Grace Institute: The Gospels & Acts: Acts - Introduction

Acts Survey of the New Testament: The Gospels & Acts Winter 2005

[The Witness to the Jews (Chatpers 1-9)]

Introduction

Author

In the book of Acts, the author uses the term “we” in four separate sections of the book: Acts 16:10-17, 20:5-15, 21:1-18, and 27:1-28:16. From Paul's epistles we know Paul's various companions at each point of his ministry, and Luke is the only person who matches these “we” passages. Therefore we can deduce that Luke is that author of Acts, and is therefore also the author of this gospel. The early church fathers confirm this authorship.

Luke is described in Colossians 4:14 as the “beloved physician.” He is the only Gentile author in the New Testament. As a physician he would have been highly educated. His writing style uses the most classical forms of the Greek language of any of the gospels.

Date

The book of Acts ends with Paul in Rome awaiting trial. However, the outcome of the trial is left a mystery, strongly suggesting that the book of Acts was completed prior to Paul's trial in Rome, which took place in the mid 60s. In addition, Acts 28:31 states that the gospel was being preached in Rome “without hindrance.” This would not be the case during the persecution of the church under Nero, which took place around AD 64.

On the other side, Acts is the sequel to the gospel of Luke. This gospel borrowed heavily from Mark and Matthew in its compilation. If we date the writing of Mark after the death of Peter, which took place around AD64, this leaves a very narrow window in which Luke could have written these books.

Therefore the best estimate is that Acts was written in the mid-60s.

Audience

Luke addresses the book of Acts to an unknown individual named Theophilus. While we do not know who this person was, it is likely that Luke was dedicating this work to him, while expecting that the book would also reach a larger audience.

The book of Acts emphasizes the spread of the gospel from its Jewish roots to the Gentiles throughout the Roman Empire. Given this content, and based on the style of the language, it is likely that Luke was writing to the Gentile believers who were growing in number throughout the Roman Empire.

Purpose

As shown in Acts 1:1, this book is a continuation of the Gospel of Luke. The primary purpose, then, is the same as that gospel: to present an orderly account of the on-going ministry of Jesus. The ministry of Jesus did not end with His ascension into heaven, but continued on through the apostles who were empowered by the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:2).

Luke is primarily providing his audience with a detailed history of the expansion of Christ's ministry from a little Jewish sect found only in Jerusalem to a movement that encompassed the entire Roman Empire. As Barclay puts it:

Luke's great aim was to show the expansion of Christianity, to show how that religion which began in a little corner of Palestine had in a little more than 30 years reached Rome. [1]

There are a number of secondary purposes to the book of Acts:

• A defense of Paul's apostolic authority . Throughout his epistles, Paul often has to defend his authority as an apostle. The book of Acts systematically compares Paul to Peter, and thus presents Paul on an equal footing with Peter.
• A legal brief prepared to defend Paul in his trial before Caesar . This is certainly not Luke's primary purpose, for such a brief would not include the theological aspects contained in the book. Nonetheless, the book does repeatedly remind its readers that Paul is a Roman citizen, that he is a law-keeper (stayed in prison when he could have escaped), and that he is a hero who rescued a ship that was sinking. In addition, any civil troubles Paul faced were religiously motivated disputes, and not a conflict with the Roman authorities.
• An explanation of how the church fits into the kingdom of God [2]. The Jews vision of the Messianic kingdom expected that the Messiah would usher in a physical kingdom where he would rule the world from Jerusalem and bring peace and prosperity to all humanity. Yet Jesus ascension into heaven squashed thoughts of that. Luke provides and explanation of how the kingdom of God would continue to expand out of its Jewish roots to the Gentiles, and demonstrate that the kingdom would indeed impact the entire world, but just not in the manner which had been expected.
• A defense of Christianity to a Roman world . F. F. Bruce states that Luke “…addressed secular authorities to establish the law abiding character of Christianity.” [3] Luke shows repeatedly how the uprisings that came with the growth of the church was either religious in nature or due to threats to idolatrous commerce. To the contrary, the apostles are very respectful of authority, and are portrayed in as civil and peaceful. To an empire that sees Christianity as a “mischievous superstition” at best, and at worst as arsonist troublemakers, Luke's defense of the church is a very important sub-point.

Structure

The structure of the book of Luke is closely tied with the structure of Acts [4]. Both books are most easily tied to the geography of the book. Luke begins with a global perspective, dating the birth of Christ to the reign of the Roman emperors in Luke 2:1 and 3:1. From there we see Jesus' ministry move from Galilee (chapters 4-9), through Samaria and Judea (chapters 10-19), to Jerusalem where he is crucified, raised and ascended into heaven (chapters 19-24).

The book of Acts follows just the opposite motion, taking the scene from Jerusalem (chapters 1-5), to Judea and Samaria (chapters 6-9), then traveling through Syria, Asia Minor, and Europe towards Rome (chapters 9-28). This “chiastic” structure emphasizes the centrality of the resurrection and ascension to Luke's message, while emphasizing the universal nature of the gospel.

This geographic structure is foreshadowed in Acts 1:8, where Jesus says “you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem (chapters 1-5), and in all Judea and Samaria (chapters 6-9), and even to the remotest part of the earth (chapters 10-28).” The first two sections (chapters 1-9) represent the witness of the apostles to the Jews, while the last section (chapters 10-28) represent the witness of the apostles to the Gentiles.

The book of Acts can also be broken down by the major characters of the book. While the complete title of the book is the Acts of the Apostles, really the book focuses on only two of the apostles: Peter (chapters 1-12) and Paul (chapters 13-28).

Within this structure, the sub-points of the book are marked by a series of summary statements, or what one commentary calls a “progress report.” [5] Just before the geography of the scene shifts to a new location, Luke summarizes how the gospel has impacted that location. The standard for these progress reports is in 2:46-47, where Luke describes the impact of the gospel on the new church in Jerusalem. The remaining progress reports are located:

• Acts 6:7 – Impact of the gospel in Jerusalem.
• 9:31 – Impact of the gospel in Judea and Samaria.
• 12:24 – Impact of the gospel in Syria.
• 16:5 – Impact of the gospel in Asia Minor.
• 19:20 – Impact of the gospel in Europe.
• 28:31 – Impact of the gospel on Rome

This structure can be also seen as a series of concentric circles, where the gospel begins in the center, Jerusalem, and is expanding ever outward to Judea & Samaria, Syria, Asia Minor, Europe, and eventually to Rome.

Ironically, in this day Rome is not the “remotest part of the earth,” but rather the very center of the civilized world. Yet the arrival of the gospel in Rome represents the universal impact of the gospel message. From Rome the gospel would begin to penetrate and impact even to the remotest parts of the world.

Theme

The theme of Acts is the expansion of the witness of Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit to the remotest parts of the earth. It is summarized in Acts 1:8:

(Acts 1:8 NASB) but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."

Footnotes

1. William Barclay, The Acts of the Apostles, p. xvii, as quoted in The Bible Knowledge Commentary, ( Victor Books, 1988), 350.
2. Stanley D. Toussaint, “Acts,” The Bible Knowledge Commentary, ( Victor Books, 1988), 350.
3. F. F. Bruce, Acts , p. 24, as quoted in The Bible Knowledge Commentary, ( Victor Books, 1988), 350.
4. Craig L. Blomberg. Jesus and the Gospels. (Nashville TN: Broadman & Holman. 1997),140-145.
5. Toussaint.