《ExpositoryNotes on the WholeBible – Acts (Vol. 1)》(Thomas Constable)
Commentator
Dr. Thomas Constable graduated from Moody Bible Institute in 1960 and later graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary.
Dr. Constable is the founder of Dallas Seminary's Field Education department (1970) and the Center for Biblical Studies (1973), both of which he directed for many years before assuming other responsibilities.
Today Dr. Constable maintains an active academic, pulpit supply, and conference-speaking ministry around the world. He has ministered in nearly three dozen countries and written commentaries on every book of the Bible.
Dr. Constable also founded Plano Bible Chapel, pastored it for twelve years, and has served as one of its elders for over thirty years.
01 Chapter 1
Verse 1
Luke referred to his Gospel as "the first account." The Greek word proton means "first," but it does not imply that Luke intended to write more than two books. This has been the unnecessary conclusion of some scholars. [Note: E.g., E. M. Blaiklock, The Acts of the Apostles, p. 49.] It simply means that Luke was the first of these two books that he wrote.
"Theophilus" means lover of God. Some interpreters have suggested that Theophilus was not an actual person and that Luke was writing to all lovers of God whom he personified by using this name (cf. Luke 1:3). All things considered it seems more likely that Theophilus was a real person. There is no reason he could not have been. Such is the implication of the address, and Theophilus was a fairly common Greek proper name.
Luke wanted his readers to be careful to note that the remarkable supernatural events he was to unfold were ultimately the work of Jesus Christ. They were not just those of His enthusiastic followers.
"The order of the words 'doing' and 'teaching' is noteworthy. Deeds first; then words. The same order is found in Luke 24:19 (contrast Acts 7:22). The 'doing' comes first, for Christianity is primarily life. The teaching follows afterwards, for 'the life is the light of men.'" [Note: Thomas, pp. 18-19. Cf. Ezra 7:10.]
Verses 1-5
1. The resumptive preface to the book 1:1-5
Luke wrote these introductory statements to connect the Book of Acts with his Gospel. [Note: See Longenecker, p. 252, for an explanation of the parallel structures of Luke 1-2 and Acts 1-2.] In the former book Luke had recorded what Jesus had begun to do and to teach during His earthly ministry. In this second book he wrote what Jesus continued doing to build His church through Spirit-indwelt Christians (cf. John 14:12).
Verses 1-7
I. THE WITNESS IN JERUSALEM 1:1-6:7
This first major section of Acts contains the record of the founding of the church on the day of Pentecost, and its expansion in the city of Jerusalem.
Verses 1-47
A. The founding of the church 1:1-2:47
In his account of the founding of the Christian church Luke gave background information that ties Jesus' giving of the Great Commission to the day of Pentecost. He showed how Jesus enabled His disciples to obey His command to evangelize the nations.
Verse 2
Jesus was "taken up" at His ascension (Luke 24:51). The orders that He had given His apostles were that they should remain temporarily in Jerusalem (Acts 1:4; Luke 24:49). Then they should go out into the whole world to herald the good news of salvation (Acts 1:8; Luke 24:47; Matthew 28:19-20).
Apostles are by definition sent ones. However this term here has specific reference to the few disciples to whom Jesus gave this command personally. Their calling was unique; these men laid the foundation of the church (Ephesians 2:20). All Christians are apostles in the sense that Christ has sent all of us on this mission. Yet the 12 apostles (and Paul) were a unique group with special powers the Lord did not give to the rest. [Note: See Robert D. Culver, "Apostles and the Apostolate in the New Testament," Bibliotheca Sacra 134:534 (April-June 1977):131-43.]
"Each of these four factors-the witness mandate, the apostles, the Holy Spirit, the ascended Lord-is a major emphasis that runs throughout Acts; each receives special attention in chapters 1 and 2." [Note: Longenecker, p. 253.]
Verse 3
The Greek word tekmeriois, translated "proofs," occurs only here in the New Testament. It refers to proof by incontrovertible evidence as contrasted with the proof claimed by a witness. Luke asserted that Jesus Christ's resurrection was beyond dispute.
"The fact of the resurrection was to be the solid foundation of the apostles' faith and the chief ingredient of their early message." [Note: Blaiklock, p 49.]
As 40 days of temptation in the wilderness preceded Jesus' earthly ministry (Luke 4:2), so He introduced His present ministry with a 40-day period of preparation. Jesus' baptism with the Spirit occurred before his 40-day test, whereas the reverse order of events appears here in Acts. God had instructed Moses for 40 days on Mt. Sinai in preparation for Israel's mission in the world. Now Jesus instructed the Apostles for 40 days in preparation for the church's mission in the world.
"What Luke is describing is a new beginning, yet a beginning which recalls the beginning already made in the Gospel and with which the story of Acts is continuous. The forty days, therefore, is a vital vehicle for conveying Luke's theology of continuity ..." [Note: John F. Maile, "The Ascension in Luke-Acts," Tyndale Bulletin 37 (1986):54.]
The term "kingdom" occurs only eight times in Acts but 39 times in Luke , 18 times in the New Testament epistles. The "kingdom of God" of which Jesus taught His disciples between His resurrection and ascension undoubtedly refers to God's earthly kingdom program for the future. Dispensationalists believe that Jesus Christ will rule on the earth as Messiah in the future. Progressive dispensationalists, along with covenant premillennialists, amillennialists, and postmillennialists, believe that the messianic kingdom began during Jesus' first advent ministry and that the church is the present form of the messianic kingdom on earth. Normative dispensationalists (i.e., those other than "progressives") believe that the Jews' rejection of Jesus resulted in a temporary withdrawal or postponement of the kingdom and that the church is a distinct entity, not another name for the messianic kingdom. They believe that the messianic kingdom is an earthly kingdom and that it will begin when Jesus Christ returns to reign personally on the earth. I believe there is better scriptural support for the normative view.
Sometimes the phrase "kingdom of God" refers to God's heavenly rule over humans throughout history. Both are biblical uses of the term "kingdom of God." [Note: For a synopsis of the New Testament revelation concerning the kingdom of God, see Robert L. Saucy, "The Presence of the Kingdom and the Life of the Church," Bibliotheca Sacra 145:577 (January-March 1987):30-46.] An earthly kingdom seems clearly in view here since the disciples had expected Jesus to inaugurate the messianic kingdom predicted in the Old Testament on earth then (Acts 1:6). However God postponed that kingdom because Israel rejected her King (Acts 1:7). [Note: J. Dwight Pentecost, Thy Kingdom Come, pp. 214, 225-28. See also Cleon L. Rogers Jr., "The Davidic Covenant in the Gospels," Bibliotheca Sacra 150:600 (October-December 1993):458-78.] Evidently during those 40 days before His ascension Jesus gave His disciples further instruction concerning the future and the postponed kingdom. There may be some significance in the fact that God renewed the broken Mosaic Covenant with Moses on Mt. Sinai in 40 days (Exodus 34:5-29). [Note: J. Manek, "The New Exodus in the Books of Luke," Novum Testamentum 2 (1957):8-23.]
Verse 4
What Jesus told His disciples to wait for in Jerusalem was the promised baptism of the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49; cf. Luke 1:5; John 14:16; John 14:26; John 15:26; John 16:7). It must have been difficult for these disciples to wait for God to do what He had promised, as all Christians find it is. Jesus viewed the Spirit as a significant gift of God's grace to His people (cf. Luke 11:13). He is not just a means to an end but a major part of the blessings of salvation.
"No New Testament writer more clearly emphasises [sic] the Divine Personality and continuous power of the Spirit of God. Thus in the two-fold emphasis on the Exalted Lord and the Divine Spirit we have the most marked feature of the book, namely, the predominance of the Divine element over the human in Church life and work." [Note: Thomas, p. 15.]
Verse 5
"Baptized" (Gr. ebaptisen) means dipped or immersed with the result of union with something (cf. 1 Corinthians 10:1-2). John the Baptist predicted that Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:8; cf. John 7:39). Jesus now announced that this baptism would take place in just a few days (Acts 1:5). It took place 10 days after His ascension (ch. 2). As the Holy Spirit had baptized Jesus and had thereby empowered Him for service, so His successors also needed such a power-producing baptism.
"Luke's purpose in writing his history is not primarily apologetic. He writes in order to provide his readers with an orderly account of the rise and progress of Christianity. [Note: See L. C. Alexander, "Luke's Preface in the Context of Greek Preface-Writing," Novum Testamentum, 28 (1986):48-74.] But since this movement was 'everywhere spoken against' (Acts 28:22), it seemed desirable to refute some of the current objections to it. The first Christian historian found himself accordingly obliged to be the first Christian apologist. Of three main types of Christian apologetic in the second century Luke provided first-century prototypes: apologetic in relation to pagan religion (Christianity is true; paganism is false); apologetic in relation to Judaism (Christianity represents the fulfillment of true Judaism); apologetic in relation to the political authorities (Christianity is innocent of any offense against Roman law)." [Note: F. F. Bruce, "Paul's Apologetic and the Purpose of Acts," Bulletin of the John Rylands University Library 89:2 (Spring 1987):389-90. See also pp. 390-93; and David Peterson, "The Motif of Fulfilment and Purpose of Luke-Acts," in The Book of Acts in Its First Century Setting; Vol. 1: The Book of Acts in Its Ancient Literary Setting, p. 104, who agreed that primarily Luke's purpose was edification and secondarily apologetic.]
Verse 6
The Old Testament associated Spirit baptism with the beginning of the messianic (millennial) kingdom (Isaiah 32:15-20; Isaiah 44:3-5; Ezekiel 39:28-29; Joel 2:28 to Joel 3:1; Zechariah 12:8-10). It was natural therefore that the disciples would ask if that kingdom was about to begin in view of Jesus' promise that the Spirit would baptize them in a few days. "This time" refers to "not many days from now" (Acts 1:5). In the Septuagint, the term "restoration" (Gr. apokatastaseos) technically refers to God's political restoration of Israel (Psalms 16:5; Jeremiah 15:19; Jeremiah 16:15; Jeremiah 23:7; Ezekiel 16:55; Ezekiel 17:23; Hosea 11:11). [Note: J. Carroll, Response to the End of History, p. 146, footnote 124.] The Gentiles had taken the Jews' kingdom from them dating from Nebuchadnezzar's conquest in 586 B.C. Clearly the messianic kingdom is in view here. [Note: See Darrell L. Bock, "Evidence from Acts," in A Case for Premillennialism: A New Consensus, pp. 187-88; and Ladd, p. 1125.]
"In the book of Acts, both Israel and the church exist simultaneously. The term Israel is used twenty times and ekklesia (church) nineteen times, yet the two groups are always kept distinct." [Note: Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, "Israel and the Church," in Issues in Dispensationalism, p. 118.]
Fruchtenbaum listed 73 occurrences of "Israel" in the New Testament. [Note: Ibid., pp. 118-20.]
Verses 6-8
2.The command to witness 1:6-8
The key to the apostles' successful fulfillment of Jesus' commission was their baptism with and consequent indwelling by the Holy Spirit. Without this divine enablement they would only have been able to follow Jesus' example, but with it Jesus could literally continue to do His work and teach His words through them. Consequently their preparation for the baptism of the Spirit was very important. Luke recorded it to highlight its foundational significance.
Acts 1:6-8 announce the theme of Acts and set the stage for all that follows.
"The concept of 'witness' is so prominent in Acts (the word in its various forms appears some thirty-nine times) that everything else in the book should probably be seen as subsumed under it-even the primitive kerygma [preaching] ..." [Note: Longenecker, p. 256.]
Verse 7
Jesus did not correct the disciples for believing that the messianic kingdom would come. [Note: See John A. McLean, "Did Jesus Correct the Disciples' View of the Kingdom?" Bibliotheca Sacra 151:602 (April-June 1994):215-27.] He only corrected their assumption that they could know when the kingdom would begin and that the kingdom would begin in a few days.
Amillennialists do not believe that God will restore an earthly kingdom to Israel as Israel but that He will restore a spiritual kingdom to the church, which they believe has replaced physical Israel as "spiritual Israel" or "the new Israel." Premillennialists believe that since the promises about Messiah's earthly reign have not yet been fulfilled, and since every reference to Israel in the New Testament can refer to physical Israel, we should anticipate an earthly reign of Messiah on the earth following His second coming.
"Jesus' answer to the question about restoring the reign to Israel denies that Jesus' followers can know the time and probably corrects their supposition that the restoration may come immediately, but it does not deny the legitimacy of their concern with the restoration of the national life of the Jewish people." [Note: Robert C. Tannehill, The Narrative Unity of Luke-Acts , 2:15.]
"This passage makes it clear that while the covenanted form of the theocracy has not been cancelled and has only been postponed, this present age is definitely not a development of the Davidic form of the kingdom. Rather, it is a period in which a new form of theocratic administration is inaugurated. In this way Jesus not only answered the disciples' question concerning the timing of the future Davidic kingdom, but He also made a clear distinction between it and the intervening present form of the theocratic administration." [Note: Pentecost, p. 269.]
Jesus' disciples were not to know yet when the messianic kingdom would begin. God would reveal the "times" (Gr. chronous, length of time) and "epochs" (Gr. kairous, dates, or major features of the times) after Jesus' ascension, and He would make them known through His chosen prophets (cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:1; Revelation 6-19).
"In Acts 3:20 [sic 19], the phrase chosen is kairoi anapsuxeos (seasons of refreshing).... In other words, the last days of fulfillment have two parts. There is the current period of refreshing, which is correlated to Jesus' reign in heaven and in which a person shares, if he or she repents. Then at the end of this period Jesus will come to bring the restoration of those things promised by the Old Testament." [Note: Darrell L. Bock, Dispensationalism, Israel and the Church, p. 57.]
"There is a close connection between the hope expressed in Acts 1:6 and the conditional promise of Peter in Acts 3:19-21, indicated not only by the unusual words 'restore' and 'restoration ...' but also by the references to 'times ...' and 'seasons ...' in both contexts. The 'times of restoration of all that God spoke' through the prophets include the restoration of the reign to Israel through its messianic King." [Note: Tannehill, 2:15-16.]
Verse 8
Rather than trying to figure out when the kingdom would come, the disciples were to give their attention to something different, namely, worldwide witness. Moreover the disciples would receive divine enablement for their worldwide mission (cf. Luke 24:47-49). As God's Spirit had empowered the Israelites and Jesus as they executed their purposes, so God's Spirit would empower the disciples as they executed their purpose.
"What is promised to the apostles is the power to fulfil their mission, that is, to speak, to bear oral testimony, and to perform miracles and in general act with authority. This power is given through the Spirit, and conversely the Spirit in Acts may be defined as the divine agency that gives this power." [Note: C. K. Barrett, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles, 1:79.]
"You shall be" translates a future indicative verb (as in "you shall receive"). Is the clause "You shall be" a prediction or a command? Grammatically it could be either. The apostles clearly felt compelled to preach (cf. Acts 10:42). However if it was a command it could have been stated more forcefully. Therefore both verbs ("you shall be" and "you shall receive") are probably predictions, statements of fact, rather than commands.
"They were now to be witnesses, and their definite work was to bear testimony to their Master; they were not to be theologians, or philosophers, or leaders, but witnesses. Whatever else they might become, everything was to be subordinate to the idea of personal testimony. It was to call attention to what they knew of Him and to deliver His message to mankind. This special class of people, namely, disciples who are also witnesses, is therefore very prominent in this book. Page after page is occupied by their testimony, and the key to this feature is found in the words of Peter: 'We cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard' (Acts 4:20)." [Note: Thomas, p. 21.]