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21st Century Biblical Commentary
The Book of Acts: Witnesses to the World (Volume 5)
God uses ordinary people like you and me.
WE EASILY IDENTIFY WITH THE PEOPLE IN ACTS because Luke never allows us to forget their humanity. It's impossible to confuse Peter or Paul with fictional characters. No ancient novelist would ever have created men whose lives were characterized by such dramatic the brash and blustering everyman who blossoms overnight into an elder statesman; a movement's most infamous persecutor who develops into its most prominent advocate. Luke has drawn two millennial's worth of readers into the overlapping apostolic "adventures of these two first-century Jewish men who, while so dissimilar, shared a common vision and served the same Messiah. In a series of vignettes, or "postcards", some historical, some biographical, still others theological. Acts reveals the successes and defeats, the conquest and tragedies of the original band of Jesus'followers. In Acts we are able to share in the joy, the loss, the frustration, the passionate debate and the ultimate triumph of these pioneers of Christianity. These are ordinary people who, through the power and enablement of the Holy Spirit, accomplish extraordinary tings in the name of their messiah. In less than one generation this initial cohort of Christians boldly "turned the world upside down" (Acts 17:6) ! Steven Ger is a "Hebrew of Hebrews", a fourth-generation Jewish believer, whose Jewish-Christian perspective will bring new life to your understanding of the book of Acts.
WE EASILY IDENTIFY WITH THE PEOPLE IN ACTS because Luke never allows us to forget their humanity. It's impossible to confuse Peter or Paul with fictional characters. No ancient novelist would ever have created men whose lives were characterized by such dramatic the brash and blustering everyman who blossoms overnight into an elder statesman; a movement's most infamous persecutor who develops into its most prominent advocate. Luke has drawn two millennial's worth of readers into the overlapping apostolic "adventures of these two first-century Jewish men who, while so dissimilar, shared a common vision and served the same Messiah. In a series of vignettes, or "postcards", some historical, some biographical, still others theological. Acts reveals the successes and defeats, the conquest and tragedies of the original band of Jesus'followers. In Acts we are able to share in the joy, the loss, the frustration, the passionate debate and the ultimate triumph of these pioneers of Christianity. These are ordinary people who, through the power and enablement of the Holy Spirit, accomplish extraordinary tings in the name of their messiah. In less than one generation this initial cohort of Christians boldly "turned the world upside down" (Acts 17:6) ! Steven Ger is a "Hebrew of Hebrews", a fourth-generation Jewish believer, whose Jewish-Christian perspective will bring new life to your understanding of the book of Acts.
- GenresReligion
288 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 2004
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36 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 7, 2017
"The Book of Acts" is a Bible study--well, commentary--on Acts written by a Messianic Jew. He started by describing the background of Acts: who wrote it, when it was written, what was the purpose, etc. He then went through Acts, chapter-by-chapter. You look up and read a section of verses then read his commentary on them. He talked about the cultural and historical background to the verses, some meanings of original words, the timing of various events, and so on.
His Jewish-Christian perspective was interesting and brought out some insights that I haven't read in other commentaries. At times, he stated as if fact that a verse said something, but I didn't necessarily read it that way. He didn't always explain why he read it a certain way, and he didn't necessarily convince me to his viewpoint when he did. Still, it was interesting to get other takes on what a verse might mean. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting and readable commentary.
His Jewish-Christian perspective was interesting and brought out some insights that I haven't read in other commentaries. At times, he stated as if fact that a verse said something, but I didn't necessarily read it that way. He didn't always explain why he read it a certain way, and he didn't necessarily convince me to his viewpoint when he did. Still, it was interesting to get other takes on what a verse might mean. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting and readable commentary.
March 15, 2018
I had a hard time getting passed some of the assumptions Steven Ger makes, especially in regard to dispensationalism, because he offers very little argument for it and assumed the reader will simply follow along. He simply rejects replacement theology without once addressing the complexities of it. As I was reading up on Steven Ger, I realized that he was a Messianic Jew, which helped me to understand his writing more. He has a lot of authority to help a Gentile reader understand the Jewish expectations of the Messiah and how Jesus challenged their views. I appreciated all of those insights. But I do wish he would have written more extensively on what the other side of the aisle believes and why he sees them to be incorrect, especially with replacement theology.
Overall, it was a very informative commentary.
Overall, it was a very informative commentary.
October 9, 2019
Excellent read. I have read the book of Acts multiple times already but never with the context provided by this author. The format of walking chapter by chapter is very helpful. It would be a good resource for any Pastor or Pastoral Staff to have and read.
August 25, 2018
This is a really good read from a Hebrew’s perspective on the book of Acts. I don’t align with it theologically as the author seems to make known his cessationist approach. However, from a place of understanding the Jewish traditions and how the events that unfold in Acts- this is a really great commentary/outlook.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews