All the Sermons in Acts

APPENDIX H – ALL THE SERMONS IN ACTS

Definitions: address, a speech given to an audience; sermon, an address on a religious or moral subject; speech, a form of communication in spoken language, made by a speaker before an audience for a given purpose. All these accurately apply to the “formal” communication made by the Christians in Acts.

According to E. W. Bullinger, “Eighteen speeches or addresses are recorded: —” [i]

 

Seven by Peter

1. To the assembled believers, 1:15-22

2. On the day of Pentecost, 2:14-40

3. In the Temple, 3:12-26

4. Before the Sanhedrin, 4:8-12

5. Before the Sanhedrin, 5:29-32

6. In the house of Cornelius, 10:28-43

7. In the council at Jerusalem, 15:7-11

 

One by James

1. In the council at Jerusalem, 15:13-21

 

One by Stephen

1. Before the Sanhedrin, 7:2-53

 

Seven by Paul

1. In the Synagogue at Antioch, 13:16-41

2. At Lystra, 14:15-17

3. On Mars’ Hill, 17:22-31

4. At Miletus, 20:18-35

5. On the stairs before the castle, 22:1-21

6. Before Felix, 24:10-21

7. Before Agrippa, 26:2-29

 

Two others

1. That of Gamaliel, 5:35-39

2. That of Tertullus, 24:2-8

 

J. W. Griffith gives 26: [ii]

 

1. Peter Preached to the Church, 1:15-26
2. Peter’s Pentecostal Sermon, 2:14-36
3. Peter’s Sermon in the Temple, 3:12-26
4. Peter’s Answer Before the Council, 4:5-12, 18-20
5. The Praise Sermon of the Disciples, 4:23-31
6. Peter’s Living Object Lesson, 5:1-11
7. Peter’s Second Answer Before the Council, 5:17-42
8. Stephen Preaches to the Council, 7:2-60
9. Philip Preaches to the Eunuch, 8:26-40
10. Paul’s First Sermon, 9:17-31
11. Peter Preaches to the Gentiles, 10:34-43
12. Peter’s Defense of His Preaching, 11:1-18
13. Paul’s Sermon at Antioch Pisidia, 13:16-49
14. Sermon for Which the Preacher was Stoned, 14:6-20
15. A Message on a Vital Question, 15:1-11
16. An Extraordinary Sermon, 16:25-34
17. A Philosophical Sermon, 17:22-34
18. Prevailing Preaching, 19:8-20
19. An All-Night Sermon, 20:1-12
20. A Farewell Sermon, 20:17-38
21. Paul’s Personal Experience, 22:1-21
22. A Message of Defense, 23:1-11
23. A Reasoning Sermon, 24:1-27
24. A Sermon to Royalty, 26:1-32
25. A Sermon at Sea, 27:10-26
26. Paul’s Last Recorded Sermon, 28:17-31

According to Danny Dwyer, “One of the distinct characteristics of Acts is its record of speeches that make up nearly one third of its contents. Some of these are the speeches of political leaders and contributing characters that are part of the story. While these are important, the ones most important to the biblical narrative of the witness of the Church are the sermons and sermon summaries.” Dwyer asserts that there are “ten sermons and seven sermon summaries.” He adds, “Acts is not just a historical record, it is an apologetic for Christianity. Sermons were the central methodology in Acts of accomplishing this goal.”[iii]

Joseph A. Fitzmyer claims 28 speeches: [iv]

 

1.         1:4-5, 7-8                    Risen Christ to Apostles and Disciples

2.         1:16-22                        Peter at the Choosing of Matthias

3.         2:14b-36, 38-39          Peter to Jews Gathered in Jerusalem on Pentecost

4.         3:12b-26                      Peter in Temple after Cure of the Lame Man

5.         4:8b-12, 19b-20          Peter before the Sanhedrin, I

6.         5:29b-32                      Peter before the Sanhedrin, II

7.         5:35b-39                      Gamaliel before the Sanhedrin

8.         6:2b-4                          The Twelve before the Assembled Disciples

9.         7:2-53                          Stephen before the Sanhedrin

10.       10:34b-43                    Peter at Cornelius’ Conversion

11.       11:5-17                        Peter to the Apostles and Brothers in Jerusalem

12.       13:16b-41                    Paul at Antioch in Pisidia

13.       14:15-17                      Barnabas and Paul to the Crowd in Lystra

14.       15:7b-11                      Peter at the “Council” in Jerusalem

15.       15:13b-21                    James to the Assembly in Jerusalem

16.       17:22-31                      Paul to the Athenians at the Aeropagus

17.       18:14b-15                    Gallio to the Jews of Corinth

18.       19:25b-27                    Demetrius to Fellow Silversmiths

19.       19:35b-40                    Town Clerk to the Ephesians

20.       20:18b-35                    Paul to Ephesian Presbyters at Miletus

21.       22:1, 3-21                    Paul to Jerusalem Crowd at His Arrest

22.       24:2b-8                        Tertullus before Governor Felix

23.       24:10b-21                    Paul before Governor Felix

24.       25:8b, 10b-11              Paul’s Appeal to Caesar

25.       25:14c-21, 24-27         Festus before King Agrippa

26.       26:2-23, 25-27, 29      Paul before King Agrippa

27.       27:21-26                      Paul to Fellow Travelers abroad Ship

28.       28:17c-20, 25b-28       Paul to Jewish Leaders of Rome

 

“In this list of 28 speeches one has to distinguish different sorts; there are ten Pauline and eight Petrine discourses, and one each of the risen Christ, Demetrius, the governor Festus, Gallio, Gamaliel, James, Stephen, Tertullus, the town clerk of Ephesus, and the Twelve. Moreover, there are six missionary speeches addressed to Jews (2:14b-36, 38-39; 3:12b-26; 4:8b-12; 5:29b-32; 10:34b-43; 13:16b-41), two evangelizing sermons addressed to Gentiles (14:15-17; 17:22-31), a prophetic indictment (Stephen’s speech, 7:2-53), two didactic speeches (15:7b-11; 15:13b-21), two apologiai or defense speeches (22:1, 3-21; 26:2-23, 25-27, 29). Two of the speeches of Paul (22:1, 3-21; 26:2-23, 25-27, 29) present an oratorical form of what the reader has already read about in narrative form in 9:1-31...”[v]

 

Henry J. Cadbury lists 24 “principal speeches” in Acts as, eight by Peter; two by James; one by Stephen; nine by Paul; and four by non-Christians.[vi]

A count of the number of sermons or addresses in the book of Acts will vary based on the purpose of and standards used in the count – for example, the simple mention of “preached,” etc. versus Luke having written down some of the sermon/address. Others not mentioned by Bullinger, Cadbury, Fitzmyer, or Griffith include, Philip in Samaria, 8:5-6; Peter and John in Samaria, 8:25; Philip to the Eunuch, 8:26-40; Philip from Azotus to Cæsarea, 8:40; Scattered disciples to Phenice, Cyprus, and Antioch, Acts 11:19-21; Paul and Barnabas at Salamis, 13:4-5; Paul at Paphos, 13:6-12; Paul and Silas to the women at Philippi, 16:13-15; Paul at Thessalonica, 17:1-4; Paul and Silas at Berea, 17:10-12; and Paul to the disciples in Ephesus, 19:1-7.

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[i] Companion Bible, Bullinger, p. 1575.
[ii] All the Sermons of Acts, p. 3.
[iii] Dwyer, The Book of Acts, pp. 6-7. See also Fitzmyer, that almost a third of Acts is speeches, about 295 verses of 1000, p. 103. He defines a speech as “an address directed to a group or an individual in a nonprivate setting, usually involving the attention of a number of people. When there is an extended discourse, there is no problem in recognizing it, but when one encounters dialogue or conversation, how much of it should be included? ... I limit the discourse or speech to that given by one and the same person, and I do not include prayers and forms of dialogue.” pp. 103-104
[iv] pp. 104
[v] Ibid., pp. 104-105
[vi] “The Speeches in Acts,” in The Beginnings of Christianity: Part I, the Acts of the Apostles, p. 403.