Introduction to Acts

Overview

The Acts of the Apostles tells the story of the beginning of a new age: the age of the Spirit. This is the last age, the last chapter, so to speak, of God’s work of salvation. This age will continue until the return of Jesus, the King. That is the big picture of Acts.

More specifically, in Acts Luke takes up where he left off in his Gospel. The Gospel of Luke narrates the incarnation, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Luke demonstrates that Jesus is the one who welcomes sinners and who came to forgive sins in accordance with God’s promises, culminating in Jesus’ own crucifixion and resurrection. This is where the books of Luke and Acts overlap. At the end of Luke, the resurrected Jesus is with his disciples. He teaches them to read the Scriptures in a new way, showing them that Moses and the Prophets were pointing to him and his suffering and glory (Luke 24:26–27). This is not a “new” reading in the sense that Jesus invented a new interpretation or that the Scriptures were not pointing to him all along. Luke records that Jesus “opened their minds to understand the Scriptures” (24:45). He was training them for the work he was about to give them; correctly reading and understanding the Scriptures was to be of core importance to their work of taking the message of salvation in Christ to the world. Armed with a new way to read the Scriptures, they needed the power to carry out the work he gave them.

Acts begins by filling in details of the last meeting between Jesus and the disciples before his ascension into heaven. Prior to this event, Luke says that Jesus taught the disciples about the kingdom of God for forty days. These forty days correspond to Jesus’ teaching them to understand the Scriptures at the end of Luke’s Gospel. Soon after, Jesus tells them exactly what they will do. They will witness to him—that is, preach the gospel—beginning in Jerusalem and then going to the ends of the earth (1:8). As in the Gospel, Jesus tells them to go back to Jerusalem where they will receive the power they will need to fulfill that calling. This power is the promised Holy Spirit.

The rest of Acts is about how the apostles, empowered by the Holy Spirit, take the message of Jesus to the world. This ministry begins with one of the most unique days in the history of the world—maybe the most unique: the Holy Spirit of God fills the disciples with power, and everyone around them hears the witness to Jesus in his own language. At this point, Peter preaches the first Christian sermon; from there the story unfolds and hundreds repent and believe. In the meantime, the church flourishes in unity, prayer, and worship—though not without a shadow of things to come. The church will face problems from within.

From Jerusalem, the gospel spreads north, propelled in part by persecution that erupts after Stephen’s murder (ch. 7). Before he dies, Stephen delivers a biblical-theological history of the rejection of God and his servants including Jesus himself—whom Stephen’s own accusers betrayed and killed, just as their ancestors did to the prophets. Contrary to their belief in themselves and in the temple—where God does not live, according to Stephen, who cites the OT as proof—they are unfaithful to God and his covenant; they are lawbreakers. Their rejection of Jesus is the evidence of this fact. When Stephen is stoned to death, Jesus stands at the throne as his witness and, by implication, stands in judgment over Stephen’s murderers. This is a major turning point in Acts and in the entire NT.

All along the way we see events, people, and even nature lined up against the gospel. Entering the kingdom comes with difficulty. Rather than deterring or diminishing the apostolic gospel, suffering and obstacles become means of its spreading. The word of Jesus reaches Samaria and beyond, and a man from Africa believes and receives baptism in Jesus’ name. The march to the ends of the earth continues. At Stephen’s death, Luke introduces us to a man who is probably the most unlikely candidate to join the story. A young, educated, and zealous man from Tarsus named Saul begins his career by persecuting and terrorizing Christians. In one of history’s most remarkable turns of events, however, Jesus chooses him to be the apostle to the Gentiles.

On the heels of that event, Peter is led to the house of a man named Cornelius, a Gentile. Before he goes there, however, Peter receives a vision that challenges the worldview and core beliefs passed down for generations. The upshot is that old ways of dividing the world between clean and unclean are over and done with (in the greater story, this will include the temple and cherished traditions). God declares all things clean. It turns out that food is the least of his concerns—God is concerned about people. Peter arrives at Cornelius’s house and the vision is fulfilled: Gentiles believe and receive the Spirit, fully and without question. The church offers a mixed response to the inclusion of the Gentiles. We read of both rejoicing and questions—big questions. Not everyone is pleased with the news. As Paul and Barnabas go on their first missionary journey and Gentiles come to faith, the questions heat up even more. So much so that the apostles eventually call the first council meeting in church history. Based on testimony from Peter and Paul and a confirming word from James, everyone agrees: yes, God includes the Gentiles in his salvific plan.

The council meeting in Acts 15 overlaps with what we usually associate most with Acts: Paul’s missionary journeys. Beginning from Antioch, the northern center of Christian ministry at that time, the apostle to the Gentiles travels back and forth through the Mediterranean world, usually speaking first in synagogues before moving on to evangelize Gentiles. Along the way he encounters fierce rejection from many Jews—including some from Asia who will condemn him and falsely accuse him before the Jews in Jerusalem—but he continues demonstrating from Scripture (just as Jesus taught) that Jesus is the Christ. As the story continues, unbelieving Gentiles prove to be just as dangerous as Paul’s Jewish enemies. During Paul’s travels, new centers of ministry develop in places such as Corinth and Ephesus as the gospel moves westward. Riots, mobs, beatings, and imprisonments follow Paul along the way too.

In the last major section of Acts, Luke takes us back to where it all began. Paul is in Jerusalem to bring gifts from his Gentile churches—a collection to help the Judean Christians. His enemies are there too. In no time Paul is seized by a mob so fierce that, if not for the intervention of Roman soldiers, it would surely have killed Paul. In any case, Paul will never again be free in Acts. He speaks boldly before the governors Felix and Festus—neither of whom can find a reason to charge him—and finally King Agrippa. Paul’s message, in short, is that it is he and the Christians who are faithful to God and the Scriptures. Paul is sent to Rome after appealing to Caesar. His conflict with the Jewish leaders is over.

To get to Rome, Paul survives a year of sea travel and also a shipwreck. Along the way he and his travel companions encounter a storm that should mark their end—but God’s providence and promise are put on display, and everyone is saved. Jesus told Paul he would witness in Rome, and no storm, terrified crew, or deadly threats will get in the way. Although chapter 27 and most of 28 are largely overlooked by many readers, Luke spends more time in that travel narrative than in any other narrative in Acts. As readers, that should get our attention.

The story ends with Paul in custody in Rome. This might look like an anticlimactic ending to some readers, but not to those familiar with Luke’s story. This is precisely how Jesus’ word reaches the nations—through the most unlikely characters and means. Though in prison, Paul preaches the kingdom and teaches about Jesus from Scripture. The gospel has moved all the way to Rome, which was then the capital of the ends of the earth. The rest of church history is all about what happens after Acts 28.

Title

A discussion of the title of the book is a good place to consider some of its content and purposes as well. As with the Gospels, the title to Acts came later, no later than the third century, and there is good textual evidence for it in the manuscript traditions. The more interesting question is whether the title is appropriate. The title “The Acts of the Apostles” does not sit well with many readers. For one, only a small handful of the apostles feature in the narrative. The first several chapters are mostly about Peter, with John often accompanying him, and the other disciples are usually just referenced as “the apostles.” They are named in a list (1:12–14) along with the others gathered with them before Pentecost, but apart from the narratives of the naming of the new apostle (Matthias) and of the death of James (John’s brother), the other apostles do not receive a great deal of personal attention. In the early chapters of Acts, Stephen and Philip (not the apostle but the man who meets the eunuch in chapter 8) receive more attention than every apostle except Peter. Furthermore, two apostles, and one in particular, receive quite a bit of attention even though they are not part of the original Twelve. First is James, a brother of Jesus who, after disbelieving his brother during his lifetime, later rises to the position of greatest prominence in the Jerusalem church. Then there is Paul, the former Saul of Tarsus, who goes from anti-Christian terrorist to divinely appointed apostle to the Gentiles. More than half of Acts is mostly devoted to his ministry.

Furthermore, although the apostles are the focus of the narratives, it is abundantly clear that God is the main character. The apostles are carrying out the commission of the Lord (1:8), and he directs them through visions, events, and prophecy. In addition to the more obvious divine leading, the underlying current of divine supervision is unmistakable. If it had been only the apostles and early Christians at work, the whole enterprise would have failed because of persecution, death, or at least religious or social censure. The book is a record of God’s acting through the apostles.¹

Nevertheless, there is no compelling reason to suggest a different name for the book. Besides the centuries-long use of the title “The Acts of the Apostles” and the practical and historical issues involved with implementing a different title, we should also consider Luke’s own introduction to his work. Addressing Theophilus, the recipient of the book, Luke shows how Jesus passes the baton to his disciples. Luke begins by declaring why he is writing a second volume (the first being his Gospel): “In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen” (1:1–2). Luke then goes on to recount how Jesus equipped, directed, and commissioned the apostles up until the moment he ascended into heaven. The book of Acts is all about how the disciples carry out the ministry Jesus has given them. True, the orders are from Jesus, and clearly he is the driving force (through the empowering of the Spirit) in the book, but the book focuses on how the gospel of Jesus Christ spreads through the ministry of the disciples.

Ultimately there is no real distinction between the acts of Jesus and the acts of the apostles. They are all equally the works of God and a witness to his purposes in the world. Making a sharp distinction between the work of Jesus and that of the apostles is akin to claiming the red letters in the Gospels (in a red-letter edition) are God’s but the words in black are man’s. We should also recall how Jesus accuses Saul of persecuting him, even though Saul has been persecuting the church—there is an organic connection between Christ and his followers. In Luke’s Gospel, we see the incarnated Lord himself at work, a major part of which includes calling and preparing his followers. In Acts, Luke shows how these followers, instructed by Jesus under the divine revelation and empowerment of the Spirit, carry on his work.

Author

Debates and discussions about the authorship of Acts have been commonplace in scholarly circles for some time. Important questions such as its date and historical reliability are attached to at least part of this discussion, but outright doubt that Luke, the companion of Paul, wrote Acts is a fairly modern phenomenon. Lukan authorship was accepted among all of the early church fathers. This commentary is written under the presupposition that Luke, the author of the Gospel bearing his name, was the author of Acts as well. Luke was one of Paul’s companions, and much of the book (though not all) is written from an eyewitness perspective. The author is part of the “we” mentioned as traveling with Paul in 16:10–17; 20:5–16; 21:1–18; and 27:1–28:16. We know that Luke was Paul’s friend and accompanied him on his missionary journeys, being present when Paul wrote some of his letters from prison. Luke is the “beloved physician” (Col. 4:14), is included among those sending greetings to Philemon (Philem. 24), and was present during the last days of Paul’s life (2 Tim. 4:11).

The same biblical observations and church history support the belief that Luke was the author of the third Gospel as well. Of course, proof that he wrote Luke would not prove that he wrote Acts, but considerations based on style, on theme, and on introductions addressed to one Theophilus (Luke 1:1–4; Acts 1:1–2) seem to make it clear that the same man wrote both books.

Date and Occasion

Plausible dates for when Luke wrote Acts span from the early 60s AD to around 90.² We may assume that Luke wrote the book after his Gospel but before Paul’s death. That narrows the window down to the 60s or early 70s. The temple in Jerusalem was overrun by the Romans in AD 70. It would be curious, to say the least, for Luke to leave out such a dramatic event that would serve to underscore one of the core themes in the book—God does not reside in temples of any kind, including the one in Jerusalem, but is revealed once and for all in Jesus. If the Jerusalem temple were gone, why leave out such a big piece of circumstantial evidence? This argument is, admittedly, made from silence. Some silence, however, is louder than other silence. It is possible that Luke wrote after the destruction of the temple and that it serves as the climactic backdrop for the events, themes, and theology of Acts, with his readers being well aware of the significance of, for instance, Stephen’s commentary on the temple (7:44–50). This is possible, but, as with the letter to the Hebrews, it seems almost impossible that Luke would not mention a historical event that so radically proved what Stephen, and later Paul, preached.

The best early estimate is that Luke completed Acts c. AD 62, when Paul was still in prison in Rome, which accounts for the ending at chapter 28. The events of Paul’s life after AD 62 are not certain, and scholars hold various views regarding a possible second Roman imprisonment and the possibility that Paul eventually made it as far as Spain. In any case, regardless of what happened after 62, it is reasonable to conclude that Luke simply finished his narrative while in Rome with Paul. Even if he waited until later in the 60s to write the book, however, there is no material impact on the interpretation of Acts if one holds to either an early or a late 60s date for the writing of the book.

Genre and Literary Structure

Besides taking up large sections of commentaries, introductions to the New Testament, and books on NT theology, the genre of Acts is the subject of entire volumes. Often, such studies will largely refer to Semitic or Greco-Roman backgrounds as examples to answer the question. Such studies certainly have a place and can be helpful, but the best way to categorize the genre of Acts is to judge it in its most immediate and important context: the Bible. The simple answer is that the genre of Acts is biblical narrative.³ That is, Acts follows in the tradition of the narratives found in the OT and taken up in the Gospels. Acts is consciously a continuation of that story. Biblical narrative, like other biblical genres, of course overlaps with and is similar to contemporary nonbiblical narrative. The Gospels, for example, are something like Greco-Roman biographies, but not exactly. The laws in the Pentateuch are something like other ancient Near Eastern law codes, but not exactly.

Reasons for the differences include the main character of the Bible and the shared, foundational theme that spans the entire Bible: God and his mighty works. Whatever genres may appear in the Bible, they all have the same foundation, theme, and goal. This makes the genres found in the Bible different and in fact makes the Bible its own genre: a collection of various types of literature gathered in one place for the same purpose. Biblical narrative is the literary means of preserving, interpreting, and bringing forward the story of God and his mighty works. Luke, writing a historical, biblical narrative, is influenced by the flow of that story, particularly the fulfillment of that entire story in Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah who came as the fulfillment of the OT story and promises. Luke takes up that story in his Gospel and continues it in Acts. The Acts of the Apostles is the capstone and climax of all biblical narrative. It is a story about the fulfillment of the story.

One final thing about biblical narrative, including Acts: it is a real, living story that is to be taken up and followed by its readers. Acts is not just a story about the first Christians who lived a long time ago, with a record of the events surrounding them. Like all biblical narrative—like the Bible itself—Acts invites us to take part, to understand ourselves, our history, our future, our whole worldview in light of this story. We should find in its pages a message that (1) challenges our perspectives and values; (2) corrects and shapes our views of God and his work in the world; (3) encourages us in the face of a world set against the kingdom of Jesus; (4) teaches us the difference between living by faith and by sight; (5) motivates us to carry, with total confidence, the message of the risen King to those around us; (6) instructs us to view and handle suffering through the knowledge (by faith) that suffering is the only way to enter the kingdom; and (7) shows us how to live as those who know that the same Jesus who ascended before the apostles will return exactly as they saw him go. We are, after all, living in the era that began with Acts: the era of the Spirit, in which we wait for the return of the Lord to bring this part of the story to an end and to begin a new world without end. The truth is that we already take part by faith and the Spirit in the world to come—it is the Spirit himself who joins this age to the next and guarantees God’s future.

It is both easy and difficult to identify the literary structure of Acts. The difficulty is that Luke tells a very complex story with overlapping events, characters, and themes. Happily, this complex story can be distilled into an overarching picture that divides along major lines of connected events and transitions in scenes and people. For the purpose of teaching and preaching, the big picture of Acts is the place to begin. A large and detailed outline of Acts precedes the commentary section of this volume, but the best way to grasp the large structure of Acts is through the short outline below.⁴ This breakdown of Acts finds its basis in 1:8: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

1. I. Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria (Peter and the Twelve) (1:1–12:25)
   1. A. Commission and Jerusalem (1:1–8:4)
   2. [Ends with Stephen (6:8–7:60) and the scattering of believers (8:1–4)]
   3. B. First Expansion beyond Jerusalem (8:5–9:31)
      1. 1. Samaria (8:5–25)
      2. 2. Ethiopian Eunuch (8:26–40)
      3. 3. Paul’s Conversion (9:1–31) [foreshadow of part II]
   4. C. Northward Expansion (9:32–12:25)
      1. 1. Aeneas and Dorcas (Hellenistic Jews) (9:32–43)
      2. 2. Cornelius (God-fearer) (10:1–11:18)
      3. 3. Gentile Church in Antioch (11:19–30)
      4. 4. Persecution in Jerusalem (12:1–25)
2. II. The Ends of the Earth (Paul) (13:1–28:31)
   1. A. Phrygia and Galatia (13:1–15:35)
      1. 1. First Missionary Journey (13:1–14:28)
      2. 2. Jerusalem Council (15:1–35)
   2. B. Macedonia (15:36–21:16)
      1. 1. Second Missionary Journey (15:36–18:22)
      2. 2. Third Missionary Journey (18:23–21:16)
   3. C. To Rome (21:17–28:31)
      1. 1. Prison in Jerusalem (21:17–23:35)
      2. 2. Prison in Caesarea (24:1–26:32)
      3. 3. Voyage to Rome (27:1–28:15)
      4. 4. Preaching the Kingdom (28:16–31)

Various other large-scale structures of Acts can be identified, but the outline presented above has the benefit of simplicity. Two figures, Peter and Paul, and the expansion of the kingdom form the basis of the structure. There can be no doubt that Luke’s two main characters in Acts are Peter and Paul, or that his main goal is to show God’s mighty works commissioned by the risen Jesus and carried out by the Spirit-empowered apostles.

Theology of Acts; Its Relationship to the Rest of the Bible and to Christ

As with all biblical narrative, Acts is written at the crossroads of theology and history. Luke is a historian who records historical people, events, conversations, teaching, and speeches basically in chronological order. Like all good storytellers, he is at liberty to overlap events and to allow one part of the story to move ahead before he returns later to pick up an earlier thread. When a story has as many characters and events as does Acts, it is impossible to relate all of these elements in perfect chronological order, especially multiple events that may have been roughly simultaneous. Besides, Luke is not only writing a story (not even a historical one); he is also writing theology.

Luke informs Theophilus at the beginning of his Gospel that he intends to “write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught” (Luke 1:3–4). And Luke demonstrates from the beginning of Acts that his goal is to present a historical record that resumes the storyline of his Gospel. Having presented an account of the ministry of Jesus and of what he did and taught (Acts 1:1), Luke takes up where that story left off. His focus is now on the period beginning with Jesus’ postresurrection appearances, including the forty days in which Jesus taught the disciples about the kingdom of God (1:2–3). Thus we find a basically unbroken line from the Gospel of Luke to the Acts of the Apostles. At its core, Acts is the historical account of how the apostles received and carried out Jesus’ commission to reach the world with the gospel (1:8). Thus Acts is a special sort of history: it is not a blow-by-blow account of general events but a specialized account of the apostles’ carrying out of a specific task. Luke’s history, like all historical writing, is selective and structured, and the included content fits the purpose of his writing. Luke has a history to tell, but it is a profoundly theological history. It is theological because it is a story, a history, about God’s work in the world.

If Acts is theological, then Luke is a theologian. He writes history from a theological perspective, with a theological purpose. From that perspective he interprets the events he records, revealing their theological significance. Just as importantly, Luke’s theological perspective is not just a matter of explanations about, or observations on, the things that happened (like one might find in a commentary on a biblical book). Instead, he is actively writing theology shaped by the worldview and teaching of the OT, the traditions he knows about Jesus, and what he learned from Paul. In Luke’s theological history of the ministry of the apostles we find multiple themes and emphases, many of which will be taken up and treated in the commentary on the text, but a few stand out that will help us to navigate our reading of Acts.

Promise and Fulfillment

In Luke’s theology, the theme of promise and fulfillment is the umbrella under which all other themes and emphases join together. This is, moreover, the most fundamental level at which the entire NT operates.

Continuing the focus of the Gospel of Luke, Acts is about Jesus as the fulfillment of the messianic promises.⁵ Every aspect of the theology of Acts flows from the death, burial, resurrection, and enthronement of Jesus. Part and parcel of that fulfillment is the coming of the Spirit. Peter begins the first recorded sermon after Jesus’ ascension by telling the people in Jerusalem that the astonishing thing they are witnessing at the feast of Pentecost is nothing less than “what was uttered through the prophet Joel” (2:16). He then goes on to show, immediately citing the OT, that the coming of the promised Spirit flows from the events that recently took place involving Jesus of Nazareth. Every major speech in Acts shows from Scripture that Jesus is the Christ.

The disciples learned how to interpret the OT in this way (promise and fulfillment) from Jesus. In Luke 24, two disciples walking on the road to Emmaus meet, unbeknownst to them, the resurrected Jesus. When he hears their astonishment about how events have transpired, or their disappointment that Jesus was evidently not the long-awaited Messiah, he exclaims, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” (Luke 24:25–26). He then goes on to interpret “to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27).

Jesus teaches these men to read the OT with himself as its fulfillment. Presumably, Jesus’ teaching on the kingdom during the forty days he spent with the disciples before the ascension included his showing them how he was the goal and fulfillment of Scripture (Luke 24:44–47). And this is precisely what the apostles do in Acts: they go from place to place showing from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Messiah, the promised King. For example:

• Acts 8:35: “Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture [Isaiah 53] he told him the good news about Jesus.”
• Acts 17:2–3: “Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, ‘This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.’”
• Acts 18:27–28: “When [Paul] wished to cross to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, he greatly helped those who through grace had believed, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus.”

Another aspect of the promise-fulfillment theme is found in Stephen’s speech, a dramatic presentation of a theological reading of Scripture with Jesus at the center. As with Peter’s sermon at Pentecost, in which he showed that the trial, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus were according to God’s plan and in fulfillment of Scripture, Stephen also makes clear that the rejection of Jesus was itself a fulfillment of Scripture and the culmination of a longstanding national sin, namely, Israel’s rejection of God. Beginning with Abraham, Stephen works his way to Moses and then highlights Israel’s unfaithfulness, rebellion, and rejection of God and his servant (7:35, 39). Stephen ends his speech by accusing the crowd of being just like their ancestors, who resisted the Spirit and killed the prophets who foretold the coming of the “Righteous One,” Jesus, whom Stephen’s hearers “betrayed and murdered” (7:52). Paul will take up this theme in his own speeches, particularly before the crowd in Jerusalem (ch. 22) and before Felix (ch. 24) and Agrippa (ch. 26), showing that it is his accusers who are unfaithful to God. It is Paul, and the followers of Jesus of Nazareth, who are faithful to God. So, not only does Luke highlight Jesus as the fulfillment of the messianic promises, he also highlights the rejection of Jesus, which in turn is connected to another major theme in Acts: the inclusion of the Gentiles.

The Gentile Question

The conversion of Gentiles to Christianity presents a major problem for some people in the early church, and Luke openly records the issues and divisions that this “problem” brings. What Luke makes clear is that the inclusion of the Gentiles is exactly what God has promised all along. In contrast to the rejection of Jesus on the part of many Jews, many Gentiles turn to him and are saved. The book of Acts makes a discernible shift as the gospel goes increasingly to Gentile areas. For the early Jewish Christians, something of a seismic shift in worldview is needed. Before Cornelius, a God-fearer (a Gentile who follows Jewish laws and customs except for circumcision), receives the Spirit and is saved, Peter receives a vision that challenges his long-held beliefs and traditions. When he sees a vision of all sorts of animals on a sheet descending from heaven, including those forbidden as food under the Mosaic law, and is told to eat, he refuses, basing his decision on the law (10:12–14). God replies by telling him that he is mistaken—God has made everything clean (10:15). It takes three times for the epic truth to sink in. It is not about food but about people: the Gentiles are joining the people of God.

When Peter meets Cornelius, hears his story, and preaches the gospel to him and his household, and they respond in faith and receive the Spirit, Peter understands it all. God makes no distinction between people in salvation—whoever believes in Jesus is fully welcome. This event comes near the turning point in Acts, when Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, heads off to the ends of the world. The irony is that the staunchest Jewish traditionalist, the fiercest enemy of the first Christians, will be God’s chosen instrument to reach the Gentiles (9:15; 13:2–3; 22:21). In Paul’s ministry there is a definite link between Jewish rejection and Gentile reception of the gospel (13:46; 18:6). When handling this theme, readers must bear in mind, however, that all of the first Christians were, like Jesus, Jews. The condemnations of unbelieving Jews in the speeches in Acts are all spoken by Jews. The historical trajectory of unbelief is what Luke emphasizes, and in the narrative of Acts (as in the Gospels) the unbelief of the leaders—the theologically educated—is far and away the focus.

The Apostolic Preaching

Many years ago, C. H. Dodd identified what he determined to be the fundamental content in the preaching of the apostles. According to Dodd, their basic message has six parts: (1) the time of fulfillment promised in the OT has come; (2) that time has come in the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth; (3) Jesus is now enthroned as king because of his resurrection from the dead; (4) now that Jesus is enthroned, the Spirit is his power at work in the world; (5) Jesus will return and bring this age to its end; and (6) hearers must repent and be forgiven in response to gospel preaching.⁶ Examples of this apostolic preaching occur mostly in the first half of the book (2:14–39; 3:11–26; 4:8–12; 5:29–32; 10:34–44; 13:16–41). Dodd’s work identifies the basic themes and theology of the apostolic message and demonstrates how gospel preaching was based on established content. This does not mean the message was absolutely fixed in terms of presentation, or that every part was present every time (or needed to be), or much less that the six parts constitute a template for a model sermon. More times than not, all six parts do not appear in a single sermon in Acts. Nevertheless, these six points do summarize the core message about Jesus as presented by the apostles, who were not afraid that theological preaching would lose their audiences.

Acts, like all of the NT, must be read in context of the whole Bible. This is a biblical-theological task as we attempt to read and understand the Bible as a single book of Scripture. As noted above, Acts takes up and continues God’s story of salvation that begins in OT narrative and wends its way to the fulfillment of that story in the incarnation of Jesus Christ, recorded in the Gospels. Acts is the final chapter of that story and is also the beginning of the new age of the Spirit, in which we live today. The coming of the Spirit is probably the main point of contact and relationship to the rest of the Bible. What happens in Acts 2 and beyond is all about God’s keeping his age-old promise.

In Deuteronomy 9, Moses prepares the Israelites to cross the Jordan and take possession of the land. Up to this point, Moses has recounted Israel’s history, putting special emphasis on their unfaithfulness to God over against his continual grace and salvation since bringing them out of Egypt. At the center, and as a climax to their history, was their idolatry with the golden calf (cf. Exodus 32)—even while Moses was on the mountain receiving the law from God (Deut. 9:9–21). He continues in Deuteronomy 10, recounting their journey, pointing to the future, and bringing it all to this climax:

And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good? Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it. Yet the Lord set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day. (Deut. 10:12–15)

Moses then tells them exactly what they need in order to follow and obey the Lord their God: they need a new heart. “Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn” (Deut. 10:16). To be the true people of God, to walk in his ways and receive the fulfillment of his promises, they must be renewed from the inside out. No amount of sacrifices or law keeping will help them if they do not change their hearts. Ultimately, there is no law keeping apart from a new heart.

Later, in Deuteronomy 28, Moses tells them of their coming exile in later generations that will take place because of rebellion and disobedience. This section of Deuteronomy includes the blessings that will come for obedience and the corresponding curses for disobedience. God promises them a day in which he will rescue them yet again. Their salvation from the curses will go hand in hand with their faithfulness and obedience:

And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, and return to the Lord your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and he will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you. (Deut. 30:1–3)

How will these people, with their history of rebellion, repent and obey him heart and soul? Where will they find the heart they need for this? God, who commanded them to circumcise their hearts (that is, have a new heart), will give them what he commands:

And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. (Deut. 30:6)

With this divine gift of a new heart, they will follow and live by all of God’s commands. This is the promise that stands through a long history of disobedience, rebellion, and national disaster.

Centuries later, however, in the midst of suffering the curses of disobedience, with the land destroyed, countless killed, and more exiled to Babylon, the promise of Deuteronomy is repeated, with more specific detail. Recall that the result of a new heart would be obedience to God’s commands and statutes (Deut. 30:8). The prophet Jeremiah brings news of God’s work to fulfill that promise once and for all:

Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. (Jer. 31:31–34)

The Lord will give them exactly what is needed; he will do a remarkable work in his people. They will be a new people, with new hearts.

At roughly the same time as Jeremiah’s promise, the prophet Ezekiel, speaking to people in exile and reminding them of how their sin and rebellion has brought them to where they are now, gives a word of hope and promise. The Lord will act for the honor and greatness of his own name, and when he does, his people will receive all of the benefits. They will be a new people, with a new gift:

I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. (Ezek. 36:24–27)

The Spirit promised by Ezekiel will write the law on the new heart foretold by Jeremiah, and this will fulfill God’s promise to circumcise the hearts of his people (Deut. 30:6). And we must notice that the gifts of the Spirit and of a new heart come with repentance and forgiveness.

Finally, the prophet Joel takes up the promise of the Spirit and tells of the day in which the Lord will pour out his Spirit on all:

And it shall come to pass afterward,

that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;

your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

your old men shall dream dreams,

and your young men shall see visions.

Even on the male and female servants

in those days I will pour out my Spirit.

And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Joel 2:28–32)

This very text, which Peter quotes in Acts 2 to explain what is taking place at Pentecost, is the last in a long line of OT promises that the Lord would provide a heart for his people, renew them, and forgive their sins. He would give them his Spirit. The book of Acts is all about the beginning of that work of fulfillment. The Spirit empowers the work of the gospel, manifests and confirms the ministry of the apostles, fills the followers of Jesus with power to speak, and is in all who have faith in Jesus—whether Jew or Gentile. Through the Spirit, all become the people of God.

Preaching from Acts

Preaching Acts, like preaching all narrative texts, requires special effort and planning. One of the most important questions to answer concerns how to divide the book up into suitable portions of text for preaching. There are issues of repetition (e.g., Paul’s conversion stories), long speeches (e.g., the sermon at Pentecost or Stephen before his accusers), the reception of the Spirit at various times and ways, many baptisms, and a long story about a year at sea along with a shipwreck, just to name a few. The first step for preaching Acts is to read it from front to back several times. Before opening a commentary, looking at outlines, reading backgrounds, or doing anything else except praying, the preacher of Acts must be intimately familiar with the book. Only in-depth knowledge of the content can guide the preacher through the task of planning sermons and dividing up the text.

Second, the preacher of Acts must be ready to deal with longstanding and often highly controversial subjects such as speaking in tongues, spiritual gifts, and prophecy. Anyone preparing to preach through Acts ought to make it a first priority to stick to the text and context of Acts rather than dealing with such difficult issues as abstracted, general topics of theology. In other words, we must first preach the text of Acts as Acts—Luke’s divinely inspired account of the early years of the church. So, for instance, when preaching about Pentecost, the able preacher must not simply preach a topical sermon on tongues or spiritual gifts in general. The text about Agabus the prophet is not first and foremost a springboard for settling the issue of NT prophecy. Our questions about these things, as good and as important as they may be, are not precisely Luke’s, or the early church’s, questions. We must preach the text in context first, then deal with the larger theological and contemporary issues later. After all, the only legitimate way to approach theological questions is to have a thorough grasp of how the Bible presents and speaks to the questions on its own terms. One of the many reasons we never seem closer to settling such issues is because we do not always deal thoroughly with the texts of Scripture in the context of Scripture.

Finally, preachers ought to be ready to be continually surprised, and often overwhelmed, by the personal, biblical, and theological richness of Acts. Like most narratives, it is not our first choice for preaching. But this tendency can be easily changed through reading and studying more biblical narrative. After some time spent reading, wrestling with, and thinking through Acts, we should want to preach it.

Interpretive Challenges

One of the greatest challenges in interpreting the book of Acts, one with which every reader must wrestle, is in determining whether the narrative portions of the book are descriptive or prescriptive. That is, is Luke merely describing what took place but not implying or showing that the event or action is meant to be repeated, or is he prescribing continued expectation, practice, or repetition of the events described? A prescriptive narrative will always be descriptive, but a descriptive text does not have to be prescriptive. The careful reader must consider what might be intended as a model or response even when no exact prescription (or command) is given.

I comment on this interpretive dilemma extensively for several texts throughout the commentary, but a prime example is found in the life of the early church in Jerusalem. In Acts 2:44–45, Luke writes, “All who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.” Does Luke intend, as some conclude, that Christians must share all they have and sell everything and share the proceeds among the church? There is no indication from this text, and certainly not from later texts in Acts—or in the Epistles, for that matter—that Scripture intends to prescribe this as mandatory church practice. Some, thinking that it does, have gone so far as to suggest Christian versions of communal living. Based on the context of Acts 2, however, such a reading misconstrues Luke’s intention (cf. comment on 2:42–47).

Centuries of “restoration” movements have attempted to build a church based on a so-called golden era, which usually means the era of the church at Jerusalem. As I make clear later, the era of the Jerusalem church was no more a golden era than was any other era in Acts or elsewhere. Of course, we can and should learn from that era, but this does not mean we must always copy it. At the same time, we cannot allow description to stop application. Many conservative evangelicals would easily agree with my interpretation against communal living and against a prescribed repetition of some of the practices in the Jerusalem church. The lack of prescription, however, does not mean the text has no life significance or implication. It is not sufficient to dismiss the notion of the church as a collective society or Christian co-op and thus practically to dismiss the text as having little application for believers’ lives today. Even when a particular action or event is not prescribed, we nevertheless must seek to understand what underlying principle or instruction for the Christian life might be involved. In this case of Acts 2:44–45, the text points to radical, other-centered generosity as a natural outflow of receiving the Spirit. By implication, the text also holds a potentially devastating challenge to the way we view our possessions and money. In other words, we must be careful that we do not use the label “descriptive” to reduce a text down to simple historical or theological information. Just because no clear prescription is present does not mean that no intended response or application is present. This challenge of interpretation appears many times in Acts, concerning issues such as the giving of the Spirit, the exercise of spiritual gifts, signs and wonders, and prophecy, just to name a few.

Closely connected to the descriptive/prescriptive question is the nature of the unique era recorded in Acts. The story of Acts takes place during the transition between the old and new covenants.⁷ Theologically we can assert, on the basis of Scripture, that Jesus’ cross establishes the new covenant. And inextricably linked to the cross is the resurrection. And with an even wider lens we can conclude that the cross, the resurrection, the ascension, and the coming of the Spirit establish the new covenant.

Of course, strictly speaking, Jesus’ death and resurrection—the once-and-for-all sacrifice for sins—establish the new covenant, but this covenant includes the promises that flow from the finished work of Jesus. So, whether we are speaking of that which “establishes” or that which “inaugurates” or “provides for” or “applies” this new covenant, we are describing a theologically complex event with many necessary aspects without which it would not exist. There is no new covenant without the Spirit, or without the resurrection, the ascension, etc. Thus, even when speaking theologically in the abstract, describing the change from old to new covenants is not as simple as it at first seems. It is only simple when we conceive of it in terms of a linear, big-picture presentation of the history of redemption—with neat, well-demarcated lines signifying beginnings, endings, promises, and fulfillments. Such things are extremely helpful for teaching, and the NT writers certainly speak in unequivocally, definite terms about the cross of Christ.

However, when it was all taking place for the first time, when the new covenant was first enacted in the lives of real people, with different backgrounds, knowledge, social and cultural identities, and other human variables, the lines and boundaries were often far less clear. Not a great deal has changed in two thousand years. On the other hand, some things have changed quite a bit. For instance, it would be extremely rare, though I suppose possible, to find a group of people who identify themselves as disciples of John the Baptist, who do not know of Jesus specifically by name, and who have never heard of the Holy Spirit. Yet in Ephesus Paul finds just this sort of group (19:1–7). To put it simply, these men are old covenant believers: they live between the times, still waiting for the fulfillment of God’s promise. They are the last recorded group who fit that category, the last of a line that included Abraham, Moses, David, Elijah, Amos, and Simeon (Luke 2:25). They are not believers in Jesus who later receive the gift of the Spirit. Paul asks about when they believed because it is the best way to discern if someone is a believer.

Another, earlier example is the conversion of the Samaritans. They believe but do not receive the Spirit until Peter and John come to investigate this new thing: belief in Jesus outside Judaism (being half-Jewish does not count). John and Peter are satisfied, they pray, and the Samaritans receive the Spirit (Acts 8:14–17). This is not the typical pattern in Acts but is something that occurs in a brand-new situation as the gospel spreads outside Judea. This narrative is a good example of the intersection of covenantal transition and the question of prescription versus description.

Finally, in Acts we encounter the challenge that comes every time we read biblical narrative: how do we read and apply it? For applicatory Scripture we typically gravitate to Paul, the Gospels (their teaching sections, mostly), a handful of psalms, and selected portions from Moses and the Prophets. Narrative, on the other hand, is typically stripped down to our favorite stories, relegated to Sunday school lessons, or just largely ignored. It is odd that we should pay so little attention to biblical narrative when the Bible, from beginning to end, is so full of stories. When reading narrative we must come with the assumption that narrative has as much to teach us as an epistle; it is merely going to teach us in a different way. In addition, we ought not worry about boiling down a narrative to three (or however many) points. Luke is not Paul in disguise. Finding the themes and purposes of a narrative is not the same thing as tracing main points and lines of an argument. Finally, reading the narrative of Acts is more—far more—than a stripping away of the historical events in Luke’s stories in order to find a kernel of eternal truth or abstracted points of theology and practice. There is plenty of eternal truth, theology, and practical teaching in Acts, but we need to respect that in Acts, God willed to give us a story. If God thought it right to give us a story, who are we to argue?

Outline ⁸

1. I. Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria (1:1–12:25)
   1. A. Preparing the Apostles (1:1–26)
      1. 1. Introduction to Theophilus (1:1–2)
      2. 2. Forty Days with Jesus (1:3–5)
      3. 3. Jesus Ascends into Heaven (1:6–11)
      4. 4. Matthias Joins the Apostles (1:12–26)
   2. B. Witness Begins: Pentecost and Fellowship (2:1–47)
      1. 1. The Disciples Receive the Spirit (2:1–4)
      2. 2. The Age of the Spirit Begins (2:5–13)
      3. 3. The First Christian Sermon (2:14–41)
         1. a. Let This Be Known (2:14–15)
         2. b. The Fulfillment of Joel (2:16–21)
         3. c. Jesus Is the Messiah (2:22–36)
         4. d. Repentance and Forgiveness (2:37–41)
      4. 4. The First Christians (2:42–47)
   3. C. Signs, Wonders, and Results (3:1–5:42)
      1. 1. Peter Heals a Lame Man (3:1–10)
      2. 2. What the Miracle Means (3:11–26)
         1. a. Peter Preaches Jesus (3:11–16)
         2. b. Offer of Repentance in Jesus (3:17–26)
      3. 3. The Council Responds (4:1–4)
      4. 4. Peter Responds to the Council (4:5–12)
      5. 5. Questions and Unbelief (4:13–22)
      6. 6. Prayer, Praise, and Community (4:23–37)
         1. a. Prayer for Boldness (4:23–31)
         2. b. Unity in Community (4:32–37)
      7. 7. Ananias and Sapphira (5:1–11)
      8. 8. Summary: Signs and Wonders (5:12–16)
      9. 9. Persecution Begins (5:17–42)
         1. a. The Apostles Arrested (5:17–26)
         2. b. The Apostles before the Council (5:27–32)
         3. c. The Council Issues a Warning (5:33–42)
   4. D. The Greek-Speaking Jews Emerge (6:1–8:40)
      1. 1. The Disciples Choose Seven Servants (6:1–7)
      2. 2. The First Christian Martyr (6:8–8:3)
         1. a. Stephen Arrested (6:8–15)
         2. b. Stephen’s Speech (7:1–53)
         3. c. Stephen Martyred and Believers Scattered (7:54–8:3)
      3. 3. Judea and Samaria and Beyond (8:4–40)
         1. a. Philip Goes to Samaria (8:4–8)
         2. b. Peter and John Go to Samaria (8:9–25)
         3. c. The Ethiopian Eunuch (8:26–40)
   5. E. The Conversion of Saul (9:1–31)
      1. 1. The Road to Damascus (9:1–19a)
         1. a. Saul Meets the Risen Jesus (9:1–9)
         2. b. Ananias Ministers to Saul (9:10–19a)
      2. 2. Saul Goes to Jerusalem (9:19b–31)
         1. a. Saul in Damascus (9:19b–25)
         2. b. Saul in Jerusalem (9:26–30)
         3. c. The Church Grows (9:31)
   6. F. The Gospel Goes North (9:32–11:30)
      1. 1. Aeneas and Dorcas (9:32–43)
      2. 2. Cornelius the God-Fearer (10:1–11:18)
         1. a. Cornelius’s Vision (10:1–8)
         2. b. Peter’s Vision (10:9–16)
         3. c. Peter Travels to Cornelius (10:17–33)
         4. d. Peter Preaches the Gospel (10:34–43)
         5. e. The Gentiles Receive the Holy Spirit (10:44–48)
         6. f. Peter’s Report (11:1–18)
      3. 3. The Gentile Church in Antioch (11:19–30)
   7. G. Persecution in Jerusalem (12:1–25)
      1. 1. The Death of James and Arrest of Peter (12:1–19)
         1. a. The Murder of James (12:1–5)
         2. b. Peter’s Rescue (12:6–11)
         3. c. Answered Prayers (12:12–19)
      2. 2. The Death of Herod (12:20–25)
2. II. To the Ends of the Earth (13:1–28:31)
   1. A. The Mission to the Gentiles, Part 1 (13:1–15:35)
      1. 1. Paul and Barnabas’s Missionary Journey (13:1–52)
         1. a. Antioch Launches the Mission (13:1–3)
         2. b. Barnabas Takes the Lead in Cyprus (13:4–12)
         3. c. Paul Takes the Lead in Pisidia (13:13–52)
      2. 2. Iconium, Lystra, and Back to Antioch (14:1–28)
         1. a. Ministry in Iconium (14:1–7)
         2. b. Ministry in Lystra (14:8–18)
         3. c. The Stoning of Paul (14:19–23)
         4. d. Back to Antioch (14:24–28)
      3. 3. The Jerusalem Council (15:1–35)
         1. a. Troubling of the Gentiles (15:1–5)
         2. b. Salvation Has Come to the Gentiles (15:6–21)
         3. c. The Council’s Letter to Gentile Christians (15:22–35)
   2. B. The Mission to the Gentiles, Part 2 (15:36–21:36)
      1. 1. Paul and Barnabas Split Up (15:36–41)
      2. 2. Paul’s Ministry in Macedonia (16:1–40)
         1. a. Timothy Accompanies Paul (16:1–5)
         2. b. The Macedonian Vision (16:6–10)
         3. c. The Conversion of Lydia (16:11–15)
         4. d. Paul and Silas in Prison (16:16–24)
         5. e. The Philippian Jailer Is Saved (16:25–34)
         6. f. Paul and Silas Released (16:35–40)
      3. 3. Ministry in Thessalonica (17:1–9)
      4. 4. Ministry in Berea (17:10–15)
      5. 5. Paul with the Philosophers (17:16–34)
         1. a. Athens (17:16–21)
         2. b. The Areopagus (17:22–34)
      6. 6. Ministry from Corinth to Ephesus (18:1–28)
         1. a. Corinth (18:1–17)
         2. b. Returning to Antioch (18:18–23)
         3. c. Apollos in Ephesus (18:24–28)
      7. 7. Ministry in Ephesus (19:1–41)
         1. a. Disciples of John the Baptist (19:1–10)
         2. b. The Power of God and the Sons of Sceva (19:11–20)
         3. c. Money and Idolatry: A Riot in Ephesus (19:21–41)
      8. 8. Final Farewells (20:1–38)
         1. a. Paul in Greece (20:1–16)
         2. b. Paul’s Goodbye to the Ephesian Elders (20:17–38)
      9. 9. Paul Goes to Jerusalem (21:1–36)
         1. a. Paul Meets a Prophet (21:1–16)
         2. b. Paul Shows His Freedom (21:17–26)
         3. c. Paul Arrested in the Temple (21:27–36)
   3. C. Paul Addresses the Mob in Jerusalem (21:37–22:29)
      1. 1. Paul’s Request to Speak (21:37–39)
      2. 2. Paul Testifies to His Conversion and Calling (21:40–22:29)
   4. D. Paul’s Defense before the Sanhedrin (22:30–23:35)
      1. 1. Paul Speaks to His Accusers (22:30–23:11)
      2. 2. The Jews Vow to Kill Paul (23:12–35)
   5. E. Paul before Felix (24:1–27)
      1. 1. Paul Makes His Case (24:1–21)
      2. 2. Paul Remains in Custody (24:22–27)
   6. F. Paul Will Go to Caesar (25:1–27)
      1. 1. Paul Appeals to Caesar (25:1–12)
      2. 2. Festus Refers Paul to Agrippa (25:13–27)
   7. G. Paul before King Agrippa: Who Is True to the Covenant? (26:1–32)
      1. 1. Paul Introduces Himself (26:1–8)
      2. 2. Paul Testifies (26:9–23)
      3. 3. True and Rational Words (26:24–32)
   8. H. To Rome (27:1–28:31)
      1. 1. Sailing for Rome (27:1–12)
      2. 2. A Dark and Hopeless Storm (27:13–38)
      3. 3. Saved by a Shipwreck (27:39–44)
      4. 4. Doing Good to All on Malta (28:1–10)
      5. 5. Finally to Rome (28:11–16)
      6. 6. The Kingdom to the Ends of the Earth (28:17–31)