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N e w T e s t a m e n t G u i d e
ACTS
By ANTONIO FUENTES
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This Rock
Volume 5, Number 5
 May 1994 
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The earliest tradition of the Church and
internal analysis of the text concur in attributing this inspired
book of the New Testament to Luke, the human author of the third Gospel.
This tradition is to be found in Irenaeus, Tertullian, Clement of
Alexandria, Origen, the Muratorian fragment, Jerome and Eusebius of
Caesarea, among others.
The continuity between Luke's Gospel and the Acts is easy to recognize.
Often there is a coincidence of style, vocabulary and even doctrinal
theme. Even more convincing is the argument that the second part of
Acts, which covers the journeys of Paul, contains a "diary"
written by one of his companions in the first person plural. The diary
stops at certain points and the first person disappears, whenever
its author was not present. From Paul's letters we know who his companions
were and that only Luke could write the "we" when he was
the eyewitness of the events recounted.
As regards the date and place of composition of the book the following
information can be deduced: the Acts finish with Paul's imprisonment
in Rome (A.D. 61-63). Since Luke wrote his Gospel first, perhaps towards
the end of 62, Acts must have been written between 62 and 64. The
latter year was when Nero's persecution began, but there is no reference
to the persecution in Acts; in fact, Luke's last episode shows Paul
in prison in Rome, the capital of the Empire, and Paul free to preach
the Gospel without interference. And even though he on occasion predicts
that he will suffer, no reference is made to his martyrdom. From this
we may conclude that Acts was written in Rome shortly before the July
64 fire after which Nero began his persecution of Christians. This
could explain the rather rushed conclusion we can notice at the end
of the book.
Luke, an educated man, by profession a physician, meticulous and orderly,
sets out in Acts, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to prove
the truth of the apostles' teaching and show how rapidly it spread;
the Church's expansion, among the Gentiles particularly, was marked
by miracles; the content of his book covers a large part of the history
of the origins of Christianity, bearing out what our Lord had foretold:
"You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;
and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria
and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8).
And so the Christian faith spread out from Jerusalem, where on the
day of Pentecost some three thousand people were converted and baptized
(2:41). From that point onwards, with the help of the Holy Spirit,
an expansion began which would continue until it covered the entire
world. Many of those first Christians were Hellenist Jews before their
conversion (6:1), who after the martyrdom of Stephen were persecuted
and expelled from Israel (8:3-4). Their outlook, open to other lands
and cultures, enabled them to put down roots, first in Samaria and
border countries and then in more distant regions. Thus, for example,
we know that by the time of Paul's conversion, Christianity had already
reached Damascus, where the disciples included Ananias (9:10). This
first expansion is attested to by Luke before he relates the miracles
worked by Peter at Lydda and Joppa: "The church throughout all
Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was built up; and walking
in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit it was
multiplied" (9:31).
A second important step in the spread of the Church stemmed from the
arrival of persecuted Christians, after the martyrdom of Stephen,
in Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch (11:19). There the Gospel was preached
at every opportunity. It was in Antioch that "the disciples were
for the first time called Christians" (11:26). From that point
onwards Antioch became the second focus from which the faith spread.
Already there was frequent contact between Antioch and Jerusalem (11:27ff),
Luke making it clear that Jerusalem enjoyed pre-eminence. After each
of his three apostolic journeys Paul made his way back to Jerusalem,
and was imprisoned there on the last occasion.
The third significant stage in the spread of the Church resulted from
Paul being brought to Rome, where he remained under arrest pending
trial. Even though he was in chains for love of Jesus Christ, his
vigorous apostolate continued unabated.
We can see, therefore, that Acts, rather than a detailed and complete
account of the origins of the Church is a trustworthy and specific
report of the extraordinary aid which the Holy Spirit gave the Church
from its inception.
Just as the four Gospels tell of the incarnation of the Son of God
and his work of salvation, the Acts of the Apostles is a kind of fifth
Gospel containing the only account we possess of the coming of the
Holy Spirit and his action in support of the Church during the first
thirty years of its existence.
Here is a very brief summary of the teaching which the book contains:
1. Jesus Christ
After receiving the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the disciples openly
preach that Jesus is the Messiah. Peter specifically ends his address
on the very morning of Pentecost with this statement: "Let all
the house of Israel therefore know assuredly that God has made him
both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified"(2:36).
Thus, the messianic character of everything Jesus did is made perfectly
clear, both the prophecies that spoke of him in advance and the miracles
which marked his life. Of these, the greatest, the definitive, miracle
is his own resurrection (2:24-32), which decisively proves his divinity.
Paul also, as soon as he is converted, preaches that Jesus is the
Son of God (9:20; 13:33).
It is Jesus who sent the Holy Spirit and who forgives sins, because
he is the Author of life (3:15); he it is who saves all men, for as
the "suffering servant" undergoing his passion and death
he redeems all mankind (8:32-33); and, because he is God, his name
is all powerful (4:10-12) and he, before all others, must be obeyed
(4:19).
Just as in the Old Testament the name of God is invoked, now the name
of Jesus must be invoked with the same faith, for in him all authority
and virtue resides. To him the apostles have recourse in all their
trials, and in his name they preach and baptize those whom they convert.
Finally, it will be a privilege for them to suffer persecution for
confessing his name and even to give their very lives for the Lord.
2. The Holy Spirit
The Spirit promised by the prophet Joel (Joel 2:28-32) is the very
Spirit who on Pentecost comes down on the apostles and fills them
with his grace; among them is the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus
(2:3-4). The Acts show that the apostles saw the Holy Spirit as a
person distinct from the Father and the Son, though he shares in the
same divine nature. Hence to lie to the Holy Spirit, as Ananias and
Sapphira did, is the same as lying to God himself (5:3). Even the
apostles' preaching is the work of the Holy Spirit, for it is really
he who speaks through the mouth of the disciples (4:8; 11:28). The
Holy Spirit also gives instructions to Philip (8:29) and to Peter
(10:19).
The most important decisions of the Church, as for example those taken
at the Council of Jerusalem, are decisions of the Holy Spirit and
of the apostles (15:28). Apostolic activity begins at his express
command (13:2-4). He guides the apostles, or restrains them (16:6);
he appoints the bishops (20:28) and it is he who works the miracles
(10:46; 19:6). Therefore, those who are not aware of his existence,
even though they may believe in the Father and in the Son, cannot
yet be considered true disciples of his (19:2-6).
The Acts speak of a real presence of the Holy Spirit, a permanent,
not a passing presence (such as charisms) in the soul of every Christian
as soon as he is baptized (2:38; 5:32). He transforms and sanctifies
those in whom he dwells. His interior presence, vital and profound,
spreads throughout the world through the sacraments which the Church
administers. Confirmation is one of these sacraments (Acts 8:15-17).
3. The Church
The life of grace, the new life which the Holy Spirit brought at Pentecost,
created and shaped the first Christian community, that is, the Church.
From the very start it was clear that only in the Church, the mystical
body of Christ, can salvation be found, because only the Church has
the means necessary for attaining salvation--grace and the sacraments,
with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. But the Church is open to everyone--not
only the heirs of the promise, the Jews, but also the Gentiles: open
to everyone provided they believe that Jesus is the Son of God, the
promised Messiah, and accept his teaching. Our Lord himself expressly
desired that all men should be saved through his Church.
As Vatican II puts it "Those cannot be saved, who knowing that
the Catholic Church was founded through Jesus Christ, by God, as something
necessary, still refuse to enter it, or to remain in it. Although
in ways known to himself God can lead those who, through no fault
of their own, are ignorant of the Gospel to that faith without which
it is impossible to please him (Heb. 11:6)."
As soon as the apostles admitted Gentiles into the Church, dispensing
them from circumcision and the Mosaic law, the split between Church
and Synagogue became explicit, for it became obvious that the Church
was the new Israel, the new chosen people (15:14), and not, as some
thought, simply a sect of Judaism. This teaching was confirmed by
the Council of Jerusalem (15:1ff), which explicitly stated that no
Christian, not even those of Jewish background, was obliged to keep
the Mosaic law; this teaching had been upheld by Stephen, the first
martyr, and the Holy Spirit had charged Peter and Paul to preach it
from the very beginning.
4. The life of the first Christians
Acts tells us a great deal about the lifestyle of the first Christian
community. As Luke describes it early on in the book, "they devoted
themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking
of bread and the prayers" (2:42)--spiritual resources for
the spiritual goal which God gave them by calling them to the faith.
The four pillars on which their perseverance was built are the same
today: faithfulness to the apostles' teaching; unity among all those
who practice the same faith, being of one heart and soul (4:32); active
sharing in the Eucharist; and constant prayer, which keeps us united
to God. The early Christians prayed unceasingly when Peter was imprisoned
by Herod (12:5); Peter and Paul pray before they work miracles (9:40;
28:8); Paul and Silas pray in the prison at Philippi, at midnight,
after being beaten with rods, and all the other prisoners can hear
them (16:25). Prayer is a kind of background music preceding and accompanying
all apostolic activity.
Even the sharing of property practiced among the first Christians
was simply a logical result of their perfect unity of spirit. They
all felt concern for each other and gave the apostles whatever they
could to alleviate the situation of the poorer members of the community
(2:44-45). This property-sharing was something which grew up spontaneously:
it was never something laid down by Church authority: as Peter tells
Ananias, he was free to do whatever he wanted with his property.
We can also notice a certain basic hierarchical organization in the
Church of the Acts. It is to the apostles that the people give the
proceedings of the sale of their surplus property, regarding them
as God's representatives (4:35). When they are baptized they are conscious
of submitting both to the authority of Peter, who exercised primacy
of jurisdiction in the whole Church, and to that of the other apostles
(10:44-48).
This should not lead us to think that the early Christians were a
closed group of people isolated from others and uninvolved in the
life of society. Under the influence of the Holy Spirit they bore
witness to Jesus "in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and
to the end of the earth" (1:8). They were extraordinarily zealous
in their apostolate: this was something which came from their spirit
of prayer and their union with God. They really did act as a leaven
in a world hostile to Jesus and to the Gospel. Within very few years,
after the fall of Jerusalem in the year 70, they would turn society
around, thanks to their docility to the action of the Holy Spirit.
Thanks to their effort--even to the point of shedding their blood
for Jesus Christ--they brought the seed of the Christian faith
to the known world, thereby setting an example for Christians of all
eras.
Antonio Fuentes teaches Scripture at the University of Navarre in Spain.
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