Witnesses in the Book of Acts

27 May, 202327 May, 2023Marissa

Last week, in a post titled “Witness,” I walked through a word study of the Greek word martus and its derivatives. One of my readers extended that study with a fascinating comment he shared on Facebook (click here to read it). He pointed out that, like in Greek, the word for “witness” and “martyr” in Arabic are the same and have layers of meaning. He also suggested that the witness-martyr connection may have originated with Stephen being killed after his witness (Acts 6-7).

Today, I’d like to continue our study of “witness” by looking more closely at Acts. I also want to dig into the Hebrew uses of “witness” in the Old Testament at some point, but we closed on a new house last Monday, I have to be moved out of my apartment halfway through next week, and then I’m getting married so time hasn’t been an abundant commodity right now. Hopefully we can keep digging into that in the weeks to come.

If you’re reading this post on the Saturday it went live, then tomorrow is Pentecost. “Witness” is used in connection with that holy day, so coupled with the comment on last week’s post I had two reasons for focusing on the book of Acts in today’s study.

Witnessing to Jesus

The book of Acts picks up near the end of the 40 days that Jesus spent on earth with His disciples after His resurrection. When He ascended to heaven, there were still 10 days left in the 50-day count from the wave sheaf day (first Sunday after Passover) until Pentecost.

While he was with them, he declared, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait there for what my Father promised, which you heard about from me. For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

So when they had gathered together, they began to ask him, “Lord, is this the time when you are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” He told them, “You are not permitted to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the farthest parts of the earth.” After he had said this, while they were watching, he was lifted up and a cloud hid him from their sight.
Acts 1:4-9, NET

There are a few key things Jesus told them here. First, He told them to stay in Jerusalem for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Next, He told them they don’t need to (and indeed aren’t permitted to) know the Father’s timeline for His plan. Rather, they’re going to receive power and then act as “my witnesses.”

Being a witness to Jesus was a vital part of this commission. When the disciples “proposed two candidates” to replace Judas Iscariot as a 12th apostle, the key qualification was that he be “one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time the Lord Jesus associated with us, beginning from his baptism by John until the day he was taken up from us—one of these must become a witness of his resurrection together with us” (Acts 1:15-26, NET). In this case, “witness” was very literal. To be counted among the 12 apostles, the chosen man had to be able to give eye-witness testimony to Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection.

Peter’s Pentecost Witness

You can read all about the pivotal Pentecost after Jesus’s resurrection in Acts 2. The Holy Spirit rushed in like a violent wind, settling on each of the gathered believers as tongues of fire. The sound drew a crowd, who marveled at the spirit-filled disciples speaking in all the native languages represented in the crowd. As the crowd wondered what was going on, Peter spoke to the people.

But Peter stood up with the eleven, raised his voice, and addressed them: “You men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, know this and listen carefully to what I say. …

“Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man clearly attested to you by God with powerful deeds, wonders, and miraculous signs that God performed among you through him, just as you yourselves know—this man, who was handed over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you executed by nailing him to a cross at the hands of Gentiles. But God raised him up, having released him from the pains of death, because it was not possible for him to be held in its power. …

“This Jesus God raised up, and we are all witnesses of it. So then, exalted to the right hand of God, and having received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, he has poured out what you both see and hear. … Therefore let all the house of Israel know beyond a doubt that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ.”
Acts 2:14, 22-24, 32-33, 36, NET

I know I said at the beginning that we weren’t going to have time to get into the Old Testament in this post, but I would like to reference one of God’s laws regarding witnesses: “A single witness may not testify against another person for any trespass or sin that he commits. A matter may be legally established only on the testimony of two or three witnesses” (Deut. 19:15, NET).

God set up a system where one witness’s testimony couldn’t be used as the basis for a court case, but if two or three witnesses agreed that meant something significant. Here in Acts, Peter is standing up not as a single eyewitness, but as one of 12 men who defined themselves as witnesses of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection. And they weren’t the only ones there. As we discussed in our post about “The Women At Pentecost,” it seems there were at least 120 believers gathered–60 times the number of witnesses legally required to treat a matter seriously.

Image of people holding hands as they pray overlaid with text from Acts 4:31, 33, NET version: “When they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were gathered together. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. ... With great power, the apostles gave their testimony of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Great grace was on them all.” — Image by Claudine Chaussé from Lightstock

Stephen’s Witness

As the book of Acts goes on, we see the disciples continuing to share their eye-witness testimony (Acts 3:11-15; 4:33; 5:27-32; 10:34-43; 13:29-31). They spoke to crowds of people, before Jewish courts, and to gentile converts. Later, God added Paul as another apostle and witness (Acts 23:11; 26:16). The single most well-known story of witness in Acts doesn’t come from any of the apostles, though. It comes from a man named Stephen.

Up until this point, the witnesses mentioned in Acts are all numbered among the 12 disciples/apostles. Then here’s Stephen, one of seven men chosen to make sure that both the Greek-speaking and Hebraic widows received support. These seven men “were well-attested” (literally, they received a good witness from others) and full of God’s spirit (Acts 6:1-5, NET).

If you read my book review for Relational Faith, you might remember that the same Greek word translated “faith” is also translated “persuasion” in the context of Aristotle’s Rhetoric. Given that Stephen’s well-spoken words were what people went after him for, I find it interesting that we’re told he was “a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit.” He’s going to be using his faith as the basis for persuasive rhetoric when he gives his witness before the council.

Now Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. But some men from the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), both Cyrenians and Alexandrians, as well as some from Cilicia and the province of Asia, stood up and argued with Stephen. Yet they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke.
Acts 6:8-10, NET

These people couldn’t handle the fact that Stephen was speaking so boldly and wisely or that he was so full of God’s power that he was performing wonders and miracles. So they conspired against him, brought him before the council, and even had false witnesses testify against him.

They brought forward false witnesses who said, “This man does not stop saying things against this holy place and the law. For we have heard him saying that Jesus the Nazarene will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses handed down to us.”
Acts 6:14-15, NET

The false witnesses say one thing, and now the high priest invites Stephen to answer the question, “Are these things true?” (Acts 7:1, NET). Stephen replies by summarizing God’s plan in a powerful sermon. He starts with God calling Abraham and making a covenant with him, reminds his listeners of how the Israelites ended up in Egypt, and finally comes to Moses.

When he saw one of them being hurt unfairly, Moses came to his defense and avenged the person who was mistreated by striking down the Egyptian. He thought his own people would understand that God was delivering them through him, but they did not understand.
Acts 7:24-25, NET

The phrasing Stephen uses here is very similar to how John describes Jesus Christ: He came to His own people as savior but most didn’t recognize or receive Him (John 1:10-12). Stephen is going to circle back to this connection as well. He continues with the story of Moses fleeing Egypt, then returning when God told him to lead the people out of slavery. He recaps the Exodus story, then reminds his hearers of a quote they no doubt recognized: “This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers” (Acts 7:37, quoting Deut. 18:15).

As Stephen continues, he reminds his listeners that despite the powerful Exodus deliverance, their ancestors didn’t faithfully obey God. They even “had the tabernacle of testimony in the wilderness” and they still weren’t faithful (Acts 7:44, NET; “testimony” is the same Greek word as “witness”). At this point, Stephen shifts from history to explication. He reminds the people that even though “Solomon built a house for him … the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands” (Acts 7:47-48, NET). And just like their ancestors tried to put God in a box and go about their lives without really following him, so Stephen’s listeners are doing by rejecting Jesus as the Messiah.

“You stubborn people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are always resisting the Holy Spirit, like your ancestors did! Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They killed those who foretold long ago the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become! You received the law by decrees given by angels, but you did not obey it.”

When they heard these things, they became furious and ground their teeth at him.

But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked intently toward heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look!” he said. “I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”

But they covered their ears, shouting out with a loud voice, and rushed at him with one intent. When they had driven him out of the city, they began to stone him, and the witnesses laid their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul.

They continued to stone Stephen while he prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” Then he fell to his knees and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” When he had said this, he died.
Acts 7:51-60, NET

The false witnesses claimed that Stephen was preaching against the temple and the law, saying Jesus would change Moses’s commands. Stephen says no, what’s actually happening is that his accusers were rejecting salvation and God’s sovereignty just as Israel did in the past when they rejected Moses and refused to stay faithful to God. What a powerful, convicting message for Stephen to deliver. What an incredible gift for him to be able to witness “the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.” And what violent, hideous backlash when his true witness exposed not only the lies of the false witnesses but the hypocrisy of every Jewish person who claimed to know God yet rejected Jesus.

An Example for Us

Image of a man praying with an open Bible with the blog's title text and the words "In the book of Acts, we see examples
of Jesus’s followers acting as witnesses to His life, death, resurrection, and teachings. What can we learn from that example today?" — Image by Jantanee from Lightstock

When I read Stephen’s story, I can’t help but think of Jesus’s words when His disciples asked Him about the signs of the end times.

“You must watch out for yourselves. You will be handed over to councils and beaten in the synagogues. You will stand before governors and kings because of me, as a witness to them. First the gospel must be preached to all nations. When they arrest you and hand you over for trial, do not worry about what to speak. But say whatever is given you at that time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit. Brother will hand over brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rise against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by everyone because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”
Mark 13:9-13, NET

What happened to Stephen was just the first in a long history of this exact thing that Jesus warned about. It’s happened to people throughout history who were dragged before secular and religious courts to answer for their faith. It’s happening today to Christians around the world who are hated and persecuted. And it could happen to us as well.

As sobering and even frightening as this warning is, there is also a key piece of encouragement. Jesus says that if we’re ever in a position where we need to witness the way He talked about in the gospels or the way Stephen did in Acts, we don’t need to worry about what to say. The powerful, eloquent sermon that Stephen preached which was exactly what his listeners needed to hear (though they refused to admit it) didn’t just come from Stephen; it was a product of the Holy Spirit inside him. We who follow God faithfully have that same spirit today and we can also trust that Jesus will help us and guide us in whatever circumstances that we’re called to witness about Him.

Featured image by WhoisliketheLord Studio from Lightstock

Song Recommendation: “I Refuse” by Josh Wilson

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Holy Spirit in the Book of Acts, Part 2

5 April, 2014Marissa

As you may know if you read my blog regularly, my Bible study for last week’s post was a bit too large to fit in one article. Hence, part 2 about the role of the Holy Spirit as revealed in the Book of Acts. All the intro is in last week’s post, so without further ado …

Filled With The Spirit

Several times when the Holy Spirit is mentioned in the book of Acts, it talks about people being “filled with” the Spirit. Sometimes it is referring to an individual’s character and relationship with God, such as Stephen (Acts 6:3,5) and Barnabas (Acts 11:24), and sometimes this filling with the Holy Spirit occurs after a specific event. For example, here’s what happened after the disciples prayed in Acts 4:24-30 following Peter and John being arrested and forbidden to speak in Jesus’ name.

And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. (Acts 4:31)

It seems that God gave an extra dose of His Spirit when the disciples asked for strength to keep going through persecution. Notice also that the Spirit prompted them to speak, giving them the strength they needed to continue preaching in Jesus’ name (we’ll get back to that in a moment).

A similar thing seems to have happened in Acts 13:51-52, when Paul and Barnabus showed up in Iconium after being expelled from Antioch. The disciples here “were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit,” though I’m not clear on whether this was new disciples receiving the Holy Spirit because of Paul and Barnabus’ preaching or established followers of Christ being giving an extra measure of the Holy Spirit as a result of persecution (any thoughts?)

Speaking By The Spirit

In several cases, being filled with the Holy Spirit precedes speaking. Take, for example, Peter and John before the Jewish leaders in Acts 4:8, as they witness to the life and power of Jesus Christ. This puts me in mind of Luke 21.

But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name’s sake. But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony. Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer; for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist. (Luke 21:12-15)

The Holy Spirit also inspires prophetic utterances, such as when Agabus predicted a famine (Acts 11:28) and when Isaiah spoke in the Old Testament (Acts 28:25). The thing I like to note here is that no one questioned that the Holy Spirit could and would do this sort of thing — the disciple’s response to Agabus was to organize relief efforts for the predicted famine (Acts 11:29).

Another important thing to note is what people say when speaking by the Holy Spirit. In Acts 4, Peter and John spoke God’s word boldly, bearing witness to Jesus Christ. In Acts 7:55-56, Stephen said, “I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” In Acts 13:9-10, Paul spoke out against a sorcerer who was “perverting the straight ways of the Lord.”

The common thread here is presented in 1 Corinthians. In short, the test for answering the question, “Is someone speaking by the Holy Spirit?” is to look at how they talk about Jesus Christ.

Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. (1 Cor. 12:3)

Getting The Holy Spirit

We generally assume that, with the exception of the the remarkable Pentecost in Acts 2, baptism of the Spirit accompanies baptism in water, as it did for Saul/Paul in Acts 9:17-18. Similarly, believers at Ephesus “were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied” (Acts 19:5-6).

The situation is similar in Samaria, but with a greater time between the two baptisms. The new disciples here were “baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus,” but did not receive the Holy Spirit until Peter and John came and “ laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit” (Acts 8:14-17). Not sure why this is — was it to help establish the apostles’ role in the early church? Set a precedent for laying on of hands?

Another thing we can learn from this story is how not to get the Holy Spirit. The sorcerer Simon tried to buy the power to give God’s Spirit with the laying on of hands and was told, “your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God” (Acts 8:18-21).

God can also give the Holy Spirit without laying on of hands or water baptism. This was done in Acts 10 to prove that “God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life” (Acts 11:18).

While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then Peter answered, “Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they asked him to stay a few days. (Acts 10:44-48)

God can give His Spirit to whomever He pleases, whenever it suits Him. It’s not something that follows a set formula or automatically comes with water baptism (see Simon’s story above). This gift is much more complicated and wonderful than something that just happens to accompany being dunked in water.

Roles and Actions of the Holy Spirit

Here’s where we get into what the Holy Spirit is credited with doing in the early church. I think the easiest way to organize this is just to go through them chronologically.

Acts 8:29 “the Spirit said to Philip” to speak to the Ethiopian eunuch
Acts 8:39 “the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more,” and Philip found himself at Azotus.
Acts 9:31 the Holy Spirit acts as a comforter, as was promised in John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7.
Acts 10:19-20 the Spirit told Peter to go with Cornelius’ messengers and to doubt nothing.
Acts 13:2 “As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’” Since the Holly Spirit itself does not call people, I think it safe to assume God was peaking through the Spirit. Still, they were hearing the Holy Spirit clearly enough to record a line of dialogue.
Acts 15:28 the letter to Antioc read, “it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us” — collaborative letter writing with the Spirit?
Acts 16:7 “after they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them.”
Acts 20:23 “the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations” await Paul. Two examples of this: Acts 21:4, 11.
Acts 20:28 speaking to the Ephesian elders, Paul said, “the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God”

This is not at all how we interact with the Spirit today. we don’t hear it talking to us (and would we listen if we did? or think we were going mad?). We don’t act like it’s real and tangible enough to physically move us from one location to another if God had good reason. We credit it with inspiring messages and study, but that’s about it. Why is that? Are we so frightened of the supernatural that we shoot ourselves in the foot when it come to using the Spirit God has given us?

Grieve Not The Spirit

There is a very real danger in not giving God’s Spirit the respect it deserves as a gift from Him and an aspect of His power. Ananias and Sapphira dropped down dead when the lied to and tempted the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3-9). Stephen told his murderers, “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.” (Acts 7:51). Resistance to the Holy Spirit was their legacy — we do not want it to be ours.

We are told, “do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God” (Eph. 4:30), “do not quench the Spirit” (1 Thes. 5:19), and “do not neglect the gift that is in you” (1 Tim. 4:14), which could refer to the Spirit itself or to one of the Spiritual gifts (2 Tim. 1:6; 1Cor. 12:1-11). We have been given something incredible, and should not undervalue it.

Holy Spirit in the Book of Acts, Part 1

29 March, 2014Marissa

I did not mean for this to be a multi-part blog post, but I didn’t get all the way through studying the book of Acts this week so I’ll have to split the post in half. When I was in Cincinnati last weekend for Sabbath services and square dancing, there was one particular part of the sermon message that caught my attention. The speaker said “We can’t use the Holy Spirit if we don’t understand what it is” and that we don’t talk about the Holy Spirit today the way it was viewed by the early church in the Book of Acts.

That got me thinking, just how did the early church talk about the Holy Spirit? We usually look at the first two chapters, which chronicle the baptism of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and then go no further in Acts when we talk about the Holy Spirit. That’s where I’ll start as well, and then next week I’ll plan to write a post about what my study turns up in the remainder of Acts.

Enter The Holy Spirit

There were people who had the Holy Spirit before this notable Pentecost, but not many. So few, in fact, that it says in John’s gospel that “the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified” (John 7:39). Before Jesus ascended to heaven in the first chapter of Acts, He promised the disciples, “you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now” and “you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you” (Acts 1:5, 8). That promise was fulfilled in the next chapter.

And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Acts 2:2-4)

Not only was the Holy Spirit given to the disciples, but a miracle was performed at the same time which left no doubt of the effectiveness of the power God was giving. Men “from every nation under heaven … heard them speak in his own language” (Acts 2:5, 8). As we’ll discuss more in next week’s post, this is not the only time this particular miracle accompanied the giving of the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:44-48).

Receiving the Spirit

When some doubted what was going on, Peter said this:

Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: “And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy. (Acts 2:16-18)

He also revealed a recipe for receiving the Holy Spirit which is repeated several times in later chapters.

Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call. (Acts 2:38-39)

I am finding it interesting, and inspiring, to read through the book of Acts taking note of every time the Holy Spirit is mentioned and seeing how the promises and prophesies mentioned in chapter 2 enfold in the early Church. I look forward to sharing more of my thoughts on this with you next week, and hope you’ll weigh-in as well — it seems like a topic that could lend itself well to discussion.