Commentary on the Book of Acts

390 Pages·2016·2.61 MB·English

by  Pratte, David E.;www.gospelway.com

Commentary on
the Book of Acts
Bible Study Notes
and Comments

by David E. Pratte

Available in print at
www.gospelway.com/sales
Commentary on the Book of Acts:
Bible Study Notes and Comments

© Copyright David E. Pratte, 2011, 2013
Minor revisions 2016
All rights reserved

ISBN-13: 978-1492840312
ISBN-10: 1492840319

Note carefully: No teaching in any of our materials is in-
tended or should ever be construed to justify or to in any way
incite or encourage personal vengeance or physical violence
against any person.

Front page photo
The Mount of Olives from which Jesus ascended back to heaven

“Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He
was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight … Then
they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is
near Jerusalem…” – Acts 1:9,12 (NKJV).

Photo Credit: Nemo distributed under Creative Commons license,
via Wikimedia Commons

Other Acknowledgements
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are generally from the
New King James Version (NKJV), copyright 1982, 1988 by Thomas Nelson,
Inc. used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NASB) are from Holy Bible, New Amer-
ican Standard La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version, copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing min-
istry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (MLV) are from Modern Literal Version
of The New Testament, Copyright 1999 by G. Allen Walker.
Scripture quotations marked (RSV) are from the Revised Standard Ver-
sion of the Bible, copyright 1952 by the Division of Christian Education, Na-
tional Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.
Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are from the New International
Version of the Holy Bible, copyright 1978 by Zondervan Bible publishers,
Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Commentary on Acts Page #2
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Visit our website at www.gospelway.com/sales to see a
current list of books in print.

Page #3 Commentary on Acts
Other Resources from the Author
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Free Bible study articles online at
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Commentary on Acts Page #4
Table of Contents

Introduction to the Book of Acts .................... 9
Acts 1 ............................................................. 18
Acts 2 ............................................................ 31
Acts 3 ............................................................ 62
Acts 4 ............................................................ 74
Acts 5 ............................................................ 92
Acts 6 .......................................................... 105
Acts 7 ........................................................... 118
Acts 8 .......................................................... 140
Acts 9 .......................................................... 156
Acts 10 ......................................................... 175
Acts 11 ......................................................... 192
Acts 12 ......................................................... 205
Acts 13 ......................................................... 213
Acts 14 ......................................................... 230
Acts 15 ......................................................... 241
Acts 16 ......................................................... 262
Acts 17 ......................................................... 276
Acts 18 ........................................................ 291
Acts 19 .........................................................300
Acts 20 ......................................................... 311
Acts 21 ......................................................... 333
Acts 22 ........................................................ 343
Acts 23 ........................................................ 352
Acts 24 ........................................................ 359
Acts 25 ........................................................ 369
Acts 26 ........................................................ 375
Acts 27 ........................................................ 383
Acts 28 ........................................................ 391

(Due to printer reformatting, the above numbers may be off a few pages.)
Page #5 Commentary on Acts
Notes to the Reader
To save space and for other reasons, I have chosen not to include
the Bible text in these notes (please use your Bible to follow along). When
I do quote a Scripture, I generally quote the New King James Version,
unless otherwise indicated. Often – especially when I do not use quota-
tions marks – I am not quoting any translation but simply paraphrasing
the passage in my own words. Also, when I ask the reader to refer to a
map, please consult the maps at the back of your Bible or in a Bible dic-
tionary.

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Commentary on Acts Page #6
Introductory Thoughts about
Commentaries
Only the Scriptures provide an infallible, authoritatively inspired
revelation of God’s will for man (2 Timothy 3:16,17). It follows that this
commentary, like all commentaries, was written by an uninspired, falli-
ble human. It is the author’s effort to share his insights about God’s word
for the purpose of instructing and edifying others in the knowledge and
wisdom found in Scripture. It is simply another form of teaching, like
public preaching, Bible class teaching, etc., except in written form (like
tracts, Bible class literature, etc.). Nehemiah 8:8; Ephesians 4:15,16; Ro-
mans 15:14; 1 Thessalonians 5:11; Hebrews 3:12-14; 5:12-14; 10:23-25;
Romans 10:17; Mark 16:15,16; Acts 8:4; 2 Timothy 2:2,24-26; 4:2-4; 1
Peter 3:15.
It follows that the student must read any commentary with discern-
ment, realizing that any fallible teacher may err, whether he is teaching
orally or in writing. So, the student must compare all spiritual teaching
to the truth of God’s word (Acts 17:11). It may be wise to read several
commentaries to consider alternative views on difficult points. But it is
especially important to consider the reasons or evidence each author
gives for his views, then compare them to the Bible.
For these reasons, the author urges the reader to always
consider my comments in light of Scripture. Accept what I
say only if you find that it harmonizes with God’s word. And
please do not cite my writings as authority, as though people
should accept anything I say as authoritative. Always let the
Bible be your authority.

“He who glories, let him glory in the Lord”
– 1 Corinthians 1:31

Page #7 Commentary on Acts
Abbreviations Used in These Notes
ASV – American Standard Version
b/c/v – book, chapter, and verse
ESV – English Standard Version
f – the following verse
ff – the following verses
KJV – King James Version
NASB – New American Standard Bible
NEB – New English Bible
NIV – New International Version
NKJV – New King James Version
RSV – Revised Standard Version
Commentary on Acts Page #8
Introduction to the Book
of Acts
Helpful tools for study
The following tools will be helpful in this study. Most can be ob-
tained from a good religious bookstore.
1. A good study Bible
We recommend the following features:
* NKJV, KJV, ASV, or NASB. (We do not recommend loose transla-
tions or one-man translations.)
* Good cross-references.
* A good binding, preferably genuine leather.
2. A good analytical or exhaustive concordance
We recommend one of the following:
* Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, or
* Young’s Analytical Concordance
A shorter abridged concordance may work, but will not contain all
the words or all the references you may need.
Some computer software or websites provide good Bible concord-
ance and search routines.
3. Other useful books
The following books may be helpful, but are not as essential as the
previous materials.
* Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, by W. E.
Vine
* Bible Dictionary, such as New International Dictionary of the Bi-
ble by Zondervan’s or New Smith’s Bible Dictionary
Basic Facts about Acts
Author
The book nowhere directly states what man recorded the inspired
words. However, it is generally agreed to be the work of Luke for the fol-
lowing reasons:
Page #9 Commentary on Acts
(1) The author of Acts had written a “former account” of the life of
Jesus (1:1,2). This would indicate it was Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John.
(2) Both Acts and Luke are addressed to “Theophilus” (“lover of
God” – compare Luke 1:1-4 to Acts 1:1). The introductions are similar in
other ways as well.
(3) Acts, in the original language, contains several terms which were
characteristically used by physicians, and Luke was a physician (Colos-
sians 4:14).
(4) The text passes from third person (“they”) to first person (“we”)
and back again repeatedly when describing some of Paul’s travels. These
changes would indicate that the author was one of Paul’s traveling com-
panions, which Luke was (Colossians 4:14; 2 Timothy 4:11; Philem. 24).
Further, the author does not name himself but uses “we.” So it appears
that the author is a traveling companion who is nowhere named in Acts.
The companions other than Luke are nearly all named in Acts, so this
also seems to confirm that Luke was the author. Also, the changes in
person logically agree with the times when Luke seems to join or leave
the group. (Ex.: Acts 16:6-17; 20:5-15; 21:1-18; 27:2-28:16).
Horne states:
That Saint Luke was the author of the Acts of the Apostles, as
well as of the Gospel which bears his name, is evident both from
the introduction, and from the unanimous testimonies of the early
Christians. … To the genuineness and authenticity of this book, the
early Christian fathers bear unanimous testimony.
Theme
Acts is a history of the early church and of the spread of the gospel
(note 1:8). It is not a record of all of the acts of all of the apostles, but of
just some of the acts of some of the apostles.
Date
The book ends with Paul in prison in Rome for the first time. His
subsequent history is not recorded, which would indicate the book was
written before that history was known. This would date it about 62-64
AD.
Summary by Sections (see Acts 1:8)
The spread of the gospel in Jerusalem (chapters 1-7)
The spread of the gospel in Judea & Samaria (chapters 8-12)
The spread of the gospel throughout the earth (chapters 13-28)
Benefits of studying this history
1. It gives examples of people who were converted to Jesus and of
those who were not converted. Since God is no respecter of person (Acts
10:34,35), we can put ourselves in the place of these people and learn
from their examples what is necessary for a person to be converted and
why people sometimes are not converted.
Commentary on Acts Page #10