The Message of Acts

The Bible Speaks Today: New Testament #6

by John R.W. Stott

This is an exposition on the Book of Acts by John R.W. Stott and is part of The Bible Speaks Today Series edited by Dr. Stott and J.A. Motyer.

Genres: Christian, Theology, Reference, Christianity, Nonfiction, New Testament, Religion

563 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

John R. W. Stott is known worldwide as a preacher, evangelist, and communicator of Scripture. For many years he served as rector of All Souls Church in London, where he carried out an effective urban pastoral ministry. A leader among evangelicals in Britain, the United States and around the world, Stott was a principal framer of the landmark Lausanne Covenant (1974). His many books, including Why I Am a Christian and The Cross of Christ, have sold millions of copies around the world and in dozens of languages. Whether in the West or in the Two-Thirds World, a hallmark of Stott's ministry has been expository preaching that addresses the hearts and minds of contemporary men and women. Stott was honored by Time magazine in 2005 as one of the "100 Most Influential People in the World."

Reviews

[Tim Michiemo · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.3 Stars

John Stott was one of the greatest Bible teachers and preachers of the 20th century. Stott is known for such Christian classics as "The Cross of Christ" and "Basic Christianity." One of his lesser-known contributions is his "The Bible Speaks Today" series of Bible commentaries, which are treasure troves of accessible Biblical commentary and life application.

The Message of Acts is a noteworthy addition to this series. Stott skillfully takes us through the story of Acts, presenting it as Luke's re-telling of King Jesus' acts by the Holy Spirit through His Apostles. As well Stott explains that Acts can be divided into two sections: Peter's ministry to the Jews, and Paul's ministry to the Gentiles

I found Stott's commentary on Acts to be extremely helpful, and especially practical. Stott rightfully takes the time to work out the practical implications of passage to Christian living. Thus, Stott gives us a volume that is not only rich in doctrine but life application as well.

Stott is a skilled commentator and Bible teacher so I would recommend this commentary as a good access point into the book of Acts. Stott's commentary is not academic or technical, so it will not deal with some of the deeper academic discussions concerning Acts. But this commentary is helpful for the Bible teacher or pastor who is trying to make this book understandable and helpful for their congregation. Can't recommend this commentary more highly!

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another very accessible and even (dare I say it?) enjoyable commentary by John Stott. I learned a lot and definitely grew in my appreciation of the Apostle Paul and all of the other early Christians. So thankful for this journey through Acts with John Stott!

[Felipe Sabino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Li a primeira vez num quarto de hospital em São Paulo. Fantástico!

[Brian Parks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent commentary. A classic.

[Peter Krol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stott is a commentator that I could read and read and read. He is very sensitive to literary structure and devices, and he is quite sensitive to contemporary application. All in all, this was a delightful read, and very informative for me as I studied the book of Acts.

2021 update: Still quite good, though I realized this time around that Stott tends to be weak in this commentary on matters of plot and argument. I find he has more affinity for epistles than narratives.

[Andrzej Stelmasiak · Rating 5 out of 5]

very insightful theological commentary, not shying away from the Greek, the only thing that it's missing is really literary aspect, but you'll find that in Peterson's entry in the Pillar series.
answers most of the questions one might have when reading Acts.

[Jared Donis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an inpiring devotional for personal reading and an invaluable resource for ministry in the church. The late John Stott was our gift. 'The Bible Speaks Today Series' is a great initiative.

[Skylar Burris · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very detailed commentary on the book of Acts. Stott takes a theologically conservative point of view, although he does survey liberal opinions as well (while explaining while he doesn’t agree with them). It is primarily a historical and theological overview (limited literary analysis). At times the detail seemed excessive, but, all in all, an excellent commentary if you wish to know more about the Book of Acts.

[James Tetley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this all alongside my Bible in One Year Scripture readings to supplement them. Excellent insights from a great teacher. Especially the latter chapters with Paul on his way to Rome. These are often under read. I love Stotts analysis on them

"Paul had expressed his intention to proceed straight from Jerusalem to Rome. Instead, he was arrested in Jerusalem, subjected to endless trials, imprisoned in Caesarea, threatened with assassination by the Jews, and then nearly drowned in the Mediterranean, killed by the soldiers and poisoned by a snake! Each incident seemed to be designed to prevent to him from reaching his God-planned, God-promised destination.

Since Luke concentrates on the storm, we need to remember that the sea, reminiscent of the primeval chaos, was a regular Old Testament symbol of evil powers in opposition to God. It was not the forces of nature (water, wind and snake) or the machinations of men (schemes, plots and threats) which were arrayed against Paul, but demonic forces at work through them. Scripture is full of examples of the devil seeking to thwart God’s saving purpose through his people and his Christ. He tried through Pharaoh to drown the baby Moses, through Haman to annihilate the Jews, through Herod the Great to destroy the infant Jesus in Bethlehem, and through the Sanhedrin to stifle the apostolic witness and smother the church at its birth. And now through the storm at sea he attempted to stop Paul bringing his gospel to the capital of the world."

I would have liked more analysis on the role of signs and wonders Vs proclamation in evangelism, but this reveals Stotts theological position.


He closes with the final words

"Just as Luke’s Gospel ended with the prospect of a mission to the nations, So the Acts ends with the prospect of a mission radiating from Rome to the world. Luke’s description of Paul preaching ‘with boldness’ and ‘without hindrance’ symbolizes a wide open door, through which we in our day have to pass."

The Acts of the Apostles have long ago finished. But the acts of the followers of Jesus will continue until the end of the world, and their words will spread to the ends of the earth."

[Ethan McCarter · Rating 3 out of 5]

An average commentary in Acts that doesn't delve really deep nor does it cover the breadth that other commentaries address. The commentary series is suited for small group studies, personal studies, and as an addition to sermon series, though there are better ones to choose from if you want more applicational or technical books. Stott himself was a great scholar and preacher, and I've benefitted greatly from his other works such as his book "Between Two Worlds." His commentary on Acts is written well, which is why it's average rather than not good, and does provide some helpful tidbits. Simply put there are better commentaries out there for your time and money than this one unless you really like Stott, need a commentary that's good for small group study, or if you've already got it on your shelves. A decent commentary though unexceptional if you're doing sermon prep for a series on Acts.

[John Brackbill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hit and miss in terms of coverage of details. However, when he hits his slugging percentage is high. There were places where he would balloon and discuss and issue and those were often very helpful. It was also helpful to have a more applicational focused commentary.

11 Commentaries I used cover to cover through an expositional series through the book of Acts. Of course, this ranking doesn't take into account that some that are lower were higher in specific ways, but all of these "made the cut" for me to spend the time each week to read.
1. Peterson, Schnabel, Polhill
2. Bock
3. Bruce
4. Kistemaker
5. Marshall, Stott
6. MacArthur
7. Custer, Kent

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an engaging commentary on the Book of Acts -- well structured, and easy to digest. The author is generally pretty good about pointing out differing viewpoints in an unbiased manner with the exception of holy spirit baptism with evidence of speaking in tongues and the full expression of the gifts in today's times. His bias against these two viewpoints is quite obvious. However, if you set that aside, this work is quite useful in understanding the spiritual climate as well as the socioeconomic, political, cultural, and historical context in which the church was born and grew.

[Matt Maples · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like this commentary series by John Stott. First, Stott is very good. He handles the Bible very well and gives clear, consistent and thoughtful responses to the text. Second, the commentary is detailed enough to give good substantive information, but it's not an extremely technical commentary that is difficult to follow. I've read several of the commentaries in this series now and I highly recommend them!

[E B · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a compressive guide on Acts which draws its commentaries directly back to scripture which is something positive about any book talking toward the bible. While all commentators are going to get things wrong here and there, I overall felt that Stott does a really good job explaining a lot of the things you may overlook in a quick reading of a passage/chapter.

I look forward to reading other Stott books in the future.

[Richard Willsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is certainly not an exhaustive acts commentary. But the class I was leading, had its own commentary. I’ve studied acts in depth three or four times. So I used it as a refresher. The commentary follows the NIV translation, which used to be a fairly reliable translation, this was from 84. The commentary rarely discusses any translational issues. But it does a really good job at explaining the NIV translation, as received.

[Austyn Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Stott is great and there was definitely some stellar paragraphs in this book but it took a lot of sifting through what seemed like filler to get to those sections. Could have been half the size and packed a greater punch.

Biggest takeaway was how clearly he showed Luke’s intentional comparison of Jesus’s road to Jerusalem (in the book of Luke) with Paul’s road to Jerusalem in Acts.

[Sammi L · Rating 5 out of 5]

A balanced, biblical and even thrilling meta-commentary (as I like to say the BST series is) where the author draws on a great wealth of academic scholarship and makes it readable and accessible. This is one of John Stott's finest commentaries among Romans and Ephesians in my view.

[J. Delton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Stott's writing. Accessible, insightful, and grace filled. He acknowledges other perspectives on the text and with out being disparaging puts forth his case. He always points you toward Jesus and confidence in God.

[nate]

Another one of the commentaries I read throughout a 48 part sermon series I did in the book of Acts. As usual, Stott is concise, practical, and enjoyable.

[Barry Oakes · Rating 5 out of 5]

A go-to commentary for preaching on Acts.

[Erick Rodríguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un excelente recorrido por el libro de Hechos. Siempre con notas precisas y adecuadas. John Stott es una garantía en cuanto al análisis y el discernimiento.

[Scott Ferguson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent commentary on the book of Acts. It is written for the layperson exploring geography, culture, language, and custom as it explains the Biblical text in that context.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I spent the last year reading through the book of Acts, and used as John Stott's commentary as my faithful companion. It was a wonderful year of study, and I highly recommend doing this!

[Paul Veldhouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a great chapter by chapter walkthrough for our weekly mens bible study. In depth look at what was going on as Paul travelled the world spreading the gospel in the early church.

[Karissa W. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mid

[Bryn MacPhail · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favourite among my commentaries on Acts--a perfect blend of scholarly behind-the-scenes insight and offering readily applicable principles for the Christian, and Church, of the 21st Century.

[Kyle McFerren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great edition in this series.

[Mike E. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used this commentary, although I believe it was an older edition of it, every week as I preached through the book of Acts.
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Certainly the thrust of the Bible is that miracles clustered round the principal epochs of revelation, particularly Moses the lawgiver, the new prophetic witness spearheaded by Elijah and Elisha, the Messianic ministry of Jesus, and the apostles, so that Paul referred to his miracles as "the things that mark and apostle." (2 Cor. 12:12) [102]


If, then, we take Scripture as our guide, we will avoid opposite extremes. We will neither describe miracles as "never happening," nor as "everyday occurrences," neither as "impossible" nor as "normal." Instead, we will be entirely open to the God who works both through nature and through miracle. [104]

[Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's strengths are summarizing and systematizing the material in Acts. It's weakness, conversely, is that it is only 400 pages, trying to cover 28 chapters, and spends a majority of it's time retelling the story in Stott's own words. As such, there is not much room left for exegetical analysis. Thus, this book is much less scholarly (a glance at the footnotes will conclude this), but its primary help to me was in familiarizing me with the material and major talking points in Acts (e.g. Pentecost, Gentile inclusion, Jerusalem Council, Paul's missionary journeys, Paul's trials). So while it was a beneficial read, I am left to wonder if another book would have enlightened me more with the time invested.

[Gabriel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it. Stott had a gift for writing Bible exposition with clarity and relevance. Over the past few weeks I've looked forward each morning to my time with Pastor Stott, soaking up the magnificent birth story of the church of Jesus Christ. Stott's admiration for the apostle Paul is especially apparent throughout the book.
One word of caution -- Stott's bias against the modern-day Pentecostal Christian movement comes across rather bluntly on more than one occasion. We can agree to disagree on these points, and the rest of the book more than makes up for this blind spot.