3.3 Literary Shape of Acts’ Ending
3.3.4 Literary Shape in “Act V” (21:15–28:31)
From a backwards reading, retrospective patterning shows an advance for Paul’s Gentile mission320 through the trials and a final journey to Rome. The final summary
(28:30–31) leaves a positive open closure to Paul’s invitation for the Jews to be God’s mission instrument (28:17–28) and a possible ongoing mission example. The
310 Rom 15:25–26; 1 Cor 16:3. For discussion see David D. Downs, “Paul’s Collection and
the Book of Acts Revisited”, NTS 52 (2006): 50–70; Downs, The Offering of the Gentiles: Paul's Collection for Jerusalem in its Chronological, Cultural, and Cultic Contexts, WUNT 2.248 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2008), 60–70; James D. G. Dunn, “Luke’s Jerusalem Perspective”, in Walton, et al., Reading Acts Today, 120–36, citing 133–136; Doohee Lee, Luke-Acts and “Tragic History”: Communicating Gospel with the World, WUNT 2.346 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2013), 252–53; Keener, Acts, 3:3113–16; 4.3409–12.
311 Tannehill, Luke-Acts, 2:266–67. 312 Pereira, Ephesus, 224–228, esp. 228.
313 Richard Bauckham, “James and the Jerusalem Church”, in The Book of Acts in Its
Palestinian Setting, ed. Richard Bauckham, BAFCS 4 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans; Carlisle: Paternoster, 1995) 415–480, citing 479–80; Luke Timothy Johnson, The Literary Function of Possessions in Luke-Acts, SBLDS 39 (Missoula, MT: Scholars Press, 1977), 219–20.
314 Rius-Camps and Read-Heimerdinger, Acts, 4:257–268; Stevens, Acts, 142–43. 315 Witherington, Acts, 588; Walaskay, Acts, 185–86, 193.
316 Haenchen, Acts, 612–14; Barrett, Acts, 2:1001; Holladay, Acts, 413–14.
317 Robert Orlando, Apostle Paul; A Polite Bribe (Cambridge: James Clarke, 2014), 48–61,
118–126, who marshals support from various scholars interviewed in his film, A Polite Bribe (The Nexus Project, LLC, 2013) including Philip Esler; Dominic Crossan; Gerd Lüdeman; Ben Witherington III; Robert Jewett.
318 Dunn, Acts, 284–85; Stevens, Acts, 454. In contrast to those who interpret Paul’s Jewish
commitment as a positive example in his mission to Jews (e.g.Wright, Faithfulness of God, 1441–43).
319 Acts 15:19–29. Pereira, Ephesus, 233–34. The connection to the Law and gospel debate at
the Jerusalem Conference is picked up in Chapter Five (see §5.3.2.4, p.251).
320 Previous advances in Paul’s mission were 13:1–3 and possibly 16:9–10. See Diagram V,
large literary size of Paul’s trials and the storm-shipwreck underline their importance to the narrative.321 Together they tell the story of progression from captivity to
mission. The complexities of this progression are shown in Paul’s appeal to Caesar (25:10–12) at the midpoint of “Act V’ since the appeal either a Gentile mission strategy or an avoidance of mission suffering. Overall, the story components of an elongated Acts’ Ending reveal a sense of progression.
The literary-spatial component of “Act V”322 has an almost equal emphasis
on Jerusalem (21:15–23:30) and Caesarea (23:31–26:32) as the two locations for Paul’s imprisonment.323 Jerusalem is given a religious focus with references to the
temple and priests324 who portray a negative picture in their opposition to Paul and
his mission invitation. The movement to Caesarea suggests a mission advance as the place of departure for the voyage to Rome and the reappearance of the “we-group” (27:1). The voyage is emphasised by its literary size and many spatial references adding a sense of a long journey. Malta (28:1–10) combines the ideas of salvation, mission, and Paul’s restoration. From a literary perspective Rome, rather than Jerusalem, has significance as the final literary destination of Acts.325 The increasing
references to Rome in “Act V”,326 together with references to Caesar327 and Paul’s
Roman citizenship,328 confirm the city as the divinely appointed target of Paul’s final
mission.329 However, the focus is on a last appeal for Jewish involvement in the
Gentile mission and a closing reference to the kingdom of God.330
The literary-temporal component of “Act V”331 combines a sense of
chronological movement and a progression of Paul’s Gentile mission in the many temporal references332 together with a slowing down of the narrative in a long story
time period of four years, six months, and 68/70 days which possibly points to an
321 Liefeld, Acts, 17, 41, notes the proportion of attention given to Paul’s trials is an important
factor in the interpretation of Acts as a whole.
322 See Diagram VI (C), p.89.
323 Caesarea (21:15–23:30), 1,681 words; Jerusalem (23:33–26:32), 1.631 words.
324 Acts 21:26, 27, 28, 29, 30; 22:5, 17, 30; 23:2, 4, 5, 14; 24:1, 6, 12, 18; 25:2, 8, 15; 26:10,
12, 21. Chapter Four explores the corresponding emphasis on temple and priests in Acts 2–7.
325 Pervo, Acts, 20.
326 “Act I” (2:10), “Act III” (16:21, 37, 38), “Act IV” (18:2; 19:21), “Act V” (22:25, 26, 27,
29; 23:11, 27; 25:16; 28:14, 16, 17). There is notably no reference to Rome in “Act II” suggesting that the location does not feature as a mission target at this stage.
327 Acts 25:10–11; 25:21; 26:32 and 28:19. 328 Acts 22:25–27 and 23:27.
329 Acts 19:21 and 23:11. The idea of Rome being embraced within the worldwide mission of
a renewed Israel is present at 2:10.
330 Chapter Six explores this further (§6.3.1, pp.323–326). 331 See Diagram VII, p.94.
underlying cause for delay in mission progress. This is particularly seen in the two year period of Paul’s imprisonment at Caesarea (24:27) and maybe in the similar two year period at Rome (28:31). However, the latter may suggest a period of settled and successful mission.333
The character component of “Act V”334 focuses on Paul, as an example of the
mission instrument, and the peripatetic “we-group” as a literary device confirming missional significance in a support of the Gentile mission by their journey to Rome and a disapproval of a Jewish focus in their absences of 21:19–26:32 and 28:17–31.
The speech component of “Act V”335 shows the strategic and progressive
nature of Paul’s speeches. The five trial speeches336 emphasise Paul’s Jewishness,337
his appeal to Caesar,338 and a renewed focus on the resurrection.339 A growing
mission focus becomes apparent in the speeches’ closures340 and when Paul as an
internal narrator retells the story of his conversion-commission.341 Similarly Paul’s
four statements on board ship move from disaster and loss, to shipwreck, to an offer of salvation, and finally to salvation.342 Paul’s two speeches at Rome343 bring “the
hope of Israel” and the Gentile mission to a literary close.
The intertextual component of “Act V”344 notes the two Old Testament
quotations of Exodus 22:28 (23:5) in connection with leadership amongst God’s people, and Isaiah 6:9–10 (28:26–27) emphasised by its literary size and sequence near to Acts’ finish as a commission of the mission instrument. It is unlikely that the infrequency of quotations is due to the inappropriateness of using Jewish Scriptures in Gentile mission, since a focus on Jews continues. The sparsity is possibly because Acts’ Ending is primarily a mission decline, even though there are encouraging signs as Paul travels to Rome. However, a tension remains between Paul emerging as a mission instrument345 and his focus on Israel fulfilling its worldwide mission calling.
333 Cf. the same period of mission in Ephesus (19:10). 334 See Diagram VIII (B), p.103.
335 See Diagram IX, p.106.
336 Acts 22:1, 3–21; 23:1b, 3b, 5b, 6b; 24:10b–21; 25:8b, 10–11; and 26:2–29. 337 Acts 22:3–5; 24:11–18; 25:8a and 26:4–11.
338 Acts 25:8–11.
339 Acts 22:6; 23:6b–8; 24:15, 21; 26:6–8, 23. Schubert, “Cycle of Speeches”, 8–10.
340 Acts 22:17–21; 23:6; 24:21; 26:23. For the idea of closing statements see Schubert,
“Cycle of Speeches” and for interruptions see Smith, Rhetoric of Interruption.
341 Acts 22:21; 26:16–23. Yamasaki, Watching, 154. 342 Acts 27:10, 21b–26, 31 and 33b, 34.
343 Acts 28:17b–20 and 28:25b–28. 344 See Diagram X, p.110.
345 This accepts and nuances the evidence of Rapske, Roman Custody, and Skinner, Locating
The literary shape of Acts’ Ending reveals missional significance.