The Book of Acts

Prologue to Acts

Acts 1:1-3 1. The former treatise I made, O Theophilus,

concerning all that Jesus began both to do and to teach,

2. until the day in which he was received up, after that he had given commandment through the Holy Spirit unto the apostles whom he had chosen:

3. To whom he also showed himself alive after his passion by many proofs, appearing unto them by the space of forty days, and speaking the things concerning the kingdom of God:

Acts is a sequel

Luke 1 1. Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to draw up

a narrative concerning those matters which have been fulfilled among us,

2. even as they delivered them unto us, who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word,

3. it seemed good to me also, having traced the course of all things accurately from the first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus;

4. that thou mightest know the certainty concerning the things wherein thou was instructed.

Acts 1:8

But ye shall receive power,

when the Holy Spirit

is come upon you:

and ye shall be

my witnesses

both in Jerusalem,

and in all Judaea and Samaria,

and unto the

uttermost part of the earth.

Witnesses

• Of His resurrection – 1:22, 2:32, 3:15, 5:30-32, 13:28-31

• Of the things Jesus did – Acts 10:38-42

• Before kings – Acts 23:11, 9:15

• The prophets bore witness of Him – Acts 10:43

• The apostles - Acts 4:33

• Stephen – Acts 22:20

• Paul, appointed a witness – Acts 22:15, 23:11, 26:16

• God bare witness, through miracles – Acts 14:3, Hebrews 2:3-4

Mark 16 15. And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world,

and preach the gospel to the whole creation. 16. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but

he that disbelieveth shall be condemned. 17. And these signs shall accompany them that believe:

in my name shall they cast out demons; they shall speak with new tongues;

18. they shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall in no wise hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

19. So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken unto them, was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.

20. And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word by the signs that followed. Amen.

Luke 24 45. Then opened he their mind, that they might

understand the scriptures; 46. and he said unto them, Thus it is written, that the

Christ should suffer, and rise again from the dead the third day;

47. and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name unto all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

48. Ye are witnesses of these things. 49. And behold, I send forth the promise of my Father

upon you: but tarry ye in the city, until ye be clothed with power from on high.

Acts 26 15. And I said, Who art thou, Lord?

And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.

16. But arise, and stand upon thy feet: for to this end have I appeared unto thee, to appoint thee a minister and a witness both of the things wherein thou hast seen me, and of the things wherein I will appear unto thee;

17. delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom I send thee,

18. to open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among them that are sanctified by faith in me.

Luke, the Beloved Physician

• Colossians 4:14 Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas salute you. – Paul’s co-worker – Philemon 24– Paul’s steadfast companion – 2 Timothy 4:11

• Wrote the gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts• Interviewed the “eyewitnesses” and traced the

course of all things accurately from the first (cf. Luke 1:2-3)

• Was with Paul near the end – cf. 2 Timothy 4:11

Luke, the Evangelist

Acts 16:9-10 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: There was a man of Macedonia standing, beseeching him, and saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us. 10. And when he had seen the vision, straightway we sought to go forth into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

The Macedonian Call

Some suggest that Luke is the Macedonian (Greek) who invites Paul to come over “to help us” – Acts 16:9

However, there are two arguments against this idea:

1. The text says Paul had a “vision”

2. Luke, together with Paul (“we”), was part of the response to the invitation

Not Mentioned in Acts

Of all the people named in the book of Acts, there are two individuals who are markedly absent

Luke (the beloved physician – and author)

Titus (a Greek, Galatians 2:3)

Some have suggested that these were brothers...

2 Corinthians 8:16-19

16. But thanks be to God, who putteth the same earnest care for you into the heart of Titus. 17. For he accepted indeed our exhortation; but being himself very earnest, he went forth unto you of his own accord. 18. And we have sent together with him the brother whose praise in the gospel is spread through all the churches; 19. and not only so, but who was also appointed by the churches to travel with us in the matter of this grace, which is ministered by us to the glory of the Lord, and to show our readiness:

Who is this “unnamed” brother?

2 Corinthians 8:22-23 and we have sent

with them our brother, whom we have many times proved earnest in many things, but now much more earnest, by reason of the great confidence which he hath in you. 23. Whether any inquire about Titus, he is my partner and my fellow-worker to you-ward, or our brethren, they are the messengers of the churches, they are the glory of Christ.

2 Corinthians 12:18

I exhorted Titus, and I sent the brother with him. Did Titus take any advantage of you? walked we not in the same spirit? walked we not in the same steps?

Aristarchus

• Mentioned together with Luke– Colossians 4:10, 14– Philemon 24

• Mentioned 3 times in the book of Acts– Acts 19:29– Acts 20:4– Acts 27:2 (here in the company of

Paul and the writer of the book, “we”)

Others who are named in Acts:– Aquila– Priscilla– Mark – Silas– Timothy– Trophimus

Who is NOT mentioned in Acts?

Titus

Luke (not by name)

Our question becomes “why?” When Luke records the names of so many co-workers who traveled and labored with Paul, the apostle... why does Luke NOT mention Titus?

Philippi

• Luke is together with Paul when they enter Macedonia – cf. Acts 16:9-12

• It is in Philippi that Luke remains when Paul continues on with his journey– cf. Acts 17:1 – note that the short “we”

section in Acts ends here until Luke rejoins Paul again in Acts 20:5

– It appears that Luke is one of the messengers chosen by the Macedonians churches to accompany Paul with the relief for brethren in Jerusalem

The Philippian Connection?

• While Paul is traveling and preaching, Luke remains behind in Philippi to strengthen the brethren in that place

• The church in Philippi was very supportive of Paul during his travels...– Philippians 1:3-5, 4:15-16

• Can we postulate that the relationship between Paul and Luke influenced the brethren in Philippi to send to Paul’s needs?

Philippians 4:15-16

And ye yourselves also know, ye Philippians, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church had fellowship with me in the matter of giving and receiving but ye only; 16. for even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my need.

Others not mentioned...

• Mark is not mentioned by name in the gospel of Mark– cf. Mark 14:51-52

• John does not refer to himself in the gospel of John– cf. John 13:33, 18:15-16, 19:26-27, 20:2-8,

21:7-8

Luke, the Historian

• When one reads the book of Acts, he is seeing events through the “eyes” of Luke

• While Luke was not an eyewitness of ALL the events recorded in Acts, he certainly had ample opportunities to interview the principle characters concerning the events he records– Paul– Barnabas / Mark (his cousin, cf. Colossians 4:10) – Philip – cf. Acts 21:8-10– Peter– Silas (Silvanus)

The Macedonian Call

Acts 16 8. and passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. 9. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: There was

a man of Macedonia standing, beseeching him, and saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us.

10. And when he had seen the vision, straightway we sought to go forth into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

11. Setting sail therefore from Troas, we made a straight course to Samothrace, and the day following to Neapolis;

12. and from thence to Philippi, which is a city of Macedonia, the first of the district, a Roman colony: and we were in this city tarrying certain days.

The “we” sections of Acts

• These are the times when Luke is traveling together with Paul – thus, Luke is an eyewitness of these events

• Acts 16:10 – into Macedonia / at Philippi– Conversion of Lydia– Conversion of the Jailor

• Acts 20:5 – reunited in Macedonia, travels with Paul to Jerusalem– Acts 21:8 spent time in Caesarea (Philip)– Acts 21:16 lodged with Mnason of Cyprus in

Jerusalem

Paul is imprisoned

• Arrested in Jerusalem – Acts 21:33• Imprisoned for two years in Caesarea

– Acts 23:23-24, 33; 24:26-27

• Appeals to Caesar– Acts 25:11,25; 26:30-32

• Sent to Rome – Acts 27:1 Luke with Paul

• Imprisoned for two years in Rome– Acts 28:16, 30-31

Observations

• Luke is with Paul often from the time that Paul first entered Macedonia

• When Paul is arrested, Luke is with him in Caesarea – and later in Rome

• This presents a four year period wherein Luke has access to eyewitnesses, to interview them and accurately trace the events of which he writes

Philip Saul Peter

Cornelius Barnabas

1381

Stephen

Silas Timothy