A Conclusion Unhindered

Revision of author's thesis (Ph. D.)--Princeton Theological Seminary, 2009.

There has been consistent apathy in recent years with regard to the long-standing debate surrounding the date of Acts. While the so-called majority of scholars over the past century have been lulled into thinking that Acts was written between 70 and 90 CE, the vast majority of recent scholarship is unanimously adamant that this middle-range date is a convenient, political compromise. Karl Armstrong argues that a large part of the problem relates to a remarkable neglect of historical, textual, and source-critical matters. Compounding the problem further are the methodological flaws among the approaches to the middle and late date of Acts. Armstrong thus demonstrates that a historiographical approach to the debate offers a strong framework for evaluating primary and secondary sources relating to the book of Acts. By using a historiographical approach, along with the support of modern principles of textual criticism and linguistics, the historical context of Acts is determined to be concurrent with a date of 62–63 CE.

This book proposes a fresh understanding of the literary composition of Luke-Acts. Picking up on the ancient practice of literary mimesis, the author argues that Luke’s two-part narrative is subtly but significantly modeled on the two-part narrative found in the books of Samuel-Kings and Chronicles. Specifically, Luke’s gospel presents Jesus as the promised, ultimate Davidide, while the Book of Acts presents the disciples of Jesus as the heirs of the kingdom of David. In addition to the proposal concerning the composition of Luke-Acts, the book offers compelling insights on the genre of Luke-Acts and the purpose of Acts.

Bredenhof analyses the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man (Luke 16:19-31) by examining its functions as a narrative, considering its persuasiveness as a rhetorical unit, and situating it within a Graeco-Roman and Jewish intertextual conversation on the themes of wealth and poverty, and authoritative revelation. The parable portrays the consequences of the rich man's failure to respond to the suffering of Lazarus. Bredenhof argues that the parable offers its audience a prospect for alternative outcomes, in response both to poverty and to a person who has risen from the dead. This prospect is particularly evident when the parable is read in anticipation of the ethical and theological concerns of Luke's second volume in Acts. Bredenhof asserts that reading within the context of Luke-Acts contributes to the understanding of Luke's purposes with this narrative. It is in Acts that his audience witnesses the parable's message about mercy being applied through charitable initiatives in the community of believers, while the Acts accounts of preaching and teaching demonstrate that a true reading of “Moses and the prophets” is inseparably joined to the believing acceptance of one risen from the dead. Through a re-reading of Luke 16:19-31 in its Luke-Acts context, its message is amplified and commended to the parable's audience for their response.

Highly respected New Testament scholar Craig Keener is known for his meticulous and comprehensive research. This commentary on Acts, his magnum opus, may be the largest and most thoroughly documented Acts commentary available. Useful not only for the study of Acts but also early Christianity, this work sets Acts in its first-century context. In this volume, the third of four, Keener continues his detailed exegesis of Acts, utilizing an unparalleled range of ancient sources and offering a wealth of fresh insights. This magisterial commentary will be an invaluable resource for New Testament professors and students, pastors, Acts scholars, and libraries.

Highly respected New Testament scholar Craig Keener is known for his meticulous and comprehensive research. This commentary on Acts, his magnum opus, may be the largest and most thoroughly documented Acts commentary ever written. Useful not only for the study of Acts but also early Christianity, this work sets Acts in its first-century context. In this volume, the last of four, Keener finishes his detailed exegesis of Acts, utilizing an unparalleled range of ancient sources and offering a wealth of fresh insights. This magisterial commentary will be an invaluable resource for New Testament professors and students, pastors, Acts scholars, and libraries. The complete four-volume set is available at a special price.

Since the 1960s, biblical scholars have noted a relationship between eschatology and ethics in Luke–Acts, but to date there has been no substantive study of the relationship between these themes. What Shall We Do? offers such a study. Lear observes and develops a logic that Luke–-Acts presents that begins with eschatological expectation and ends with a particular pattern of life, especially with regard to possessions. He makes the bold claim that Luke has not given up on eschatological expectation. The healing of the cripple (Acts 3), Cornelius’s conversion (Acts 10), and the shipwreck narrative (Acts 27–28) are figurative stories of coming eschatological salvation. In this context, Lear demonstrates that the sharing of possessions becomes the means by which a new eschatological people is formed. At the beginning of Luke’s Gospel, John the Baptist says the true children of Abraham will escape the coming judgment because they share their possessions. The logic of this claim is worked out throughout Luke’s two volumes, culminating in barbarian Maltans becoming children of Abraham because they hospitably receive the Apostle Paul.

Most studies of the genre of Luke-Acts underestimate the role of literary divergence in genre analysis. This monograph will show how attention to literary divergence may bring resolution to the increasingly complex discussions of the genre(s) of Luke-Acts.