn’t be eaten. God pushes back and says that He has made things clean. This happens three times, which has some significance (3 denials, 3 reassurances in John 21) and shows Peter that God has changed things. The Jewish people had taken the idea of God’s clean/unclean concepts to mean that they were to be separate from the world, when God wanted them to be different. They were meant to be different, not separate. God’s pushback to Peter’s understanding leads the church to a new path. The moral/cultural aspects of the law begin to fade away. Not because the law was abolished, but because the law was fulfilled. In Christ, we are made clean. In Christ there is no need to “satisfy” God. He has made all things clean. This is huge! So many today think aspects of the law still hold us. The apostles teaching will begin to drive to an Acts 15 decision that begin to unravel the real significance of Christ and what He has done! This will be spelled out more in Romans, etc. Be ready!

When the Holy Spirit descends on Cornelius’ whole household as they believe in Christ, Peter is left wondering what God is doing. He was just getting started!

Saul has a miraculous conversion. God’s “greatest enemy” becomes the biggest proponent of infusing Gentile believers into the message of Jesus. He is an advocate to grace and sets the tone well for the church today. Here’s how it goes down:

Saul was heading to Damascus to persecute “followers of the Way” and arrest them and bring them to Jerusalem. Instead of this, he is blinded by a light and forced to talk to a voice that ends up being Jesus. He had no sight for 3 days and neither ate nor drink. Ananias, a follower of Jesus, is told by Jesus to go pray with Saul. He asks Jesus if He is sure (Saul is dangerous). Jesus responds that Saul is chosen to be God’s instrument. Saul is prayed over and regains sight, scales fall off his eyes and he begins to proclaim Jesus publicly – in Damascus! This causes people to want to kill Saul. He escapes and Barnabas brings Saul along and welcomes him into the new church. From this, Peter is brought back into the story and Luke gives some interesting information concerning Gentile believers starting in chapter 11.

However, Saul/Paul and Peter are the key players in the pages to come and Paul becomes the main character that serves Jesus and spreads the word. While the story in Acts is played out, Paul writes nearly all the letters we have in the books to come. The story speeds up big time!

A very ominous first line of chapter 8 gives us introduction a character that will dominate the rest of the New Testament. Saul. Saul, a native of Tarsus and a Jewish Roman citizen, trained by Gamaliel and passionate for God to a fault (he will admit as much later). Saul is a huge character. Let me take just a few moments to clarify a couple things. There is a biopic coming out this year and these things always make me a little afraid, as details get added or misunderstood. I’m looking forward to seeing it, and don’t know if any of these “problems” will come up, but I’ll deal with them here just in case.

Saul’s name didn’t change.  Many teach that “Saul” became “Paul.” That seems logical, but it is mistaken. The reason Paul is used more later is the audience that Paul is writing to. Paulus is his family name (like Stukenberg is mine). It would give street cred (as the kids say) for Paul to the Gentiles he is writing to. It shows his standing (a Roman citizen) and allows him access to things other Jews would not have (or want for that matter). So, in Jewish circles, Saul would be his used name. In Gentile circles, Paul would carry him.

Saul/Paul was well-trained as a Pharisee. Gamaliel showed up in Acts 5 (v34ff) and was well-regarded by other Pharisees in the day. Saul claims to have been taught by him, so he was taught by the best of the best! This means Paul had a good understanding of the Bible (perhaps even had most of what we call the Old Testament memorized) and could hold his own in many religious circles (which will bode well in a number of ways). The early church relied on his teaching, knowledge and helpful understanding of the Bible and how it informed the church – especially in a Gentile setting!

Saul was a murderer. He didn’t feel this way, of course. He felt he was serving God and therefore snuffing out a false religion. However, he was wrong and changes sides in Acts. The statement, “And Saul approved of his execution” (Acts 8:1a) shows us where he is at in his heart and status as a worshipper of Yahweh. 8:3 shows us that he does not stop there and carries this all the way through the church as much as he can. He was a bad dude.

Saul was likely a widower. He makes some unique statements in his letters that seem to suggest he was married at one time. These will be highlighted by me when we get to them. It is curious though and leaves you wondering what happened. Does she leave him when he follows Jesus? Did she die before? We have no idea (or even that he was for sure). However, Saul/Paul being free of the marriage covenant leads him to some ridiculous places as a follower of Jesus and a new leader of the fledgling church. He would not have been able to travel so extensively (in that day) if married. He traveled over 25,000 miles in his life – which was unheard of! He then feels he can say “be as I am” in 1 Corinthians concerning marriage, as he was single.

Saul is a huge character. His first interaction with the church is to help start the persecution (8:1-3) that ultimately pushes the church out of Jerusalem and into Judea and Samaria (check 1:8 for why this is significant!).

This happens quickly by following an apostle named Philip. Philip was a farmer and was challenged by Jesus to find food to feed 5000. Philip goes to Samaria and challenges a guy named Simon to give up his ways to follow Jesus. Then he shares the message to the Ethiopian eunuch and the Ethiopian church still claims that this event, sparked with the interaction between Solomon and the Queen of Sheba led to their birth and the first Christian nation!

Stephen’s speech is amazing and shows just how wise these deacons were. Again, I think many today miss how key a role deacons were/could be in the church. So many of us set the bar quite lowly for ourselves and think “I’m not aiming for elder level or church leadership level, so it’s okay to just hang here where I am at.” The problem with this thinking is that our “mark” is Jesus, we are aiming to Him! We read and learn the Bible to become more like Him. We pray following His example. We love people and live a life of worship because He modeled it for us. I could go on, but the idea here is there are no “levels” but we should be pursuing Christ with all we have. He will change us, He will make us “qualified” to serve the church. Further, even if we do not aspire to leadership in the church, we should be qualified to be so if we are chasing after Jesus.

Look at how Stephen walks through the biblical narrative and shows Christ in it all! Clearly the early church sought to share the gospel from start to finish – not just “pray a prayer and get into heaven.” They sought to give some clarity as to Jesus’ claim to being Messiah. They wanted people to know and then make up their minds.

Stephen’s speech ends in his martyrdom (witness to the point of death). This is going to be a common occurrence in Acts. However, people are still dying for their faith today. Let’s pray for those putting their life on the line today. Let’s pray that they have the courage to hold to the Gospel in the face of certain death. Let’s pray for their families and the outcomes of such deaths. Let’s pray for our own boldness that we would share the Gospel and not be afraid of the consequences.

The first real issue arises for the church. Some widows are not getting cared for. It seems to be a racial problem. Instead of continuing to worry the Apostles with this busy work, they declare 7 men to carry the load and carry out the work of making sure the church is doing its work. I think this is amazing!

I also struggle with it because so often today the position of deacon/caretaker/etc is filled by men who see it as a lesser role than elder. Yet these men were considered to become deacons because they were just as “worthy” as the apostles. They are leaders who know the Word and are leading the church.

One of these guys, Stephen is arrested and this sets the tone for the following few chapters. Partially because a guy named Saul gets involved. Saul is a name for a king, Israel’s first king. Both were from the tribe of Benjamin. Both are huge characters in the Bible. One story is redemptive, the other not so much. More on him later!

Two other people notice what Barnabas does and either want the glory of doing the same thing or some other devious intention. They also sell a field and only give some to the church. However, they lie and claim that it is all the money. I have no clue what would have happened if they said, “Here’s some of the money from the field” or “We need some for ourselves, but this is all we have to give.” They may have been fine. However, they lie and each die, Ananias first then his wife Sapphira. Again, I wonder if this story would have been different had they just been honest. The sin here is not selling a field and keeping some of the money – the issue is with faking that it was all the money. Be wise!

Again the disciples are captured and put in jail. However, an angel comes and frees them and they are released. So naturally they go back to the place where they were arrested and start preaching again! I love their style!

They share the Gospel to the leadership again, but a wise old teacher named Gamaliel claims that the movement will die if not of God. Not sure this is the greatest advice for the leaders, but they go with it and let the disciples go after beating them. The disciples then rejoice that they were counted worthy to suffer for Jesus. If only we took this attitude today!

Peter and John in the portico lead to a huge ruckus. The Sadducees (remember when I told you they show up in Acts?) step forward and have an issue with the teaching they were giving about Jesus. The church gains 5000 more believers and these two disciples are thrown in jail. Peter now shares the Gospel with the rulers of the religious parties and are amazed because these are ordinary men that have clearly been with Jesus! This means that they could see Jesus in them and how they acted. Is that true of you?

They were released and rejoiced. I wonder if Peter was thinking of Jesus’ words in John 21. I wonder if he knew this wasn’t the end because he wasn’t old enough yet (check John 21:18-19). I think he preaches with boldness because of the Spirit but is unafraid of the consequences because he finally believes Jesus. Again, is this true of you?

We are also introduced to Barnabas (who becomes Paul’s companion). Barnabas does a curious thing. He sells a field and gives the money to the church. Remember this for chapter 5.

Peter and John then heal a man. Consider how far the church leadership has come in just a couple of days! They were hiding and waiting for power to come. Now that God has sent His Spirit, the leaders are out in public and bold enough to heal like Jesus did. They learned from Him and now are implementing what they learned to do!

Peter goes on the share the Good News (Gospel) of Jesus again in chapter 3. This time it is in the place called Solomon’s Portico. This is a very visible place and this will lead to some trouble for them!

Before we deal with the trouble in chapter 4, check out some of the main tenets of Peter’s presentation of the Gospel. God glorified Jesus by raising Him from the dead! While you (in your face) killed Him, grace remains a possibility for you all! Turn from your wickedness and accept the gift He offers!

While I don’t recommend this particular approach in every setting, here with those that actually killed Jesus, this would be an amazingly powerful way to talk about Jesus!