The many who respond to Peter’s message become the foundation of the early Christian community (2:41–47). These believers’ sharing “everything in common” (2:44) fulfills the Hellenistic ideal of a utopian community, and the fact that they gave to “anyone who had need” (2:45; cf. 4:34) also fulfills the Jewish ideal of the sabbatical/Jubilee era (cf. Deut. 15:4). This portrayal again reaffirms the location of this community at the end of time as they experience t…
Baker Publishing Group, The Baker Illustrated Bible Commentary, by Gary M. Burge