Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of Acts
Acts records how the gospel spread from Jerusalem to Rome in the power of the Holy Spirit, the history of the early church and the pattern for how people were born again and added to it. From Pentecost onward, it shows the Apostolic message and the Spirit at work. This commentary walks through it verse by verse.
About This Commentary
The Book of Acts, written by Luke as the second volume of his work, records the birth and explosive growth of the early church. It begins with the ascension of Jesus and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and follows the gospel as it spreads from Jerusalem through Judea and Samaria to the ends of the earth, reaching Rome itself. Acts is the essential record of the Apostolic church: how it preached, how people were saved, and how the Spirit empowered its mission.
This commentary covers Acts verse by verse, with the Greek words that sharpen the meaning, verified background, and an Apostolic reading. Acts gives us the clearest pattern of the New Testament church, the preaching of repentance, baptism in the name of Jesus Christ, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, all flowing from the power promised in this first chapter. References are given at the foot of each chapter.
All 28 chapters of Acts are now complete, from the ascension and the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost to the gospel preached unhindered at Rome.
Author
Luke, as the second volume following his Gospel.
Setting
The early church, from Jerusalem to Rome.
Key Themes
The Holy Spirit, witness, and the growth of the church.
Pattern
Repentance, baptism in Jesus' name, and the gift of the Spirit (2:38).
Translation
King James Version (KJV) throughout.
The Chapters
Acts Commentary
The chapters below are available now. The rest are being written and will open here as they are finished and verified.
Acts 1:1-26
Wait for the Promise
The risen Jesus commands His followers to wait for the baptism of the Holy Spirit, promises power to be His witnesses to the end of the earth, and ascends with the promise that He will return.
Read Chapter 1 →Acts 2:1-47
The Birth of the Church
The Holy Spirit is poured out at Pentecost with the sign of tongues, Peter preaches the first gospel sermon fulfilling Joel, and the church is born, 'Repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.'
Read Chapter 2 →Acts 3:1-26
In the Name of Jesus, Rise Up
Peter heals a man lame from birth at the Beautiful gate, 'In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk,' credits the power to the name of Jesus through faith, and calls the people to repent and be converted.
Read Chapter 3 →Acts 4:1-37
No Other Name
Peter and John before the council declare there is salvation in no other name under heaven than Jesus, the council marvels that they had been with Jesus, and the church prays and is filled afresh with the Spirit to speak with boldness.
Read Chapter 4 →Acts 5:1-42
We Ought to Obey God
Ananias and Sapphira fall for lying to the Holy Spirit, and the apostles, forbidden to preach, answer 'We ought to obey God rather than men,' rejoicing to suffer shame for the name of Jesus.
Read Chapter 5 →Acts 6:1-15
Prayer and the Word
The apostles appoint seven Spirit-filled men to serve so they can devote themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word, the word of God spreads and multiplies, and Stephen, full of faith and power, does great wonders.
Read Chapter 6 →Acts 7:1-60
The First Martyr
Stephen preaches Israel's history and charges the council, 'You always resist the Holy Spirit,' then sees Jesus standing at the right hand of God and, as he is stoned, prays, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit... do not charge them with this sin.'
Read Chapter 7 →Acts 8:1-40
The Gospel Spreads
The scattered church preaches everywhere; Philip brings the gospel to Samaria and the believers receive the Holy Spirit, Simon the sorcerer is rebuked for trying to buy the gift of God, and Philip preaches Jesus to the Ethiopian eunuch, who is baptized at once.
Read Chapter 8 →Acts 9:1-43
The Conversion of Saul
On the road to Damascus the risen Jesus confronts Saul, 'why are you persecuting Me?', calls him 'a chosen vessel of Mine,' and through Ananias Saul receives his sight, is filled with the Holy Spirit, and is baptized, the persecutor become a preacher.
Read Chapter 9 →Acts 10:1-48
On the Gentiles Also Was Poured Out the Gift of the Holy Ghost
Cornelius the centurion and Peter's vision of the sheet, 'What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common,' the gospel opened to the Gentiles, 'God is no respecter of persons,' Peter's preaching of Christ, 'through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins,' the Holy Ghost poured out with the sign of tongues, and baptism 'in the name of the Lord.'
Read Chapter 10 →Acts 11:1-30
The Disciples Were Called Christians First in Antioch
Peter's defense of the Gentile conversion before the circumcision, the rehearsing of the vision and the Spirit's leading, 'the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning,' 'what was I, that I could withstand God?,' the church's praise, 'Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life,' and the great church at Antioch where 'the disciples were called Christians first.'
Read Chapter 11 →Acts 12:1-25
But the Word of God Grew and Multiplied
The martyrdom of James by the sword, Peter's imprisonment under Herod, the church's prayer 'without ceasing,' the angel of the Lord who frees Peter as his chains fall off and the iron gate opens 'of his own accord,' the praying church's astonishment, the death of proud Herod who 'gave not God the glory' and 'was eaten of worms,' and the triumphant 'But the word of God grew and multiplied.'
Read Chapter 12 →Acts 13:1-52
By Him All That Believe Are Justified
The Holy Ghost sends Barnabas and Saul on the first missionary journey, 'Separate me Barnabas and Saul,' the blinding of Elymas the sorcerer, Paul's great sermon at Antioch of Pisidia tracing Israel's history to 'a Saviour, Jesus,' 'But God raised him from the dead,' the gospel of justification, 'by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses,' and the turning to the Gentiles, 'a light of the Gentiles.'
Read Chapter 13 →Acts 14:1-28
We Must Through Much Tribulation Enter Into the Kingdom of God
The bold ministry at Iconium and the divided city, the healing of the cripple at Lystra, the refusal of worship, 'We also are men of like passions with you... turn from these vanities unto the living God,' the stoning of Paul who rises and presses on, and the strengthening of the churches, 'exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God,' the ordaining of elders, and 'how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles.'
Read Chapter 14 →Acts 15:1-41
We Shall Be Saved Through the Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
The Jerusalem Council on circumcision and the law, 'Except ye be circumcised... ye cannot be saved,' Peter's testimony that God gave the Gentiles the Spirit, 'purifying their hearts by faith,' and 'we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they,' James's judgment from the prophets, the letter to the Gentiles, 'it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us,' and the sharp parting of Paul and Barnabas over John Mark.
Read Chapter 15 →Acts 16:1-40
What Must I Do to Be Saved?
Timothy joins Paul, the Macedonian call, 'Come over into Macedonia, and help us,' the conversion of Lydia 'whose heart the Lord opened,' the casting out of the spirit of divination 'in the name of Jesus Christ,' the beating and imprisonment at Philippi, the midnight praise and the earthquake, and the jailer's cry, 'Sirs, what must I do to be saved?,' answered, 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.'
Read Chapter 16 →Acts 17:1-34
In Him We Live, and Move, and Have Our Being
The uproar at Thessalonica where Paul reasons that 'Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again' and 'this Jesus... is Christ,' 'These that have turned the world upside down,' the noble Bereans who 'searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so,' and Paul's sermon on Mars' Hill at Athens, the unknown God declared, 'in him we live, and move, and have our being,' and the call to repent before 'that man whom he hath ordained' to judge the world, raised from the dead.
Read Chapter 17 →Acts 18:1-28
I Have Much People in This City
Paul at Corinth with the tentmakers Aquila and Priscilla, the turning to the Gentiles, the believing and baptism of many, the Lord's night vision, 'Be not afraid, but speak... for I have much people in this city,' Gallio's refusal to judge, and the return through the churches, and the eloquent Apollos, 'mighty in the scriptures' but 'knowing only the baptism of John,' taught 'the way of God more perfectly,' who proved 'by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ.'
Read Chapter 18 →Acts 19:1-41
They Were Baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus
The Ephesian disciples who knew only John's baptism, 'Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?,' rebaptized 'in the name of the Lord Jesus' and filled with the Spirit, 'they spake with tongues, and prophesied,' the two years' teaching so all Asia heard, the special miracles, the seven sons of Sceva, 'Jesus I know... but who are ye?,' the burning of the magic books, 'So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed,' and the riot over Diana, 'they be no gods, which are made with hands.'
Read Chapter 19 →Acts 20:1-38
The Church of God, Which He Hath Purchased With His Own Blood
The gathering at Troas 'upon the first day of the week... to break bread,' the raising of Eutychus, and Paul's farewell to the Ephesian elders, his faithful service and 'I am pure from the blood of all men,' 'I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem,' 'neither count I my life dear,' the charge 'to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood,' the warning of wolves, and the tearful parting.
Read Chapter 20 →Acts 21:1-40
The Will of the Lord Be Done
The journey to Jerusalem and the warnings through the Spirit, Agabus binding his own hands with Paul's girdle, 'I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus,' the disciples' 'The will of the Lord be done,' the report to James and the vow to reassure the zealous Jewish believers, and the false charge, the temple riot, and Paul's arrest and binding 'with two chains,' fulfilling the prophecy.
Read Chapter 21 →Acts 22:1-30
Be Baptized, and Wash Away Thy Sins
Paul's defense before the crowd retelling his conversion, 'Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?... I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest,' Ananias's call, 'arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord,' the commission 'far hence unto the Gentiles' at which the crowd rages, 'Away with such a fellow,' and Paul's Roman citizenship sparing him the scourge, 'Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned?'
Read Chapter 22 →Acts 23:1-35
So Must Thou Bear Witness Also at Rome
Paul before the Sanhedrin, 'I have lived in all good conscience,' the division of Pharisees and Sadducees over 'the hope and resurrection of the dead,' the Lord standing by him in the night, 'Be of good cheer, Paul... so must thou bear witness also at Rome,' the plot of more than forty men bound under a curse, uncovered by Paul's nephew, and the safe transfer under heavy guard to Caesarea and Felix, with the captain's admission of 'nothing... worthy of death or of bonds.'
Read Chapter 23 →Acts 24:1-27
Righteousness, Temperance, and Judgment to Come
The hired orator Tertullus accusing Paul of sedition and being 'a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes,' Paul's dignified defense, 'after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers,' the hope of 'a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust,' 'a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men,' and Felix trembling as Paul 'reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come,' yet delaying, 'when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.'
Read Chapter 24 →Acts 25:1-27
I Appeal Unto Caesar
Paul before the new governor Festus, the renewed plot and unproven complaints, Festus's proposal of a trial at Jerusalem, and Paul's decisive appeal, 'I appeal unto Caesar,' 'unto Caesar shalt thou go,' then Festus laying the case before King Agrippa, reducing it to 'certain questions... of one Jesus, which was dead, whom Paul affirmed to be alive,' confessing 'nothing worthy of death' and 'no certain thing to write,' and the arranging of the hearing before the king.
Read Chapter 25 →Acts 26:1-32
Almost Thou Persuadest Me to Be a Christian
Paul's great defense before King Agrippa, the hope of the resurrection, 'Why should it be thought a thing incredible... that God should raise the dead?,' his conversion and commission, 'to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins,' the message of Moses and the prophets, 'That Christ should suffer, and... rise from the dead,' and Agrippa's reply, 'Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.'
Read Chapter 26 →Acts 27:1-44
I Believe God, That It Shall Be Even as It Was Told Me
The voyage to Rome, Paul's warning, the tempest Euroclydon, and the loss of all hope, then Paul's word of courage, 'there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar... God hath given thee all them that sail with thee,' 'I believe God,' the thanksgiving in the storm, and the shipwreck in which, exactly as promised, 'they escaped all safe to land,' all 276 souls.
Read Chapter 27 →Acts 28:1-31
Preaching the Kingdom of God, No Man Forbidding Him
The shipwreck survivors on Malta, the viper Paul shakes off unharmed, the healing of Publius's father and many others, the arrival at Rome where 'when Paul saw' the brethren 'he thanked God, and took courage,' his witness to the Jews 'concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets,' the word of Isaiah and 'the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles,' and the triumphant close, 'Preaching the kingdom of God... with all confidence, no man forbidding him.'
Read Chapter 28 →