Luke/Acts for Beginners

The intent of this question is to transition focus from the initial sermon and activities to those soon following. Understanding this event establishes the foundation of the remaining points in this lesson.

• He was crippled and blind from birth and was well known as such by the Jewish community.
• He expressed no faith in Peter and John's abilities, nor did Peter ask for a statement of faith. He did not even ask for healing. Of note here, it is apparent that the man had accepted his situation as hopeless and was making the best of it.
• Peter heals in the name of Jesus thus showing that the power to heal was from the Lord and not himself.
• The man was immediately and completely healed.

The people were in awe at this display of power and shared in the healed man's rejoicing. This, perhaps, set the stage for the further growth of the Church.

The Jewish leaders saw this event as a threat to them and had Peter and John arrested in order to stop them.

Peter was very direct in his first sermon showing how the Jews rejected Jesus and had Him crucified. In the second sermon he takes a less direct approach explaining why they might have taken the actions they did and that God still holds out hope for their redemption.

We learn from this that our Lord wishes all to come to Him, no matter their past actions or present situation. We also learn that we too must put forth the offer of redemption to all helping them understand their need to respond positively to God's invitation.

The Jewish leaders were guilty of bringing about the arrest and death of Jesus.

To allow the apostles to continue teaching and healing would be seen by the people as proof of their complicity as well as confirmation of who Jesus was. This would be a severe threat to their power and existence.

• Of major significance is that the Holy Spirit guided Peter's response. (See Luke 12:11-12).
• Peter acknowledges the miracles were done by the power and authority of Jesus.
• Peter accuses the rulers of the responsibility for the death of Jesus.
• Peter shows how the events of Jesus' death were prophesied (Psalms 118:22)
• Peter establishes that salvation is only through Jesus.

The Church continued to grow as more people were converted to Christ. That is the secret of growth of the Church; to preach Jesus and convert others to Him. We will see all through Acts as well as secular history that Christians would face terrible persecution yet the Church would nevertheless continue to grow.

In all three of these verses we see that with our Lord's power we can accomplish the mission set before us. Nothing will stop the Lord's church. Note also the Lord's response in Matthew 16:18 to Peter's statement regarding Jesus as the Son of God.

First, realize that we do not have to have a deep knowledge or theological degree to begin teaching about Jesus. We must trust the Holy Spirit to help us learn and grow and share the gospel.

We should become knowledgeable of who Jesus was, what and why He did what He did, and the result for all. We should focus on brevity so as to not overwhelm the listener but rather provide a basis for further understanding and exploration. We are not trying to overwhelm with the weight of our knowledge but simply preach Jesus and Him crucified (I Corinthians 2:2).

The intent of this question is to provide a call to action in applying the concepts. Note that although our Lord honors our faith, He does not require a strong or complete faith in order for His power to work. As we demonstrate our faith, the Holy Spirit will help us grow stronger.