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New Testament · Historical narrative

The Acts of the Apostles: Author, Context and Complete Study

Acts tells how the risen Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit, spread the good news from Jerusalem to Rome through his witnesses. Peter leads the first half and Paul the second, as a small Jewish movement becomes a church of Jews and Gentiles across the empire.

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What is Acts about?

Acts is the second volume of Luke's work and picks up where his Gospel ends: Jesus ascends to heaven, the Holy Spirit comes at Pentecost, and the apostles become his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8). The first chapters follow Peter and the church in Jerusalem; from chapter 13 the story follows Paul's missionary journeys through Asia Minor and Greece, his arrest in Jerusalem and his voyage to Rome. Along the way Gentiles are welcomed into God's people by faith, and the book ends with Paul preaching the kingdom of God in the capital of the empire without hindrance.

Author
The book is anonymous, but it continues the Gospel of Luke for the same reader, Theophilus (Acts 1:1), and tradition from Irenaeus onward names Luke, the physician who traveled with Paul.
Date
Probably the early 60s AD (others say AD 70-90); its events run from about AD 30 to AD 62.
First readers
Theophilus, probably a believer of some social standing, and through him churches of Jewish and Gentile believers across the Roman Empire who needed confidence in what they had been taught.
Genre
Historical narrative
Chapters
28 chapters
Key verse
Acts 1:8

Historical context

Acts covers about thirty years, from Jesus' ascension around AD 30 or 33 to Paul's two years under house arrest in Rome, around AD 60-62. Rome controlled the whole Mediterranean under the emperors Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius and Nero; Roman roads and sea lanes connected the provinces, and Greek was the common language of trade and culture. Judea was ruled by Roman governors, except during the short reign of Herod Agrippa I (AD 41-44), the king who killed James the brother of John and whose sudden death at Caesarea Acts records (12:1-2, 20-23). Later rulers appear by name: the governors Felix and Festus, before whom Paul defends himself, and King Agrippa II with Bernice (24-26).

Jews lived not only in Judea but in synagogue communities throughout the empire, and many Gentiles, whom Acts calls God-fearers, attended those synagogues without becoming Jews (10:2; 13:16). That network was the natural starting point of Paul's preaching. A few dates from outside the Bible anchor the story: the emperor Claudius expelled the Jews from Rome around AD 49 (18:2), and an inscription found at Delphi places Gallio's term as proconsul of Achaia around AD 51-52 (18:12). Meanwhile tensions inside Judea were rising toward the Jewish revolt and the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, an event Acts never mentions.

Geographical context

Acts follows the map of its key verse. It begins in Jerusalem, in the upper room, the temple courts and Solomon's Portico (chapters 1-7), then moves out to Samaria, to Lydda, Joppa and Caesarea on the coastal plain, and north to Damascus (8-12). Antioch of Syria, one of the great cities of the empire, becomes the second center of the church and the base from which Barnabas and Paul are sent out (11:19-26; 13:1-3).

Paul's journeys cross Cyprus and the southern part of the province of Galatia (Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra and Derbe), then Macedonia (Philippi, a Roman colony, Thessalonica and Berea) and Achaia (Athens and Corinth), with a long stay in Ephesus, the leading city of Asia and home of the famous temple of Artemis. The last chapters move from the Roman headquarters at Caesarea across the Mediterranean, past Crete to a shipwreck on Malta, and finally to Rome, the capital of the world the gospel was meant to reach.

Why does the book of Acts exist?

Luke wrote so that Theophilus would know the certainty of what he had been taught (Luke 1:4), and Acts carries that aim forward. His Gospel told all that Jesus began to do and teach (Acts 1:1); Acts shows the risen Lord continuing that work through the Holy Spirit and his witnesses. It answers questions the first believers faced: How did a movement that began among Jews in Jerusalem come to include people of every nation? Must Gentile believers be circumcised and keep the law of Moses? Why did so many in Israel reject their Messiah, and why was the gospel's leading messenger in Roman chains?

Acts shows that each step outward was God's initiative, confirmed by the Spirit, by visions and by the apostles and elders together (chapters 10-11 and 15). It also shows, case after case, that Roman officials found no crime in the Christians: Gallio dismisses the charges in Corinth, the town clerk of Ephesus calms the riot, and Agrippa concludes that Paul could have been set free (18:14-16; 19:35-41; 26:31-32). For the church of every age, Acts tells the story of its origins and offers a model of prayer, bold preaching, generosity and perseverance under opposition.

Outline of Acts

  1. Chapters 1-2

    The ascension and the coming of the Spirit

    Jesus appears for forty days, promises the Spirit and ascends; Matthias takes the place of Judas; at Pentecost the Spirit comes, Peter preaches, about three thousand are baptized and the first community devotes itself to teaching, fellowship and prayer.

  2. Chapters 3-7

    The church in Jerusalem

    A lame man is healed at the temple gate, Peter and John defy the council, believers share their goods, Ananias and Sapphira fall dead, the apostles are flogged, seven men are chosen to serve, and Stephen becomes the first martyr.

  3. Chapters 8-12

    Samaria, Saul and the first Gentiles

    Persecution scatters the church; Philip preaches in Samaria and baptizes an Ethiopian official; Saul meets the risen Jesus near Damascus; Peter brings the gospel to Cornelius; the church at Antioch grows; Herod kills James and Peter escapes from prison.

  4. Chapters 13-14

    Paul's first missionary journey

    Sent out by the church at Antioch, Barnabas and Paul preach in Cyprus and in the cities of southern Galatia, face rejection and stoning, appoint elders in each church and report how God opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.

  5. Chapter 15

    The Jerusalem Council

    The apostles and elders conclude that Gentiles are saved by grace without circumcision and send a letter to the churches; afterward Paul and Barnabas part ways over John Mark, and Paul sets out with Silas.

  6. Chapters 16-18

    Paul's second missionary journey

    With Silas and Timothy, Paul answers a call to Macedonia, founds churches in Philippi, Thessalonica and Berea, speaks at the Areopagus in Athens and spends a year and a half in Corinth; meanwhile Apollos is taught more accurately in Ephesus.

  7. Chapters 19-20

    Paul's third missionary journey

    Paul spends about three years in Ephesus, where the word spreads through Asia and a riot breaks out over the goddess Artemis; he revisits Macedonia and Greece, Eutychus is restored at Troas, and Paul says farewell to the Ephesian elders at Miletus.

  8. Chapters 21-26

    Arrest and trials

    Paul is seized in the temple in Jerusalem, rescued by Roman soldiers and moved to Caesarea, where he spends two years in custody, defends himself before Felix, Festus and King Agrippa, and finally appeals to Caesar.

  9. Chapters 27-28

    The voyage to Rome

    A storm wrecks the ship off Malta, yet everyone on board survives; Paul reaches Rome, speaks with the Jewish leaders and spends two years under house arrest proclaiming the kingdom of God boldly and without hindrance.

Famous passages in Acts

  • Acts 1:8

    The program of the book

    Before ascending, Jesus promises power when the Holy Spirit comes and sends his followers as witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. The verse works as a table of contents for Acts, which follows exactly that expanding map, and it remains the classic text on the mission of the church.

    Study Acts 1 →

  • Acts 2:1-41

    Pentecost

    On the Jewish feast of Pentecost the Spirit comes with a sound like a rushing wind and tongues as of fire, and the disciples speak in other languages to pilgrims from many nations. Peter explains the event with the prophecy of Joel, proclaims the crucified Jesus as Lord and Christ, and about three thousand people repent and are baptized.

    Study Acts 2 →

  • Acts 2:42-47

    The life of the first church

    The new believers devote themselves to the apostles' teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer, share their possessions with anyone in need and meet daily in the temple and in their homes. This short portrait has shaped how churches think about worship, community and generosity ever since.

    Study Acts 2 →

  • Acts 8:26-40

    Philip and the Ethiopian official

    An angel sends Philip to a desert road, where the treasurer of the queen of the Ethiopians is reading Isaiah 53 in his chariot. Philip begins with that very passage and tells him the good news about Jesus, and the man is baptized at the roadside. It is a vivid picture of personal evangelism and of the gospel reaching Africa.

    Study Acts 8 →

  • Acts 9:1-19

    Saul on the road to Damascus

    Saul, on his way to arrest believers, is surrounded by a light from heaven and hears Jesus ask why he is persecuting him. Blinded, he is led into Damascus, where Ananias lays hands on him; his sight returns and he is baptized. Acts tells this conversion three times (chapters 9, 22 and 26), a sign of how much it matters.

    Study Acts 9 →

  • Acts 10:1-48

    Peter and Cornelius

    A vision of clean and unclean animals prepares Peter to enter the home of Cornelius, a Roman centurion in Caesarea. While Peter is still preaching that God shows no partiality, the Holy Spirit falls on the Gentile listeners and they are baptized. It is the decisive opening of the church to the nations.

    Study Acts 10 →

  • Acts 16:25-34

    The Philippian jailer

    Beaten and fastened in the stocks, Paul and Silas are praying and singing hymns at midnight when an earthquake opens the prison doors. The jailer, about to take his own life, asks what he must do to be saved; they tell him to believe in the Lord Jesus, and that same night he and his household are baptized.

    Study Acts 16 →

  • Acts 17:22-31

    Paul at the Areopagus

    In Athens, Paul starts from an altar dedicated to an unknown god and quotes Greek poets to announce the Creator, who does not live in temples made by hands and who will judge the world by the man he raised from the dead. It is the model sermon for an audience with no knowledge of the Scriptures.

    Study Acts 17 →

Main themes

The power of the Holy Spirit
The Spirit drives the story: he empowers witness, fills believers with boldness, guides the missionaries, confirms the inclusion of new groups and sets apart leaders (2:4; 4:31; 13:2-4; 16:6-7). For that reason some readers call the book the Acts of the Holy Spirit.
Witness and the growth of the word
Luke marks the progress of the gospel with short reports that the word of God kept increasing and the disciples multiplied (6:7; 9:31; 12:24; 16:5; 19:20). The speeches of Peter, Stephen and Paul show what that witness proclaimed: Jesus crucified, risen and exalted as Lord.
One people from all nations
Acts traces how the barriers between Jews, Samaritans and Gentiles fall in Christ. The Ethiopian official, Cornelius, the church of Antioch and the Jerusalem Council show that God accepts people of every nation by grace through faith, without requiring them to become Jews (10:34-35; 15:8-11).
Suffering that advances the gospel
Arrests, floggings, stoning, riots and shipwreck never stop the message; persecution actually scatters it further (8:4; 11:19). The apostles rejoice to suffer for the name of Jesus (5:41), and Paul in chains still preaches to governors, to a king and finally in Rome.
The life of the church
Believers pray together, share possessions, care for widows, appoint elders, settle disputes in council and send out missionaries. Acts portrays a community devoted to teaching and prayer, generous with its goods and able to face conflict and correct course (2:42-47; 6:1-7; 15:6-29).
God's sovereign plan
From the death of Jesus, which happened according to God's definite plan (2:23), to the storm that cannot keep Paul from Rome (27:23-26), Acts insists that God directs history, keeps his promises and uses even the hostility of rulers to accomplish his purpose (4:27-28).

Main characters

Peter
Leader of the apostles in the first twelve chapters. He preaches at Pentecost, heals the lame man, stands firm before the council and, after a vision, opens the door to the Gentiles in the house of Cornelius. His last appearance is at the Jerusalem Council (15:7-11).
Paul (Saul of Tarsus)
A Pharisee educated under Gamaliel who persecuted the church until the risen Jesus met him near Damascus. He becomes the apostle to the Gentiles, leads three missionary journeys and dominates the second half of the book, which ends with him preaching in Rome.
Stephen
One of the seven chosen to serve the widows, full of grace and power. His long speech retells Israel's history and accuses the council of resisting the Spirit; he is stoned while praying for his killers, with Saul looking on (6:8-7:60).
Philip
Another of the seven, later called the evangelist. He preaches in Samaria, baptizes the Ethiopian official and settles in Caesarea, where Paul stays in his home years later; he had four unmarried daughters who prophesied (8:4-40; 21:8-9).
Barnabas
A Levite from Cyprus whose name means son of encouragement. He gives the price of a field to the apostles, vouches for the newly converted Saul, leads the church in Antioch and joins Paul on the first journey, later parting from him over John Mark (4:36-37; 9:27; 15:36-39).
James, the brother of the Lord
The leading elder of the church in Jerusalem. At the council he proposes that Gentile believers should not be burdened with circumcision, and he welcomes Paul on his last visit to the city (12:17; 15:13-21; 21:18).
Cornelius
A centurion of the Italian Cohort stationed in Caesarea, devout and generous, who feared God with all his household. An angel tells him to send for Peter, and his household becomes the first group of Gentiles to receive the Spirit and baptism (Acts 10).
Silas
A leader and prophet of the Jerusalem church who carries the council's letter to Antioch and then becomes Paul's companion in place of Barnabas. He is jailed with Paul at Philippi and works with him in Thessalonica, Berea and Corinth (15:22-40; 16:19-40; 18:5).
Priscilla and Aquila
A Jewish couple who left Rome when Claudius expelled the Jews. Tentmakers like Paul, they host him in Corinth, travel with him to Ephesus and take Apollos aside to explain the way of God more accurately (18:1-3, 18-26).
Lydia
A dealer in purple cloth from Thyatira and a worshiper of God whom Paul meets by the river at Philippi. The Lord opens her heart, she is baptized with her household, and her home becomes the meeting place of the new church in that city (16:14-15, 40).

In-depth study of Acts

Introduction

Without Acts, the New Testament would jump from the empty tomb straight to the letters of Paul, with no story to explain how a handful of Galilean disciples became churches in Rome, Corinth and Ephesus. Acts fills that gap. It is the second volume of a two-part work by the same author as the Gospel of Luke, and it narrates about thirty years of history, from the ascension of Jesus to Paul's imprisonment in Rome.

The traditional title, the Acts of the Apostles, is a little narrow. Most of the twelve apostles disappear after the first chapters, and the real protagonist is the risen Lord, working through his Spirit. Acts is a book about mission: it shows the church praying, preaching, suffering, debating and crossing one border after another until the message of Jesus reaches the capital of the world.

Who wrote Acts and when?

The link with the Gospel of Luke

Acts opens by addressing Theophilus and recalling a first book about all that Jesus began to do and teach (Acts 1:1). The Gospel of Luke is dedicated to the same man (Luke 1:3), and both books share vocabulary, style and interests such as prayer, the Holy Spirit, the poor and the inclusion of outsiders. Luke ends with the promise of power from on high and the ascension (Luke 24:49-51); Acts begins with the same scenes.

The we passages

In four stretches the narrator suddenly writes we instead of they (16:10-17; 20:5-15; 21:1-18; 27:1-28:16). The simplest explanation is that the author was there, joining Paul at Troas, staying behind at Philippi and later sailing with him to Jerusalem and to Rome. Among Paul's known companions, Luke fits well: he is with Paul in Rome according to Colossians 4:14 and Philemon 24. From the second century on, Irenaeus and other writers name Luke, and no other author was ever proposed in the early church.

Dating views

  • Early 60s AD. The book ends with Paul awaiting trial, around AD 62, and says nothing of his death, of Nero's persecution in AD 64 or of the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. Many evangelical scholars think Luke wrote at about that time.
  • AD 70-90. Many other scholars think Luke's Gospel used Mark and was written after AD 70, which would place Acts somewhat later. They explain the ending as a deliberate literary choice.

Literary style and structure

History told with care

Luke writes as a Greek historian would, with a dedication, a clear sequence of events and precise details. He gets titles right that changed from place to place: proconsuls govern Cyprus and Achaia (13:7; 18:12), Philippi is a Roman colony with its own magistrates (16:12, 20-22), and Thessalonica has city officials called politarchs (17:6), a title confirmed by inscriptions.

Speeches and summaries

Somewhere between a quarter and a third of the book is made up of speeches: Peter at Pentecost and in the temple, Stephen before the council, Paul in the synagogue of Pisidian Antioch, at the Areopagus, before the Ephesian elders and before Agrippa. Luke condenses them, but they show how the gospel was preached to Jews, to pagans and to rulers. Between the episodes, short summaries report that the word of God kept growing (6:7; 9:31; 12:24; 16:5; 19:20), dividing the book into panels.

Two halves and an expanding map

The structure follows Acts 1:8: Jerusalem (1-7), Judea and Samaria (8-12), and the ends of the earth (13-28). Peter dominates the first half and Paul the second, and Luke draws deliberate parallels between them:

  1. Both heal a man lame from birth (3:1-10; 14:8-10).
  2. Both confront a sorcerer (8:18-24; 13:6-11).
  3. Both see healings through unusual means, Peter's shadow and Paul's handkerchiefs (5:15; 19:11-12).
  4. Both raise the dead (9:36-41; 20:9-12).
  5. Both are freed from prison by divine intervention (12:6-11; 16:25-26).

The point is that the same Lord works through the apostle to the Jews and the apostle to the Gentiles.

Acts in the story of the Bible

Acts stands between the Gospels and the letters. It continues the Gospel of Luke and gives the setting for many of Paul's letters: Philippians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Corinthians and Ephesians are written to churches whose founding Acts describes (16-20).

The book is also full of the Old Testament. Peter explains Pentecost with Joel's promise that God would pour out his Spirit on all flesh (2:16-21) and proves the resurrection from Psalm 16 and Psalm 110 (2:25-35). The believers pray Psalm 2 under threat (4:25-26). Stephen retells Israel's story from Abraham to Solomon's temple (7:2-50). Isaiah 53 opens the conversation with the Ethiopian official (8:32-35); Isaiah 49:6, the servant as a light for the nations, justifies the turn to the Gentiles (13:47); Amos 9:11-12 supports the decision of the Jerusalem Council (15:16-18); and the book ends with Isaiah 6:9-10 (28:25-28). Peter also reminds his hearers of the promise to Abraham that all the families of the earth would be blessed (3:25).

Many readers see Pentecost, where people of many languages hear one message, as God's answer to the scattering of the nations at Babel (Genesis 11). Acts presents itself as the fulfillment of the Scriptures: the restored people of God, with Gentiles included, living in the last days that the prophets announced.

Acts and Jesus Christ

Acts is not only about the church; it is about Jesus at work after his ascension. He gives commands through the Spirit (1:2), pours out the Spirit he received from the Father (2:33), adds to the church those who are being saved (2:47) and appears in person at decisive moments: to Stephen, standing at the right hand of God (7:55-56); to Saul, asking why he persecutes him, which shows that to persecute the church is to persecute Christ (9:4-5); and to Paul in Corinth and Jerusalem, promising his presence (18:9-10; 23:11).

The sermons give Jesus a rich set of titles: Lord and Christ (2:36), the Author of life (3:15), the prophet like Moses (3:22), the rejected stone that became the cornerstone (4:11), Leader and Savior (5:31) and the one appointed to judge the living and the dead (10:42; 17:31). Their message is always the same: Jesus was crucified, God raised him and exalted him, and forgiveness of sins is offered in his name to everyone who believes (2:38; 10:43; 13:38-39). Salvation is found in no one else (4:12).

Interpretive challenges

Description or prescription?

Acts tells what happened; not everything it tells is meant to be repeated. The early believers in Jerusalem shared their possessions voluntarily (2:44-45; 4:32-37), but Peter makes clear that Ananias was free to keep his land (5:4). The usual approach is to look for what Luke presents as a pattern, repeated and approved across the book, and to read single events in the light of the teaching of the letters.

Why does the Spirit come in different ways?

At Pentecost the Spirit comes on believers who were waiting (2:1-4); in Samaria the Spirit is given only when Peter and John lay hands on baptized believers (8:14-17); with Cornelius the Spirit falls before baptism (10:44-48); and in Ephesus disciples who knew only John's baptism receive the Spirit after being baptized in the name of Jesus (19:1-7). Some interpreters see these as unique moments that mark the entry of each new group into the church, after which every believer receives the Spirit at conversion. Others see in them a pattern of a distinct filling or empowering that believers may still seek. Both views agree that the Spirit is God's gift to all who belong to Christ (2:38-39).

How does Acts fit with Paul's letters?

Readers sometimes notice differences, such as Paul circumcising Timothy (16:3) while insisting in Galatians that circumcision adds nothing to salvation, or the number of Paul's visits to Jerusalem. Most evangelical scholars think the accounts fit once purpose is considered: Timothy, of Jewish mother, was circumcised to open doors among Jews, not to be saved, and the visits of Galatians 1-2 can be matched with Acts 9, 11 and 15 in reasonable ways.

Little-known facts

  • Luke wrote more of the New Testament than Paul. Measured by words, Luke and Acts together make up more than a quarter of the New Testament.
  • Saul was not renamed at his conversion. Luke keeps calling him Saul for several years and switches to Paul only in Cyprus, noting that he was also called Paul (13:9). As a Jew with Roman citizenship, he probably had both names from childhood.
  • The name Christians began in Antioch (11:26). It appears only three times in the New Testament (Acts 11:26; 26:28; 1 Peter 4:16).
  • A saying of Jesus not found in the Gospels. Paul reminds the Ephesian elders that the Lord said it is more blessed to give than to receive (20:35).
  • Outside sources confirm details. The Jewish historian Josephus also describes the sudden death of Herod Agrippa I at Caesarea (12:20-23), and the Delphi inscription naming Gallio helps date Paul's stay in Corinth to about AD 51-52.
  • The ship to Rome carried 276 people (27:37), and all of them reached the shore of Malta alive (27:44).

How to study Acts

A reading plan

Read Acts first in two or three sittings to feel the momentum of the story, then slowly, one chapter a day for four weeks. Keep a map of the eastern Mediterranean at hand and trace each journey; the geography is part of the message.

What to look for

  • Every mention of the Holy Spirit and what he does.
  • The summary reports of growth and where they fall.
  • The speeches: what each preacher says about Jesus and how he adapts to his audience.
  • The new groups that receive the gospel: Samaritans, an Ethiopian, Roman soldiers, Greek philosophers, women of business, jailers.
  • How the church responds to opposition and to internal conflict.

Teaching it in a class or small group

An eight or nine week series can follow the outline: Pentecost; the Jerusalem church; Stephen and Philip; Saul's conversion; Cornelius; the first journey and the council; the second journey; the third journey; arrest, trials and Rome. In each session ask three questions: What did God do? How did the believers respond? What would faithful witness look like in our town this week? Acts is best taught not as a museum of the past but as the first chapters of a story that continues in every church that prays and proclaims Jesus.

Acts chapter by chapter

Every chapter of Acts with a summary, key verses explained, themes, people, questions with answers and application.

Frequently asked questions about Acts

Who wrote the book of Acts?

The book does not name its author, but it is the second volume of a work addressed to Theophilus, whose first volume is the Gospel of Luke (Luke 1:1-4; Acts 1:1). The sections told in the first person plural (16:10-17; 20:5-21:18; 27:1-28:16) show that the author traveled with Paul, and from the second century onward, with Irenaeus and others, the church named Luke, the beloved physician of Colossians 4:14.

When was Acts written?

Many evangelical scholars date it to about AD 62, because the book ends with Paul still awaiting trial in Rome and says nothing about his death, the persecution under Nero in AD 64 or the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70. Others place it between AD 70 and 90, after the Gospel of Luke, which they date later than Mark. The events themselves run from about AD 30 to 62.

What is the main message of Acts?

The risen Jesus continues his work through the Holy Spirit and through the church he sends as his witnesses. Acts shows the gospel crossing every border, from Jerusalem to Samaria, to the Gentiles and to Rome, and it proclaims that salvation is found in no one else but Jesus (Acts 4:12), offered to Jews and Gentiles alike by grace through faith.

How many chapters does Acts have and how is it organized?

Acts has 28 chapters. Chapters 1-7 take place in Jerusalem, chapters 8-12 move to Judea, Samaria and the first Gentile believers, and chapters 13-28 follow Paul: three missionary journeys with the Jerusalem Council in the middle (13-20), then his arrest, trials and voyage to Rome (21-28). Peter is the main figure of the first half and Paul of the second.

How many missionary journeys did Paul make in Acts?

Acts describes three journeys that set out from Antioch of Syria: the first to Cyprus and southern Galatia (13-14), the second to Macedonia and Achaia (15:36-18:22) and the third centered on Ephesus (18:23-21:16). The voyage to Rome as a prisoner (27-28) is sometimes counted as a fourth journey, although Paul did not travel by his own choice.

What happened at Pentecost in Acts 2?

Pentecost was the Jewish harvest festival celebrated fifty days after Passover. That year the Holy Spirit came on the gathered disciples, who spoke in other languages understood by Jews from many lands. Peter explained it as the fulfillment of Joel's prophecy about the outpouring of the Spirit and called the crowd to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus; about three thousand believed (Acts 2:1-41).

Why does Acts end without telling what happened to Paul?

Acts closes with Paul under house arrest in Rome for two whole years, preaching without hindrance (28:30-31). Some think Luke wrote at that very moment; others think he stopped there on purpose because the goal set in 1:8 had been reached, with the gospel at the heart of the empire. Early church tradition holds that Paul was later executed in Rome under Nero, and some ancient writers say he was first released and traveled further.

Who was Theophilus?

Theophilus, whose name means friend of God or loved by God, is the person to whom Luke dedicates both volumes. The title most excellent (Luke 1:3) was used for people of rank, so he may have been an official or a patron who supported the work. Some have suggested that the name stands for every lover of God, but most interpreters think he was a real person.

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