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Read (and listen!) through the amazing story of Luke and Acts!
Immerse: Luke and Acts is part of Immerse: The Reading Bible, which takes you on a new and unique journey through the books of Luke and Acts in the New Testament. This fresh arrangement of the books highlights the depth of the New Testament’s fourfold witness to Jesus the Messiah. The Son of God, who fulfills all the longings and promises of the collected Scriptures. The goal of Bible reading is to understand the sacred writings in depth so we can learn to live with them. Using the text of the New Living Translation (NLT) from Tyndale Publishing, now you can experience Luke and Acts the same way the original readers did and be fully immersed in the most amazing story of all time!
Alan: Welcome to Immerse Luke
and Acts, Day sixteen, Week four
.
When Barnabas and Saul had finished
their mission to Jerusalem, they
returned taking John Mark with them.
Among the prophets and teachers of
the church at Antioch of Syria were
Barnabas Simeon called the Black
Man, Lucius from Cyrene Manion, the
Childhood Companion of King Herod Anus.
And Saul, one day as these men were
worshiping the Lord and fasting,
the Holy Spirit said, Appoint
Barnabas and Saul for this special
work to which I have called them.
So after more fasting and prayer,
the men laid their hands on
them and sent them on their way.
So Barnabas and Saul were
sent out by the Holy Spirit.
They went down to the seaport of Seleucia
and then sailed for the island of Cyprus.
There, in the town of Salamis,
they went to the Jewish synagogues
and preached the Word of God.
John Mark went with
them as their assistant.
Afterward, they traveled from town
to town across the entire island
until finally they reached Paphos.
where they met a Jewish sorcerer,
a false prophet named Bar Jesus.
He had attached himself to
the governor, Sergius Paulus,
who was an intelligent man.
The governor invited Barnabas
and Saul to visit him, for he
wanted to hear the word of God.
But Elymas, the sorcerer, as his name
means in Greek, interfered and urged
the governor to pay no attention
to what Barnabas and Saul said.
He was trying to keep the
governor from believing.
Saul Also known as Paul, was
filled with the Holy Spirit, and
he looked the sorcerer in the eye.
Then he said, You son of the devil, full
of every sort of deceit and fraud, and
enemy of all that is good, will you never
stop perverting the true ways of the Lord?
Watch now, for the Lord has laid
his hand of punishment upon you.
And you will be struck blind.
You will not see the
sunlight for some time.
Instantly, mist and darkness came
over the man's eyes, and he began
groping around begging for someone
to take his hand and lead him.
When the governor saw what had happened,
he became a believer, for he was
astonished at the teaching about the Lord.
Paul and his companions then left
Paphos by ship for Pamphylia,
landing at the port town of Perga.
There John Mark left them
and returned to Jerusalem.
But Paul and Barnabas traveled
inland to Antioch of Pisidia.
On the Sabbath, they went to
the synagogue for the services.
After the usual readings from the
books of Moses and the Prophets,
those in charge of the service sent
them this message, Brothers, if
you have any word of encouragement
for the people, come and give it.
So Paul stood, lifted his hand to
quiet them, and started speaking.
Men of Israel, he said, and you
God fearing Gentiles, Listen to me.
The God of this nation of Israel chose
our ancestors and made them multiply and
grow strong during their stay in Egypt.
Then, with a powerful arm, He
led them out of their slavery.
He put up with them through forty
years of wandering in the wilderness.
Then He destroyed seven nations
in Canaan and gave their land
to Israel as an inheritance.
All this took about 450 years.
After that, God gave them judges to rule
until the time of Samuel the prophet.
Then the people begged for a
king, and God gave them Saul, son
of Kish, a man of the tribe of
Benjamin, who reigned for 40 years.
But God removed Saul and replaced
him with David, a man about whom
God said, I have found David son
of Jesse, a man after my own heart.
He will do everything I want
him to do, and it is one of King
David's descendants, Jesus, who is
God's promised Savior of Israel.
Before he came, John the Baptist
preached that all the people of
Israel needed to repent of their
sins and turn to God and be baptized.
As John was finishing his ministry, he
asked, Do you think I am the Messiah?
No, I am not.
But He is coming soon, and I'm
not even worthy to be His slave
and untie the sandals on His feet.
Brothers You sons of Abraham, and also
you God fearing Gentiles, this message
of salvation has been sent to us.
The people in Jerusalem and their
leaders did not recognize Jesus as
the one the prophets had spoken about.
Instead, they condemned Him.
And in doing this, they
fulfilled the prophet's words
that are read every Sabbath.
They found no legal reason to
execute him, but they asked
Pilate to have him killed anyway.
When they had done all that the prophecies
said about him, they took him down from
the cross and placed him in a tomb.
But God raised him from the dead.
And over a period of many days,
He appeared to those who had gone
with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem.
They are now His witnesses
to the people of Israel.
And now, we are here to
bring you this good news.
The promise was made to our ancestors.
And God has now fulfilled it for us,
their descendants, by raising Jesus.
This is what the second
psalm says about Jesus.
You are my son.
Today I have become your father.
For God had promised to raise him from the
dead, not leaving him to rot in the grave.
He said, I will give you the sacred
blessings I promised to David.
Another psalm explains it more fully.
You will not allow your Holy
One to rot in the grave.
This is not a reference to David.
For after David had done the will of
God in his own generation, he died
and was buried with his ancestors.
Transcripts provided by
Transcription Outsourcing, LLC.
Everyone who believes in Him is
made right in God's sight, something
the law of Moses could never do.
Be careful, don't let the
prophet's words apply to you.
For they said, Look, you
mockers, be amazed and die.
For I am doing something in your own
day, something you wouldn't believe
even if someone told you about it.
As Paul and Barnabas left the synagogue
that day, the people begged them to speak
about these things again the next week.
Many Jews and devout converts to
Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas,
and the two men urged them to
continue to rely on the grace of God.
The following week, almost the
entire city turned out to hear
them preach the word of the Lord.
But when some of the Jews saw the crowds
They were jealous, so they slandered
Paul and argued against whatever he said.
Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly
and declared, It was necessary that we
first preach the word of God to you Jews.
But since you have rejected it and
judged yourselves unworthy of eternal
life, we will offer it to the Gentiles.
For the Lord gave us this command when
He said, I have made you a light to
the Gentiles, to bring salvation to
the farthest corners of the earth.
When the Gentiles heard this,
they were very glad and thanked
the Lord for His message.
And all who were chosen for
eternal life became believers.
So the Lord's message spread
throughout that region.
Then the Jews stirred up the influential
religious women and the leaders of the
city, and they incited a mob against Paul
and Barnabas and ran them out of town.
So they shook the dust from their
feet as a sign of rejection and
went to the town of Iconium.
And the believers were filled
with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
The same thing happened in Iconium.
Paul and Barnabas went to the Jewish
synagogue and preached with such
power that a great number of both
Jews and Greeks became believers.
Some of the Jews, however, spurned God's
message and poisoned the minds of the
Gentiles against Paul and Barnabas.
But the Apostles stayed there
a long time, preaching boldly
about the grace of the Lord.
And the Lord proved their message
was true by giving them power to
do miraculous signs and wonders.
But the people of the town were divided
in their opinion about them, some sided
with the Jews, and some with the Apostles.
Then a mob of Gentiles and
Jews, along with their leaders,
decided to attack and stone them.
When the apostles learned of it,
they fled to the region of Lycaonia,
to the towns of Lystra and Derbe,
and the surrounding area, and
there they preached the good news.
While they were at Lystra,
Paul and Barnabas came upon
a man with crippled feet.
He had been that way from
birth, so he had never walked.
He was sitting and
listening as Paul preached.
Looking straight at him, Paul
realized he had faith to be healed.
So Paul called to him in
a loud voice, Stand up!
And the man jumped to his feet.
And started walking.
When the crowd saw what Paul had done,
they shouted in their local dialect,
These men are gods in human form!
They decided that Barnabas was the
Greek god Zeus, and that Paul was
Hermes, since he was the chief speaker.
Now the temple of Zeus was
located just outside the town.
So the priest of the temple and the crowd
brought bowls and wreaths of flowers
to the town gates, and they prepared
to offer sacrifices to the apostles.
But when the apostles Barnabas and
Paul heard what was happening, they
tore their clothing in dismay and
ran out among the people shouting,
Friends, why are you doing this?
We are merely human beings just like you.
We have come to bring you the good
news that you should turn from
these worthless things and turn to
the living God, who made heaven and
earth, the sea and everything in them.
In the past, He permitted all the
nations to go their own ways, but
He never left them without evidence
of Himself and His goodness.
For instance, He sends you
rain and good crops and gives
you food and joyful hearts.
But even with these words, Paul and
Barnabas could scarcely restrain
the people from sacrificing to them.
Then some Jews arrived from Antioch and
Iconium and won the crowds to their side.
They stoned Paul and dragged him out
of town thinking he was dead, but as
the believers gathered around him, he
got up and went back into the town.
The next day, he left
with Barnabas for Derbe.
After preaching the good news in
Derbe and making many disciples,
Paul and Barnabas returned to Lystra,
Iconium, and Antioch of Pisidia,
where they strengthened the believers.
They encouraged them to continue
in the faith, reminding them that
we must suffer many hardships
to enter the kingdom of God.
Paul and Barnabas also appointed
elders in every church.
With prayer and fasting, they turned
the elders over to the care of the
Lord, in whom they had put their trust.
Then they traveled back
through Pisidia to Pamphylia.
They preached the word in
Perga, then went down to Adalia.
Finally, they returned by ship to Antioch
of Syria, where their journey had begun.
The believers there had entrusted
them to the grace of God to do
the work they had now completed.
Upon arriving in Antioch, they called the
church together and reported everything
God had done through them, and how He
had opened the door of faith to the
Gentiles, too, and they stayed there
with the believers for a long time.
While Paul and Barnabas were at Antioch
of Syria, some men from Judea arrived
and began to teach the believers, unless
you are circumcised as required by
the law of Moses, you cannot be saved.
Paul and Barnabas disagreed
with them, arguing vehemently.
Finally, the church decided to send Paul
and Barnabas to Jerusalem, accompanied
by some local believers, to talk to the
apostles and elders about this question.
The church sent the delegates
to Jerusalem, and they stopped
along the way in Phoenicia and
Samaria to visit the believers.
They told them, much to
everyone's joy, that the Gentiles,
too, were being converted.
When they arrived in Jerusalem, Barnabas
and Paul were welcomed by the whole
church, including the apostles and elders.
They reported everything
God had done through them.
But then some of the believers who
belonged to the sect of the Pharisees
stood up and insisted that Gentile
converts must be circumcised and
required to follow the law of Moses.
So the apostles and elders met
together to resolve this issue.
At the meeting, after a long discussion,
Peter stood and addressed them as
follows, Brothers, you all know that God
chose me from among you some time ago
to preach to the Gentiles so that they
could hear the good news and believe.
God knows people's hearts, and
he confirmed that he accepts
Gentiles by giving them the Holy
Spirit, just as he did to us.
He made no distinction
between us and them.
For He cleansed their
hearts through faith.
So why are you now challenging God
by burdening the Gentile believers
with a yoke that neither we nor
our ancestors were able to bear?
We believe that we are all saved
the same way, by the undeserved
grace of the Lord Jesus.
Everyone listened quietly as Barnabas
and Paul told about the miraculous
signs and wonders God had done
through them among the Gentiles.
When they had finished, James stood
and said, Brothers, listen to me.
Peter has told you about the time
God first visited the Gentiles to
take from them a people for himself.
And this conversion of Gentiles is
exactly what the prophets predicted.
As it is written, afterward I will return
and restore the fallen house of David.
I will rebuild its ruins and restore
it, so that the rest of humanity might
seek the Lord, including the Gentiles,
all those I have called to be mine.
The Lord has spoken, He who made
these things known so long ago.
And so, my judgment is that we
should not make it difficult for
the Gentiles who are turning to God.
Instead, we should write and tell them
to abstain from eating food offered
to idols, from sexual immorality,
from eating the meat of strangled
animals, and from consuming blood.
For these laws of Moses have been preached
in Jewish synagogues in every city on
every Sabbath for many generations.
Then the Apostles and Elders, together
with the whole Church in Jerusalem,
chose delegates, and they sent them
to Antioch of Syria with Paul and
Barnabas to report on this decision.
The men chosen were two of the Church
leaders, Judas, also called Barsabbas,
This is the letter they took with them.
This letter is from the Apostles and
Elders, your brothers in Jerusalem.
It is written to the Gentile believers
in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia.
Greetings.
We understand that some men from here
have troubled you and upset you with
their teaching, but we did not send them.
So we decided, having come to
complete agreement, to send
you official representatives.
Along with our beloved Barnabas and
Paul, who have risked their lives for
the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We are sending Judas and Silas
to confirm what we have decided
concerning your question.
For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit,
and to us, to lay no greater burden
on you than these few requirements.
You must abstain from eating food
offered to idols, from consuming
blood or the meat of strangled
animals, and from sexual immorality.
If you do this, you will do well.
Farewell.
The messengers went at once to Antioch,
where they called a general meeting of
the believers and delivered the letter.
And there was great joy throughout
the church that day as they
read this encouraging message.
Then Judas and Silas, both being prophets,
spoke at length to the believers,
encouraging and strengthening their faith.
They stayed for a while, and then the
believers sent them back to the church
in Jerusalem with a blessing of peace.
Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch.
They, and many others, taught and
preached the Word of the Lord there.
After some time, Paul said to Barnabas,
Let's go back and visit each city where we
previously preached the Word of the Lord
to see how the new believers are doing.
Barnabas agreed, and wanted to take
along John Mark, but Paul disagreed
strongly, since John Mark had
deserted them in Pamphylia and had
not continued with them in their work.
Their disagreement was so
sharp that they separated.
Barnabas took John Mark with
him and sailed for Cyprus.
Paul chose Silas, and as he
left, the believers entrusted
him to the Lord's gracious care.
Then, he traveled throughout Syria and
Cilicia, strengthening the churches there.
Paul went first to Derbe, and
then to Lystra, where there was
a young disciple named Timothy.
His mother was a Jewish believer,
but his father was a Greek.
Timothy was well thought of by the
believers in Lystra and Iconium, so Paul
wanted him to join them on their journey.
In deference to the Jews of the area, he
arranged for Timothy to be circumcised
before they left, for everyone
knew that his father was a Greek.
Then they went from town to town,
instructing the believers to
follow the decisions made by the
apostles and elders in Jerusalem.
So the churches were strengthened in
their faith, and grew larger every day.
This concludes today's
Immerse Reading Experience.
Thank you for joining us.