How and Why did the Gospels Spread “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:16, New Living Translation). The great commission given to the disciples showed that Christ desired for the gospel to spread. Not only does it provide evidence that he wanted it to spread, but shows he wanted it spread to everyone, regardless if they were Jew, Gentile, Samarian, and more. Many were responsible for spreading the gospel, but the key figures are Peter, Stephen, Philip, and Paul. This essay will show the areas the gospel was initially spread to, the methods that were used to spread the gospel, and an analysis of the progress reports given. The Gospel in Jerusalem “People of Israel, listen! God publicly endorsed Jesus the Nazarene by doing powerful miracles, wonders, and signs through him, as you well know” (Acts 2:22). It is only appropriate that Peter is speaking to the Jews as he was also a Jew. Peter is reminding the Jews about the miracles and other wonders and signs that Jesus had displayed. Peter was speaking to the masses right after the spirit of the Lord had descended upon them. The spirit revealed gifts to the disciples and gave them the ability to speak in the native tongues of those who they were talking to. One of the common themes that is seen throughout the books of Acts begins in Jerusalem. The gospel is first preached to the Jews, and then it is given to the Gentiles. Why did the Jews seemingly have priority over the Gentiles? Is it because Jesus Christ, the Messiah, came first as a Jew to the Jews? There is evidence in Matthew that perhaps Christ focused on the Jews during his earthly life (To the Jew First, and Also to the Greek, 1998). “Jesus said to the woman, “I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep—the people of Israel” (Matthew 15:24). The ministry in Jerusalem ends with this report, “So God’s message continued to spread. The number of believers greatly increased in Jerusalem, and many of the Jewish priests were converted, too” (Acts 6:7). Luke sends out the message of the new converts and the growth of the kingdom. The Jewish priests most likely were not members of the Sanhedrin but considerably poorer, but men who were sincere to their devotion to God and had genuine piety. The number of priests that were converted is not known, but at this time, there could have been numerous priests involved in temple functions. One source states could be as many as 8000 priests and 10,000 Levites (Holman New Testament commentary—Acts, 1998). The gospel in Samaria & Judea Even with the fear of persecution and execution, the apostles continued to spread the gospel to others. Saul and other Jews who feared the spreading of the gospel was persecuting all Hellenistic Christians in Jerusalem. It would be time for the apostles to move out and into other regions, first stopping and preaching in Samaria. “The gospel preached first to the Jews was now proclaimed to the Samaritans by Philip” (Elwell & Yarbrough, 2013). Philip, the apostle, was one of the first to take the gospel to the Gentiles outside of Jerusalem. Philip had a plan to proclaim the gospel, free to everyone, and not for sale. As people were being converted, including a sorcerer named Simon, the church grew. It is worth noting that in Acts 8:15 that Peter and John prayed for the new converts that the Holy Spirit come upon them. Philip had gone ahead of the others to spread the word, then Peter and John showed up to finish what Philip had begun. Philip was the forerunner the John the Baptist of the spreading of the gospel into Samaria (Holman New Testament commentary—Acts, 1998). As Philip moves out of Samaria at the urging of an angel, he would travel to Gaza to preach to the Gentiles there. It would have been easy for Philip to ignore the message from the angel and stay in Samaria amongst the new converts, but unlike Jonah, Philip obeyed and moved forward. On his way, he ran into the Eunuch, who was reading what else, but Isaiah 53, the same scripture that Christ had referenced so many times. Philip traveled into many cities, strengthening the church as he went. John reported back about the work that Philip had begun “The church then had peace throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria, and it became stronger as the believers lived in the fear of the Lord. And with encouragement of the Holy Spirit, it also grew in numbers” (Acts 9:31). The gospel to the Ends of the Earth Paul began his missionary journeys in the later chapter of Acts. Paul’s message was preaching about the death and the resurrection, then telling about the gift of salvation. Jewish leaders in Jerusalem were not happy with him being with the Gentiles. At this time, Paul and Barnabas said to the Jews, “ […]It was necessary that we first preach the word of God to you Jews. But since you have rejected it and judged yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we will offer it to the Gentiles” (Acts 13:46). Towards the end of Paul’s journeys, we learned that “Paul’s proclamation met with mixed response. Some were persuaded and believed, others were not” (Wintle, 2015). Luke ends the books of Acts with his final report, “where he proclaimed the Kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ. And no one tried to stop him. (Acts 28:21) Conclusion We know by other reports from Luke that “the word of God continued to spread, and there were many new believers” (Acts 12:24). With the continued spread of God’s word, “the churches were strengthened in their faith and grew larger every day” (Acts 16:5). The spread of the word had a powerful effect on all that heard it. The book of Acts is full of adventures with new churches in new regions, but the message is all the same. The message was meant for the Jews (first) and then the Gentiles. The message was simple. It was of Jesus’ sacrifice and the salvation that is freely given. God wants all of his children to be free of the bondage of sin, so he sanctioned men to go throughout the land teaching and preaching the gospel story. References Elwell, W. A., & Yarbrough, R. W. (2013). Encountering the New Testament: A historical and theological survey (3rd ed). Baker Academic. Holman New Testament commentary—Acts. (1998). Holman Reference. To the Jew First, and Also to the Greek. (1998, July 5). Desiring God. https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/to-the-jew-first-and-also-to-the-greek Wintle, B. C. (Ed.). (2015). South Asia Bible commentary. Zondervan.