The
Book Of Acts
Authorship
When one compares Luke 1:1-4 with Acts 1:1, we are immediately impressed with the truth that God used
the same human author to write both books.
In fact, the book of Acts claims to be a sequel, “The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began
to do and teach”. At various places
in the book of Acts the events taking place are cast in the first person
plural, indicating that the author was present when these events took place (16:10-17; 20:5-21:18; 27:1-28:16). From these passages we learn that the
same author wrote the entire book. The
author was one of Paul’s traveling companions and was with him in Rome (28:16).
Most of Paul’s traveling companions are mentioned in contrast to the
author. Therefore, we already know that
the author couldn’t be Silas, Mark, Barnabas, Timothy (Acts 15:37-16:11), or, Sopather, Aristarchus, Secundus, Gaius,
Tychicus or Trophimus (20:5). McGarvey notes, “As then the writer was
none of these, and yet he journeyed with Paul on his visit to Jerusalem, and
thence to Rome, we can identify him with no other than Luke (Colossians 4:10-14; Philemon 24)”
(Commentary On Acts, p. xi). In
addition, the book of Acts was listed as Scripture in the Muratorian Fragment (c. 170-180 A.D.), was quoted by Polycarp (69-155 A.D.), and Irenaeus cites
passages so frequently from the Acts of the Apostles that it is certain that he
had constant access to the book.
Tertullian also ascribes the book to Luke, as does Clement of
Alexandria.
Historical
Accuracy
In the Gospel that
bears his name, Luke notes that diligent and careful research went into his
writings, “having investigated everything
carefully from the beginning…so that you might know the exact truth about the
things you have been taught” (Luke 1:3-4).
Professional historians and archaeologists have long recognized the
historical reliability and accuracy found in the book of Acts. Luke is always accurate in the titles that
he gives for the various regional and local officials, even though titles often
differed from province to province.
“The ‘rulers of the city’ (politarchs)
in Thessalonica (Acts 17:6) was
unknown in any classical author until a few years ago. It has now been found in 19 inscriptions
ranging from the 2nd century B.C. to the 3rd century
A.D., as a title of magistrates in Macedonian cities. Publius is called the ‘chief man’ of the Island of Malta (Acts 28:7). Inscriptions in both Latin and Greek have shown this to be
the proper title” (Introduction To
Christian Evidences, Ferrell Jenkins, p. 64).
“Luke was an intricate observer.
James Smith, who was a seaman, in his ‘Voyage and Shipwreck of St.
Paul’, shows that Luke is accurate even in the storm and wreck. They cast goods out of the hold, threw off
the rigging, bound the ship around, and precisely the proper term in Greek is
used for each activity. Every place
where Luke’s accuracy can be checked, he has been found to be exactly right” (New Testament History, Acts, Gareth L.
Reese, p. xxxi).
The
Date
Luke leaves his readers
with a description of Paul, a prisoner at Rome, but enjoying considerable
liberty to preach and teach. The abrupt
ending of the book is strong evidence for the date. The book ends here because there was nothing else to report,
hence the book was written around 62 A.D. from the city of Rome.
Historical
Timetable
One of the real
benefits of the book of Acts is that it enables us to date Paul’s letters. In addition, we know the dates of various
events in this book, because secular records mention the same basic event. For example: 1. Peter’s appearance
before Caiaphas in chapter 4 took place prior to A.D. 36, for we know in that
year that Caiaphas was removed from office.
2. We that the Herod who died in
Acts chapter 12:20-23, died in the
spring of A.D. 44. 3. We know that Acts 13:7, took place before A.D. 52, because by that time Sergius
Paulus had been replaced. 4. Paul took before Gallio in Acts 18:12-17, and we know that this man
was proconsul of Achaia from 50-54 A.D.
Date: Event: Contemporary
Events:
30 Pentecost (ch. 2) Tiberius
Emperor (14-37)
Pilate Governor (26-36)
32-33 Stephen Stoned (ch. 7)
34-35 Saul Converted (ch. 9) Caligula Emperor (37-41)
36-43 Saul in Jerusalem, Tarsus, Antioch
(9-11)
Cornelius Converted (ch. 10).
Claudius
Emperor (41-54)
43-44 James is executed (ch. 12) Herod Agrippa I (41-44) dies.
45-47 Famine in Judea (ch. 12)
47-48 First Missionary Journey (13-14)
49 Council at Jerusalem (ch.15) Claudius expels all Jews from
Rome
49-50 Second Journey begins (15-16) Gallio Proconsul of Achaia
50-52 Paul at Corinth (ch. 18).
1 and 2 Thessalonains Written (1 Thess. 2:1-2)
52-55 Paul In Ephesus (ch. 19) Felix procurator of Judea
(52-59)
1 and 2 Corinthians Written (1 Corinthians 16:8)
56-57 In Macedonia and Corinth (ch. 20) Nero Emperor (54-68)
Galatians, Romans Written (Romans 15:25-31)
57-59 Voyage to Jerusalem (20-21) Festus procurator of Judea (59-61)
Arrested, imprisoned at
Caesarea
(23:23-24:27)
59 Paul stands before Festus/Agrippa
(25:6-26:32)
59-60 Paul’s voyage to Rome (27:1-28:16)
60-62 Paul’s imprisonment in Rome (28:16ff)
Ephesians,
Philippians, Colossians
Philemon
written (Eph. 6:20; Phil. 1:13)
The
Importance Of Acts
·
The Spread of the
Gospel Is Documented (1:8):
The gospels end with
the Great Commission (Mark 16:15-16;
Matthew 28:19-20; Luke 24:46-47). The
book of Acts reveals how this was accomplished. McGarvey notes, “The writers chief design was to set forth to his
readers a multitude of cases of conversion.
The cases recorded represent all the different grades of human society,
from idolatrous peasants up to priests, proconsuls, and kings. They represent all the degrees of
intellectual and religious culture; all the common occupations of life; and all
the countries and languages of the then known world; thus showing the
adaptation of the one system of life and salvation to all the inhabitants of
the earth (Acts 9:2; 19:9; 22:4). If then, modern conversions accord with
these, they must be right; if they do not, they must be to that extent wrong” (pp. xix-xx).
·
The Establishment of
the Church:
The church that Jesus
promised to build (Matthew 16:18), is
established (Acts 2:47). Besides its establishment, we find its
growth (8:4); work (2:42); mission and worship (20:7); and organizational structure (14:23; 20:17,28). We also see the importance of local church membership (Acts 9:24; 11:26; 13:1; 14:26; 11:30;
12:25; 15:2).
·
The Absence of the an
Argument against Christianity:
The book of Acts
records the various persecutions inflicted upon the church. The Jewish authorities sought to put an end
to this movement (Acts 4-9, 13-18). So did various pagan authorities or
special interest groups (Acts 16:16-21;
19:24ff). They sought to intimidate
Christians, mock and physically hurt or imprison them, and yet we never find
anyone being able to discredit, out-argue or undermine the truthfulness of the
gospel message (Acts 6:10). The one glaring gap in all the
opposition that the church faced is the absence of the great Jewish, heathen or
Roman argument against the resurrection of Jesus and the Christian faith. This book tells us that the world really
doesn’t have an argument against the validity of the gospel message.
·
Agreement among the
Apostles:
Some have argued that
the book was written to contradict the claim that Peter and Paul were
rivals. Whether that is true or not,
the case remains that the book very clearly teaches us that Peter and Paul
taught the same gospel. The terms of
salvation that Peter preached (Acts 2:38),
are the same terms that Paul preached (Acts
18:8; 16:30-34). In fact, the first
12 chapters deal primarily with Peter while the rest of the book deals
primarily with Paul. See also (Acts 15:7-12; Galatians 2:1-10; 2 Peter
3:15-16).
·
The Necessity of
Water Baptism:
When we study the
conversion of Saul, we find a man who actually saw the resurrected Jesus (9:4-5); was sincerely repentant and was
engaged in prayer (9:9-11), and yet
who still had his sins prior to being baptized (22:16). The same is true
in reference to Cornelius, who was a good moral and religious man (10:2), extremely obedient and humble (10:24-33), was baptized in the Holy
Spirit (10:44-45), and yet he was
still commanded to be baptized in water (Acts
10:47-48).
Mark Dunagan/Beaverton Church of Christ/503-644-9017
www.beavertonchurchofchrist.net/mdunagan@easystreet.com