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Who Wrote The Book Of Acts In The Bible

Who Of Them Wrote The Book

Who Wrote The Acts of The Apostles?

So these people were with Paul. Who could have been the author?

Aristachus is mentioned in Acts 27:2 in a third person so not the author.Mark wasnt with Paul during the second missionary journey because of their dispute besides that he already wrote an account of Christ which was not the Book of Luke so not the author of the Acts of the Apostles.Epaphras was from Asia and Paul didnt go there until missionary journey number 3 so not the author this book.Demas turned his back on Christianity later so not the author of Acts.Jesus Justus was a Jew it is likely though that it was a Gentile that wrote the book.

Additionally we find many medical terms in the book of Luke which suggests that Luke wrote both the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts. He was a Gentile and his medical background fits the scientific way in which the Gospel of Luke as well as the Acts of the Apostles were written.

The ancient writer Iraneus claimed that Luke was inseparable from Paul. Also tradition suggests that was indeed the author of this book. The church fathers all agree on Luke as the author it is undisputed within them .

Considering the evidence we can conclude that Luke, a physician who was very dear to Paul wrote the two accounts the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles.

Genre Sources And Historicity Of Acts

The title “Acts of the Apostles” would seem to identify it with the genre telling of the deeds and achievements of great men , but it was not the title given by the author. The anonymous author aligned LukeActs to the “narratives” which many others had written, and described his own work as an “orderly account” . It lacks exact analogies in Hellenistic or Jewish literature.

Acts was read as a reliable history of the early church well into the post-Reformation era, but by the 17th century biblical scholars began to notice that it was incomplete and tendentiousits picture of a harmonious church is quite at odds with that given by Paul’s letters, and it omits important events such as the deaths of both Peter and Paul. The mid-19th-century scholar Ferdinand Baur suggested that the author had re-written history to present a united Peter and Paul and advance a single orthodoxy against the Baur continues to have enormous influence, but today there is less interest in determining the historical accuracy of Acts than in understanding the author’s theological program.

Acts Vs Paul’s Epistles

Attention has been drawn particularly to the account given by Paul of his visits to Jerusalem in Galatians as compared with Acts, to the account of Paul’s conversion, his attitude toward the Jewish Law, and to the character and mission of the apostle Paul, as they appear in his letters and in Acts.

Some of the differences as to Paul’s visits to Jerusalem have been explained in terms of the two authors varying interests and emphasis. The apparent discrepancy between Galatians 1-2 and Acts 15, however, is particularly problematic and is much debated.

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What Is The Message Of Acts

The resounding message of Acts is that the Church is alive! In spite of opposition and persecution, the Church marches on, unabated. All over the world, people are being saved every day. If you are involved in evangelism, you are on the front lines in bringing this gospel to a lost world.

One of the early Church authors, Tertullian, made a statement that stands true to this day. He wrote: The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church. Each time in the book of Acts, and throughout history, when Christians are persecuted beyond measure, forced to go underground, or are scattered, the Church grows. In Acts we are blessed to witness the expansion of the greatest message ever told. If this gospel message can save a man like Paul, who was a murderer, a terrorist, and the chief of sinners, as he put it, then this gospel of Jesus Christ can save anyone. This is the message and power that flows throughout the book of Acts.

Prominent Women Propel The Gospel

Holy Bible (KJV)

In his Gospel, Luke drew attention to a group of prominent,affluent women who travelled with Jesus and his disciples, supporting them outof their means. He continues and expands this theme in the Book of Acts,despite the fact than most of his readers came from cultures that treated womenas second-class citizens. As one commentator observed, except for Mary the mother of Jesus and Rhoda the servant girl, almost all the women inActs are socially connected and well-to-do. In the cities that Paul visits,Luke takes special note of numerous leading Greek women of high standing whowere persuaded by the Apostles message and came to faith in Christ.

This narrative theme finds its apex in a pair of womenprominent enough for Luke to mention by name. The first of the two, Lydia ofThyatira, ran a lucrative fabric and dye business in Philippi that produced theexpensive purple cloth reserved for emperors and high-ranking state officials.She catered to the rich and powerful of the Roman Empire, and upon conversion,placed her home and considerable resources at the disposal of Pauls ministryteam, providing them a bridgehead into Greece and beyond.

Lydia and Damaris are the epitome of Lukes prominent women,first-century equivalents of a Fortune 500 CEO and a Harvard-educatedsocialite. As high-profile believers, they wouldve been able to move incircles of privilege and power, speaking Gospel truth to individuals who wereotherwise outside the reach of the church.

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Paul Trials And Final Journey

Upon Paul’s arrival in Jerusalem, he is met by James, who confronts him with the rumor that he is teaching against the Law of Moses:

“You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law. They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs. What shall we do?”

To prove that he himself is “living in obedience to the law,” Paul accompanies some fellow Jewish Christians who are completing a vow at the Temple and pays the necessary fees for them. Paul is recognized, however, and he is nearly beaten to death by a mob, accused of the sin of bringing Gentiles into the Temple confines . Paul is rescued from being flogged when he informs a Roman commander that he is a citizen of Rome.

The Book of Acts does not record the outcome of Paul’s legal troubles. It concludes:

For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.

What Is The Purpose Of The Book Of Acts

There seem to be several purposes of Acts. Like the gospels, it presents a historical account of the church’s beginnings. It describes the founding of the church, and it continues to put an emphasis on evangelism as we see the church’s teachings grow around the world. It also gives gentiles a reason for possible conversion. It describes the way people fought against the other prominent religions and philosophies of the day.

The Book of Acts also goes into principles of living. It describes persecutions and specific situations that we even face today as we evangelize and live our lives in Christ. It gives examples of how Jesus’ promises came to fruition and how the disciples faced persecution and hardships head on. Luke describes the great devotion of the disciples to Jesus.

Without the Book of Acts, we would be looking at a far shorter New Testament. Between Luke and Acts, the two books make up a quarter of the New Testament. The book also provides a bridge between the gospels and the epistles that will come later. It provides us with a contextual reference for the letters we will read following.

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Why Did Luke Stop Writing So Suddenly

The book of Acts ends abruptly. Luke brings the story of Paul to the point where Paul, imprisoned in Rome, has been waiting for two years to be tried before Caesar.

But we read no more. What happened to Paul? Did he ever appear before Caesar? If so, was he condemned? Martyred? Acquitted? Released? Luke does not tell us.

Many suggestions are offered to explain the abruptness of this ending, but they are all speculation, and they all have holes:

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Who Wrote The Bible? Episode 5: The Gospels & Acts

Article by David Peach

David Peach has been in full time missions work with the Deaf since 1994. He has started several deaf ministries in various countries and established a deaf church in Mexico. David now works as Director of Deaf Ministries for his mission board.

David has written 207 articles on What Christians Want To Know! Read them in the archive below.

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Joel

Well done sir!Recently, I think its already been 2 months that I and my friend also make a list of the books in the bible. We make in to columns of 4. We named each columns, 1st Book, 2nd Name of Authors, 3rd Approximate Covered Years the book was written and the last 4th columns is for the Category My friend asked me this for his School of Leaders training in their church and it is useful for us. I will review my lists and make a revision if I have missed ones in my lists. Thank you sir this wonderful lists.

HATEGEKIMANA DANIEL

Dear Joel,

Could you please share with me that table that you elaborated , it will be much valuable to me?

Thank you

Joel

Sir David,Just want to ask if what is the appropriate to say for Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. In our lists we categorized it as History. In your list you say its a GOSPEL. I beleive that I have so much learn from you sir. Thanks! in Christ, Joel

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Interpretation Of The We Passages In Authorship Discussions

The “we” passagesa number of verses in Acts are written in the first person plural apparently indicating that the writer is participating in the events he is describingwere first interpreted by Irenaeus as evidence that the writer was a personal eyewitness of these events, and a companion of Paul on his travels the traditional Luke. This interpretation had come under sustained criticism by the middle of the twentieth century.

Although there currently exists no scholarly consensus on the “we” passages, three interpretations in particular have become dominant: a) the writer was a genuine historical eyewitness, b), the writer was redacting existing written material or oral sources, whether by genuine eyewitnesses or not, c) use of the first person plural is a deliberate stylistic device which was common to the genre of the work, but which was not intended to indicate a historical eyewitness. New Testament scholar Bart Ehrman goes beyond the theory of stylistic insertions to propose that the “we” passages are deliberate deceptions, designed to convince readers that the author was a travelling companion of Paul, even though he was not.

Concern For The Oppressed

The Gospel of Luke and Acts both devote a great deal of attention to the oppressed and downtrodden. In Luke’s Gospel, the impoverished are generally praised while the wealthy are criticized. Luke alone tells the parable of the Good Samaritan, while in Acts a large number of Samaritans join the church after the Jerusalem authorities launch a campaign to persecute those who believe in Jesus. In Acts, attention is given to the suffering of the early Christians, as in the case of Stephen’s martyrdom, Peter’s imprisonments, and Paul’s many sufferings for his preaching of Christianity.

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Clues From The Authors Literary Technique

Together with the Gospel of Luke and the Letter to the Hebrews, the book of Acts contains some of the most cultured Greek writing in the New Testament. On the other hand, roughness of Greek style turns up where Luke appears to be following Semitic sources or imitating the Septuagint.

Some scholars regard the speeches and sermons in Acts as literary devices improvised by Luke himself to fill out his stories. That some ancient historians followed such a practice is true, but not to the extent that has sometimes been claimed.

Although Luke need not have given verbatim reports of speeches and sermons, it does seem that he accurately gives the gist of what was said. Support for such accuracy comes from striking parallels of expression between Peters sermons in Acts and 1 Peter and between Pauls sermons in Acts and his letters.

These parallels can hardly have arisen by chance and no other evidence exists to indicate that Luke imitated or used in any other way the letters, or that Peter and Paul imitated Acts when writing their letters. The only adequate explanation: Luke did not make up the speeches and sermons, but summarized their contents so accurately that the characteristic phraseology of Peter and Paul is evident in Lukes reporting as well as in their letters.

Acts Reveals The Outpouring Of The Holy Spirit

Acts

The Gospel of John records a critical discussion between Jesus and His disciple:

All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. They will put you out of the synagogue in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them. I did not tell you this from the beginning because I was with you, but now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, “Where are you going?” Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things. But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned .

This advocate that Jesus is talking about is the Holy Spirit. We see the fulfillment of this promise in the second chapter of Acts as the Spirit is poured out on Jesus’s followers in Jerusalem. And it’s just as exciting and as dramatic as you might expect:

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New Testament: Who Wrote The Gospels

Just as the Old Testament chronicles the story of the Israelites in the millennium or so leading up to the birth of Jesus Christ, the New Testament records Jesuss life, from his birth and teachings to his death and later resurrection, a narrative that forms the fundamental basis of Christianity. Beginning around 70 A.D., about four decades after Jesuss crucifixion , four anonymously written chronicles of his life emerged that would become central documents in the Christian faith. Named for Jesuss most devoted earthly disciples, or apostlesMatthew, Mark, Luke and Johnthe four canonical Gospels were traditionally thought to be eyewitness accounts of Jesuss life, death and resurrection.

12th-13th century depiction of evangelists Luke and Matthew writing the Gospels.

But for more than a century, scholars have generally agreed that the Gospels, like many of the books of the New Testament, were not actually written by the people to whom they are attributed. In fact, it seems clear that the stories that form the basis of Christianity were first communicated orally, and passed down from generation to generation, before they were collected and written down.

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What Are Some Key Verses In Acts

When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance .

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Acts Is About The Church’s Birth

Acts’s story really begins with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and Peter’s dramatic sermon the result is a flame that spreads all across the Roman Empire. After the church is planted in Jerusalem, the believers are spiritually empowered and guided from there into “Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” . This, in a nutshell, is the entire theme of Acts.

Even though Acts talks about the work of the disciples, it’s the Holy Spirit that’s center stage. It’s through the Spirit’s empowerment that the disciples have the vision, courage, and motivation to grow the churchdespite heavy opposition and persecution.

The Old Testament: Various Schools Of Authors

The Book of Acts

To explain the Bibles contradictions, repetitions and general idiosyncrasies, most scholars today agree that the stories and laws it contains were communicated orally, through prose and poetry, over centuries. Starting around the 7th century B.C., different groups, or schools, of authors wrote them down at different times, before they were at some point combined into the single, multi-layered work we know today.

Of the three major blocks of source material that scholars agree comprise the Bibles first five books, the first was believed to have been written by a group of priests, or priestly authors, whose work scholars designate as P. A second block of source material is known as Dfor Deuteronomist, meaning the author of the vast majority of the book of Deuteronomy. The two of them are not really related to each other in any significant way, Baden explains, except that they’re both giving laws and telling a story of Israel’s early history.

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