Peter and Paul in Acts: A Comparison of Their Ministries. David Spell
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time period that is accepted for the authorship of Luke-Acts is from AD 60 to 150.79 The case has been made previously that the traditional view of Lukan authorship is the most viable. If Luke was the author of Acts, it is reasonable to set it between AD 60 and 85.80 Obviously, there are many scholars who will continue to reject Lukan authorship and an early date for his writings. The following discussion will highlight some of the strongest arguments for an early dating of Luke-Acts.
Hemer argues for an early date of AD 62.81 He bases this date on five key points.82 First of all, there is no mention in Acts about the fall of Jerusalem, which took place in AD 70. In Acts, Luke clearly believed that Jerusalem was the center of early Christianity. It would be very surprising if Jerusalem had fallen and Luke did not mention it. Another point that Hemer makes for his early dating of Acts is that there is no mention of the outbreak of the Jewish War, which started in AD 66. In Acts, the relationship between the Jews and the Romans was still fairly cordial. A third point is the fact that the church’s relationship with Rome has not deteriorated in Acts. Paul felt comfortable in appealing to Caesar and truly believed that he would be treated fairly. The fourth argument that Hemer makes for an early date for Acts is the fact that the author displays no knowledge of Paul’s letters. This has often been one of the criticisms leveled against the historicity and accuracy of Acts. If the author were a companion of Paul’s then he would have surely made some reference to Paul’s letters. An early dating of Acts, however, eliminates this argument because few of Paul’s letters would have been in circulation when Acts was written. The last point that Hemer makes is that Luke gives no hint as to the death of James, the brother of Jesus. He was martyred around AD 62. While this is an argument from silence, it is still a reasonable argument. James occupied a fairly large role in Acts as the leader of the church in Jerusalem. It would be surprising that Luke would not have said anything about his death. While Hemer’s argument may not provide prima facie evidence for an early date, it probably comes as close as can be reasonably expected.
There are also a number of other arguments that can be made for an early dating of Acts. One of these has to do with the death of Paul. If Luke had known of the death of Paul, it is unlikely that he would not have mentioned it. He never failed to mention the deaths of other key figures in the church in his writings. Luke reported the deaths of John the Baptist, Jesus, Judas, Stephen, and James, the brother of John.83 With the exception of Jesus, none of these figures occupied a role as large as that of Paul in Luke’s writing, yet their deaths were recounted. Luke drew a number of parallels between Jesus and Paul in Acts.84 Luke’s failure to show Paul’s death after his last journey to Jerusalem must have meant that he had not been martyred yet.85
One last argument that will be mentioned for an early date for Acts has to do with its ending. When Acts ends, Paul is still in Roman custody waiting for his appeal to be heard. Those who hold to a later dating of Acts have difficulty explaining why Luke ended his book as he did. If Acts was written later, why did Luke not tell his audience what happened to Paul? If he was released or if he was executed when his appeal was finally heard, why would the author not say? Paul’s reputation had been solidly established by the end of Acts. Neither his release nor his martyrdom would have tarnished his image. The most likely reason that Luke does not tell what happened to Paul was because his book was written before Paul’s case came up before Caesar.86
Relationship Between Luke’s Gospel and Acts
The relationship between the Gospel of Luke and Acts is strong. It appears that the books were intended to tell a single story.87 There is a strong unity between the two books. The Gospel details the life of Christ and includes a blend of narrative, miracles, and teachings. Acts details the life of the early church. It also includes a blend of narrative, miracles, and teachings.88 Jesus is the central figure in the Gospel; Peter and Paul are the central figures in Acts.
Luke’s style of writing comes closer to that of the ancient Greek classical writers than any other New Testament writing.89 The prologues to the Gospel of Luke and Acts are good examples of this.90 Luke appears to be writing to a Greek audience that has some knowledge of Judaism. In both of his works, he makes repeated references to the Septuagint version of the Old Testament. Drury says that Luke relied heavily on the Septuagint and, “There is scarcely a verse which is uncolored by them [i.e., the Septuagint Scriptures].”91 Morris echoes this when he says, “It seems that Luke thought of the style of the Septuagint as good biblical style and most appropriate for the kind of narrative he was composing.”92
Both the Gospel of Luke and Acts deal with many of the same themes:
Prayer—Luke shows Jesus at prayer more than any other writer.93 He is shown spending the night in prayer before selecting His twelve apostles.94 There is also some extended teaching by Jesus on prayer in Luke 11. In Acts, “the church faced one crisis after another with prayer.”95 When Peter was arrested, the church prayed for his release.96 When Paul and Silas were arrested in Philippi, they prayed and sang hymns.97
The Holy Spirit—From the first chapter of his Gospel where Mary was told she would be overshadowed by the Holy Spirit to where Elizabeth is seen to be filled with the Holy Spirit while pregnant with John, until the last chapter where Jesus tells His disciples they would be “clothed with power from on high,” Luke emphasizes the work of the Holy Spirit.98 Acts shows the Holy Spirit coming upon disciples on the Day of Pentecost and then guiding and directing the early church as it grew and spread.99 The disciples were repeatedly “filled with the Spirit.” Luke emphasized the work of the Holy Spirit more than any other New Testament writer.100
The Poor and the Outcast—Only Luke records the story of the angels appearing to the shepherds in the infancy narrative, the parable of the rich man and the beggar, Lazarus, and the account of the widow’s gift of two small coins.101 In Acts, Peter and John healed a lame beggar at the temple, the church administrated the feeding of widows, and Paul and Barnabas brought a financial gift for the famine-stricken Palestinian church from the church at Antioch.
The Kingdom of God—Luke’s Gospel opens with Gabriel’s promise to Mary that her Son would, “reign over the house of Jacob forever; and His kingdom will have no end.” (Luke 1:33) Jesus began His ministry by proclaiming the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom message was one that Jesus regularly proclaimed.102 Acts opens with the disciples asking if the resurrected Jesus was going to restore the kingdom to Israel.103 Peter’s Pentecost