Acts
New Testament · translated from the Greek
The continuation of the Gospel of Luke: the Holy Spirit comes at Pentecost, and the good news spreads from Jerusalem to Judea, Samaria and as far as Rome, first through Peter and then through Paul and his journeys.
How it is laid out
Key verses
- Acts 1:8 — You will receive power and be my witnesses
- Acts 2:38 — Change your minds, and let each of you be immersed
- Acts 4:12 — There is salvation in no other one
- Acts 16:31 — Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved
Who wrote it
It was written by the author of the Gospel of Luke, who also addresses Theophilus (1:1). From 16:10 some passages are told in the first person (“we”), as by a travel companion of Paul. Irenaeus, late in the 2nd century, attributes it to Luke (Against Heresies 3.14.1).
When it was written
Debated: around AD 62, when the story ends (28:30), or somewhat later.
For whom, and in what situation
Theophilus, like the Gospel of Luke (1:1). It tells how the message about Jesus went from Jerusalem to Judea, Samaria and the non-Jews (1:8), and ends with Paul a prisoner in Rome, proclaiming without hindrance (28:30-31).
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