Article
Who Wrote the Book of Acts?
Luke wrote Acts for Theophilus, the same man addressed in his Gospel. The Muratorian fragment and Irenaeus say so. The book never says Paul wrote it.
On this page
Luke wrote the book of Acts. The opening calls it the second treatise to Theophilus, after the Gospel that tells what Jesus began to do and teach. Irenaeus calls Luke the companion of Paul. The Muratorian fragment says Luke wrote the Acts to the most excellent Theophilus. Paul is a main character. He is not the author.
Key points
- Luke 1:3
It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,
Luke 1:3 · King James VersionOpen source (1) addresses “most excellent Theophilus.” Acts 1:1The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,
Acts 1:1 · King James VersionOpen source (2) calls the Gospel “the former treatise” to the same man. - Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3.1.1, says Luke, the companion of Paul, recorded the Gospel Paul preached. (4) The sentence is quoted in full on Who Wrote Matthew, Mark, and Luke?.
- The Muratorian fragment says Luke comprised the Acts in one book for the most excellent Theophilus, and that he omitted Peter’s passion and Paul’s journey from Rome to Spain. (3)
- Colossians 4:14
Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you.
Colossians 4:14 · King James VersionOpen source (5) names Luke the beloved physician. - Acts 16:10
And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them.
Acts 16:10 · King James VersionOpen source is the first “we”: the narrator goes to Macedonia with the party. The “we” returns in the voyage to Rome. - Acts 28 leaves Paul alive in his own rented house in Rome. The book does not narrate his death or the fall of Jerusalem. That is an argument from silence.
The former treatise
Luke 1:1–41:1 Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us,
1:2 Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;
1:3 It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,
1:4 That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.
Luke 1:1–4 · King James VersionOpen source explains the Gospel. The writer has investigated what eyewitnesses delivered, and he writes in order for one reader. Luke 1:3It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,
Luke 1:3 · King James VersionOpen source, King James Version:
It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,
Luke 1:3 · King James Version
Acts 1:1The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,
Acts 1:1 · King James VersionOpen source begins, “The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach.” Former treatise, same name, same “I.” The two books are a pair. “Most excellent” is the address Luke uses. This page does not invent a biography for Theophilus, a rank, or a city. The name is the link between the volumes.
Who Wrote Matthew, Mark, and Luke? quotes the Muratorian fragment on Luke the physician, who did not see the Lord in the flesh and began with the birth of John. The same fragment continues into Acts.
What the Muratorian fragment says about Acts
The Roberts-Donaldson translation: (3)
Moreover, the Acts of all the Apostles are comprised by Luke in one book, and addressed to the most excellent Theophilus, because these different events took place when he was present himself; and he shows this clearly-i.e., that the principle on which he wrote was, to give only what fell under his own notice-by the omission of the passion of Peter, and also of the journey of Paul, when he went from the city-Rome-to Spain.
Muratorian fragment, on Acts · Roberts-Donaldson, Ante-Nicene Fathers 5
The Latin is fragmentary, and the English includes restorations. The stable claims are Luke, one book, Theophilus, and two omissions: Peter’s death and a journey of Paul to Spain. The fragment treats those omissions as evidence that Luke wrote what he was present for. A reader can accept the authorship and still notice that “present himself” cannot cover every chapter. The infancy narrative in the Gospel, and the early Jerusalem chapters of Acts, are scenes Luke’s own preface assigns to eyewitnesses he received the story from, not to his own eyes. Luke 1:2Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;
Luke 1:2 · King James VersionOpen source says as much. The “we” passages are the chapters where the narrator includes himself.
Irenaeus’s line is shorter. Luke is “the companion of Paul.” (4) Colossians 4:14Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you.
Colossians 4:14 · King James VersionOpen source is Paul’s own greeting: Luke, the beloved physician. 2 Timothy 4:11Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry.
2 Timothy 4:11 · King James VersionOpen source says only Luke is with him. The letters and the second-century writers are naming one companion.
The “we” passages
Acts 16:10And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them.
Acts 16:10 · King James VersionOpen source changes the pronoun. Paul has seen a vision asking for help in Macedonia, “and after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia.” The narrator is in the party. The “we” appears again on the later voyage, including the shipwreck and the arrival in Rome in Acts 27 and Acts 28. Between those stretches the book returns to “they” and “he.” The simplest reading is a writer who traveled with Paul for part of the story and used reports for the rest. That fits a companion. It does not fit Paul narrating his own life in the third person and then slipping into “we” beside himself.
When was Acts written?
Acts 28:30And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him,
Acts 28:30 · King James VersionOpen source says Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house and received all who came. The book stops. It does not describe Paul’s death. It does not describe the temple’s destruction. Silence is not a date. A book can be written after an event and leave the event out. The argument from silence is only that the narrative’s last scene is a living Paul in Rome, and that Jerusalem in the book is still the city of the temple. Did Paul invent Christianity? answers a different question, whether his message was a later replacement. Acts is one of the narratives of the message. Luke is the author the early lists name, not a committee assigned to agree with Paul after the fact.
Christians at Antioch
Acts 11:26And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
Acts 11:26 · King James VersionOpen source says that for a whole year Barnabas and Saul assembled with the church at Antioch and taught many people, and that the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. The verse is Luke’s report of a name. It sits in the book whose author this page is identifying. Tacitus, quoted on Was Jesus a Real Person?, uses the name Christians for the people Nero punished, and he derives it from Christus.
Acts 1:8But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Acts 1:8 · King James VersionOpen source has Jesus tell the apostles that they will receive power when the Holy Ghost comes, and that they will be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judaea, Samaria, and to the uttermost part of the earth. The book then tells that spread. The speeches in Acts are part of the same book. They are not a second author’s insert that the Muratorian fragment failed to notice.
Frequently asked questions
Did Paul write Acts?
Paul did not write Acts. He is the person the second half follows. The author says “we” while traveling with him, which is a companion’s pronoun. Romans 1:1Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,
Romans 1:1 · King James VersionOpen source shows how Paul opens a letter when he is the writer. Acts opens like Luke’s Gospel, to Theophilus.
Was Luke an eyewitness of Jesus?
The Muratorian fragment says he did not see the Lord in the flesh. Luke 1:2Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;
Luke 1:2 · King James VersionOpen source says he received the account from those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses. His own presence, on the fragment’s terms and on the “we” of Acts, belongs to the later travels with Paul.
Does Acts mention a woman apostle?
Romans 16:7Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellow-prisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me.
Romans 16:7 · King James VersionOpen source is Paul’s greeting, and it is in a letter, not a sentence of Acts about who led the church. The King James Version says, “Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellow-prisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me.” “Of note among the apostles” can mean well known to the apostles, or outstanding among them. The verse names Junia beside Andronicus. It does not say she was the only woman among them, and this page does not add that claim. Acts tells of women who hosted churches and who spoke, including Acts 18:26And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.
Acts 18:26 · King James VersionOpen source, where Priscilla and Aquila expound the way of God to Apollos. That is the book’s own report.
Keep reading
References
- Gospel of Luke, 1:1–41:1
Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us,
1:2Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;
1:3It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,
1:4That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.
Luke 1:1–4 · King James VersionOpen source. King James Version - Acts of the Apostles, 1:1; 16:10; 11:26
The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,
Acts 1:1 · King James VersionOpen source. King James Version - Muratorian fragment, Acts
Moreover, the Acts of all the Apostles are comprised by Luke in one book, and addressed to the most excellent Theophilus, because these different events took place when he was present himself; and he shows this clearly-i.e., that the principle on which he wrote was, to give only what fell under his own notice-by the omission of the passion of Peter, and also of the journey of Paul, when he went from the city-Rome-to Spain.
Muratorian fragment, on Acts · Roberts-Donaldson, Ante-Nicene Fathers 5Open source (Roberts-Donaldson translation, Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 5. The Latin is fragmentary. The English follows restorations. Footnote numbers in that edition are omitted.) - Against Heresies, 3.1.1
Matthew also issued a written Gospel among the Hebrews in their own dialect, while Peter and Paul were preaching at Rome, and laying the foundations of the Church. After their departure, Mark, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, did also hand down to us in writing what had been preached by Peter. Luke also, the companion of Paul, recorded in a book the Gospel preached by him. Afterwards, John, the disciple of the Lord, who also had leaned upon His breast, did himself publish a Gospel during his residence at Ephesus in Asia.
Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3.1.1 · Ante-Nicene Fathers, New AdventOpen source (Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3.1.1, calls Luke the companion of Paul. Ante-Nicene Fathers, as published on New Advent, revised and edited by Kevin Knight.) - Letter to the Colossians, 4:14
Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you.
Colossians 4:14 · King James VersionOpen source. King James Version - Letter to the Romans, 16:7
Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellow-prisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me.
Romans 16:7 · King James VersionOpen source. King James Version
See also
- Who Wrote Genesis in the Bible? — Jesus and the books themselves name Moses as the writer of the law, Genesis through Deuteronomy. The documentary hypothesis reads those books as later sources woven together.
- Who Wrote Matthew, Mark, and Luke? — Papias and Irenaeus name Mark as Peter’s interpreter, Matthew as the writer of a Gospel in Hebrew, and Luke as Paul’s companion. The books themselves do not open with those names.
- Who Wrote the Bible? — God is the Bible’s author, and named people wrote its books. Moses, the prophets, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Paul are the writers the books and the early church name.
- Who Wrote the Book of Revelation? — The book names John, a brother on Patmos. Justin and Irenaeus say he was the apostle, and that the vision came near the end of Domitian’s reign. Dionysius hesitated to identify that John with the son of Zebedee.
- Who Wrote the Gospel of John? — The Gospel says the beloved disciple wrote it. Irenaeus names John, the disciple who leaned on Jesus’ breast, publishing at Ephesus. Dionysius’s doubt about a second John is quoted from Eusebius.