Ãâó: http://archive.catholic.com/thisrock/1994/9405ntg.asp
N e w T e s t a m e n t G u i d e
ACTS
By ANTONIO FUENTES
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.
¡¡
¡¡