Analysis Of Acts Of The Apostles

859 Words2 Pages

In the letter from Luke to the Apostles, he addresses the apostles on how they are to live and govern themselves as individuals and in community. These specifications are echoes of the passage in John 20:21 where Jesus says to his disciples, “As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” The meaning of the phrase can be understood as, the apostles are to act as Jesus acted, for his actions were those set out by God the Father. In the Acts of the Apostles there are several examples where the apostles are directly in accordance with the prior actions/experiences of Jesus Christ; baptism by the Holy Spirit, curing the crippled man, and facing persecution.
In the first case, the apostles experience the Holy Spirit in the same way that Jesus experienced …show more content…

In the gospel of John, Jesus says to the disciples,
If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you. Remember the word I spoke to you, ‘No slave is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. (John 15:18-20)
The apostles face the persecution Jesus forewarns of when the Sadducees confront them in the temple for teaching the resurrection (Acts 4:1-4), when Sanhedrin calls for a public trial of the apostles (Acts 5:17), and most courageously, Stephen, who is martyred for his preaching (Acts 6:8-8). Stephen’s martyrdom, like Jesus’ is over his teachings, and he is similarly testified against. Angered by his words, they bear false witness against him, saying “We have heard him speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God.” They [members of the synagogue] stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes, accosted him, seized him, and brought him before the Sanhedrin. They presented false witnesses who testified, “This man never stops saying things against [this] holy place and the law” (Acts 6:11-14). When Jesus is brought before Pontius, the people bear false witness against him saying he is teaching blasphemy, claiming to be God. Ultimately, Stephen is martyred because he angers the Sanhedrin. Giving up his life for his belief in Jesus Christ is perhaps the ultimate way that Stephen could go out into the world as Jesus had been sent by his

Open Document