Transcript The Book of Acts

The Book of Acts
• Aka The Gospel of the Holy Spirit
• The story of Acts
begins with Jesus’
appearances over a
course of forty days
after his resurrection.
• The disciples are told
to remain in Jerusalem
until they receive the
power of the Holy
Spirit
– Jerusalem was thought
as the place to which
salvation came.
Divisions in Acts
Part 1
• The Early Church in Jerusalem
– Jesus’ Ascension
• Apostles wait
– Matthias replaces Judas
– Pentecost
• Apostles are empowered
– Preaching of Peter
– Healing and good works of
Apostles
– Sharing of possessions
– Stephen is martyred
– Philip interprets the Bible
– Peter accepts gentiles
– Council of Jerusalem
Part 2
• It’s All About Paul
– A zealous anti-Christian
– Experiences Conversion (part
1)
Acts
• The author gave not title to this book
– But later church writers dubbed it
• “Acts”
– In the sense of deeds
• Two major figures
– Paul
• Is prominent in seventeen chaps.
• is only twice called an apostle
– Peter
• Is prominent in nine or ten chaps.
• Scholars prefer the designation
of: Acts of Peter and Paul
Author
• The author is Luke
• Acts is also dedicated to
“Theophilus”
– Who is reminded of the
basic content of the first
volume of the work
• “all that Jesus did
and taught from the
beginning until the
day when he was
taken up to heaven.
• Date: The same
information used to date
the Gospel of Luke
applies to the Book of
Acts
– 85 C. E.
• The church
structure/hierarchy in the
Book of Acts is not
highly developed.
Date
• A Gentile audience
that converted to
Judaism
• They see themselves
as Jews
– Follow Jewish
traditions
– Worship at Jewish
synagogues
Audience
Sources
• Unlike the Synoptics
(4 Source Theory), the
Book of Acts draws
upon its own or
borrowed traditions
that are not traceable.
• The Book of Acts
stands alone as the
first “history” of the
Church
• Acts picks up after the
death and resurrection of
Jesus
• Acts recounts the largescale conversions to
Christianity after the
death of Jesus
• Acts recounts the
miraculous deeds of the
Apostles
• Acts recounts the
conversion of the apostle
Paul and his missionary
activity (compare to the
letters of Paul)
General Themes in
the Book of Acts
Acts in Relation to the Gospel of Luke
• Acts is the second volume of a two-volume work
(Luke/Acts) that were meant to be circulated together
• Both Luke and Acts are written to the same recipient
(Theophilus)
• Although circulated together, Luke and Acts represent two
differing types of literature:
• 1. The Gospel of Luke- life of Jesus
• 2. Acts, in contrast, sketches the history of the Church after
the death of Jesus
• For the Gospel, the ascension visibly terminates the activity
of Jesus on earth; for Acts, it will prepare the apostles to be
witnesses to him to the ends of the earth.
Early Christianity : A Movement
within Judaism
The Way
• A term used to describe those
who were followers of Christ
– Always thought of themselves as
Jews following the Messiah as the
prophets foretold
• Affirmed the promise of the
Messiah
o Foretold by the prophets
o Recognized Jesus as that Messiah
o Did not reject the Law or
the prophets or the history
of the Israelites.
Acts: after the crucifixion
• The disciples were afraid after
Jesus’ crucifixion
– They might be crucified, too
– Why did he die – was it all for
nothing?
• The risen Jesus reassured the
disciples that death had not won
• He promised he would come
again
• But the disciples did not know
what to do, what was next
– Hiding or execution
• Where would they get the courage
to preach the Good News?.....
Theme in Acts: Pentecost
• 10 days after the Ascension, the disciples gathered for Shavuot
(Jewish Pentecost)
–Shavuot celebrates the giving of the Commandments to Moses at Mt.
Sinai
• Result of experience
o Moses experiences God directly
• 10 Commandments + all other commandments = 613
• Jews had a renewed identity of being God’s people, whom God
had released from bondage and would reclaim Canaan
Pentecost
Back to the disciples:
• They are celebrating Shavuot
when, suddenly:
o A violent wind blew through
the room
o Tongues of fire appeared above
their heads
o All were filled with the Holy
Spirit
o All began to speak other
languages (in tongues)
o The disciples experienced first
hand the power of God – Holy
Spirit
The coming of the Holy Spirit
Result of this experience
oKnew that God was calling them to a special mission: to preach the KofG
oWere no longer afraid of persecution or death.
oRenewed their identity as followers of Jesus – The Way
oEvent known as the Birthday of Church
• Shortly after Pentecost
– it is said that 3000 people
were baptized
– Peter led the Baptisms
– making Peter a central figure in the eyes of
Jesus’ followers.
– Even though they were baptized, they still
saw themselves as “Jews”.
• Worshipped in temple, synagogue, and homes