Introduction to the Book of Acts
The Book of Acts is truly an amazing section of the Bible, and a favorite of many Bible readers and scholars. It provides so much rich historical information about the foundation of the church. Information vital to our current understanding of how the early church was formed and how it functioned from the outset. The book also contains numerous stories and principles which are just as true for the church today as for when they were written. John Calvin would later write that the Book of Acts was “a kind of vast treasure.” From it, we get the story of the ascension of Jesus, Pentecost, the spread of the early church in Jerusalem, the missionary travels of Paul, and the overarching story of how Christianity spread from Jerusalem to Rome and to the ends of the earth.
The Book of Acts, as well as the Gospel of Luke, were written by Luke. Luke was a gentile, a physician, and one of the original twelve disciples of Jesus. We also learn from the text of Acts as well as Colossians 4:14, Philemon 24, and 2 Timothy 4:11 that Luke would later become a devoted companion of Paul and record firsthand much of Paul’s travels and exploits. When originally written, the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts were joined together as one book with two volumes. Ancient books such as Luke and Acts were generally written on papyrus scrolls. It was practical to have a scroll about thirty-five feet in length, and if the volume extended any longer, the scroll became too bulky to carry around. Luke used two scrolls to tell his story; one we call “The Gospel of Luke” and the other we call “The Book of Acts.” The book of Acts spans a period of about 30 years, starting with the ascension of Jesus into heaven 40 days after the feast of first fruits and taking us all the way up to around A.D.60 with Paul in Rome waiting to appear before Caesar Nero. This is the same Nero who would soon begin his infamous persecutions of Christians in A.D.64 after much of Rome burned and Christians seemed a convenient scapegoat.
The books of Luke and Acts are stated by the author to have been written to Theophilus. There are a few theories as to what or who Theophilus was. Theophilus may have been the name of a Greek man who might have been a Christian seeking instruction. He could have been a Roman official connected with Caesar's court. This theory is promoted because Luke refers to him as “Most Excellent” in Luke 1:3, which was a way to address a person who held high office. Since Acts ends with Paul awaiting trial before Caesar, some have speculated if Luke-Acts are not “defense briefs” on Paul’s behalf to give a Roman official background on Paul’s case before it was brought to trial. A Roman official would be likely to have heard many conflicting reports, but Luke wanted him to know the truth. (This view is also reflected in Luke 1:4.) Luke arrived in Jerusalem with Paul in Acts 21:17; he left with him again on the journey to Rome two years later in Acts 27:1. In that two-year span, Luke would have had plenty of time to research and write both his Gospel and the Book of Acts in preparation for the coming trial in Rome. One final option is that the name Theophilus could be symbolic: not a single person at all, but a collection of people. The Greek name Theophilus translates to “God-lover.” With that meaning in mind, it could make sense that Acts was written for an audience of “God-lovers” which would include all who are Christ followers even today! Regardless of what we don’t know about Acts or who the intended audience was at the time, what we do know is that this book is a valuable resource for the modern church and God fully intended for us to read and study its stories and principles. The book of Acts teaches us our Christian roots, where we come from, what we are rooted in as the church, and also what we should watch out for and guard against. It is encouraging, corrective and guiding in nature and the same issues which plagued the early church are still as alive and present as ever in our postmodern world.
Luke had several reasons why he penned these books of the Bible. Most notable was the fact that people were telling false stories about Christians and slandering the church. (As they still do today) Many throughout the Roman empire were afraid that Christians intended to make trouble and undermine the rule of the empire like the Zealots. Luke wanted the Roman rulers to know that this was not true and also not the goal of Christianity. Luke also wanted to show to the Jews that the Christian faith was not a separate religion. Instead, Christianity made Judaism complete because Jesus is the Messiah foretold in the Hebrew Bible. However, Luke had one other reason why he wrote this book. The good news about Jesus had travelled from Jerusalem to Rome. At that time, Rome was the most prosperous, powerful, and influential city in the world. Luke wanted to record and tell the amazing story of how that happened. Luke showed how this gospel being shared was for all people of every nation. It was for Jews, it was also for gentiles, and it was meant to be spread to the ends of the earth.
The Book of Acts, as well as the Gospel of Luke, were written by Luke. Luke was a gentile, a physician, and one of the original twelve disciples of Jesus. We also learn from the text of Acts as well as Colossians 4:14, Philemon 24, and 2 Timothy 4:11 that Luke would later become a devoted companion of Paul and record firsthand much of Paul’s travels and exploits. When originally written, the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts were joined together as one book with two volumes. Ancient books such as Luke and Acts were generally written on papyrus scrolls. It was practical to have a scroll about thirty-five feet in length, and if the volume extended any longer, the scroll became too bulky to carry around. Luke used two scrolls to tell his story; one we call “The Gospel of Luke” and the other we call “The Book of Acts.” The book of Acts spans a period of about 30 years, starting with the ascension of Jesus into heaven 40 days after the feast of first fruits and taking us all the way up to around A.D.60 with Paul in Rome waiting to appear before Caesar Nero. This is the same Nero who would soon begin his infamous persecutions of Christians in A.D.64 after much of Rome burned and Christians seemed a convenient scapegoat.
The books of Luke and Acts are stated by the author to have been written to Theophilus. There are a few theories as to what or who Theophilus was. Theophilus may have been the name of a Greek man who might have been a Christian seeking instruction. He could have been a Roman official connected with Caesar's court. This theory is promoted because Luke refers to him as “Most Excellent” in Luke 1:3, which was a way to address a person who held high office. Since Acts ends with Paul awaiting trial before Caesar, some have speculated if Luke-Acts are not “defense briefs” on Paul’s behalf to give a Roman official background on Paul’s case before it was brought to trial. A Roman official would be likely to have heard many conflicting reports, but Luke wanted him to know the truth. (This view is also reflected in Luke 1:4.) Luke arrived in Jerusalem with Paul in Acts 21:17; he left with him again on the journey to Rome two years later in Acts 27:1. In that two-year span, Luke would have had plenty of time to research and write both his Gospel and the Book of Acts in preparation for the coming trial in Rome. One final option is that the name Theophilus could be symbolic: not a single person at all, but a collection of people. The Greek name Theophilus translates to “God-lover.” With that meaning in mind, it could make sense that Acts was written for an audience of “God-lovers” which would include all who are Christ followers even today! Regardless of what we don’t know about Acts or who the intended audience was at the time, what we do know is that this book is a valuable resource for the modern church and God fully intended for us to read and study its stories and principles. The book of Acts teaches us our Christian roots, where we come from, what we are rooted in as the church, and also what we should watch out for and guard against. It is encouraging, corrective and guiding in nature and the same issues which plagued the early church are still as alive and present as ever in our postmodern world.
Luke had several reasons why he penned these books of the Bible. Most notable was the fact that people were telling false stories about Christians and slandering the church. (As they still do today) Many throughout the Roman empire were afraid that Christians intended to make trouble and undermine the rule of the empire like the Zealots. Luke wanted the Roman rulers to know that this was not true and also not the goal of Christianity. Luke also wanted to show to the Jews that the Christian faith was not a separate religion. Instead, Christianity made Judaism complete because Jesus is the Messiah foretold in the Hebrew Bible. However, Luke had one other reason why he wrote this book. The good news about Jesus had travelled from Jerusalem to Rome. At that time, Rome was the most prosperous, powerful, and influential city in the world. Luke wanted to record and tell the amazing story of how that happened. Luke showed how this gospel being shared was for all people of every nation. It was for Jews, it was also for gentiles, and it was meant to be spread to the ends of the earth.
