ACTS: Paul's Arrest, Trial and Imprisonment

By Ralph Robert Gomez

This is a precept Bible study on the book of Acts, which means you will be looking at the Bible one verse at a time to understand God's Word so that you can apply it to your daily life.

The four Gospels described Jesus's life and ended with His death and resurrection. The book of Acts continues HIS-story after the resurrection and follows the transition from the Old Covenant into the New Covenant, where the Holy Spirit came to live in the heart of the believer.

This is an eight-week study and is the third of three studies on the book of Acts. It is highly recommended that you complete the first two studies before beginning this one.

Here are the three studies:

Acts: The Birth of the Church. (12 weeks)

Acts: Paul's Three Missionary Journeys. (10 weeks)

Acts: Paul's Arrest, Trial and Imprisonment. (8 weeks)

Imagine yourself as the Apostle Paul. You have spent the past twenty years of your life travelling around the Mediterranean, sharing the Gospel and planting churches. During that time, you were harassed by Judaizers, who followed you around from city to city, trying to discredit you and get you arrested and killed.

You have just returned to Jerusalem from your third missionary journey and you're tired, and the elders of the church confront you about a rumor they heard. You haven't even had time to rest from your last mission, and you're being falsely accused of preaching against the Jewish laws and customs. So you decide to participate in a Jewish cleansing ceremony to show your accusers that you support the Jewish laws and customs.

While you are completing the ceremony, the Judaizers drag you out of the temple and try to kill you, again. Then a Roman commander steps in and saves you. However, this sets off a series of arrests and trials that will keep you in prison for the next four years. What do you do? You appeal to the highest court in the land, which in this case is Caesar.

This Bible study is about Paul's arrest and three trials, which led him to Rome and set in motion a Christian explosion that spread throughout the Roman empire. Buckle up and get ready to read about the power of the Holy Spirit working through the lives of some of God's most faithful servants!

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Dec 27, 2022
• ISBN: 9781638858676

Ralph Robert Gomez

Ralph Robert Gomez is a retired software engineer who loves Jesus and came to the Lord later in life. At the age of thirty-nine years old, while attending graduate school, Ralph had a “road to Damascus” experience and has been walking with the Lord since. Ralph is a native of Colorado and has been married to his high school sweetheart since 1975 and has two children and three grandchildren. Ralph has been writing Bible studies for the past twenty years and sharing them with his home group, “The James Gang” and a men’s group called “The Band of Brothers.” In addition, Ralph and his wife have hosted numerous marriage groups over the years and have a passion for helping marriages succeed. At the urging of his friends and family, Ralph assembled his home group studies into a series of Precept Bible Studies that challenge the reader to probe deep into God’s Word (interpret) and to apply it to their daily lives (application), while having fun at the same time! Ralph’s background as an engineer, writing software and technical documents, has uniquely qualified him to use his analytical skills to dissect God’s Word, verse by verse, making it easy and simple to understand. Here are other precept Bible studies available from Ralph Robert Gomez. Acts: The Birth of the Church (ch 1-12) Acts: Paul’s Three Missionary Journeys (ch 13-21) Acts: Paul’s Arrest, Trial and Imprisonment (ch 21-28) Galatians: Oh, You Foolish Galatians Ephesians: The Queen of the Epistles Philippians: Rejoice in the Lord All books are available at www.ralphrobertgomez.com or any book store

Book preview

Table of Contents

Title

Copyright

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Week 1, Acts 21:18–40

Week 2, Acts 22:1–30

Week 3, Acts 23:1–35

Week 4, Acts 24:1–27

Week 5, Acts 25:1–27

Week 6, Acts 26:1–32

Week 7, Acts 27:1–44

Week 8, Acts 28:1–31

Acts Timeline and Paul's Letters

Map of Paul's Voyage to Rome

About the Author

cover.jpg

ACTS

Paul's Arrest, Trial and Imprisonment

Ralph Robert Gomez

ISBN 978-1-63885-866-9 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-63885-867-6 (Digital)

Copyright © 2022 Ralph Robert Gomez

All rights reserved

First Edition

All scripture quotations are taken from the (NASB®) unless otherwise marked.

New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation.

Used by permission.

All rights reserved. www.lockman.org

Scripture quotations taken from the New International Version® are marked (NIV®)

New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™

Used by permission of Zondervan.

All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered

in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Scripture quotations taken from THE MESSAGE are marked MSG

copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson.

Used by permission of NavPress,

represented by Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

A special thank you to GotQuestions.org for the content,

as it was of great benefit to me in writing this book.

Disclaimer

The views and conclusions of this study guide are based on the author’s in-depth study of the book of Acts. The author understands that others may come to different conclusions based on their own study.

All scripture quotations are taken from the NASB® unless otherwise marked. Emphasis has been added throughout the book.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Covenant Books

11661 Hwy 707

Murrells Inlet, SC 29576

www.covenantbooks.com

Acknowledgments

I want to thank the members of the James Gang Home Group and the Band of Brothers Men's Group for all their love and support. I especially want to thank my wife, Marlene, who encouraged me to follow my passion, as well as the many pastors and spiritual teachers who have mentored me over the years.

I want to thank my Lord and Savior for His grace and mercy. I was thirty-nine years old when He lifted the scales from my eyes, allowing me to see the truth. It just goes to show that no matter how young or old you are, God will never give up on you. I am living proof that God will leave the ninety-nine sheep and pursue the one lost sheep. Thank you, Jesus!

I do not consider myself a biblical scholar. However, I have tried to capture the insight and wisdom from my family and friends who have participated in our home groups over the years. Their contribution has been invaluable in putting this study together. My hope is if you are a Christian, this Bible study will reignite your passion for God's Word and if you are a seeker, my hope and prayer is that God will use this study to woo you into His family. It does not matter how far away you have drifted or what you have done, God loves you and is waiting for you to make a move.

If you are ready to repent and give your life to Jesus, I encourage you to do it now. As the apostle Paul said to the Corinthians, "TODAY is the day of salvation." If you are ready to take this step, may I suggest a simple prayer from the Reverend Billy Graham?

"Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. In Your Name. Amen."

If you have said this prayer and believe it in your heart, may I be the first to welcome you into the family of God. Find yourself a Bible teaching church and plug in. In time, I hope you'll come to love your new church family as much as I do mine.

Introduction

This study picks up after the Apostle Paul returned to Jerusalem from his third missionary journey and was falsely arrested and imprisoned in Caesarea. After spending two years in prison, Paul appealed to Caesar and was sent to Rome for another trial. During the journey to Rome, Paul's ship was lost at sea and wrecked on the island of Malta. When Paul finally made it to Rome, he was placed on house arrest, where he waited two more years for a trial. During his two years in Rome, Paul wrote four prison epistles and converted most of the Roman guards to Christianity as they guarded him day and night. Paul never wasted a moment to share the good news of Jesus Christ, and neither should we.

This is an eight-week study and is the third of three studies on the book of Acts.

It is highly recommended that you complete the first two studies before beginning this study.

How to Use this Study

This study guide is setup for 8–12 people, and each weekly study should take approximately 60–70 minutes to complete. There are two sections in the study. The odd-numbered pages are the study guide, and the even-numbered pages contain the answers to the study guide questions. Therefore, you don't need to be an expert on the Bible to facilitate a group; you just need to have a desire and a willingness to draw closer to God and to other believers. Keep in mind that as the facilitator, your main responsibility is to start and stop the group on time, keep the discussion on track, and encourage everyone to participate. The study is arranged so that everyone has the opportunity to participate by reading a section and then answering the questions from that section. The end of each section is marked by a solid black line.

At this point, the reader can choose to answer the questions or pass. After the reader has answered the questions or passed, the discussion is then opened up to the group. Once the group discussion for that section has been completed, the facilitator or the reader should read the answers on the back of the next page. Then the next person reads the ensuing section. This continues in round-robin style until the entire study has been read. The end of the study is designated with Let's RE-Read Tonight's Verses.

In this section, each person reads to the (~~~~~) separator and then rotates readers until the entire chapter has been read. This is a very important step and should not be skipped. It is amazing how the Holy Spirit will bring a new level of understanding after the entire chapter has been studied verse-by-verse and then reread in its entirety.

Group Guidelines

Silence all cell phones.

Stay focused and set aside outside factors.

Give the group your full attention.

Encourage everyone to participate and to ask questions.

No person should dominate the discussion; everyone's input matters.

Confidentiality is a must. What is said in the group stays in the group.

Each group should start and end prayer.

Have fun!

Week 1, Acts 21:18–40

Notes

Let's Review the Last Study

The book of Acts was written by Luke and documents the birth of the church as well as Paul's three missionary journeys that led to the church expanding throughout the Mediterranean region. We ended the last study with Paul returning to Jerusalem to give a report on his third missionary journey.

Most of Paul's third missionary journey took place in Ephesus, where he wrote two very important letters: one to the Roman believers to introduce himself and a second letter to the Corinthian churches to address a problem in the church. Here are a couple of noteworthy events that occurred in Ephesus:

Some Jewish exorcist called the Seven Sons of Sceva tried to expel a demon in the name of Jesus. When the demon did not recognize these men were from Jesus, the evil spirit pounced on them and chased them away.

A silversmith named Demetrius made a living selling replicas of the Temple of Artemis. When Paul's preaching cut into his sales, he caused a riot and had Paul's traveling companions held captive in the amphitheater all day until a city clerk resolved the situation.

Many people came to know the Lord and the church continued to grow.

After spending two years in Ephesus and three years away from home, Paul said goodbye to the Ephesians and headed home. On his way to Jerusalem, he encountered a prophet who warned him there was danger awaiting him in Jerusalem. Even Paul's friends urged him not to go, but Paul answered,

What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. (Acts 21:13)

Paul knew what awaited him in Jerusalem, but he went anyway. The Apostle Paul was a man of great faith and courage, and he knew the cost of following Jesus.

Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent adrift at sea. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers at sea, dangers among false brothers; I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. (2 Corinthians 11:24–27)

(Q) ANY COMMENTS?

Notes

Let's Review Tonight's Study

After Paul returned from his third missionary journey, he gave a report to the elders in the church. When he finished, the elders asked him to respond to the rumors they heard about him. Some Jews were claiming Paul was teaching the Jewish believers to abandon their Jewish customs and traditions. Paul denied these accusations. The elders suggested that Paul participate in a purity vow with four other men to prove that he had not abandoned their Jewish customs.

Paul agreed to participate in the vow, and during the ceremony, some Jews from Asia stirred up the crowd with more false accusations. These were the same Jews who harassed Paul during his third missionary journey. The crowd turned into an angry mob, pulled Paul out of the temple, and tried to kill him. The crowd's noise caught the Roman commander's attention, and he sent soldiers to silence the crowd. When the commander realized that Paul was a Jew, he allowed Paul to speak to the crowd to defend himself. Next week, we'll hear Paul's defense.

(Q) ANY COMMENTS?

Let's Begin Tonight's Study