1. Acts 20:35. From what Gospel writer is this quoted?

Trick question. That Jesus said it, is confirmed by the apostle here. That it was written down by some other apostle, cannot be proved. The saying was evidently passed by word of mouth until Luke’s record.

How many other things Jesus said and did is suggested by John at the end of his Gospel. He says the world itself could not contain all such things. I am hoping that the “video” will be shown some time during the Millennium!

2. Acts 21:4, 11. The Spirit was telling Paul not to go, but he went. Was this disobedience?

It does seem so in verse 4. But by verse 11 we get the fuller understanding. Jerusalem will be the place of ultimate testing, as it was for Jesus. Bondage. Prison. Eventually death at the hands of Romans. There were times when Paul heard things such as these and allowed other disciples to rescue him and move him to the next town. But as His Master, Paul listens to the Father and realizes that at Jerusalem there is to be no more running. He tells his followers so in verse 13: Stop crying. I’m ready. If I must die at Jerusalem, so be it! So Jesus-like, yes?

3. Acts 21:20-26. Why such caution still?

There is still a huge misunderstanding of the apostle to the Gentiles, in Jerusalem. The Jews think Paul is about destruction of the very foundations of the Jewish religion, the law of Moses. It is hard for him to convince them otherwise, so he agrees to the “wisdom” of acting very Jewish while he is here in town.

Good, wise advice. Go to the Temple. Participate in a Jewish ceremonial vow. Seven days. Surely the people will congratulate you for this. You will be one of them again. It will open the door to your sharing Jesus with them.

We call this “friendship evangelism” today. How did it work for Paul? Paul’s trip to the Temple eventually landed him in several jails, and caused him, says the tradition, to be beheaded by Nero Caesar years later.

Yet God saw it all in advance. The believing Jews meant well. Paul meant well. It was time to finish his course, and finish it he did.

4. Acts 21:27. What are Asian Jews doing in Jerusalem?

This was the feast of Pentecost. Paul had eagerly wanted to be in Jerusalem at this feast. Did he know, as Jesus had similarly understood, that this would be the beginning of the end for him? Did he know that Jews from everywhere would be in the city and that some of them would recognize him from the days of his missionary journeys?

5. Acts 21:14. Why an actual utterance from Jesus to Paul?

Jesus has not been overly conversant with the Church by human voices over the centuries. He has called His people to walk by faith, not by sight or physical hearing. I believe He decided to use a human voice for Paul to hear, for one thing, to put him on equal footing with the other apostles, who had walked and talked with Jesus for 3 years. They would want to know if Paul had the same authority as did they.

6. Acts 22:16. So baptism washes away sins?

Peter puts it well in I Peter 3:21: Baptism saves us, yes, but not in the sense of the putting away of the filth of our carnal nature (or as here, the washing away of sin), but rather it is the response of a cleansed conscience. I’ve been forgiven! Let me tell someone. Baptism is the first way to tell…

Hence, this command to Paul here can be looked at as two separate ones:

1. Be baptized!

2. Wash away your sins by calling on the Name of the Lord (who does the actual washing).

If even the blood of bulls and goats, offered by a million Jews over hundreds of years, cannot take away sin, should we assume that taking a bath in water will do it?

7. Acts 23:1. Why this slap?

Paul was on trial for his life. In the eyes of the Jews he was a blasphemer who deserved death, a rabble-rouser, the likes of which showed up every once in a while among the Israelites, and needed to be extinguished soon so as not to defile the nation.

And the first thing out of his mouth is that he is innocent and has lived in good conscience. This was a slap to the high priest and the council, and he was merely, in their thinking, receiving what he deserved.

8. Acts 23:25-30. What is missing in Lysias’ report?

Lysias could not dare to report that in the “rescuing” of Paul he had arrested him, and over-reacted, and was about to beat a Roman citizen without having had a Roman trial. Unthinkable in Rome!

52. Acts 23-25. How is this story so much like Jesus’ in His final days?

False witnesses. A trial before the Jewish council. A trial before a Roman governor. No finding of guilt. An interview with a Herod. The abuse. The rejection. The ridicule. Finally placed in the hands of Romans for execution.

53. Acts 25: 23-27. What is Festus’ predicament?

It is almost a laughable situation, if it were not so serious. A prisoner must be sent to the Emperor of the Roman Empire, at his own request, but no one can figure out what the charge is to be!

54. Acts 27:3. What sort of “care” might have been needed?

After being a prisoner for months now, but still not charged with a crime? After seeing his homeland taken from him? Facing the madness of Nero? Wondering what might in fact be next on God’s agenda? Oh, I imagine some tender loving care was definitely needed by now. Affection. Perhaps Dr. Luke, who was with him, needed some refills of the materials he was using to aid Paul. It is not pleasant to be an apostle of Jesus Christ.

55. Acts 27:10, 22. Explain “perception” vs “revelation” in the decisions we make.

As a man of prayer, and wisdom, and good judgment, and righteous behavior, and discernment, and walk in the Spirit, Paul knew that something was not good here. He assumed that everyone on this ill-fated trip could well lose their lives. Did he think God was going to curse the trip because of its unholy intent to persecute the Christ in him?

Whatever, he just “knew.” And we can come a long way with God by just knowing. Reading the principles in His Word. Praying. Walking in holiness. Listening.

But Revelation trumps all of that. One clear obvious word from God to an apostle changes everything. And that is what Paul received in verse 24. Most of what he had surmised was true. With one major change now.

It could well be also that Paul’s prayers altered God’s activities.

56. Acts 28:25-29. Is Paul being a bit harsh here? This was, after all, their first hearing of the Gospel.

Over the years Paul has indeed been accused of harshness. We think of the confrontation with Barnabas over young disciple John Mark. Impatient. Strong. Disciplined.

But God worked on all of that, as He works on all of us and our areas of stupidity.