I Appeal To Caesar!

P. 12 “As soon as the crowd … dispersed, men of the type of Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus took a hand and gave the poor, battered, and bloody body decent burial…. So also these men made great mourning over him…the beating of the head and the breast while wailing in Oriental fashion.” R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of the Acts of the Apostles, p. 313. P. 12 Words of the Shema. Deuteronomy 6:4; The Shema Prayer was so influential and important that Jesus used it as the beginning of His answer to the “greatest commandment” question in Mark 12:2-30. P. 5 Luke 23:34. Similarities between the deaths of Jesus and Stephen: (1) While dying, challenged by the unbelievers; (2) Remorse in the crowd that attend the deaths; (3) How the victim prayed for his persecutors. P. 6 Acts 9:1. The Greek text actually warrants a much stronger translation: “Breathing hard, out of threatening and murderous desire” which is “the picture of a man fiercely opposed, breathing hard, out of threatening and murderous desire.” The little word “still” indicates that the mad obsession in Saul remains. . .and is increasing! Vincent’s translation; commentary thoughts by G. Campbell Morgan, The Acts of the Apostles, p. 224. P. 7 “A large Jewish population lived in Damascus, and many of Jesus’ followers sought refuge there during the persecution in Jerusalem following the murder and martyrdom of Stephen.” Reader’s Digest Jesus and His Times, p. 307. P. 18 No legal problems. “The high priest served as head of the Sanhedrin, which as a legislative body had jurisdiction over the Jews living in Jerusalem, Palestine, and the dispersion. Thus the high priest had the power to issue warrants to the synagogues in Damascus for the arrests of Christian Jews residing there.” Simon J. Kistemaker, New Testament Commentary, Acts, p. 329. This additional thought from Robert E. Picirilli: “The Sanhedrin’s religious (not civil) authority was considered binding even on Jewish synagogues outside Palestine. Such authority was recognized within limits by the Roman overlords.” Paul the Apostle, p. 41. P. 5 “Stoned for his faith” in Lystra. Acts 14:19, 20.

P. 18 The Jewish Population of Damascus. “The size of the Jewish community at Damascus may be judged from the number of Jews slain