A Coptic Orthodox Journey through the Bible

In Chapter 1, Christ's last words to His apostles before the Ascension were “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

Chapter 1 & 2 showed the ministry in Jerusalem. Chapters 3-7 showed it in Judea. Beginning in chapter 8, we see the ministry in Samaria and soon we will it to the ends of the earth (the missionary trips of St. Paul).

Genesis 5:32 states "And Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth." In this chapter the Ethiopian Eunuch converts who is a descendant of Ham. Chapter 9 shows us the conversion of St. Paul, a Hebrew, who is a descendant of Shem and Cornelius, a Gentile, who is a descendent of Japheth converts in Chapter 10. So beginning in this chapter, Acts shows a conversion from each of the descendants of Noah, which means people from each of the 3 tribes of the earth believed in Jesus Christ.

In chapter 6 we saw the apostles name seven deacons including St. Stephen. St. Stephen is accused of blasphemy. He is then brought before the council of Jewish leaders who were the same people who spoke with Sts. Peter & John in chapter 4 and all the apostles in chapter 5 when they beat the apostles for teaching about Christ. In verses 13 before the council his crime is stated as “This man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law.” (Temple & Moses)

Chapter 7 is Stephen’s response to these charges. The first 16 verses which were discussed in the previous episode focused on the call of Abraham and the patriarchs in Egypt. He argues that the Temple is not necessary to experience God because God appeared in His glory to Abraham long before the Temple was built. God called Abraham to be a pilgrim, not even telling him his final destination. In doing this, He set the pattern for the people of Israel. They also were called to spiritual pilgrimage, not knowing their final destination, but trusting in the guiding hand of God. Even his seed were visitors in Egypt for centuries. Thus, the nature of Israel as a pilgrim people was written into their history. God called His people to walk by faith. Additionally, the history explained by St. Stephen, which was very familiar to his audience, emphasizes that Israel often did not recognize those sent to them by God. In Joseph’s time, his brethren did not recognize Joseph when they met him in Egypt. It was only afterwards, on the second visit, that Joseph was made known to his brothers. In the same way, Stephen implies, Israel did not recognize their Messiah was Jesus when they first knew Him. It is only now, at a later time, that they may come to recognize Him.

In the rest of this chapter St. Stephen discusses Moses, how Israel insists on rebelling against God and the Holy Spirit, as well as God’s true tabernacle. We also see what happens to St. Stephen, and briefly meet Saul, who would later be known as St. Paul.

The first five chapters presented a living portrait of the Church of the New Testament in her early days; how the Holy Spirit of God led her in Jerusalem amid the tribulations and persecutions, to grow and spread. Now, as the number of the disciples were multiplied, certain internal issues surfaced. These issues were beyond the apostles to address alone; so there was a need to ordain the first group of additional servants, deacons. The next two chapters (6-7) culminate in the story of St. Stephen, whose martyrdom was the catalyst for the Church’s scattering and expansion. St. Stephen was chosen as one of seven people to distribute alms, whose work would evolve into the diaconate when the Church spread beyond Jerusalem (compare the references to deacons in Phil. 1:1; 1 Tim. 3:8f).

At the beginning of this chapter, we see what happens when someone seeks their own glory and tries to deceive God. We will see and discuss the swift response, by which the Holy Spirit intended to give a clear message to anyone who may try to abuse the fraternal love. St. John Chrysostom believes that what happened to Ananias and Sapphira is of greater significance than the miracle of healing the lame in chapter 3, as it reveals that the Holy Spirit is aware of what is hidden inside the heart. One can say these two miracles are complimentary: The first one reveals the exalted love of God, and His compassion toward humanity, and that God has not even sought from the lame to believe before enjoying the divine love; whereas, the second reveals the importance of commitment and faithfulness in the fear of God, especially by those who accepted the faith, and enjoyed the divine blessings.

As St. Peter and St. John are taken into custody, we see the beginning of the persecution of the Church. We see how the apostles respond to this persecution and the continued growth of the Church in Jerusalem.