NEW STUDIES IN BIBLICAL THEOLOGY 27

Series editor: D. A. Carson

The acts of the risen Lord Jesus

LUKE’S ACCOUNT OF GOD’S UNFOLDING PLAN

Alan J. Thompson

Apollos

InterVarsity Press

DOWNERS GROVE, ILLINOIS 60515

©Alan J. Thompson 2011

Alan J. Thompson has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this work.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher or the Copyright Licensing Agency.

InterVarsity Press®, USA, is the book-publishing division of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA® ˂www.intervarsity.org˃ and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students.

Inter-Varsity Press, England, is closely linked with the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship, a student movement connecting Christian Unions throughout Great Britain, and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. Website: www.uccf.org.uk

Unless stated otherwise, Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. First published in Great Britain in 1979. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton, a division of Hodder Headline Ltd. All rights reserved. ‘niv’ is a trademark of International Bible Society. UK trademark number 1448790.

The map on p. 111 is from The NIV Study Bible, ed. K. Barker, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1985, p. 1646; used by permission.

First published 2011.

USA ISBN 978-0-8308-2628-5

UK ISBN 978-1-84474-535-7

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalog record for this book is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Thompson, Alan J.

The Acts of the risen Lord Jesus: Luke’s account of God’s unfolding plan / Alan J. Thompson.

p. cm.—(New studies in biblical theology; 27)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-8308-2628-5 (pbk.: alk. paper)

1. Bible. N.T. Acts—Criticism, interpretation, etc. I. Title.

BS2625.52.T56 2011

226′.06—dc22

2011006821

In memory of Doug Hewlett

Contents

Series preface

Author’s preface

Abbreviations

Introduction

Reassurance concerning God’s purposes: the purpose(s) of the book of Acts

Excursus: assumptions concerning authorship, audience and interpreting Acts

1 Living ‘between the times’: the kingdom of God

The sovereignty of God

The kingdom of God

The continuing reign of the Lord Jesus

Suffering: the fullness of the kingdom has yet to come

Conclusion

Excursus: an expositional outline of Acts

2 The hope of Israel: ...