The Hope of Israel: The Resurrection of Christ in the Acts of the Apostles

by Brandon D. Crowe

This volume highlights the sustained focus in Acts on the resurrection of Christ, bringing clarity to the theology of Acts and its purpose. Brandon Crowe explores the historical, theological, and canonical implications of Jesus's resurrection in early Christianity and helps readers more clearly understand the purpose of Acts in the context of the New Testament canon. He also shows how the resurrection is the fulfillment of the Old Testament Scriptures. This is the first major book-length study on the theological significance of Jesus's resurrection in Acts.

Genres: Biblical Studies, Theology

256 pages, Paperback

Published February 18, 2020

About the author

Brandon D. Crowe (B.A., Samford University; M.Div., Reformed Theological Seminary; Ph.D. University of Edinburgh) is Assistant Professor of New Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary and Book Review Editor for the Westminster Theological Journal.

Reviews

[Benjamin Davenport]

Good scholarship; deals with the theme of the resurrection in Acts. This one just didn’t have as many useful exegetical or theological insights as other books I’ve read on Acts - Gaffin, Bauer, etc. I found it pretty bland and a chore to read, and not a lot to bring into my sermon series. The centrality of the resurrection in Acts seems rather patent. But apparently I am the only critical one, so take this review with a grain of salt!

[Eric Yap]

4.5 stars. Building on Vos' work on eschatological biblical theology, Murray's work on the intersection between the Ordo and Historia Salutis, and Gaffin's work on the resurrection in Pauline soteriology, Crowe explores the resurrection of Christ as the theological and thematic framework to (Luke-)Acts. The first part quickly examines all the resurrection texts in Acts, noting that the longest and most important sermons by Peter, Paul, and Stephen culminate in the preaching of the resurrection of Jesus as the fulfilment of the OT. Crowe also devoted some attention to the narrative substructure of Acts, positing that there are potential exegetical cues left by Luke in both Luke-Acts that suggest the importance of the resurrection as the programmatic/theological lens to read the Lukan corpus (for example, the raising/healing accounts, or Paul emerging from the shipwreck).

The second part then focuses on the theological synthesis, and this is where it gets really interesting. Crowe notes the tension that Acts (and Luke's gospel) presents in both the Historia Salutis (history of salvation/redemption accomplished) and Ordo Salutis (order of salvation/redemption applied). The tension exists in the fact that when one puts both the historia and ordo together, one must note that even though the Reformed traditions teach that the application of salvation remained the same for all believers throughout the history of redemption (from OT and NT), yet, there is a significant epochal change and eschatological-spiritual climax in the event of the resurrection and ascension. Luke-Acts, and particularly Acts, present saliently these tensions as it narrates the transitory stage of the early church. For example, believers before the resurrection experienced the Holy Spirit in a salvific manner (think OT believers as well), believers after the resurrection and before the ascension also experienced the Holy Spirit in a salvific manner, at the same time believers after the ascension and the Pentecost also experienced the Holy Spirit in a salvific manner, yet in all these transitory stages Acts also highlights the apparent differences in these salvific experience (think the difference in the presentation of salvation in the Apostles, or Paul, or Cornelius, or characters like Mary or Simeon that were deemed "righteous" even before the resurrection). Therefore, Crowe notes that through Acts we can observe the tension that exists in the "differences in ordo salutis, despite the fundamental unity, along with the continuity of historia salutis, despite elements of discontinuity."

Another insightful chapter was Crowe postulating the resurrection of Christ as "apologia pro scriptura." Essentially, Crowe posits that the Apostles' sermon in Acts was to show that Jesus' resurrection is the fulfilment of the Scriptures (specifically the OT), therefore, the purpose of Acts is also an apologetic for God's covenantal faithfulness and the veracity of the Scriptures. Hence when read alongside the lens of the history of redemption (historia salutis), it connects the various corpus of the NT together, as redemption accomplished in the Gospels, is preached in Acts, applied in the Epistles, and consummated in Revelation. To enhance this point, Crowe also explores the significance of the resurrection in the rest of the NT, as well as referencing early church writings. It is quite evident that there is plenty of theological synthesis between Luke and Paul, since they were travelling companions, and Gaffin's works also demonstrate remarkably the resurrection as the architectonic piece of Pauline soteriology. However, the one weakness in this book is that the Crowe presentation of the resurrection theology in the catholic epistles seems lacking.

[Thomas]

Crowe's book seeks to explore the resurrection motif in the book of Acts. In the first part, he provides an exegesis of the book of Acts, specifically those portions of the book where the resurrection is most apparent (e.g., Peter and Paul's sermons). He concludes that the resurrection is central to the message preached by the early church. The second part attempts to answer the so what of this resurrection, and to this end he looks at the relationship for this theme to the history of redemption, the order of salvation (ordo salutis), the apologetic purposes of Acts, and the role of Acts in the early church (e.g., the formation of the canon). Crowe writes lucidly and penetratingly, engaging with contemporary scholarship while referencing older systematic texts like Calvin, Turretin, and Bavinck. His treatment of the resurrection theme both in his exposition proper and his exploration of the broader implications is creative and insightful at many points. Moreover, he is careful to note when something is speculative but still worth considering. This is a must read for anyone interested in the book of Acts, the resurrection theme or NT studies in general (esp. with last two chapters).

[Hobart]

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader as part of a quick takes post to catch up--emphasizing pithiness, not thoroughness.
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It makes no sense to me at all that there hasn't been a book-length look at the theme of Resurrection in Acts until now. It's so clearly important to the message of Acts that you'd think there'd be dozens. But nope.

Crowe does a masterful job of filling that lacuna. It is all over Acts—more than I'd have guessed, too. First, he focuses on the topic in general, then focuses on the speeches/sermons of Peter, then those of Paul, and then those of everyone else. The exegetical material is just Part One, and it's worth the purchase price right there.

But then he goes on to examine the topic from four theological perspectives, fleshing out the exegetical material and it gets so much richer.

This isn't as easy to read as Bauckman, but it's not too difficult if you're willing to put in the work. Fascinating topic and helpful reflections.

[Christian Wermeskerch]

When I found this book on Netgalley, I was excited, and proceeded to read the entire book in a single night. It was well written and easy to follow, but I think I was super excited for the book because I have felt the distinct lack of resurrection-speak in our churches. For the most part, a lot of churches are content speaking about the Cross, never bringing Jesus all the way back to life (let alone the ascension). For this alone, the book is worth reading.

You can read the rest of my review at chriswerms .wordpress .com

[Travis]

A good accounting for the different ways the resurrection of Christ affected the lives and teachings of the early apostles. As a monograph, this is definitely written for an academic audience; wouldn't recommend for a general reader.

Recommended for those who would like to understand a textual approach to the resurrection and its aftermath in the early church.