Today, I am reading and commenting on  Acts 4-6.

I am not sure that I ever noticed before that when Luke describes the arrest of Peter and John he says that “the rulers, elders, and teachers of the Law” were present.  He also mentions that the high priest and members of his family were present.  Later, when all of the apostles were arrested, Luke says that it was the high priest and his associates who had them arrested (which sounds to me as more or less the same group), but they called the entire Sanhedrin together for the hearing.  Clearly at this second hearing the high priest and his faction felt that they needed more weight behind their attempt to silence the apostles.  They attempted to use the force of their position and power to silence those whom they felt were spreading dangerous misinformation.  Gamaliel presented one of the foundational arguments about why governments, and everyone else in positions of power, should respect freedom of speech.  The basis of Gamaliel’s argument was that any group built around falsehood will dissipate with time, with no effort on the part of the powerful, and even the powerful will fail to suppress a thought which comes from God.  But there is a little more to what Gamaliel was saying.  If you attempt to stamp out the truth, you will find yourself fighting against God and suffer for doing so

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Acts 1-3.

I have often tried to picture what happened on that day of Pentecost described here from the perspective of those outside of the house where the believers were meeting.  Sometimes I imagine that the people were drawn by the 120 different believers speaking loudly at the same time.  However, currently I believe that people were drawn to the area by the sound of violent wind which Luke describes.  I think people gathered expecting to find destroyed buildings, and perhaps people in need of rescue.  When they got there they bewildered by what they heard: they heard a bunch of people speaking in their native tongue (these were people from all over the world who spoke different languages in their homes).  Until recently I always assumed that different ones of the believers were speaking in different languages.  Recently someone pointed out to me that the wording suggests that each of the listeners heard each of the believers speaking in their native tongue.  I was unsure of it at the time, but as I read the passage today I believe that he was correct.  It seems to me that the disciples were speaking in their native tongue (my understanding is that would have been Aramaic).  So, from this perspective, the believers who were sharing the Gospel were completely unaware that they were speaking in anything other than their native language.  The Spirit had not caused them to speak any differently than they normally did, it was those hearing them whom the Spirit changed.  Which gives yet another reason to speak the Gospel to those around us, the Spirit changes those who hear the word of God.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Acts 26-28.

Paul’s final statement in his audience before King Agrippa should color our thoughts when we speak with those who are not yet Believers in, and Followers of, Jesus Christ: “Short time or long—I pray to God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.”  Let us seek in all we say and do to influence those around us to repent of their sins and turn to God.  I want us to think about the fact that Paul made this statement after King Agrippa recognized that Paul was attempting to convert him.  All too often when we are confronted by those to whom we are witnessing, we apologize rather than following Paul’s example and saying, “Well, of course I am trying to convince you to follow Christ, I care about you.”

I read a blog this morning which condemned the pastors and leaders of many Christian (or, perhaps, merely supposedly Christian) Church groups for completely shutting down during the Covid lockdowns.  Specifically, he spoke out against the Church of England forbidding its priests from responding to the call from England’s NHS for volunteer chaplains to minister to the sick and dying out of fear that those priests might contract Covid and die.  The reason that struck me relative to today’s passage is because many of those same priests, and other Church leaders who behaved similarly out of fear of Covid, often present themselves as successors to Paul.  In today’s passage, Paul survived a shipwreck, where the odds against his survival were much greater than those for someone who contracts Covid, and the bite of a poisonous snake, which those present thought was divine judgement for his sins.  Having said this, I want to also commend those shepherds of God’s people who refused to stop ministering to those whom God put in their care in the face of government persecution.  Let us remember that God is supreme and let us serve Him knowing that even sure death is not sure if God chooses otherwise.  Let us serve Him, even if He does not choose to rescue our bodies, because the eternal reward far outweighs the short term mortal suffering we might experience.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Acts 23-25.

I want to focus on something that the Roman commander of the Jerusalem garrison wrote in his letter to the governor when he sent Paul to the governor in Caesarea: “there was no charge against him which deserved death or imprisonment.”  So, the commander found no basis for imprisoning Paul, yet he sent him as a prisoner to the governor in Caesarea.  There the governor, Felix, had the Jewish leaders come down and make their case against Paul.  Felix found no basis for condemning Paul, but kept him as a prisoner anyway.  When Festus succeeded Felix as governor, he held a hearing on the charges against Paul.  Festus also found no basis in the law for keeping Paul a prisoner, but ruled in a manner which led Paul to believe he had no choice but to appeal to the emperor.  So, we must ask, since none of these men found a legal basis for Paul to be imprisoned, why did they keep him imprisoned?

The commander of the Jerusalem garrison would have claimed that he did so to protect Paul from those plotting to kill him.  Yet, he did not need to send him to Caesarea as a prisoner in order to protect him.   Luke tells us that Felix was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe, but Luke also tells us that he wanted to do the Jews a favor when he left the office of governor, so he did not release Paul.  Festus found no basis  in law for keeping Paul a prisoner, but he wanted Paul to go to Jerusalem to face charges.  However, all three men had one thing in common, they feared that if they released Paul that there would be riots in Jerusalem (and perhaps elsewhere).  So, rather than do what they believed was what the law called for and release Paul, they kept him imprisoned.  The Sanhedrin used the threat of riots to manipulate the Roman authorities into punishing those they found inconvenient.  It is not actually accurate to say it was the Sanhedrin which did this.  As we read between the lines in the Gospels and the Book of Acts we see that it was a select group of the most powerful members of the Sanhedrin, including the high priest.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Acts 21-22.

As Paul was traveling towards Jerusalem, God revealed to him through various prophets that he would be arrested and imprisoned if he went to Jerusalem.  As I have read the passages concerning these warnings over the years I have wondered if God was telling Paul not to go to Jerusalem.  I have come to the conclusion that God was giving Paul a choice.  He could continue to Jerusalem, be arrested, and eventually face martyrdom.  Or, he could choose not to go to Jerusalem, continue to travel around, preaching the Gospel, and, perhaps, avoid martyrdom.  Paul chose the road to suffering on behalf of his faith.  Not all Believers have that choice, some of us will have to choose either faithfulness and suffering, or denying our faith (I have not, so far, been faced with that choice).  If you are one of those given that harder choice, I pray that you find inspiration and comfort from Paul’s example.  I want to note that while it appears that God gave Paul the choice to avoid the suffering awaiting him in Jerusalem, there had been previous occasions where the only choice Paul was given to avoid suffering was to deny his faith.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Acts 19-20.

At the end of yesterday’s passage, Apollos met Priscilla and Aquila in Ephesus, where he was preaching about Jesus even though he had never received the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  Luke writes that Priscilla and Aquila explained the way of Christ to Apollos more adequately.  Apollos then travelled to Corinth where he publicly debated those Jews who opposed following Christ.  Meanwhile, Paul returns to Ephesus and discovers some believers there who have not experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  Reading between the lines suggests to me that these believers had obtained their faith by listening to Apollos before he met Priscilla and Aquila.  All told this passage indicates the importance of receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  This always troubles me because of those who insist that if you have not experienced a dramatic experience comparable to what the disciples experienced on Pentecost you are not truly saved.  I am also troubled by those who downplay the importance of the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  I believe that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is not always as dramatic as what the disciples experienced and I believe that some people are saved without experiencing the baptism of the Holy Spirit (I believe that Apollos, and the believers Paul found in Ephesus were saved before they received the baptism of the Holy Spirit).  However, the true power of our faith comes about when we are filled by the Holy Spirit in that baptism and we should seek that experience.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Acts 17-18.

In town after town where Paul and his companions preached the crowds were riled up in an attempt to stop them preaching the Gospel.  I always find it noteworthy that in Berea, when people began agitating the crowds against the Gospel, the Believers sent Paul on his way, while Silas and Timothy stayed behind for some period of time.  From this we realize that Paul was more confrontational than many others.  I would argue that we should learn from this that there is a place in the Church for those who are confrontational about preaching the Gospel and a place for those who take a more gentle approach.

In Athens, while waiting for Silas and Timothy to join him, Paul got into a debate with Epicurean and Stoic philosophers.  These two schools of philosophy were in direct conflict with each other, but both were materialistic philosophies.  That is both schools taught that all beings are entirely material with nothing that was not part of the physical world.  While Paul made some converts in Athens, we know from reading between the lines from his letters to the Corinthian Church that he felt getting into debates with the philosophers was a mistake.  However, I believe that Paul, and certainly Luke, felt that the argument Paul made in Athens concerning the “unknown god” was an important Christian apologetic.  Paul’s argument was that God has revealed Himself to mankind through aspects of the world, that those who truly seek the Truth will find God.  In fact, that is part of the point of Luke including mention of Apollos later in this passage.  Apollos appears to have come to a belief in Jesus from a combination of hearsay and studying Jewish Scripture.  In today’s passage Priscilla and Aquila  introduced Apollos to the Holy Spirit.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Acts 14-16.

I want to start out by looking at the way in which “the crowd” in Lystra shifted from wanting to offer sacrifices to Paul and Barnabas as gods to stoning Paul.  While “the crowd” which stoned Paul was almost certainly not the same group of people as the one which acclaimed Paul and Barnabas as gods, the shift does serve as a warning about the fickleness of crowds.  In both cases the crowd followed their emotions rather than careful thought.  And in both cases the crowd was encouraged in their emotional response by those who stood to benefit from their incorrect reaction to circumstances.  I take two lessons from these events.  We should not follow the crowds when emotions are running high, and we should not stoke those emotions in order to gain advantage for ourselves.

On the subject of emotion getting the best of us, I want to look at the disagreement between Paul and Barnabas about taking John Mark with them on a second journey.  Paul approached Barnabas about going back to visit the places they had preached the Word on their previous trip.  Barnabas thought that was a good idea and wanted to take the young man, John Mark (who we know primarily as Mark) with them.  Paul resisted that idea because Mark had left them early on the previous journey.  Barnabas insisted that they give Mark a second chance and Paul refused.  Leading the two men to go their separate ways.  Luke’s wording in saying the Mark had deserted them on the first journey suggests that he thought that Paul had a valid point.  However, I also think that Luke recognized at the time of writing that Barnabas was right to give Mark a second chance (based partly on the fact that in his account of Mark leaving them on the first trip he downplays it).  We cannot know how things would have worked out if Paul and Barnabas had resolved their differences and travelled together this time, but we do know that God used their separation to enrich the Church.  Mark travelled with Barnabas and became a pillar of the next generation of Church leaders, writing one of the four Gospels which we have to this day (and being such assistance to Paul later that Paul refers to him in his letters).  On the other side, Paul took Timothy under his wing on his travels and Timothy also became a pillar of the next generation of Church leaders.  It seems unlikely that if Mark had been travelling with Paul that Paul would have recruited Timothy to travel with them.  So, the dispute between Paul and Barnabas led them to each train a young man for leadership in the Church.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Acts 9-10.

Sometimes I think we do not pay enough attention to the bravery of the Ananias in the account of Saul’s conversion.  I think that there are two reasons for this.  The first being that the account is about Saul’s conversion and Saul plays such a major role later in the Book of Acts (and the development of the Church), while we know nothing more about this Ananias than what we are told here.  Additionally, we tend to think of the other Believer named Ananias, the one who, with his wife, conspired to pretend he had given more to aid the poor than he actually had.  That being said, let us look at the actions of this Ananias.  He had clearly heard that Saul was persecuting those who followed Jesus and testified in His name.  Further, it seems likely that he had heard that something had happened to Saul on his way to Damascus.  Perhaps he was even feeling that he should go to Saul and offer prayer for his sight to be restored in Jesus’ name.  However, he was afraid to do so, until he had a vision telling him to do just that.  Let us think about the situation.  Word had either gotten to Damascus ahead of Saul, or perhaps spread after his arrival, that he was coming to imprison Believers and take them back to Jerusalem for punishment.  When Saul arrived in Damascus word quickly spread among the Jews, including the Believers, that something had happened to him on the road to Damascus and now he was blind.  The Believers in Damascus must have felt great joy at Saul’s misfortune, hopefully, not for his suffering but because it meant he would be unable to impose suffering on others.  But Ananias felt compelled to relieve Saul’s suffering and attempt to call him into service to Christ.  When we see those who have chosen to be our enemies, let us strive to follow Ananias’ example.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Acts 7-8.

Yesterday I wrote about how the Believers prayed for boldness to preach in Jesus’ name in the face of threats.  The passage ended with Stephen being arrested for doing just that.  Today’s passage begins with Stephen’s trial.  There he even more boldly testifies about Jesus by tying the numerous times when the Israelites refused to obey God’s commands with the Sanhedrin calling for Jesus to be crucified.  As he was dying Stephen did two things which recall Jesus’ death on the cross.  Just as Jesus had called upon God to Receive His spirit as He died, so Stephen asked Jesus to receive his spirit.  Then, Stephen prayed that God not hold the sin of murdering him against those doing so, just as Jesus had prayed for God to forgive those who crucified Him. This represents a model we should strive to emulate as we face death, whether from the hands of men or from natural causes.  I want to note that the group which stoned Stephen to death was the same group which a few months earlier took Jesus before Pilate because they did not have the legal authority to condemn Him to death.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.