This is the fourteenth
entry in the Bible Junkies Online Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles. This
post examines the third summary of the communal life of the disciples of Jesus
in Jerusalem.
For previous entries, please now go to the Complete Acts of the Apostle Commentary, where
you can find links to each of the entries updated after each new blog post.
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3. Contents:
C) Work of Peter and
the Apostles (3:1-5:42): Many Signs and Wonders (5:12-16):
12 Now many signs and wonders were done among the people through the
apostles. And they were all together in Solomon's Portico. 13 None of the rest
dared to join them, but the people held them in high esteem. 14 Yet more than
ever believers were added to the Lord, great numbers of both men and women, 15 so
that they even carried out the sick into the streets, and laid them on cots and
mats, in order that Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he came by. 16
A great number of people would also gather from the towns around Jerusalem,
bringing the sick and those tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all
cured. (NRSV)
This section, Acts
5:12-16, is seen by most commentators as the third summary in Acts, with the
first being Acts
2:42-47 and the second being Acts
4:32-35, as evidenced by Fitzmyer (Acts,
327) and Robert J. Dillon (NJBC, 738).
There are two interesting, though
separate, issues of transition with respect to this section.
The one has to do
with what seems like a literary “seam” between Acts 5:13 and Acts 5:14, in
which we are told “none of the rest dared to join them” and then immediately
following “yet more than ever believers were added to the Lord.” This appears
to join two sources together, one noting the awe and repellence which the apostles produced
through their signs and wonders, the other noting the attraction which the
community created by these same signs and wonders.
The second
transition is from this summary to the second arrest of the apostles which
follows immediately after in Acts 5:17-18. The summary stands alone, but makes
more sense in light of these verses, which read,
17 Then the
high priest took action; he and all who were with him (that is, the sect of the
Sadducees), being filled with jealousy, 18 arrested the apostles and put
them in the public prison.
I will deal with this second transition first.
T.E. Page in his study
of the Greek of the Acts of the Apostles says of this section, and I will quote
it at length, that it is:
A brief description
of the state of the Church (viz. rapid growth and increasing influence due to
the miracles wrought by the Apostles), introduced to explain the strong and
decisive action of the high priest and rulers described in ver. 17
That this is the
connection is clear from the use of the imperfect tens vv.12-16, contrasted
with the dramatic anastas of v. 17 and
subsequent aorists. The imperfects describe a state of things during a period
of some duration; the aorists express the single action which resulted from
that state of things.
The paragraph describes,
( 1)
The
miracles wrought by the Apostles.
( 2)
The gathering
of all believers in Solomon’s porch.
( 3)
The fact
that though none of the rest (i.e. the priests and rulers) dared to join them,
yet the people magnified them.
( 4)
The
great increase of believers, naturally resulting (hôste) in a great public manifestation, viz. the placing of sick
folk in the streets by the inhabitants of Jerusalem and even bringing them in
great numbers from neighbouring cities.
It was this public
manifestation which at last roused the ‘envy’ of the rulers. (Page, Acts, 112)
The important point Page makes here is that we understand
the summary here in light of what comes in the following verses. Greek imperfect
tenses generally reflect ongoing action in the past, while the aorist tense
more usually reflects “the single
action which resulted from that state of things.” That single action is revealed
in the use of anastas (“took action”)
in Acts 5:17, “a pictorial word representing the commencement of vigorous
action. It is frequent in Luke and Acts” (Page, 113). This summary then is an
important statement of the actions of the believers in Jerusalem, but also the
important transition to the arrest which will follow.
The other
transition, mentioned above, has to do with some tension between two verses:
why are people staying away in one verse and then joining in greater numbers in the next verse? Here
are the verses from Acts 5:13-14 again:
13 None of the rest
dared to join them, but the people held them in high esteem.
14 Yet more than ever
believers were added to the Lord, great numbers of both men and women,
As Page notes above, he thinks that “the rest” (hoi loipoi) describes the priests and rulers, so there is no tension
here with “the people” (see also Fitzmyer, Acts,
328). Richard Pervo notes that some people understand “the rest” as the other
Christians separate from the apostles, but this creates a difficult bridge
among Christians (Pervo, Acts,
135-36). Luke Timothy Johnson takes a similar tack,
arguing that the “them” who no one “dared to join” is specifically the
apostles, and so people left them alone, but still joined the community
(Johnson, Acts, 95; see Fitzmyer, Acts, 328).
At the risk of simplifying
too greatly a difficult exegetical issue, I think it is possible that Luke has
combined two traditions or sources from the Jerusalem Church. The first
indicates that in light of the “signs and wonders” done by the followers of
Jesus on the Temple people were in awe; in this case “the rest” is the same as “the
people.” A second tradition which Luke has joined to it simply indicates that
this did not remain the case, but at a later point “more than ever believers
were added to the Lord, great numbers of both men and women.” It is perhaps
clumsy literarily, but it also reflects a reality: mysterious or powerful deeds both repel
and attract, frighten and excite people.[1]
And that is at the
heart of this section: “many signs and wonders were done among the people
through the apostles” (Acts 5:12). According to Acts 5:15-16, the sick were carried
out into the streets “in order that Peter's shadow might fall on some of them
as he came by” and “a great number of people would also gather from the towns
around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those tormented by unclean spirits, and
they were all cured.” These deeds are attracting people, but also causing
consternation. Naturally, the readers of Acts are to understand that God’s
power, the name of Jesus, and the Holy Spirit rests behind and empowers the
apostles, but is that how the authorities will view these acts?
Next entry, the disciples of Jesus are arrested again.
John W. Martens
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This entry is cross-posted at America Magazine The Good Word
[1]
From the Gospel tradition see the Gerasene demoniac story from Mark 5:1-20 for
the repellence and attraction of spiritual power.
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