The Acts of the Apostles

1
The Acts of the Apostles

• Early history
• Early Christian church?
• Continuation of gospel narratives?
• Initial emphasis on Jewish roots
• Extension to Greco-Roman Gentile world
• Missionary efforts of Paul and Barnabas
• Great emphasis on numbers

2
Paul

• Character and author
• Writes earliest canonized Christian texts
• Revolutionary doctrine of Paul
• Faith has replaced Torah
• Addresses urban areas in Greco-Roman world
• children of Abraham via Christ

3
The Acts of the Apostles

• Continuation of Lukesame author
• the new way
• Early emphasis on fulfillment of Hebrew
  scriptures
• Extends divine promise to Gentiles
• Conversion of Saul/PaulPharisee
• Paul brings new faith to Europe
• Arrives in Rome in 60 CE
• Conversion of CorneliusRoman soldier
• 1st Gentile to receive Holy Spirit

4
The Acts of the Apostles

• Early history
• Idealistic?
• Incomplete?
• Strategic?
• Political?
• Some step-by-step accounts (daily updates)
• Some sweeping comments

5
The Acts of the Apostles

• Must counter/explain Jewish apocalyptic
  expectations
• Rapid transition to new faith
• Numbers keep growing
• Concentrates on select few characters and events
• Peterrepresents Palestinian Jewish
  Christianity/Jerusalem
• Paulrepresents Gentile Christianity/Greco-Roman
  world
• Other disciples and apostles omitted or
  de-emphasized

6
The Acts of the Apostles

• Acts emphasizes Pauls successful geographical
  expansion of faith
• Acts strangely ignores expansion in Southern
  Mediterranean region
• Emphasis on Westward expansionRome
• Emphasis on inspiring power of Holy Spirit
• Pentecostfulfills eschatological promise of
  anointing spirit
• Active in Temple and Synagogues

7
The Acts of the Apostles

• Includes extensive speeches
• Hard/impossible to verify source material
• Recounts ascension
• Matthias replaces Judas
• Paul struggles for acceptance as apostle
• Early emphasis on Jerusalem church
• Spirit inspires disciples to speak in
  tonguesglossolalia
• Fulfills prophecy of Joel

8
The Acts of the Apostles

• Communal quality of Jerusalem church
• Shared everything
• Confrontations between Jewish and Roman
  authorities and the disciples
• Sadducees especially bothered by Christians
• Control Temple
• Pharisees tend to tolerate
• Gamaliel recommends toleration

9
The Acts of the Apostles

• Martyrdom of Stephen
• 1st Christian martyr
• Hellenist
• Simon identified as Zealot
• Conversion of Simon the magician
• Conversion of Ethiopian eunuch
• Conversion of Saul of TarsusPaul
• Conversion of Cornelius

10
The Acts of the Apostles

• Barnabas sent to Gentiles in Antioch
• Herod Agrippas persecution of Jerusalem
  community
• Executes James
• Imprisons Peterfreed by angel
• Focus becomes more international
• Jerusalem conference
• What to do about circumcision

11
The Acts of the Apostles

• Peter encourages acceptance of non-circumcised
  Gentiles
• Area of division in Christian church
• Acts presents compromise as orderly and calm
• James presented as moderate figure of compromise
• Brother/kinsman of Jesus
• Luke presents Paul as uncompromising champion of
  Gentile Christians

12
The Acts of the Apostles

• Luke emphasis unity in early church
• Separation of Paul and Barnabas
• Paul travels with Silas
• Barnabas travels with John Mark
• Paul heads to Greece and then Rome
• Pauls legal troubles in Rome
• Pauls arrest and imprisonment
• Luke emphasizes potential for friendly
  relationship between church and Rome

13
The Acts of the Apostles

• 1 Jesus told disciples not to lave Jerusalem
• Jesusdisciples not to know time and dates
• Ascension
• Death of Judas
• Matthias replaces Judas

14
The Acts of the Apostles

• 2 Tongues of fire
• Talk in tongues
• Each auditor heard his own language
• Peter addresses crowd in Jerusalem
• All gods plan
• Peter testifies
• Peter dubs Jesus Lord and Messiah

15
The Acts of the Apostles

• Peter calls crowd to repent and be baptized
• 3,000 added
• Many portents and signs
• Believers agree to hold everything in common
• Daily attendance at Temple
• Day by daynew converts

16
The Acts of the Apostles

• 3 Peter calls on cripple to get up and walk
• Peter claims we are witness to Christ
• Claims he knows Jews acted in ignorance
• Now time to repent
• 4 5,000
• Meeting of Jewish leaders
• Jesus as rejected stone that has become
  cornerstone

17
The Acts of the Apostles

• What are Jewish leaders to do about cured
  cripple?
• Building made to rock
• Whole community of believers united in heart and
  soul
• All held in common
• 5 Ananias only brings portion of sale proceeds
  to Peter
• Drops dead

18
The Acts of the Apostles

• Many signs and wonders
• Sick carried to street so Peters shadow could
  fall on them
• All cured
• Apostles escape from prison and teach in Temple
• Made to stand before council
• Gamaliel warns council to be cautious with
  disciples

19
The Acts of the Apostles

• Gamaliel references other revolts
• Advices council to leave men (and works of men)
  alone
• 6 growing in numbers
• Split between Jewish and Greek language
• 7 elected scribes
• Stephen
• 7 Stevens re-telling of Hebrew history

20
The Acts of the Apostles

• 8 Steven stonedSaul a witness
• Beginning of violent persecution in Jerusalem
• Saul persecuting church
• Philip preaches in Samaria
• Simon the magician
• Simon converts
• Signs and miracles

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The Acts of the Apostles

• Samaritans receive holy spirit
• Philip meets Ethiopian
• Philip explains Christ to Ethiopian
• Baptized
• 9 Sauls epiphany
• Paul as gods chosen instrument
• Ananias cures Pauls blindness
• Baptized

22
The Acts of the Apostles

• Jews hatch plot against life of Saul
• Other disciples afraid of Saul
• Grew in numbers
• 10 Conversion of Cornelius
• Centurion
• Encounters angel
• Peter sees heavens open
• God tells Peter to kill and eat
• Authorizes new food

23
The Acts of the Apostles

• Peter now authorizes new foods and relations for
  Jewish-Christians
• God has no favorites
• 11 News of Gentiles accepting word of God
• Jewish-Christians take issue
• ConclusionGod has granted repentance for
  Gentiles too
• Christians in Antioch

24
The Acts of the Apostles

• 12 Herods campaign against church
• Peter in prison
• Peter freedangel
• Herod struck down