Book 44 - Acts

The Book of Acts, also called Acts of the Apostles, is a historical narrative that picks up immediately after the Gospels and follows what happens next.

It tells the story of how the early Jesus movement spreads outward from Jerusalem into the broader Roman world. The focus is not on Jesus’ life, but on how His followers understood His resurrection and began organizing, teaching, traveling, arguing, and sometimes clashing with political and religious authorities.

Acts reads partly like history, partly like travelogue, and partly like courtroom drama. It is the bridge between the Gospels and the letters that follow.

Who is speaking?

Acts is traditionally attributed to Luke, the same author as the Gospel of Luke.

The writing style, vocabulary, and structure strongly suggest that Acts is a second volume, written to continue the same project. In several places, the narration shifts into “we,” indicating the author is traveling alongside some of the events being described.

Historical setting

Acts is set in the decades following Jesus’ death and resurrection, during the height of Roman rule.

Key features of the world Acts describes:

• Roman political authority over Judea and surrounding regions

• Jewish religious leadership operating under Roman oversight

• Widespread use of Greek as a common language

• Extensive Roman road systems that allow travel across regions

• Cities with mixed populations and competing belief systems

The setting is critical to note because Acts is as much about movement as message.

What Acts is describing

Acts follows a clear outward progression.

The story begins in Jerusalem, centered on a small group of Jesus’ followers. From there, it moves:

• Into surrounding Jewish communities

• Then into mixed Jewish–Gentile regions

• Eventually into major Roman cities

Along the way, Acts records:

• Public speeches

• Private debates

• Miracles and healings

• Arrests and trials

• Disagreements within the early church

The book spends most of its time following two figures, Peter in the early stages and then Paul as the book progresses.

It doesn’t present the early church as unified or flawless. It presents it as active, contested, and constantly adapting.

How the book is structured

Acts divides naturally into two large movements:

1. The Jerusalem-centered phase

   
   

   • The earliest community

   • Internal organization

   • Initial public opposition

   
   

2. The mission-centered phase

   
   

   • Expansion beyond Jerusalem

   • Long journeys across the Roman world

   • Encounters with different cultures, authorities, and belief systems

   
   

The book ends without a clean resolution. Paul is under house arrest in Rome, teaching openly, with the future left unresolved.

Why Acts matters for what comes next

Acts provides the context for everything that follows in the New Testament.

The letters attributed to Paul, Peter, James, and others are written to places and situations Acts has already introduced. Without Acts, those letters appear suddenly, without background.

Acts shows how Christianity moved from a small group in Jerusalem to a multi-ethnic movement spanning the Roman world.

Spotlight: The Conversion of Saul (Acts 9, 22, 26)

Few stories in the New Testament are retold as often as Saul’s conversion.

Saul, a Pharisee, is first introduced as a fierce opponent of the Jesus movement. He actively supports the arrest and execution of believers and is authorized to travel and suppress the movement beyond Jerusalem.

While traveling to Damascus, Saul is suddenly overwhelmed by a blinding light and falls to the ground. He hears a voice asking why he is persecuting Him. Saul asks who is speaking. The reply identifies itself as Jesus.

Saul is left blind and helpless, led into the city by others. For several days he cannot see, eat, or drink.

At the same time, a follower named Ananias is instructed to find Saul. He is hesitant, knowing Saul’s reputation. Nevertheless, he goes, restores Saul’s sight, and Saul is baptized.

What makes this moment distinctive is not just the experience itself, but its consequences.

Saul does not disappear into private belief. He immediately begins speaking publicly, first in Jewish synagogues, and eventually across the Roman world. The book later refers to him by his Roman name, Paul, as his mission expands beyond Jewish communities.

Acts revisits this conversion story multiple times, allowing Paul to recount it himself before hostile crowds and Roman officials. The repetition underscores how central this turning point is to the story Acts is telling and to much of the rest of the New Testament.

Spotlight: Pentecost (Acts 2)

Pentecost takes place shortly after Jesus’ death and resurrection, during a Jewish festival already on the calendar.

Pentecost, also called the Feast of Weeks, was a pilgrimage festival. Jews from across the Roman world traveled to Jerusalem to celebrate the harvest and commemorate the giving of the Law at Sinai. This means the city was crowded with people who spoke different languages and came from different regions.

Jesus’ followers were gathered together in Jerusalem when the event occurs.

The text describes a sudden sound like a rushing wind filling the place where they were staying. What appear to be tongues of fire rest on each person. The followers begin speaking in other languages they had not previously known.

The reaction outside is immediate confusion.

People in the crowd hear their own native languages being spoken. Others assume the speakers are drunk. The scene is chaotic and public, not private or mystical.

Peter addresses the crowd and explains that what they are witnessing is not intoxication but the fulfillment of earlier prophetic language about God’s spirit being poured out widely. He then gives a speech that connects Jesus’ death and resurrection to Israel’s scriptures.

The response is significant. Acts records that thousands of people join the movement that day. The new community begins organizing around shared meals, teaching, prayer, and care for one another.

What makes Pentecost especially important in the structure of Acts is what changes afterward.

Before Pentecost, Jesus’ followers are mostly waiting. After Pentecost, they begin speaking publicly, traveling, organizing, and attracting attention from authorities. The movement shifts from a small, localized group into something visible and difficult to ignore.

Pentecost is often described as the beginning of the church, not because it introduces new beliefs, but because it marks the moment when the movement becomes outward-facing and multi-lingual. From this point on, Acts focuses less on preparation and more on expansion.

The event also sets a pattern that continues throughout the book:

• Public speech followed by reaction

• Growth followed by opposition

• Expansion into new regions and cultures

Even readers unfamiliar with Acts often recognize Pentecost indirectly. The language of fire, wind, and speaking across language barriers has influenced art, music, and religious vocabulary for centuries.