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266 THE CONVENTION TEACHER Lesson X. December 5, 1948 HISTORY IN THE NEW TESTAMENT SENIOR TOPIC: HISTORY IN THE NEW TESTAMENT Acts 1:8; 4:1-4, 13:2-3, 16:9-10, 28:16, 30-31. [[line]] AUTHORIZED VERSION 8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. 1 And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them. 2 Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day: for it was now eventide. 4 Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand. 2 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. 3 And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us. 10 And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavored to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them. 16 And when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard: but Paul was suffered to dwell by himself with a soldier that kept him. 30 And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him. 31 Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him. [[line]] REVISED VERSION 8 But ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. 1 And as they spake unto the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, 2 being sore troubled because they taught the people, and proclaimed in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they laid hands on them, and put them in ward unto the morrow: for it was now eventide. 4 But many of them that heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand. 2 And as they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Spirit said. Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I Have called them. 3 Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There was a man of Macedonia standing, beseeching him, and saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us 10 And when he had seen the vision, straightway we sought to go forth into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel unto them. 16 And when we entered into Rome, Paul was suffered to abide by himself with the soldier that guarded him. 30 And he abode two whole years in his own hired dwelling, and received all that went unto him, 31 preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness, none forbidding him. [[line]] MOTTO TEXT--Go therefore and make disciples of all nations. Matt. 28:19. [[line]] LESSON SETTING Time: A. D. 33; 44; 53; 63. Places: Jerusalem, Antioch Troas; Rome. LESSON OUTLINE I. Witnessing for Christ. (VV. 8; 1-4.) II. The True Missionary Equipped. (VV. 2-3; 9-10.) III. Paul Preaches the Gospel in Rome. (VV. 16, 30-31.) DAILY HOME READING November 29-December 5 M. The Promise of the Holy Spirit. Acts 1:6-11. T. The Coming of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:1-13. W. The Establishment of the Diaconate. Acts 6:1-6. T. Persecution of the Church. Acts 8:1-8. F. The Gospel Reaches the Gentiles. Acts 11:19-26. S. The Gospel Reaches Rome. Acts 28:16-22. S. The Early Christian Community. Acts 4:32-37. INTRODUCTION The Acts of the Apostles, though probably not given to it by the author, sufficiently expresses its great object, namely, to give a faithful and authentic record of the doings of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, after He had ascended into heaven, leaving as his responsible agents to carry on the building of His Church on earth. It is noteworthy that if the authoritative documents had ended with the Gospels, we should have been without sufficient guidance in regard to a multitude of important questions of the utmost moment to the Church in all ages. [[end page]] [[start page]] THE CONVENTION TEACHER 267 We should be without knowledge of the functions of the Holy Ghost, how the city of God was to be ruled, how the evangelization of the world was to be carried on from age to age. We should have known almost nothing. This second "treatise," therefore, which in St. Luke's design was a following up of his own Gospel, but in the design of the Holy Spirit was the sequel of the four Gospels, was a most necessary supplement to the histories of the life of Christ. EXPOSITION I. WITNESSING FOR CHRIST. (VV. 8; 1-4.) (8) But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. Jesus gave His disciples something far better than they asked—power to restore the Kingdome. ye shall receive power—power, dynamite, expressing the greatness of the power to upheave obstacles, and accomplish great results. It is inherent power residing in a person or a thing by virtue of its nature. This power came through the Holy Spirit sent in abundance on Pentecost, and abiding in Christ's disciples ever since as fully as they are fitted to receive Him. ye shall be witnesses unto me—This was the work of the apostles. The Greek "witnesses" is "martyrs"—those who bear witness even though it cost their lives. The disciples bore witness to the nature of Jesus, to His works, His teachings, His death and resurrection. The religion of Christ is based on facts, not on theories. These facts were recorded orally, but were soon put into writing (Luke 1:1-3) by various persons, and at length took the form of our Gospels. They were to bear witness all over the world. Witnessing is still the most effective way to preach the Gospel. The witness is to what Jesus has actually done for us, to the fulfillment of His promises, to His conscious presence, to His power to save from sin, to help in trouble, to the transformation He has wrought in character and life. We witness by our words, our actions and our characters. (1) And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them. The captain of the temple here named was a priest who had under him a Levitical guard, and whose duty it was to keep order in the temple courts in those turbulent times. He appears to have been an officer of high rank. (2) Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. The preaching of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus as the "First fruits of them that slept" would be specially obnoxious to the Sadducees who denied that there was any resurrection. The Sadducees were at this time in power. We learn from Josephus that the son of this Annas went over to the sect of the Sadducees, being himself high priest as his father had been. (3) And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day: for it was now eventide. the harsh persecution of the disciples at Jerusalem at this time when the Sadducees were in power is in exact accordance with Josephus's statement in the passage just named, that the Sadducees were more cruel in their administration of justice than any other Jews. Their tenet of no life to come made them look to severe punishments in this life. (4) Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand. The number "five thousand" used her probably included both men and women. It is not clear whether the five thousand is exclusive or inclusive of the three thousand converts at the Feast of Pentecost, but the grammar rather favors the former, as there is nothing in the word "men" itself to signify "disciples," or "believers," and therefore, it is more naturally referred to those of whom it has just been predicted that having heard the Word, they believed. The most foolish thing in the world is to expect to hinder any cause, and least of all a good one, by means of persecution. The experience of Israel in Egypt was repeated in the history of the Christian Church. Remember what seems to be a hindrance often turns out to be a help to the Gospel; that that religion condemns itself which opposes the education of the people; that that religion is worthless as well as false which has nothing to say about the resurrection; that rationalism will never satisfy the deepest instincts of the heart; that Christ's enemies are always clever at outwitting themselves. II. THE TRUE MISSIONARY EQUIPPED. (VV. 2, 3; 9-10) (2) As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. There are indispensable requirements
