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Essay on luke in the bible
Essay on luke in the bible
Essay on luke in the bible
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Historical Context
The Book of Acts, or sometimes known as The Acts of the Apostles was written between 62 and 70 A.D. To better understand the meaning behind Acts, one should look at the history and what lead to the writing of this book. It was written as a second half of a two part series, with Luke being the first half. Without mentioning himself in either of his writing, it is believed that Luke, a traveling companion of Paul, as mentioned in Colossians 4:14, 2 Timothy 4:11, and Philemon verse 24 was the author of both Luke and Acts. We are told that Luke wrote or dedicated both works to Theophilus (meaning a friend of God). Back in the Gospel of Luke chapter 1, Theophilus is also referred to as “most excellent”, which in Greek is Kratistos, to show an expression of honor. The Roman Empire social ladder was divided into four groups; 1) Phelps (common people), 2) Knights (people of affluence, dignity, high social standing) and 3) Senators (highest accolades of government). “Kratistos is the epithet used for Felix, The Roman governor of Judea, found later to describe Theophilus.” It is believed that Theophilus was a Christian convert, a master to a slave/Greek servant named Luke, who also happened to be a doctor. Luke was then made free or given manumission, so with gratitude of Theophilus, he wrote his gospel.
Luke wrote the Book of Acts to continue the story of Jesus. It was seen as an outline of the Lord’s, like John when writing the book of Revelation. When Luke had written the book of Acts, the Roman Empire had already conquered the Mediterranean world and was reaching to present-day Britain, North Africa and some of Asia. So during the early church, the empire would have still been growing and had influences of the p...
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...e that unity of spirit and purpose essential for an effective witness.”
Works Cited
Barclay, William. The Acts of the Apostles. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1976. 29-31. Print.
Buttrick, George Arthur. The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Abingdon, 1962. Print.
Criswell, W. A. "Great Godly Expectations." Acts, an Exposition. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Pub. House, 1978. 13-18. Print.
Drane, John William. Early Christians. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1982. Print.
Harrison, Everett Falconer. Acts: The Expanding Church. Chicago: Moody, 1975. 64. Print.
Marshall, I. Howard. "Introduction." Introduction. The Book of Acts: An Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2007. 17-53. Print.
Polhill, John B. The New American Commentary-- ACTS. Nashville, TN.: Broadman, 1992. 118-22. Print.
...yne A. The HarperCollins Study Bible New Revised Standard Edition . New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1993. 1645-1722. Print.
Drane, J. W. (2000). Introducing the Old Testament (Completely rev. and updated.) (46). Oxford: Lion Publishing plc.
He makes the point that Acts develops the themes of the gospel, one reason for this is because Luke is the first to extend the story of Jesus to the apostles. Luke seems to extend on Marks gospel but in a different way then what Mathew does. Luke seems to focus on Jesus’s disciples, his calling of them, and his teachings to them. It seems that the reason Luke did this was to set up for the new church. However the most convincing reason that shows Luke believed his books ought to be read together is his writings in Luke 1:1-4 and in Acts 1:1-3. This is when in both books Luke gives us an intro stating that Acts is his second book to
Homer Kent Jr. categorizes Acts 6:1-7 into three distinct categories which he says that Luke captured in these few verses. The three categories are “The Need” (Acts 6:1,2), “The Method” (Acts 6:3-6), and “The Outcome” (Acts 6:7). In keeping with this outline I will capture the start of the deacons within the church and answer if the seven selected men are deacons by definition and action.
Silva, Moisés. Philippians. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005.
The book of Acts is known as 'the birth of the church'. Acts recounts the story of
Sakenfeld, Kathaine Doob, ed. The New Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible: D-H: Volume 2. Vol. 2. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2007.
In the Bible’s New Testaments the book of Acts is of Narrative genre and is also called the Acts of the Apostles. It is written by Luke who happens to be the author of Gospel of Luke. This book tells a story of first Christians. After the death of Jesus (as mention in “Matthew”) as he went to heaven the Christians waited in Jerusalem. After Holy Spirits were sent by God, the first Christians were given the power by them. And they end up telling the people about Jesus. It was the Christians who explained t...
Green, Joel B., & Longman, Tremper (Eds.). Holy Bible -- The Everday Study Edition. Dallas: Word Publishing. 1996.
The characterization of the group of people in Acts 4: 32-37 focuses of the attention on the Christians. In this Luke is depicting of the group to an overview of certain common practices among the believers. These descriptions illustrate about the ongoing, communal dynamics that characterize the believers. Marshall Posits that about the communal practices “the crowd of those who believed” (tou de. plh,qouj tw/n pistusa,ntwn) the phrase is identical that kardi,a kai. yuch.
The Book of Acts was written to provide a history of the early church. Acts emphasis the importance of the day of Pentecost and being empowered to be effective witnesses for Jesus Christ. Acts sheds light on the ministry gift of the Holy Spirit, which empowers, guides, teaches, and serves as our Counselor. When reading the Book of Acts many of the readers will be enlightened and encouraged by the many miracles that were being performed during this time by the disciples Peter, John, and Paul. The Book of Acts emphasizes the importance of obedience to God’s Word and the transformation that occurs as a result of knowing Christ. There are also many references to those that rejected the truth that the disciples preached about in Jesus Christ. Power, greed, and many other vices of the devil or evidenced in the book of Acts. Acts 1:8 serves as a good summary of the Book of Acts. Acts records the apostles being Christ's witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the rest of the surrounding world.
The New Oxford Annotated Bible. Herbert G. May and Bruce M. Metzger, ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1957.
Unger, Merrill F. The New Unger's Bible Dictionary. Ed. R. K. Harrison, Howard F. Vos, and Cyril J. Barber. Chicago: Moody, 1988. Print.
The New Interpreter's Study Bible: New Revised Standard Version with the Apocrypha. Nashville: Abingdon Press, ©2003.
The Acts of the Apostles is a record of the impact and influence of Holy Spirit in the lives of the disciples and other believers who were witness to the events surrounding the life of Christ. Acts 1:8 is a key verse that is considered an outline for the rest of the book. It describes the empowerment of the disciples, their witness, and the spread of the gospel throughout the earth.