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| ACTS |
| Explanatory Footnotes |
| 3:12 Knowing the Audience Peter's speeches in chapters 2 and 3 offer excellent examples of adapting the gospel message to a particular audience. Preaching to Jews gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost, he relied heavily on quotations from the Old Testament. Although his main intent was to introduce Jesus to them, he referred to Joel, David, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and Samuel. His words proved so effective that 3,000 people were converted the first day. Jewish leaders soon arrested Peter and John. 4:1 Alarmed Sadducees The religious group called Pharisees opposed Jesus most strenuously while he was on earth. But reports of his resurrection from the dead especially alarmed the Sadducees, a party of priests who denied there would ever be a resurrection from the dead (see also 5:17 and 23:6-8). 5:34 Paul's Old Teacher Gamaliel was a revered rabbi in his day, a follower of the progressive branch of Judaism that origninated with the rabbi Hillel. Paul mentions in Acts (22:3) that he once studied under Gamaliel. 6:5 A Cure for Discrimination Early on, the church ran into complaints from a neglected minority, the Hellenists. This branch of Jews retained many Greek customs and chose to speak Greek rather than Hebrew. The disciples' response in creating a new church office shows considerable diplomacy. The names of the seven appointees indicate they were all Grecian Jews. In other words, the disciples entrusted the minority with full authority to solve their own problems. The first Christian martyr, Stephen, came out of that group of seven. 7:35 Provocative Words Stephen directly confronted the Jewish establishment with this bold speech that led to his death. He compared their |