Acts

Composition

The book of Acts, which is also known as Acts of the Apostles, is a New Testament work that chronicles the spread of Christianity in the years following the death of Jesus Christ. The book is attributed to Luke, a physician and companion of the apostle Paul, as is the gospel bearing his name. Biblical scholars consider Acts to be a companion piece to the Gospel of Luke that was written after its completion. Scholars typically date the Gospel of Luke to about the year 85, which means that Acts may have been written between 85–95. Together, the two books make up more than a quarter of the New Testament.

Both Acts and the Gospel of Luke begin with the author’s greeting to a friend named Theophilus. Historians have no details about Theophilus but theorize that he may have been a Roman patron who financed Luke’s writing. In Acts, Luke begins by saying that he “wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven.” The Gospel of Luke is the only one of the four gospels that mentions the Ascension of Jesus, suggesting that the texts were written by the same person.

Luke was not a follower of Jesus or an eyewitness to the events of Jesus’s life. Evidence suggests that he was a traveling companion to Paul, an influential early Christian leader who was instrumental in spreading the religion in the Roman world. On several occasions during the text, the author uses the term “we” in referring to Paul and his companions. In addition, Paul refers to Luke in several of his epistles, or letters, to the early church. In his epistle to the Colossians, Paul calls Luke a “dear friend,” and refers to him as a physician. Some scholars speculate that Luke may not have been Jewish, which would have made him the only Gentile author in the New Testament. However, no evidence exists to definitively prove this theory.

Summary

The book opens with Jesus telling his disciples to stay in Jerusalem to await a gift from God, followed by an account of his ascension. The disciples then choose Matthias to take the place of Judas as one of the twelve apostles.

Soon after the ascension, the twelve apostles are gathered for the feast of Pentecost when they hear an overpowering wind. Tongues of fire appear and come to rest over each of their heads. The disciples are filled with the Holy Spirit and begin to speak to a large crowd that had gathered outside. Miraculously, their words are understood by people who speak different languages. After Peter addresses the crowd, many people are baptized into Christianity, raising the number of disciples from about one-hundred twenty to more than three thousand.

Peter and the apostles continue to preach the word of Jesus and perform many miraculous works. As the Christian congregations grow, the apostles choose several disciples to help them in their work. One of those is a young man named Stephen. Stephen begins preaching and performing miracles, which angers the members of several Jewish synagogues. He is brought before a Jewish tribunal and accused of blasphemy. A defiant Stephen refuses to address their charges and instead rebukes and insults the religious leaders. Angered, they sentence Stephen to death, and he is dragged outside and stoned. Witnessing the execution is a young man named Saul.

Saul was a devout Jew who willingly took part in persecuting Christians. One day, Saul is heading to Damascus when he is suddenly blinded by a bright light and falls to the ground. He hears the voice of Jesus ask, “Saul, why do you persecute me?” Jesus tells Saul to go to a house in Damascus where a follower of Jesus comes and cures his blindness. Now converted to Christianity, Saul becomes an ardent supporter of the faith.

Meanwhile, as the apostles continue to preach, King Herod begins arresting Jesus’s followers. He kills the apostle James, the first of the twelve apostles to be martyred. Herod also arrests Peter with the intention of putting him on trial, but Peter is freed from prison with the help of an angel.

Saul, who now calls himself Paul, begins his missionary work spreading the word of Jesus. In his travels, Paul and his companion Barnabas preach to both Jews and Gentiles, converting many to Christianity. Paul’s conversion of Gentiles causes dissention among some Christians who believe that all new converts should continue to follow Judaic law as laid down by Moses. Christian leaders decide to call a special council in Jerusalem to discuss the issue. Paul and Barnabas are called to attend. At the council, Peter speaks up and argues that Jesus died to save Gentiles as well, and they should not be forced to accept Jewish law.

As Paul resumes his ministry, he and Barnabas have a disagreement and part ways. Paul chooses a new companion named Silas and they set off to continue spreading the Christian faith. They travel to regions in Asia Minor, Greece, and islands in the Mediterranean. Along the way, Paul converts many people to Christianity but finds resistance among Jews in many regions.

After a while, Paul is compelled by the Holy Spirit to travel to Jerusalem, knowing that he may face imprisonment. Paul preaches in Jerusalem for seven days but is seized by an angry crowd of Jews and arrested. Because Paul is a Roman citizen, he is held in a Roman barracks. A group of Jews hatch a plot to kill him, but the plot is uncovered.

Paul is taken to Caesarea and placed under the protection of the Romans. He is brought before the Roman governor of Judea, Felix, who sympathizes with him and allows him some freedoms. However, because Felix wants to maintain the peace, he keeps Paul under arrest.

Paul is given a chance to speak before King Agrippa and requests a trial in Caesar’s court in Rome—his right as a Roman citizen. Although Agrippa believes that Paul should be released, he has no choice but to send Paul to Rome to be tried.

Paul is placed aboard a ship bound for Rome, but along the way, the ship is wrecked in a storm. Paul and the crew survive, and he is eventually taken to Rome. The book ends with Paul placed under house arrest to await trial. During his arrest, he is allowed to receive visitors and speaks of Jesus Christ to all who will listen.

Themes

Acts is divided into two sections—the first twelve chapters record events from Jesus’s ascension into heaven to the time Paul began his work spreading Christianity. The final sixteen chapters detail Paul’s missionary work throughout the Roman world. Asides from its theological elements, Acts is foremost a history of the early Church and the first days of Christianity. It shows how a new faith practiced by a group of Jews in Judea spread quickly across the Mediterranean region, attracting tens of thousands of followers within a few years.

It also touched on a real issue concerning the early Church—how to incorporate Gentiles into the faith. The very first Christians were Jewish and observed Judaic law, especially concerning circumcision and Jewish dietary rules. Because the Gentiles did not follow Jewish law, some questioned whether they would first have to accept Jewish law before becoming Christian. Paul, who was the driving force in bringing Christianity into the Gentile word, believed that it was enough for Gentiles to have faith in Christ without first adopting Jewish customs. In the end, most Christian leaders agreed with this ideal.

The main theological theme of Acts concerns the mission to spread Jesus’s teaching about the world of God. After Jesus was executed, many of the disciples were hesitant, believing that they would suffer a similar fate. However, after they were infused with the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, they became fearless messengers, taking Jesus’ message of faith throughout the world.

Acts also highlights the opposition Paul and the other disciples received as they spread the Christian faith. The book details the account of the Church’s first martyr, Stephen, and presents news of the martyrdom of the apostle James. Paul encounters near constant hostility from Jewish leaders on his journeys. He is accused of blasphemy for preaching that Jesus is the promised Messiah, and on some occasions, is imprisoned for his teachings. Acts portrays Peter as a stalwart defender of Christianity whose impassioned defense of the faith often casts doubt into the minds of his accusers. Still, many Jews will not accept Paul’s words, which leads him to concentrate his missionary work on the Gentiles.

Peter, Paul, and the other disciples are often imprisoned or beaten for spreading Jesus’s teachings. On some occasions, they are saved from prison or death by divine intervention, such as an angel miraculously releasing Peter after he was jailed by King Herod. To early Christians, persecution and opposition were realities they sometimes faced. However, Acts also portrays these Christians as relying on their faith to rise above the persecutions.

Despite the historical details Acts offers about the early Christians, it does not shed light on the fate of Paul. The book ends with him under house arrest in Rome. The Bible makes no mention of Paul’s death, although according to tradition, he was executed in Rome sometime after the year 64.

Bibliography

“Acts 1.” Bible Gateway, www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%201&version=NIV. Accessed 20 Apr. 2022.

“Acts of the Apostles.” United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2022, bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/0. Accessed 20 Apr. 2022.

Bauer, David R. The Book of Acts as Story: A Narrative-Critical Study. Baker Academic, 2021.

Madison, Caroline. “Acts.” Christianity.com, 2022, www.christianity.com/bible/niv/acts/. Accessed 20 Apr. 2022.

Mahoney, Kelli. “Understanding the Book of Acts.” Learn Religions, 8 Sept. 2017, www.learnreligions.com/know-your-bible-the-book-of-acts-712731. Accessed 20 Apr. 2022.

Nelson, Ryan. “Who Was Saint Luke? The Beginner’s Guide.” Overview Bible, 29 Mar. 2019, overviewbible.com/saint-luke/. Accessed 20 Apr. 2022.

“Themes.” Acts: The Mission of God, acts1.frontlinechurch.com/introduction/key-theological-themes. Accessed 20 Apr. 2022.

“When Was Acts Written?” Zondervan Academic, 12 Jan. 2018, zondervanacademic.com/blog/when-was-acts-written. Accessed 20 Apr. 2022.