Questions on Acts 1 to 14
1. Who sponsored the writing of the book of Acts? Answer
2. Why were the disciples to stay in the city of Jerusalem (Acts 2)? Answer
3. How many different people were in Jerusalem for Pentecost 30 A.D. (Acts 2)? Answer
4. How many Christians existed after the day of Pentecost (Acts 2)? Answer
5. What was remarkable about the religious leader's response to the healing of a lame man at the temple (Acts 3)? Answer
6. What is one of the primary beliefs that makes Christianity unique (Acts 4)? Answer
7. Why were Ananias and Sapphire punished with death (Acts 5)? Answer
8. Why were Jewish leaders so ANGRY at people being healed (Acts 5:17)? Answer
9. What is interesting about Cilicia being one of the areas from which Jews disputed with Stephen (Acts 6:9)? Answer
10. What was truly unique about Stephen's face shining (Acts 6:15). Answer
11. Stephen states that 75 people of Jacob's family migrated to Egypt (Acts 7). The original account, however, states it was 66 (Genesis 46:26). Why the difference? Answer
12. Can anyone preach the gospel (Acts 8:1 - 4)? Answer
13. Who was Simon Magus (Acts 8:9 - 24)? Answer
14. Who was Ananias (Acts 9:10)? Answer
15. What was Paul's three-fold commission (Acts 9)? Answer
16. What else makes the resurrection of Dorcas unique (Acts 9:32 - 41)? Answer
17. What was the purpose of the vision, given to Peter, of a great sheet containing various unclean animals and birds (Acts 10:10 - 14)? Answer
18. What motivated Barnabas to seek out Saul's (Paul's) help (Acts 11:25)? Answer
19. How did the effects of the famine of Acts 11 direct the course of Biblical history (Acts 11:27 - 28)? Answer
20. Which Herod is mentioned in Acts 12? Answer
21. What was Peter's earliest recorded direct link to Mark (John Mark) (Acts 12)? Answer
22. Why did Paul, Barnabas and Mark first travel to Cyprus to preach the gospel (Acts 13:4)? Answer
23. Who was Elymas (Acts 13)? Answer
24. What is unique about Acts 13:9? Answer
25. What is the pattern that would open up the gospel to Gentiles in Paul's ministry (Acts 13)? Answer
26. What rare event took place when Paul and Barnabas, in Pisidian Antioch, were persecuted (Acts 13:50 - 51)? Answer
27. Why was Pisidian Antioch special to Paul (Acts 13)? Answer
28. Why did Paul and Barnabas have to hurry out of Iconium (Acts 14:1 - 6)? Answer
29. Did Paul die in Lystra (Acts 14:19)? Answer
Answers on Acts
1. Luke wrote the book of Acts for Theophilus, a man whose name means "friend of God" (Strong's Concordance #G2321). Theophilus, a Gentile convert to Christianity, likely paid for both Luke's gospel and Acts to be written (see Luke 1:3).
Luke 1:3 refers to the sponsor of the gospel as "most excellent Theophilus." The phrase "most excellent" or "most noble" is a title of rank used for government officials like Felix and Festus (Acts 24:3, 26:25). Theophilus may have held a position as a magistrate or other official.
2. Jesus told his disciples to stay in Jerusalem so that they could receive God's power via the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4 - 8). They only had to wait ten days until they received this power on the day of Pentecost (2:1).
3. Acts 2 reveals that a wide variety of people both heard Peter's Pentecost message and were converted by it. They were from the Parthian empire, Elam, Mesopotamia, the Roman provinces of Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, the country of Egypt, parts of Libya, Rome, the island of Crete and even Arabians (Acts 2:9 - 11).
[Map Showing Location of First Christians]
[Roman Provinces in the New Testament]
4. The 120 people who initially met on Pentecost received God's spirit (Acts 1:15, 2:1 - 4). After Peter's preaching an additional 3,000 were baptized and converted to Christianity (2:41). By this time 3,120 Christians existed. A short time later, Peter and John's healing miracle at the temple led to another 5,000 people being converted (Acts 4:4).
[What Does Baptism Symbolize?]
5. Jewish religious leaders, for a variety of reasons, simply could not bring themselves to accept the miracle at face value. The lame man who was healed was well known to those who visited the temple. His healing could not be denied, argued away or lessened due to the countless people who knew he had been lame (Acts 4:16)!
The Jewish leaders knew it was through Jesus' name that the healing took place. Instead of rejoicing at the rare healing, they sought to suppress it strictly for political reasons (Acts 4:16 - 17, 21, 29)!
6. The Bible declares that it is ONLY through the name of Jesus Christ that anyone can be saved (Acts 4:12). No other name or religion, no matter how sincere, can legitimately offer salvation or eternal life.
[Basic Teachings of the Bible]
7. After Ananias and Sapphire sold some property, they pretended they were donating all the proceeds to the Jerusalem church. They were, in fact, keeping back part of the money for themselves. Their deception and sin received God's swift punishment when he struck both of them dead (Acts 5:4 - 5, 9 - 10).
8. The apostles were far more popular, and had grown to have far more influence in Jerusalem, than the Jewish religious leaders enjoyed. Their envy, coupled with their inability to stop the spread of what they saw was a loss of power and influence, infuriated them!
9. Saul, before his conversion to the Apostle Paul, lived in Tarsus (Acts 21:39). The city was the capital of the Roman province of Cilicia. Saul was among the many Jews who withstood the gospel in its early days.
10. Stephen's face shined at the start of his confrontation with the Sanhedrin, reminiscent of the shine on Moses' face when he was in God's presence (Exodus 34:29 - 30). God likely caused this to happen because he knew Stephen would become the first Christian martyr in the early church.
11. The reason for the difference is that Stephen, a Greek-speaking Jew, was not quoting from the Hebrew version of the Old Testament. He quoted from the commonly used (at the time) Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible known as the Septuagint. The Septuagint version of Genesis 46:27 states 75 people of Jacob's house were in Egypt. Biblical commentaries offer differing explanations to account for the discrepancy.
[Timeline of Jacob and Joseph]
12. Upon the persecution of Saul the church scattered everywhere preaching the gospel wherever they went (Acts 8:4). Spreading the truth has never been reserved for the few or "ministerial" class.
[Can Anyone Spread the Gospel?]
[What Are the Gifts of God's Spirit?]
Every Christian is responsible for helping spread the truth with whatever gifts and talents they possess. The early church grew by leaps and bounds precisely because the early Christians played an active role is spreading the gospel.
13. Simon Magus was a sorcerer, a person who practiced divination through the aid of evil spirits.
Simon, in Samaria, observes Peter and John laying hands on people after which they receive God's Holy Spirit. Simon soon approaches the two apostles and tries to buy the ability to give the Holy Spirit so that he can further promote his deceptions (Acts 8). His attempt is assertively resisted by Peter.
Simony, the act of attempting to buy or sell a church office or preferred treatment, gets its name from what Simon attempted to do in Acts 8.
14. Ananias, who lived in Damascus, was an early Jewish convert to Christianity. He is told, in a vision from God, to visit a house on Straight Street and heal Saul (Paul) of the blindness he received while traveling to the city.
[Important People in the New Testament]
Although Ananias first balked at the request since Saul was known as a zealous persecutor of the church, he ultimately relented and did what was commanded. Ananias healed Paul and then baptized him. Ananias is only briefly mentioned one other time in the Bible (Acts 22:12). Nothing more is known about him.
15. God revealed to Ananias what was Paul's commission.
[What Was Apostle Paul's Commission?]
But the Lord said unto him (Ananias), Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel (Acts 9:15).
16. Peter's resurrection of Dorcas (Acts 9) is only the eighth one mentioned in Scripture.
[Who Has Been Resurrected from the Dead?]
17. The purpose of Peter's vision was to teach him to give up his bigotry against Gentiles that most Jews at the time maintained. God wanted him to stop thinking of them as being "unclean" and start thinking of them as humans just like himself. This was God's way of preparing him to baptize Cornelius, a Gentile.
And he (Peter) said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean (Acts 10:28, see also verse 15, 11:18).
It should be noted that the purpose of the vision was not to teach that eating unclean foods was now permitted by God. The law of unclean foods is still in force for humanity.
[Clean and Unclean Foods List]
18. The number of believers in Syrian Antioch was growing by leaps and bounds. Those in the city desperately needed experienced Christians to help them grow in understanding. Barnabas knew of Paul's background and in-depth knowledge of the Old Testament which would be perfect to aid those in Antioch.
[Apostle Paul's Early Journeys Map]
Both he and Paul traveled to Antioch and stayed there a year building up the church.
19. The famine of Acts 11 is one of at least sixteen delineated in the Bible.
Paul's travels to provide aid to those in Judea was one of his major journeys before undertaking his first missionary journey. It helped train Paul for the countless places he would visit during his long ministry.
[The Greatest Famines in the Bible]
The food relief was carried out in the spring of 44 A.D. It would be in late spring that Paul, Barnabas and John Mark would conduct Paul's first missionary journey.
20. The Herod mentioned in Acts 12:1 was Herod Agrippa I. This Herod was the son of Aristobulus IV (Herod the Great's son) and Berenice. He was made Roman Tetrarch over Galilee and Perea in 39 A.D. and in 41 was declared king of Judea.
[Map of Herod the Great's Kingdom]
It was Herod Agrippa I who was killed by God later in the chapter (Acts 12:20 - 23).
21. Peter, after he was miraculously freed from prison by an angel, went to the home of John Mark's mother (Acts 12:12). She was one of many people who maintained a house church in Jerusalem.
[How to Prepare Home Bible Studies]
22. Barnabas was a Levite who grew up on the island of Cyprus (Acts 4:36). Cyprus' short distance from Syrian Antioch, coupled with Barnabas' knowledge of the island, made it an excellent choice for the first missionary journey.
[Apostle Paul's First Missionary Journey Map]
23. Apostle Paul's first missionary journey takes him to the island of Cyprus (Acts 13:4 - 52, 14:1 - 25). He then meets with the island's Governor who is accompanied by a man named Elymas (also called Bar-Jesus) who was a false prophet and sorcerer.
[What Was Apostle Paul's First Miracle?]
Paul notices Bar-Jesus attempting to persuade the island's governor to not believe the gospel. The apostle's response was to cause him to be blind for a short season (Acts 13:6 - 11)! This is the first recorded miracle performed by Paul found in Scripture.
24. Acts 13:9 marks the Biblical transition of referring to Saul as Paul. From this point forward the Bible will primarily focus on Apostle Paul's ministry and writings.
[Was the Apostle Paul Married?]
Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him . . . (Acts 13:9).
25. Paul's habit was to first preach the gospel to Jews, especially in the synagogues (Romans 1:16, 2:9 - 10). When they rejected him and his teachings he turned to preach to the Gentiles (Acts 13:42 - 44).
Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you (the Jews): but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles (Acts 13:46).
26. The Apostle Paul, during his 35-year ministry, was persecuted and shamefully treated countless times (2Corinthians 11:23 - 27).
Pisidian Antioch, however, which was visited by Paul during his first missionary journey, was different. It was the only major New Testament city he visited where women, especially those in the upper-classes, are recorded as fully participating in persecuting Christians like Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13:50).
27. Pisidian Antioch was the first known church started by Paul (Acts 13:48 - 49). It was started in 45 A.D.
[How Many Churches Did Paul Start?]
28. A large group of Gentiles and Jews, along with city leadership, were planning to insult them then stone them to death (Acts 14:5). The apostles discovered the plan and fled the city.
29. The verse in question is the following.
And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing (Greek nomizo, Strong's #G3543) he had been dead (Acts 14:19).
A case can be made that Paul may have been actually dead and brought miraculously back to life by God.
"They did not leave stoning him till they had the fullest evidence that he was dead; and so, most probably, he was" (Adam Clarke's Commentary).
The Greek word behind "supposing" in Acts 14:19, nomizo, means to do something properly and with evidence. It does not mean to guess or hope something is accomplished without evidence.
When Jewish crowds stoned a transgressor, they sought nothing less than the transgressor’s death. Given the ferocity of first century Jews against the gospel, it is entirely probable that Paul died but was brought back to life.