Bible Studies

Reading assignment for this lesson: Acts 2:43 – 5:11

Peter and John began to spread the Gospel message among their fellow Jews in Jerusalem. They taught that Jesus was the Messiah that the Jewish prophets had written about (e.g., Isaiah 7:14, 11:1-9). Messiah means the anointed one - a person set apart for a special office, such as king or prophet (1 Samuel 15:1, Isaiah 61:1). Christos is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew Messiah, and that is where the word Christ comes from.

1. a) Describe the life of the early believers. (See Acts 2:43-47, 4:32-37, Isaiah 58:10-11, Matthew 25:31-40, Luke 6:38, 12:33-34, 22:24-27, 2 Corinthians 9:6-7, 1 John 3:17.)
b) How could we use the example of the early believers to improve our churches and our world?

2. Why is it not really correct to say that Peter healed the lame man in Acts 3:1-10? (See Acts 3:6, 3:11-16.)

3. What are three main points of Peter's speech at the temple (Acts 3:11-26)? (See Acts 3:14-15, 17-18, 19.)

4. Why did the Sadducees object to the teachings of Peter and John? (See Acts 4:1-3, 23:8, Mark 12:18.)

5. a) How did the common people react to the teachings of the apostles? (See Acts 2:41-42, 4:4.)
b) How did the Jewish religious leaders react? (See Acts 4:1-3, 5:17-18,
c) How is this similar to the reactions of these same groups to the teachings of Jesus? (See Mark 11:7-11, 14:1.)

6. How was Peter, an uneducated fisherman, able to give such eloquent speeches to the people at the temple and in his defense before the Jewish ruling council? (See Acts 4:6-13, Mark 13:11, Luke 12:11-12.)

7. What does Peter mean by "There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved." in Acts 4:12? (See Matthew 25:31-46, Luke 10:25-28, John 3:16-18, 5:25-29, Romans 2:12-16, 1 John 4:7-12.)

8. What did the group of believers pray for after being released from jail? (See Acts 4:23-31.)

9. What was the crime of Ananias and Sapphira? (See Acts 5:1-11).