The Acts of the Apostles
The book of Acts, technically called the Acts of the Apostles, chronicles the early work of the apostles & the beginnings of the Christian church over about a 40 year period. It was penned by Luke who was a doctor by trade (Col 4.14) & the same strident historian who wrote the Gospel book of Luke. He opens the book of Acts with the resurrected Jesus explaining to the disciples that the Holy Spirit was about to come upon them & then charging them with what is known as the “Great Commission” right before His ascension into heaven (also recorded in Mt 28:16-20 & Mk 16.15-18).
As a matter of clarification, just because the Great Commission was given to the apostles, it doesn’t mean later generations are exempt from it. The apostles didn’t reach the ends of the earth or the end of the age, so all Christians are to take Christ’s Gospel message & the teaching given to the apostles & use it to make disciples of all people until the Jesus returns.
As a matter of clarification, just because the Great Commission was given to the apostles, it doesn’t mean later generations are exempt from it. The apostles didn’t reach the ends of the earth or the end of the age, so all Christians are to take Christ’s Gospel message & the teaching given to the apostles & use it to make disciples of all people until the Jesus returns.
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw Him they worshiped Him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” – Matthew 28.16-20
Now Judas Iscariot, one of the original 12 apostles, had betrayed Jesus & subsequently killed himself (Mt 27.3-5). The 11 remaining apostles realized Judas had unwittingly fulfilled a prophecy of Scripture about the Messiah (Acts 1.15-20, Ps 41.9) as Jesus had foretold (Jn 13.21, 17.12). Drawing further on Scripture (Acts 1.20, Ps 69.25, 109.8), the “eleven” sought to backfill Judas’s apostolic position & also because they had been working in pairs (Mk 6.7) so they needed an even number to better fulfill their mission.
So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.” And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias. And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles. – Acts 1.21-26
Thus there were once again 12 apostles after the Lord Jesus answered their prayer by choosing Matthias via his cast lot. Notice their primary duty was also a primary qualification – to be a “witness to His (Jesus’s) resurrection”.
- Apostolic Qualification #3: An apostle had to witness the resurrected Christ (See the section on the Gospels for #1 & 2).
And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. – Acts 4.33
And they (Christians) devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. – Acts 2.42-43
Here are examples of God’s affirmation of the apostles' work through some of the specific types of miracles that Jesus noted would accompany His true teaching (Mt 10.8):
In addition to the apostles discussed so far, the book of Acts mentions a few other noteworthy individuals. The first to note is a man named Saul who was an ardent persecutor of Christians. He has an eye-opening encounter with the resurrected Christ, subsequently converts to Christianity & then carries out various missions as an apostle under a new name – Paul (Acts 13.9). The latter part of the book of Acts covers some of His excursions (To learn more, see section on the Writings of Paul).
Next is the author, Luke. As he writes this book, he starts by strictly using third-person pronouns (i.e. they, them), then in Acts 16.10 & occasionally thereafter uses first-person pronouns (i.e. we & us). The context indicates he was traveling with the Apostle Paul who incidentally mentions him in 3 of his writings (Col 4.10, 14, 2 Tim 4.11, Phm 1.24).
Also a young man by the name of Mark (a.k.a. John Mark) is noted in Acts 12.12, 25, 13.5, 13 & 15.37-39. Likewise, Paul also notes him in the same 3 letters alongside Luke, confirming that both Luke & Mark were traveling & ministering directly with the Apostle Paul. Furthermore, the Apostle Peter uses the endearing term “my son” to refer to Mark (1 Pet 5.13). While neither Luke nor Mark are ever referred to as apostles in the Bible, they were certainly closely associated with Apostles Peter & Paul. And it is thought that Peter provided much of the content for Mark’s Gospel account. Therefore, they satisfy the apostolicity method in revealing what is New Testament scripture.
Another person worth pointing out is Mark’s cousin who’s called Barnabas (Col 4.10), meaning “son of encouragement” (Acts 4.36). True to his name, it was Barnabas who came alongside Paul after his conversion & introduced him to some rather skeptical apostles (Acts 9.26-27). He & Paul traveled together on missionary journeys & Barnabas even performed miracles (Acts 14.3, 15.12). He is called an apostle (Acts 4.36, 14.4, 14) & while none of his writings are in the New Testament, he did teach alongside Paul, who later notes him in 2 of his letters (1 Cor 9.6, Gal 2.1, 9).
Lastly, we note a disciple named Timothy who was also a traveling companion of Paul’s & is noted frequently in Acts. While Timothy was not an apostle & neither did he write any of the New Testament, he was the initial target audience for 2 of Paul’s letters which are named after him. Additionally, Timothy is included in the opening greeting alongside Paul in 6 of his letters (2 Cor 1.1, Php 1.1, Col 1.1, 1 Thes 1.1, 2 Thes 1.1 & Phm 1.1). Elsewhere, Paul affectionately calls him “my beloved and faithful child in the Lord” (1 Cor 4.17) & “our brother and God's coworker in the gospel of Christ” (1 Thes 3.2). In fact, his name shows up in 12 of the 27 New Testament books which most interestingly includes the book of Hebrews (Heb 13.23 – more about that in the Writings of Paul).
The book of Acts goes on to tell how the Apostles obeyed God’s call to deliver their message to various regions & establish many local churches (communities of Christians). It is to these churches that many of the Apostles would later return to teach (1 Cor 4.17) & write letters (epistles) regarding Christian teaching (doctrine) that now make up the New Testament. Some letters were directed to individuals, but most were written to churches & often were meant to be circulated to other churches in surrounding regions (Col 4.16, Gal 1.1-2, 1 Pet 1.1-2, Rev 1.4-5). Therefore, their authors would often introduce themselves as apostles to establish the credibility of their content. The Apostle Peter even encourages readers to heed the instruction of other apostles.
- Healing the Sick (Acts 3.1-10, 9.32-35, 14.8-10, 19.11-12)
- Casting Out Demons (Acts 16.16-18, 19.11-12)
- Raising the Dead (Acts 9.36-43, 20.9-10)
In addition to the apostles discussed so far, the book of Acts mentions a few other noteworthy individuals. The first to note is a man named Saul who was an ardent persecutor of Christians. He has an eye-opening encounter with the resurrected Christ, subsequently converts to Christianity & then carries out various missions as an apostle under a new name – Paul (Acts 13.9). The latter part of the book of Acts covers some of His excursions (To learn more, see section on the Writings of Paul).
Next is the author, Luke. As he writes this book, he starts by strictly using third-person pronouns (i.e. they, them), then in Acts 16.10 & occasionally thereafter uses first-person pronouns (i.e. we & us). The context indicates he was traveling with the Apostle Paul who incidentally mentions him in 3 of his writings (Col 4.10, 14, 2 Tim 4.11, Phm 1.24).
Also a young man by the name of Mark (a.k.a. John Mark) is noted in Acts 12.12, 25, 13.5, 13 & 15.37-39. Likewise, Paul also notes him in the same 3 letters alongside Luke, confirming that both Luke & Mark were traveling & ministering directly with the Apostle Paul. Furthermore, the Apostle Peter uses the endearing term “my son” to refer to Mark (1 Pet 5.13). While neither Luke nor Mark are ever referred to as apostles in the Bible, they were certainly closely associated with Apostles Peter & Paul. And it is thought that Peter provided much of the content for Mark’s Gospel account. Therefore, they satisfy the apostolicity method in revealing what is New Testament scripture.
Another person worth pointing out is Mark’s cousin who’s called Barnabas (Col 4.10), meaning “son of encouragement” (Acts 4.36). True to his name, it was Barnabas who came alongside Paul after his conversion & introduced him to some rather skeptical apostles (Acts 9.26-27). He & Paul traveled together on missionary journeys & Barnabas even performed miracles (Acts 14.3, 15.12). He is called an apostle (Acts 4.36, 14.4, 14) & while none of his writings are in the New Testament, he did teach alongside Paul, who later notes him in 2 of his letters (1 Cor 9.6, Gal 2.1, 9).
Lastly, we note a disciple named Timothy who was also a traveling companion of Paul’s & is noted frequently in Acts. While Timothy was not an apostle & neither did he write any of the New Testament, he was the initial target audience for 2 of Paul’s letters which are named after him. Additionally, Timothy is included in the opening greeting alongside Paul in 6 of his letters (2 Cor 1.1, Php 1.1, Col 1.1, 1 Thes 1.1, 2 Thes 1.1 & Phm 1.1). Elsewhere, Paul affectionately calls him “my beloved and faithful child in the Lord” (1 Cor 4.17) & “our brother and God's coworker in the gospel of Christ” (1 Thes 3.2). In fact, his name shows up in 12 of the 27 New Testament books which most interestingly includes the book of Hebrews (Heb 13.23 – more about that in the Writings of Paul).
The book of Acts goes on to tell how the Apostles obeyed God’s call to deliver their message to various regions & establish many local churches (communities of Christians). It is to these churches that many of the Apostles would later return to teach (1 Cor 4.17) & write letters (epistles) regarding Christian teaching (doctrine) that now make up the New Testament. Some letters were directed to individuals, but most were written to churches & often were meant to be circulated to other churches in surrounding regions (Col 4.16, Gal 1.1-2, 1 Pet 1.1-2, Rev 1.4-5). Therefore, their authors would often introduce themselves as apostles to establish the credibility of their content. The Apostle Peter even encourages readers to heed the instruction of other apostles.
This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles
– 2 Peter 3.1-2
The Acts of the Apostles was written while many of the Apostles were still alive so they could have contended or corrected it if any of it was false which would have given rise to multiple conflicting accounts, but that’s not what we find. After all, these men were dedicated to teaching a morality that honored God which included promoting what was true & exposing what was false. Because these men not only taught with authority & conviction, but also practiced what they preached – and not to mention, God performed some amazing miracles through them – the teachings of the apostles were held in high esteem by early Christians. As a result, their writings were passed around, copied & subsequently preserved in the process.
- Inter-Author Reference: Nearly every author of the New Testament is mentioned in the book of Acts. (No one knows who wrote the book of Hebrews, but some believe it to be the Apostle Paul which would mean all the authors are mentioned in Acts.)