he book of Acts of the Apostles was written by Luke, as a continuation of the Gospel of Luke. Acts of the Apostles was written for a man named Theophilus, telling of the beginning of the church and the spread of the gospel.
Lucas was a doctor who accompanied Paul on some of his travels. He was probably a converted Gentile, who did not know Jesus, but he met people who had direct contact with Jesus. Luke wrote Acts of the Apostles as a continuation of his gospel, so that Theophilus could be sure of the things he learned about Jesus ( Luke 1: 3-4 ; Acts of the Apostles 1: 1-2 ).
See here: who was Luke in the Bible?
Why did Luke write Acts of the Apostles?
Lucas wanted to record how the church started. Christianity was growing rapidly and there were many different stories circulating about how it started ( Luke 1: 1-2 ). Lucas investigated everything carefully, collected reports from people who saw what really happened and organized the information.
In his first book, the Gospel of Luke, he told about the life and ministry of Jesus, which is the main subject of Christianity. The Acts of the Apostles continues the story, showing how Jesus’ disciples founded the church and began to preach the gospel to the whole world.
In Acts of the Apostles, Luke showed that it was God who founded the church. It was not just a new philosophy or a sect of Judaism. Jesus was resurrected and sent his disciples to announce the gospel to all peoples. The Holy Spirit of God enabled the disciples to do this work and that is why they were so successful ( Acts 1: 7-8 ).
Luke also wrote Acts of the Apostles to show that the gospel is for everyone, not just Jews ( Acts 10: 34-35 ). People of many nationalities and backgrounds were converted and received the Holy Spirit in the early days of the church. Before, the Bible focused a lot on the Jewish people but now God has started to fulfill his promise to bless all the peoples of the earth.
See also: who were the Gentiles in the Bible?
When did Luke write Acts of the Apostles?
Luke probably wrote Acts of the Apostles before the destruction of the Jerusalem temple in AD 70. Prior to this event, the church’s world headquarters was in Jerusalem. When the Romans destroyed the temple, they razed Jerusalem and it affected the dynamics of the church. Acts of the Apostles makes no reference to this important event, which would be strange if it was written after 70 AD
