Chapter Ten - Acts & Apostles

CHAPTER TEN

Acts & Apostles

EARLY SUNDAY MORNING, women go to the tomb.

They find the stone rolled away.
The guards are gone.
The body is gone.

And an angel, or two, depending on the Gospel, tells them:

“He is not here. He is risen.”

Jesus appears.
Not in glory, not in fire, but as a man with scars.

He walks with them.
Eats with them.
Lets them touch his wounds.
Appears in locked rooms.
Teaches. Encourages. Explains.

For forty days, he appears to over 500 people.

Then he tells them:

“Wait in Jerusalem. You’ll receive power.”

And he ascends.
He rises into the sky.

The disciples stand staring until angels say, “Why are you looking up? He’ll be back.”

Ten days later, 120 followers gather in an upper room.
It’s the Jewish festival of Pentecost.

Suddenly, a sound like wind, flames appear over their heads, and they speak in tongues, languages they’ve never learned.

People from every nation hear the message in their own language.

Peter, once a coward, now stands bold and preaches:

“This Jesus, whom you crucified, God has raised up. Repent and be baptized!”

3,000 people join in one day.

The church is born.

The apostles perform signs and wonders.

A lame man walks.
The sick are healed by Peter’s shadow.
Demons flee.
Prison doors fly open.
A man named Ananias drops dead for lying about money.

They share everything.
They eat together.
They pray together.

But they also face opposition.

Stephen becomes the first martyr, stoned to death after calling out the religious elite.

As he dies, he sees Jesus standing in heaven.

A young man watches, holding coats.
His name is Saul.

Saul hunts down Christians. He drags them from homes and throws them in prison.

But on his way to Damascus, a light blinds him.

He hears:

“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”

It’s Jesus.

Saul goes blind.
He fasts for three days.
Then is healed and transformed.

He becomes Paul, the most relentless missionary in history.

Paul and the others travel everywhere.

Turkey. Greece. Syria. Rome.

They preach to Jews, Gentiles, philosophers, prisoners, and governors.

Some believe.
Most riot.

Paul is beaten. Imprisoned. Shipwrecked. Bitten by a snake. Stoned and left for dead. And yet, he still keeps going.

He starts churches in every city.
He writes letters (more on that next chapter).
And he tells everyone, everywhere, that Jesus is for all people.

Rome doesn’t like the movement.
Neither do Jewish leaders.

Peter is imprisoned.
James (Jesus’ brother) becomes a leader.
Christians scatter under persecution.

But the church only grows.

Eventually, Paul is arrested again.

The book ends with him in Rome, under house arrest.
Still preaching, still writing.

“Unhindered.”

That’s the final word in Acts.

The movement hasn’t stopped.
It’s just begun.