Acts: An Exegetical Commentary : Volume 2: 3:1-14:28

© 2013 by Craig S. Keener

Published by Baker Academic

a division of Baker Publishing Group

P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287

www.bakeracademic.com

Ebook edition created 2013

Ebook corrections 11.30.2015

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

ISBN 978-1-4412-4039-2

Unless noted otherwise, all translations of Scripture are those of the author.

Praise for Volume One

Acts has now taken a new step forward . . . the starting point for all Acts scholarship from now on!

—Scot McKnight, Northern Seminary

Somewhat surprisingly, a socio-historical approach to Acts still needs to be defended and its value demonstrated. No one does this better—is more informed about ancient literature, parallels, and precedents, and more interactively and fruitfully engaged with contemporary literature and issues—than Craig Keener. For anyone wanting to appreciate how Acts ‘worked’ in its original context and to get into the text at some depth, Keener will be indispensable and ‘first off the shelf.’

—James D. G. Dunn, University of Durham

Keener takes very seriously the claim of the book of Acts to be historiography. His encyclopedic knowledge of ancient literature and his intelligent skill as an exegete make this a magisterial commentary.

—Richard Bauckham, University of St. Andrews; Ridley Hall, Cambridge

Keener’s finished commentary will dwarf other modern commentaries, if measured by the quantity of either ink spilled or of citations of Greco-Roman texts. Beyond such metrics, Keener’s magnum opus is a rich resource that will serve Acts scholars for years to come. . . . A scholar with extensive knowledge of Jewish and Greco-Roman materials, Keener brings this expertise to his commentary, introducing scores of relevant citations to subsequent scholars of Acts. . . . This volume is the result of the careful, balanced work of a senior scholar. Any serious scholar will want to have this valuable commentary ready-to-hand.

—Daniel L. Smith, Review of Biblical Literature

To my knowledge, Keener’s four-volume project . . . is by far the largest single-author work on Acts to date. . . . Keener’s strong suit has always been his impressive acquaintance with the literary environment of the New Testament. . . . He is also remarkably thorough in citing other scholars. . . . Anyone concerned with Acts is best advised to take account of this extensive study from a widely read and dedicated scholar.

—Larry Hurtado, University of Edinburgh

This promises to be the most comprehensive commentary on Acts to date. Keener presents a socio-historical reading of the text with meticulous precision, and his knowledge of scholarly research is impressive. The book of Acts is read as a historiographical work in which its author rewrites traditions; the documentation from ancient Jewish literature is exceptionally rich. Keener treats hermeneutical issues and the historical reliability of the text astutely and clearly. From now on, any exegesis of Acts will need to take into account this major work.

—Daniel Marguerat, University of Lausanne, Switzerland

As one has come to expect from Keener, there is thorough knowledge and use of the best and most important secondary literature and abundant utilization of a wide range of ancient sources. This is a commentary that will continue to serve as a detailed resource for both scholars and students wishing to explore the book of Acts.

—Stanley E. Porter, McMaster Divinity College

A work of great quality and value. . . . Keener provides numerous connections to pertinent Greco-Roman and Jewish sources, to archaeology and material evidence, and to the other writings of the New Testament, particularly the letters of Paul. . . . Keener’s prodigious work offers a closely reasoned and thoroughly documented argument for the historical worth of Acts, that is, ‘historical’ judged by the canons of history prevalent in the ancient world. This is a very valuable resource work that will surely be a point of reference for all future discussions about Acts.

—Donald Senior, CP, The Bible Today

Craig Keener has provided us with a rich gem of a commentary on Acts. One can use it and get a real sense of what this key work is all about.

—Darrell L. Bock, Dallas Theological Seminary

This commentary sets Acts in its ancient social and historical setting. Keener’s wide reading of scholarly discussion is stupendous. A marvelous, impressive, and inspiring commentary!

—Manfred Lang, Martin Luther University, Halle-Wittenberg

By almost any measure, Craig Keener’s commentary on Acts is a remarkable achievement. . . . He is thoroughly engaged with a wide range of critical studies of Acts and related writings. Keener also brings to the study of Acts a deep and extensive acquaintance with ancient Greco-Roman and Jewish literature, and the result is a rich, detailed commentary packed with abundant and useful information. . . . I am unable to agree with many of his convictions about Acts but am compelled to admire his well-conceived and well-documented arguments and interpretations.

—Joseph Tyson, Review of Biblical Literature

Craig Keener’s academic commentaries are among the most important in print, because they not only summarize former scholarship but also add so many new insights from primary literature of the time.

—David Instone-Brewer, Tyndale House, Cambridge

CONTENTS

Cover

Title Page

Copyright Page

Endorsements

Abbreviations

PART 2: APOSTOLIC LEADERSHIP IN JERUSALEM (3:1–5:42)

The Healing of the Paralytic and Its Aftermath (3:1–4:30)

1. The Power of Jesus’s Name (3:1–11)

a. Introductory Issues

b. Hour of Prayer (3:1)

c. The Disabled Beggar at the Beautiful Gate (3:2–3)

EXCURSUS: THE DISABLED, POVERTY, AND BEGGING

1. The Disabled (3:2)

2. Poverty in General (3:2)

3. Urban and Judean Poverty (3:2)

4. Alms (3:2)

5. Begging (3:2–3)

d. Faith in Jesus’s Name (3:4–7)

  i. Inviting Attention (3:4–5)

 ii. Without Silver or Gold (3:6)

iii. Jesus’s Name (3:6)

iv. Commanding Healing (3:6)

 v. Contrast with Gentile Attempts to Secure Divine Favor

vi. Strengthened Feet (3:7)

e. Public Attention to the Healing (3:8–10)

f. Running Together at Solomon’s Portico (3:11)

2. Call for Israel’s Repentance and Salvation (3:12–26)

a. Introduction

  i. Message

 ii. Authenticity

iii. Rhetoric

b. Not by Our Power or Devoutness (3:12)

c. God Glorified His Rejected Servant Jesus (3:13)

  i. The Ancestral Deity

 ii. The Glorified Servant

iii. The Servant Rejected

iv. Pilate’s Desire to Release Jesus

d. Disowning the Bringer of Life (3:14–15)

  i. The Holy and Righteous One (3:14)

 ii. Rejecting Jesus (3:14)

iii. Preferring a Murderer (3:14)

iv. The Establisher of Life (3:15)

e. Faith and Witness (3:15–16)

  i. Witness (3:15–16)

 ii. Faith in Jesus’s Name (3:16)

f. Their Ignorance and God’s Plan (3:17–18)

  i. Ignorance as a Mitigating Factor (3:17)

 ii. God’s Plan (3:18)

g. Repentance Would Bring Israel’s Restoration (3:19–21)

  i. Luke’s Repentance Eschatology (3:19)

 ii. Repentance Eschatology in Early Judaism (3:19)

iii. Refreshing and Jesus’s Return (3:20)

iv. Restoration Eschatology (3:21)

h. The One Predicted by Moses and the Prophets (3:22–24)

  i. The Prophet like Moses (3:22)

 ii. Punishment for Rejecting Him (3:23)

iii. All the Prophets Announced These Days (3:24)

i. Israel’s Blessing through Jesus (3:25–26)

  i. Heirs of Covenant Blessing (3:25)

 ii. The Condition for Blessing (3:26)

3. Confronting Jerusalem’s Elite (4:1–30)

a. Introduction

  i. Power Conflict

 ii. Sources and Narrative Construction

b. Jerusalem’s Elite Confront the Apostles (4:1–7)

  i. The Elite Arrest the Apostles (4:1–3)

(1) Commander of the Temple Guard (4:1)

(2) Sadducees (4:1)

(3) Announcing the Resurrection in Jesus (4:2)

(4) Jailed Overnight (4:3)

 ii. Church Growth despite Persecution (4:4)

iii. The Political Elite Confront the Apostles (4:5–7)

(1) Rulers, Elders, and Scribes (4:5)

(2) The Sanhedrin (4:5)

(3) Named High Priests (4:6)

(4) The Authorities’ Challenge (4:7)

c. Salvation in Jesus’s Name (4:8–12)

  i. Filled for Confrontation (4:8)

 ii. Arraigned for Benefaction (4:9)

iii. Charging the Real Criminals (4:10)

iv. The Rejected Cornerstone (4:11)

 v. Salvation in Jesus’s Name (4:12)

d. Confounding the Authorities (4:13–22)

  i. The Apostles’ Boldness (4:13)

 ii. Uneducated (4:13)

iii. Private Discussion (4:14–17)

iv. Refusing to Be Silent (4:18–22)

e. Prayer for More Boldness (4:23–30)

  i. The Gathering and Address (4:23–24)

 ii. The Enemies in Psalm 2 (4:25–26)

iii. The Psalm’s Present Application (4:27–28)

iv. Prayer for Boldness and Signs (4:29–30)

Results of the Second Outpouring of the Spirit (4:31–5:16)

1. Immediate Impact of Prayer (4:31)

2. Sacrificial Sharing of Believers (4:32–35)

a. Common Property (4:32)

b. Power and Grace (4:33)

c. How the Property Was Distributed (4:34–35)

3. Positive and Negative Examples of Sharing (4:36–5:11)

a. Positive Example: Joseph Barnabas (4:36–37)

  i. Naming Barnabas (4:36)

 ii. A Cypriot Levite (4:36)

iii. Salvation for the Wealthy (4:37)

b. Negative Example: Ananias and Sapphira (5:1–11)

  i. Introduction

 ii. Deceptively Withholding Income (5:1–2)

EXCURSUS: PARALLELS FOR THIS NARRATIVE

iii. Spiritual Confrontation and Judgment (5:3–6)

(1) Satan’s Activity (5:3)

(2) Lying to God (5:3–4)

(3) Ananias’s Death (5:5)

(4) Ananias’s Immediate Burial (5:6)

iv. Sapphira’s Lie and Judgment (5:7–10)

 v. Others Observed and Feared (5:11)

4. Apostles’ Honor and Signs (5:12–16)

a. The People Revere the New Movement (5:12–14)

  i. Signs through the Apostles’ Hands (5:12)

 ii. Respect for the Apostolic Movement (5:13–14)

b. Seeking Healing (5:15–16)

  i. Dramatic Signs (5:15)

 ii. Shadows (5:15)

iii. The Word Spreads Further (5:16)

iv. Delivering People from Unclean Spirits (5:16)

More Persecution (5:17–42)

1. Arrest, Release, Rearrest (5:17–28)

a. Sadducees Arrest the Apostles (5:17–18)

  i. The Sadducean Sect (5:17)

 ii. Jealousy as a Motivation (5:17)

iii. Arrest and Detention (5:18)

b. Released and Commissioned (5:19–20)

  i. Miraculous Escapes (5:19)

 ii. The Message of Life (5:20)

c. The Council’s Reaction (5:21–28)

  i. Morning Discovery (5:21–25)

 ii. Rearrest and Charge (5:26–28)

2. Obeying God rather than the Elite (5:29–33)

a. Obeying God (5:29)

b. The Message (5:30–32)

c. The Authorities’ Response (5:33)

3. Gamaliel’s Defense (5:34–39)

a. Gamaliel, Pharisees, and the Speech (5:34–35)

  i. Gamaliel

 ii. Pharisees

EXCURSUS: PHARISAISM

iii. The Speech’s Design

iv. Gamaliel Begins Speaking (5:34–35)

b. Jesus versus Revolutionary Movements (5:36–37)

  i. Luke versus Josephus on Theudas’s Chronology

 ii. Luke’s Rhetorical Use of Theudas

c. Gamaliel’s Wise Counsel (5:38–39)

4. Continued Obedience (5:40–42)

a. The Council’s Reticence to Execute (5:40)

b. Celebrating Persecution (5:41)

c. Continued Teaching about Jesus (5:42)

PART 3: THE HELLENIST EXPANSION (6:1–9:31)

Hellenist Leaders (6:1–7)

1. Historical Basis?

2. Literary Connections

3. The Problem (6:1)

a. Hellenists and Hebrews

  i. The Tübingen Approach

 ii. Hebrews

iii. Hellenists

EXCURSUS: GREEK AND ARAMAIC USE IN JUDEA AND GALILEE

iv. More Than Language

 v. Diaspora Immigrants

vi. Conflict over the Law?

b. The Complaint (6:1)

c. Charity and Widows (6:1)

  i. Charity and Distribution Mechanisms

 ii. Widows

iii. Disproportionate Numbers Poor?

4. The Solution (6:2–7)

a. God’s Message or Serving Tables? (6:2, 4)

  i. The Apostles’ Priorities (6:2, 4)

 ii. Serving by Proclamation and Prayer (6:2, 4)

iii. Serving Economically

b. Securing the Right Ministers (6:3)

  i. Delegation

 ii. Qualifications, Including Reputation

iii. Full of the Spirit and Wisdom

iv. Seven Men

c. Choosing the Seven (6:5)

  i. Harmonious Resolution

 ii. Electing the Seven

iii. Stephen

iv. Philip and Other Names

 v. Nicolas from Antioch

EXCURSUS: PROSELYTES

vi. Seven Hellenists

d. The Commissioning (6:6)

e. Summary of the Church’s Growth (6:7)

  i. Summary Statements

 ii. Conversion of Priests

Stephen (6:8–8:1a)

1. Introduction to Stephen

2. Ministry and Opposition (6:8–7:1)

a. Grace and Signs (6:8)

  i. Grace

 ii. Signs and Wonders

b. Debating Some from the Freedpersons Synagogue (6:9–10)

EXCURSUS: SYNAGOGUES

  i. Multiple Synagogues?

 ii. Synagogue of Freedpersons (6:9)

EXCURSUS: FREEDPERSONS

iii. Diaspora Synagogues in Jerusalem

iv. A Hellenist Synagogue

 v. Stephen’s Inspired Success in Debate (6:10)

c. False Witnesses (6:11, 13)

  i. False Charges

 ii. Investigating and Punishing False Witnesses

iii. Deliberate Judicial Deception

iv. Luke’s Portrayal

d. The Charges (6:11–14)

  i. Listing the Charges

 ii. Ancient Customs and Laws

iii. The Temple

EXCURSUS: VIEWS ABOUT THE TEMPLE

e. Stephen’s Transfiguration (6:15)

f. The High Priest’s Question (7:1)

3. Stephen’s Countercharge (7:2–53)

a. Introduction

  i. Rhetoric of Acts 7

 ii. Use of Scripture

(1) Historical Retrospectives

(2) Luke’s Selection Criteria

(3) Applying the Scriptures

iii. History and Redaction

(1) Arguments for Sources

(2) Arguments against Sources

(3) Mediating Approaches

iv. Acts 7 and the Samaritans

 v. Hellenistic Judaism

vi. The Land

(1) Early Jewish Land Theology