Index/Table of Contents
Old Testament
and New Testament
Credits and Copyright
ACTS
LECTURE 21
PIVOTAL LEADERS
Content of Lecture
(Outline of Acts Continued)
II. Critical Events in the Lives of Three Pivotal Figures (6:8-9:31)
A. The Martyrdom of Stephen (6:8-8:3)
1. The Opposition to Stephen's Ministry (6:8-7:1)
2. Stephen's Defense before the Sanhedrin (7:2-53)a. On the Land (7:2-36)
b. On the Law (7:37-43)
c. On the Temple (7:44-50)
d. The Indictment (7:51-53)3. The Stoning of Stephen (7:54-8:1a) (TN1)
4. The Immediate Aftermath (8:1 b-3) (TN2)B. The Early Ministry of Philip (8:4-40)
1. The Evangelization of Samaria (8:4-2 5) (TN3)
2. An Ethiopian Eunuch Converted (8:26-40)
This is another account of the advance of the Gospel from a Jewish to Gentile context. The high-ranking official was a Gentile although he was certainly sympathetic to Judaism since he had been to Jerusalem to worship and was reading the Prophet Isaiah.
C. The Conversion of Saul of Tarsus (9:1-30) (TN4)
1. The Christ Encounter on the Damascus Road (9:1-9)
2. Ananias' Ministry to Saul (9:10-19a)
3. Saul's Ministry in Damascus (9:19b-25) (TN5)
4. Saul's Reception in Jerusalem (9:26-30)D. Summary Statement (9:31)
III. Advances of the Gospel in Palestine and Syria (9:32-12:24)
A. The Ministry of Peter in the Maritime Plain of Palestine (9:32-43)
1. Aeneas healed at Lydda (9:32-35)
2. Dorcas raised at Joppa (9:36-43)B. The Conversion of Cornelius at Caesarea (10:1-11:18)
1. Cornelius and His Vision (10:1-8)
2. Peter's Vision (10:9-16)
3. Messengers from Cornelius Arrive at Joppa (10:17-23a)
4. Peter's Reception by Cornelius (10:23b-33)
5. Peter's Sermon In Cornelius' House (10:34-43)
6. Gentiles Receive the Holy Spirit (10:4448) (TN6)
7. The Response of the Jerusalem Church (11:1-18)C. The Church at Antioch of Syria (11:19-30)
1. The Founding of the Church (11:19-26) (TN7)
Three significant developments take place as Christian missionaries share their message in Antioch, Syria.
a. Antioch becomes the new center of Christian activity.
b. Gentiles now become more of the focus of evangelism.
c. The disciples of Jesus get a new name (Christians).Even though this designation was used by Greeks, Jews would not have used this term because it would imply that Jesus was the Christ.
2. The Famine Relief for Jerusalem (11:27-30)
D. Divine Intervention on Behalf of the Jerusalem Church (12:1-23)
1. The Deliverance of Peter (23:1-19a)
2. The Death of Herod Agrippa 1 (12:19b-23)E. A Summary Statement (12:24)
Assignment
Read Acts 12:25-16:5 and be prepared to discuss the significance of the Jerusalem Council that is described in Acts 15. What are the issues of the Council? Who are the main participants?
| TEACHER'S NOTES TN The following information could be written on the board or used in a handout.
TN Use a map to show the location of several places as the Christian movement spreads from Jerusalem to Antioch, Syria. TN Possible questions for beginning the class: As Christianity spread from Jerusalem to other places, what were some of the barriers which had to be crossed' Why were many Jewish Christians reluctant to reach out to Samaritans and Gentiles; Was racial prejudice a serious problem in the early church? TN1 At the death of Stephen, we are first introduced to Paul who is identified by his Jewish name Saul. Having Roman citizenship, he naturally had a Roman name (Paul), which would be used more frequently as he moved from a Jewish to a Gentile context. TN 2 The fact that the apostles were allowed to stay in Jerusalem indicates the persecution was directed toward the Hellenistic Christians rather than the whole church, suggesting that the persecution was as much racial as religions. TN3 This is one of the primary texts used to teach the concept of the "Second Blessing" or doctrine that "baptism of the Holy Spirit" comes after, and at times independent of, conversion. There is an interesting discussion in Expositor's Bible Commentary (Acts, pp. 358-360) which suggests that God was working in a unique way to promote both the outreach and unity of the early church. TN4 William Barclay (Daily Bible Series) has suggested that two factors heavily contributed to Paul's conversion:
TN5 The author of Acts makes no reference to a visit to Arabia at this time, yet Paul's personal account in Galatians 1:17-18 leads most scholars to include a visit to Arabia between the time Paul arrived in Damascus and the time he returned to Jerusalem as a Christian. TN6 Some physical manifestation of the Holy Spirit was necessary to convince the skeptics that Gentiles could become recipients of the Holy Spirit ((become e Christians). TN7 Soon the Christians will also have a new leader as Barnabas involved Paul in the work at Antioch |
| DISCUSSION QUESTIONS DQ Why would Peter's association with Cornelius be so significant that the author of Acts would devote almost two chapters to these events? DQ Would you expect Peter to be so prejudiced against Gentiles when he had spent several years with Jesus and seen him reach out to all races? DQ After Peter learned his lesson, would you expect the church in Acts to continue to struggle with prejudice and racism? Explain your answer. How did each of the following play an important role in crossing barriers of race and prejudice? Philip, Peter, Barnabas |
Updated Thursday, February 24, 2000
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