The book of Acts is an exciting narrative that describes the movement of the Good News about Jesus from Jerusalem to Rome (Williams, 1990). Within this fascinating story, a number of themes can be discerned.
Ajith Fernando (1998) points out the following themes that he believes are prominent:
- The priority of evangelism
- The power of the Holy Spirit
- Community life
- Teaching
- Prayer
- Breaking human barriers to Christ
- The place of suffering
- The sovereignty of God
- The Jewish reaction to the gospel
- The legal status of Christianity (see pp. 29-31 and the Subject Index)
I. Howard Marshall (1980) mentions the following significant theological themes:
- The church as the continuation of God’s work as described in the Old Testament
- The spread of the message concerning salvation and the gift of the Holy Spirit
- Progress of the gospel in spite of opposition
- The inclusion of the Gentiles in the people of God
- The life and organization of the church (see pp. 23-34)
The text could be studied profitably with a specific focus on any of these broad themes.
In the introduction to his commentary, David J. Williams (1990) observes:
By modern standards they [the believers in Acts] may have been naïve, but perhaps because of their very simplicity, perhaps because of their readiness simply to believe, to obey, to give, to suffer, and, if necessary, to die, the Spirit of God found that he could work in them and through them, and so they turned the world upside down (see 17:6, RSV). (p. 1)
In the conclusion to this same introduction, Williams comments:
Though the story is incomplete, we may read it believing that what he [Luke] wrote is true and that ordinary people filled with the Spirit really did do extraordinary things. They were done “in the name of Jesus,” and so they turned the world upside down. Acts ends at 28:31, but the story of Jesus goes on wherever his Spirit finds men and women ready to believe, to obey, to give, to suffer, and, if need be, to die for him. (p. 17)
Scripture readings for Week 6: ____Acts 21 ____Acts 22 ____Acts 23 ____Acts 24
