Acts 28

⁵⁰ Judea, Galilee and Samaria were the three provinces of Israel in New Testament times.

⁵¹ A centurion in the Roman army was the commander of one hundred men.

⁵² According to Jewish law, Jews were allowed to eat any animal that has a split hoof completely divided and that chews the cud (Leviticus 11:3).

⁵³ The largest city was Rome, and the second largest was Alexandria in Egypt.

⁵⁴  Cyrene was an important city on the north coast of Africa west of Egypt in what is now modern Libya.

⁵⁵ Other Bible scholars, however, do not agree. These other scholars believe that the trip to Jerusalem mentioned in Galatians 2:1-10 is really a later trip which is described in Acts 15:1-29. It is not possible to say with certainty which of these two opinions is correct.

⁵⁵ The Feast of Unleavened Bread lasted for one week (Exodus 12:18). The actual Passover fell on the first day of that week, but the Jews commonly referred to the entire week as the “Passover.”

⁵⁶ This is the Mark who wrote the second Gospel. He also witnessed Christ’s arrest (Mark 14:51-52). He was a cousin of Barnabas, and accompanied Barnabas and Saul on part of their first missionary journey (Acts 12:25; 13:5,13; Colossians 4:10).

⁵⁷ Such cysts are not uncommon in Middle Eastern countries.

⁵⁸  Cyrene is a city of northern Africa (see Acts 11:20).

⁵⁹ Christ was actually born in 4 B.C. When the Western calendar was established, the year 1 A.D. was mistakenly placed four years later than Christ’s true birth date.

⁶⁰ In place of the words mighty power, some translations of the Bible say “uplifted arm.” The meaning is the same.

⁶¹ For further discussion, see General Article: Salvation—God’s Choice or Man’s Choice?

⁶²  Lystra and Derbe were located in the district of Lycaonia, which was part of the province of Galatia. Like Pisidian Antioch, Lystra was also a Roman colony.

⁶³ The Jews customarily tore their clothes whenever they heard blasphemy against God (see Mark 14:63). To worship a man as if he was God was blasphemy, because it was making sinful man equal with God. This was an insult to God.

⁶⁴  Judea is the southern province of Israel, in which the city of Jerusalem is located.

⁶⁵ Peter’s other names were Cephas (his name in Aramaic) and Simon, which was his original Jewish name (see John 1:42).

⁶⁶ The command to be circumcised was given by God to Abraham four hundred years before God gave the Jewish law to Moses (Genesis 17:9-11). Paul knew that if he agreed that circumcision was necessary for salvation, then he’d have to agree that the whole Jewish law was also necessary for salvation—and that, he knew, was totally false (see Galatians 5:3). In principle, being circumcised and obeying the law were the same thing. Therefore, Paul rejected the idea that the Gentiles had to be circumcised.

⁶⁷ It is necessary for all Christians to obey the ten commandments (Exodus 20:1-17). In this verse James is talking only about the rules pertaining to Jewish rituals, such as the offering of sacrifices, the eating and washing customs, etc. It is these rules which Christians do not have to follow (see Matthew 5:17-19 and comment).

⁶⁸ Silas (Silvanus) is also mentioned in 2 Corinthians 1:19; 1 Thessalonians 1:1; 1 Peter 5:12.

⁶⁹ Greece is an important southern European country on the Mediterranean Sea. To the east, it is separated from Turkey by the Aegean Sea; and to the west, it is separated from Italy by the Adriatic Sea. In New Testament times, Greece had fallen under the control of the Roman Empire. For further discussion, see comment on Acts 17:16.

⁷⁰ For further discussion of the subject of Roman citizenship, see Acts 22:25 and comment.

⁷¹ All Roman emperors were called Caesar.

⁷² Today Athens is the capital of the modern nation of Greece.

⁷³ Adam was the first man created by God (Genesis 1:27; 2:7). The name Adam means “man.”

⁷⁴ In place of the words Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, some translations of the Bible say, “Dionysius the Areopagite.” The meaning is the same.

⁷⁵ It is not known who first brought the Gospel to Rome.

⁷⁶  Aquila and Priscilla are also mentioned in Romans 16:3-4; 1 Corinthians 16:19; 2 Timothy 4:19.

⁷⁷ The capital of Achaia was Corinth.

⁷⁸ In 62 A.D. Nero married a woman who, though not a Jew by birth, was a follower of the Jewish religion. From that time on, Nero began to persecute the Christians. In 64 A.D. there was a great fire in Rome which destroyed much of the city, and Nero falsely accused the Christians of starting the fire. After that, Nero persecuted the Christians even more fiercely. Paul, Peter, and many other Christian leaders were put to death by Nero.

⁷⁹ The reason the Gentiles disliked the Jews was no doubt because the Jews despised the Gentiles and refused to associate with them.

⁸⁰  Alexandria, situated on the Mediterranean coast, was the main city of Egypt in New Testament times. Today Alexandria is Egypt’s second largest city (after Cairo).

⁸¹ In place of the words with great fervor, some translations of the Bible say, “being fervent in spirit.” The word “spirit” is used in the original Greek text, but it does not refer to the Holy Spirit but rather to Apollos’ human spirit.

⁸² Whenever Luke uses the word “disciple,” he usually means a Christian disciple.

⁸³ In a fourth place, Acts 8:17-18, it is probable that believers spoke in tongues when they received the Holy Spirit, but it is not explicitly stated.

⁸⁴ Paul used to use these handkerchiefs and aprons during his work making tents. Such handkerchiefs were wrapped around one’s forehead to soak up the sweat. The apron was worn to protect one’s ordinary clothes.

⁸⁵ The drachma was a silver coin used in ancient Greece. One drachma was equivalent in value to one day’s wage for an ordinary working man. Thus fifty thousand drachmas was a very large sum.

⁸⁶  Macedonia and Achaia were the northern and southern provinces of Greece respectively.

⁸⁷ The province of Asia was the westernmost province of what is now present-day Turkey. Ephesus was its chief city.

⁸⁸ A man named Alexander is mentioned in 1 Timothy 1:20 and 2 Timothy 4:14. It is not certain whether these are all the same man or whether they are different men.

⁸⁹  Syria was a province of the Roman Empire, in which the important New Testament cities of Damascus and Antioch were located (Acts 9:2-3; 11:19-26). Today Syria is a major Middle Eastern nation situated northeast of Israel.

⁹⁰ Of those mentioned in verse 4, Aristarchus is also mentioned in Acts 19:29; 27:2 and Colossians 4:20; Tychicus is also mentioned in Ephesians 6:21-22 and Colossians 4:7-8; Trophimus is also mentioned in Acts 21:29 and 2 Timothy 4:20.

⁹¹ Rome was the capital of the Roman Empire, and was located in what is now the southern European nation of Italy. In New Testament times, Rome was the most important city in the Western world.

⁹² Spain was the westernmost province of the Roman Empire; it is today an important country of western Europe.

⁹³ In English, the word overseer is translated “bishop.”

⁹⁴ Deacons, however, are different. Deacons are appointed to do many of the works of service in the church, such as taking care of the poor and the sick, and taking responsibility for the financial matters of the church (see Acts 6:2-4; 1 Timothy 3:8 and comments).

⁹⁵ Following Stephen’s death, most of the Greek-speaking Jewish Christians had been driven out of Jerusalem as a result of the persecution stirred up by Paul (Acts 8:1-3). But Mnason had not left Jerusalem. He was willing to provide hospitality for Paul’s Gentile companions. This would have been very difficult for an Aramaic-speaking Jewish Christian to do.

⁹⁶ By sexual immorality, Luke means sexual conduct forbidden by the Jewish law.

⁹⁷ On the gate leading into the inner courtyard of the Jewish temple a warning was posted which said: “Any Gentile who enters through this gate will be put to death.” This gate separated the inner court of the temple from the outer court (called the court of the Gentiles) where Gentiles were permitted to be. Paul wrote about this gate in his letter to the Ephesians, calling it a dividing wall of hostility between Jews and Gentiles (Ephesians 2:14-18). Christ has broken down that “dividing wall.” Now both Jewish and Gentile believers are members of one family.

⁹⁸  Tarsus was the main city of the Roman province of Cilicia. Tarsus was located in the southern part of what is now the modern country of Turkey (Acts 9:30).

⁹⁹ In New Testament times, Aramaic was the language spoken by most of the common people of Israel and the Middle East.

¹⁰⁰  Gamaliel is mentioned in Acts 5:33-39.

¹⁰¹ The Jews were indeed “zealous,” but their zeal was not based on knowledge (Romans 10:2). Therefore, Jesus could pray for them: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).

¹⁰² A Pharisee who became a Christian still remained a Pharisee, in the same way that a Jew who became a Christian still remained a Jew. For example, Paul was a Christian and yet remained both a Jew and a Pharisee. (This is possible only with the Jewish religion; it is not possible for a person to become a Christian and at the same time to remain a follower of any other religion—except for Judaism.) However, in 90 A.D. the Jewish leaders decided that those Jews who believed in Jesus could no longer attend the Jewish synagogues. Therefore, after 90 A.D., it became more and more difficult for Jewish Christians to have close contact or fellowship with other Jews.

¹⁰³ In the Hebrew and Arabic languages, the word for Christian is “Nazarene.”

¹⁰⁴ Not all ancient manuscripts of Acts contain these quoted portions of verses 6 and 7.

¹⁰⁵ Most of the Jewish chief priests and elders were Sadducees. They did not believe in the resurrection (see Acts 23:6-8 and comment).

¹⁰⁶  Drusilla was the daughter of King Herod (Acts 12:1). She was already married to another man when Felix took her as his wife. Therefore, she was an adulteress.

¹⁰⁷ All Roman emperors were called Caesar, but each also had his own personal name. Nero reigned from 54 to 68 A.D. The emperor before Nero was Claudius (Acts 11:28; 18:2).

¹⁰⁸ For further discussion of the persecution under Nero, see comment on Acts 18:14-16 and footnote to comment.

¹⁰⁹ Agrippa’s kingdom included the southern part of present day Lebanon and also the province of Galilee, Israel’s northernmost province.

¹¹⁰ Abraham’s grandson Jacob had twelve sons (Genesis 35:23-26). The twelve tribes of Israel are descended from those twelve sons.

¹¹¹ Moses wrote the first five books of the Old Testament.

¹¹² Italy is an important country of southern Europe, and its capital is Rome. In New Testament times, Italy and its capital were the center of the Roman Empire.

¹¹³ In New Testament times, all the large ships traveling on the Mediterranean Sea were sailing ships.

¹¹⁴ The Day of Atonement was the one day of the year when the Jewish high priest offered a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people (Leviticus 16:1-34). For further discussion of atonement, see Word List: Atonement.

¹¹⁵ In New Testament times, sailors determined their direction by looking at the position of the stars.

¹¹⁶ Today the Adriatic Sea is only that northern extension of the Mediterranean Sea that lies between Italy and Yugoslavia. But in Paul’s day, the Adriatic Sea was considered to extend well south of Italy.

¹¹⁷ The place where Paul’s ship ran aground was located in a small bay on the island of Malta. Today the bay is still called “Saint Paul’s Bay.” At the entrance of the bay the waves of the sea come in from two directions and, as a result, sand is piled up in the middle. It was in this sandbar that Paul’s ship was stuck. In the Greek text, Luke calls this sandbar the “place of two seas,” because the sandbar divides the bay in two.

¹¹⁸ Not all ancient manuscripts of Acts contain verse 29.