By Jews and turning to Gentiles : the pattern of Paul's mission in Acts / Robert C. Tannehill -- The mission to the Jews in Acts : unraveling Luke's "Myth of the 'myriads'" / Michael J. Cook -- The problem of Jewish rejection in Acts / Joseph B. Tyson.

This volume is a product of the Luke-Acts Task Force of the Catholic Biblical Association. The intended readership of this collection of articles is threefold. The introductory essays address the relative beginner in Biblical studies as well as those who do not specialize in Luke and Acts. These are provided with an overview of Luke, the early Christian writer. The principal reader of this collection, however, is the Biblical student and teacher who requires a relatively comprehensive survey of Lukan studies in terms of content and methodology. Both teacher and student will find in these essays an excellent companion to the actual text of Luke and Acts. At the same time, a number of these essays break new ground and offer a challenge to other New Testament scholars.

This book begins by offering a reading of the theological views of Luke-Acts in terms of Peter J. Rabinowitz's authorial audience and closes with reflections on how one might assess the historical value of Acts.

John the Baptist as a Rewritten Figure in Luke-Acts compares the Gospel of Luke’s account of John’s ministry with those of Matthew, Mark, and John to make the case for the hypertextual relationship between the synoptic gospels. The book is divided into three parts. Part I situates the Gospel of Luke within the broader context of biblical rewritings and makes the general case that a rewriting strategy can be detected in Luke, while Parts II and III combined offer a more detailed and specific argument for Luke’s refiguring of the public ministry of John the Baptist through the use of omitted, new, adapted, and reserved material. While the "two source hypothesis" typically presupposes the independence of Luke and Matthew in their rewritings of Mark and Q, Chauchot argues that Luke was heavily reliant on Matthew as suggested by the "L/M hypothesis". Approaching the Baptist figure in the synoptic gospels from a literary-critical perspective, Chauchot examines "test cases" of detailed comparative analysis between them to argue that the Gospel of Luke makes thematic changes upon John the Baptist and is best characterized as a highly creative reshaping of Matthew and Mark. Making a contribution to current research in the field of New Testament exegesis, the book is key reading for students, scholars, and clergy interested in New Testament hermeneutics and Gospel writing.

What is the meaning of the Holy Spirit's activity in Luke-Acts, and what are its implications for today? Roger Stronstad offers a cogent and thought-provoking study of Luke as a charismatic theologian whose understanding of the Spirit was shaped wholly by his understanding of Jesus and the nature of the early church. Stronstad locates Luke's pneumatology in the historical background of Judaism and views Luke as an independent theologian who makes a unique contribution to the pneumatology of the New Testament. This work challenges traditional Protestants to reexamine the impact of Pentecost and explores the Spirit's role in equipping God's people for the unfinished task of mission. The second edition has been revised and updated throughout and includes a new foreword by Mark Allan Powell.

Acts is the sequel to Luke's gospel and tells the story of Jesus's followers during the 30 years after his death. It describes how the 12 apostles, formerly Jesus's disciples, spread the message of Christianity throughout the Mediterranean against a background of persecution. With an introduction by P.D. James