Primary Scriptures: Acts 2-5, 10-12
Story Summary: Coming of Holy Spirit, growth of Church, activities of Peter
Location: Roman Empire; Tetrarchy of Judea; Jerusalem, Caesarea
Time: 30 AD. Death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. Pentecost. 40 AD (?) Cornelius becomes a ChristianOn the first Pentecost after his death and resurrection, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to Earth to empower his followers. The account of that event is one of the most thrilling stories in the entire Bible. It is no wonder that Jesus was so excited to send Holy Spirit back to his followers.
That Pentecost day was a day of innumerable firsts. The first indwelling of the Holy Spirit in Christians, the first presentation of the entire Gospel in sermon form, the first conversion to Christianity, and many others. That day was the start of explosive growth of the early Church.
The early Christians followed the commands of Jesus, but they also continued to follow Judaism as best they could. Among other things, this allowed them continued access to the Temple and the synagogues so they could preach to the Jews.
The rapid growth of the Church became a threat to the Jewish leaders, so they threatened Peter and the other Christians; eventually, this persecution became so great that most of the Christians left Jerusalem, which had the unintended effect of spreading Christianity, because the Christians had the express mission of making disciples.
Christianity was the first religious movement in the Roman Empire intent on making new members from other communities. This evangelical motive confounded, threatened and angered leaders of other cultures and communities.
It is not made clear in the Bible, but it was up to ten years after Pentecost before the conversion of Cornelius by Peter. That event marked a turning point in the growth of the Church, because it signaled the beginning of major evangelism efforts to non-Jews (Gentiles). This was such a radical change for the church that even Peter’s personal testimony was not enough. After the testimony of other witnesses, the church accepted the fact that non-Jews could become Christians, but just how and when that would occur would not be made clear until it actually happened.
Eyewitness Bible Series
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