Acts UBN

Chapter 1

¹ # Acts 1 ### 1 ;[former book] ;What was the first book that Luke wrote? #q The first book that Luke wrote was the Gospel of Luke. In that book, he wrote about the actions, death, and resurrection of Jesus. #v1 #xr-luk1:1-3 ;[Jesus began to do and teach] :What were the things that Jesus began to do and teach? #q These were things that Jesus taught, as Luke recorded them in his gospel. They were also the things that Jesus did, including the miracles. In the Book of Acts, Luke wrote about Jesus as continuing to do the same kind of things. #v1 ;[Theophilus] :Who was Theophilus? #q Many people think that Luke wrote the Book of Acts for a man named Theophilus. Some people think that Theophilus was probably a high-ranking government official, because Luke calls him "most excellent Theophilus" in #luk1:3. #v1 #xr-luk1:3 ### 2 ;[taken up to heaven] ;Why was it important that Jesus was taken up to heaven? #q It was important that Jesus was taken back up to heaven because when he arrived there, he sat down at God's right hand, the place of highest honor. Other scripture passages say that this is what happened. #v2 #adv #xr-dan7:13-14 #xr-php2:9-11 #xr-rev5:1-14 How did Jesus and the Holy Spirit work together? #q It was Jesus who taught his disciples, and it was the Holy Spirit who made them able to understand what he told them. #v2 #adv #da-holy_spirit ;[the apostles] ;Who were the twelve apostles? #q The twelve apostles were the men whom Jesus sent to preach the message about him. They were his chosen representatives on earth. Jesus had first chosen them as his disciples, for them to be his closest learners. #v2 ### 3 ;[his suffering] ;What did Jesus suffer? #q Jesus suffered death on the cross. #v3 #xr-luk24:46-48 #xr-jhn20:25-28 ;Why was it important that Jesus appear in his body to the apostles? #q After Jesus rose from the dead, he appeared in his body to the apostles. This was how he convinced them that he was truly alive, and that he was indeed the Christ. #v3 #xr-luk24:38-43 #xr-jhn20:24-28 ;[forty days] ;What happened during these forty days? #q There were forty days between Christ's resurrection and his ascension into heaven. During this time, Christ appeared to many believers and taught them. #v3 #xr-1co15:3-7 #adv ;[kingdom of God] ;What is the kingdom of God? #q The kingdom of God refers to the fact that God rules over everything. This is one of the most important ideas in the Book of Acts. #v3 #dg-kingdom_of_god #da-kingdom_of_god ;[kingdom of God] ;What is the kingdom of God? #q People think in different ways about what the kingdom of God means. This is because it is difficult to describe the kingdom of God completely. Some people think that God will rule everyone on earth as king over all the world. Other people think that the kingdom of God means that God will be with believers in a spiritual way, in their hearts. Also, people have different ideas about when God will begin his kingdom. #v3 #adv #dg-kingdom_of_god #da-kingdom_of_god ### 4 ;[what my Father promised] ;What did God the Father promise? #q God the Father promised that he would send the Holy Spirit to the disciples. #v4 #xr-jhn14:26 ### 5 ;[John baptized] ;How was the baptism of John different than the baptism with the Holy Spirit? #q John the Baptist baptized people with water. He did this to show that they were repenting of their sins and that they were ready to receive Christ. However, Jesus baptized believers with the Holy Spirit in order to put them with God in a new way, that is, in order to give them a new relationship to God. #v5 #xr-luk3:16 #xr-rom6:3-4 #da-hs_baptism ;[not many days from now] ;What does a few days mean? #q The Holy Spirit would baptize the apostles in only a few days, that is, in ten days. It happened on the day of Pentecost. #v5 #xr-act2 #dg-pentecost ### 6-7 ;[restore the kingdom] ;What were the disciples expecting Jesus to do? #q The apostles were hoping that Jesus would soon stop the Romans from ruling over the nation of Israel. They hope that he would soon become the king of Israel. #v6-7 ;[at this time] ;How did Jesus answer the disciples' question? #q The apostles probably still did not understand everything that Jesus had been teaching about the kingdom of God. When Jesus replied to them, he did not directly tell them what they wanted to know. Instead, he implied that the kingdom of God is about much more than freeing the nation of Israel from those who control it. #v6-7 #adv #dg-kingdom_of_god #da-kingdom_of_god ### 8 ;[in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth] ;What Jesus promised would happen forms the outline of the Book of Acts. How does this happen? #q Many people believe that Luke uses the places that Jesus mentioned to make a plan for the Book of Acts. Jesus said that the apostles would witness first in Jerusalem (#act1-7), then in Judea and Samaria (#act8-12), and finally to the end of the earth (#act13-28). The end of the earth represents any place that is farthest from Jerusalem. #v8 #dm-end_of_earth ;[you will receive power] ;What kind of power was Jesus talking about when he said the apostles would receive power? #q Jesus wanted the apostles to know that they would have the courage to be his witnesses, and that they would have the ability to do miracles in his name. It is the Holy Spirit who will give them this power. #v8 #xr-act4:29-31 #xr-act5:12-16 #xr-2co12:12 #xr-heb2:4 ;[you will be my witnesses] ;Why did Jesus say the apostles would be witnesses of him #q Jesus said that the apostles would be his witnesses because they had personally seen and experienced the things that he had done, and because they had heard him teach. #v8 ### 9 ;[he was lifted up] ;Why did Luke write that the apostles saw Jesus rise up from them? #q The apostles were present with Jesus as he went up to heaven from the Mount of Olives, between Jerusalem and Bethany. They saw this happen. #v9 #xr-luk24:50-51 ;[a cloud hid him] ;Why was it important that Luke wrote about the cloud that hid Jesus? #q A cloud is often used in the Bible to show God's presence. In this verse, it was a cloud that covered Jesus as he went to heaven. #v9 #xr-exo40:34 #xr-luk9:34-36 ### 10-11 ;[two men dressed in white] ;Who were the men dressed in white? #q The two men dressed in white are commonly believed to be angels appearing as men. #v10-11 ;What did the men in white want the apostles to know? #q When the men said that Jesus would come back in the same way, they perhaps wanted the apostles to know that people would see Jesus come back through the sky. #v10-11 #adv #xr-zec14:4 #xr-mat24:30 #xr-rev1:7 ### 12-13 ;[a Sabbath day's journey] ;How long was a Sabbath day's journey? #q A Sabbath day's journey was less than a kilometer. According to the Jewish interpretation of the law, this was the distance the Jews were allowed to walk on the Sabbath. The Mount of Olives was within this distance from Jerusalem. #v12-13 #md-mount_of_olives ### 13 ;[the upper room] ;What was an upper room? #q An upper room was any room built on the second or third story of a house or other building. In the time of Christ, homes of wealthy people often had upper rooms. #v13 #xr-mat10:3 #xr-mar3:18 #xr-jhn1:45 #xr-jhn21:2 ### 14 ;[devoting themselves to prayer] ;How important is prayer in the Book of Luke? #q Luke often writes in Acts about Christians meeting together to pray. He also writes about how God answered their prayers. #v14 ;[the women] ;Why does Luke mention women here? #q Luke mentions the women perhaps in order to tell that Christian women and men prayed together. Many of the Christians were women. Among most Jews, men did not usually pray together with women. #v14 #xr-gal3:28 ;[his brothers] ;Who were Jesus' brothers? #q This probably refers to the four brothers of Jesus who are mentioned by name in #mrk6:3. They did not believe in Jesus while he was alive, but apparently believed after he was raised from the dead. #v14 #adv #xr-mrk6:3 #xr-jhn7:5 ### 15 ;[Peter stood up] ;Why was it important that Peter spoke here? #q Before Jesus was crucified, Peter had said that he did not know him. But Jesus forgave him and called him to be an apostle. Here Peters speaks as a leader of all the apostles. #v15 #xr-mat26:75 #xr-jhn21:15-17 ;[the brothers] ;Who were the brothers? #q It was normal for Christians to call each other brothers. In this passage, "brothers" also refers to the women believers, who were some of the 120 Christians present. #v15 ### 16-20 ;[the scripture had to be fulfilled] ;What was the scripture passage that had to come true? #q Peter is talking about what King David wrote in the Psalms. He says that these passages are about Judas. They tell why a new apostle should be chosen to replace him. #v16-20 #adv #xr-psa41:9 #xr-psa69:25 #xr-psa109:8 ### 18-19 ;What is the importance of this explanation? #q Luke uses these verses to explain to the reader what happened to Judas Iscariot after he betrayed Jesus. #v18-19 #xr-mat27:3-5 ### 18 ;[the reward for his wickedness] ;How much was Judas paid to betray Jesus? #q Judas received thirty pieces of silver for betraying Jesus to the Jewish leaders. After he gave the money back to the religious leaders, they used this money to purchase a field for burying people. #v18 #xr-mat26:14 #xr-mat27:3-7 ;[hanged himself] ;How did Judas die? #q The Bible says elsewhere that Judas hanged himself. It seems that his body hung from the tree for so long that his body swelled. Eventually, when his body fell to the ground, or when someone cut it down from the tree, his body burst open. #v18 #adv #xr-mat27:5 ### 20 ;[Let another take his place] ;What did Peter say in this verse? #q Peter said that because Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus, someone else had to take his place as the twelfth apostle. #v20 #xr-psa69:25 #xr-psa109:8 ;[Let another take his place] ;Why did Peter say this? #q Peter believed it was necessary to restore the number of apostles to twelve, the number that Christ had chosen. The symbolism of the twelve apostles is important; it also appears, for example, in the Book of Revelation. #v20 #adv #xr-rev21:14 ### 22 ;Who were the other men able to become an apostle? #q In order to be witnesses of Jesus' resurrection, these men had to have seen Jesus face to face after he rose from the dead. It does not mean that they had to have seen him rise. #v22 ### 24-25 ;[take his place in this ministry and apostleship] ;How would one of these men take the place of Judas? #q One of these two men would become an apostle and do the ministry that Judas had rejected. #v24-25 #xr-mat26:14-16 #xr-luk22:48 ### 25 ;[his own place] ;What place did Judas go to? #q This verse seems to imply that after Judas killed himself that his soul went to hell. The main idea is that Judas received the punishment he deserved. #v25 ### 26 ;[cast lots] ;What was drawing lots? #q Lots were small objects people threw in order to observe how they fell, so that they could make decisions based on their observation. Peter asked God to influence the outcome of the casting of lots. This is the last time that the casting of lots is mentioned in scripture. #v26 #xr-lev16:8 #xr-1ch26:13–16 #xr-neh11:1 ;[added to the eleven apostles] ;Did God want the eleven apostles to add Matthias to their group? #q Some people believe that God wished the apostles to add Matthias to their group. However, others think that God did not wish this, but that he later chose Paul to be the twelfth apostle. #v26

Chapter 2

¹ # Acts 2 ### 1

Chapter 3

¹ # Acts 3 ### 1