Acts Plotline

NT Glover Final Exam

Where is Acts places in the NT

• between the gospels and the epistles

  • introduces the rest of the NT figures (authors of the espistles)

Connection between Luke and Acts

• same author

• parallels

• to be read together

Acts’ role in the NT

• canonical hinge

2 Similarities between acts and the gospels

• a narrative

• continuation of Jesus’ mission in us

2 Similarities between acts and the espistles

• new characters

• new themes

Luke in Acts/NT

a physician traveling with Paul

“we sections” - 3 bullet points

• evidence pointing to Luke’s authorship

  • could be luke or someone that he copied verbatim

• could be genre conventions

  • traveling/sailing stories common at the time with first-person pronouns

• Eyewitness testimonies

  • like Luke’s own testimonies or a travelogue, which was common for sailors’ records at the time

Luke’s dates

• 64 ce

  • most don’t believe because it would’ve been written before Mark

• 65-95 ce

  • most believe

• 100-130 ce

  • believe that Luke used Josephus’ antiquities

genre

ancient GR historiography

• meaning/accuracy

  • not exacty what happened but why it matters

ch 1

• dedication to theophilus 

  • preface, NOT fancy

• ascension of Jesus

  • connects to last ch of Luke

  • early interpretation as heavenly enthronement + KoG inauguration

  • Jesus is gone

  • Eschatological anxiety (when will he come back??)

• Restoration of the 12 disciples

  • No Judas - suicide

ch 2

• disciples become apostles

• they await the restoration of the kingdom at

• pentecost

pentecost 

• ch 2 location

• praying in the upper room hear the rushing wind

• HS falls upon all of them

  • fulfillment of OT prophecy (Joel 2:28)

• tongues

  • Embracing diversity (Gen 11)

    • Reversal of Babel, but embrace diversity

  • Religious leaders call them drunk

ch 3-4

• Jewish mission!

  • disciples preach and perform miracles in the Jerusalem Temple

  • Transition = procalimer becomes the proclaimed

• Some opposition from Jewish leaders

ch 5

• utopian church portrait:

• new church shares its possessions

  • sell all their stuff

  • share all their money

  • motivated by apocalyptic eschatology

• apostles get the first taste of resistance

  • ananius and sapphira

apocalyptic eschatology (ch5)

• Early Christians are convinced that Jesus will come back super soon

• So they act immediately in taking care of one another 

Ananias and Sapphira (ch5 story)

• sell all their land

• only give ½ of money to the church

• Spirit moves Peter to question them

• they lie and get zapped dead by God

  • esntills fear

  • exolts God

    • nothing will stop His justice

ch 6

• division between hellenistic and hebrew Jews

  • hellenists = greek speaking + needy/overlooked

  • hebrew = aramaic speaking

• issues over table fellowship and equitable distribution

  • hebrews not leaving enough left for the hellenists

• apostles can’t figure all of that out

• appoint deacons: new leadership (7 from the minority/hellenist group)

ch 7-8

• one of stephen’s seven speeches

  • retells Jewish history and points out the Jewish tendency to reject God’s prophets and calls them out for doing the same with Jesus

ch 8

• stephen’s speech infuriates the “Sanhedrin”

• stephen is killed/stoned/martyred

  • death mirrors Jesus

• Saul/Paul introduced

  • “approved his killing”

• Philip goes to Samaria

  • one of the 7 Hellenist leaders

  • although there’s opposition from a magician, Simon, many Samaritans convert (approved by Peter)

• Philip converts the Ethiopian Church

  • Eunuch converted (like the first person accepted who wasn’t Jewish)

Gospel is slowly moving away from Jerusalem, including increasingly more marginalized peoples

• Samaritans - Eunuchs - . . . - Gentiles

“sanhedrin” (ch8)

jewish council who decides the legal matters

• made of pharisees and sadducees

ch 9

• Saul story

  • “breathing threats and murder against church”

  • from jerusalem letter, empowered to arrest Christian Jews in Damascus

• Road to Damascus

• Saul converts/follows Jesus 

  • preaches the one he persecuted

• Some plot to kill him in Damscus

• Escaped from them by others protecting him by sneaking him out via blanket over the wall

• Returns to Jerusalem and gets with the apostles

Road to Damscus Story (ch9)

• Jesus encounters Saul

• blinds him

• led to ananius’ house, where he is healed and starts proclaiming the gospel

• God defeats his enemies! (and even transforms and saves them)

ch 10-11

• Peter’s vision

  • “kill and eat”

• Peter meets Cornelius and fam

• Cornelius believes

• all baptized

• sparks unrest about who is included in salvation

Peter’s vision (ch10-11)

• heavenly picnic with all kinds of animals

  • not kosher

• God tells Him they are clean to eat 3 times

• Not just about what’s allowed to be eaten but who’s allowed in the Kingdom (gentiles too!)

Cornelius

the first gentile believer!!

• unsure about the enuch (cause missing necessary parts)

• he was a roman centurion

ch 12

“trouble in paradise"

• Herod kills John’s brother James

• Herod arrests Peter and sentences him to the same death

  •  steadfast prayer from the community

  • Angel sent, miraculously walked out of prison right to the house of prayer

• God strikes Herod dead

  • some reprieve from persecution

ch 13-14

• Saul and Barnabas are selected to go preach the gospel!

• Cyprus

  • Elymas, a magician, reads the stars and tries to convince Sergius Paulus to kick Peter out

  • Paul strikes him blind

• Pisidian Antioch

  • Paul preaches and makes believers

• Lystra and Derbe

  • P and B heal a lame man

  • Thought to be Greek gods

    • didn’t understand @ first because of the language barrier

  • Paul survives a stoning

• Return to Syrian Antioch

  • ending of Paul’s first missionary journey

Luke’s organization of ch13-28

• organizes Paul’s missionary activity into three distinct journeys

  • NOT historically accurate

    • technically, hip-hopped around the Mediterranean

  • does this way to add structure and clarity

ch 15

• P and B return to Jerusalem and meet with apostles and James

• P and B report on gentile conversion success

  • raises questions

• ultimately decide on what rules gentiles must follow as believers

  • no sexual immorality

  • no meat sacrificed to idols (idolatry)

  • no meat with blood (unclean foods)

    • ensures that Jews (still practice kosher) and gentiles can still share meals/worship together

• they recognize that ethics can be contextual

  • for us, just because it’s in the NT, doesn’t mean we have to follow it

• P and B split up

ch 16-18

Pauls’ secondary mission journey

• Philippi

  • python, arrested, and released

• Thessalonica

  • Jason is beaten

• Beroea

  • searching for the scriptures

• Athens

  • debates with philosophers

• Corinth

  • increased Jewish leader persecution

• Return to Antioch

  • the end

ch 19-21

third missionary journey

• Paul visits his converts

• Ephesus

  • Sceva son’s magic

    • wandering exorcists who use Jesus’ name

  • riot and beaten by demoni

• Goes to Jerusalem = end of journey

Jerusalem 

• visits James

• goes to a temple with a jew from the mediterranean (they considered a gentile)

• uproar leads to arrest 

• stays in Rome

ch 22-28

• paul appeals to Caesar to get a fair hearing cause he’s a Roman citizen

• appeals before Felix and Festus

  • clearly innocent but can’t declare because he appealed to caesar

• Roman soldiers escort him to Rome

• Paul shipwrecks

  • survives that and snake bite

• In Malta, they think he’s a god (b/c survived)

• He heals Publius’, the leader’s, kid

• gets a boat and goes back to Rome

  • proclaims the gospel