Herod kills James the brother of John, one of the 12. James is the second apostle to die (the first being Judas who hanged himself). Peter is thrown in prison for the umpteenth time and is rescued by an angel (again). When he goes to the house where his friends are staying, the servant girl Rhoda is so excited she forgets to let him in! Herod wants Peter killed, but Herod suffers a horrible death himself (he was eaten by worms--eewww).
(edit)Saul and Barnabas begin the first missionary journey by going to Cyprus and Pisidian Antioch. Saul is called Paul for the first time in Acts 13:9. Paul also preaches following the pattern Stephen started, beginning with Abraham and moving quickly through time to Jesus, who is the fulfillment of all the prophecies. The Gentiles begged for them to preach as well--the whole city turned out on the next Sabbath. It was similar at Iconium--but some people also wanted to kill them.
At Lystra, Paul was so popular that people wanted to offer sacrifices to him.The Jews came in and got mad because Paul and Barnabas were talking about Jesus--and stoned them. Again.
(edit)Paul goes to Derbe, then basically goes back the way he had come, ending in Jerusalem. (Some scholars think he wrote the book of Galatians at this time.)
(edit) At this time, there is a great disagreement among believers. Certain people argue that their must be circumcision, but Paul disagrees. One must be circumcised to become a Jew, of that there is no doubt. But must one become a Jew in order to become a Christian? That is the question at hand. Pharisees say yes. Paul says no. There is a huge fight, resulting in a major compromise presented by Jesus’ brother James. The conclusion: Gentiles do not have to be circumcised, nor must they follow all the kosher food rules. But Christians must all abstain from sexual immorality, things sacrificed to idols, and blood (eating raw meat). A decree was sent out from Jerusalem which settled the matter (for the most part).
Paul and Barnabas part company here--Barnabas traveling with John Mark (the gospel writer) and Paul traveling with Silas. Timothy joins Paul. They tried to go several places, but the Holy Spirit would not let them go. They ended up in Macedonia after Paul had a vision of a man from there asking for help.
In Acts 16:10, the pronouns change from “he” and “them” to “we” and “us,” telling us that Luke (the author of Acts) was with them as well. In Philippi (part of the region of Macedonia) they meet a woman named Lydia, a seller of purple cloth. She was probably a very rich fabric merchant. Lydia was saved and baptized, along with many others.
Paul and Silas are thrown in jail. Again. But they praised God from prison, despite their situation. An earthquake broke their chains and opened their cell doors. The jailer was about to do himself in when Paul called out to him that the prisoners were all still in the jail. He and his family were all saved and baptized.
In Acts 17:1 the language changes to “he” and “they” again. Paul, Silas, and Timothy left Luke and went on to Thessalonica and Berea. Paul went on to Athens, joined by Silas and Timothy shortly after. It seems that everywhere they go, there is trouble.
In Athens Pul speaks to the Philosophers who were always willing to hear something new, but did not believe in Jesus’ resurrection. Paul then went on to Corinth, where he met Priscilla and Aquila, Jews who had been kicked out of Rome. Paul may have written the letters known as 1 & 2 Thessalonians at this time.
From there Paul sailed on, stopping in a few other places before ending in Ephesus. Paul went on to Galatia, but Priscilla and Aquilla stayed in Ephesus, helping to disciple a young enthusiastic young man named Apollos.
As Paul traveled and preached, many people were healed and many people were saved. He left Ephesus intending to go to Jerusalem and then to Rome. During his travels he ran into a group who would rather praise Artemis of Ephesus than worship God. There were riots in the city which culminated in an intervention by the town clerk. You know things are bad when the local government gets involved.
We are about two-thirds of the way through the book of Acts. The final third covers Paul’s final two journeys--which end in prison in Rome.
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