Luke / Acts Lecture 9

luke / acts

Title  the title "Acts of the Apostles" is very a o the Anti-Marcionite Prologue to the Gospel of Luke (A.D. 150-180) contains the oldest reference to the book by this n o the title is a bit m . the book contains only a f of the acts of some of the apostles, primarily Peter and Paul . more a story of the e of the church from Jerusalem to Rome (see map on page 6)  in the Gospels Jesus is the chief character, in Acts it is the Holy Spirit w through the apostles Author  the i evidence o Col. 4:14 o the passages written in the first p plural that can refer to Luke (16:10- 40; 20:5—21:18; 27:1—28:16)  the e evidence o references by early c fathers o c in collections of New Testament books o editorial s in early notes on certain New Testament books Date  the events recorded cover a period of almost t years o b with Jesus’ ascension (A.D. 33) o c with Paul’s two-year Roman house arrest that ended about A.D. 62  the date of composition was probably in the e sixties  do not know for sure w Luke was when he wrote Acts o perhaps he composed it over a p of years o drew on various s o put it into its f form in Rome where Paul was in confinement for two years (28:30-31; A.D. 60-62) Purpose  not o particular purpose in contrast to Luke’s Gospel

 seems to have been a t -fold purpose for the writing of Acts

o h purpose

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. intended to provide an inspired record of s events that show the spread of the gospel and the church

. from Jerusalem, the c of Judaism where the church began

. to Rome, the u part of the Gentile earth in Luke's day o t purpose . showed how the p and purposes of God were working out through history . showed how Jesus Christ was faithfully and irresistibly b His church (Matt. 16:18) . clarified how God's dealings with humankind had taken a different course because of the Jews' r of their Messiah o a purpose . pointed out the r of the church to the Roman state by referring to many Roman officials . not one Roman official o Christianity because of its doctrines or practices . would have made Acts a powerful d tool for the early Christians in their struggle to survive in a hostile pagan environment Greek Text  the early manuscripts of Acts have a greater v of readings than any other NT book  greatest diversity is shown by a group of m that scholars refer to as the “Western text” o Acts is about ten percent l than the other texts o main d from the other text families . provides a detail . s out the narrative  no standard English translation f the Western text Characteristics  the o New Testament book that continues the history begun in the Gospels o Luke's Gospel focuses on the v universalization of the gospel (up and down the social scale) o Acts focuses on its h universalization (from Jerusalem to the uttermost parts of the world)  an indispensable historical record for u the Apostle Paul's epistles  the only book that records the historical t from Judaism to Christianity  provides b information about and insight into the early church  challenges every m Christian Unique Features

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 the frequent s , where Luke provides a broad generalization about the life of the church at a particular time or place o the c life after Pentecost (2:42–47) o the early Christian s of goods (4:32–35) o the apostolic m (5:12–16) o Paul's ministry of more than t years in Ephesus (19:10) o Luke's usual m of presenting the Christians' ministry is more “episodic,” . highlighting individual incidents that illustrate their w . at E this includes:  the conversion of some disciples of J the Baptist (19:1–7)  the “backfiring” exorcism of the s of Sceva (19:13–16)  the r occasioned by the silversmith Demetrius (19:23–41)  the j narratives o lists of s places or ports that are passed by (e.g., 16:6–8; 20:14–15; 21:2–3) o gives the impression of the Christian missionaries being c on the move o best applies to the f of Paul's missions (chs. 13–14)  the most d feature in Acts is the speeches or sermons o constituting nearly a third of the t text of Acts o much of the theological m of Acts is to be found in these speeches Speaker Text Audience 2:14–36 Jews in Jerusalem P_____ 3:11–26 Jews in Jerusalem 10:34–43 Cornelius's household S______7:1–53 Jews in Jerusalem 13:16–47 Jews in Pisidian Antioch 17:22–31 Greeks in Athens 20:18–35 Church elders in Ephesus P_____ 22:1–21 Jews in Jerusalem 24:10–21 Felix and his court 26:1–29 Agrippa and his court

Outline P for Witness (1:1–2:13)  Jesus p the disciples (1:1–5)  Jesus a (1:6–11)  Matthias r Judas (1:12–26)  The Spirit d at Pentecost (2:1–13) The Witness i Jerusalem (2:14–5:42)

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 P preaches at Pentecost (2:14–41)  The Christian community shares a life in c (2:42–47)  Peter heals a l man (3:1–10)  Peter preaches in the t square (3:11–26)  Peter and John witness before the J council (4:1–22)  The Christian community prays for b in witness (4:23–31)  The community s together (4:32–5:16)  The apostles a before the council (5:17–42) The Witness b Jerusalem (6:1–12:25)  S chosen to serve the Hellenist widows (6:1–7)  Stephen bears the u witness (6:8–8:3) o The a of Stephen (6:8–15) o Stephen's a before the Sanhedrin (7:1–53) o The m of Stephen (7:54–8:3)  P witnesses beyond Jerusalem (8:4–40) o Witness to the S (8:4–25) o Witness to an E eunuch (8:26–40)  The c of Saul (9:1–31) o Saul's encounter with C (9:1–9) o Saul's encounter with A (9:10–19a) o Saul's w in Damascus and Jerusalem (9:19b–31)  Peter preaches in the c towns (9:32–11:18) o H of Aeneas and Dorcas (9:32–43) o C of Cornelius (10:1–48) o Peter's t in Jerusalem (11:1–18)  The Antioch church w to Gentiles (11:19–26)  The o for Jerusalem (11:27–30)  The Jerusalem church is p (12:1–25) o The d of James (12:1–5) o Peter's d from prison (12:6–19) o The d of Herod Agrippa I (12:20–25) The Witness in C and Galatia (13:1–14:28)  The Antioch church c Paul and Barnabas (13:1–3)  Paul and Barnabas w on Cyprus (13:4–12)  Paul preaches in the s of Pisidian Antioch (13:13–41)  Paul t to the Gentiles (13:42–52)  Paul and Barnabas are r at Iconium (14:1–7)  The two missionaries w in Lystra (14:8–23)  Paul and Barnabas r to Antioch (14:24–28) The J Council (15:1–35)

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 The circumcision party c the Gentile mission (15:1–5)  Peter d Paul (15:6–11)  James p a solution (15:12–21)  A l is sent to Antioch (15:22–35) The Witness in G (15:36–18:22)  Paul and Barnabas differ over M (15:36–41)  T joins Paul and is circumcised (16:1–5)  Paul is c to Macedonia (16:6–10)  Paul w in Philippi (16:11–40) o C of Lydia (16:11–15) o I of Paul and Silas (16:16–24) o C of the jailer (16:25–34) o R of Paul and Silas (16:35–40)  Paul witnesses in T (17:1–9)  Paul witnesses in B (17:10–15)  Paul witnesses in A (17:16–34) o Witness in the m (17:16–21) o Witness b the Areopagus (17:22–34)  Paul witnesses in C (18:1–22) The Witness in E (18:23–21:16)  Priscilla and Aquila instruct A (18:23–28)  Paul encounters d of John (19:1–10)  Paul encounters f religion at Ephesus (19:11–22)  Paul experiences v opposition at Ephesus (19:23–41)  Paul c his ministry in Greece (20:1–6)  Paul t to Miletus (20:7–16)  Paul addresses the Ephesian e at Miletus (20:17–35)  Paul j to Jerusalem (20:36–21:16) The A in Jerusalem (21:17–23:35)  Paul participates in a Nazirite c (21:17–26)  An angry m attacks Paul (21:27–39)  Paul addresses the Jewish c (21:40–22:21)  Paul reveals his R citizenship (22:22–29)  Paul appears before the S (22:30–23:11)  Zealous Jews p against Paul (23:12–22)  Paul is d to the governor Felix (23:23–35) The Witness in C (24:1–26:32)  Paul appears before F (24:1–27)  Paul a to Caesar (25:1–12)  Festus p the case to King Agrippa II (25:13–22)

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 Paul w to Agrippa II (25:23–26:32) The Witness in R (27:1–28:31)  Paul journeys to Rome by s (27:1–44)  Paul w on Malta (28:1–10)  Paul a in Rome (28:11–16)  Paul witnesses to the J in Rome (28:17–31)

Paul's First Missionary Journey (Acts 13:4–14:26) c. A.D. 46–47

Barnabas and Paul first visited Barnabas's home region of Cyprus before sailing to the southern region of Asia Minor. When they reached Perga in Pamphylia, John Mark left the group and returned to Jerusalem. Making their way to Antioch (in Pisidia), Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe, Paul and Barnabas were driven out of each city by jealous Jewish religious leaders. Later they returned by the same route, strengthening the new churches as they went. From Attalia they set sail for their home in Antioch of Syria.

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Paul's Second Missionary Journey (Acts 15:36–18:22)c. A.D. 49–51

Paul and Silas revisited the places in Asia Minor where Paul had preached on his first journey (cf. map), while Barnabas took John Mark and sailed to Cyprus. Paul and Silas visited Derbe, Lystra, and Antioch in Pisidia. From there Paul and Silas traveled to Troas, where Paul received a vision of a man from Macedonia calling to them. Crossing into Europe, they passed through several towns along the Egnatian Way and traveled to the cities of Athens and Corinth in southern Greece. Then, sailing to Ephesus and Caesarea, they visited the church in Jerusalem before returning to Antioch of Syria.

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Paul's Third Missionary Journey (Acts 18:22–21:17) c. A.D. 52–57

Paul's third missionary journey traversed much the same ground as his second (cf. map). Passing through Galatia and Phrygia, he proceeded directly to the great port city of Ephesus. After three years of preaching and teaching there, Paul traveled again through Macedonia and Achaia, strengthening the believers, and then finished with a visit to Jerusalem.

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Paul's Journey to Rome c. A.D. 60

Appealing his case to Caesar, Paul was ordered by Festus to be transferred to Rome. Paul's journey was marked by difficult weather, as they had begun their voyage late into the season for sea travel. A bad decision to try to find winter harbor at Phoenix ended with the ship being driven by a storm to the island of Malta, where the ship broke apart. All aboard the ship survived, however, and Paul was soon placed aboard another ship that took him to Puteoli. From there Paul was taken to Rome.

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