Advanced Commentary
Texts -- Acts 9:17-43 (NET)
Pericope
NET
- Act 9:23-25 -- Saul's Escape from Damascus
- Act 9:26-31 -- Saul Returns to Jerusalem
- Act 9:32-35 -- Peter Heals Aeneas
- Act 9:36-43 -- Peter Raises Dorcas
Bible Dictionary
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Damascus
[ebd] activity, the most ancient of Oriental cities; the capital of Syria (Isa. 7:8; 17:3); situated about 133 miles to the north of Jerusalem. Its modern name is Esh-Sham; i.e., "the East." The situation of this city is said to b...
[isbe] DAMASCUS - da-mas'-kus: 1. The Name 2. Situation and Natural Features 3. The City Itself 4. Its History (1) The Early Period (to circa 950 BC) (2) The Aramean Kingdom (circa 950-732 BC) (3) The Middle Period (732 BC-650 AD) ...
[smith] one of the most ancient and most important of the cities of Syria. It is situated 130 miles northeast of Jerusalem, in a plain of vast size and of extreme fertility, which lies east of the great chain of Anti-Libanus, on the ...
[nave] DAMASCUS An ancient city, Gen. 14:15; 15:2. Capital of Syria, 1 Kin. 20:34; Isa. 7:8; Jer. 49:23-29; Ezek. 47:16, 17. Laid under tribute to David, 2 Sam. 8:5, 6. Besieged by Rezon, 1 Kin. 11:23, 24. Recovered by Jeroboam...
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Peter
[ebd] originally called Simon (=Simeon ,i.e., "hearing"), a very common Jewish name in the New Testament. He was the son of Jona (Matt. 16:17). His mother is nowhere named in Scripture. He had a younger brother called Andrew, who ...
[smith] (a rock or stone). The original name of this disciple was Simon, i.e. "hearer." He was the son of a man named Jonas, (Matthew 16:17; John 1:42; 21:16) and was brought up in his father?s occupation, that of a fisherman. He and...
[nave] PETER Called also Simon Bar-jona and Cephas, Matt. 16:16-19; Mark 3:16; John 1:42. A fisherman, Matt. 4:18; Luke 5:1-7; John 21:3. Call of, Matt. 4:18-20; Mark 1:16-18; Luke 5:1-11. His wife's mother healed, Matt. 8:14; M...
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ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, 13-OUTLINE
[isbe] ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, 13-OUTLINE - XIII. Analysis. 1. The connection between the work of the apostles and that of Jesus (Acts 1:1-11). 2. The equipment of the early disciples for their task (Acts 1:12 through 2:47). (a) The ...
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Paul
[ebd] =Saul (q.v.) was born about the same time as our Lord. His circumcision-name was Saul, and probably the name Paul was also given to him in infancy "for use in the Gentile world," as "Saul" would be his Hebrew home-name. He w...
[smith] (small, little). Nearly all the original materials for the life St. Paul are contained in the Acts of the Apostles and in the Pauline epistles. Paul was born in Tarsus, a city of Cilicia. (It is not improbable that he was bor...
[nave] PAUL Called also Saul, Acts 8:1; 9:1; 13:9. Of the tribe of Benjamin, Rom. 11:1; Phil. 3:5. Personal appearance of, 2 Cor. 10:1, 10; 11:6. Born in Tarsus, Acts 9:11; 21:39; 22:3. Educated at Jerusalem in the school of Ga...
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Tabitha
[ebd] (in Greek called Dorcas), gazelle, a disciple at Joppa. She was distinguished for her alms-deeds and good works. Peter, who was sent for from Lydda on the occasion of her death, prayed over the dead body, and said, "Tabitha,...
[smith] (gazelle), also called Dorcas by St. Luke, a female disciple of Joppa, "full of good works" among which that of making clothes for the poor is specifically mentioned. While St. Peter was at the neighboring town of Lydda, Tabi...
[nave] TABITHA, a Christian woman in Joppa. Restored to life by Peter, Acts 9:36-41.
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Joppa
[ebd] beauty, a town in the portion of Dan (Josh. 19:46; A.V., "Japho"), on a sandy promontory between Caesarea and Gaza, and at a distance of 30 miles north-west from Jerusalem. It is one of the oldest towns in Asia. It was and s...
[isbe] JOPPA - jop'-a (yapho, yapho'; Ioppe): In Josh 19:46 the King James Version called "Japho," a city in the territory allotted to Dan; but there is nothing to show that in pre-exilic times it ever passed into Israelite hands. ...
[nave] JOPPA A seaport, Josh. 19:46. Exports from, 2 Chr. 2:16; Ezra 3:7. Passenger traffic from, Jonah 1:3. Peter performs a miracle at, Acts 9:36-43; has a vision of a sheet let down from heaven at, Acts 10:9-18.
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Dorcas
[ebd] a female antelope, or gazelle, a pious Christian widow at Joppa whom Peter restored to life (Acts 9:36-41). She was a Hellenistic Jewess, called Tabitha by the Jews and Dorcas by the Greeks.
[isbe] DORCAS - dor'-kas (Dorkas, the Greek equivalent of Aramaic tabitha, "a gazelle"): The name was borne by a Christian woman of Joppa. She is called a disciple (mathetria: Acts 9:36, the only place in the New Testament where th...
[nave] DORCAS, called also Tabitha. A pious woman of Joppa, Acts 9:36-42.
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Syria
[nave] SYRIA, highlands lying between the river Euphrates and the Mediterranean Sea. Called Aram, from the son of Shem, Gen. 10:22, 23; Num. 23:7; 1 Chr. 1:17; 2:23. In the time of Abraham it seems to have embraced the region betwe...
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ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, 1-7
[isbe] ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, 1-7 - a-pos'-ls: I. TITLE II. TEXT III. UNITY OF THE BOOK IV. THE AUTHOR V. CANONICITY VI. DATE VII. SOURCES USED BY LUKE VIII. THE SPEECHES IN THE ACTS IX. RELATION OF ACTS TO THE EPISTLES X. CHRONOLOG...
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Miracles
[nave] MIRACLES. Index of Sub-topics Catalog of, and Supernatural Events, Of Jesus, in Chronological Order, Of the Disciples of Jesus; Convincing Effect of; Design of; Miraculous Gifts of the Holy Spirit; Miscellany of Minor Sub-...
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Lydda
[ebd] a town in the tribe of Ephraim, mentioned only in the New Testament (Acts 9:32, 35, 38) as the scene of Peter's miracle in healing the paralytic AEneas. It lay about 9 miles east of Joppa, on the road from the sea-port to Je...
[smith] (strife), the Greek form of the name, (Acts 9:32,35,38) which appears in the Hebrew records as LOD a town of Benjamin, founded by Shamed or Shamer. (1 Chronicles 8:12; Ezra 2:33; Nehemiah 7:37; 11:35) It is still called Li...
[nave] LYDDA, called also Lod. A city of Benjamin, 1 Chr. 8:12; Ezra 2:33; Neh. 11:35. Peter heals Aeneas in, Acts 9:32-35.
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Minister
[nave] MINISTER, a sacred teacher. Index of Sub-topics Miscellany of Minor Sub-topics; Call of; Character and Qualifications of; Charge Delivered to; Courage of; Duties of; Duties of the Church to; Emoluments of; Faithful, Instanc...
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Zeal
[nave] ZEAL, Religious Josh. 24:15, 16; 2 Sam. 24:24, 25; 1 Kin. 9:4; 1 Kin. 15:14; 1 Chr. 29:17; 2 Chr. 15:15; 2 Chr. 19:3; Ezra 7:23; Job 16:19; Psa. 42:1, 2; Psa. 60:4; Psa. 96:2, 3, 10; Psa. 119:139; Prov. 11:30; Eccl. 9:10; ...
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PETER, SIMON
[isbe] PETER, SIMON - pe'-ter, si'-mon): 1. Name and Early Career 2. First Appearance in Gospel History 3. Life-Story (1) First Period (2) Second Period 4. Character 5. Writings (1) First Epistle (2) Second Epistle 6. Theology (1) ...
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CONVERSION
[ebd] the turning of a sinner to God (Acts 15:3). In a general sense the heathen are said to be "converted" when they abandon heathenism and embrace the Christian faith; and in a more special sense men are converted when, by the i...
[isbe] CONVERSION - kon-vur'-shun: I. The Words "Conversion," "Convert," in Biblical Usage. 1. In the English Bible: The noun "conversion" (epistrophe) occurs in only one passage in the Bible, "They passed through both Phoenicia an...
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PAUL, THE APOSTLE, 5
[isbe] PAUL, THE APOSTLE, 5 - V. Work. 1. Adjustment: There was evidently a tumult in Paul's soul. He had undergone a revolution, both intellectual and spiritual. Before he proceeded farther it was wise to think through the most im...
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Aeneas
[isbe] AENEAS - e-ne'-as ('Aineas): A paralytic at Lydda, who, after he "had kept his bed eight years," was miraculously healed by Peter (Acts 9:33,34).
[smith] (laudble), a paralytic at Lydda healed by St. Peter. (Acts 9:33,34)
[nave] AENEAS, healed, Acts 9:33, 34.
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ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, 8-12
[isbe] ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, 8-12 - VIII. The Speeches in Acts. This matter is important enough to receive separate treatment. Are the numerous speeches reported in Acts free compositions of Luke made to order a la Thucydides? Are ...
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Barnabas
[ebd] son of consolation, the surname of Joses, a Levite (Acts 4:36). His name stands first on the list of prophets and teachers of the church at Antioch (13:1). Luke speaks of him as a "good man" (11:24). He was born of Jewish pa...
[smith] (son of consolation or comfort) a name given by the apostles, (Acts 4:36) to Joseph (or Jose), a Levite of the island of Cyprus, who was early a disciple of Christ. In (Acts 9:27) we find him introducing the newly-converted S...
[nave] BARNABAS, called also Joses. A prophet, Acts 13:1. An apostle, Acts 14:14. A Levite who gave his possessions to be owned in common with other disciples, Acts 4:36, 37. Goes to Antioch to find Paul, brings him to Antioch, A...
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PAUL, THE APOSTLE, 4
[isbe] PAUL, THE APOSTLE, 4 - IV. His Equipment. Ramsay chooses as the title of chapter ii, in his Paul the Traveler, the words "The Origin of Paul." It is not possible to explain the work and teaching of Paul without a just concep...
Arts
Hymns
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Questions
- Curtis Mitchell's article in Bibliotheca Sacra, Vol 147 #588 Oct 1990 answers this question well. The Practice of Fasting in the New Testament Is religious fasting a legitimate practice for today? If it is, how and wh...
- Good question. I've copied a footnote from my lesson on the text in Galatians 1 which addresses your question: 35 Paul's account of his first visit to Jerusalem does not conflict with that of Luke in Acts 9:26-30. Luke te...
- I think I must first say that we are never given a precise plan, identified as Paul's strategy. I think as we look back, we can see that there is a strategy, but I'm inclined to attribute this more to the Spirit of God and...
- If you have not done so, you may wish to look at what I have said on tongues in 1 Corinthians 12-14:http://www.bible.org/page.php?page_id=804 http://www.bible.org/page.php?page_id=805http://www.bible.org/page.php?page_id=806...
- In answer to your question I have taken some of the arguments from Ryrie's Basic Theology and added a few comments with a few more verses as well in some places. I would strongly recommend this excellent Theology for its soun...
- I think our safest and most reliable course of action is to see how the term is used and understood in the New Testament. Here are the references to "Son of God" in the NT: Matt. 4:3; 4:6; 8:29; 26:63; 27:40; 27:43; 27:54 ...
- There is a very delicate balance that we must maintain here. I am once again teaching through the Book of Acts. There, you do not see anyone coming to faith without being baptized (for example the new converts in Acts 2:41; t...
Sermon Illustrations
What Is Your Style of Evangelism?;
Accounts of People Raised from the Dead;
Evangelistic Activities in Acts;
1 Corinthians 15:29
Resources/Books
Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)
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God had a very unusual ministry for Elijah to perform in which he would stand alone against hundreds of opponents (18:16-40). This section reveals how the Lord prepared him for it.The site of Zarephath was between Tyre and Si...
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6:10 The new decree did not deter Daniel from continuing to pray for the welfare of the city where God had sent them into exile and for the Jews' return from exile. That this was the subject of his praying, among other things...
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9:18-19 This incident evidently happened shortly after Jesus and His disciples returned from Gadara on the east side of the lake (cf. Mark 5:21-22; Luke 8:40-41). The name of this Capernium synagogue ruler was Jairus (Mark 5:...
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16:18 "I say to you"(cf. 5:18, 20, 22, 28, 32, 34, 39, 44; 8:10) may imply that Jesus would continue the revelation the Father had begun. However the phrase occurs elsewhere where that contrast is not in view. Undoubtedly it ...
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This is one of the sections of Mark's Gospel that has a chiastic structure (cf. 3:22-30; 6:14-29; 11:15-19).A The appeal of Jairus for his daughter 5:21-24B The healing of the woman with the hemorrhage 5:25-34A' The raising o...
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1:8-9 Zechariah was serving God faithfully by discharging some temple function as a member of his priestly division. There were so many priests then that the great privilege of offering incense on the golden incense altar in ...
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8:49-50 Jesus' words of encouragement as well as His recent demonstration of power prepared Jairus for what followed. He had just witnessed Jesus overcome ceremonial defilement and disease. He needed to believe that Jesus cou...
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Longenecker identified five phenomena about the structure of Acts that the reader needs to recognize to appreciate what Luke sought to communicate."1. It begins, like the [Third] Gospel, with an introductory section of distin...
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I. The witness in Jerusalem 1:1-6:7A. The founding of the church 1:1-2:461. The resumptive preface to the book 1:1-52. The command to witness 1:6-83. The ascension of Jesus 1:9-114. Jesus' appointment of a twelfth apostle 1:1...
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The key to the apostles' successful fulfillment of Jesus' commission was their baptism with and consequent indwelling by the Holy Spirit. Without this divine enablement they would only have been able to follow Jesus' example,...
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1:15 In view of Peter's leadership gifts, so obvious in the Gospels, it is no surprise that he is the one who took the initiative on this occasion."Undoubtedly, the key disciple in Luke's writings is Peter. He was the represe...
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Luke introduced the beginning of Jesus' earthly ministry with His baptism with the Spirit (Luke 3:21-22). He paralleled this with the beginning of Jesus' heavenly ministry with the Spirit baptism of His disciples (Acts 2:1-4)...
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Luke now moved from describing what took place on a particular day to a more general description of the life of the early Jerusalem church (cf. 4:32-5:11; 6:1-6). Interestingly he gave comparatively little attention to the in...
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Luke had just referred to the apostles' teaching, to the awe that many of the Jews felt, to the apostles doing signs and wonders, and to the Christians meeting in the temple (2:43-44, 46). Now he narrated a specific incident ...
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Luke now gave a specific instance of what he had just described in verses 34 and 35. This reference to Barnabas is significant because it introduces him to the reader. Barnabas becomes a major character in Acts later. Further...
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The scene shifts back to life within the church (cf. 4:32-5:11). Luke wrote this pericope to explain some administrative changes that the growth of the church made necessary. He also wanted to introduce the Hellenistic Jews w...
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This short section sets the stage for Philip's ministry by giving us its cause.8:1b Stephen's execution ignited the first popular persecution of Christian Jews.348Since Stephen was a Hellenistic Jew, the Hellenistic Jewish Ch...
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8:4 Whereas persecution resulted in the death of some believers it also dispersed the disciples over a wider area. Luke described what they did as scattered believers as "preaching the word"(Gr. euaggelizomenoi ton logon, lit...
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8:14-17 The 12 apostles were, of course, the divinely appointed leaders of the Christians (ch. 1). It was natural and proper, therefore, that they should send representative apostles to investigate the Samaritans' response to...
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9:10-12 Evidently Ananias was not a refugee from Jerusalem (22:12) but a resident of Damascus. He, too, received a vision of the Lord Jesus (v. 17) to whom he submitted willingly (cf. 1 Sam. 3:4, 10). Jesus gave Ananias speci...
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9:19b-20 How verses 19b-20 fit into the chronology of events in Saul's life is not perfectly clear. They could fit in any number of ways. We should probably understand "immediately"in a general sense. As soon as Saul became a...
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Luke included this incident to prove the genuineness of Saul's conversion. He who had been persecuting to the death believers in Jesus had now become the target of deadly persecution because of his changed view of Jesus.9:23-...
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Luke concluded each of his narratives of the Samaritans' conversion (8:4-25), Saul's conversion (9:1-31), and Cornelius' conversion (10:1-11:18) with references to the mother church in Jerusalem. He evidently wanted to stress...
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Notice that "church"is in the singular here. This is probably a reference to the Christians throughout Palestine--in Judea, Galilee, and Samaria--not just in one local congregation but in the body of Christ. Saul's departure ...
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As Jerusalem had been the Palestinian center for the evangelization of Jews, Antioch of Syria became the Hellenistic center for Gentile evangelization in Asia Minor and Europe. The gospel spread increasingly to Gentiles, whic...
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Peter continued his itinerant ministry around Palestine (cf. 8:25).9:32 Lydda (modern Lod, the site of Israel's international airport) lay on the Mediterranean coastal plain about 10 miles from the sea. It was about 25 miles ...
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9:36 The site of Joppa (modern Yafo, a suburb of Tel Aviv) was on the Mediterranean coast 10 miles west and a little north of Lydda. It was the ancient seaport for Jerusalem (cf. 2 Chron. 2:16; Jon. 1:3). Tabitha (lit. "Gazel...
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10:1 Caesarea stood on the Mediterranean coast about 30 miles north of Joppa. Formerly its name was Strato's Tower, but Herod the Great renamed it in honor of Augustus Caesar, his patron and the adopted heir of Julius Caesar....
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"Though Peter was not by training or inclination an overly scrupulous Jew, and though as a Christian his inherited prejudices were gradually wearing thin, he was not prepared to go so far as to minister directly to Gentiles. ...
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Peter's sermon on this occasion is the first sermon in Acts addressed to a Gentile audience (cf. 14:15-17; 17:22-31). It is quite similar to the ones Peter preached in 2:14-40 and 3:11-26 except that this one has more informa...
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10:44 Peter did not need to call for his hearers to repent on this occasion. As soon as he gave them enough information to trust Jesus Christ, they did so. Immediately the Holy Spirit fell on them filling them (v. 47; 11:15; ...
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11:19 Luke's reference back to the persecution resulting from Stephen's martyrdom (7:60) is significant. It suggests that he was now beginning to record another mission of the Christians that ran parallel logically and chrono...
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"Peter's rescue from prison is an unusually vivid episode in Acts even when simply taken as a story about Peter. Because it is not connected with events in the chapters immediately before and after it, however, it may seem ra...
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In contrast to Herod and like Peter, the word of the Lord, the gospel, continued to grow and multiply through God's supernatural blessing. Therefore the church continued to flourish in Jewish territory as well as among the Ge...
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Luke recorded these verses to set the stage for the account of Barnabas and Saul's first missionary journey that follows."The world ministry which thus began was destined to change the history of Europe and the world."51512:2...
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Luke recorded the events of Paul's first missionary journey to document the extension of the church into new territory and to illustrate the principles and methods by which the church grew. He also did so to show God's supern...
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14:8 Like Antioch of Pisidia, Lystra (modern Zoldera) was a Roman colony.580It was the most eastern of the fortified cities of Galatia. Lystra was about 20 miles south of Iconium.581Luke did not mention synagogue evangelism h...
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14:21b-22 The missionaries confined their labors to the Galatian province on this trip. They did not move farther east into the kingdom of Antiochus or the province Cilicia that Paul may have evangelized previously during his...
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16:1 Paul and Silas probably crossed the Taurus Mountains at a pass called the Cilician Gates (modern Gülek Bogaz). Alexander the Great had marched east through this pass to conquer the vast Persian Empire four centuries...
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17:10 For a second time Paul fled a city under cover of night (cf. 9:25; Matt. 10:23). He and Silas left the Via Egnatia at Thessalonica and took the eastern coastal road toward Athens. They headed for Berea (modern Verria) a...
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19:8 Paul followed his standard procedure of preaching to the Jews in the synagogue at Ephesus as long as possible. Here the Jews were more tolerant than they had been in some other towns that Paul had evangelized, and he was...
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"From 20:5 through the end of Acts (28:31), Luke's narrative gives considerable attention to ports of call, stopovers, and time spent on Paul's travels and includes various anecdotes. It contains the kind of details found in ...
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Paul needed to defend himself against the charge that he had been disloyal to his people, the Mosaic Law, and the temple (cf. 21:28). His devout Jewish audience was especially skeptical of Paul since he was a Hellenistic Jew ...
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23:12-15 Paul's adversaries (cf. 21:27-29) evidently agreed together not to taste food or drink again until Paul was dead. Their plan was to have the chief priests and elders of Israel ask the Roman commander to return Paul t...
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Paul was not on trial here. When he had appealed to Caesar (25:11), he had guaranteed that his next trial would be before the emperor. This was just a hearing designed to acquaint Agrippa with Paul's case so Agrippa could giv...
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Paul's innocence of anything worthy of punishment is clear from his living a relatively comfortable life in Rome for the following two years (60-62 A.D.).977Paul was able to preach (Gr. kerysso, to proclaim as a herald) the k...
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Sequence of Paul's ActivitiesDateEventReferenceBirth in TarsusActs 22:3Early life and theological education in Jerusalem under GamalielActs 22:334Participation in Stephen's stoning outside JerusalemActs 7:57-8:134Leadership i...
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15:30 Paul drew attention to the great need he felt for his readers' prayers by using the same term he did when appealing for them to dedicate themselves to God (12:1). He exhorted them on the basis of their relationship with...
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Sequence of Paul's ActivitiesDateEventReferenceBirth in TarsusActs 22:3Early life and theological education in Jerusalem under GamalielActs 22:334Participation in Stephen's stoning outside JerusalemActs 7:57-8:134Leadership i...
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To answer his critics and prove the extent of his own service and sufferings for Christ, Paul related many of his painful experiences as an apostle.11:16 Paul apologized again for having to resort to mentioning these experien...
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This section continues the point of the previous one. Paul was not dependent on the other apostles for his ministry any more than he was for the message he proclaimed. This explanation would have further convinced his readers...
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Paul related other events of his previous ministry, specifically his meeting with the Jerusalem church leaders. He did so to establish for his readers that although he was not dependent on anyone but God for his message and m...
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Paul began this very personal letter with a customary salutation to set the tone for what followed. The salutation reveals that this was not just a personal letter, however, as was Paul's epistle to Philemon, but it was also ...
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Paul gave instructions concerning the church's responsibility for its widows to clarify how and for whom the church should provide special care. Widows have been and still are specially vulnerable individuals. As such God has...
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A. The Holy Spirit fell on men and women on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4).B. Women prayed with men (Acts 1:14; 12:12).C. Women had various ministries of hospitality, service and good works (Dorcas, Acts 9:36; Mary, the mo...
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A. Paul affirms the personal equality of man and woman in the new creation by stating that in Christ there is "neither male nor female"(Gal. 3:28).A woman obtains salvation by faith exactly as a man does (Eph. 2:8-9; 1 Pet. 1...
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". . . it is not difficult to see why the early church understood John to be teaching a millennium in Revelation 20. Three arguments support this interpretation: (1) the teaching of two resurrections, (2) the binding of Satan...
Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)
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So the Church throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria had peace, being edified; and, walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, was multiplied.'--Acts 9:31 (R.V.).A MAN climbing a hill stops ...
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and Peter said unto him, AEneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole: arise, and make thy bed 40. But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down and prayed; and, turning him to the body, said, Tabitha, arise.'--Acts 9:34-40...