Lange’s Commentary on the Holy Scriptures has served as a standard reference for more than a century. The subtitle “Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical” aptly describes the three-pronged approach to the biblical text. This translated version of the German text is often considered by many to be superior to the original.
“Luke distinguishes in his mind between the entire work of Jesus on earth, on the one hand, and his action after his ascension to heaven, on the other; he viewed the former as making a beginning or laying a foundation, in such a sense that Jesus himself, in his state of humiliation, began or sketched out the work which, after he had entered into his glory, he completed through the agency of the Apostles (Starke).” (Page 7)
“The whole passage, besides, is consistent with itself, and rich in meaning, when we understand the present verse as referring to those alone who had so recently been converted. They had been made disciples when they were baptized in the name of Jesus, Matt. 28:19, 20; it now followed, as a natural and necessary result, that they should receive fuller instructions (διδάσκειν, ib.), and regularly advance in knowledge and sanctification. And that such was the result, is stated in the present verse. They themselves felt the necessity of becoming more and more firmly established in the truth, and in fellowship with God in Christ, and on this account they adhered so steadfastly to the teaching of the apostles and to a fraternal fellowship with the believers.” (Page 56)
“And, indeed, the central thought of the Acts is the combination of both parts as one whole, or the oneness of the church of Christ, whether in Israel or among the Gentiles—the union of the Apostles, whatever names (Peter, Paul, etc.) they may bear. The leading theme of the book is found in the words addressed by the Lord to his apostles: ‘Ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth’ (ch. 1:8).” (Page 2)