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Introduction to the Book of Acts
from a Messianic Jewish Perspective

To Linda, faithful editor, friend, encourager, and prayer warrior.
Her insightful additions and deletions make our commentaries easier to read and understand.

The book of Acts is the first volume of the congregations of God. It records the story of the Messianic Community from its explosive beginning on the festival of Shavu’ot to the imprisonment of its greatest missionary in Rome. During those three decades, the Messianic Community exploded from a small group in Jerusalem to hundreds of thousands of believers in dozens of congregations throughout the Roman Empire. Acts describes how the Spirit of God controlled and empowered the expansion of the Messianic Congregation/Church. Indeed, the book could well be called “The Acts of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh Through the Apostles.”

Acts is a significant book for several reasons. Without Acts it would be very difficult to understand the flow of the early history of the Messianic Community/Church. With it, however, we have a core history around which to assemble the data in the epistles, enriching our understanding of them. The book follows first the ministry of Peter, then Rabbi Sha’ul/Paul. From it, we learn principles for discipling believers, building the Body of Messiah, and evangelizing the world.

Although a work of history, not theology, Acts nevertheless emphasizes the doctrinal truths concerning salvation, Yeshua ha’Natzrati is boldly proclaimed as Isra’el’s long-awaited Messiah; and that truth, is ably defended from the TaNaKh (2:22ff, 3:12ff, 4:10ff, 7:1ff, 8:26ff, 9:22, 18:5 and 24-28, 28:23).

The book of Acts also teaches much about the Spirit of God, who is mentioned more than fifty times. He regenerates, immerses, fills, and sanctifies believers. The Ruach Ha’Kodesh is seen choosing missionaries (13:2) and directing their operations (8:29). He presided over the first council of the Messianic Community/Church and basically directed and controlled all of her operations.

The doctrinal importance of Acts is not limited, however, to its teaching on Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. While it does not flow around doctrinal issues, but historical events, it does, however, touch on many theological truths. The importance of the book of Acts is in its preservation of the main doctrinal themes presented in the preaching of the apostles, though there is no evidence of an attempt to develop a systemized theology.1

The Use of the Tree of Life Version

Because I am writing this commentary on the book of Acts from a Jewish perspective, I will be using the Tree of Life Version unless otherwise indicated. There will be times when I substitute Hebrew for English names using the Complete Jewish Bible (CJB) by David Stern. But generally, I will be using the TLV translation for the Jewish perspective.

Author

The author of the gospel of Luke and the book of Acts writes anonymously. In fact, none of the writers of the four gospels identify themselves by name. But church tradition, as far back as the early part of the second century, has always agreed that Luke was the writer of both the gospel of Luke and Acts. Taken together, Luke, a Hellenistic Jew, wrote more of the New Covenant than any other writer, including Paul. Luke is mentioned by name only three times in the New Covenant (Colossians 4:14; Second Timothy 4:11; Philemon 24). From these passages and Luke’s books we discover several things. Luke was a well-educated Greek living in Asia Minor. Luke’s use of the Greek language was superior. His lively, entertaining style resembles the writing style of Greek novelists at the time. He was also a careful historian, often tying his story to specific dates and historical incidents and figures. Luke was also a physician (Colossians 4:14). His medical training shows in his use of technical medical terms. After he met Paul, Luke was the apostle’s constant companion, even in jail. In the “we” passages, beginning in Acts 16:10, Luke switches to the first-person plural, showing that he was there and part of the action.

Date

The date of the gospel is closely tied to its companion volume Acts. Since Paul was in prison
in Rome at the end of Acts (about AD 62), Luke may have finished Acts before Paul’s release
and later martyrdom. This would place Acts around AD 62, and the Gospel of Luke was probably written in the early 60s.

Where and How Luke Got His Information

Luke was not an eyewitness to anything he describes in his gospel, nor to most of what he wrote about in the first fifteen chapters of Acts. He never saw Jesus. The opening paragraph of his gospel, Luke tells where and how he got his information (Luke 1:1-5). He heard about Jesus from the apostles and others who told him what they had seen and heard. Luke’s two books were written probably about thirty years after Jesus rose from the dead.2

Style

Luke likes to write things in sequence. Right from the beginning, in the preface to his gospel (Luke 1:1-3), he states that he is writing a narrative, and that he is going to tell things in sequence, in consecutive order (Greek: kathexes). In fact, Luke is the only gospel author who claims to write in such a way. He builds his case in meticulous fashion, the order of events and stories playing a major role in the structure and style. The same reason also lies behind Luke’s custom of first introducing his important characters in passing fashion, returning to them later as though they were already a known part of his story (see Barnabas, Paul, Apollos and Agrippa).

Luke also adopts typical Greek rhetoric style in the narration of Paul’s defense speeches (22:3-21, 24:10-21, 26:4-23). His use of these speeches reflects the purpose of the book, enabling him to present Paul as a loyal Jew who has devoted himself to fulfilling the promises made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He likewise represents his writing as “history” according to the biblical genre. This allows him to substantiate the events which he records as the fulfillment of Yeshua’s command to his disciples to witness to the ends of the earth. In this way he demonstrates how the Gentiles have come to be included in God’s Kingdom, in total agreement with Isra’el’s most basic beliefs, written in the Torah and spoken by the prophets.

Furthermore, Luke frequently introduces summaries and brief statements through which the reader can focus on his goal (2:42-47, 4:32-35, 5:12-16, 6:7, 9:31 and 42, 11:21 and 24, 12:24, 14:1, 16:5, 19:20, 28:31). This gives a feeling of progress and historical momentum unique to Luke-Acts in the B’rit Chadashah. The same is true of the reports of signs and wonders that follow the apostles in their evangelistic work.3

The use of ADONAI

Long before Yeshua’s day, the word ADONAI had, out of respect, been substituted in speaking and in reading aloud for God’s personal name, the four Hebrew letters yud-heh-vav-heh, variously written in English as YHVH. The Talmud (Pesachim 50a) made it a requirement not to pronounce the Tetragrammaton, meaning the four-letter name of God, and this remains the rule in most modern Jewish settings. In deference to this tradition, which is unnecessary but harmless, I will be using ADONAI where YHVH is meant.1 In ancient times when the scribes were translating the Hebrew Scriptures, they revered the name of YHVH so much that they would use a quill to make one stroke of the name and then throw it away. Then they would make another stroke and throw that quill away until the name was completed. His name became so sacred to them that they started to substitute the phrase the Name, instead of writing or pronouncing His Name. Over centuries of doing this, the actual letters and pronunciation of His Name were lost. The closest we can come is YHVH, with no syllables. The pronunciation has been totally lost. Therefore, the name Yahweh is only a guess of what the original name sounded like. Both ADONAI and Ha’Shem are substitute names for YHVH. ADONAI is more of an affectionate name like daddy, while Ha’Shem is a more formal name like sir.

The use of TaNaKh

The Hebrew word TaNaKh is an acronym, based on the letters T (for “Torah”), N (for “Nevi’im,” the Prophets), and K (for “Ketuvim,” the Sacred Writings). It is the collection of the teachings of God to human beings in document form. The term “Old Covenant” implies that it is no longer valid, or at the very least outdated. Something old, to be either ignored or discarded. But Jesus Himself said: Don’t think I have come to abolish the Torah and the Prophets, I have not come to abolish but to complete (Matthew 5:17 CJB). I will be using the Hebrew acronym TaNaKh instead of the phrase the Old Testament, throughout this devotional commentary.

The Use of the phrase, “the righteous of the TaNaKh,”
rather than using Old Testament saints

Messianic synagogues, and the Jewish messianic community in general, never use the phrase Old Testament saints. From a Jewish perspective, they prefer to use the phrase, “righteous of the TaNaKh.” Therefore, I will be using “the righteous of the TaNaKh,” rather than Old Testament saints throughout this devotional commentary.

The Use of Disciple and Apostle

Luke indicates that Jesus chose twelve from among His disciples, and that these He named apostles. Consequently, I will be using the word disciples as a general term for those who were committed to following their Master to learn from Him. And I will be using the word apostles for the Twelve whom Messiah invested His time and sent out with His delegated authority. Obviously, Yeshua chose twelve special disciples to be His apostles. Also, at times, I will also be using the Hebrew word talmid (singular) or talmidim (plural), which means student or learner, to refer to His Twelve apostles. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, they carried on His ministry after He had ascended back to the Father in heaven.

The Purpose of Acts

Each of the letters in the B’rit Chadashah was written to deal with a set of problems facing a specific congregation, or reflects the relationship of the writer to a particular community. One of the main purposes of the book of Acts is to explain the relationship between the Jewish and Gentile segments of the early community, and to reconcile Paul’s ministry with Peter’s. Luke opens up with the story of the proclamation of the gospel in Jerusalem, which then spreads to the ends of the earth in fulfillment of the words of the prophets (Isaiah 2:3; Acts 1:8). The book of Acts can in many ways be seen as an apologetic for peace between Jews and Gentiles in the body of Messiah. Luke is Paul’s disciple and has taken pains to research and put in order the written and oral material that he gathered in Isra’el and in the diaspora.

Luke succeeds in reconciling the two great leaders in the Church so well that the reader has difficulty finding much difference between them.

Peter – Apostle to the Jews: Peter’s first healing was a cripple (see Ap – Peter Heals a Lame Beggar), he healed through a shadow (5:15), his success caused Jewish jealousy (5:15-17), he dealt with Simon the sorcerer (8:9-24), he raised Dorcas to life (9:36-41), he was miraculously released from prison (12:7).
And the word of God kept on spreading (6:7).

Paul – Apostle to the Gentiles: Paul’s first healing was also a cripple (14:8-18); he healed through handkerchiefs and aprons (19:11-12), his success also caused Jewish jealousy (13:45), he also dealt with a sorcerer named Bar-Jesus (13:6-11), he also raised someone to life, Eutychus (20:9-12), he was also miraculously released from prison (23:26). So, the word of
the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing (19:20).

The similarities between the two men indicate a comparison between the ministry to the Jews and to the Gentiles in the book of Acts. It is important to note that Chapter 15 – which deals with the problems between the Jewish and Gentile parts of the body of Messiah – divides Acts in half. These indications suggest that Acts was written in order to accomplish the following goals:

1. To demonstrate the validity and equality of Peter’s and Paul’s ministries.

2. To place the ministry to the Gentiles in its proper perspective with respect to the Messianic Community.

3. To show that the ministry to the Gentiles was a part of God’s design from the beginning of the apostolic ministry, commanded by Yeshua Himself.

4. To communicate to the readers that although God has ordained the preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles, this in no way threatens the Jewishness of the apostolic mission, nor Torah-observance and Jewish customs. The book of Acts begins in Jerusalem with vision of the restoration of the Kingdom of God to Isra’el and ends with Paul assuring the Jewish leadership in Rome that I had done nothing against our people, or the customs of our fathers (28:17).4