Luke/Acts for Beginners

The intent of this question is to establish the background for the events of Pentecost. Several actions set the stage for Pentecost: The apostles and disciples were together. There was an expectation of events. A replacement was made for Judas, so the Apostles were at full strength as Jesus intended. Peter takes the lead in the events in the upper room.

Why did Jesus not answer the apostles' question about when He would establish his Kingdom of Israel?

The apostles apparently were still expecting a physical Kingdom. Rather than reteach the lesson of the spiritual nature of the Kingdom, our Lord pointed them to the expectation of the events of Pentecost. The focus was on their role in this Kingdom, not the timing of its beginning.

Explain how the Book of Acts answers the directive from Jesus to His disciples.

Acts is a historical account of the beginning of God's Kingdom on earth (the Church) and how it spread into all the world as Jesus directed. It transitions from the narrative of Jesus' biographical and teaching information found in the gospels to the story of the young church as it grew and spread into all the world.

How were the apostles to spread the Kingdom geographically and how does this apply to us today as we seek to spread the Kingdom?

They were to start in their immediate area and move out systematically until ultimately reaching into all the world. Acts is outlined in just this fashion. We see the beginning of the church and then, by the end of Luke's narrative, they had covered all the known world, and perhaps beyond.

A point of note: Jesus did not specify that the apostles themselves would be the ones doing this. As we learn later in Acts 9 following the persecution and death of Stephen, Christians were driven out of Jerusalem while the apostles remained there. The Christians that were driven out of Jerusalem took the gospel with them to other places. In practice, since they learned of our Lord's and the apostles' teachings (Acts 2:42), the disciples by proxy were going into all the world.

Today we can do the same. We often think of missions as a "foreign" effort while overlooking our local area or region. In our immediate area (our Jerusalem) we begin to spread the gospel to those in our neighborhood, workplace, school, etc. We then introduce the gospel to our city and region. Ultimately, we go into all the world. With today's communication technology, we can do all of this simultaneously.

Peter's sermon clearly shows an example of the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. The empowerment of the Holy Spirit is when individuals were enabled to act in a certain way or perform miraculous actions for the purpose of establishing their position, authority and credibility in establishing the church and the disciples' new faith. The empowerment was given to the apostles and they passed it on to a number of disciples and was not passed on beyond what God or the apostles granted.

Peter's statement in Acts 2:38 shows the promise of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is part of our gifts from God as we are added to the Church. This indwelling helps us grow spiritually as disciples. The indwelling is given to all who obey the gospel in repentance and baptism (Acts 2:38).

As stated by Peter, our Lord originally selected 12 men as His apostles. Twelve was not a random number, it represented the 12 tribes of Israel as a model. The apostles felt they should continue not only in the teachings of Jesus, but His actions as well.

There would be many Jewish people in the city thus providing a ready and knowledgeable audience. Converts from this group would ultimately be the ones to carry the gospel to other locations following the pattern Jesus directed in Acts 1:8.

The Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit demonstrated God's power by giving the apostles the miraculous ability to speak in the languages of those present without previous knowledge or training in that language. This gave everyone simultaneous understanding of Peter's words.

The Gospel The simple message in Peter's sermon was that Jesus died as a sinless sacrifice for our sins and was resurrected by God according to prophecy. This simple message resulted in acceptance of guilt by many of those listening. It was the beginning of the plan Go had to reconcile man to Himself. Those receiving the words of Peter (i.e. believed as true) were moved to respond as Peter directed in Acts 2:38 (repented and baptized in water).

The Church Those who accepted what Peter directed were added to the Body of Christ (Church). The church then became a moving force in the city and ultimately the world.

The church met the needs of individual Christians for spiritual growth, as well as their physical and social needs.

Receiving indicates more than simply hearing. It means they internalized what Peter said and were convicted by the message. In the crowd that day were many thousands of people. All heard Peter's sermon but only those receiving were added to the Church.

In the same way, we often hear the teachings of the apostles and others in God's word. However, if we are not convicted by what is taught then we are simply hearing and not receiving.

The intent of this question is to determine that students have in fact "received" the teachings from this lesson and have not merely heard the teaching.

Look for responses that show specific activities we can do related to evangelism, education, fellowship, worship, and service. If general responses are given, follow-up with requests for specific actions and how they can be implemented. Conclude this discussion with a charge for students to commit to implementing these responses.