In today's section, we read about:
Stephen is arrested, appears before the Council and is stoned to death with Saul looking on approvingly
Saul's conversion and escape from Damascus back to Jerusalem
Peter's vision meaning the gospel is now for the Gentiles as well
James is killed and Peter imprisoned, where he is miraculously released
Barnabas and Saul are sent out by the church of Antioch
Paul's first missionary journey to Cyprus and Asia Minor
The council of believers at Jerusalem decides on the obligations for gentiles
Paul and Silas sent out on the second missionary journey
They are arrested in Philippi, when there is an earthquake while they are jailed
Some thoughts that occurred to me:
First, 6:15 - "everyone in the high council stared at Stephen, because his face became as bright as an angel’s." Secondly, Stephen's defence starts by teaching his grandmother to suck eggs, by setting out the history of God's plan for Israel, which may well have added to the hostility of the listeners. He then moves on to show how his accusers were following the example of disobedience of those who killed the prophets. No wonder they went mad. Yet in the midst, Stephen experiences the truth of Jesus' promise that the Holy Spirit will help him to answer (Matt 10:19-20) and He will give a peace the world cannot comprehend (Jn 14:27). We read 7:55, "Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily into heaven and saw the glory of God, and he saw Jesus standing in the place of honour at God’s right hand" and to the end is focused on Christ, "As they stoned him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” He fell to his knees, shouting, “Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!” And with that, he died" (7:59-60).
There is a thread of humility of the believers, pointing towards Christ and ensuring that He gets the glory, notably in 14:14-15, which contrasts with the self-aggrandisement of the worldly, eg Simon the sorcerer (8:9,21-23) and Herod Agrippa (12:23).
I'm sure there is a simple explanation for 8:16, "the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them, for they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus," but my brain today is too sluggish to work out what it is.
In 8:23-40, we see such a good example is Philip - he is open and responsive to the Holy Spirit, he is obedient, enthusiastic and his speech is informed by God. Equally, Ananias in 9:10-19 is obedient in spite of what would have seemed his better judgment. However, he trusts that God knows exactly what is best. Barnabas in 9:27 intercedes with the apostles on Saul's behalf. These are great encouragement and examples of humble people being obedient and great glory to God resulting.
The lesson from Peter's vision in ch 10 is clearly a hard one for him to accept. However, in the end, he is obedient and dogged in seeing through what has been revealed to him. "I see very clearly that God shows no favouritism. In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right. This is the message of Good News for the people of Israel—that there is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all" (10:34-36). Then he convinces the others, "When the others heard this, they stopped objecting and began praising God. They said, “We can see that God has also given the Gentiles the privilege of repenting of their sins and receiving eternal life”" (11:18).
Poor old Rhoda seems to have had a blonde moment in 12:13. What would have been going through Peter's mind when he's left hammering on the door in the street? It was fine in the end though.
The picture we get of the church in Antioch is very good. First, we read that this is the place where the believers were first given a name that reflected who it was they believed in, Christians (11:25). Then we see how much they prayed, and how they were willing to send out and let go key people in their congregation.
I like the way in which Paul's preaching in Antioch of Pisidia has such an impact that we read in 13:44, "The following week almost the entire city turned out to hear them preach the word of the Lord." It is an attractive message - 13:38-39, "We are here to proclaim that through this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins. Everyone who believes in him is declared right with God—something the law of Moses could never do."
God is the mover of everything - 13:48, "all who were chosen for eternal life became believers." God chose us, we did not choose Him. The passage from Amos 9 quoted ion 15:17 also underlines this point, " the rest of humanity might seek the Lord, / including the Gentiles— / all those I have called to be mine
14:16-17, "In the past he permitted all the nations to go their own ways, but he never left them without evidence of himself and his goodness. For instance, he sends you rain and good crops and gives you food and joyful hearts." cf Rom 1:19-20, "They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God."
Luke's description of the stoning is so understated. The mob left him, believing he was dead, but 14:20 just says that Paul "got back up and went back into the town." Paul does refer to this in a whole list of what he went through in 2 Cor 11:25.
The discussion in the Council at Jerusalem in ch 15 moves a long way in the direction of grace as opposed to the law - v10-11," So why are you now challenging God by burdening the Gentile believers with a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors were able to bear? We believe that we are all saved the same way, by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus.” Yet there is a list of recommendations, each of which is good in itself (although I do like my steak saignant), but you can see why this might leave a foothold for legalism.
15:39 is quite sad, with the disagreement being so bad that Paul and Barnabas are no longer able to work together. Barnabas seems to have a more forgiving grace-full attitude than Paul. However this disagreement did not stop God's work progressing through Paul (although we don't know what Barnabas did).
Paul does not let apparent setbacks deflect him from what he has set out to do, so when the door was shut in Asia and Bithynia, he is open to the call to go to Macedonia.
God shows his sovereignty by the earthquake which sets them free. There is also a spiritual earthquake in the life of the jailer, who was ready to kill himself, but instead finds the gates of eternal life unlocked to welcome him in.
One verse from today - "We believe that we are all saved the same way, by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 15.11)
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