Suggested Resources

From the Christian Tradition

Martin, Francis, and Evan Smith, eds. Acts. Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: New Testament 5. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2006. This series offers rich selections from patristic writings on every passage of the biblical text.

Venerable Bede, The. The Venerable Bede Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles. Translated by Lawrence T. Martin. Cistercian Studies Series 117. Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications, 1989. Delightful and insightful patristic commentary that some Bible study groups have found helpful.

Scholarly Commentaries

Fitzmyer, Joseph A. The Acts of the Apostles. Anchor Bible 31. New York: Doubleday, 1998. Thorough interaction with secondary literature and heavy emphasis on historical information; more useful as a reference book than to be read through.

Johnson, Luke Timothy. The Acts of the Apostles. Sacra pagina 5. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1992. Scholarly but well-written commentary focusing especially on primary texts rather than secondary literature. Johnson also wrote the Sacra pagina volume on the Gospel of Luke, and the matching commentaries provide excellent insights into Luke’s use of the Old Testament as well as the relationship between Luke and Acts.

Tannehill, Robert C. The Narrative Unity of Luke-Acts: A Literary Interpretation. 2 vols. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1986–90. Very readable and helpful commentary by a Methodist author, stressing the narrative of Luke and Acts more than historical criticism.

Popular Commentaries or Study Bibles

Casciaro, Jose Maria, et al., eds. The Navarre Bible: The Acts of the Apostles. Dublin: Four Courts, 1989 (Spanish original, 1984). The commentary includes the RSVCE translation of the biblical text (1965–66), with expositions and quotations from Church documents and writings of popes and saints, especially St. Josemaría Escrivá, founder of Opus Dei.

Hahn, Scott, and Curtis Mitch. The Acts of the Apostles. Ignatius Catholic Study Bible. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2002. RSVCE biblical text, supplemented with succinct and informative footnotes, often citing the Fathers or Church doctrine.

Kurz, William. Following Jesus: A Disciple’s Guide to Luke and Acts. Ann Arbor, MI: Charis Books, 2003. Popular pastoral meditations on both Luke and Acts.

Perrotta, Kevin, and Gerald Darring. Acts: The Good News of the Holy Spirit. Catholic Perspectives: Six Weeks with the Bible. Chicago: Loyola Press, 2004. A Bible study for teens, with questions to help youths discern what Scripture means for their lives today.

Special Studies

Cadbury, Henry J. The Making of Luke-Acts. London: SPCK, 1961. Hendrickson Publishers issued a newer imprint with introduction by Paul N. Anderson in 1999. A classic and still a most insightful treatment of how Luke wrote Luke and Acts as two volumes.

Cassidy, Richard J. Paul in Chains. New York: Crossroad, 2001. A fascinating historical and theological study of Paul’s imprisonments based on data in Acts and the Letters of Paul.

Marguerat, Daniel. The First Christian Historian: Writing the “Acts of the Apostles.” Translated by Ken McKinney, Gregory J. Laughery, and Richard Bauckham. Port Chester, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Scholarly literary and theological explanation of how Luke wrote Luke and Acts as a narrative of Christian beginnings, integrating Jewish and Hellenistic cultures, with special chapters on the God of Acts and the work of the Spirit.

Montague, George. The Holy Spirit: Growth of a Biblical Tradition. 2nd ed. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2006. A rich and thoughtful exploration of all the major biblical texts dealing with the Holy Spirit, with two chapters on Acts.

Pope Benedict XVI. The Apostles: The Origin of the Church and Their Co-Workers. Huntington, IN: Our Sunday Visitor, 2010. Papal reflections on the continuity between the apostles and their successors, using Acts and other sources.