Archive for January 2023

Genesis 50, Psalm 23, Matthew 10:1-20, Acts 15:1-21 Acts 15:1-21: We come now to the famous Council of Jerusalem. Basically, there were some people going around saying that unless the Gentile Christians were circumcised, they could not be saved. Paul and Barnabas realized that this stipulation undermined the whole Gentile mission, and so there was a major conflict.…

Genesis 49, Psalm 22:12-31, Matthew 9:27-38, Acts 14 Acts 14: We come now to the second half of Paul’s first missionary journey. What do we learn from this part of his ministry? First, we learn again that opposition to the gospel is an expected part of Christian witness—and especially that of preaching the gospel. Paul and Barnabas were…

Genesis 48, Psalm 22:1-11, Matthew 9:14-26, Acts 13:26-52 Acts 13:26-52: We come now to the second half of Paul’s sermon and its impact. Paul preaches the “good news” with boldness and clarity. The result is that many of those who heard responded by following them and wanting to know more, and Paul urged them to continue in the…

Genesis 46-47, Psalm 21, Matthew 9:1-13, Acts 13:1-25 Acts 13:1-25: We have already seen the remarkable nature of this church at Antioch. Here we see this godly church take a momentous step forward. It sets aside Barnabas and Paul for missionary work. We will consider that and their ministry in Cyprus, leaving the ministry of Pisidian Antioch (a…

Genesis 44-45, Psalm 20, Matthew 8:23-34, Acts 12 Acts 12: This is a famous story for good reason. We learn the following from it. First of all, we learn that God is sovereign even when painful things occur. James is killed. Peter is not. Why? There is no evident answer to this question given in the text, and…

Genesis 42-43, Psalm 19, Matthew 8:14-22, Acts 11:19-30  Acts 11:19-30: The church at Antioch was a remarkable church. It was the place where the followers of Jesus were first called “Christians.” And where Paul and Barnabas were first set aside for their trailblazing missionary work. What made the Christians at Antioch so remarkable, and what can we learn…

Genesis 41, Psalm 18:25-50, Matthew 8:1-13, Acts 11:1-18 Acts 11:1-18: Peter now finds himself in a tricky situation. What he has done comes to the attention of the other apostles and believers throughout Judea. As far as they can tell, Peter has broken a key tenet of God’s law. How could he do such a thing? There must…

Genesis 39-40, Psalm 18:1-24, Matthew 7:15-29, Acts 10:24-48 Acts 10:24-48: The story continues. Peter goes to Caesarea and is met there by Cornelius and the crowd that has gathered to hear from Peter. When he discovers that there was a companion vision to his that Cornelius experienced, Peter concludes that: “I now realize how true it is that…

Genesis 37-38, Psalm 17, Matthew 7:1-14, Acts 10:1-23 Acts 10:1-23: Divine appointments. We sometimes blithely say that such-and-such happened by chance. But the Christian disciple knows that, in reality, there is no such thing. Luck is a non-existent quality. We are ruled by divine providence. And by such divine providence we can sometimes discern remarkable openings, opportunities, “circumstances”…

Genesis 36, Psalm 16, Matthew 6:25-34, Acts 9:20-43 Acts 9:20-43: There is now a brief interlude of two descriptions of amazing activity and astonishing miracles on the part of Paul and Peter. In verses 20-31, we read about Paul’s first forays into gospel work. He witnesses. He is opposed. He is persecuted. He escapes. He witnesses some more.…