The
Acts of the Apostles is the name given since the second century A.D. to the second volume of a History of Christian
Origins, composed by a first-century Christian. The earlier volume of this History is one of the twenty-seven
documents ultimately included in the New Testament canon. It's the work ordinarily known as The Gospel according to
Luke.
These two volumes circulated together as one complete History, but not for long. Early in the
second century the four "canonical" Gospels were gathered into one collection and circulated.
About
the same time, another collection of Christian documents was also being made--the collection of Paul's letters. These
two collections--The Gospel and The Apostle, as they were called--make up the greater part of our New Testament.
Acts played an essential role in relating these two collections to each other.
Acts is a sequel to the Gospels
and is a narrative background to Paul's letters. Acts also gives independent evidence of Paul's claim as a
dedicated servant of Christ.
William Barclay, the former Scottish New Testament scholar, said
that Acts is the most important book in the New Testament.
"If we
did not possess Acts, we would have no information about the early church in the Bible...."
The book of Acts gives an account of the life of Paul and Peter, primarily,
but also James and John (the sons of Zebedee), and it links the Gospel narratives and the apostolic letters.
The theme is summarized in Acts 1:8, "You
will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria,
and to the ends of the earth."
Acts provides a historical account of the early Christian church
and a defense of the Christian faith in the face of persecution.
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The author of
Acts was Luke, according to inferences from the book and sources outside the Scriptures.
Evidence
comes primarily from the well-known "we" passages of Acts: 16:10-17; 20:5-15; 21:1-18; 27:1
to 28:16.
It is also found in early church writings of Eusebius, Irenaeus, and Clement of Alexandra, and in the
anonymous Muratorian Canon.
Luke used two main sources for his writings:
(a) Stories handed down by
people in local churches.
(b) Stories from Peter, John, Philip, Stephen, and Paul.
Luke probably also
kept a travel diary and thus we have his eye-witness accounts in chapters 16-28.
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Many Bible scholars believe Acts was written before Jerusalem
was destroyed in A.D. 70. They give the following reasons:
1.
Acts ends with Paul under house arrest, waiting to appear before Caesar; this took place before the great fire that burned
Rome in A.D. 64;
2. Acts doesn't mention Paul's death in about
A.D. 68;
3. Luke depicts a benevolent Roman government toward Christians near
the end of the book of Acts;
4. Luke uses certain words such as "disciple"
and "the first day of the week" and these point to an early date.
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The recipient of Acts
and the Gospel of Luke was Theophilus. Luke calls him the "most excellent Theophilus." His name
comes from two Greek words, theos, which means God, and from philein, which means to love.
Scholars
suggest that Theophilus was a Gentile or God-fearer, a man in high social standing or a high Roman government official who
was Luke's financial patron. It's also been suggested that Luke treated Theophilus and brought him back to health.
Acts tells us about the early Church, which carried on the life of Christ after his ascension, and how the believers
were empowered by the Holy Spirit. Acts is also called the Gospel of the Holy Spirit. We don't know exactly what happened
on the Day of Pentecost, but we do know that it was a very special event.
Chronology of
Events in Acts
Ascension of Jesus (AD
30)
Stephen is stoned; Saul is converted (AD 32-33)
Paul's first visit to Jerusalem (AD 35 or 36)
James
the apostle is executed (AD 43 or 44)
Paul's second visit to Jerusalem (AD 46 or 47)
First missionary
journey (AD 47-48)
Council of Jerusalem; second missionary journey begins (AD 49)
Paul in Corinth (AD
50-52)
Paul returns to Syrian Antioch; third missionary journey begins (AD 52)
Paul in Ephesus (AD 52-55)
Paul in Macedonia (AD 55-56)
Paul winters in Corinth (AD 56-57)
Voyage to Jerusalem via Macedonia,
Troas and Miletus (AD 57)
Paul is arrested in Jerusalem and tried before Felix (AD 57)
Paul is imprisoned
in Caesarea (AD 57-59)
Paul is tried before Festus and Agrippa (AD 59)
Voyage to Rome (AD 59-60)
Paul imprisoned in Rome (AD 60-62)
Paul and Peter died in Rome (AD 64)
