Acts: Worthy to Suffer For Jesus' Sake

People sometimes undergo hardship and difficulty for a cause or movement they believe in. Jesus had already warned his followers that they would be brought before “kings and governors” for his sake, but that they were not to worry about what to say – God’s Holy Spirit would give them the words.

Terms

  • High priest – the Jewish chief priest who was the highest religious and political official
  • Apostles – ones sent out; a term for Jesus’ 12 close followers
  • Sadducees – Jewish religious group with some political power
  • Angel – messenger; a spirit that serves God
  • Pharisee – Jewish religious group that was very strict about obeying the law
  • Law – the laws given to God by the people of Israel written in the first 5 books of the Bible

Questions

  1. How did people outside the group of believers feel about them?
  2. What kinds of signs did the Spirit do through the believers?
  3. Why do you think those outside the group would not join the believers in the temple for worship?
  4. Who opposes the apostles? Why?
  5. What do they do to the apostles?
  6. What does God do for the apostles?
  7. Why didn’t the apostles run away and hide when they were released from prison?
    1. How would you have felt if you were an apostle?
  8. If you were a member of the council, what would you have thought the next morning?
  9. What is the high priest’s complaint? What do you think he is afraid of?
  10. How did the apostles answer the high priest?
  11. What is the work of God the Father? God the Son (Jesus)? God the Holy Spirit?
  12. How has God shown himself to be more powerful than the council?
  13. How did the council react to the apostles? Why do you think they were angry?
  14. Who is Gamaliel? What was his advice? What do you think of it?
    1. If he were alive today, do you think he would say the movement of the followers of Christ was from men or God?
  15. What did the council decide to do?
  16. How did the apostles react to what happened to them? Why?
  17. What did the apostles continue to do? Where? Why?
  18. If an angel could lead them out of prison, why couldn’t they have been stopped from getting whipped?
    1. If you were an apostle, what would you have thought about this?
    2. Why were they happy to suffer for Jesus’ sake?

Scriptures Referenced

Acts 5:12-22
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