Daily Bread Pastor Mike Anderson

Enduring Word Commentary Acts 26 - NIV 26 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.”  So Paul motioned with his hand and began his defense: 2 “King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today as I make my defense against all the accusations of the Jews, 3 and especially so because you are well acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies. Therefore, I beg you to listen to me patiently. This was a partial fulfillment of what the Lord promised Paul at his conversion: Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. (Acts 9:15) (Guzik) Herod Agrippa II, also known as Agrippa II, was the son of Agrippa I. He ruled over Jewish territories as a Roman client king, though he focused on areas outside of Judea. He respected Jewish religious practices, but his kingdom was mainly populated by non-Jews. (Google AI) Because King Agrippa was of Jewish descent, Paul hoped he would b...

Acts 25 Paul’s Trial Before Festus 25 Three days after arriving in the province, Festus went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem, 2 where the chief priests and the Jewish leaders appeared before him and presented the charges against Paul. 3 They requested Festus, as a favor to them, to have Paul transferred to Jerusalem, for they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way. 4 Festus answered, “Paul is being held at Caesarea, and I myself am going there soon. 5 Let some of your leaders come with me, and if the man has done anything wrong, they can press charges against him there.” The Jewish leaders were trying to trick Festus into asking Paul to come from Caesarea, so they could ambush him. But in God's sovereignty, Festus instead decided to visit him in Caesarea. He invited other Jewish leaders to come and see if he was guilty of anything.  We don’t know if Festus knew the intentions of the Jewish leaders or not. Either way, he refused to grant their request for a change of venue...

Acts 24 Paul’s Trial Before Felix 24 Five days later the high priest Ananias went down to Caesarea with some of the elders and a lawyer named Tertullus, and they brought their charges against Paul before the governor. 2 When Paul was called in, Tertullus presented his case before Felix: “We have enjoyed a long period of peace under you, and your foresight has brought about reforms in this nation. 3 Everywhere and in every way, most excellent Felix, we acknowledge this with profound gratitude. 4 But in order not to weary you further, I would request that you be kind enough to hear us briefly. I imagine Tertullus to be a slick talking lawyer who is trying to " sweet talk " King Felix by attributing the peace they have to him. He compliments his wisdom. He calls him Most Excellent Felix  hoping his flattery can get him an audience with the king.    5 “We have found this man to be a troublemaker, stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the N...

Acts 23 - NIV 23 Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, “My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day.” 2 At this the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth. 3 Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!”  4 Those who were standing near Paul said, “How dare you insult God’s high priest!”  5 Paul replied, “Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.” Paul confronts the high priest of the Sanhedrin for judging him falsely and for commanding that he be struck on the mouth. When Paul realizes that it is the high priest, he is remorseful because he didn't know he was a man in that position. Paul claims that as a Pharisee he has acted in good conscience.  The Ananias who was high...

Acts 22 - NIV 22 1 “Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense.”  2 When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet.  Then Paul said: 3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. 4 I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, 5 as the high priest and all the Council can themselves testify. I even obtained letters from them to their associates in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.  6 “About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. 7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’  8 “‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.  “ ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ he repl...

Acts 21 - NIV Enduring Word Commentary On to Jerusalem 21 After we had torn ourselves away from them, we put out to sea and sailed straight to Kos. The next day we went to Rhodes and from there to Patara. 2 We found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, went on board and set sail. 3 After sighting Cyprus and passing to the south of it, we sailed on to Syria. We landed at Tyre, where our ship was to unload its cargo. 4 We sought out the disciples there and stayed with them seven days. Through the Spirit they urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. 5 When it was time to leave, we left and continued on our way. All of them, including wives and children, accompanied us out of the city, and there on the beach we knelt to pray. 6 After saying goodbye to each other, we went aboard the ship, and they returned home. Paul, Luke, and their companions continued their missionary journey after "tearing themselves away " from the Ephesians.  Apparently there was a community of believers in Tyre,...

Acts 20 - NIV Enduring Word Commentary Through Macedonia and Greece 20 When the uproar had ended, Paul sent for the disciples and, after encouraging them, said goodbye and set out for Macedonia. 2 He traveled through that area, speaking many words of encouragement to the people, and finally arrived in Greece, 3 where he stayed three months. Because some Jews had plotted against him just as he was about to sail for Syria, he decided to go back through Macedonia. 4 He was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy also, and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia. 5 These men went on ahead and waited for us at Troas. 6 But we sailed from Philippi after the Festival of Unleavened Bread, and five days later joined the others at Troas, where we stayed seven days. One thing we see Paul doing quite frequently is "encouraging" the flock. Encouragement is a huge gift which is so important to the body...

Acts 19 - NIV 19 While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when[a] you believed?”  They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”  3 So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?”  “John’s baptism,” they replied.  4 Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues[b] and prophesied. 7 There were about twelve men in all. Paul asks an important question of the new believers in Ephesus. He asked if they had received the Holy Spirit when they came to faith. Apparently not, because they had not even heard of the Holy Spirit. They also not been baptized in the name of...

Acts 18 Enduring Word Commentary In Corinth 18 After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, 3 and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. 4 Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. Paul, Aquila, and Priscilla were all tentmakers. Through the years this has been used as a term that meant someone in ministry who still worked a regular job to support themselves. I.e. They weren't paid by the church. Many missionaries today basically do the same, and rely on churches to support them. Paul continued his regular pattern of preaching in the synagogue and trying to persuade people (both Jews and Gentile Jewish converts) to believe in Jesus as the Messiah.  5 When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclus...

  Acts 17 - NIV In Thessalonica 17 When Paul and his companions had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. 2 As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah,” he said. 4 Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women. Paul continued his missionary model of preaching in the local synagogues on the Sabbath. This time they came to Thessalonica, which was near Greece.  This was an important port city, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) and a three-day walk from Philippi. Modern Thessalonika is still a large, thriving city. For three weeks on the Sabbath, Paul reasoned with them. To "reason" means to explain why Jesus was the Messiah. ...