How Structure Communicates Meaning in Acts 2

I’ve written before about how to observe structure and how structure conveys meaning. In this post, I’d like to give a practical example, in Acts 2.

Resist Familiarity

Familiarity is the greatest enemy of observation. When we presume to already know a text, we tend to stop listening to it. In the case of Acts 2, our familiarity may perhaps blind us with the dramatic theological import of what takes place. The Day of Pentecost. The coming of the Holy Spirit. The new creation, heaven on earth, God dwelling with men. Absolutely, these matters are weighty and earth-shattering, and they deserve intense reflection.

But the student of Scripture who wishes to observe the text and hear God’s voice clearly in it will ask: What is the narrator’s chief message here? And a cursory look reveals only four verses dedicated to describing the phenomenon of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4). Most of the narrative takes us elsewhere. In narrative terms, the coming of the Spirit in Acts 2:1-4 basically provides the setting for the discussion that follows. (I do not intend to minimize the theological importance of what happens in Acts 2:1-4; I’m only observing the literary shape of the text.)

Basic Structure

After the narrative introduction of Acts 2:1-4, the rest of the chapter describes the fallout. And the narrator structures that fallout around two main questions:

• Men from “every nation under heaven” (Acts 2:5-11) ask: What does this mean (Acts 2:12-13)?
  • Peter answers this question at length (Acts 2:14-36).
• The foreigners follow up with a second question (Acts 2:37): What shall we do?
  • Peter answers this question briefly, at least as far as the narrative is concerned (Acts 2:38-40). At the time, this answer was also lengthy (Acts 2:40).

After this two-part Q&A, there is a narrative conclusion (Acts 2:41-47).

So a broad outline of the chapter would look like this:

A The descending Spirit
B What does this mean?
B’ What shall we do?
A’ The resulting community

A Closer Look

A closer look at these sections shows the first Q&A getting the most space, by far (32 verses). The narrator has done us a service by breaking this section down into subunits for us.

Verses 5-13 list the nations in attendance and lead to the big question itself: What does this mean (Acts 2:12)?

Peter’s speech divides into three units, each marked by a direct address: “Men of Judea” (Acts 2:14), “Men of Israel” (Acts 2:22), and “Brothers” (Acts 2:29). In each of the three sections, following the direct address, Peter makes a clear point and then supports that point with an Old Testament quotation.

• Men of Judea – Acts 2:14
  • This is what Joel predicted – Acts 2:14-16
    • Quote from Joel 2 – Acts 2:17-21
• Men of Israel – Acts 2:22
  • The crucified Jesus has been raised – Acts 2:22-24
    • Quote from Psalm 16 – Acts 2:25-28
• Brothers – Acts 2:29
  • The risen Jesus is on his throne – Acts 2:29-34
    • Quote from Psalm 110 – Acts 2:34-35

The only part of the speech that falls outside the pattern is the last verse, which highlights this sentence as perhaps the most prominent part of the speech. Here is the conclusion Peter’s three points are driving toward:

Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.

Acts 2:36

Because this concluding sentence stands outside the threefold pattern of the rest of the speech, it is given such prominence as to almost be a distinct unit itself. And in light of the entire chapter, we see the author’s main idea right here, at the center of the structure:

A The descending Spirit
B What does this mean?
C God has made this Jesus both Lord and Christ
B’ What shall we do?
A’ The resulting community

Peter’s Argument

Follow Peter’s argument in his first, lengthy speech. You have heard us speaking in your native tongues, right? That means God’s Spirit has been poured out on us, like Joel said. That means the Messiah has poured the Spirit out on us. That means the Messiah was given the Spirit by the Father. That means the Messiah is seated at the Father’s right hand. That means he ascended into heaven. That means he’s not dead, but was raised by God. That is the same JESUS you killed by enlisting pagans who don’t care about the law of Moses. We saw him ourselves and testify to these things. Stop doing what you’re doing (repent) and publicly pledge allegiance to him as Lord and Christ (be baptized).

Conclusion

The structure of this chapter suggests a few things about Luke’s intentions in this narrative:

1. His intention for Theophilus is not as much to teach about the coming of the Spirit, in itself, but to communicate the meaning of his coming and the response of individuals and communities.
2. The meaning of the Spirit’s coming is not primarily about the ability of a believing individual to commune directly with God (though that is certainly a result of the Spirit’s coming, unpacked in other passages), but more so about the testimony to Jesus as both Lord and Christ.
3. The proper response to the Spirit’s coming is not primarily to seek particular ecstatic manifestations of his presence, but to call on Jesus to be saved (Acts 2:21), to repent and be baptized to pledge allegiance to his new kingdom community (Acts 2:38), and to submit every aspect of the Christian community to Jesus’ true lordship (Acts 2:41-47).

There is much theology we can develop from Acts 2, but let’s allow the narrator’s own structure and argument to guide our interpretation of the text, showing us where he wants us to focus our interpretive efforts.