Acts 25

It has been said by some that we never need to say “thank you” to God because God knows everything and therefore already knows that we are thankful. This is likely not the most accurate line of reasoning. Although it is certainly true that God knows everything, to carry this reasoning to its logical conclusion would clearly indicate that we have no need to say anything to God, either in thanksgiving, praise, or supplication, since he is all-knowing. The Bible, however, encourages us not only to pray to an omniscient God but to express our thanksgiving to him as well. In fact, the word used in the original language for “giving him thanks” in our text for today (eucharisteo) is utilized in Scripture virtually always to designate giving thanks directly to God. The leper was giving thanks to Jesus as one would give thanks to God, and Jesus not only seemed to appreciate that fact but praised the act even though it came from a Samaritan, whom the Jews despised.

Acts 24

Saul was a Pharisee, which means he was a teacher of the Jewish law and a religious leader for the people of Israel. He trained under a famous rabbi of his time, the respected and learned Gamaliel (Acts 22:3). He was born into the powerful tribe of Benjamin, spoke Hebrew as a first language, and according to his own testimony, was “faultless” in his observance of the law. We do not know if he ever met Jesus personally during Jesus’ earthly ministry, or if he was even in Israel during the time of Christ. He was born in what was known as the Diaspora (the dispersion of Jews outside Israel), in the city of Tarsus, and came to Jerusalem to train and be educated, probably as a teenager.

Acts 23

KNOW: Peter, like all of us, was flawed. He was also transformed by an

encounter (and life) with Jesus. What he was, we are. What he became,

we can be.

DO: Receive the grace and mercy of Jesus. Live like you’ve received them.

“Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved

because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and

he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I

love you. Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.” - John 21:17

Only a few humans can tell a story about life after death from experience. Lazarus was one of them. Jesus and Lazarus were friends, but we do not know when they met nor how they had grown close. We only know that they loved each other, for when Lazarus was on his death bed, his sisters, Mary and Martha, sent Jesus a message telling him, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” Jesus, upon receiving the message, inexplicably remained where he was for two more days without so much as a movement in the direction of Bethany, the hometown of Lazarus and his sisters. This action baffled his disciples, for they knew two things from experience: Jesus loved Lazarus, and Jesus could heal him.

Not all of Jesus’ disciples were men, there were women who considered him their master and teacher as well. Some of them were with Jesus through much of his earthly ministry, and some of them were responsible for meeting his and the twelve disciples’ financial needs. Jesus’ inner ring of disciples, known in the gospels and the book of Acts as “the Twelve,” were also designated by him to be apostles, but others followed him closely, and some of them were women. Martha and her sister Mary were counted in that company.

I must admit that there is a tinge of pity in me for Pontius Pilate. He was the Roman procurator, or governor, of Roman Palestine during the ministry years of Jesus. History tells us that he cared little for the Jewish people he ruled and less for their religion and what he saw as its endless trivialities. What he wanted was peace. Not that he abhorred violence, he could be as violent as the next Roman procurator, but it was peace that he needed in Palestine to prove to his superiors in Rome that he could govern well, which would in turn get him out of this God-forsaken corner of the empire and back to a rich and prosperous (and peaceful) province, where he could relax and enjoy the wealth and security of a Roman provincial. The Pharisees were throwing a wrench in his plans, as they were wont to do, by bringing before him a young fire-brand preacher who frightened them with his popularity and his willingness to denounce their hypocrisy publicly. Pilate knew this all too well, but he was between a rock and a hard place on this one. Killing a single Jew was of little significance, and having a love for justice was not one of his traits, but for some reason he found himself intrigued by this lowly Jew who was accused of proclaiming himself a king. The Pharisees and the crowd that backed them wanted a crucifixion; Pilate wanted to be left out of the equation.

Acts 22