The

Lucado Life Lessons

S t u d y B i bl e

Max Lucado
G e n e r al E ditor

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 The Lucado Life Lessons Study Bible

© 2010 Thomas Nelson, Inc.

The Holy Bible, New King James Version

Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

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Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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The Lucado Life Lessons Study Bible was produced with the assistance of Karen Hill, Executive
Editor to Max Lucado, and The Livingstone Corporation (www.LivingstoneCorp.com). Project
staff includes Linda Taylor, Dana Long, Bruce Barton, Dave Veerman, Neil Wilson, Tom Freking,
Ashley Taylor, Andy Culbertson, Linda Washington. Interior design by Larry Taylor. Typesetting
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qqq The Book of

A cts
They aren’t the same men.
I n t r o d u c t i o n

Oh, I know they look like it. They have the same names. The same faces. The same
mannerisms. They look the same. But they aren’t. On the surface they appear no different.
Peter is still brazen. Nathanael is still reflective. Philip is still calculating.
They look the same. But they aren’t. They aren’t the same men you read about in the
last four books. The fellows you got to know in the Gospels? These are the ones, but they’re
different.
You’ll see it. As you read you’ll see it. In their h
eyes. You hear it in their voices. You feel it in
their passion. These men have changed.
As you read you’ll wonder—are these the About This Book
same guys? The ones who doubted in Galilee? Author: Luke, the doctor and Gospel
The ones who argued in Capernaum? The ones writer
who ran for their lives in Gethsemane? You’ll Date Written: c. A.D. 60
wonder, “Are these the same men?” Key Themes:
The answer is no. They are different. They ÊÊ The foundations of the early
have stood face-to-face with God. They have church were established in the
aftermath of Jesus’ resurrection
sat at the feet of the resurrected King. They are and ascension.
different. ÊÊ The Holy Spirit empowered the
Within them dwells a fire not found on earth. disciples to spread the gospel into
Christ has taught them. The Father has forgiven the world as Jesus commanded.
them. The Spirit indwells them. They are not Ê Ê The first struggle of the gospel
was to stand independently of
the same. Jewish tradition and faith.
And because they are different, so is the ÊÊ The sacrifice Jesus made was for
world. all people.
Read their adventures and be encouraged. Key Verse:
Read their adventures and be listening. What “You shall receive power when the
God did to them, He longs to do for you. Holy Spirit has come upon you;
and you shall be witnesses to Me
in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and
Samaria, and to the end of the earth”
(Acts 1:8).
Contents:
I. The Gospel in Jerusalem 1:1—7:60
II. The Gospel in Judea and Samaria
8:1—12:25
III. The Gospel in the Non-Jewish
World 13:1—28:31

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qq 1501 {  Acts 1:18  }

Prologue

T he former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Je­sus began Life

 
both to do and teach, 2 un­til the day in which He was taken up, lessons
after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the
apostles whom He had chosen, 3 to whom He also presented Himself Acts 1:1—2:47
alive after His suffering by many in­fal­li­ble proofs, being seen by them
Situation
during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the king- The book of Acts was
dom of God. written to give an accurate
report of what happened
The Holy Spirit Promised to Jesus’ followers and how
4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them the early church began
and spread. It was written
not to depart from Je­ru­sa­lem, but to wait for the Promise of the by Luke, the physician and
Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly historian, as a sequel to the
baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not Gospel that bears his name.
many days from now.” 6 There­fore, when they had come together, they Luke told how the gospel
asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom spread from Jerusalem to
Samaria and finally to every
to Is­rael?” 7 And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or part of the world.
seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 8 But you shall
Observation
receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall
God planned that the
be wit­nesses to Me a in Je­ru­sa­lem, and in all Judea and Sa­maria, and Holy Spirit would come
to the end of the earth.” to empower believers.
Jesus gave this plan to the
Jesus Ascends to Heaven apostles, His last promise
9 Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He before He ascended to
heaven.
was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And while
they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two Inspiration
The empty tomb never
men stood by them in white apparel, 11 who also said, “Men of Gal­i­lee,
resists honest investigation.
why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Je­sus, who was A lobotomy is not a
taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you prerequisite of discipleship.
saw Him go into heaven.” Following Christ demands
faith, but not blind faith.
The Upper Room Prayer Meeting “Come and see,” the angel
12 Then they returned to Je­ru­sa­lem from the mount called Olivet,
invites. Shall we?
Take a look at the vacated
which is near Je­ru­sa­lem, a Sabbath day’s journey. 13 And when tomb. Did you know the
they had entered, they went up into the upper room where they opponents of Christ never
were staying: Pe­ter, James, John, and An­drew; Philip and Thomas; challenged its vacancy? No
Bartholomew and Matthew; James the son of Alphaeus and Si­mon Pharisee or Roman soldier
ever led a contingent
the Zealot; and Ju­das the son of James. 14 These all continued with back to the burial site and
one ac­cord in prayer and supplication, a with the women and Mary the declared, “The angel was
mother of Je­sus, and with His brothers. wrong. The body is here. It
was all a rumor.”
Matthias Chosen They would have if they
15 And in those days Pe­ter stood up in the midst of the dis­ci­ples a could have. Within weeks
disciples occupied every
(alto­gether the number of names was about a hundred and twenty), Jerusalem street corner,
and said, 16 “Men and brethren, this Scripture had to be fulfilled, announcing a risen Christ.
which the Holy Spirit spoke before by the mouth of Da­vid concerning What quicker way for the
Ju­das, who became a guide to those who arrested Je­sus; 17 for he was enemies of the church
to shut them up than to
numbered with us and obtained a part in this ministry.”
produce a cold and lifeless
18 (Now this man purchased a field with the wages of iniquity;
body? Display the cadaver,
and Christianity is stillborn.
1:8 aNU-Text reads My witnesses.  1:14 aNU-Text omits and supplication. 
1:15 aNU-Text reads brethren. 

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 {  Acts 1:19  }
But they had no cadaver to
display.
Helps explain the
Jerusalem revival. When
the apostles argued for the
empty tomb, the people
looked to the Pharisees for a
rebuttal. But they had none
to give. . . .
Remember the followers’
fear at the crucifixion? They
ran. Scared as cats in a dog
pound. Peter cursed Christ
at the fire. Emmaus-bound
disciples bemoaned the
death of Christ on the trail.
After the crucifixion, “the
doors were shut where the
disciples were assembled,
for fear of the Jews” (John
20:19).
These guys were so
chicken we could call the
Upper Room a henhouse.
But fast-forward forty
days. Bankrupt traitors
have become a force of
life-changing fury. Peter
is preaching in the very
precinct where Christ was
arrested. Followers of Christ
defy the enemies of Christ.
Whip them and they’ll
worship. Lock them up and
they’ll launch a jailhouse
ministry. As bold after the
Resurrection as they were
cowardly before it.
Explanation:
Greed? They made no
money.
Power? They gave all the
credit to Christ.
Popularity? Most were
killed for their beliefs.
Only one explanation
remains—a resurrected
Christ and his Holy Spirit.
The courage of these men
and women was forged in
the fire of the empty tomb.
The disciples did not dream
up a resurrection. The
Resurrection fired up the
disciples. Have doubts about
the empty tomb? Come and
see the disciples. (From Next
Door Savior by Max Lucado)
Application
Are you nervous about
sharing your faith? Be
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1502
and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his en­trails
gushed out. 19 And it became known to all those dwelling in Je­ru­sa­
lem; so that field is called in their own language, Akel Dama, that is,
Field of Blood.)
20 “For it is written in the Book of Psalms:
‘ Let his dwelling place be desolate,
And let no one live in it’; a
and,
‘ Let  b another take his office.’  c
21 “There­fore,
of these men who have accompanied us all the time
that the Lord Je­sus went in and out among us, 22 be­gin­ning from the
baptism of John to that day when He was taken up from us, one of
these must be­come a witness with us of His resurrection.”
23 And they proposed two: Jo­seph called Barsabas, who was sur-
named Justus, and Matthias. 24 And they prayed and said, “You, O
Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have
chosen 25 to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which
Ju­das by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.” 26 And
they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered
with the eleven apostles.
Coming of the Holy Spirit
2
When the Day of Pen­te­cost had fully come, they were all with
one accord a in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound
from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole
house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them di­vided
tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all
filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as
the Spirit gave them utterance.
The Crowd’s Response
5 And there were dwelling in Je­ru­sa­lem Jews, de­vout men, from
every nation under heaven. 6 And when this sound occurred, the mul­
ti­tude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard
them speak in his own language. 7 Then they were all amazed and
marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak
Gal­i­leans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each in our own lan­guage
in which we were born? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those
dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining
Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and
Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful
works of God.” 12 So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to
one another, “What­ever could this mean?”
13 Others mocking said, “They are full of new wine.”
1:20 aPsalm 69:25 bPsalm 109:8 cGreek episkopen, position of overseer 
2:1 aNU-Text reads together. 
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