Commuter Bible

It's our last episode in the book of Acts, and as this book concludes, we see Paul continue to contend for the faith that was delivered to the saints once for all. He presents his position to kings and noblemen, respectfully arguing that his position is valid and worthy of consideration. We also see that his Jewish audience is willing to listen to him up until a certain point, and that breaking point is sadly consistent. The Jews turn on Paul in outrage as soon as he suggests that this good news is not just for Israelites, but for believing Gentiles as well.

As Paul’s group says farewell to the Ephesians, a Judean prophet predicts that Paul will be taken into custody if he goes to Jerusalem, but Paul is still determined to go. Though he and other fellow believers try to show the Jews that Paul is not a blasphemer, it seems to be of little use. A riot ensues and Paul is attacked. The local officials step in to help, finding out later that Paul is a Roman citizen. When Paul is taken into custody by the state, a mob forms and secretly plots to kill him. The plot is discovered in a way that the mob couldn’t have predicted, revealing that God is rescuing Paul from death and preserving him for further ministry and teaching.

Paul continues to preach the good news of Jesus from city to city, and the Jews continue to be jealous of the attention he is getting by preaching Jesus. Riots ensue, often because Jewish leaders conspire to work up crowds against the apostles. Both Jews and Greeks come to faith in Christ, and new churches are planted. Finally, Paul says goodbye to the Ephesian church elders, knowing he will never see them again. Our passage begins where we last left Paul and Luke, as they are travelling through Phillipi and preaching the good news.

Today we’ll look at the first missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas, and at the end of our episode we’ll begin Paul’s second journey accompanied in part by Luke, the writer of the book of Acts. Men and women from different backgrounds, cultures, and occupations are hearing the message of Christ and turning to Him in faith. We’ll also witness a convention of church leaders meeting together to discuss how to best direct their new Gentile brothers and sisters in the faith. Despite opposition from jealous Jewish leaders, the message of Christ continues to spread. Through it all, the apostles continue to trust in the Lord through persecution.

In the chapters ahead of us we’ll see Phillip, one of the twelve apostles, getting directions from God to go evangelize an Ethiopian eunuch, and after baptizing the new convert, Philip disappears from the site and reappears in another city. We’ll also see the young Jewish leader named Saul has his heart set on persecuting all those who belong to the Way of Jesus, but the Lord interrupts him and creates drastic change in his heart and life. Peter receives a vision from the Lord, communicating to him that the Way of Jesus is not reserved only for Israelites, but is open to Gentiles as well. We pick up where we left off: the conclusion of the stoning of Stephen.

Well, if you hadn’t quite it together just yet, the book of Acts gets it’s name because it is packed with action. The apostles continue to preach, the crowds continue to turn to Jesus, and the leaders of the Israelites (especially those of the Sadducees who deny the resurrection) continue to rage against Christ’s followers. The section ahead of covers to unique firsts in the life of the church, including the first installation of deacons and the testimony of Stephen, the church’s first recorded martyr. As we pick up our text where we last left off, we’ll see what happens when a couple conspires to lie to the congregation (and thereby lies to the Holy Spirit) for the sake of personal gain and notoriety.

The book of Acts is an account of the beginnings of the Lord's church written down by Luke; yes, the same Luke who wrote the gospel of Luke. Christianity has always been marked by life together with other believers. Here in these opening chapters we see how the church began, how it spread throughout God’s people, and continued on to redeem those who were outside God’s covenant with Israel. The signs and wonders performed by the apostles proved to the world that although the followers of Jesus were ordinary men, their message was by no means an ordinary teaching.

Have you ever talked to someone who’s really into their work, and they’re so excited about it that it seems they just can’t stop talking about it? Maybe you’ve done that with your own work, with a hobby you enjoy, or with player stats from your favorite team. To our ears it may seem like the book of Exodus is simply repeating itself, but in actuality it’s communicating the excitement, the gravity, and the importance of the tabernacle. God Himself gave instruction to build it, God’s covenant people built it, and God Himself would occupy it. By the end of today’s episode, work on the tabernacle reaches its conclusion and the Lord shows up in power.

In our last episode, Israel had turned away from the Lord while Moses was with the Lord on Mount Sinai. Even though they had just committed themselves to following the Lord God, they quickly lost their resolve and turned to Aaron, who in turn gave them a golden calf to worship. After this grave sin, God tells Moses He will no longer go with Israel to the land He had promised Abraham and his descendants after him. Today, Moses intercedes on their behalf, assuaging God’s anger and garnering his favor. Later, God’s appointed craftsmen get to work assembling the tabernacle according to the Lord’s instructions.

By the end of our reading Moses will have spent 40 days on Mt. Sinai, and in that amount of time, the Israelites will have given up on Moses and on the Lord. Not long beforehand, the nation of Israel had promised that they would do all that the Lord had commanded, but in short order, they turn away from God. They instead turn to Aaron, who caves to the crowd’s demands, making them a golden calf for them to worship. The Lord’s anger burns against Israel, but Moses steps in as a redeemer for his people, interceding on their behalf. Before we get to that part of the narrative, we first return where we left off as God gives further instruction about worship in the tabernacle.