An Outline of Acts of the Apostles

 I.                    Introductory Matters (1:1-1:26)

a.       Introduction to Theophilus (1:1)

b.      Backward Glance (1:1-11)

                                                               i.      Jesus’ Work (1:1-5)

                                                             ii.      Teaching on the Kingdom (1:6-8)

                                                            iii.      The Ascension (1:9-11)

c.       The Time Between (1:12-1:26)

                                                               i.      Praying Together (1:12-14)

                                                             ii.      Peter’s Speech About Judas (1:15-22)

                                                            iii.      Replacing Judas (1:23-26)

II.                 In Jerusalem (2:1-8:3)

a.       Pentecost (2:1-47)

                                                               i.      The Spirit Comes (2:1-4)

                                                             ii.      The Disciples Speak Out (2:5-13)

                                                            iii.      Peter’s Speech (2:14-40)

                                                         iv.      The Response (2:41-47)

b.      Peter and John and Healing the Crippled Man (3:1-4:31)

                                                               i.      The Healing (3:1-10)

                                                             ii.      The Response of the People (3:11)

                                                            iii.      Peter’s Sermon to the Worshippers (3:12-26)

                                                           iv.      The Arrest of Peter and John (4:1-31)

1.      The Arrest Itself (4:1-4)

2.      Speech to the Rulers, Elders, and Teachers of the Law (4:5-17)

3.      A Response of Unbelief (4:18-22)

4.      The Return to the People (4:23-31)

c.       Life Among the Believers (4:32-5:16)

                                                               i.      Living Together in Harmony (4:32-4:37)

                                                             ii.      Ananias and Sapphira (5:1-5:16)

d.      A Beginning of Opposition (5:17-8:3)

                                                               i.      The Apostles are Arrested (5:17-42)

1.      The Sadduccees Accuse (5:17-29)

2.      The Apostles Defend (5:30-32)

3.      Gamaliel Compromises (5:33-42)

                                                             ii.      Stephen and the Deacons (6:1-8:3)

1.      The Call of the Deacons (6:1-7)

2.      The Life and Death of Stephen (6:8-8:3)

a.       Stephen Preaches and Is Arrested (6:8-6:15)

b.      Stephen’s Defense (7:1-7:53)

c.       Stephen’s Death (7:54-8:3)

III.               In Samaria (8:4-12:25)

a.       Philip in Samaria (8:4-8:25)

b.      Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch (8:26-8:40)

c.       The Conversion of Saul (9:1-9:30)

d.      Good Times (9:31-9:43)

                                                               i.      A time of peace (9:31)

                                                             ii.      Peter Heals Aeneas (9:32-9:35)

                                                            iii.      The Raising of Tabitha (9:36-43)

e.       Peter and Cornelius (10:1-10:48)

                                                               i.      Cornelius is Contacted (10:1-10:8)

                                                             ii.      Peter on the Rooftop (10:9-10:21)

                                                            iii.      Peter with Cornelius (10:22-10:48)

f.        Response to the Gospel Among the Gentiles (11:1-11:18)

g.       The Connection Between Barnabas and Saul (11:19-11:30)

h.       Persecution from Herod (12:1-12:25)

                                                               i.      Peter’s Arrest (12:1-5)

                                                             ii.      Peter’s Jailbreak (12:6-10)

                                                            iii.      Peter Reunited with the Believers (12:11-17)

                                                           iv.      Aftermath Among Herod’s House (12:18-25)

IV.              To the Ends of the Earth (13:1-28:31)

a.       Paul’s First Missionary Journey (13:1-14:28)

                                                               i.      Sending Forth (13:1-13:3)

                                                             ii.      Cyprus (13:4-13:12)

                                                            iii.      On to Pisidian Antioch (13:13-13:52)

1.      Arrival (13:13)2.      Teaching in the Synagogue (13:14-13:47)3.      Mixed Responses (13:48-13:52)

                                                           iv.      Iconium (14:1-14:7)

                                                             v.      In Lystra as Zeus and Hermes (14:8-14:22)

                                                           vi.      Backtracking (14:23-25)

                                                          vii.      Arrival Home (14:26-28)

b.      The Judaizer Crisis (15:1-35)

                                                               i.      The Problem (15:1-5)

                                                             ii.      Peter Holds Forth (15:6-11)

                                                            iii.      Paul and Barnabas Testify (15:12)

                                                           iv.      James Holds Forth (15:13-21)

                                                             v.      The Decision to Send the Letter (15:22-29)

                                                           vi.      The Sending and Reception of the Letter (15:30-15:35)

c.       Paul’s Second Missionary Journey (15:36-18:22)

                                                               i.      The Rift Over John Mark (15:36-15:41)

                                                             ii.      The Old Stomping Grounds and Meeting Timothy (16:1-16:5)

                                                           iii.      Headed Toward Macedonia (16:6-16:10)

                                                           iv.      Work in Philippi (16:11-16:40)

1.      Meeting Lydia (16:11-16:15)

2.      The “Prophetic” Slave Girl Debacle (16:16-

a.       Exorcising the Demon (16:16-16:18)

b.      The Response of the Owners (16:19-16:24)

c.       Paul and Silas in the Jail (16:25-28)

d.      The Jail keeper’s Response (16:29-16:40)

                                                             v.      On to Thessalonica (17:1-17:9)

1.      Teaching for Three Sabbaths (17:1-17:4)

2.      The Jealousy of the Jews (17:5-17:9)

                                                           vi.      On to Berea (17:10-15)

1.      The More Noble Bereans (17:10-12)

2.      Trouble from Thessalonica (17:13-15)

                                                          vii.      A Visit to Athens (17:16-17:34)

1.      Paul’s First Reaction (17:16-17:21)

2.      Paul’s Speech to the Areopagus (17:22-17:31)

3.      The Reaction in Athens (17:32-17:34)

                                                        viii.      On to Corinth (18:1-18:18)

1.      Preaching in the Synagogue (18:1-18:4)

2.      The Bad Response of the Jews (18:5-18)

                                                           ix.      The Journey Home (18:19-18:22)

d.      Paul’s Third Missionary Journey (18:23-21:25)

                                                               i.      Strengthening the Disciples (18:23)

                                                             ii.      The Apollos Interlude (18:24-19:7)

                                                            iii.      Paul in Ephesus (19:1-19:41)

1.      Preaching to Those who knew only John’s Baptism (19:1-19:7)

2.      Ephesian Ministry (19:8-19:20)

3.      The Decision to Head Home (19:21-19:22)

4.      The Disturbance of Demetrius (19:23-19:41)

                                                           iv.      Heading Toward Home (20:1-20:16)

                                                             v.      Farewell to the Ephesian Elders (20:17-20:37)

                                                           vi.      The Journey Back to Jerusalem (21:1-21:17)

                                                          vii.      Debriefing (21:18-21:25)

e.       The Road to Rome (21:26-28:31)

                                                               i.      Trouble in Jerusalem (21:26-23:30)

1.      Time in the Temple (21:26-22:25)

a.       Minding His Own Business (21:26)

b.      A Riot Begins (21:27-30)

c.       The Romans Intervene (21:31-21:40)

d.      Paul’s Speech (22:1-22:22)

e.       Taken Away by the Romans (22:23-22:25)

2.      Time in Custody (22:26-23:30)

a.       Discourse with the Officer (22:26-22:30)

b.      Speech Before the Sanhedrin (23:1-23:6)

c.       The Resulting Fracas (23:7-23:10)

d.      The Conspiracy Against Paul (23:11-23:30)

                                                             ii.      Stay in Caesarea (23:31-26:32)

1.      Under Felix (23:31-24:27)

a.       Taken to Felix (23:31-23:35)

b.      Accusations by the Jews (24:1-24:9)

c.       Paul’s Defense (24:10-24:21)

d.      The Indecision of Felix (24:22-24:27)

2.      Under Festus (25:1-26:32)

a.       The Jews Complain Again (25:1-25:5)

b.      Paul Speaks to Festus (25:6-25:12)

c.       Festus Speaks to Agrippa (25:13-25:27)

d.      Paul Speaks to Agrippa (26:1-26:32)

                                                            iii.      High Seas Hijinks (27:1-28:15)

1.      Ordinary Travels (27:1-27:13)

2.      Tough Travels (27:14-27:40)

3.      Shipwreck (27:41-44)

4.      Time on Malta (28:1-10)

5.      Travel to Italy and to Rome (28:11-28:15)

                                                           iv.      Arrival in Rome (28:16-28:31)

1.      Meeting with the Jewish Leaders I (28:16-20)

2.      The Leaders Reply (28:21-28:22)

3.      Meeting with the Jewish Leaders II (28:23-28:29)

4.      Conclusion (28:30-28:31)

The Structure of Acts

The twenty-eight chapters of the fifth book of the New Testament can be seen to be arranged in several possible ways.  The most obvious organizational plan is the one reflected in the outline above.  This plan derives from Acts 1:8 in which Jesus promises that the disciples will be Jesus’ “witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”  According to this plan, the early portion of the book takes place in Jerusalem.  This deals with the Day of Pentecost, the early ministry of the apostles, and the work of Stephen.  After the martyrdom of Stephen, the persecution of the church, far from stopping the work of the gospel, actually helps to move it into its second phase, bearing witness in Samaria.  In this section we have several different types of people who might be considered semi-Jews.  The Samarians, of course, are racial and religious half-breeds and therefore qualify as semi-Jews.  The Ethiopian Eunuch, while racially not Jewish at all, is a believer, a God-fearer.  The family of Cornelius, similarly, is devout but utterly Gentile. Then, with the work of the gospel in Samaria well begun, we find Paul and Barnabas (and later Silas) moving out into the third section, the uttermost parts of the earth.  This section is dominated by Paul’s three missionary journeys and his judicial journey to Rome, which, in true missionary form, Paul transforms into an opportunity for a bold witness.  Does the reaching of Rome constitute witnessing for Christ to the ends of the earth?  I’d say that once someone reached Rome in those days they had effectively reached the ends of the earth.  In his book Interpreting the Book of Acts, Walter L. Liefeld notes that I.H. Marshall employs this same organizational plan in his book The Acts of the Apostles.

            Liefeld notes that another method of organization uses a socio-ethnic basis rather than a geographic one in order to make sense of the book.  In this case, however, the geography pretty evenly matches the socio-ethnic organization.

            A third method for organizing the book revolves around two main characters: Peter and Paul.  The first twelve chapters of the book of Acts pretty clearly belong to Peter.  The only real exceptions to this observation come in the lengthy account of Stephen, who was, after all, put into place by Peter, and the chapter 9 account of the conversion of Saul.  After chapter twelve, Peter almost completely disappears from the story.  He does crop up in chapter 15 when some believers are trying to convince the church that circumcision is necessary for the Gentiles who wish to follow Jesus, but this is simply a cameo appearance.  Beyond that, Peter seems to have dropped off the map.  The last sixteen chapters of Acts belong to Paul.  There is hardly any time, with the very minor exception of the account of Apollos, when Paul is not standing clearly in the spotlight.  Even in the lengthy community hubbub in Ephesus instigated by the silversmith Demetrius, Paul is conspicuous in his absence and his desire to take his place before the meeting.

            Liefeld points out another organizational scheme.  This one, to my mind, does not effectively improve on the two plans above.  Instead, it seems to me to provide a lower level of subdivision, breaking the larger divisions of geography or character into smaller portions.  This scheme involves the several summary statements that Luke provides at the end of significant portions of the narrative in order to provide an account of the progress of the gospel work.  This are found in 2:41, 2:47, 4:4, 5:14, 6:7, 9:31, and several other places.