Role models in the Acts of the Apostles
I've been at the Guild of Biblical Literature annual coming together in San Diego. (I have been staying in the squat tower on the right.) Information technology is an extraordinary global gathering of around vii,000 academics running over five days, and aslope are 5,000 academics coming together as the American Academy of Religion. The programme booklet giving details of all the sessions runs to 512 pages—and so there is enough to choose from! Along with the SBL sessions 'proper' there are also session from partner organisations, 1 of which is the Institute for Biblical Research, which comprises evangelical Christians in mainstream bookish work.
My first total session was an IBR meeting looking at Luke and Acts. 1 of the questions about the nature of Acts is whether information technology isdescriptive orprescriptive—that is, whether Luke is just telling u.s. what happened, or whether he is telling us what happened and so that we might imitate it for ourselves. The theme of the session was 'Reading Luke-Acts in the light of ancient historiography', in other words, making sure nosotros are reading it enlightened of the kind of expectations that Luke and his get-go readers would have had for these kinds of documents.
In relation to Acts, the presenter pointed out that, in the first century, there would have just really been i purpose in the presentation of 'heroes' of a historical story—to offer them equally role models. Readers would not have given this a second thought; the characters they read nearly would clearly offer positive examples to be emulated. What, then, do we note virtually the Christ-followers and leaders of the church in Acts that we should model ourselves on? We were offered 2 main features.
The get-go is to note that prayer is a dominant and recurrent theme, peculiarly in the first one-half of Acts. Prayer or praying is mentioned 33 times in Acts; the majority, 23 occurrences, come in the start half and only ten feature in the second half, of which only six of these actually describe people praying. (It is equally if, having made his betoken in the first half, Luke stops worrying about reporting prayer in the 2d half!) Quite often, we are merely told that someone prayed, but we are non necessarily toldwhat they prayed—the words they used—whereas in the gospels nosotros are usually told what the words are. Prayer features in a number of different ways:
- It is the regular habit of Jesus' followers after his rise (1.14) and of all the believers (2.42). They were in the habit of joining prayers in the temple (3.1), and was ane of the central tasks of the apostles (half-dozen.4). Individuals similar Cornelius are marked out by their habit of prayer (10.2).
- Prayer is central in decision-making (i.24) and peculiarly about the choice of leaders.
- Following this, prayer is besides function of commissioning people for tasks, such as those who would serve (half dozen.half-dozen), Paul and Barnabas as they leave Antioch (13.three) and their own appointing of elders in the first Christian communities (14.23).
- Prayer is a beginning response to opposition or difficulty, on the part of those facing the difficulties (4.24) also every bit those concerned for them (12.five); it likewise includes praise (16.25).
- Prayer precedes or leads to particular healings (nine.xl, 28.8).
- Finally, it also marks key moments and departures (20.36, 21.5).
If Luke draws our attention to this throughout Acts, and then he presumably expects all Christians to be and then marked.
Secondly, and not unrelated, is Luke's language of people being filled with the Spirit. The Spirit himself is clearly a dominant theme of Acts, not just in terms of how oft the Spirit is mentioned, merely much more fundamentally considering the outpouring of the Spirit following Jesus' ascension is the thing which leads to the effective witness of the apostles and other disciples, in growing circles of influence 'in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the world' (1.8).
But ten times, Luke specifically talks of people being 'filled with the [Holy] Spirit' or of individuals existence 'total of the [Holy] Spirit'.
- All those gathered at Pentecost are filled with the Spirit (2.4)
- Peter is filled with the Spirit every bit he preaches a second time (four.eight)
- Having prayed with disrespect in the face of opposition, all the people are filled again (4.31)
- Those who will wait on tables should be total of the Spirit and wisdom (6.3), and Stephen stands out in this regard (6.five, 7.55)
- Saul/Paul is filled with the Spirit when Ananias prays for him (9.17)
- Barnabas is known as a man filled with the Spirit (xi.24)
- Saul is filled with the Spirit as he confronts Elymas the sorcerer (13.9)
- The disciples are filled with joy and the Spirit, even in the face of opposition (13.52)
This is particularly meaning for two reasons. First, this linguistic communication occurs hardly anywhere else in the NT, coming 5 times in Luke (i.fifteen, ane.41, 1.67, four.1 and ten.21) and once in Eph 5.18. The command in this last verse is a present imperative, having the force 'Exist continually, daily, filled with the Spirit, every bit a addiction or matter of class'. Secondly, the notion of being filled with the Spirit has been central to charismatic renewal movements of the last several decades, and was something I was taught from Eph 5.xviii. Then it is of import to note the fact that Luke offers this is an aspect of Christian discipleship that we should emulate in the account in Acts.
In addition to these observations, I think I would also want to note 2 other things which are recurrent features of the portraits in Acts which perhaps Luke would have united states emulate:
- Information technology might sound rather obvious, only everyone who features, named or unnamed, at any level of leadership in the Christian communities, is involved in some sort of proclamation or explanation of the good news well-nigh Jesus.
- Equally obvious is the fact that this annunciation consistently provokes opposition of one kind or some other.
In my early on days of Bible reading, I was introduced to the Swedish Bible report method. In the version I was given, 1 of the questions was to place from the passage 'A alert to avoid or an instance to follow.' It looks as though Acts gives usa plenty of these! Merely a concluding ascertainment is that, for Luke, these things don't come about by man attempt; they are an overflow of the work of the Spirit. Tom Wright has observed that Paul never instructs his readers to go around telling their friends nearly Jesus—merely it does announced to accept just happened.
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