The Book of Acts

Analysis of Acts of the Apostles

The book, Introducing New Testament Interpretation, by Scot McKnight, explores the various hermeneutical methods that religious scholars used to interpret the New Testament section of the Holy Scripture. Some of the points of analysis that the framework illuminates include the background formation of the New Testament, theological synthesis, Scripture criticism, the relationship between the Old Testament and the New Testament, word studies, and others. This paper aims to advocate that the outline of the book of Acts is based on Acts 1:8, and follows a geographical expansion of the Gospel, Jerusalem (Acts 1-7), Samaria and Judea (Acts 8-10), and to the ends of the world.

The author of the book of Acts is Luke (Mounce, 2003). He began it by continuing his story, from where he ended in the book of Luke (Bruce, 1990). He described the lifetime of Jesus, including how he preached and healed the sick in Jerusalem, Judea, and Galilee. The final parts discuss the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Fee & Stuart, 2003). The book of Acts, also called “The Acts of the Apostles” continues the story of how the disciples lived their lives in unity as they waited patiently for the promise of the Holy Spirit. The growth of the church is described, and how the Good News spread from Jerusalem to other major cities in the Roman territory, before being preached in Rome itself. A look at why Luke authored the book offers a clear understanding of why Acts 1: 8 plays a cornerstone role for the entire book (Mounce, 2003). According to Luke chapter 3, he explains why he wrote the book, and that include revealing an orderly account of the early Christian movement, according to the account of eyewitnesses. In other words, the book’s main aim is to show the initial formation of the Christian Church. Consequently, Acts 1: 8 gives a blueprint of the ministry that awaited the disciples after the spiritual anointing (Fee & Stuart, 2003).

According to Acts chapter 1 verse 8, Jesus promised His disciples that they would receive power when the Helper will visit them (Mounce, 2003). According to John, the self-acclaimed forerunner of the Messiah, the one who would come would offer spiritual baptism. John the Baptist prophesied that Jesus would give his followers the gift of the Holy Ghost to help them in ministry. There is no more information about this kind of encounter in the first five volumes of the New Testament (Fee & Stuart, 2003). It is because the promise was to be fulfilled after Jesus had been taken away. The Spirit was to offer comfort and guidance to the disciples, and empower them to cast out demons. It comprised the task, which was later referred to as the “Holy Commission.”  Indeed the entire book of Acts is about the daily lives of the apostles and their interaction with religious authorities, the gentiles, and fellow Christians. It offers a vivid illustration of the ministry of the disciples immediately after Jesus resurrected into heaven. Consequently, the statement about the promise of the Holy Spirit offers a psychological preparation of the task ahead, which included preaching the Gospel and healing the sick (Mounce, 2003). The overall goal was to win as many souls into the Kingdom of God as possible.

The book of Acts follows the geographical expansion of the Gospels, only that the disciples themselves initiated the ministry of the gospel, and not Jesus Christ (Bruce, 1990). When He was with them, Jesus gave them assurance that they will not be harmed because of God’s watchful eye on them (Fee & Stuart, 2003). In the first five books of the New Testament, the emphasis of the Gospel is placed on its Jewish origins, but the Acts of the Apostles is about how the Gospel was extended to the gentiles as well. It is more of a continuation of Luke’s Gospel, and the two books reveal possible similarities as far as the primary goal of the ministry of salvation is concerned. In the initial stages of Acts, he asserts that the ministry did not end with the resurrection of Christ, but the phenomenon initiated a period of growth of Christ’s ministry from a small Jewish sect to a movement that shook the entire Roman Empire.

The concept of the “Holy Spirit,” reinforces the fact that the Book of Acts is based on Acts chapter 1 verse 8 (Mounce, 2003). The author shows how Jesus’ promise (about the Spirit) in Luke is manifested in their lives in the book of Acts. Before his departure, his followers wondered how t heir lives would be in the absence of their master. Jesus realized their concern and promised to be with them in spirit throughout the end of the age. His intention was to use the apostles to establish a life-long movement that involved both the Jews and the Gentiles. It is imperative to note that the phenomena’s commencement is captured in Acts 1:8.

Conclusion

The Holy Spirit in the book of Acts is the divine witness and agent of the Christian age (Bruce, 1990). In the eighth verse of the first chapter, Jesus assures His disciples that the Helper would assist them to carry out God’s will without fear. The book extends the work that Jesus started in the book of Luke, only this time the church is led by the apostles.

References

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Bruce, F. F. (1990). Luke’s Presentation of the Spirit in Acts. Criswell Theological Review, 5(1): 15-29.

Fee, G. D., & Stuart, D. (2003). How to read the Bible for all its worth (3rd ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Joel. Santura Doctrina. Available from http://sacradoctrina.blogspot.com/2007/10/justification-in-luke-acts.html

McKnight, S. (Ed.). (1989). Introducing New Testament interpretation. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books

Mounce, D., W. (2003). Greek for the Rest of Us. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Porter, S. E., Stovell, B. M., & Blomberg, C. (2012). Biblical Hermeneutics: Five views.