The Church of the Resurrection of Peace

12/02/08

The Acts of the Apostles-Week 2

Chapters 1 & 2

Chapter 1

1.      The Resurrected Christ.

verse  5…the promise of Holy Spirit baptism

verse  8…the Acts version of The Great Commission (Mt 28:18-20)

verse  9…the Ascension of the Christ into a cloud

verse 11…the promise of His return in the same manner

verses 12-26…after the return to Jerusalem, the 11 become 12 again with the casting of lots (flipping a coin?) and the selection of Matthias (the casting of lots goes as far back as Moses in the OT so it really is not as strange as it seems (at least to us) to select Matthias in this manner. BTW, who was Matthias? Good question. He is not mentioned before nor after selection. Several early church writers referenced a Gospel of Matthias or “after the tradition of Matthias”. Matthias had been with them since the beginning (baptism of Jesus by John) to the present (His ascension). One other was proposed and then the lots were cast. With the lack of information/reference to Mathias, the reality is more to the 11+1 instead of the 12.

Chapter 2

1.      Pentecost…the coming of the Holy Spirit.

The meaning is “the fiftieth (pente) day” after the Passover Sabbath. It is also known as the Feast of Weeks, Feast of Harvest, and the day of firstfruits.       

verses  1-4...the actual coming of the Holy Spirit: violent wind from heaven, tongues of fire (in the air), speaking in tongues (languages?) as the Spirit enabled them. There is some debate/discussion if the Spirit fell upon only the 12 or upon the 120.

verses  5-13…at the Temple there were “God fearing Jews” meaning devout Jews from many places (v 8) yet each heard in their own language (v 6). So this is not the “tongues” so prevalent in many “Pentecostal” churches.  Others just thought they were drunk (v 13).

2.      Peter’s sermon…verses 14-40

verses 14-21…Peter assures the crowd that it is only 9 AM and these men are not drunk. He begins his message from the OT Book of Joel (vv 17-21) “…God says I will pour out my Spirit on all people…”

verses 22-24…Peter speaks a testimony concerning Jesus being from God and showed that He was with wonders and miracles done to the knowledge of those in the crowd. Then (v 23b) Peter accuses the crowd “with the help of wicked men” of putting Jesus to death yet God raised Him from the dead (v 24). Peter tells the crowd that David died and is still dead yet Jesus lives even quoting David concerning the prophecy of the Resurrection of the Messiah. Peter tells the crowd that this is not hearsay but they are all witnesses to the fact of His Resurrection (v 32). NOTE: Remember, the word of a witness in Bible times carried far more weight than now. In Biblical times it was just accepted that the speaker was telling the truth and with more than one testifying the same, it was therefore considered a fact.  

verse 36…here Peter outright proclaims to all Israel that they are the ones that crucified this Jesus but that God has made Him both Lord and Christ. Christ is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word Messiah. The Greek meaning is the “anointed”.

verse 37…the response from the crowd…”they were cut to the heart…” and cried out what should they do? FOOD FOR THOUGHT: When we become convicted of our sins and seek repentance, it is for our own sins alone. The first thing that the crowd had to face was that they had crucified the Son of God; the very one they had looked for along with a hundred generations before them. Imagine the feelings, if you can, concerning that act of hatred and the following self incrimination.  

verse 38…Peter responded…”Repent and be baptized…” “And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”

verse 39…this promise is for all, near and far, that the Lord will call

verse 41…those that accepted and were baptized that day was about 3000. FOOD FOR THOUGHT: There were no microphones in Peter’s day so how did 3000 hear the message at one time? This is much the same as when Jesus spoke to thousands at a time. The only way I can see this happening is for God to have “intervened” and “opened” the ears of the crowd to hear the voice of Peter at a great distance.

3.      Conclusion of Chapter 2…verses 42-47

verse 42…the crowd totally devoted themselves to “the apostles’ teachings, the fellowship, the breaking of bread, and to prayer.” NOTE: Honestly, to what measure do we, in the modern church, and specifically Resurrection of Peace devote ourselves to such things?

verse 44…a foundation verse of Resurrection of Peace…”All the believers were together and had everything in common.” In this, we work to allow for the differences that each has in their walk with Christ but remain true and faithful to the simple message of faith that He gave us…believe and you will be saved.

verses 46-47… they sold all their possessions and goods and gave to all as they had need. They met in the Temple and in homes daily, (NOTE: And the modern church has problems with 2 or 3 services a week.) breaking bread with “glad and sincere hearts”, “praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people”…”and the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”