Acts of the Apostles

"All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need."

"“... you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men. ...”"

"The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith."

"Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, O ye house of Israel, have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness? Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon."

"And [Stephen] said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”"

"As they traveled along the road and came to some water, the eunuch said, “Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?”"

"“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied."

"Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers."

"So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. ...”"

"Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles."

"The Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts."

"Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us return and visit the brethren in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.""

"During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”"

"One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message."

"So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. ...”"

"As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’"

"Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. ... he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus."

"And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books and burned them in front of everyone."

"“After I have been [to Jerusalem],” [Paul] said, “I must visit Rome also.”"

"The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”"

"Paul argued in his defense [before Festus], “Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I committed any offense.”"

"[Festus] declared: “You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!”"

"“ ... according to the strictest party of our religion I have lived as a Pharisee. And now I stand here on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our fathers, to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly worship night and day. And for this hope I am accused by Jews, O king! ...”"

"And Agrippa said to Paul, “In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?”"

"[An angel of God] said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’"

"From morning until evening [Paul] explained things to [the Jewish leaders of Rome], testifying about the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus from both the law of Moses and the prophets. Some were convinced by what he said, but others refused to believe. So they began to leave, unable to agree among themselves, after Paul made one last statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke rightly to your ancestors through the prophet Isaiah when he said, ‘Go to this people and say, “You will keep on hearing, but will never understand, ...”’ “Therefore be advised that this salvation from God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen!”"

"Paul lived [in Rome] two whole years in his own rented quarters and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with complete boldness and without restriction."

"Following the four gospels [...] comes a book which is for the most part a straightforward history and is particularly valuable for that reason. It deals with the slow growth of Christianity during the generation that followed the crucifixion of Jesus – from its beginnings in Jerusalem until its slowly widening influence finally reached Rome itself. In so doing, it indicates the steady shift of Christianity away from its national Jewish foundation to the status of a universal Gentile religion, and the hero of that shift is the apostle Paul."

"The close relationship between Jesus and the Church is highlighted in the story of Paul’s conversion. … Note here Jesus’ exact words: “Why do you persecute me?” Saul could have easily answered, “I’m not persecuting you – I am going after your disciples.” However, it seems Jesus’ words illustrate precisely the critical point which is emphasized over and over again in the book of Acts: Jesus is to be identified with his Church. … Thus, as Christ lived in his earthly body, he now lives in the Church. What he did in his earthly body he now does in his Mystical Body."

"The needed structure that spans that gulf [between Old and New Testament] is the Book of Acts. Now how can Acts be that bridge between the Old and the New Testament if the first book of the New Testament is the Gospel of Matthew followed by three more gospels? The answer is that the purpose of the gospels is to reveal the nature, the life and the times of Yeshua, who is the Messiah. But the Book of Acts delves into how the followers of a Jewish Messiah whose messianic office is derived only from a Jewish Israelite religion and a Jewish Israelite holy book, somehow came to purposely include a gentile world."

"While the gospel was no doubt carried along all roads which branched out from its Palestinian homeland, Acts concentrates on the road from Jerusalem to Antioch and thence to Rome."

"...its dependence on the Antiquities of Josephus ... is most improbable. ... The optimistic note on which Acts ends, with Paul proclaiming the kingdom of God in Rome without let or hindrance, suggests a date before the outbreak of persecution in AD 64."

"Luke is obviously concerned, in both parts of his work, to demonstrate that Christianity is not a menace to imperial law and order. He does this particularly by citing the judgments of governors, magistrates and other authorities in various parts of the Empire."

"While [Luke] has apologetic and theological interests, these do not detract from his detailed accuracy, although they control his selection and presentation of the facts."

"The practical implication of his [i.e. Gallio's] decision [to dismiss the charge of propagating an illicit religion brought against Paul by the Jewish leaders in Corinth] is that Christianity shares the protection assured by Roman law to Judaism."

"...in Acts it is Jews who are Paul's bitterest enemies in one place after another. While Acts records the steady advance of the gospel in the great Gentile centres of imperial civilization, it records at the same time its progressive rejection by the majority of the Jewish communities throughout the Empire."

"On the theological side, the dominating theme of Acts is the activity of the Holy Spirit. The promise of the outpouring of the Spirit, made by the risen Christ in 1:4, is fulfilled for Jewish disciples in chapter 2 and for Gentile believers in chapter 10. ... The book might indeed be called ‘The Acts of the Holy Spirit’. ... He is the principal witness to the truth of the gospel. The supernatural manifestations which accompany the spread of the gospel signify not only the Spirit's activity but also the inauguration of the new age in which Jesus reigns as Lord and Messiah."

"...it remains a document of incalculable value for the beginnings of Christianity. ... The rise and progress of Christianity is a study beset with problems, but some of these problems would be even more intractable than they are if we had not the information of Acts to help us. For example, how did it come about that a movement that began in the heart of Judaism was recognized after a few decades as a distinctively Gentile religion? ... [Luke's] narrative is, in fact, a source-book of the highest value for a significant phase of the history of world civilization."

"Acts describes nothing beyond Paul's two-year stay in Rome, even though a number of significant events occurred not long afterwards, including the martyrdoms of James the Less and Mark the Evangelist. Neither does Luke record the outcome of Paul's appeal before the emperor. Thus, we may reasonably conclude that Acts was completed about two years after Paul arrived in Rome, not at any later date. Luke may have spent much of those two years working on his Gospel and on Acts of the Apostles. He may have had some portion of Acts written in advance (notes he had taken along the way and the like). However, this two-year period of time is the most likely time frame for the writing of the bulk of Acts and for its completion."

"Here [the reader] will find an historical record of a new power at work in the world. It not only revolutionized religion but transformed man. ... For its sake frail men and women faced loss, persecution and death with serene and happy courage. Such are the facts of history which our reader will learn from this book."

"It was a high honor to compose the most significant chapters in the history of the Christian Church; yet the author of The Acts, who alone relates the origin of the most significant society and of the mightiest movement in the world, makes no mention of his own name."

"Athens was the cradle of democracy, the centre of learning, and the uncontested leader of the civilized world. It is not surprising therefore that Luke, who records Paul's visit to the city in Acts 17, makes Paul's speech to the Athenians one of the high points of his book. Here we read of the clash between Christianity and paganism ..."

"It describes [Christianity's] message and ministry, and its life – including its triumphs and trials, the passions that drove it, and the source of the power that energized it."

"... both Acts and the third Gospel have been written anonymously. But Acts is unique in that it contains ninety-seven verses during Paul's journeys where the third person is replaced by the first person plural – the so-called "we passages," which claim to be the observations of an eye-witness."

"It should of course be recognized that modern archaeology has almost forced upon critics of St. Luke a verdict of remarkable accuracy in all his allusions to secular facts and events."

"... the Gospels did little more than to anticipate the church, whereas the Epistles presuppose it. A work was needed to describe the rise and development of this great spiritual entity that would at the same time be a binding element between Gospels and Epistles. The Book of Acts fills exactly that need."

"In the Acts Luke undertakes to trace the fulfillment of the earthly mission of Jesus in terms of the establishment of his church by men whom he had trained, and the spread of the movement under the impulsion of the Holy Spirit whom he had promised. ... [Acts] was intended to be informative and edifying, tracing the progress of the gospel from Jerusalem to Rome."

"Again and again the historian pictures the gospel being presented to the Jews, only to be rejected by them. At the same time it is emphasized that Gentiles have an eagerness to accept the message. It is especially impressive that this twofold reaction to the gospel should be the note on which the whole account closes."

"A strong case can be made out for a date of composition shortly after the close of the two-year period noted at the end of the book, during which time Paul remained in captivity awaiting trial, or around A.D. 63, despite Moffatt's claim that this is preposterous."

"The Acts is distinctly a missionary document, with the Great Commission of 1:8 the key to its structure. The gospel is preached and the church formed, first in Jerusalem, then in Judea, then in Samaria, then in the Gentile world."