Chapter 8
Chapter 8
Note 1: This Bible study is
being created specifically for a friend of mine. It is not meant as an
exhaustive study of the book of Acts. Please do your own research, using the
commentary links as a starting point, for a better understanding of the book of
Acts and other books of the Bible. Thank you for your dedication to studying
the word of God!
Note 2: All Bible verse
citations are from NKJV (New King James Version) unless otherwise stated.
Note 3: # This symbol will be
used for any information from Dr.
Nunnally’s “A Commentary on the Book of Acts” (Source info below). This
Bible study is heavily based on Dr. Nunnally’s work. I have not yet discovered
if he has published his book, but I will post a link for his work if I find out
that he has published it. Feel free to comment on this blog if you discover his
published book (if it’s published) before I do!
- All notes that have this or no symbol in front of them are my
interpretations of scripture.
*NIV Zondervan study Bible
+ other source (cited below if used)
Verse 1: I think
it’s important to note that the Bible was not originally written in chapters,
hence the disjointedness of this statement. In my opinion, this verse would make
more sense in chapter 7.
#1: “The
stoning of Stephen gave rise to a much wider persecution.”
Verse 4: Even
though the followers were scattered, they still held to their faith, which is
why they continue to share the Gospel (the message of Jesus’s death,
resurrection and His salvation for all mankind) with everyone they met.
Christ is Preached in
Samaria
Verse 5: #2: Samaria
was a city hated by the Jews. In fact, many Jews would purposely make a detour
around the city to avoid entering it if they needed to travel past it. Philip
took a brave step by preaching the Gospel in this city, considering the souls of
the Samaritans to be much more important than the dishonor he would receive
from going there.
The Sorcerer’s Sin
Verse 22-23: This
statement seems very harsh in our current world’s perspective of tolerance.
However, it’s important to note that “tolerance” was not the trend in most of the
ancient world. In fact, there were severe punishments for disobedience and
crime. It was obvious to Peter that Simon’s motivation was greed, which is why
Peter rebuked him severely. The Holy Spirit is to be revered, not treated as a
means to trick others into giving money to anyone.
Verse 24: I think
it can be safely assumed that Peter did pray for this man and the man was
forgiven for his sin.
Christ is Preached to
an Ethiopian
Verse 34: The
verses from Isaiah are prophecies about Jesus.
Verse 39: No
further explanation is given about this in Acts, but there are other instances
of people being “caught up” by the Holy Spirit and transported either into
heaven or to another place. Here are a couple of other examples in the Bible:
Genesis
5:24 (Enoch is taken up into heaven)
2
Kings 2:11 (Elijah is taken up into heaven)
Sources:
W.E. Nunnally. A Commentary on the Book of Acts, 2008, Evangel
University, 2008, Springfield, Missouri, 2017.
Verse 1: #1: pg. 196, 3rd paragraph
Verse 5: #2: pg. 200, last paragraph
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