The book of acts describes the great deeds of the apostles in spreading the gospel shortly after the ascension into heaven of Jesus. It is without question that Luke was the author of the book of Acts because it shows a progression from the book of the gospel according to Luke. Although Luke does not directly quote the Old Testament, he echoes the writings of the Old Testaments which reveals that he was a follower of the apostles. Luke portrays the church as being established at the center of the culture, faith, and faith of Judaism. In the first chapters of Acts, Luke makes it clear that Christianity was legitimately formed in spirit within Judaism and not as a radical movement created by a group of apostates (Vielhauer, 2012). He goes further to show that the first Christians were the first faithful and followers of Judaism. He showed that they were faithful to the traditions, customs, scriptures, history, and heritage of the Jewish people.
When Peter stood to speak in Acts 1:16-20 he says that the scripture had been fulfilled by the acts of Judas as the Holy Spirit had spoken through David who was a key figure of Judaism. He quotes the book of Psalms in verse 20. When Luke talks of the people who went to the upper room were 120 which was not coincidental. 120 was the precise number of Jewish men that were required to form a legitimate and legal Jewish community (Robert, 2018). It, therefore, means that the meeting was fully constituted to form a legitimate Jewish community in this case Christian community. In Acts 1:12, he says that the journey was from Jerusalem was a Sabbath day’s journey (Schnabel, 2016). That shows that they were Jews since they were the only ones who believed in the Sabbath.
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Peter followed the Old Testament which is seen in his culture of eating in Acts chapter 10 which is in accordance with Leviticus chapter 1 which classified some animals and birds as clean and unclean. Luke shows that Christianity was centered on Judaism in a subtle manner by echoing the Old Testament assuming the reader knows the Old Testament. This is the reason why Christians today should have knowledge in the Old Testament so that they can clearly understand the New Testament more clearly. Luke portrays Peter in Acts 10 as Prophet Jonah in the Old Testament who was sent to Nineveh but he was reluctant to go and preach to the pagans. Peter, in the same way, was reluctant to go to Cornelius who was a “Gentile” (Robert, 2018) Like the mission of Judaism religion in the Old Testament, Christianity was to have a positive influence on it neighbors so that they could repent and walk in the ways the Lord commanded them to walk in.
Luke makes the point that the Christian faith was built on Judaism so that he could emphasize the fact that it was legal and legitimate and that it was a fulfillment of the prophecies in the Old Testament. He also wants to reach the Jews who prided themselves as being a chosen nation (Scott, 2005).
It is important for Christians today to know their roots because it is there they will know the promises God gave to the people like Abraham the father of faith. Another reason is that the church is in an identity crisis. The early church was rooted and organized in the Judaism culture. Over time, the church became more integrated into the Roman culture that it started introducing pagan teachings. Understanding the Jewish roots will help Christians have an identity that is pleasing to God.
References
Robert W. Stacy. 2018, “The Jewish Setting of the Early Church in Acts.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIKGJJbeWpA accessed 29th October 2020
Schnabel, E. J. (2016). Acts . Zondervan Academic.
Scott, J. M. (2005). Geography in Early Judaism and Christianity: The Book of Jubilees (Vol. 113). Cambridge University Press.
Vielhauer, P. (2012). On the ‘Paulinism’ of Acts. Paul and the Heritage of Israel: Paul's Claim Upon Israel's Legacy in Luke and Acts in the Light of the Pauline Letters , 2 , 1.
