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LaurenAshleyHerring
Rick Rasberry
BIBL364:B01 10/8/2019
ThematicAnalysisEssay2
Feeling the weight of loss among the disciples is made worse by the fact that is given
chapter eight of Acts, that Saul approved of the stoning of Stephen, therefore had a hand in his
death.Thechurch isbroughtinto themiddleofthisfeudbetweennon-believersandbelieversby Saul,
who would seek outthebelievers thathad notscattered throughoutJudeaand Samaria and would
arrest them for believing in Jesus. The second movement within the book of Acts
illustratesthateverythingandeveryonecanberedeemedonlybythepowerofJesusChrist.This is shown
in thetransition fromthebeginning of chapter eightwhen thedisciples buried Stephen to the end of
chapter 12 when Peter is rescued by an angel that was sent by God.
In Acts 1:8, right before Jesus ascends to Heaven to be with His Father, He explains that
the disciples need to spread His Gospel to the ends of the earth so that everyone could hear the
good news. This segment of Acts develops the theme of “spreading the Gospel” because it
involves the changing of Saul’s heart, and preaching the Gospel to the Gentiles, who were at the
time considered to be “unclean” or “unworthy” of God’s blessings, and baptizing them in Jesus’
name.Theonlyacceptableassumptionconcerning thegeographictargetofthebookofActsisto the ends
of the earth. This stipulates that everyone on the entirety of earth needs to hear about Jesus and
what He did for all of us. Of course, before they reach the ends of the earth, they need to preach
to the people near them, and this allows the outreach of the Gospel to grow to the corners of the
earth. Within the five chapters, the disciples traveled to different places to share
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the Gospel including, Samaria, Gaza, Damascus, Caesarea, and Antioch. Within the four
chapters(8-11)prior tothetwelfthchapter, therehad beenalotoftraveling thatwasdonebythe
disciples as they shared the truth of Jesus, yet there is no traveling that is depicted in the twelfth
chapter. Dr. Fowler explains that this is because there needed to be an interlude between the
expansion of Gentile believers and the first missionary journey that is completed by Paul. The
previous chapters shed light onto the hardships, death and troubles that may come from
spreading the Gospel, but chapter twelve turns it into something positive and explains that God
will always deliver us. There will be those, like Stephen, that are called to die for the Kingdom,
and there will be those, like Peter, that will be called to witness for the Kingdom.
I believe that the following themes are the most important themes that are developed by
Luke:God’s Providence, God’s Kingdom is inclusive, and that Christians will suffer for the
Kingdom of God. God will always provide protection and help where He deems it necessary. If
we look at Acts 7, right before Stephen died from the stoning, he looks to the heavens and begs
that God would forgive them because they didn’t know what they were doing. God could’ve
easilyblownallthestonesawayfromStephen,yetHeallowed them tohithimover andovertill he died.
Sometimes, God will allow things to happen so that His Kingdom will be exalted.
Whether itbefromwithin thecommunity orfromexternalforces,God is always betheretohelp in
theways thatHefinds appropriate. This ultimately shows thatin theend, the Gospelwillwin,
andJesuswillreignforever.Withinthisnewcovenantthatismadebetween GodandHispeople, God
says that there is no difference between the Jews and Gentiles because once they are saved in
Jesus’ name, they are all considered His children. This concept is difficult for some of the Jews
to understand because they are focused on receiving God’s promises or being known as a
“supremeraceornation”.InthenextfewchaptersofActs,Lukewill addressthesequestionsand
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reply to them with a simple answer. Jesus will love all who are saved in His Name.
LukeexplainshowChristianscanbeputinto terriblesituationsthattheycannotescape.Anexampleof
this is found in the life of Saul. Saul hated anyone who preached and believed that Jesus was the
Son of God. Early in chapter eight of the book of Acts, we find out that it was Saul who had
allowed Stephen to be stoned. The chapter continues to explain that Saul had chased out most
believers to Judeaand Samaria, and Saulwould arrestthebelievers thatstayed, and would throw
them in jail. But Jesus came to Saul and changed his heart so that Saul could love and believe
that Jesus was Lord. After this, Saul started to preach that Jesus was the Messiah and it confused
the Jewish people in Damascus. Some of them made plans to kill him, and when Saul heard this,
heescaped and wentto Jerusalem. When Saultried to walk with thebelievers of Jerusalem, they
would run away because they were afraid of him. Barnabus took Saul to the apostles and
explained that he had been changed, and they walked with him to show that anyone can change
because of the Lord. This man had a cold and dead heart that was transformed with the power of
the Holy Spirit and was put into a terrible situation because he believed in Jesus. But Jesus
delivered him time and time again so that Saul could fulfill God’s purpose for him.
Core elements that Peter used while preaching to the Gentiles included three main facts.
Thefirstfactis that God treats allpeople thesame, regardless of thenation that they comefrom
orwhattheyhavedone. ThesecondfactisthatGod sentJesuswiththepoweroftheHolySpirit to heal
and perform good will to everyone “who was under the power of the devil” (New
InternationalVersion).And thefinalfact is that anyone who has faith in Jesus and whatHedid for
all of us will have their sins cleansed in His name. These themes are different from Peter’s
teachingsinthefirstmovementof thebookofactsbecausePeterexplainedwhatJesushaddone for all of
them, and that Jesus did all these things to prove that He was who He claimed to be.
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ThechangesthathemadeinhisapproachtotheGentilesincluded making theGentilesfeellike they
were to be included in this just as the Jews were, because there was no difference between the
two groups in Jesus’ eyes. This is significant because after Peter finished his speech, the Gentiles
were filled with the Holy Spirit and baptized shortly after.
Throughoutthesecondmovementof thebookofActs,itcoversseveralthemesthat are essential
to understanding the Christian faith, including God’s providence, the fact that the Kingdom is
all-inclusive, and that Christians will be asked to suffer for the Kingdom of God. Thissection
coversthebeginningofstrugglesthatwillsoongrowastheycontinuetosharethe Gospel with the world.
