Sacra Pagina: The Acts of the Apostles: Volume 5

By Luke Timothy Johnson

Book Overview

The Acts of the Apostles is really the second volume in the two-part writing scholars call Luke-Acts. It continues the story begun in the Gospel of Luke, showing how the Good News offered by Jesus to the outcast of the people was eventually extended to the end of the earth," so that Gentiles as well as Jews came to share in the blessings of God. This commentary treats Luke-Acts as an apologetic history. It takes with equal seriousness both Luke's literary artistry and his historical interests, fitting his methods comfortably within the ancient standards of historiography. This perspective illustrates in particular that Luke's historical narrative serves a definite religious intent. Tracing that intent through the specific contours of Luke's story is the special contribution of this commentary. "

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0814658075
• ISBN13: 9780814658079
• Release Date: December 1992
• Publisher: Liturgical Press
• Length: 586 Pages
• Weight: 2.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 2.1" x 6.6" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Luke-Acts Volume 2

The Gospel of Luke and The Acts of the Apostles, jointly called Luke-Acts, have long been recognized as the single work in two volumes of an author with a distinctive understanding of the origins of Christianity. This commentary on Acts by Timothy Luke Johnson follows his commentary on the Gospel, published a year earlier in the same series, and must be read with it to fully appreciate his effort. My review of Johnson's commentary on the Gospel (Sacra Pagina Volume 3) applies to both volumes. There is no need in repeat in detail here what you will find there. Briefly, Johnson has treated the two NT books as one literary unit and has used narrative analysis in his study in preference to historical investigation. He demonstrates that the overarching theme controlling both books is God's fidelity to his promises and his people, and that a prophetic structure dominates the narrative from beginning to end. Acts 1-7 is critical to his interpretation of the whole, both the Gospel story and its continuation in Acts. "The critical questions are posed and answered in these chapters. However lengthy, detailed, or fascinating the remainder of the Acts narrative may be, in dramatic terms it must be considered strictly denouement." (p. 14.) The commentary format is the same as that of the Gospel. An additional feature of the notes is the inclusion of citations from the so-called "Western Text" of Acts, considered by Johnson to be (most likely) "an unusually sustained scribal redaction." At times it is useful in showing how Acts was understood at an early date. Neither this summary nor the longer review of the Gospel commentary can possibly do justice to Johnson's attention to detail in the notes, his presentation of known Lukan themes, and his well thought-out interpretations. When the two commentaries are taken together, as they should be, they add up to more than the 4-star rating of each might suggest.