Hello my “Walking with Jesus” friends around the world.
Do you like transitions? This weekend we’re going to transition from our journey together in the Biblical events surrounding Passover/Easter to rejoin the apostle Paul for his second missionary journey. That’s a transition of about 20 years of time in the first century!
But I know many of you are fairly new to our journey, so may I point out that from May 27th to August 16th, one year ago, we carefully traced the events recorded in the Bible in Acts 1 – 14. These chapters follow the story of what happened with the disciples from the time of the ascension of Jesus until the conclusion of the apostle Paul’s first missionary journey, about the year 49ad.
Since we archive ALL editions of “Walking with Jesus”, that verse by verse study is available to you under the “Daily Archives” tab on our website home page. Here’s a direct link: https://
Now those first 14 chapters of the book of Acts are very exciting and last year we had a great time slowly following all the remarkable events that happened in Jerusalem and the surrounding region the months and years following the ascension of Jesus back to heaven.
In very brief, you’ll remember I left you yesterday experiencing the remarkable Day of Pentecost arrival of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples and close friends of Jesus who had spent the previous several days together remembering their months with Jesus, recounting their stories of Jesus, thanking God for Jesus and praying, seeking to understand what Jesus had for them next.
They knew they were all in a season of profound life transition as they had over the past few weeks several times SEEN the resurrected Jesus, met with Him, heard Him give them new life purpose instructions and then they watched Jesus leave them, returning to heaven. With the arrival of the Holy Spirit their lives changed completely and immediately the greatest passion of their lives was to tell anyone who would listen, the story of Jesus, inviting them to join them in this great Jesus movement which was sweeping Jerusalem.
Acts 2 gives us the remarkable story of a crowd of several thousand people riveted as they listened to an impromptu, impassioned speech by the disciple Peter, explaining Jesus and what He had accomplished that Passover/Easter, weekend 50 days before.
3000 people responded that day shouting “What shall we do to be saved?” and Peter shouted back, “Repent and be baptized every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the Holy Spirit. This promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, for all whom the Lord our God will call.” (Acts 2:38)
Immediately the disciples went into action receiving those who responded, answering their questions about Jesus, and baptizing them in the name of Jesus, as they trusted Jesus to be their Savior! 3000 people were transformed that day, and it began to shake Jerusalem in a powerful way!
These new followers of Jesus had an insatiable hunger to learn as much as they could about Jesus, so they gathered every day in the huge Temple courts and other areas and the disciples taught them what they had seen and learned about Jesus, from early morning till late each day. (Acts 2:42-47) They had meals together, they shared their belongings with each other, and they shared what they were learning with their friends.
Miracles were happening as Dr. Luke records for us in Acts 3 when Peter and John invited a cripple to trust in the name of Jesus to heal him, and he did! Suddenly the cripple stood and jumped and danced and a crowd quickly gathered providing Peter and John the opportunity to explain the healing power of faith in the name of Jesus! More people responded by trusting Jesus and religious leaders reacted, arresting Peter and John. (Acts 4:3)
Acts 4 gives us the remarkable story of the courage of Peter and John as they stood before the very Jewish Sanhedrin leaders who had condemned Jesus to death. They demanded that Peter and John cease any and all communication about Jesus, but Peter and John refused saying: “Which is right in God’s eyes; to obey you or God? As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:19,20)
That courageous stand propelled all the apostles into non-stop activity of spreading the story of Jesus with great power and the number of believers grew to over 5000 people. (Acts 4:4) Occasionally people sold houses or land and brought the funds to the apostles to help the needy, the widows or any other needs which would advance this movement, which was by now shaking Jerusalem to its very foundations.
So much was happening the apostles needed help and so in Acts 6 they selected 7 men “known to be full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom.” (Acts 6:3) These men joined with the apostles in leading this remarkable spiritual movement and caring for the needs of the people.
In Acts 7 Stephen, one of those 7 deacons, as they were called, was arrested, interrogated and executed by those Sanhedrin leaders and he became the first Christian martyr. A great persecution broke out against all Christians, led by a zealous Pharisee named Saul of Tarsus and therefore many of these Christians fled Jerusalem taking the message of Jesus with them to cities and towns all over the Roman empire.
Acts 8 describes that persecution and follows Phillip, another of those seven deacons, as anointed and led by the Holy Spirit Philip went into Samaria and many Samaritans trusted in Jesus and experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit, just as the Jews had experienced on the day of Pentecost.
News of this infuriates Saul and the Jewish leaders and Saul is sent to Damascus, Syria with letters to arrest any Christians found there. Acts 9 gives us the remarkable story of Saul’s encounter with the resurrected Jesus Christ Himself, and his spiritual transformation which, of course, changed everything.
Acts 10 follows the apostle Peter as he is sent by the Holy Spirit to Caesarea and the home of a Roman centurion worshiper of God named Cornelius. As Peter obeys the Holy Spirit’s instructions, he breaks every Jewish restriction he has ever know regarding going into a Gentile home, yet as Peter tells Cornelius and all those gathered, about Jesus, they trust in Jesus and the Holy Spirit comes upon them as well, as had happened with the Jews and the Samaritans!
Shocked, Peter is led by the Holy Spirit to baptize these Gentile believers just as he and other apostles had baptized those 3000 Jewish believers in Jerusalem. (Acts 10:44-48) As Peter returned to Jerusalem he was of course questioned by the other apostles and the Jewish Christians and through his explanation they agreed that Jesus was in fact opening the Church to Samaritans and Gentiles and therefore No person, anywhere in the world, was to be excluded from the Gospel of Jesus Christ!!
In Acts 11 we are introduced to Saul, the former Pharisee now turned passionate evangelist and powerful preacher of the Gospel of Jesus, as he is brought to Antioch, Syria with Barnabas because a great work of the Holy Spirit is growing a multi-ethnic large church of Christians in that city.
After more than a year of discipleship work the Holy Spirit challenges that large church to send out Saul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey, taking the Gospel of Jesus west to places none of the other apostles had yet gone.
That adventure is recounted for us in Acts 13 and 14 with amazing results. During that remarkable missionary adventure Saul changed his name to Paul and became known as the famous ‘apostle Paul’, the author of 13 books of the New Testament!!
Finally, in Acts 15 Paul and Barnabas come to Jerusalem to meet with all the apostles and leaders of the Jewish Christian church in Jerusalem. The reason? To give their report of this first missionary journey taking the Gospel of Jesus to Gentiles far from Jerusalem.
Their report challenged those who had been disciples with Jesus to consider deeply the fundamental question regarding what was God requiring of Gentiles in order for them to be saved through Jesus? And their conclusion was that Jesus had died equally for Jews and Gentiles and therefore Gentiles need not become Jews before trusting Jesus to be their Savior!
And that’s where we’ll pause this weekend, for on Monday, we’ll begin our new journey together traveling with Paul on his second missionary journey. You might be surprised to find out Barnabas did not join Paul on this second journey and Monday we’ll find out why.
For this weekend, I urge you to listen to the dramatic audio Bible link below of Acts 15:1-35.That will set us up for Monday and then we’ll launch out with Paul on his great, second, missionary adventure. I’ll see you Monday friends!
Today’s Scripture is Acts 15:1-35.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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