Day 319 Reading Schedule: Acts 10~12

Acts 10: Salvation for Cornelius's Family

[Overview]

The descent of the Holy Spirit on Cornelius's family, along with Paul's conversion, laid the foundation for the global spread of Christianity. The meeting between Cornelius and Peter was possible because of God's redemptive providence that broke down the barrier between the ruled nation of Judea and the ruling nation of Noma. In this chapter, Peter arrives at Caesarea and carries out the conversion of Cornelius, and after this chapter, Paul gradually becomes the core of the missionary work. This chapter consists of Cornelius' vision (verses 1-8), Peter's vision (verses 9-16), Cornelius and Peter's meeting (verses 17-33), Peter's testimony of the word (verses 34-43), and the baptism of the Holy Spirit (verses 44-48).

Acts 11: The Establishment of the Church in Antioch

[Overview]

This chapter is the introduction to Paul’s missionary work to the Gentiles, which began in earnest in chapter 13. It mentions the establishment of the church in Antioch, which would later play an important role as a forward base for missionary work to the Gentiles, and the ideological change of the Jewish believers in the church in Jerusalem who confirmed that Gentiles could also become children of God. Above all, it foreshadows Paul’s unique appearance in the field of missionary work. In other words, this chapter implicitly shows the center of missionary work being transferred from Peter, who represented the apostles of the church in Jerusalem, to Paul, who was the first to engage in missionary work in the church in Antioch, a Gentile church. This chapter, which contains such content, consists of Peter’s defense (verses 1-18), the establishment of the church in Antioch (verses 19-26), and the relief work of the church in Antioch (verses 27-30). In the end, Paul became the messenger who delivered the relief money of the Antioch church to the believers of the Jerusalem church, and thus the conditions were created for him to become a true missionary sent from the Jerusalem church. 

Acts 12: Herod Persecutes the Church 

[Summary] 

This chapter describes Herod’s persecution of the Jerusalem church and God’s intervention to overcome it. The persecution of the church and its believers continued without end, although the degree of persecution may have varied depending on the era. The nature of the persecution mentioned in this chapter is also similar to the persecution that had been inflicted on the early church up to that time. However, unlike most persecutions, the significance of the persecution mentioned in this chapter can be clearly found in the context of redemptive history. It can be found in God’s providence of spreading the gospel to the world. In other words, God scattered the Jerusalem church, which was still obsessed with Jewish nationalism and was passive in evangelizing to the Gentiles, regarding God’s command to spread the gospel on earth. This shows that God is the subject of the work of spreading the gospel. This chapter consists of the martyrdom of James and the imprisonment of Peter (vv. 1-5), Peter's miraculous escape (vv. 6-12), the astonished crowd (vv. 13-19), and Herod's death (vv. 20-25).