The Expositor's Bible: The Acts of the Apostles, Vol. 1

George Thomas Stokes brings Victorian scholarly rigor to the most dramatic book of the New Testament in this 1886 exposition. The Acts of the Apostles, with its miraculous escapes, Pentecostal fire, and the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, demands a guide equal to its intensity. Stokes provides one. Drawing on ancient manuscripts, Church Fathers like Tertullian, and the emerging historical-critical methods of his era, he constructs a meticulous defense of Acts' authorship and authority while unpacking its most consequential narratives: the martyrdom of Stephen, Peter's vision, the baptism of Cornelius, and the harrowing road to Damascus. This is not casual devotional reading. It is serious theological architecture, built for readers who want to understand how the early Church understood itself and how 19th-century scholars defended that understanding against skepticism. Stokes writes with conviction and intellectual honesty, acknowledging difficulties in the text while making the case for its coherence and significance. For students of Church history, biblical scholars, or anyone curious about the intellectual foundations of modern Christianity, this volume offers a window into a particular moment when faith and scholarship attempted to synthesize.