Reading Acts

by Joshua W. Jipp

The book of Acts tells the story of what happened after the death and resurrection of Jesus. The book is filled with adventure and entertainment as Acts narrates God’s activity among his people and the world. In this book I explore one way of reading Acts that attends closely to the plotline of the book and seek to invite readers into the story that Acts tells. Along the way, I examine some of the most important themes of Acts, including divine activity, the extension of the gospel to surprising people in surprising ways, conflict and congruence between the gospel and the broader world, and the ongoing importance of Israel as God’s people. While there are many excellent reasons to read Acts, I reflect too upon the theological and ethical vision of Acts for those who read this book as Christian Scripture.

Genres: Biblical Studies

168 pages, Paperback

Published October 11, 2018

Reviews

[Stephen Drew · Rating 3 out of 5]

“It is simply not true to say, “The church has replaced Israel as God’s people,” “Israel rejected Jesus and the gospel,” or “the church is the new Israel.” Luke’s story demands that we do better in nuancing how we speak of the origins of the church.”

This quote summarizes what is the overwhelming theme of Acts according to Jipp. Repeatedly and emphatically Jipp is concerned with showing how the church is the continuation of Israel not the replacement of it. He does well to illustrate this and has some very remarkable observations between Luke-Acts as well as the Old Testament. I also greatly appreciate his emphasis on divine action that Acts illustrates as well as that is continued now.

However, because of the overwhelming emphasis on Israel it seemed to underemphasize the newness of the Holy Spirit in the church. That is, the out pouring of the Spirt was subjected to the over arching theme of Israel in a manner that almost made the Spirit to not be all that significant. This I was not a fan of for certainly there is a tension between God’s confined work in his people that was began with Israel and extended to Gentiles, however Acts does indicate a remarkable new work of God through the Spirit that cannot be under emphasized in any way. I personally see the Spirit’s powerful work in the church to unite all peoples and advance the Gospel as the primary lens of Acts, which indeed is a new work of God just as much as the confined work through Israel. The nature of telling the new and continued works are indeed a tension for many, but to over emphasize the continued and understanding emphasize the new I personally believe is not the best reading of Acts.

[Jonathan Caldwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice introduction to Acts. Something to read before you teach or preach through the book. Jipp does a nice job of explaining how Luke progresses through his material and how these stories work within ancient literature. Nothing earth shattering but a good read to help you wrap your mind around the whole book before you dig in.

[Krista Lyons · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great commentary on the book of Acts. Thoughtful discussion questions with each chapter if you did it with a group! I’m my opinion it lacks extra biblical context that would improve the readers understanding of the historical context. But an easy read and beneficial to anyone who is interested in the spread of the gospel, early church, or the apostle Paul.

[Jason Bollinger · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not sure why, but I didn’t really connect well with this book. He provided some good information and helpful historical context. Maybe because it’s a shorter work, it didn’t go as far as I would’ve liked, or maybe because I was reading other works on Acts I connected with more.

[Caroline Curry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I honestly liked this one. It was scholarly but thought provoking, and it was interesting to read Acts like a narrative. Jipp shows in an in depth way how scripture is filled with adventure that was very refreshing.

[Josh Loomis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great overview of the book of Acts. I think Jipp does a particularly good job of helping readers read Acts as a continuation of Luke. Parallels are drawn out to show how the two books coincide. I appreciated Jipp’s explanation of the seemingly abrupt ending of the book of Acts.

[Dominic Venuso · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice little introduction to Acts.