BIBLE STUDY: An Introduction to The Acts of the Apostles (Lesson 4 – May 23, 2024) Chs: 5, 6, 7

 

An Introduction to The Acts of the Apostles

(Lesson 4 – May 23, 2024) Chs: 5, 6, 7

 

-        The Babylonian empire conquered the southern kingdom of Judah in 597 B.C

-        The Books of Daniel, Ezekiel, Lamentations, and Jeremiah all touch on this event.

-        The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah address the return and the rebuilding of Jerusalem.

-        The Book of Esther addresses what happened to some of the Jews who stayed in Babylon.

-        Solomon’s Temple and certain traditions and thoughts had been lost during the exile.

-        Some habits and customs were brought back from Babylon.

-        During this period of re-grouping, and re-organizing, the sects Pharisees, and the Sadducees originated

 

1.     The Pharisees were common people, typically merchants. They believed and obeyed the Torah, the written Law. They also believed that God also gave Moses the knowledge of what these laws meant and how they should be applied i.e., the oral tradition known as the Talmud. They also believed in the life-after death - God punished the wicked and rewarded the righteous in the world to come; believed in the immortality of the human soul, but not in a resurrection of the body. They also believed in a messiah who would herald an era of world peace. Because of this view, they began to develop strict rules about cleanliness, work on the Sabbath, what material to wear, and many other daily tasks.

 

Ex: Mt 23:23: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Mt 23:1-3: “…For they preach, but do not practice.” Lk 20:45-47: “…They will receive the greater condemnation.

 

2.     The Sadducees were aristocratic and elitists, a priestly caste, but they were also liberal in willingness to incorporate Hellenism into their lives, something the Pharisees opposed. They were ‘literalists’ and supported the Temple and Temple activities. They rejected the idea of the Oral Law and insisted on Written Law. They did not believe in life after death, the soul went on after death, or in the existence of angels, since not mentioned in the Torah. They held administrative or representative positions in the Roman government. They disappeared around 70 A.D., after the destruction of the Second Temple.

 

Ex: Lk 20:27  “There came to him some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection.”

Mk 12:18-23 In the resurrection, …, whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as a wife.’” Acts 23:8

 

Finally, despite these differences, both the Pharisees and Sadducees were able to join forces against someone they both perceived to be a threat: Jesus Christ. Jesus’ important message of salvation highlighted the problems with their religious traditions. They competed for political power.

 

3.     The Essenes the third group emerged out of disgust with the other two. This sect believed the others had corrupted the city and the Temple. They moved out of Jerusalem and lived a monastic life in the desert, adopting strict dietary laws and a commitment to celibacy in Qumran, near the Dead Sea. In 1947, a Bedouin shepherd stumbled into a cave containing various ancient artifacts and jars containing manuscripts describing the beliefs of the sect and events of the time, confirming the authenticity of the Bible used today. They originated about 100 B.C., and disappeared from history after the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 ---- John the Baptist was an Essene!!!!?? ??..

 

4.     Tax collectors in the Bible were Jews who were working for the hated Romans, traitors to their own countrymen - enriching themselves at the expense of their fellow Jews.

 

5.     Gamaliel is recognized as a Pharisee doctor of Jewish Law and a teacher of Paul. The Mishnah mentions Gamaliel's authorship of a few laws about community welfare and conjugal rights. He argued that the law should protect women during divorce, and that, for the purpose of remarriage, a single witness was sufficient evidence for the death of a husband.

 

6.     Theudas was a Jewish rebel of the 1st century AD like that of Judas the Zealot and was suppressed by Cuspius Fadus (44-46 A.D.), the governor of Judea Under Roman Govt.

 

Why Pharisees left the Sanhedrin?

 

Why the Seven Deacons were elected? Acts 6:4

 

What were the names of the first seven Deacons? Acts 6:5

 

Was the First Christian Community in split? Acts 6:1

 

Who was a tax collector – Pharisee or Sadducee? Was Jesus Pharisee or Sadducee or Essene?

 

Who donated his own grave for Jesus, Pharisee or Sadducee?

 

Who let Paul escape prosecution, Pharisee or Sadducee?

 

The sin of Ananias and Sapphira consisted in the withholding money

Or in their deception to the Holy Spirit in the community?

 

Who was Gamaliel?  Acts 5: 34; Who was Theudas? Acts 5: 36

 

Why and what Gamaliel instructed Sanhedrin and fellow Israelites? Acts 5: 38-39 and yet 40

 

What was the charge against Stephen, the first martyr? Acts 6:11

And compare it with Acts 7:56, 59, 60 to understand who intended this speech!!! It is parallel to???

 

What was the Jewish customary way of designating persons for a task and invoking upon them the divine blessing and power to perform it? Acts 6:6

 

“WE MUST OBEY GOD RATHER THAN MEN” Acts 5:29