Acts: Brazos' Theological Commentary on the Bible
Jaroslav Pelikan
Grand Rapids: Brazos Press (2006)
320 pages

One of the premier historical scholars of our era, Jaroslav Pelikan (deceased on May 13, 2006), has contributed this initial text in a planned forty-volume series, Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible, issued by Brazos Press. It is a striking example of organization and writing, the kind of feat we have become accustomed to from this author—witness, e.g., his five volume The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine, and his account of the formation of the great creeds of the church in Credo: Historical and Theological Guide to Creeds and Confessions of Faith in the Christian Tradition.

After the twentieth century, during which a number of notable commentaries were published on the book of Acts—e.g., Foakes-Jackson and Lake (1920–33), Bruce (1951), Munck (1967), Haenchen (1971), Krodel (1986), Conzelmann (1987), Jervell (1992), Johnson (1992), Barrett (1994–98), and Witherington (1998)—this book inaugurates the twenty-first century, and will take its place at the forefront, hopefully, for some time to come. But in contrast to most of these earlier volumes, Pelikan's has a format that renders it distinctive. He predicates his arrangement of the material with respect to his perception that the Nicene-Chalcedonian faith provides an "a posteriori organizing principle for the exegetical task" (28). It presupposes that, transitioning from the "apostolic church" to "church catholic," the church apparently remained "apostolic" as well as both "one" and "holy." Thus it is primarily a theological commentary.

The editors' instructions, writes Pelikan, were that this commentary was to be "based upon the final form of the text, taken in its canonical context." Thus, he has chosen to emphasize the Western text of Acts (designated by the letters TPR, from the Latin phrase textus a patribus receptus, the "text received by the church fathers"). While not claiming this text as "the final form," he sees it as one final form, and uses the RSV (Revised Standard Version) as the default translation. He has divided up each of the twenty-eight chapters of Acts into three major units of commentary, a total of eighty-four loci communes, giving attention to most of the content of Christian theology. Since this book is intended to be primarily a theological commentary, the discussion of any particular theological issue, printed in bold type, "has been concentrated at one or another particular passage . . . where that issue or doctrine are prominent, with consideration of other passages in Acts related to this discussion" (29).

One example would be "the doctrine of angels," references to which are numerous, occurring from Acts 1:10 through 23:8. Pelikan discusses this concept at Acts 12:7 under the heading "'Both Seen and Unseen': the Angels as ‘Ministering Spirits,'" which is identified by an arrow and reference to chapter and verse. A list of the eighty-four passages is provided in the table of contents, thereby providing a fine overview of the theological content of the commentary.

The range of reference materials in this volume is striking, and of which I, as reader, was continually impressed. Pelikan ranges widely over Old Testament, New Testament, early church writers, and Reformation materials, as well as modern scholars. Much attention is given to the early creeds, particularly the realm of the Nicene-Chalcedonian faith. In his introduction he gives adequate attention to the logic of this procedure.

One or two examples of his approach must suffice. He entitles the discussion based on Acts 2:1, "'And in the Holy Spirit': The Fullness of the Church." Noting that the translation in the Authorized Version (AV) reads, "when the Day of Pentecost was fully come," attempts to impart an emphasis on the "fullness" (Greek, pleroma) of the Holy Spirit (not quite conveyed in either the RSV or the NRSV), he cites two other NT passages where the same Greek verb is used, i.e., Luke 9:51 and Galatians 4:4 (AV). His comment here is that the idea of the time having "fully come" does not convey a strictly chronological sense, but rather is better understood in the setting of the history of salvation. He then proceeds to trace the connection between the Holy Spirit and "fullness" throughout the narrative of Acts, showing numerous examples of persons and incidents where this spiritual phenomenon eventuates.

The comments on Acts 22:16, "Rise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name," are entitled, "'We Acknowledge One Baptism for the Forgiving of Sins.'" Pelikan notes that, while there is no reference to Christian baptism in Luke's Gospel, "that lacuna is more than compensated for by the prominence of baptism in Acts, which discusses it more frequently and at greater length than does either the Epistle to the Romans (Romans 6:3–11) or the Epistle to Titus (Titus 3:4–8)" (237). After giving some background, he goes on to cite Peter's appeal at the end of his sermon at Pentecost (2:38), "which contains all the components of church doctrine on baptism," giving the six elements found there, and expounding each of them with reference especially to the Gospels and the book of Acts.

These are but two of the eighty-four discussions, most of which are, in the strict sense, theological. Yet there are other aspects of this NT book that are noted to one degree or another. "Acts is a book of frenetic action amid a constantly shifting scene" (23), illustrated by a plethora of scenes of confrontation, rioting, traveling ("complete with shipwreck and venomous serpents"), imprisonments, famine, earthquake, and more. Again, Acts "has more touches of humor . . . than all other books of the New Testament combined" (see 12:13–16). One can well employ a Bible dictionary and a historical atlas when traveling through Acts. As a story of adventure it is the "most action-packed book in the New Testament," and the story of the voyage to Rome (chapter 27) "would deserve an honored place in any anthology of sailing literature."

While this book will not replace the "standard" commentaries on Acts—which tend to peruse the entire book by either verses or paragraphs—it is an intriguing treatment from a theological perspective. The sheer breadth and depth of Pelikan's scholarship is impressive; his ability to plumb the depths and survey the field certainly inform and stimulate the serious reader and provide insight into many aspects of this first church history volume. We trust the tradition will be continued in the succeeding volumes of this proposed commentary on Scripture.