The Book of Acts from a Layperson's Perspective: Commentaries for Small-Group or Individual Study

By J. F. Mims

Discover how 2,000 years ago sworn enemies came together to find God in a new way.

Why another commentary on the book of Acts when there are so many out there already?

As a verse-by-verse compilation of commentaries and personal impressions of St. Luke's writings in the Holy Bible's book of&n

• Language: English
• Publisher: Koehler Books
• Release date: Aug 5, 2022
• ISBN: 9781646637195

J. F. Mims

J. F. Mims, MEd, feels qualified to write The Book of Acts from a Layperson's Perspective because of his lifelong Christian faith. He is a Christian layperson active in his local United Methodist church, leading small-group adult Bible study and Sunday school classes. Relying on his training in education and his background as a technical writer and college instructor, he authored The Book of Acts from a Layperson's Perspective as his Christian witnessing, encouraging others to read and explore the Bible, especially the book of Acts, in order to develop and expand their own faith in God.

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Praise for The Book of Acts from a Layperson’s Perspective

"To the content side—this was great! Very clear and concise, while clearly adding your own useful perspective along with those of the experts/authorities you referenced. There’s a real need for lay-leader-based leadership material in the local church. You’ve provided a great example of that here!

"I really appreciated your elaborating on some subjects I haven’t seen mentioned much, like the significance of Paul cutting his hair to symbolize the completion of a vow. You’ve filled in a lot of complexity in an approachable way, and very honestly named the places where there’s not enough information to speculate on some questions in the text. I wish more of the experts/authorities would follow your lead!

Your passion and personal faith really come through in an accessible way here!

—Rev. Dr. Dallas L., UMC Minister, BCC

The extensive research into the Book of Acts done by Mr. Mims brings a whole different outlook to the narrative of the early Christian church. Fresh ideas and concepts await the reader with every chapter. If you thought you were familiar with the Book of Acts, prepare to be surprised. A must-read for any Bible learner.

—Chris C., Certified UMC Lay Leader

"I am thankful for you; people like you help people like me to understand so much more than I would be able to on my own. I think you did an awesome job!

I [have] learned how important context is in our reading and study of Scripture. All contexts—mine, the author’s, the audience’s. So, after all these years, I am finally gaining a better understanding of the Bible. But I am not a history buff. I have done other studies of Acts and read it on my own. I am so thankful for people like JF, who was able through hard work, on his own, to enhance my knowledge. JF has done a remarkable job digging out and brushing off all 2,000-plus years of dust to reveal the history of how Christianity was able to take root and grow. In the book, JF, to me, expertly presented verse by verse, through Luke’s eyes, who Paul was and how he traveled and taught. The people he encountered, the struggles and hardships he endured. I felt like I met Paul and went with him as he spread the Gospel. JF filled in the facets of Paul as a person—his emotion, his dedication, his passion, and faith—and took me to the ancient time and places he lived and taught. I am looking forward to the opportunity of joining others in studying it. Thank you, JF Mims, for your part in helping Paul spread the Good News of Christ!

—Deb H., Certified UMC Lay Leader

"Mims, I like the way you put this. These aren’t ordinary things people are doing in Acts. They aren’t even ordinary things that ‘nice church people do.’ They are extraordinary.

"I really like that you put this in because most people miss it, at least the first part. Most people notice that Acts establishes Christianity as a legitimate branch of Judaism but fail to notice the work that Luke does to establish its legitimacy in the Roman Empire. Paul does this as well. At times he actually quotes Roman household codes and norms that any Greco-Roman would have known. They are doing a delicate balancing act. On the one hand the Christian message is subversive to the Roman emperor cult. At the same time, Luke and Paul want to show that their mission isn’t to bring about anarchy or even necessarily upend Roman society.

"I appreciate your analysis of what Peter is saying. He is nuanced. On the one hand he prods the people—he isn’t a soothsayer, just telling them what they want to hear. He challenges and even provokes them. At the same time, he’s not just throwing invective comments around. He’s giving them a bit of benefit of the doubt.

I really like this question [in Point to Ponder]. It invites the reader to consider where the agency of faith resides and that it has implications beyond the situation in the text. How do we as Christians expect our faith to bring about extraordinary things in the world? Through our own sense of calling and mission? Through the interaction with other people of faith? Through both? Etc.

—Rev. Josh K., UMC Minister

title

The Book of Acts from a Layperson’s Perspective: Commentaries for Small-Group or Individual Study

by J. F. Mims

© Copyright 2019 J. F. Mims

ISBN 978-1-64663-719-5

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior written permission of the author.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from The One New Man Bible, copyright © 2011 William J. Morford. Used by permission of True Potential Publishing, Inc.

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To my DB, who so graciously endured.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE

A SHORT DISCOURSE ON DATES AND DATING

ACTS, CHAPTER 1

Points To Ponder

ACTS, CHAPTER 2

Points To Ponder

ACTS, CHAPTER 3

Point To Ponder

ACTS, CHAPTER 4

Points To Ponder

ACTS, CHAPTER 5

Points To Ponder

ACTS, CHAPTER 6

Points To Ponder

ACTS, CHAPTER 7

Points To Ponder

ACTS, CHAPTER 8

Points To Ponder

ACTS, CHAPTER 9

Points To Ponder

ACTS, CHAPTER 10

Points To Ponder

ACTS, CHAPTER 11

Points To Ponder

ACTS, CHAPTER 12

Points To Ponder

ACTS, CHAPTER 13

Points To Ponder

ACTS, CHAPTER 14

Points To Ponder

ACTS, CHAPTER 15

Points To Ponder

ACTS, CHAPTER 16

Points To Ponder

ACTS, CHAPTER 17

Points To Ponder

ACTS, CHAPTER 18

Points To Ponder

ACTS, CHAPTER 19

Points To Ponder

ACTS, CHAPTER 20

Points To Ponder

ACTS, CHAPTER 21

Points To Ponder

ACTS, CHAPTER 22

Points To Ponder

ACTS, CHAPTER 23

Points To Ponder

ACTS, CHAPTER 24

Point To Ponder

ACTS, CHAPTER 25

Point To Ponder

ACTS, CHAPTER 26

Point To Ponder

ACTS, CHAPTER 27

Point To Ponder

ACTS, CHAPTER 28

Point To Ponder

POSTSCRIPT

APPENDIX

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

WORKS CITED

INDEX

PREFACE

According to the study notes of the ESV Study Bible, Luke ’s description of the Bereans in Acts 17:11 supports the idea that the Bible can be understood rightly, not only by scholars , but also by ordinary people . . . with conscious dependence on God for help (English Standard Version Study Bible. 2008. Crossway Books, 2121). I am one of those ordinary people, and this book is the result of my efforts to understand the book of Acts rightly. I enjoy making discoveries—for example, about Pentecost or Philip (see chapters 2 and 8, respectively)—that I hope will enhance my understanding of the Bible. Acts is history that I can comment on and contains events and happenings which I can perceive and expand with my imagination. I relate more to Acts than to the Gospels . The Gospels tell of the extraordinary works of the Son of Man . Acts tells of the extraordinary works of ordinary men and women. Other books of the Bible, such as Isaiah and Revelation , are more theological and require more interpretation and analysis from me (and to me are not as satisfying to read).

Depending on which version of the Bible one reads, the title of the book of Acts states that it is the "Acts of the Apostles, Acts by the Apostles, or the Acts of the Holy Spirit (emphasis added). If I were naming this book, I would call it How Paul Saved Christianity and other Acts." In any case, it is commonly called Acts or the book of Acts, and it is the Gospel-writer Luke’s version of the story of the early development of that system of beliefs based on faith in God and Jesus of Nazareth that eventually became known as Christianity.

In Acts, Luke shows how Christianity—first considered an insignificant sect within Judaism by those in positions of power—was able to continue to grow and evolve toward all of its present forms. The fact that it was initially regarded as insignificant turned out to be fortunate because that gave it a chance to take root (although at first only slightly) within the Roman Empire in the first century CE. Luke presents foundational blocks that eventually led to the separation of Christianity from Judaism. Acts does not cover this final break, so for the entirety of the book, Christianity remains united with Judaism, despite increasing tensions.

Acts is considered to be the second volume of Luke’s work of Luke–Acts. The purpose for his writing Acts was twofold: legalistic and apologetic. Luke wanted to show Christianity as a valid religion throughout the Roman Empire, as well as highlight its Jewish origins rooted in the Old Testament (Keener 1993, 321–22).

For me, Acts is divided primarily into two sections. The first part concerns what some of the original disciples and others undertook to proclaim Christianity. The second part shows how, without the apostle Paul and his dedication, devotion, and persistence, Christianity might not have survived outside Judea. I do not consider Acts to be Paul’s biography. There is just too much that Luke does not reveal about Paul’s life (and death) for Acts to be seen as a biography of Paul.

Preparing this manuscript has been a personal journey for me. My opinions are my own and are based on my due-diligence research and my logical perceptions. I am solely responsible for my opinions and the content of the manuscript. All date calculations (especially for Paul’s life) are my own, based on my interpretation of the calendars from my references. Some of my statements may appear somewhat naïve to some scholars, but I have never claimed to be an expert on the Bible.

The word commentary is defined as a systematic series of explanations or interpretations (as of a writing) (Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary 1988). Thus this book is my attempt to offer my own perceptions and explanations of Luke’s writings in Acts. I acknowledge that there are a certain number of times when these explanations and perceptions may go against scholarly opinion. Each reader may decide whether to agree with me. Pontius Pilate asks Jesus in John 18:38, What is truth? My hope is that each reader may find what is true for her or him by considering what is offered herein and so come to appreciate the book of Acts as much as I do.

This book originated with my desire to expand the content of my Bible study class into a useful commentary. The book is designed and written to be an aid and a supplement to a small group or individual. As a class leader, I do not care to tell a fellow leader how to conduct her or his class, but I hope the book can serve as a guide for lesson plans or provide direction for class discussion.

After reading a passage in Acts such as 4:13–17, a reader might be curious why the Sanhedrin are astonished at Peter and John. My comments offer a partial insight but are not intended to fully explain what is going on. I hope the reader would want to dig deeper for an answer. Related to that, the repetition of some commentary on different verses helps to make each section independent, preventing the reader from having to search the text continually.

The New International Version (NIV) study-note sources that I used are the NIV Archaeological Study Bible (NIV Archaeological Study Bible. 2005. New International Version. Zondervan) and the NIV Study Bible (NIV Study Bible. 1985. New International Version. Zondervan). A fourth Bible used as a study-note source is the One New Man Bible (One New Man Bible. 2011. True Potential Publishing). Also I use this Bible’s convention of capitalizing the word temple when referring to the Jerusalem Temple in any capacity. Unless otherwise specified, all biblical scriptures and quotations are from the NIV Archaeological Study Bible. The Bible abbreviations in the in-text citations are ESV for English Standard Version Study, AR for the NIV Archaeological Study, ST for the NIV Study, and ONM for the One New Man Bible.

In all chapters, an individual number or number range at the beginning of a commentary paragraph designates the verse or passage associated with that commentary. I hope that this format facilitates meaningful discovery for the Acts reader. I use in-text citations for source references. This method enhances the process of source identification by allowing the reader to proceed directly to the works cited page for complete source information.

A SHORT DISCOURSE ON DATES AND DATING

I have followed the general shift in contemporary usage to CE (for Common Era) in place of AD ( anno Domini or in the year of the Lord ), along with BCE (before the Common Era) in place of BC (before Christ ).

There are two time periods concerning Acts: (1) when Luke wrote the book, and (2) when Acts starts to cover the Christian church. As far as the dates for Luke’s writing of Acts, see my notes at the end of chapter 28. Any dates related to the beginnings of the Christian church depend on the dates one accepts as to when certain events occurred prior to the start of the church. That depends on the calendaring system one chooses to use for dating those events: the Second Temple Period, i.e., sixth century BCE–70 CE (Leiman 1976, 219); Hebrew; Julian; Gregorian; or some combination of these systems.

Until someone discovers a birth certificate or the calendars that Luke and Paul used, it will remain impossible to state precisely when any number of significant happenings or outcomes mentioned in Acts occurred. Consequently, the dating in this commentary is my own, a combination of well-known dates and a reasonable reconciling of those dates with conjectures about the dates of other events and occurrences.

A major consideration for applying dates to any event or occurrence is the method used in these times for calculating the number of years elapsed. The inclusive (ESV 2008, 2106) method says that a part of a year, even if it is as short as one month, can represent the entire year. So Paul’s fourteen years (Galatians 2:1) might be as short as twelve years and two months. This means, of course, that one has some latitude when trying to pinpoint historical happenings or dating an episode or incident in a person’s life.

In particular, many different timelines for Paul’s life have been proposed. To provide a certain clarity in my own mind about his life and times, as well as the book of Acts in general, I put together just what the world needs: another timeline of the episodes in Paul’s life. Following the certainty of uncertainty guideline (Warburton 2018, 51), I laid out the events and places associated with Paul in a sequence, which at least helped remove some of the ambiguity surrounding what I was reading in Acts.

ACTS, CHAPTER 1

(33 CE)

Chapter 1 of the book of Acts begins with one of the foundational building blocks for the eventual separation of Christianity from Judaism : baptism . The ritual of baptism had been a part of Judaism for a thousand years as an act of purification . However, with these new so-called Christian beliefs , baptism takes on new representation for both men and women. (Equal recognition of both genders, in and of itself, also becomes a basic difference between Judaism and Christianity, with Christianity expressing equality.) If a Gentile male in the first century CE desired to convert to Judaism, as some did, he had to have his body fully immersed in water as a rite of purification and as an outward symbol of his conversion . This act was in addition to his being circumcised . Both baptism and circumcision were required for him to be considered a proselyte, someone who had fully adopted Judaism.

The first Christians were Jews introduced to a new set of beliefs by a Jew named John the Baptist. This indicates just how integral baptism in water would be in the belief system of what became the new religion. Baptism during Jesus’s ministry was to be the inward as well as outward symbol of repentance of one’s sins and acceptance of Jesus as the Christ—and, after Jesus’s Crucifixion, as the risen Christ.

1. It is presumed that Luke wrote his Gospel and the book of Acts as one book in two volumes (AR 2005, 1663). The time between the end of his writing of Luke and the start of his writing of Acts is unknown, but I assume that time to be relatively short. Some scholars speculate that the audience Theophilus—a Greek name meaning loves God (ONM 2011, 1428)—was just a symbolic name (ESV, 2080) used as the excuse for Luke’s writing the book for a broader group of believers. The prevalent opinion is that Theophilus was a person (ONM, 1428).

2. The Gospel of Luke ends with the Ascension of Jesus. My arbitrary date for the start of Luke’s coverage of the early Christian church is 33 CE. Luke is writing some thirty years after all of these events.

3. For the proofs themselves, read Matthew 28:8–10; Matthew 28:16–20; and Luke 24:13–49. The actual time frame for Jesus’s appearances before the Ascension may have been forty days, but I think it is more likely that the number forty was used as a literary device, with the true number being unknown.

4–5. Here Jesus establishes Pentecost as a Christian day, as well as a Jewish day. In one Jewish tradition, Pentecost was the day on which Moses received the Law from God. Fifty days after Jesus’s Resurrection, Pentecost marked the birth of the Christian church, with the followers of Jesus receiving the Holy Spirit from God.

This passage contains the first mention of the distinction between the baptism offered by John the Baptist and that offered by Jesus. Prior to the Ascension, John’s baptizing with water was the outward or public sign of a developing shift in behavior upon conversion to Christianity. After the Ascension, Jesus’s baptism with the Holy Spirit becomes an inward or private sign—as well as the outward or public sign—of a developing shift in behavior upon conversion to Christianity.

6–8. This passage strikes me as occurring at a later time than verses 4 and 5, which are set in a Temple meeting room, the upper room, or some other place (see verses 13 and 14). Verses 6 through 8 are set at the Mount of Olives, as evidenced by verse 12. Perhaps the disciples realize that no military solution to Roman occupation is forthcoming (ESV, 2080) and Jesus is not about to pull out a flaming sword and drive the Romans from Israel (which would establish him as a military Messiah as opposed to a spiritual one). This prompts their question about the restoration of the kingdom. That is when, once again, Jesus tries to explain that he is talking about not war but peace. This means that they—the disciples who are about to become his apostles—have their work cut out for them and great distances to travel to accomplish that work. At this time, Ethiopia and Rome are considered ends of the earth (Keener, 324).

What is the difference between a disciple and an apostle? A disciple is a follower and learner. An apostle is one sent out on a mission. So, is this upcoming baptism with the Holy Spirit actually some kind of ordination or authorization to preach to and heal others rather than an initiation for the personal salvation of the baptized? I think so, at least for these men, Jesus’s chosen apostles.

9–11. These Ascension details are not found in any of the Gospels. It certainly sounds as if the return of Jesus will be a quiet affair. But read Zechariah 14:4 (ONM, 1429).

All of the disciples except for Judas come from Galilee (AR, 1767). Judas Iscariot was Judean.

12. A bit of Bible trivia: from where does Jesus ascend to heaven? The answer: the Mount of Olives or Mount Olivet. The Mount of Olives is a Sabbath day’s walk from Jerusalem, but the Ascension does not necessarily occur on a Sabbath (and probably does not).

To comply with God’s instructions of Exodus 16:29 and thus keep the Fourth Commandment (Exodus 20:8–11), rabbinic interpretation at this time determined that one could walk on the Sabbath a maximum of 2,000 cubits (0.92 kilometers or 0.57 miles) from the residing town’s border; Mount Olivet was 2,000 cubits from Jerusalem (Myers 1987, 898). Luke does not mention it, but, since it is only ten days until Pentecost, there may be hundreds if not thousands of people already camped on the mountain so they can get to the Temple on the day of Pentecost without having to travel more than the distance allowed (McGee 1991a, 21).

13–14. Matthew 26:56 and Mark 14:50 state that when Jesus was arrested, the disciples scattered. I imagine their state of mind as frustrated, confused, and fearful for their lives. Now, with their spirits buoyed, their futures given purpose, and their fears allayed, they regroup to carry on. Where they were staying could be at the home of John Mark’s mother (see Acts 15:37–38; AR, 1767).

I used to consider the phrase along with the women to be a reference to those women who had witnessed the Crucifixion of Jesus (Matthew 27:55–56; Mark 15:40–41; Luke 23:49; John 19:25). Now those other women who have supported Jesus’s ministry financially are included as a part of the group (Luke 8:2–3). The only disciple known to have been married is Peter (Matthew 8:14; Mark 1:30; Luke 4:38). Paul in First Corinthians 9:5 implies that some apostles’ wives (including Peter’s) travel with the apostles during their ministries. Although not stated specifically, wives may make up a segment of this initial congregation (ST 1985, 1644).

This is the final mention of Mary, Jesus’s mother, in the New Testament (ST, 1644).

According to Matthew 13:55–56, Jesus had four brothers: James, Joseph, Simon, and, ironically, Judas (not Judas Iscariot); and an unknown number of sisters. Obviously, his mother, Mary, is still alive in this passage, but I think that Joseph has passed on