Literary Features of the Acts of the Apostles

The Book of Acts is a story, yet filled with unique historical events rather than the universal features that mark most stories. It has an epic sweep, yet is not the story of an individual. While it recounts the birth of the church, it isn't the story of an institution but an adventure story filled with accounts of decisive personalities and events. It is dramatic, and yet while miraculous events are recounted, the primary storytelling technique is that of realism. It begins with Peter, the Apostle to the Jews; it concludes with Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles. It begins with the gospel and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem, a city in the backwater of the Roman Empire; it concludes in the Empire's very centre in Rome.