Acts is the second part of a two part work by Luke, who wrote one of the Gospels. It is clearly by Luke, who was a medical doctor in that day, and the only non-Jew to write a Gospel, and probably
Acts is the second part of a two part work by Luke, who wrote one of the Gospels. It is clearly by Luke, who was a medical doctor in that day, and the only non-Jew to write a Gospel, and probably the only non-Jew to write any of the New Testament books. Luke had never met Jesus, but was a close associate of Paul who often travelled with him (16:10-15, 20:6-21:26).
The book is known by the full name of The Acts of the Apostles as it tells some of the history of the start and continuation of the Christian church, as the apostles leave Jerusalem and take the message of the good news of Jesus across the Roman world. It focuses on some of the stories of Peter and Paul, but also mentions a few incidents involving other key leaders: James, who was one of the apostles, Stephen, Philip, and James, the half-brother of Jesus who was a key leader in the Jerusalem church. It explains how the good news was preached, miracles were seen, and churches come to be planted. It also shows how the Gospel was opposed by both Jews and Gentiles, and how some, notably Stephen, lost their lives. It covers a period of around 28 years, though unevenly. The first 20 chapters cover 24 years; the last eight cover just four.
There are many ways of dividing the book. Luke uses a marker sentence to sum up how the church was spreading at different parts of the book: 6:7; 9:31; 12:24; 16:5; 19:20; 28:30-31.
Some see the verse in Acts 1:8 as key. Jesus says that His followers would be His ‘witnesses’ in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth and the book can be roughly divided into how the church grew in those areas: Jerusalem (chapters 1-7), Judea and Samaria (8-10), and to the ends of the earth (11-28), including Rome itself.
More simply, you can see the book as largely focusing on two of the apostles, Peter (chapters 1-12) and Paul (chapters 13-28).
The date when Acts is written is likely to be in the early 60s AD for reasons we will look at when we consider the purpose.
At the start of the book, Luke says he is writing to Theophilus, probably a Roman official. Its content has led many to believe that it would serve as a brief for a lawyer, maybe Theophilus himself. The brief could represent the Apostle Paul, who was awaiting trial in Rome and is under house arrest for two years. This would account for the lengthy amount of space given to Paul’s journey to Rome to stand trial. Luke is emphasising that Paul was a worthy man who was happy to go to Rome, and didn’t escape from his guards even when he had opportunity. He is explaining that the Christian faith is not essentially a threat to Rome. It is also interesting that Paul parallels the story of Peter (a known and valued apostle, perhaps by Theophilus?). Peter’s last mention is of his release from prison (chapter 12). Could Luke be asking Theophilus to ensure the same treatment for Paul?
This might explain the date. We know that Paul is executed at the hands of Nero around 65-67AD. When Luke finishes Acts, the Gospel was continuing to spread ‘unhindered’. It would make sense that Luke finished the book, prior to Paul’s trial. This also, of course suggests that Luke’s Gospel was penned around the same time, or just earlier.
Luke clearly has other purposes for his narrative, suggested by the structure alread