A Study of Acts: Luke’s First Account
A Study of Acts: Luke’s First Account
Acts 1:1-2; Luke 1:1-4 - Dear Friends of God - Study these accurate accounts written by Luke of the story of Jesus and what He has done and is still doing.
“The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when He was taken up to heaven, after He had by the Holy Spirit given orders to the apostles whom He had chosen.”
Acts 1:1-2 NASB1995
Luke begins Acts with a personal note to a “Theophilus”. Luke is describing the first account that he wrote about all that Jesus began to do and teach until the day He was taken up to heaven. This follows on from his introduction to the Gospel:
“Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus; so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught.”
Luke 1:1-4 NASB1995
Theophilus is translated from the Greek as “friend of God”. Many commentators believe he was a real person, possibly a Roman of higher status because he is addressed as “most excellent Theophilus” in the introduction to the Gospel of Luke. Here is what Enduring Word says about Theophilus:
Theophilus: This man might have been a Christian wanting instruction. He might have been a Roman official being briefed by Luke about the history of the Christian movement. Or, the name could be symbolic, because the name Theophilus means “God-lover.”
In the introduction to the first volume (Luke 1:3), Luke addresses Theophilus with title most excellent, which was a way to address people who held high office.
Since Acts ends with Paul awaiting trial before Caesar, some have wondered if Luke-Acts are not “defense briefs” on Paul’s behalf to give a Roman official background on Paul’s case. Luke arrived in Jerusalem with Paul in Acts 21:17; he left with him again on the journey to Rome in Acts 27:1. In those two years, Luke had plenty of time to research and write his Gospel and the Book of Acts.
“Ancient books were generally written on papyrus scrolls. It was practical to have a scroll about thirty-five feet in length. When it got any longer it got too bulky to carry around. This physical limitation has determined the length of many books of the Bible.” (James Montgomery Boice). Luke used two scrolls to tell his story, and one we call “The Gospel of Luke” and the other we call “The Book of Acts.”
Luke wanted to show Theophilus and the Romans:
That Christianity is harmless (some Romans officials had embraced it themselves).
That Christianity is innocent (Roman judges could find no basis for prosecution).
That Christianity is lawful (as the true fulfillment of Judaism, which was an approved religion in the Roman Empire).
Interesting background! The insight into the size of the papyrus scrolls and how it limits the length of Bible books makes a lot of sense. All of us can probably be grateful that Paul did not have a digital computer and the internet at his command (a bad joke, folks).
So Luke briefly refers to the Ascension in verse 2; there is more detail in the following verses about Jesus after the Resurrection. Luke tells Theophilus that the Holy Spirit gave orders to the apostles that He had selected.
Let’s do a word study! “Apostles” comes from the Greek word ἀπόστολος or apóstolos, with the following Biblical usages; Strong’s G652 is used 80 times in the New Testament:
a delegate, messenger, one sent forth with orders
specifically applied to the twelve apostles of Christ
in a broader sense applied to other eminent Christian teachers
of Barnabas
of Timothy and Silvanus
Of course one of the twelve disciples is now gone (Judas), so we soon see in early passages of Acts the appointment of someone to replace him. The nomenclature of “apostle” is also applied to other Christian teachers, including Paul.
Note that I emphasized the word “began” earlier in this devotional. Enduring Word noticed this, too, and had this to say about verse 2:
Of all that Jesus began both to do and teach: Notice that the former account concerned all that Jesus began both to do and teach. Luke’s Gospel describes only the beginning of Jesus’ work; Acts describes its continuation; and the work of Jesus continues to our present day.
We must remember that Acts does not give us a full history of the church during this period. For example, the churches in Galilee and Samaria are barely mentioned (Acts 9:31), and the establishing of a strong church in Egypt during this time isn’t mentioned at all.
Acts spans a period of about 30 years, and takes us up to about A.D. 60 or 61, with Paul in Rome waiting to appear before Caesar Nero. This same Nero began his infamous persecutions of Christians in A.D. 64.
Wonderfully, what Jesus began still continues. There is a real sense in which the Book of Acts continues to be written today. Not in an authoritative Scriptural sense; but in the sense of God’s continued work in the world by His Spirit, through His church.
“The Acts of the Apostles should therefore be studied mainly for this double purpose: first, to trace our Lord’s unseen but actual continuance of his divine teaching and working; and, secondly, to trace the active ministry of the Holy Spirit as the abiding presence in the church.” (Arthur Pierson)
It is not known how many believers of Jesus there were before and just after His crucifixion and resurrection, but what we we can know is that a small, rag-tag group of disciples are now moving forward in powerful ways to establish this new church, as we will see as we study Acts. Even though in our time Christianity is not growing as fast as it used to and has actually lost believers in places like the US and Europe due to the influence of unbelievers and the growth of Islam, this Pew Research map shows that it is still the preferred faith of almost 2.4 billion people. The Holy Spirit is indeed powerful!
My next devotional examines Acts 1:3-5, where Jesus appears to many before His ascension and the apostles receive instructions from Him.
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - I pray that I can be inspired by the Holy Spirit as I start this journey through the “end of the beginning” of the works of Jesus. Amen.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Commentary from Enduring Word by David Guzik is used with written permission.
The Blue Letter Bible was accessed on 7/4/2024 to review the lexicon for Theophilus and Apostle.