Essay on Thematic Development and Movements in the Book of Acts

This essay examines the thematic development within the Book of Acts, focusing on the second movement and its expansion of Christianity to the Roman Empire. It explores the shift in geographical targets from Pentecost to Greek cities, highlighting Paul's conversion and missionary work. The analysis compares the second movement with the first, noting parallels and new themes, such as the discernment of vocation and the community's use of resources. It also discusses the economic diversity within the church and the conversion of Cornelius, which initiated discussions on Gentile inclusion. The essay concludes by emphasizing the themes of tolerance and acceptance, and the tensions between Roman imperial ideology and the church's political vision. The essay references key events, figures, and scriptural passages to support its arguments, providing a comprehensive overview of the development of early Christianity as presented in the Book of Acts.

Running Head: THE BOOK OF ACTS
THE BOOK OF ACTS
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1THE BOOK OF ACTS
The fifth book within the New Testament is also called the Book of Acts or in other
words, Acts of the Apostles. It narrates the story of the Christian Church being founded and
the spread of the message of Christianity to the Roman Empire. This paper will be focusing
on how the thematic development occurs in the second movement of the book.
It can be seen that the geographic target of the first part of the book is that of
Pentecost. The geographical target in the second part shifts to the various Greek cities that
Paul travels to. During this time, the church extends to Samaria and beyond. This is because
Paul converts from a prosecutor of Christians to someone who teaches the world about
Christianity.
This movement has various parallels to the previous movements. There is geographic
movement from Jerusalem to the center of the Gentile world. Paul’s utterances in 19:21 is a
lot like the utterances of Jesus in Luke 9:51. The role of peter and Paul in the second
movement is that of the representation of the Jewish Christian Church along with the second
mission to Gentiles.
Newer themes are presented through the second movement of the book like a
particular vocation being discerned with the community of the Christians. The Christian life
was also bringing forth confrontation with the powerful like the time, Demetrius a silversmith
said, “… this Paul has persuaded and drawn away a considerable number of people by saying
that gods made with hands are not gods …” and this had enraged the artisans who dragged
away the companions of Paul. Like Paula and Barnabas being persecuted and driven out of
their religion. However themes like resources being used for the sake of the community is
also recurrent as evident in the words of Lydia 16:11-15, “If you have judged me to be
faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.” This movement also focused on the

2THE BOOK OF ACTS
economic diversity of the church and the reiteration of the words of Jesus,“It is more blessed
to give than to receive.”
Cornelius is the first roman centurion to be converted to Christianity and then
baptized by Peter. This is an important event as it started a conversation within the leaders of
the newer Christian church, who were also Jewish. This is what helped the decision which
allowed the Gentiles to become Christians without fulfilling the requirements they were
supposed to conform to. In the household of Cornelius, peter said that Jesus was besmeared
with the Christian Holy Spirit and that he went about hoping well and doing well to the
people. Similarly Cornelius is to preach the people the word of the lord and “solemnly to
testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the
dead.”
This is similar to the speech of peter in the first movement of the book because even
then he had focused on the fact that taking the name of the lord will inevitably help the
person attain salvation. Here the fact that the person has to be Christian is focused on
however in the second part of the book, there is no such obligation and the fact that Jesus was
a Jew is accepted and it is said that mandatorily being a Christian was no longer a necessary
obligation. We see that Peter’s new teachings are way more tolerant in nature and it is more
focused on spreading the voice of the lord as a savior and protector of everyone.
There is an attempt to answer the theological question that has stirred up a lot of
discussion in the past. The theme of this second part is that of tolerance and acceptance. Even
Paul is presented as a moderator when it comes to the relationship shared in between the
church and the Roman Empire. However, a negative theme of the romans being cruel is also
explored through the imprisonment of Paul in Roman hands. This is also evident in the desire

3THE BOOK OF ACTS
to take a bribe as shown by Felix. Tension is also significant as the Roman imperial ideology
is at odds with the political vision of Luke.
In conclusion, the second movement consists of a lot of themes that are similar to the
themes in the first movement along with a few other radically different themes. The second
part is much more focused on what followed after the Day and Pentecost and the
establishment of the church.

4THE BOOK OF ACTS
References
Acts of the Apostles. (n.d.). .