Acts

Verse-by-Verse Commentary, Chapter Outlines, and Study Guides for Acts

Choose a Path Through Acts

Select a starting point below to read Acts by chapter, passage, or theme.

Introduction to Acts

Authorship, date, historical context, and a big-picture guide for reading Acts well.

Read Acts Verse by Verse

Passage-by-passage commentary that follows Acts from Jerusalem to Rome, one scene at a time.

Read Acts by the Chapter

Chapter outlines and summaries for Acts 1–28, highlighting key movements and meaning.

Themes and Guides

Study guides on the Holy Spirit, mission, the church, speeches, trials, miracles, and the Roman world.

Acts 26 Outline Summary and Meaning
Acts Jason Elder Acts Jason Elder

Acts 26 Outline Summary and Meaning

Acts 26 records Paul’s defense before Agrippa, his Damascus road testimony, and his claim that Jesus’ suffering and resurrection fulfill Moses and the prophets, leaving officials convinced he is innocent.

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Acts 23 Outline Summary and Meaning
Acts Jason Elder Acts Jason Elder

Acts 23 Outline Summary and Meaning

Acts 23 recounts Paul before the Sanhedrin, conflict over resurrection, Jesus’ promise that Paul will testify in Rome, and the foiled plot that sends Paul under guard to Caesarea.

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Acts 21 Outline Summary and Meaning
Acts Jason Elder Acts Jason Elder

Acts 21 Outline Summary and Meaning

Acts 21 shows Paul traveling to Jerusalem despite warnings, participating in purification rites to demonstrate respect for Jewish customs, and being arrested in the temple on false charges.

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Acts 20 Outline Summary and Meaning
Acts Jason Elder Acts Jason Elder

Acts 20 Outline Summary and Meaning

Acts 20 shows Paul traveling through Macedonia and Greece, raising Eutychus from death, and delivering a farewell address to Ephesian elders, warning them to guard the church against false teachers.

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Acts 19 Outline Summary and Meaning
Acts Jason Elder Acts Jason Elder

Acts 19 Outline Summary and Meaning

Acts 19 recounts Paul’s Spirit-filled ministry in Ephesus, years of teaching in Tyrannus, extraordinary miracles and public repentance, and a riot as Artemis worship and profit are threatened.

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Acts 17 Outline Summary and Meaning
Acts Jason Elder Acts Jason Elder

Acts 17 Outline Summary and Meaning

Acts 17 follows Paul through Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens—facing riots, finding noble-minded Bereans who examine Scripture, and engaging philosophers with the gospel at the Areopagus.

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Acts 16 Outline Summary and Meaning
Acts Jason Elder Acts Jason Elder

Acts 16 Outline Summary and Meaning

Acts 16 sends Paul into Macedonia, records Lydia’s conversion in Philippi, and tells how imprisonment leads to the Philippian jailer’s faith as God guides mission and exposes injustice.

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Acts 15 Outline Summary and Meaning
Acts Jason Elder Acts Jason Elder

Acts 15 Outline Summary and Meaning

Acts 15 describes the Jerusalem Council deciding that Gentiles are saved by grace through faith alone, not by keeping Jewish law, and Paul and Barnabas parting ways over John Mark.

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Acts 13 Outline Summary and Meaning
Acts Jason Elder Acts Jason Elder

Acts 13 Outline Summary and Meaning

Acts 13 shows the Holy Spirit sending Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey, Paul's sermon connecting Jesus to Israel's history, and the gospel turning to the Gentiles when Jews reject it.

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Acts 10 Outline Summary and Meaning
Acts Jason Elder Acts Jason Elder

Acts 10 Outline Summary and Meaning

Acts 10 shows God orchestrating the gospel's reach to Gentiles through visions to Cornelius and Peter, resulting in Gentiles receiving the Holy Spirit and being baptized without becoming Jews first.

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Acts 8 Outline Summary and Meaning
Acts Jason Elder Acts Jason Elder

Acts 8 Outline Summary and Meaning

Acts 8 shows persecution scattering believers who preach everywhere, Philip's ministry in Samaria, Simon's attempt to buy the Spirit's power, and Philip baptizing an Ethiopian eunuch.

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