Although Luke only wrote two of the New Testament’s books (Luke and Acts), his pair occupies as much space as Paul’s thirteen letters. A good reason motivates the volume of Luke’s writing – he wrote to affirm Theophilus’ conviction about the Good News concerning Jesus (Luke 1:1-4). That purpose means Luke’s writings offer insight into the meaning and application of the gospel (“gospel” and “good news” translate the same Greek word euangelion).
We have been moving through the major sections of Luke’s writings, considering what insights they offer into the Good News. So far, we have explored:
- Luke 1-2: The Good News is about Jesus’ kingdom and rule.
- Luke 3-9a: The Good News about Jesus is for everyone.
- Luke 9b-19: The rejection of the Good News of Jesus’ kingdom and rule.
- Luke 19:41-23:56: The Good News of Jesus’ kingdom and rule focuses on his death.
- Luke 24: The Good News of Jesus’ resurrection launches his kingdom and changes everything.
- Acts 1-7: The Good News about Jesus reveals that he exercises his kingdom and rule through faithful people.
Today, we will consider the next block of material in the book of Acts – Acts 8-12. While that section records the spread of the Good News about Jesus into the regions of Judea and Samaria (cf. Acts 1:8), it also reveals a problem – Jewish prejudices prevented the spread of the Good News into Gentile regions. In Acts 10, God removed that roadblock by dramatically revealing the Good News that Jesus’ kingdom and rule unites people.
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