Steve Walton

The Word Biblical Commentary delivers the best in biblical scholarship, from the leading scholars of our day who share a commitment to Scripture as divine revelation. This series emphasizes a thorough analysis of textual, linguistic, structural, and theological evidence. The result is judicious and balanced insight into the meanings of the text in the framework of biblical theology. These widely acclaimed commentaries serve as exceptional resources for the professional theologian and instructor, the seminary or university student, the working minister, and everyone concerned with building theological understanding from a solid base of biblical scholarship.

Steve Walton has consistently focused his research and scholarship upon the theological perspective of Acts, while considering the book’s nature and focus, its portrait of the early Christian communities and their mission in the culturally varied first-century world, and its major theological themes. Walton now collects several of his key essays into an expansive and coherent perspective, bringing together studies published over nearly two decades during his time of study and reflection in the process of writing the Word Biblical Commentary on Acts. The collection begins with an exploration of what ‘reading Acts theologically’ means, the divine perspective of Acts, and how Luke theologizes through narrative. Walton presents analyses covering the nature of the early Church and the main terms used by the communities; the believers’ sharing of possessions; early Christian attitudes to the Jewish temple; decision-making among the earliest Christians; and the church’s engagement with the Roman empire and its representatives. This volume studies theological themes in Acts such as Jesus’ role as a character in the text while also located in heaven, and the cosmology and anthropology communicated by Acts, thus providing a new reflection on the early Christian understanding of God, Jesus and humanity.

This book is a distillation of reading Acts for over fifty years, preaching it for twenty-five years, and studying it in-depth for five years. My aim is for students, church leaders, preachers, and missionaries to join me on a journey of narrative theology--a literary exploration of transformation by the Spirit and the Word in Acts. As with every part of God's inspired Scriptures, there is always more to discover and apply. As a Reformed Charismatic I believe that Acts is our story. However, rather than just attempting to copy it, I suggest that the book's unexpected literary shape reveals a challenging missional significance. The need for world gospel mission continues today. However, like the early church, we often contain the Holy Spirit within our own structures and are reluctant to move out of our comfort zones. Acts shows the church's priority is to be God's mission instrument in the world. Let's study, lead, preach, and go from Acts so that we realize Jesus's promise "that you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the end(s) of the earth" (Acts 1:8).

This book is a distillation of reading Acts for over fifty years, preaching it for twenty-five years, and studying it in-depth for five years. My aim is for students, church leaders, preachers, and missionaries to join me on a journey of narrative theology--a literary exploration of transformation by the Spirit and the Word in Acts. As with every part of God's inspired Scriptures, there is always more to discover and apply. As a Reformed Charismatic I believe that Acts is our story. However, rather than just attempting to copy it, I suggest that the book's unexpected literary shape reveals a challenging missional significance. The need for world gospel mission continues today. However, like the early church, we often contain the Holy Spirit within our own structures and are reluctant to move out of our comfort zones. Acts shows the church's priority is to be God's mission instrument in the world. Let's study, lead, preach, and go from Acts so that we realize Jesus's promise "that you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the end(s) of the earth" (Acts 1:8).

Steve Walton has consistently focused his research and scholarship upon the theological perspective of Acts, while considering the book’s nature and focus, its portrait of the early Christian communities and their mission in the culturally varied first-century world, and its major theological themes. Walton now collects several of his key essays into an expansive and coherent perspective, bringing together studies published over nearly two decades during his time of study and reflection in the process of writing the Word Biblical Commentary on Acts. The collection begins with an exploration of what ‘reading Acts theologically’ means, the divine perspective of Acts, and how Luke theologizes through narrative. Walton presents analyses covering the nature of the early Church and the main terms used by the communities; the believers’ sharing of possessions; early Christian attitudes to the Jewish temple; decision-making among the earliest Christians; and the church’s engagement with the Roman empire and its representatives. This volume studies theological themes in Acts such as Jesus’ role as a character in the text while also located in heaven, and the cosmology and anthropology communicated by Acts, thus providing a new reflection on the early Christian understanding of God, Jesus and humanity.

Written by scholars with extensive experience teaching in colleges and universities, the Exploring the Bible series has for decades equipped students to study Scripture for themselves. Exploring the New Testament, Volume One provides an accessible introduction to the Gospels and Acts. It's filled with classroom-friendly features such as discussion questions, charts, theological summary sidebars, essay questions, and further reading lists. This volume introduces students toJewish and Greco-Roman backgroundliterary genres and formsissues of authorship, date, and settingthe content and major themes of each bookvarious approaches to the study of the Gospels and Actsthe intersection of New Testament criticism with contemporary faith and cultureNow in its third edition, this popular textbook has been updated and revised to take account of the latest advances in scholarly findings and research methods, including new sections onthe impact of social memory theory on Gospel studiesthe relationship of John's Gospel to the Synopticsrecent work on characterization in narrative studies of the Gospelsthe way the Hebrew Scriptures are read by the New Testament authorsthe contribution of archaeology to New Testament studiesupdated bibliographies highlighting the most important and influential works published in the last decadeEspecially suited as a textbook for courses on Jesus, the Gospels, or Acts, this book is a valuable guide for anyone seeking a solid foundation for studying the New Testament.

'A superb one-stop shop for students.' Dr Elizabeth Shively Tried, tested and trusted by students and teachers across the world, this widely respected study guide enables you to engage with an array of essential topics, including: - the Jewish and Greco-Roman background to the New Testament - literary genres and forms - issues of authorship, date and setting - the content and major themes of each book - well established and newer methods of study - the latest scholarship in the quest for the historical Jesus - the intersection of New Testament studies with contemporary faith and culture Now in its third edition, this popular textbook has been fully revised and updated, and includes new sections on: - the impact of social memory theory on Gospel studies - recent work on characterization in narrative studies of the Gospels - women in the Gospels - reading the Gospels and Acts theologically - how the Hebrew Scriptures are read by the New Testament authors - the resurrection and Ascension of Jesus - Luke’s presentation of Jesus' identity and mission - updated bibliographies, highlighting the most important and influential works published in the past decade Drawing on the authors' decades of experience in teaching these topics, this comprehensive textbook gives students a strong understanding and a solid foundation for further study.

Possessions and how believers handle them are key topics in the NT. In this book, Fiona Gregson examines the practice and theology of sharing possessions in community in the NT by examining six diverse NT examples of sharing. Each example is considered in its historical and cultural context before being compared to one or more non-Christian examples to identify similarities and differences. Gregson identifies common characteristics across the NT examples and consistent distinctives in how the early church shared possessions compared to the surrounding cultures. Gregson's findings demonstrate that Christians subverted Roman patronage expectations; Christian groups were more diverse in their membership and exhibited more flexible, less structured examples of sharing; Christians placed greater emphasis on the free choice of individuals to contribute to sharing; and Christians more frequently participated in eating together and had a greater focus on relational bonds than was common in Graeco-Roman society/culture. ""This is an important book. People often raise but then abandon the question of what it meant for the early Church to share good in common. They raise it because it appears to be important but then abandon it because it feels too difficult to find an answer. This book provides a very helpful exploration of the theme that both pays due importance to the question and, by careful exploration of a variety of New Testament passages, begins to provide an answer as to what it meant in practice for them to share. It is clear, well written, thoughtful, and very helpful. I highly recommend it."" --Paula Gooder, author of Body: Biblical Spirituality for the Whole Person ""This is a fascinating and detailed examination of biblical texts that illuminate not only how the various early Christian churches lived and shared their lives together, but also how these were distinctive when set against their Greco-Roman and Jewish comparators. A book that should be studied and learned from by those who wish to see a church marked by mutual care and generosity."" --Nicholas Baines, Bishop of Leeds, United Kingdom Fiona Gregson is an ordained Anglican whose UK ministry has been mainly in areas of multiple deprivation. She has lived and worked in several African countries. These experiences motivate her concern for Christian engagement with poverty and possessions. She holds a BA (Oxford) and a PhD (London School of Theology). She is based in the Diocese of Birmingham and splits her time between the church, teaching, and caring for her young daughter.

The first in a series of six textbooks written by authors who have extensive experience of teaching students in the first two years of university level study. It enables students to engage with the Gospels and Acts for themselves, and not just to be passive learners, and offers activities and challenges at introductory and intermediate levels, and the key background information needed to enable them to work at the required level. This new edition includes updated bibliographies throughout, numerous corrections, and new material on oral history, the non-canonical Gospels, and the Dead Sea Scrolls.