Book Review: EP Study Commentary on the Book of Acts

I love commentaries. I read them often and I have certain things I look for when choosing one. I don't always look at the author, although that can be a massive factor if I am familiar with the work. I don't always look at the series, although that could still be huge if there is a consistent and useful format. Mainly I look for the problems that are addressed, the readability, and the application of the text.

Recently I have been spending a lot of time in the Book of Acts (since I am church planting) and I came across a commentary on the book and an opportunity to review it, so I jumped.

The EP Study Commentary on the Book of Acts by Guy Prentiss Waters is a readable length (less than 600 pages). It lends itself to being used as you walk through the Book of Acts with a group or just to sit down and read through (which I did). The commentary has great readability and is accessible to pastors, teachers, and serious students. This is not a technical commentary so just about anyone leading or teaching a group of people will find it helpful and useful.

The commentary deals with many problems but not exhaustively. This is by no means a critical commentary. However, Waters has dealt with many of the modern commentaries that I love and trust, both critical and pastoral. Waters also deals with the narrative unity and flow of the Book of Acts. This can be missed by many commentators that deal critically with the text. There is much more to be dealt with than Waters touches, both critically and literarily, but this commentary does a good job if you are reading through or teaching through Acts.

Finally, the application of the text was hit or miss. There were many applications to the "church" as a gathered reality. Waters doubtlessly serves in the church and is applying it to the congregation. But there is a lack of individual application. Since this is not a critical or literary commentary I was looking for more direct application to the reader. Certainly all of the Book of Acts does not lend itself to individual application but it would have been good to see a balance, especially in texts dealing with issues on both sides like the account of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11).

When all is said and done I would recommend this commentary if you are teaching through Acts. It is a bit too expensive ($43 US) for just reading through for my wallet. But it is without a doubt a solid job treating the text and explaining the meaning of key difficulties of the Book of Acts. 

Jesus and Women | The God of Missional Justice

Few stories have flowed over the pulpits of churches all across the world than the one given in John 7:53-8:11. Jesus is spending time teaching in the temple when a woman that has been caught in adultery is brought to him to receive his judgment. The scene is tense and seemingly simple. Here is a woman that has broken the law and she deserves, according to the law, punishment. That punishment should be death by way of stoning.

But this passage reveals much about Jesus Christ. I am afraid that for all of those sermons on this passage far too many of them miss the point of the text: Jesus is the just judge. Period. He is the beginning and end of the law. He wrote it. He will defend his people from those who attempt to usurp his authority. Jesus moves in to display what is true and right in places where deep wrongs are occurring.  In short, Jesus is the face of God's justice.

Let's see a few reasons why this is true.

JESUS KNOWS THE HEARTS OF MEN

There a few key verses in the Gospel of John. One of them is 2:23-25. Here Jesus is declared to keep from trusting himself to the Jewish leaders because he is fully aware of what is in the hearts of men. For an answer to what is in the hearts of men read chapters 3 & 5-12!

This is also a wonderful example of the hearts of these Jewish leaders (called scribes and pharisees). Jesus clearly perceives their intentions. They want to place Jesus in a lose-lose situation. They do this by pitting the Roman law (it was unlawful to put other to death) against the Mosaic law (it was commanded to put one guilty of adultery to death). This is not the first or last time that these leaders try to pull this trick. Their point is to gather a "charge" by which Jesus may be arrested. It seems on the face that this woman is on trial but it is actually Jesus.

A HALF TRIAL IS NO TRIAL

But even though Jesus perceives that he is the one that is on the hook. He addresses the sin of this woman. He cuts to the heart of the issue. He cuts to the heart of the men. He reveals what is in their hearts. 

First, there was a crime of adultery. But adultery takes two. There is only one standing here, the woman.

Second, it was against the law to bring someone to punishment without a trial. They are not searching for justice but rather they are conducting a lynching.

Third, Jesus cut to the issue by calling the bluff. To kill this woman without proper proceedings and having the man present is to break the law. This would make everyone taking place in the lynching guilty. So, Jesus says in essence, "anyone who wants to be guilty of this sin throw the first stone."

Game, set, match.

USING THE LAW TO BREAK THE LAW

This interaction with Jesus and the Jewish leaders is paramount for how we see Jesus. How he reveals the Father's justice. How he deals justly with all of his children, even the lawbreakers! Jesus reveals this amazing truth of the gospel as he comes face to face with a woman, a nameless, faceless woman.

The bigger sin in this passage was not adultery. It was using the law to break the law. Using the justice system to commit injustice. This is still common among us and as the people of Jesus Christ we must still stand with the afflicted. 

Jesus never forgave this woman (at least as far as we know). This passage is not about forgiveness (my apologies to 95% of the sermons preached on this) this passage is about justice. This passage is about the Father's heart and the Son's willingness to stand next to the guilty in the face of injustice.

There are many ways we could take this one simple truth.

Instead of trying to exhaust them I will simply say, the justice system is not our standard of justice.

Jesus alone is our measure of what is just.

A Prodigal People...

One of the most neglected areas in all of Christian teaching is the writings that surround the Babylonian captivity. There are some real gems that are dug out and often made aware to us in Daniel (a couple of stories) and Esther but the majority is left alone. The real shame is that this collective story and the encouragement that is found within are so very relevant to a post-everything culture.

Gerald Bilkes has made a portion of this important narrative available to us through his work Memoirs of the Way Home: Ezra and Nehemiah as a Call to Conversion. Bilkes uses the parable of the prodigal son to frame his approach to reading the return narratives of Ezra and Nehemiah.

Bilkes is successful in making these often-neglected narratives relevant to a New Testament audience by synthesizing the call of the Father to a wayward sinner with the call home to the Jews from captivity.  Bilkes has a healthy and robust understanding of salvation and the resting of the initiation of the Gospel call solely on the work of God. However, he does not give sufficient reasoning on the biblical basis for his approach. The reader will need to accept a robustly reformed view of salvation in order to accept the thesis for this book.

Overall, this book is a quick read and a great introduction to the narrative of the return from exile. This is an area of critique, as well, since there could be much more said in this treatment of two books of the Bible in less than 200 pages. If you are looking for a robust and deep dig into the mines of God’s truth then you better look elsewhere. This is more of a site-seeing tour. 

I was provided a copy of this book for the purposes of an honest review.  

History Glasses

I have spent much time in the typical Evangelical church. Through the years I have experienced many approaches to reading the Bible. These approaches may be formal or informal. A formal approach would be an "inductive method" where an observation is made of the passage in its context. An informal approach may be to ask "What is this passage saying to you?" or "God just gave this to me as I was reading this verse." No matter the approach it is important to think about where it may stem from.

Another oddity of my journey through typical Evangelicalism was a suspicion of history, especially Church History. Because of our present seminary patterns many pastors have a basic if not poor understanding of Church History. Most are completely ignorant of the Early Church Fathers.

This is important because the way we read the Bible is directly impacted by our understanding and approach to church history. In other words, the more ignorant the individual is of the Early Church then the more likely they are going to take an individual approach to reading the Bible. This is dangerous for people that are trying to learn how to read the Bible. In fact, we have a huge portion of the church today that is flatly confused about how to read the Bible. Where did we lose this ability? Perhaps when we lost our connection to our history.

The Early Fathers (and every subsequent Christian leader) can guide us toward a proper or Orthodox reading of Scripture. It is fair and right for us to ask how others throughout history have read this passage. It is also fair and right to limit our reading to the confines that have been set for us. This does not mean that every Church Father has been right. But it also does not mean that we should feel justified in ignoring the witness of the Spirit in the lives of others.

This way of reading the Bible is a bit more difficult. Although, you will at least know that you will not need to be corrected down the road as often. This approach takes a little research and reading in other areas. Picking up a good translation of the Early Church Fathers or visiting the Christian Classics Ethereal Library will give you a fast start to reading Scripture among the "Great Cloud of Witnesses". You can begin to build a collection of commentaries from your local bookstore or online.

There will always be those that prefer the easier road. Our legacy has been to take the Scriptures seriously. Do not be easily swayed by those that prefer the path of least resistance. Allow those that have given their lives over for their great love of Christ to speak to you. Let those whose whole lives have proven their seriousness for the Word of God guide you.

Beware of those that point you consistently to the "simple".

Oversimplification is the surest sign of ignorance.