Day 317  Reading Schedule: Acts 3~5

Acts 3: Peter's Power

[Overview]

This chapter, consisting of the healing of the crippled man and Peter's sermon, shows specifically how the apostles, filled with the Holy Spirit, began to focus on spreading the gospel. From this chapter, we can see that the church in Jerusalem gradually prospered with the apostles at the center, and the gospel naturally spread throughout Jerusalem and Judea. This chapter consists of the healing of the crippled man (verses 1-10), Peter's response to this miracle (verses 11-16), and Peter's second sermon (verses 17-26). This sermon begins with the proclamation of the gospel that Jesus is the Messiah and progresses to a request for repentance for sin. This sermon was given in response to the healing of the crippled man, and it contained Christological content such as the purpose, meaning, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ's ministry. However, there is a difference in that in the first sermon, there was a history of 3,000 people repenting, but in this sermon, persecution of the apostles begins.

Acts 4: Apostles Being Persecuted

[Summary]

This chapter focuses on the topic of 'church growth', but it also introduces the beginning of persecution of the church. After the healing of the lame man, the work of the Holy Spirit was strongly manifested, and persecution and opposition against the apostles began by the Jewish leaders. However, we learn that this persecution actually helped the external and internal growth of the church. This chapter consists of the arrest of Peter and John (verses 1-4), Peter's wise defense (verses 5-12), Peter and John being released (verses 13-22), prayers of thanksgiving and praise (verses 23-31), and a sharing community (verses 32-37).

Church Facing Trials

[Summary]

This chapter records the appearance of a church growing even in the midst of trials. The church, which was born with the descent of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, grew under persecution from the beginning. The appearance of the church growing amidst trials is particularly prominent in chapters 4-7. As a result, the more intense the persecution by the Jewish leaders, the more the church prospered and the more widely the gospel spread. This chapter consists of the tragedy of Ananias and Sapphira, who deceived God with fleshly desires (verses 1-11), the appearance of numerous signs and wonders through the apostles despite the internal trials of the church, and the further spread of the gospel (verses 12-16), and the persecution from the Sanhedrin (verses 17-42).