Acts is the last book in the new testament that tells a story. Starting your free trial of bible gateway plus is easy. The anonymous author aligned lukeacts to the narratives, diegesis which many others had written, and described his own work as. The puzzle is that the book of acts never specifically mentions a visit by paul to.
The importance of this book is that it tells the exciting details about how the christian church started and rapidly grew. Luke acts makes up 28% of the new testamentmore than that written by either paul or john. He was also the author of its companion work, the gospel of luke. The book of the acts of the apostles typically shortened to simply acts was almost. Like them, he anchors his history by dating the birth of the founder romulus for dionysius, moses for josephus. It describes the coming of the holy spirit at pentecost in acts 2, the spread of the gospel outside of jerusalem in acts 8 and to the gentiles in acts 10, how the church made decisions in regards to doctrine acts 15, and more. The author of the acts of the apostles is the same author of the gospel of luke. The book of acts is an important book for understanding the actions of the apostles, mostly paul and peter, after jesuss ascension into heaven. The acts of the apostles, however, were written by luke in one book. Authorship of the book of acts is attributed to luke. Luke, the author of the gospel of luke, was a doctor and gentile. Let his dwelling place be desolate, and let no one live in it.
Each time in the book of acts, and throughout history, when christians are persecuted beyond measure, forced to go underground, or are scattered, the church grows. Seventh, although the events of acts 20 cover a period of at least one year. Study the bible online using commentary on acts 20 and more. If the acts of the apostles were written in the mid second century, it is hard to understand why there would be no mention or even cognizance of the epistles of paul, which were being quoted as authoritative by writers before that time, especially since acts has thousands of words devoted to recording things about the life of paul, unlike. Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the lord jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of john to that day when he was taken up from us, one of these must become a witness with us of his.
Authorship of actsluke is the author of the book acts. Thus we might consider lukes gospel volume 1 and his book of acts volume 2. The title as we know it comes from the second century and only partially discloses the theme of the document. Therefore, when a church begins to dwindle, lose its power, and turn dull and drab in its witness, it needs desperately to get back into the spirit, expectation, knowledge and teaching of the book of acts. It is an important book in understanding how we can be directed by the holy spirit and the role of jesus lessons in our lives. Luke recorded three rejections by the jews to peter and the apostles associated with him to the message of repentance and proclamation of the kingdom. The book of acts was written to provide a history of the early church.
The book of acts gives a unique glimpse into the life and practice of the early church. According to pauls letters, neither titus nor silas still other traveling companions unmentioned in acts 20. It is from there that paul probably wrote the letter to the church at rome romans 15. Therefore, of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the lord jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the. The book of james is the ultimate description of the relationship between faith and works. The book of acts was likely written between ad 61 and 64. Acts 1, new international version niv the bible app. Paul the apostle confesses his active part in the martyrdom of stephen 22. Luke, the author of the book, rejoins paul at philippi as indicated by we see the note on 16. The tradition from the earliest days of the church has been that luke, a companion of the apostle paul, wrote both luke and acts. Acts 20 commentary commentary critical and explanatory. Acts is the book that reveals the power of the church. So ingrained in the mosaic law and its system of works were the jewish christians to whom james wrote that he spent considerable time explaining the difficult truth that no one is justified by the works of the law galatians 2.
Third, the level of greek used in both the third gospel and the book of acts is highly advanced. Our story starts off where the gospel of luke left offjesus is back now that hes resurrected, jesus decides to hang out and chat with his disciples whom luke calls apostles for forty days. Knowing who wrote the book of acts and when it was written assists us greatly in understanding the book s purpose and content. In this book, the principles of the exchanged life.
Acts was written in greek, presumably by the evangelist luke, whose gospel concludes where acts begins, namely, with christs ascension into heaven. Read acts 20 commentary using commentary critical and explanatory on the whole bible. Luke wrote mainly about the ministry of the apostle paul and included a few records about peter and the other apostles. The most probable explanation for leaving the reader in suspense is that the outcome of pauls appeal had not yet been decided when the book was being written. The genre of the book of acts is narrative history with several sermons. We often use information regarding the cultural and political climate in which new testament authors wrote to focus on important themes within a particular work. Under the mixed feelings which this produced, he wrote from macedonia. Given the contents of the book of acts, theophilus appears to have had questions about the coming and activity of the holy spirit, the ministry of the apostles, paul and his dealings with the jerusalem apostles and the advance of christianity to the imperial capital. The book of acts is commonly attributed to luke as a sequel to. Acts is not a complete record of everything that happened in the church after the saviors ascension.
If he did, the book is a sequel to the gospel of luke. Paul does mention a companion named luke in the book of philemon, but he does not say anything at all about him not, for example, that he was a gentile or that he was a physician. The acts of the apostles, abbreviation acts, fifth book of the new testament, a valuable history of the early christian church. According to church tradition, luke wrote the book of acts. The emphasis of the book is the fulfillment of the great commission. Paul left philippi with luke, who wrote acts and who most likely was carrying the financial gift from the church in philippi. Book of acts overview insight for living ministries. Acts 20 commentary commentary critical and explanatory on the.
It alone presents an extensive picture of early church life and history. A list of sermons in the book of acts leadership resources. Luke is uniformly identified as the author acts by the second century a. The acts of the apostles often referred to simply as acts, or formally the book of acts, is the fifth. In the latter portion of acts, luke recorded three rejections of the jews to pauls overtures of salvation. The book of acts, then, is his second written account, or word.
It is titled acts to emphasize that this book records the acts of. The purpose of the book of acts is governed by the jews response to peter and paul. The book of acts books of acts christian inconnect. The level of detail and precision, writing style, the similar address to theophilus, as well as the connective clause in the first of acts connects the two works to the same author. In acts we are blessed to witness the expansion of the greatest message ever told.
He was a greek and the only gentile christian writer of the new testament. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of god. The acts of the apostles is a unique and therefore crucial book of the new testament. A history of the early church gene taylor2 an outline of the book i. The book of acts does not specifically identify its author.
The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. It is more likely that the name of titus is not found in the book because he was a relative of luke. Second, the author of the third gospel also authored the book of acts. The book containing this chapter is anonymous, but early christian tradition uniformly affirmed that luke the evangelist composed this book as well as the.
The recipient of the book, theophilus, is the same person addressed in the first volume, the gospel of luke see introduction to luke. The book of acts ends abruptly with pauls imprisonment in rome. The author of acts may have taken as his model the works of dionysius of halicarnassus, who wrote a wellknown history of rome, or the jewish historian josephus, author of a history of the jews. When the uproar had ended, paul sent for the disciples and, after encouraging them, said goodbye and set out for macedonia. By a process of exclusion we thus come to the name of luke, and. The book was written by luke, the same writer of the gospel of luke and you might want to think of it as a continuation and even a sequel to that gospel.
Vocabulary and style are very similar in the two books. Understanding the book of acts in the bible thoughtco. Just as his gospel opens with a dedication to theophilus, so also does acts. He was an educated man, and we learn in colossians 4. The title of the book of acts comes from the greek word praxis, a word often used in early christian literature to describe the great deeds of the apostles or other significant believers.
Both books are addressed to theophilus, and the latter acts refers to the former luke. The dating of the book of acts is important because acts was written after luke. David guzik commentary on acts 20, in which paul addresses the elders in. Study guide for acts 20 by david guzik blue letter bible. Read more of acts 20 acts 20 new international version niv. The book of acts picks up where the gospel of luke left off with the account of jesus and continues the account of jesus from that point.