When the Spirit falls on the day of Pentecost, it sends waves of grace outward in every direction. The church in Jerusalem quickly grows from 120 to 3,000 to 5,000. The gospel spreads outward from Jerusalem to all Judea and Samaria. But God’s plan all along—just as he promised Abraham—has been to bless all nations through Israel. Now that these Israelites are trusting in the Messiah, it is time for this largely Jewish church to spread the gospel outward. It is time for the gospel to spread to the “ends of the earth,” to every people group on the planet.

In the next cluster of narratives Luke shows how the gospel begins to spread to the Gentiles. These stories—the conversion of Paul (also known by his Hebrew name, Saul), the vision of Peter, the Spirit’s falling on Gentiles, and the multiethnic church in Antioch—all testify to the outward movement of the gospel. Jesus is for everyone: Jews and Gentiles, men and women, young and old, rich and poor, religious and irreligious, rule keepers and rebels.