Literary Features in the Book of Acts

1. Old Testament Narrative Style 

Luke writes in the style of the Greek Old Testament (LXX – Septuagint). He viewed his writing as recording sacred history. “He believed that the events which he was recording were the fulfillment of the prophecies contained in the Scriptures and that consequently they were the same kind of divinely wrought events as were already recorded in the Scriptures” (I.H. Marshall, 18).

 

2. Speeches

Most of the theological content of the book of Acts is conveyed through the sermons and speeches it recounts. These speeches comprise nearly 1/3 of the total text.

 

Most of these speeches take less than a few minutes to read out loud; however, it is unlikely that the comments of the speakers themselves were so brief. What Luke recorded were summaries of the things that were said. Luke did not intend them to be verbatim reports.

 

Luke provides his readers with a general sense of the messages. However, this does not mean that he simply invented the contents of these sermons and speeches. Luke’s approach seems to have been similar to Thucydides (Greek historian and Athenian general, c. 460- c. 395 B.C.):

 

“It was in all cases difficult to carry the speeches word-for-word in one’s memory, so my habit has been to make the speakers say what was in my opinion demanded of them by the various occasions, of course adhering as closely as possible to the general sense of what they really said” (History of the Peloponnesian War [recounts the 5^th C B.C. war between Sparta and Athens], 1.22.1 as cited in I.H. Marshall, 42).

 

3. Episodes

Luke is an excellent story-teller. He records individual episodes that illustrate or are representative of longer periods of ministry. These episodes are snapshots that show the church fulfilling its mission of witnessing to the risen Christ. They are specific examples of routine ministry experiences or typical practices.

 

4. Miracle Stories

Like the Gospels, the Book of Acts contains stories of miracles. We find the apostles, through the power of the Holy Spirit, performing the same kinds of miracles as Jesus  – healings, exorcisms, and even raising the dead. These miracles spread the gospel, they promote the word of God, and they advance the kingdom of God. They also connect the ministry of the apostles and the early church with the ministry of Jesus.

 

5. Conversion Stories

From these particular cases of conversion we can piece together a general pattern or discern the essential elements of a genuine commitment to Christ: repentance, faith, water baptism, reception of the Holy Spirit. (e.g., the Samaritans and the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8; Paul in Acts 9; Cornelius in Acts 10; Lydia and the jailer in Acts 16, etc.).

 

6. Travel Narratives (Travelogue)

These travel stories provide a significant amount of incidental details, which give the book historical credibility. They also depict the movement and progress of the gospel. They show how the mission expanded throughout the first-century Mediterranean world.

 

7. Summary Statements

Again, Acts includes six summary statements, which broadly describe the life and growth of the church (6:7; 9:31; 12:24; 16:5; 19:20; 28:31).

Sources

Bruce, F. F. The Book of the Acts(NICNT). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988.

Marshall, I. Howard. The Acts of the Apostles (TNTC). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980 (Reprinted 1984).

Polhill, John B. Acts (NAC). Nashville: Broadman, 2001.