Theology through Community

Luke's Portrayal of the Role of the First-Century Community of Believers in Theological Creativity

Richard A. Pruitt

• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN: 9781532664014, 9781532664021
• eBook ISBN: 9781532664038
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Studies

Since the 1980s, renewal scholars have given considerable attention to the role of the believing community in the interpretive process. A broad consensus has emerged that a triad involving Scripture, the Spirit, and the believing community forms a cooperative relationship resulting in theological development, followed by commensurate action--identified in this research as theological creativity. In the context of this research, to be creative with theology is to take an existing theological assumption and broaden or adapt it to current circumstances, given the Spirit's evidential work and a consensual understanding of Scripture. But how does the community negotiate between Spirit and Scripture without subsuming either into its own predilections? For Luke, the first-century community of believers in Acts functions as an indispensable character in the formation of theological creativity. This work will demonstrate how Luke positions the community as a character in story form, between Spirit and Scripture, functioning as a bridge through which its testimony of the Spirit's evidential work and its application of Scripture interact. In order to illustrate this balancing act, we will use a modified configuration of the triadic notion: Spirit-Community-Scripture.

1

Reestablishing the Twelve —Acts 1:12–26

In this chapter, we will examine Luke’s narrative portrayal of the first-century community of believers engaged in theological creativity in the first few days following Jesus’ ascension (Acts 1:9). Moreover, we will discover that, in Luke’s view, the theological issues important to the first-century community require the reestablishment of the Twelve as its core leadership. The chapter will conclude by summarizing the main points and evidence to demonstrate Luke’s view of the community as a character engaging in theological creativity.123

Identifying the Community

In order to identify Luke’s view of the community in theological creativity in Acts 1:15–26, we must first examine the manner in which Luke characterizes and highlights the theological basis for the actions taken by that community. As we will see, the community of believers as a character is identifiable throughout Acts 1.

In this section, we will analyze the text with regard to the terms Luke uses to describe the community as well as the actions he ascribes to the community as a character. Utilizing Hochman’s qualities of characterization in literature—specifically action, conflict, and need for resolution—identifying the community as a character in Luke’s narrative becomes clear.124

Luke uses a variety of terms to describe the community and presents it as one motivated to specific actions. In so doing, he characterizes the community through a process of “showing and telling.”125 For example, immediately following the ascension of Jesus in Acts 1, Luke draws specific attention to the constituency and size of the group (Acts 1:12–15). Numbering one hundred and twenty (1:15), the community of believers includes eleven of the twelve disciples, whom Luke identifies as apostles (Luke 6:13), along with “certain other women,” Jesus’ mother, and brothers (siblings) of Jesus (Acts 1:14).

Much has been made of Luke’s use of the number one hundred and twenty.126 Johnson suggests Luke’s use of it (and the number, twelve) is significant since the apostles see themselves as representative of the new twelve tribes of Israel (Luke 22:29–30).127 For him, Luke draws on practices reminiscent of other first-century Jewish sects at Qumran. However, while evidence exists that one hundred twenty men are necessary to constitute a local Sanhedrin, it is unlikely that Luke’s intention is to show continuity with Qumran for two reasons: (1) he includes women (Acts 1:14; D05 also includes “wives and children”), and (2) it is unproven whether anyone in Luke’s audience would make such a connection.128 Perhaps Luke’s intention, in the most general sense, is to simply show that the community is large enough to require organization.129 Whatever its numeric purpose, it is important to keep in mind that foremost in the agenda of the believers is the restoration of the “kingdom to Israel” (Acts 1:6) and the selection of Judas’ replacement as one of the Twelve (1:15–26).130

In a further example of showing and telling, Luke narratively reveals the community’s theological interests through the way they question Jesus and through their ensuing course of action to replace Judas (1:6–7, 15–26). Both their question and action possess eschatological expectations. While first-century Jewish expectations concerning the Messiah is beyond the scope of this study, how Luke characterizes these early believers’ messianic expectations is certainly relevant. Marion L. Soards identifies four characteristics applicable to religiously sectarian Jews at the time of Luke’s writing:

1. monotheism, i.e., the belief in the God of Abraham;

2. nationalism, i.e., a conviction that the God of Abraham gave to Abraham’s heirs the “promised land;”

3. concern for the Law, i.e., belief that part of God’s covenant with Israel was the giving of the Law as the standard for life in the context of the covenant; and,

4. an apocalyptic perspective on the world, i.e., a conviction that the world was set in opposition to God and that God was about to intervene [on] behalf of God’s rightful lordship and in redemption of God’s chosen people.131

Soards admits ...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• List of Abbreviations
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: Reestablishing the Twelve —Acts 1:12–26
• Chapter 2: Revealing Jesus as Servant and Son—Acts 4:23–31
• Chapter 3: Selecting the Seven—Acts 6:1–7
• Chapter 4: Accepting the Gentiles —Acts 15:1–35
• Chapter 5: Discerning the Spirit —Acts 11:27–30; 13:1–4; and 21:4, 8–14
• Chapter 6: The Community in Theological Creativity
• Appendix: Thinking Forward in Renewal Hermeneutics
• Bibliography