The Bible OverBrew - Bible in a YearSample

Week 44. Day 2. Acts 2-3.

Acts 2 Pentecost

This is a crucial moment in the book, and in the history of redemption. In the experience of God’s people, this is probably THE great turning point.

Can you summarise what happens?

What do you think the significance of these events is?

There is temple symbolism in Acts 2, pointing to the church as the new dwelling place of God.

• ‘house’ (v2) This might be the temple itself, or even if it is a private house, it is a word used in the Old Testament to refer to the temple, so makes readers think of the temple
• Fire coming and resting on them (v3). In the Old Testament, at the consecration the temple, fire came symbolising the presence of God (2 Chron 7:1-3)But this didn’t happen in the rebuilt temple (Ezra 6:13-18), suggesting that the people had to wait until God would dwell with them again. Here in Acts 2, fire falls not on the temple building, but on the people. God will no longer dwell be in a building, but among his people, through the ministry of the Holy Spirit (v4).

How do you see Joel’s words (Acts 2:17-21) being fulfilled according to the rest of the chapter?

Acts 3-7 Gospel going out in Jerusalem

Acts records the growth of the church and the spread of the good news about Jesus, according to the pattern set out in 1:8: Jerusalem (Ch 3-7), then Judea and Samaria (Ch 8-9), then the ends of the earth (Ch 10-28). The disciples face opposition and obstacles, but each section ends with progress reports, e.g. ‘the word of God increased and multiplied’ (12:24 ESV, see also 2:47; 6:7; 9:31; 16:5; 19:20). The language used is intentionally echoing the very first command to Adam and Eve: ‘be fruitful and multiply’ (Gen 1:28)

Ch 3. How do the Apostles speak of Christ to the people in Jerusalem?

NOTE: Days 1-5 of each week contain the scripture reading for that week. Day 6 has just the 'key chapters'. If you want a briefer version of this plan that still takes you through the whole Bible, you could just read the key chapters featured on day 6. Day 7 has the podcast video where we discuss the week's reading.