Introduction to Acts
It seemed good to me also,
having followed all things closely for some time past,
to write an orderly account for you,
most excellent Theophilus
(Luke 1:3)
By Stephen W. Hiemstra
The history of the church is chronicled most extensively by Luke, who was Greek, a physician by trade, and a companion of Paul (Col 4:14). By his own account, Luke functioned like a modern journalist and was not among the original twelve disciples. Modern scholars believe that Mark’s Gospel is the oldest and that Luke’s Gospel draws heavily on Mark as source along with his own interviews. This makes sense because Luke was well acquainted with Mark, who served as a amanuensis (scribe or secretary) of the Apostle Peter and is later believed to travel with Luke and Paul telling the Jesus story (2 Tim 4:11). Luke is also believed to have spoken extensively with Jesus’ mother Mary.
Luke’s many references to the agency of the Holy Spirit set his Gospel apart. Luke mentioned the Holy Spirit more than twice as often as any other Gospel1 and the Book of Acts is even more prolific in mentioning the Holy Spirit.2 A key passage in Luke in this respect is one of the first:
“And Mary said to the angel, How will this be, since I am a virgin? And the angel answered her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.” (Luke 1:34-35)
If Jesus’ conception is of the Holy Spirit, then so is everything that follows (also Matt 1:18).
Luke’s writing is also disguised by his attention to the role of women in Jesus’ ministry, entourage, and financial support (Luke 8:3). R.C. Sproul (2005, 14) describes Luke’s Gospel as the Ladies’ Home Journal of the Bible. Only in Luke do we hear about Elizabeth, Mary’s cousin, and the mother of John the Baptist (Luke 1) or Anna the Prophetess (Luke 2:36-37). Who, but Mother Mary herself, could tell the story of her conversation with an angel? (Luke 1)
The Gospel of Luke serves as a prologue to the Book of Acts that focuses on the person of Jesus and his wandering ministry, which starts with temptations in the desert (Luke 4:1-13) that look a lot like the temptations of the people of the Israel during their sojourn in the wilderness (Wright 2004, 43). At least three aspects of Jesus’ ministry highlight the role of the Holy Spirit: The wandering ministry, Jesus’ healings and exorcisms, and Jesus’ interpretation of law.
Wandering Ministry
Jesus’ traveling ministry appears patterned after the wandering of Abram and the later wandering of the people of Israel during their time in the wilderness. For Abram and the people of Israel this wandering is formative and it teaches them to rely on God. For Jesus’ disciples, the traveling ministry performs the same formative function, which provides room in their lives for the work of the Holy Spirit.
Luke, whose purpose in writing is more analytical perhaps than the other Gospel writers, may actually have understood this point. Darrell Bock (1996, 146) observes:
“The unit in Luke divides clearly: An introduction (4:31-32), an exorcism (4:33-37), the healing of Simon’s mother-in-law (4:38-39), another encounter with a demon (4:40-41), and a closing mission statement (4:42-44). Three miracle accounts dominate this description of Jesus’ activity…. Mark tends to focus on the miracles themselves, while Luke balances his portrait between teaching, exorcism, and healing. For Luke words and deeds belong together.”
If head and heart must be united in forming and informing faith, then time is required for ideas to be put together with actions. Walking around and observing a teacher in action is not only an effective teaching method, it permits the Holy Spirit to work in one’s heart and mind.
Jesus’ wandering ministry, like missions trips today, likely benefitted the disciples’ faith as much or more than those ministered to.
Healings and Exorcisms
Healings and exorcisms make it obvious that Jesus was the first medical missionary. More than that, his miraculous healings (and resurrection) credentialed his claim to be the son of God because they point beyond the natural world to supernatural power (Lewis 1974, 5). Luke more often than other Gospel writers attributed such events to the agency of the Holy Spirit, such as when Jesus was baptized or led into the wilderness to be tempted (Luke 3:22, 4:1).
Interpretation of Law
Jesus’ interpretation of Jewish law distinguished him from other teachers in at least two ways that offer room for the Holy Spirit to work in a person’s life.
First, Jesus speaks to the principle behind the law by posing an ethical dilemma, which places two legal principles in opposition to one another. He asked: “It lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?” (Luke 6:9) When the Pharisees refused to answer, Jesus healed a man with a withered hand and infuriated the Pharisees because the act of healing set a righteous act in opposition to their rules about work on the Sabbath (Luke 6:10-11).
This act of legal interpretation and healing embarrassed the Pharisees and put Jesus’ life at risk, which lead him to a night of prayer and the calling of his disciples (Luke 6:12-16). Ironically, the healing could not be construed as work under the Sabbath laws because Jesus never touched the man (Wright 2004, 28).
Second, Jesus widened the interpretation of legal sanctions for murder, adultery, and other sins to consider the motivation behind the sin drawing attention to anger, lust, and other dark motives (e.g Matt 5:20-22). This made compliance with the law impossible without divine intervention.
Technical compliance, as taught by the Pharisees, was not enough to assure righteousness. While in Matthew’s account of the Sermon on the Mount proscribes technical compliance, Luke’s account promotes using rights under the law, such as enemy love, to witness to sinners (e.g.Luke 6:27).
Using law to open disciples up to the Holy Spirit’s intervention clearly set Jesus’ teaching apart from that of the Pharisees, who promoted strict adherence to a narrow definition of law. Those that have no sin feel no need of a savior. This is is a problem today when people believe that they are in technical compliance with law and basically good.
Footnotes
1 Matt 1:18, 20, 3:11, 12:32, 28:19; Mark 1:8, 3:29, 12:36, 13:11; Luke 1:15, 35, 41, 67, 2:25, 26, 3:16, 22, 4:1, 10:21, 11:13, 12:10, 12; John 1:33, 14:26, 20:22
2 Acts 1:2, 5, 8, 16, 2:4, 33, 38, 4:8, 25, 31, 5:3, 32, 6:5, 7:51, 55, 8:15, 17, 19, 9:17, 31, 10:38, 44, 45, 47, 11:15, 16, 24, 13:2, 4, 9, 52, 15:8, 28, 16:6, 19:2, 6, 20:23, 28, 21:11, 28:25
References
Bock, Darrell L. 1996. The NIV Application Commentary: Luke. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
Lewis, C.S. 1974. Miracles: A Preliminary Study (Orig Pub 1960). New York: HarperCollins.
Sproul, R.C. 2005. A Walk with God: An Exposition of Luke’s Gospel. Great Britain: Christian Focus.
Wright, Tom. 2004. Luke for Everyone. Westminister: John Knox Press.
Introduction to Acts
Also see:
The Face of God in the Parables
The Who Question
Preface to a Life in Tension
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