• Writer: Luke

    • II Timothy 4:11; Philemon 1:24

    • Luke 1:2 – Not a personal eyewitness of Jesus

    • Colossians 4:14

    • All early records unanimously name Luke as the writer of Luke and Acts.

    • Three indicators that Luke wrote both Luke and Acts
To whom addressed? “… to write out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus” (Luke 1:3) “The first account I composed, Theophilus …” (Acts 1:1)
Continuity of action “He parted from them and was carried up into heaven” (Luke 24:51) “The first account … until the day when He was taken up” (Acts 1:2)
Continuity of promise “I am sending forth the promise of my Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city …” (Luke 24:49) “He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised” (Acts 1:4)

  • Theophilus

    • Nothing is known about him. The name means “friend of God.” Theophilus could be a specific person or a general term for any friend of God.

  • Summary:

  • The apostles wait with great anticipation - Acts 1:1-12

    • John 14:16-17, 26; 15:16, 26-27; 16:13; 17:18; 20:21; Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16; Luke 24:47-49

    • Acts 1:1-12 reviews and continues this great anticipation.

  • Carrying out the great commission – Acts 1:8

    • Jerusalem – Acts 2-7

    • Judea and Samaria – Acts 8-12

    • Remotest part of the earth – Acts 13-28

    • Isaiah 2:1-3 – This is the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy.

  • Jesus ascends into Heaven – Acts 1:9-11

    • Jesus left as part of the divine plan. He did not fail but left on His own terms.

    • Acts 7:55 – Stephen later saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

  • Bible contradiction? Acts 1:8

  • Selecting a new apostle – Acts 1:15-26

    • The new apostle had to be an eyewitness of Jesus.

  • “Witnessing”

    • The word “witness” is used many times in the New Testament, but people use it in a different way today. The apostles were witnesses of things they had seen with their own eyes.

    • The apostles were the prime witnesses.

      • Luke 24:46-48; John 15:26-27; 19:35; 20:30-31; 21:24; Acts 1:8, 22; 2:32, 40; 3:15; 4:33; 5:32; 8:25; 10:39-42; 13:3

    • The apostles could tell people what they had seen with their own eyes.

      • I Peter 5:1; II Peter 1:16-19; I John 1:1-4; 4:14; Revelation 1:1-2

    • Matthias qualified as an apostle because he was an eyewitness. Acts 1:21-22

    • Paul became a witness because Jesus appeared to him.

      • Acts 9:3-5; 18:5; 20:21, 24; 22:14-15; 23:11; 26:16, 22; 28:23; I Corinthians 15:15