“Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.”— Acts 8:4 Context & Key Themes Stephen’s death is not the end of the church in Jerusalem. It is the shove that sends the church out of Jerusalem. Acts 8 is the first chapter where the mission actually moves beyond the city, and the shape…
“Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”— Acts 7:56 Context & Key Themes Stephen, falsely accused of blasphemy against Moses and the temple, stands before the same Sanhedrin that condemned Jesus. He is given the floor to answer the charges, and he uses it…
“And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel.”— Acts 6:15 Context & Key Themes The church is growing rapidly—five thousand men believed in chapter four, multitudes of men and women added in chapter five. With growth come growing pains. Acts 6 opens…
“We must obey God rather than men.”— Acts 5:29 Context & Key Themes The church has just been described as being of one heart and soul, with no needy person among them. Barnabas has sold his field and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet. Acts 5 opens with what looks like…
“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”— Acts 4:12 Context & Key Themes The healing at the Beautiful Gate and the sermon that followed have brought the apostles to the attention of the temple authorities—and not in…
“I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!”— Acts 3:6 Context & Key Themes Luke moves from the crowd sermon of Pentecost to a single encounter at the temple gate. The pattern that will define the…
“And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”— Acts 2:21 Context & Key Themes Ten days after the ascension, the promised Spirit arrives. The church that had been waiting in the upper room is transformed in a single morning from a quiet gathering of…
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”— Acts 1:8 Context & Key Themes Luke opens the second half of his work by picking up exactly where the gospel…