Week 32
Monday, August 4
Acts
9:32-10:8
Commentary
In today’s reading, we see the Lord
continuing to work through Peter. Peter heals a paralyzed man through the
Lord’s power and the miracle is so astonishing that many come to faith in
Christ. Then, Peter even raises someone from the dead! The dead woman, Tabtiha,
was well known for her godly works and was deeply grieved upon her passing.
Peter miraculously raises her to life, and again we see many people come to
faith. The miracles themselves are rarely (if ever) the point; it is the divine
power they reveal that is the point of the miracle-working.
After this, we
meet a new character, the Gentile Roman commander Cornelius. He lives in the
city of Caesarea, the capital of Judea and full of Gentiles. Cornelius was a
centurion, an official of the Roman military, who likely heard about God
through local synagogues and had incredible faith, although he didn’t
understand the risen Christ (yet). He sees an angel and though afraid, asks, “What
is it Lord?” He did not have to be told not to fear or who he was speaking to,
he knew. He was indeed a godly man! In the temple, the sacrifices let off smoke
that wafted upward and symbolized the sacrifices being accepted by God.
Cornelius’ faith is equally “fragrant” to God. God was going to bring Cornelius
even closer to himself and in so doing, help the Jewish Christians see that
Gentiles are a part of God’s family, too.
Application/Discussion
1. Why
is just healing someone or resurrecting someone an insufficient answer to our
problems? What is the real answer we need to everything that troubles us?
2.
Why is God pleased by sincere faith and not animal sacrifices or other
religious rituals on their own?
Points
of Prayer
Adoration:
Praise God for his power over nature and sin’s effects.
Confession:
Ask for God’s help in being abundant in good works.
Thanksgiving:
Thank God for loving and accepting everyone who is repentant.
Supplication:
Pray for the Holy Spirit’s conviction and enlightenment for a lost person you
know well and for opportunities to witness.
Tuesday,
August 5
Acts
10:9-48
Commentary
We
continue the story of Cornelius sending for Peter after an angel spoke to him.
On his way to the city, Peter falls into a trance and has a vision. In the
vision, God is telling Peter that all foods are clean and acceptable, implying
that all people are “clean” too. Peter has a hard time putting his figurative
guns down to understand what God is saying. Whatever Peter was bringing from
God, Cornelius wanted his family to experience it as well; he is a good husband
and dad. Peter sees the faith of Cornelius and the apostle is forced to
acknowledge that he is also only a man, which leads to him figuring out the
vision. Peter further explains God’s love for anyone who submits to him, saying
that even the prophets said that God would accept anyone who believes in him,
which is incredible comfort to the Gentiles he’s speaking with! They heartily
receive his message and respond in faith, prompting Peter’s suggestion for a
baptism.
Patrick
Schreiner explained, “Cornelius is the first Gentile that Peter will share
table-fellowship with, thus indicating his acceptance into the new community.
Luke makes this abundantly clear by slowing down the narrative and essentially
telling the same story three times. It is God who compels the church to take
this step, the Spirit who legitimates, and the Son who is revealed; Peter and
the church are reluctant participants. The narrative has been building up to
this point and now ministry in Jerusalem will move into the background as
Gentiles become brothers and sisters by the reception of the Spirit.”[1]
Application/Discussion
1. Why
did Jews have such animosity towards Gentiles?
2.
What does God’s acceptance of the Gentiles tell us about the validity of
prejudice?
Points
of Prayer
Adoration:
Praise God for showing his love and care through imperfect vessels like us.
Confession:
Ask for the Holy Spirit’s help in loving everyone in God’s family.
Thanksgiving:
Thank God for his great love for everyone to send Jesus and draw us to him.
Supplication:
Pray for the Holy Spirit’s encouragement and help to a group you know is
marginalized.
Wednesday,
August 6
Acts
11:1-30
Commentary
In
today’s passage, Peter tells the good news of the Gentiles being accepted into
God’s kingdom. However, it was not received well te Jewish Christians. They
were so blinded by their prejudice that they forgot that Jesus ate with all
kinds of scandalous people. Peter, graciously gentle in refuting them – he
thought something similar no too long
ago! The apostle saw the Holy Spirit come upon the Gentiles and believed it was
legitimate. Now the Jews realize that salvation is from God and that God can
save whoever he wants.
Next,
we see that Barnabas seeks out Saul, not the other way around. God used his
humble faithfulness to prepare Saul for more ministry and through their
combined effort, reached thousands with the gospel. Notice their continued
investment in the same folks here. Conversion for unbelievers and
sanctification for believers takes up a lot of time. We must invest
continually, faithfully, and patiently, and watch God bless our labors.
Finally,
as with many parts of Acts, God warns the church before a disaster. The church of
Antioch responds with good stewardship and sends relief to Judea. The Antioch
church sent money to help the Judean Christians with Barnabas and Paul. They
are functioning much more like apostles now, being a liaison between churches
and being trusted with large amounts of funds.
Application/Discussion
1. How
is prejudice antithetical to the gospel?
2.
Why should we care about the problems of believers in another region or
country?
Points
of Prayer
Adoration:
Praise God for his great patience and lavish kindness.
Confession:
Ask God’s forgiveness for any ways you have fallen short of his goodness today.
Thanksgiving:
Thank God for his salvation and his gospel to spread to others.
Supplication:
Ask for the Holy Spirit’s help for your church members to boldly witness for
Christ in your community and his strength for persecuted Christians around the
world.
Thursday,
August 7
Acts
12
Commentary
In
this passage, we see persecution against the church rising, now coming from the
Roman government for the first time. This Herod, Herod Agrippa I, was the
grandson of the Herod. Unlike his predecessors, Herod Agrippa I tried to gain
favor with the Jews by practicing their religion. Herod had already executed
James, one of the original twelve apostles and the brother of John. When he
sees that the Jews approved of this, he then arrests Peter as well, hoping to
further unify the Israelites under the banner of Rome. Herod plans to wait until
the week of the Passover is over to execute Peter to show his feigned reverence
for the occasion and have the full attention of the Jews.
God
had different plans for Peter and Herod, however. God delivers Peter from jail,
while he strikes down Herod. Peter is kept in prison, guarded by the best
soldiers in human history and waiting his death. In this hopeless, dark, scary
place, the church prays for him and God sends an angel to free him. In
contrast, on Herod’s throne, as he is worshipped by his subjects, God plagues
him with a deadly illness. The Jewish historian Josephus provides the detail
that Herod had severe stomach pains for five days until he died. Assuming this
is true, Luke’s description here is still accurate – God immediately gave Herod
the illness, which indeed caused his death.
Despite
James’ death, the church flourishes and God even raises up John Mark. This is
the same Mark who wrote the gospel of Mark and became a companion of both Peter
and Paul. Herod had all the wealth and power in the world and could not save
himself. The church lost one of its most important leaders, yet continued to
grow significantly. If God is for us, who can be against us?
Application/Discussion
1. Compare
Acts 10:25-26 to the attitude of Herod in this passage. What does truly knowing
God look like?
2. What
does this passage tell us about the importance of prayer?
Points
of Prayer
Adoration:
Praise God for showing his glory by exalting his humble church and destroying
his proud enemies.
Confession:
Ask God to help you make your life about his desires and glory, not your own.
Thanksgiving:
Thank God for assuring us that even the gates of Hell will not prevail against
his church.
Supplication:
Pray for the Holy Spirit’s conviction and enlightenment to those who violently
persecute the church.
Friday,
August 8
Acts
13:1-25
Commentary
This
passage shows us Barnabas and Saul being called by God and sent out by the
church to spread the gospel beyond Antioch. While we do not have an exact
number of years, Paul was sent out along with Barnabas nine to fifteen years
after his conversion. We know Paul most as an apostle, a missionary, and a
writer of Scripture, but he did not do any of these things until years after he
was saved – after being saved in his middle age or so too! Also, notice that
Barnabas gets top billing in this instance. Soon we will see Paul listed first,
and since Paul has not yet been an active missionary to Gentiles, Luke still
refers to him by his Hebrew name, Saul. Paul’s ministry started in humility and
patience, and God used him in a mighty way. Never doubt that God could use
someone like you or me to do his great work!
Paul
and his companions begin to travel throughout the Roman Empire to spread the
gospel. Despite opposition from a Jewish sorcerer, a Roman proconsul
(governor/ruler) comes to faith. This is one of the first instances of a theme
in Paul’s ministry – the Jews he preaches to often refuse Christ, but the
pagans often listen to Paul and turn to Christ. The Jews thought they were
already fine with God and wanted nothing to do with Christ. The Gentiles
recognized their need for a Savior and listened gladly. We also see Paul’s
custom of teaching in the synagogues to persuade his kinsmen that Jesus truly
was the promised Christ. The apostle emphasizes that the Old Testament pointed
to Christ, just as John the Baptist, the last prophet, pointed to Christ.
Application/Discussion
1. Biblical
fasting is denying oneself of food to focus on God, accompanied by prayer.
Fasting is repeatedly commended in the Bible, such as in Ezra 8:21-23, Matt.
6:16-18, Matt. 9:15, and Acts 14:23. Is fasting part of your walk with Christ?
Why or why not? If it is not part of your Christian walk, have you been
overlooking mentions of it in the Bible, or neglecting your Bible altogether?
2.
Paul’s words in verses 10 and 11 can seem harsh at first. Why did the situation
Paul was dealing with deem such a strong response?
Points
of Prayer
Adoration:
Praise God for his redeeming, transforming love.
Confession:
Ask for God’s forgiveness for any ways you try to do things in your own
strength or make your life about yourself.
Thanksgiving:
Thank God for saving you, if you are saved, or for freely offering salvation to
you if you are not saved.
Supplication:
Pray for the Holy Spirit’s guidance and conviction for your church to be prayerfully
passionate about reaching the nations for Christ.
Saturday,
August 9
Acts
13:26-52
Commentary
Paul
continues his sermon from yesterday’s passage, now reaching the climax of his
message in the cross of Christ. He quotes several Psalms, which would have been
understood to refer either to David or to the ideal king of Israel, and says
they are fulfilled in Jesus. He argues that nobody, not even great men like
Moses or David, could atone for humanity’s sins. Paul finally quotes Habakkuk,
one of the minor prophets, to show God’s plan of redemption from antiquity and
to warn of God’s judgment against unbelievers. We would expect a message this
damning to turn people away, but they were eager to continue to learn from
Paul.
Paul
and Barnabas continue teaching the next Sabbath, but “the Jews,” suggesting the
interested Sabbath audience were mostly Gentiles, stirred the prominent people
of the city against the preachers. They rejected the gospel despite reading and
studying the Scriptures that proclaim it. Paul now decides he to focus his
attention more heavily on Gentiles because Jews have been so opposed to his
message. All that God appointed to salvation believed; it is only God’s
intentional work in us that can save us. Share the gospel faithfully, you never
know when God is working in someone’s heart!
Application/Discussion
1. How
does this passage encourage us to share our faith when we never know if someone
will respond with interest or animosity?
2. Look
at how much Paul quotes the Old Testament in this passage. What does this tell
us about the importance and blessing of the Old Testament for Christians?
Points
of Prayer
Adoration:
Praise God for his perfect, beautiful, and edifying revelation in the Bible and
in the incarnation of Christ.
Confession:
Ask for God’s help in proclaiming the gospel to everyone around you.
Thanksgiving:
Thank God for the help of the Holy Spirit.
Supplication:
Pray for the Holy Spirit’s strengthening of the churches in your community to
lovingly and boldly witness for Christ.
Sunday,
August 10
Acts
14
Commentary
Today,
we see Paul and Barnabas conclude their first missionary journey through Asia
Minor. When they go to Iconium, they preach in the synagogues as usual. Paul’s
“rejection” of the Jews in the last chapter did not mean he completely
abandoned witnessing to them. He spent more time with Gentiles and expected
greater fruit from them, yet still faithfully witnessed to Jews as he had the opportunity.
Even when Jewish opponents cause division in the city, Paul and Barnabas stay
and have a fruitful ministry for some time. Eventually, an uncovered threat
providentially drove them to the next place that needed the gospel.
They
next go to Lystra and Derbe, where the gospel spreads to a completely new kind
of place. Kenneth Gangel explained, “Lystra and Derbe represented virgin fields
for the gospel. No synagogues there, no Jewish population familiar with
messianic promises to whom they could proclaim the message of the risen Christ.
Here the gospel plunges into raw heathenism, the like of which these
missionaries certainly never before saw in such primitive form… the difference
between Antioch and Lystra could be compared to the difference between a
capital city like Lima, Peru, and the jungle tribes living two or three hundred
miles inland.”[2] The
missionaries are even mistaken for pagan gods after healing someone, and they
have to work hard to redirect people to the gospel.
Paul
has become so hated by the Jews, who he once led as part of the Sanhedrin, that
a mob follows him from Antioch and Iconium, stirring up the town to stone him
and leave him for dead. Even after such an awful event, however, God continues
to spread the gospel and raise up disciples through our two missionaries and
the churches they established.
Application/Discussion
1. How
does this passage emphasize God’s love of all people?
2.
Have you found fellow believers to be a comfort when you are rejected by the
lost?
Points
of Prayer
Adoration:
How can you praise God based on what you just read?
Confession:
Is there unconfessed sin in your heart today?
Thanksgiving:
How can you thank God based on what you just read?
Supplication:
What can you ask for God’s help with based on what you just read?
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