Acts - An Introduction

As we move onto the book of Acts, there are a few things that I have to understand beforehand. First, I learned that Acts was written, almost undisputedly, by Luke, so I had to go back and look at who Luke was. It’s hard for me to remember that just because Luke wrote about the daily ministering of the Savior, that he never actually saw Him. It never occurred to me that not all four of the authors of the Gospels walked with Jesus during his mortal ministry. The IM gives background of Luke, saying, “Luke was one of Paul’s ‘fellowlabourers’ and Paul’s missionary companion. Because Luke did not claim to have been an eyewitness of the Savior, but rather to have gained a perfect understanding from those who were ‘eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word,’ it may be presumed that he was converted to Christianity at some point following the Savior’s Resurrection and Ascension.” So while the Gospel of Luke was a second hand account of what happened during Jesus’ mortal ministry, the Acts of the Apostles is more first hand because the accounts came from the subjects directly.

The second important thing to keep in mind is that Luke’s gospel and book of Acts was written specifically for one person, Theophilus. There is nothing known about who this person is, but the IM reminds us that “though Luke addressed his writings to a single individual, anyone who reads this writings will find greater understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the early Church.” Just because I like to speculate, I looked up some of the theories on who Theophilus is and the results were very interesting. The first theory is that Theophilus is just some guy that Luke knew that he wanted to teach the gospel to. It is also speculated that Theophilus was not a person, but a title of honor. Wikipedia says, “The word in Greek means ‘friend of God’ and thus both Luke and Acts were addressed to anyone who fits that description.”
Another option is that Theophilus was Paul’s lawyer in Rome who Luke was trying to supply with evidence for Paul’s upcoming trial. Interestingly, another theory is that the intended read it “Theophilus ben Ananus, High Priest of the Temple in Jerusalem from 37-41.” This would make him “the son of Annas and brother-in-law of Caiaphas.” The Wikipedia article on this theory is very interesting because it points out that if he was indeed Luke’s intended audience, then much of Luke’s writings would make sense. For instance, Luke begins and ends his Gospel in the temple, and points out the many times that Jesus was in the temple. He leaves out Caiaphas out of the account of the crucifixion and records extensively Jesus’ altercations with the Sadducees, of whom this Theophilus would belong. We may never know who or whom Theophilus is, but by considering some of these explanations, we can find ourselves in their somewhere.
Third, unlike so much of the other scriptures, Acts can be divided neatly into two parts, chapters 1 to 12 feature the works of the apostle Peter and chapters 13 to 28 feature the works of the apostle Paul and covers a period of 30 years, from A.D. 33 to A.D.63. The chapters follow the spread of the gospel from a few frightened disciples within the Jewish city of Jerusalem to the highest authority in the land, the gentile emperor or Rome. It is important to be able to learn about the gospel spreading to the whole world after Jesus’ death because like I talked about yesterday, I would imagine myself being quite distraught and downtrodden watching Jesus ascend into heaven. To see that not only did the spreading of the gospel take place, but that it did so with the power and support of heaven would be important for me to feel purpose and patience.
Like I said yesterday, I am at a total loss as to what happens after Jesus ascends, and I even though I knew that Paul and Stephen and Luke are important to the spread of the gospel, they weren’t in the recorded Gospels, so I don’t know who they are, what they did, or how they got there. The IM give an outline for the book of Acts, which I always like and benefit from, so I’m going to detail it out here so that we can follow it roughly.

Jesus ministers to his disciples for 40 days after his resurrection.

Jesus ascends into heaven and promises to return in the latter days.

The Apostles inspirationally call Matthias to fill Judas’ place in the Quorum.

The Holy Ghost is poured out world on the day of Pentecost.

In Jerusalem 6 weeks after the crucifixion, Peter preaches in Jerusalem.

Peter and John heal a disabled man at the temple and teach him the gospel.

Both Apostles are arrested and tried by Jewish council.

Converts live the law of consecration and unity.

Peter and John are arrested again, an angel releases them from prison.

Seven men are called by the Apostles to help them minister, Stephen among them.

Stephen preaches to the Jewish Council and is executed.

Philip goes to Samaria and preaches the gospel throughout.

Jesus appears to Saul on the road to Damascus.

Saul is baptized and begins preaching the gospel.

Jesus tells Peter in a vision to bring Gentiles into the church.

Peter teaches Cornelius and oversees gentile baptisms.

James is put to death by Herod Agrippa I and Peter is imprisoned.

Saul is sent on a mission with Barnabus.

Saul and Barnabus establish “church” (congregations) throughout Asia Minor.

Church leaders debate the need for gentile circumcision with conversion.

Paul (Saul) leaves on a mission with Silas.

Paul and Silas revisit the congregations organized on Paul’s previous mission.

Paul and Silas go to Macedonia and Achaia (a region of Greece).

Paul preaches on “Mars Hill” in Athens.

Paul concludes his mission and visits Ephesus and Jerusalem and returns to Syria.

Paul goes on a third mission through Asia minor.

Paul works miracles by God in Ephesus and returns to Jerusalem.

Paul in arrested in Jerusalem.

Jesus appears again to Paul.

Paul testifies before Felix, Festus, and Agrippa in Caesarea.

On his way to Rome, Paul is shipwrecked.

Paul in placed on house arrest in Rome and continues to preach the gospel.