Best Commentaries on Acts

Fernando’s commentary has outstanding sections on the book’s contemporary significance and international scope. The “original meaning” and “bridging contexts” sections are solid, but the book’s strength is its helpful sections on application.

Johnson’s volume provides succinct overviews of each passage, enabling the reader to get a grasp of the overall flow of thought quickly. His summaries include thoughtful explanations of the text informed by the book’s biblical-theological framework. They show how the Old Testament helps to illuminate numerous passages.

Bible teachers will be particularly helped by the detailed outlines, insightful expositions of passages (and verses), overviews that illuminate the big picture, and occasional reflections to give more detail on important issues. The transliterations and translations of Greek words enable readers to understand even the more technical notes.

A first choice for pastors. Tabb says this outstanding commentary is “exegetically responsible, eminently readable, and consistently insightful.” Carson says the work reflects careful exegetical work “across the gamut of integral disciplines: text criticism, grammatical exegesis, historical considerations, literary criticism, and, above all, robust theological reflection.” All this is delivered along with nuggets of practical application. The digestible-in-length commentary is one-stop shopping, and Peterson’s theology makes it exceptionally rich.

Schreiner’s new volume helpfully captures the book’s theological message. It’s a strong one-volume option for the book of Acts. The author focuses on the book’s theological and exegetical concerns, balancing rigorous scholarship with practical application.

Though Bock can greatly help those without Greek, his work provides plentiful help for those with Greek proficiency. His exegesis is right on target time and time again, as is his grasp of the relevant background, narrative flow, historicity, and contemporary significance. This is a thorough and competent commentary.

Keener’s encyclopedic work of over 2,300 pages is the most thorough and detailed commentary available on Acts. The impressive range of topics covered showcases Keener’s earmarks: deceptively straightforward prose, great learning, and an impressive bibliography. The commentary includes a far-reaching introduction, numerous excurses on a variety of topics, and meticulous attention to the text of Acts with a wealth of primary sources that are especially beneficial to academic readers.

Schnabel’s outstanding commentary “combines meticulous research, sound exegesis, and a strong emphasis on the early Christian mission,” writes Tabb. It works with the Greek text but is accessible, clearly written, and strong on Graeco-Roman history and sources. The detailed historical research informs (rather than obscures) the meaning of the text and is coupled with a judicious explanation of textual details. Summaries of significant theological and practical themes conclude each of the commentary’s sections.