Acts And Theophilus Essays - , Term Papers

Acts And Theophilus 1. Theophilus Lover of God, a Christian, probably a Roman, to whom Luke dedicated both his Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. Nothing beyond this is known of him. From the fact that Luke applies to him the title "most excellent", the same title Paul uses in addressing Felix and Festus, it has been concluded that Theophilus was a person of rank, perhaps a Roman officer (Henneke). 2. John the Baptist John was Jesus' cousin. He was to prepare a way for the messiah by baptizing people into repentance. He is only mentioned in Acts in passing. He had been murdered by King Herod years before. 3. Jesus He is the suffering servant, the messiah. He is God in flesh. He is the main focal point of the book of Acts. 4. Peter His name meant rock or stone. He was the brother mof Andrew. He was a fisherman called by Jesus into his early ministry. He is well known by his 3 time denial. He was one of Jesus' favorite disciples. He became the leader of the chosen twelve. He was one of the few to witness Jarius' daughter's resurrection, and the transfiguration. After Pentecost, his ministry appeared in three stages: 1. Leader of activities in Jerusalem. 2. He opened the door to gentiles with the conversion of Cornelius. 3. He and his wife started the Zenana missionary. 4. He became a martyr and was crucified upside down (Henneke). Peter was a quick, perceptive, and impulsive man, given to bursts of enthusiasm-and depression. He recognized his own unworthiness of his Lord's faith in him. Peter was the first one to declare Jesus as Christ. He raised Dorcus from the dead, and performed many other miracles. The transition form Judaism to the full acceptance of Christ's teaching was not easy of Peter. He was strong and stubborn before the notion that Samaritans and Gentiles could be Christians without first becoming Jews and circumcised. A direct vision was required to make him understand that the Lord's saving work was performed for all who would believe in him. Once convinced, however, he tried to stand with Paul on the question of admitting Gentiles to the church (Alexander). 5. John He was the younger brother of James, and an apostle. He was known as the disciple whom Jesus loved. He was a native of Galilee. His parents were cousins of Jesus. He was a fisherman by trade. He was in the inner cabinet of three. He is mentioned in Acts as at the appearance on Pentecost (Henneke). 6. James James is best known as the brother of John. He and John were called the Sons of Thunder. He was a fisherman who left all to follow Christ. He became one of Christ's most beloved apostles. He was present at the transfiguration. His mother asked that he be given a place of power in Christ's kingdom. He went with Christ to the garden of Gethsemane before the crucifixion. He was present at Christ's death. Jesus allowed only Peter, John, and James to be present at the healing of Jarius' daughter. He and John wanted fire from heaven to punish the Samaritans. James was one of the first to give his life for Christ (Henneke). 7. Andrew Brother of Simon Peter and an apostle. He was a follower of John the Baptist. It is suggested that he became the patron-saint of Russia (Lockyer). 8. Phillip He was an apostle but not much was known of him after that. 9. Thomas The apostle who was given the name "the doubter" (Alexander). 10. Bartholomew He is one of the twelve. He was also known as Nathaniel and a suggested writer of a gospel (Alexander). 11. Matthew A tax collector before he became a disciple. He was also known as Levi (Smith). 12. James He was the son of Alphaeus. He was known as the little or the less, probably because of his small stature, or because he was young. His brother was Joses. He was one of the twelve (Lockyer). 13. Simon the Zealot One of the twelve. An interesting thing about him was that even after he became a follower of Christ he did not cease being known as a zealot (Smith). 14. Judas, son of James One of the twelve, not to be confused with Judas Iscariot. 15. Judas Son of Simon (John 6:71; 13:2, 26), surnamed Iscariot. His name is uniformly the last in the list of the apostles, as given in the synoptic Gospels.