Series
Marv Wiseman's Acts series follows the early church from the opening chapters of Acts into the life of the first believers.
Marv introduces Acts as Luke's continuation of his Gospel, written to Theophilus and centered on what Jesus continued to do through the apostles by the Holy Spirit. He frames the book as a crucial transition from the Gospels into the later New Testament epistles.
Marv presents Acts as the bridge between the Old Testament and Gospel period and the epistles, stressing that the early chapters remain deeply Jewish and kingdom-focused. He argues that Acts records Israel's continued opportunity to receive the Messiah before the later revelation of the church as the body of Christ.
Marv answers how passages like John 3 should be used, arguing that even familiar Gospel texts must be read in their Jewish and kingdom context. He affirms the necessity of the new birth while distinguishing Nicodemus's kingdom setting from later church-age language.
Marv works through Acts 1, emphasizing Jesus' final commandments, the promised power of the Holy Spirit, the ascension, and the apostles' witness. He also argues that Matthias was rightly chosen to replace Judas before Pentecost.
Marv begins Acts 2 by explaining Pentecost as an established Jewish feast that drew Jews from many nations to Jerusalem. He interprets the miraculous tongues as real foreign languages given for practical witness to those gathered Jews.
Marv stresses that the Pentecost audience in Acts 2 was Jewish and that the signs and languages belong to that kingdom-oriented setting. He argues that Acts 2 should not be treated as the normative beginning pattern for the church today.
Marv expounds Peter's Pentecost sermon as a direct appeal to Israel, showing from the Psalms that Jesus is David's promised Messiah, risen and exalted by God. He emphasizes the shock of Peter's charge that Israel had crucified the very one God made both Lord and Messiah.
Marv treats Acts 2:38-40 as a Jewish kingdom message rather than a church-age formula for salvation. He rejects baptismal regeneration for today while arguing that Peter's call to repent and be baptized was appropriate for Israel's public identification with Jesus as Messiah.
Marv describes the response to Pentecost as about three thousand Jews joining the existing band of disciples and continuing in apostolic teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayers. He presents their shared life and common property as a foretaste of kingdom conditions, not the standing pattern for the church today.
Marv begins Acts 3 with Peter and John healing the lame man at the temple gate in the name of Jesus the Messiah. He connects the miracle and Peter's sermon to Old Testament kingdom promises, arguing that Peter's second call to repentance offered Israel the return of Christ and the times of refreshing.
Marv explains Peter's call for Israel to repent so that Christ would return and bring the promised times of refreshing and restitution. He connects that restoration with the millennial kingdom, when creation, justice, peace, health, worship, and Israel's hope are set right under Messiah's reign.
Marv traces the first official opposition to Peter and John after the healing at the temple gate. The sermon emphasizes that the apostles were arrested because they preached resurrection through Jesus, yet many still believed despite the threats of Israel's religious authorities.
Marv focuses on Peter's defense before the rulers, especially the rejected stone becoming the cornerstone and the declaration that deliverance is found in no other name. He argues that the passage speaks first to Israel's national deliverance through Jesus the Messiah, while also applying truly to personal salvation today.
Marv treats the judgment of Ananias and Sapphira as healing in reverse, showing the seriousness of lying to God while pretending complete devotion. He connects the incident with kingdom conditions, where justice is immediate and hypocrisy cannot survive among those identified with the Messiah.
Marv explains the dispute over neglected widows in Acts 6 as a real tension between Greek-speaking and Aramaic-speaking Jews within the growing Jerusalem assembly. The choosing of the seven shows practical wisdom: material needs were handled by qualified servants so the apostles could continue in prayer and the ministry of the Word.
Marv introduces Stephen as a Spirit-filled lay evangelist whose preaching and miracles could not be answered by his opponents. When they could not refute his case that Jesus was the Messiah, they resorted to false witnesses and charges of blasphemy against Moses, the law, and the temple.
Marv follows Stephen's final defense in Acts 7, where Israel's history is retold as a pattern of resisting God's messengers. Stephen's declaration that he saw the Son of Man at God's right hand becomes the decisive provocation, leading to his stoning while Saul stands by approvingly.
Marv connects Stephen's death with the outbreak of persecution under Saul of Tarsus. He explains how the scattered believers carried the message that Jesus was the risen Messiah into Judea and Samaria, while the apostles remained in Jerusalem because the kingdom offer was still centered there.
Marv shows how persecution spread the message beyond Jerusalem, with Philip preaching Christ in Samaria and performing genuine signs among a people long despised by many Jews. The sermon contrasts Philip's true miracles and gospel of the kingdom with false religious spectacle, setting up the account of Simon the sorcerer.
Marv examines Simon the sorcerer as a man who had controlled Samaria through superstition, fear, and religious manipulation before Philip's preaching exposed something greater. He warns against attempts to commercialize spiritual power, explains why Peter and John confirmed the Samaritan believers' reception of the Holy Spirit, and leaves open whether Simon's belief was genuine or merely superficial.
Marv follows Philip's obedience to the Spirit's direction as he meets the Ethiopian official and explains Isaiah 53 as a prophecy of Jesus' suffering, death, and saving work. The sermon emphasizes the official's prepared heart, his response in faith and baptism, and Philip's continued ministry.
Marv traces Saul's violent zeal against followers of Jesus from Stephen's death to the Damascus road. The message presents Christ's confrontation of Saul as the crisis point after repeated inward conviction, introducing Saul as the chosen vessel who will bear Christ's name to Gentiles, kings, and Israel.
Marv follows Ananias being sent to Saul, who receives his sight, is baptized, and immediately begins preaching in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. The sermon traces Saul's stunning reversal from persecutor to witness, the Jewish opposition that rises against him, and Barnabas's role in commending him to the believers.
Marv follows Peter's miracles at Lydda and Joppa as they lead into the preparation for Cornelius, with Peter's vision teaching him not to call common what God has cleansed. The sermon stresses the barrier between Jew and Gentile and shows Peter entering Cornelius's house as a reluctant but obedient witness to a major turning point in Acts.
Marv explains how Cornelius's household receives Peter's message and the Holy Spirit falls on Gentiles in a way that astonishes the Jewish believers. The sermon follows Peter's defense in Jerusalem and presents this event as a decisive precedent for Gentile inclusion and the later ministry centered at Antioch.
Marv highlights the Antioch believers preaching Christ to Gentiles, Barnabas confirming the work, and Barnabas bringing Saul from Tarsus to teach there for a full year. The sermon presents Antioch as the place where the disciples were first called Christians, the rise of Gentile ministry, and the famine relief sent to Judea.
Marv recounts Herod killing James and imprisoning Peter, while an angel delivers Peter from prison as the church is praying. The sermon contrasts Herod's political cruelty and judgment with God's preservation of Peter, emphasizing that God's servants remain until their work is finished.
Marv follows Barnabas and Saul being set apart by the Holy Spirit at Antioch and beginning the first missionary journey, preaching first in Jewish synagogues. In Cyprus, Paul confronts Bar-Jesus, Sergius Paulus believes, and Paul's leadership begins to come clearly into view.
Marv traces Paul's synagogue sermon in Pisidian Antioch as it surveys Israel's history and proclaims Jesus as David's promised Savior, risen from the dead. The sermon emphasizes Paul's announcement of forgiveness and justification by faith, then shows Jewish opposition pushing the mission openly toward receptive Gentiles.
Marv follows Paul and Barnabas preaching with boldness in Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe amid division, opposition, and signs confirming their message. The sermon moves from the healing at Lystra to the crowd's swing from trying to worship the apostles to stoning Paul, and then to the apostles' return to strengthen the new believers.
Marv connects Acts 15 with Galatians 2 to show the Jerusalem Council's importance for the gospel of grace. He emphasizes that Gentile believers were not required to be circumcised or keep the Mosaic law, because justification is by faith in Christ apart from works.
Marv follows the aftermath of the Jerusalem Council's verdict and its relief for Gentile believers in Antioch. He also traces how that verdict exposed lingering Jewish-Gentile tensions, including Peter's withdrawal from Gentile fellowship and Paul's public resistance to compromising the gospel.
Marv examines the sharp disagreement between Paul and Barnabas over John Mark, showing that even apostles could have serious personal and ministry differences. He then turns to Timothy, explaining why Paul circumcised him for ministry access among Jews without surrendering the grace principle defended in Acts 15.
Marv uses Paul's blocked plans in Asia and Bithynia as a lesson in the will and timing of God. He presents the Macedonian vision, the move into Europe, and Lydia's conversion as evidence that God directed the gospel strategically even when Paul's immediate intentions were denied.
Marv recounts Paul confronting a demon-possessed slave girl in Philippi whose fortune-telling brought profit to her owners. He stresses the reality of the demonic, the authority of Christ in the exorcism, and the way financial loss led the owners to bring false public charges against Paul and Silas.
Marv introduces the Philippian jailer account by focusing on Paul and Silas praying and singing in prison after being beaten. He presents the earthquake and the jailer's question about salvation as God's sovereign means of bringing spiritual deliverance to the jailer.
Marv presses the meaning of the jailer's question and Paul's answer: salvation comes by believing on Jesus as Lord. He distinguishes genuine trust from mere religious facts or emotional response, emphasizing faith in Christ alone and the changed attitude seen in the jailer and his household.
Marv uses the baptism of the Philippian jailer's household to discuss water baptism, Spirit baptism, and the transitional character of Acts. He argues that baptism must be interpreted in light of the movement from Israel's kingdom program to the church, while also acknowledging the issue's complexity and divisiveness among Christians.
Marv explains why Paul refuses a quiet release after he and Silas had been publicly beaten without trial despite being Roman citizens. Paul's insistence on a public vindication protected the reputation of the new believers in Philippi before he moved on toward Thessalonica.
Marv contrasts hostile Jewish opposition in Thessalonica with the Bereans' noble-minded response. The Bereans are commended because they eagerly heard Paul's message about the suffering and risen Messiah, then searched the Scriptures daily to test whether it was true.
Marv presents Paul's address on Mars Hill as a confrontation between Athens's religious curiosity and philosophical confidence and the revealed God who created all things, cannot be contained in idols or temples, and now commands all people to repent. The sermon emphasizes that the resurrection of Jesus is the decisive issue that exposes human wisdom and calls for faith.
Marv follows Paul from Athens to Corinth, where he works with Aquila and Priscilla, reasons from the Scriptures, and testifies that Jesus is the Messiah. The message highlights both Jewish opposition and fruitful ministry as Paul turns toward the Gentiles and continues teaching under the Lord's assurance.
Marv revisits Paul's Mars Hill encounter, explaining Athens's idolatry, the Epicurean and Stoic philosophies, and Paul's careful appeal to the unknown God. He stresses that Paul met his hearers where they were, but still pressed them toward creation, repentance, judgment, and the resurrection of Christ.
Marv follows Paul leaving Corinth, taking or completing a Jewish vow, briefly ministering in Ephesus, and beginning to strengthen churches on his next journey. The sermon also introduces Apollos as an eloquent and teachable man whose accurate but incomplete knowledge was brought up to date by Priscilla and Aquila.
Marv examines the disciples Paul meets at Ephesus whose understanding had not progressed beyond John's baptism. He treats the passage carefully, arguing that the issue is not rebaptism but incomplete revelation during Acts's transition, with Paul bringing them into the fuller ministry of the Holy Spirit.
Marv presents Paul's Ephesian ministry as marked by bold teaching, unusual miracles, and the exposure of counterfeit spiritual power. The failed exorcism by the sons of Sceva leads many to renounce occult practices publicly, showing a costly and concrete break from their former life as the Word of God prevails.
Marv shows how the gospel's growth in Ephesus threatens the trade built around Artemis, provoking Demetrius and the silversmiths to stir up a citywide riot. The sermon traces how economic fear, religious loyalty, and mob confusion collide before the town clerk restores order and Paul continues his journey.
Marv follows Paul's solemn farewell to the Ephesian elders at Miletus, where he reviews his ministry of humility, tears, public and private teaching, and faithfulness to the whole counsel of God. He charges them to shepherd the flock, warns of future false teachers, and commends them to God and the word of His grace.
Marv follows Paul traveling toward Jerusalem as believers repeatedly warn him through the Spirit that imprisonment awaits, yet he continues on. He argues that Paul may have been acting out of personal determination rather than God's will, while also emphasizing that God still works through human weakness and wrong turns.
Marv recounts Paul's attempt in Jerusalem to quiet rumors by participating in temple purification, only for Asian Jews to falsely accuse him of defiling the temple with a Gentile. After Roman soldiers rescue him from the mob, Paul begins defending himself by recounting his Jewish background, persecution of Christians, and encounter with the risen Christ.
Marv follows Paul's defense, Roman citizenship, appearance before the Sanhedrin, and transfer to Caesarea as the beginning of his long imprisonment. The sermon traces the legal and political maneuvering around Paul, including the assassination plot, Felix's hearings, and Paul's testimony about righteousness, self-control, judgment, and faith in Christ.
Marv traces Paul's hearings before Felix and Festus, showing how the Roman governors, hoping to placate the Jews, kept him imprisoned even after hearing that the charges were religious and unproven. He follows Paul's refusal to be sent back to Jerusalem, his appeal to Caesar, and the arrival of Agrippa and Bernice as the case moves toward Rome under God's providence.
Marv follows Paul before Festus and Agrippa as he defends his life, from Pharisaic zeal and persecution of believers to the Damascus Road encounter that turned him into a witness for Christ. He emphasizes that Paul preached nothing beyond Moses and the prophets, especially the suffering and risen Messiah who fulfills Israel's hope, and that Agrippa's response exposes the gap between Roman skepticism and that testimony.
Marv traces Paul's appeal to Caesar into the voyage from Caesarea to Crete, showing why the prisoners change ships at Myra and why Paul warns that pressing on will bring hurt and much damage. He then walks through the storm, the frapping and lightening of the ship, and the angel's promise that all aboard will be saved even though the ship itself is in peril.
Marv continues the shipwreck account by showing how the sailors' attempt to abandon ship is stopped, Paul urges everyone to eat and keep hope, and the cargo is thrown overboard as they prepare to run aground. He traces the final approach to Malta, the centurion's refusal to let the prisoners be killed, and the fact that all aboard reach land safely because God had promised Paul would stand before Caesar.
Marv traces Paul's shipwreck landing on Malta, the viper bite, Publius' sickness, and the healings and kindness shown to the stranded company before the voyage resumes toward Rome. He then follows Paul's arrival in Rome under guard and distinguishes this first Roman imprisonment from Paul's later arrest and the Nero-era persecution that followed.
Marv concludes Acts by following Paul's arrival in Rome, his meeting with the Jewish leaders, and his defense that he is bound for the hope of Israel because of the resurrection hope tied to Jesus as Messiah. He uses Paul's all-day exposition from Moses and the prophets to show Israel's hardening, the turn to the Gentiles, and the book's close with Paul preaching the kingdom in his hired house with no man forbidding him.
Marv gives a final overview of Acts as a historical, transitional, and dispensational bridge from the Gospels to the Epistles, arguing that the early chapters are thoroughly Jewish and kingdom-oriented while the later chapters move toward the mystery body of Christ. He presses that Acts should not be treated as a flat pattern for today, but read in its own setting as God shifts from Israel's program toward the church and leaves Israel set aside until the promised kingdom is fulfilled.