Sabbath or Sunday Worship Part 5B Series
Religion and the Sabbath/Sunday Worship Part 5B: Paul, Luke, and the Acts of the Apostles.
The Acts of the Apostle, or in short, the Acts’ known author, is Luke, a beloved Physician, companion, and coworker of Paul. According to Luke, the Gospel is also called the Gospel of Luke; some called it Luke and St. Luke to other denominations. Luke traces Jesus’ genealogy back to Adam, which differs from Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus to Abraham, birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. The Acts of the Apostles mention the Word Christian; in Acts 11:26 and 26:28.
Paul is believed to dictate to Luke what to write, and his influence in the development of Christianity is overwhelming. According to Luke, the Gospel portrays Jesus as a man with an image of the divine, compassionate for the poor and the oppressed, and neglected cultures, such as the Samaritans, the women, and the Gentiles. Moreover, being the Son of God and Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus was the man that did healing miracles on Sabbath days.
Why does Luke’s Gospel focus on the Gentiles? Being a Gentile could be one of the reasons why Luke focused on the Gentiles and anticipation that his readers could also be non-Jews. He was also with Paul on the journey to reach the Gentiles. Another reason was also Paul’s interest in joining the apostles of Jesus Christ, but Paul failed and refocused his interest on the Gentiles, which later made him an Apostle. When Barnabas learned that Paul had a different doctrine, he decided to withdraw his support to Paul’s ministry even though Paul helped him indoctrinate the new disciples of Christ in Antioch – Acts 11:25-26.
Paul could have gotten his knowledge about Jesus from Peter, James, or Barnabas, who later passed it on to Luke. None of the writers of the Gospel ever met Jesus; all were anonymous and were known and named According to Matthew, …Mark, …Luke, and John. Paul met Peter in Jerusalem three years after his conversion, followed by James a decade later. He also met John-Galatians 2:9.
None of the apostles trusted Paul because of his tarnished reputation for persecuting the followers of Christ.
Luke’s Gospel, together with Matthew and Mark, is a synoptic gospel, which means they have similar stories regarding the life of Jesus. Early Christian believers believed that the Gospel of Mark was the oldest and the first to write the Gospel, and Matthew and Luke only copied his gospels. We have to remember that the Gospels were written when all the apostles of Jesus Christ were gone, and the writers may have only heard these from hearsay or from others who they thought had the knowledge and were reliable. For example, first-hand knowledge like the first-line descendants of the apostles or the descendants of 70 or 72 (depending on the version of the Bible) disciples that Jesus sent on missions to preach and perform healing miracles.
In hindsight, these descendants had the key to the truth. This could be possible, and these writers could not get any better truth. Jesus sent out 70 or 72 disciples to spread his Word. The believers must not be confused when they apply for God’s perfect number, 10. 10 indicates God’s authority, completeness, order, and divine perfection. God gave Moses the Ten (10) Commandments; humans have ten fingers and ten toes. When we apply God’s number to decide which is which, we will never be wrong.
As for the other Sabbath subject recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, it does support that Jesus, the Apostles, and Disciples observed Sabbath rest and the LORD’s Day (LORD is the Almighty God)
Acts 13:14—But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and sat down.
Acts 16:13—And on the Sabbath day, we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there.
Acts 17:2—Then Paul, as his custom was, went into them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures,
Acts 13:42-44—When the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath. Now when the congregation had broken up, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. On the next Sabbath, almost the whole city came together to hear the Word of God.
Acts 18:4—He reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath and persuaded Jews and Greeks.
The Acts of the Apostles 11:26 and Acts 26:28 mentioned the Word, Christian.
God is all in all