Among some brethren it’s a running joke that folks in churches of Christ are always studying the book of Acts!
Well not really, but it is an important part of scripture and I’m glad we’re studying it now. It’s really only in Acts that we can learn how the apostles applied what was taught in the gospels. It helps us to understand how the sovereign rule of Christ was taught and accepted by both Jews and Gentiles, and how citizens in His kingdom are to live and work together.
The Roman world was fascinating, viewed from this distance. They considered themselves to have conquered just about every place worth conquering, except for the small nation of Urartu on the Caspian Sea which could never be subjugated.
And their near-universal rule unwittingly facilitated the spread of the gospel everywhere. The apostle Paul’s citizenship allowed him to travel freely, and with Roman protection.
During the time of Paul’s travels, the Roman Empire was ruled by Claudius, her fourth emperor. He is mentioned in the book of Acts, of course, and is an interesting study. Early in life he was crippled by polio, plus he tended to …