LIBERTY UNIVERSITY
Thematic Analysis Essay 2
BIBL 364
ACTS
by
Brent Quinones
June 24, 2018
Thematic Analysis Essay 2
“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my
witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
As we look into the theme of the book of Acts, you see where Jesus Christ said he would give the
Holy Spirit to his disciples to be his godly examples for His mission. In Acts, Jesus proclaimed
that his kingdom would in fact spread throughout the nations and his glory would be seen for the
ages to come. In this part of Acts, God’s mission theme is brought forth by showing the
successful crossing of boundaries and borders; Geographically, religiously, and ethnically.
The power of God’s spirit given to his apostles, they now boldly bear true witness to the
gospel of Jesus Christ and commissioned to grow the church for the further advancement of the
Kingdom by fulfilling Acts 1:8. The story at Caesarea and Samaria are a replica of what
transpired at Pentecost. A wonderful and beautiful display of the Holy Spirit being poured out;
however, it was an eye-opening moment because it was a rarity and first time that Samarians
converts came into Christianity. The Samaritans were of mixed heritage if you will, both
Jewish and Gentile, and they did not worship God according to the standard of the Old
Testament.
Therefore, as the Gospel of Jesus Christ reached Samaria, there was a new beginning, and God’s
future fulfillment of the Great Commission to his disciples. It was the first major expansion of
the gospel across ethnic borders. The Holy Spirit gave the new followers of Christ to do many
things such as speaking in tongues to show an example to the disciples of God and to the church
that the Samarians could be incorporated into the Kingdom of God.
God’s blessing of his spirit in Samaria, we now go into Caesarea where the Holy
Spirit again poured out on and came unto the church in such ways of what happened at
Pentecost. In comparison to the event in Samaria, the scene in Caesarea marked the first time
the gospel of
Thematic Analysis Essay 2
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Thematic Analysis Essay 2
Christ moved across another ethnic/religious boundary. In Caesarea, Gentiles were converted to
Christ in significant numbers for the first time, beginning with the Roman centurion Cornelius,
his household and friends. This comparison to Pentecost is strategic and undeniable. This
significant parallel to Pentecost is undeniable and strategic. Those who heard and believed in the
gospel spoke in tongues as the Jews stood in amazement, and Peter even noted that the believers
in Caesarea received the Holy Spirit just as he had, referring to the outpouring of the Spirit on
Pentecost. This was unusual because Gentiles were considered outside of God's special covenant
with Israel, and Jews intently separated themselves from the filthy Gentiles. It was a huge site to
see to the early church when the Gentiles were converted to Christ without first being fully
converted to Judaism in that time. This remarkable pouring out of the Holy Spirit for Cornelius
and his family was another setting of the Lord’s world mission being accomplish in such an
amazing way to demonstrate that the door of his mercy has been offered to the Gentiles, and that
“what God has cleansed, no longer shall be considered unclean”. The way in which the Holy
Spirit’s coming on the Gentiles resembled Pentecost and demonstrated that their conversion was
true and confirmed that Gods plan to grow His kingdom through the Gentiles had started.
The two settings of Peter and Cornelius’ evangelistic encounter in chapters ten and eleven
both present two main efforts. First, everything that was coordinated by God and second was that
the Gentiles were included in Jesus Christ’s promised plan for Israel. The Holy Spirit’s coming
upon Cornelius’ home gives confirmation of God’s divine direction in all matters, which could be
compared to the conversion of Saul (Which was later Paul). It is of great importance to know that
God had given the same Holy Spirit to the Gentiles, that the believing community received from
the start. This is significant because of the disbelief from the Jewish believers, concerned about
the Gentiles being included in the promised plan of God. We see though, how the plan of God in
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Thematic Analysis Essay 2
Acts 1:8 is unfolding, as “this scene is the turning point of the book, as the gospel will fan out in
all directions to people across a vast array of geographical regions”. This section of the Acts
vividly illustrates five themes (of the eight themes identified by Polhill in section 11 of the
Introduction): World Mission, The Power of the Spirit, The Inclusive Gospel, Faithful
Witnesses & The Triumph of the Gospel.
Bibliography
1 Polhill, John B. Acts, New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 1992).
2 The Holy Bible, New American Standard Bible. 1995
3 Bock, Darrell L. Acts, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Michigan: Baker,
2007).
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