Acts

Acts as context for the early church and Paul’s letters.

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The Book of Acts provides important context for understanding the early church and the missionary activity of the Apostle Paul. Luke begins Acts where the Gospel of Luke ends—with a resurrected Jesus teaching his disciples. In the subsequent chapters Luke describes the pouring out of the Spirit and the expansion of the early church throughout the Mediterranean region. The apostle Paul plays a key role in this expansion through a series of missionary journeys, which are described in the second half of Acts. During these journeys Paul starts new churches in cities like Corinth, Philippi, and Thessalonica–churches that he later writes letters to. These letters make up a large portion of the New Testament, and Acts provides the context for many of these letters. While it is difficult to synchronize exactly the descriptions in Acts with Paul’s letters, Acts provides a general timeline for the early church and many of the NT writings.

From the events in Acts, we can arrive at a general timeline for the early church and the apostle Paul. However, there are two particularly debated issues that affect any more detailed timeline; those issues are: 1) Do the time periods mentioned in Galatians 1:18 (3 years) and 2:1 (14 years) overlap, or are they sequential (not to mention Gal 1:17 states Paul went to Arabia after his conversion, something Acts does not mention)? 2) Does Paul’s trip to Jerusalem, described in Galatians 2, match Acts 11:27-30 or Acts 15?  With these issues in mind (as well as uncertainty whether Jesus was crucified in A.D. 30 or 33), here is a possible timeline (borrowed from Darrell Bock’s Acts commentary) for the early church based on Acts:

DateEventReferencePaul’s Letters
AD 33Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection4 Gospels; Acts 1 
50 days after resurrectionPentecost and the pouring out of the Holy SpiritActs 2 
AD 34Martyrdom of Stephen, scattering of the church from Jerusalem, Paul’s conversionActs 7-9 
AD 48-49First missionary journeyActs 13-14 
AD 49/50Jerusalem CouncilActs 15:1-35Galatians (shortly before council)
AD 50-52Second Missionary JourneyActs 15:36-18:221-2 Thessalonians
AD 53-57Third Missionary JourneyActs 18:23-21:161-2 Corinthians, Romans
AD 57-59Paul’s arrest and imprisonmentActs 21:27-26:31 
AD 59-61Paul’s journey and imprisonment in RomeActs 27-28Philippians, Colossians, Ephesians, Philemon
AD 62-63Paul’s release from prison and trip to SpainRomans 15:24, 28;
1 Clement 5:5–7		1 Timothy
AD 64-66Paul’s imprisonment and execution in Rome2 Timothy 1:8; 4:6–8: Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 2.22Titus, 2 Timothy

 Paul’s missionary activity is followed in a more detailed way throughout Acts. The following paragraphs summarize and follow Paul’s journeys in text and in maps.

First missionary journey.

Paul’s first missionary journey is described in Acts 13:1–14:28. The Holy Spirit calls the church in Antioch to “set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” After fasting and prayer, the church sends out Paul and Barnabas (who also take along John Mark). The journey followed the following route:

After leaving Antioch (Acts 13:1–3), they travel to Seleucia (Acts 13:4) to Salamis (Acts 13:5) to New Paphos (Acts 13:6–12) to Perga of Pamphylia (Acts 13:13; John Mark leaves the mission) to Antioch of Pisidia (Acts 13:14–52) to Iconium (Acts 14:1–7) to Lystra  (Acts 14:8–20) to Derbe (Acts 14:20). After Derbe, Paul and Barnabas double back to visit the same towns again and appoint elders in Lystra, Iconium, and Pisidian Antioch (Acts 14:21–23). They then travel to Perga and Attalia (Acts 14:25) and finally back to Antioch (Acts 14:26–28).

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 Second missionary journey.

Paul’s second missionary journey is recorded in Acts 15:36–18:22. Shortly after the Jerusalem council, Paul and Barnabas decide to return and visit the churches in every city where they had proclaimed the word of the Lord (Acts 15:36). Paul and Barnabas sharply disagree over taking John Mark with them again to the point that they part ways; Paul instead takes Silas with him, and Barnabas sails for Cyprus with John Mark.

Some of Paul’s most memorable encounters happen on this journey. In Lystra, Paul meets Timothy and invites him to join his missionary team (Acts 16:1-3). Timothy would be one of Paul’s most trusted fellow-workers (Rom 16:21; 1 Cor 4:17; Phil 1:1; Col 1:1; 1 Thes 1:1; Philemon 1:1; 1-2 Timothy). Passing through Asia to Troas, Paul receives a vision of a man from Macedonia calling him to cross the Aegean sea. Soon after, Paul and his companions set sail for the Macedonian region (Acts 16:8-10). In Philippi, Paul casts a fortune telling spirit out of a slave girl, which enrages her masters to the point they get Paul and Silas put in jail (Acts 16:16-24). An earthquake from the Lord frees Paul and Silas who choose to witness to the jailer rather than flee (Acts 16:25-40). After further travel, Paul eventually arrives in the Greek city of Corinth and spends about a year a half there. Paul most likely wrote his two letters to the church of Thessalonica during this stay at Corinth. Paul also meets Priscilla and Aquila, who become a trusted ministry couple for years to come (Acts 18:18-26; Rom 16:3; 1 Cor 16:19; 2 Tim 14:9).

The second missionary journey went along the following route: After leaving Antioch, Paul and Silas travel to Syria and Cilicia (Acts 15:41) to Derbe and Lystra (Acts 16:1–5) through the Phyrgian and Galatian region (Acts 16:6) to Mysia (Acts 16:7–8) to Troas (Acts 16:8–10). By boat they went to Samothrace (Acts 16:11) and on to Neapolis (Acts 16:11). Once again on land, they travelled to Philippi (Acts 16:12–40; 1 Thess 2:2; Phil 4:15). They then went through Amphipolis and Apollonia (Acts 17:1) on the way to Thessalonica (Acts 17:1–9; 1 Thess 2:1–10; Phil 4:16) to Berea (Acts 17:10–14) to Athens (Acts 17:15–34; 1 Thess 3:1–6) to Corinth (Acts 18:1–17; 1 Cor 3:6). Paul then headed back by boarding a ship at Cenchrea (Acts 18:18) and sailed to Ephesus where he left Priscilla and Aquila (Acts 18:19–21) and then sailed on to Caesarea (Acts 18:22). From Caesarea, Paul and Silas probably went to Jerusalem before eventually returning to the church in Antioch.

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Third missionary journey

Acts 18:23–21:16 describes Paul’s third missionary journey, which once again departs from Antioch. After encouraging the churches in Galatia and Phyrgia, Paul arrived in Ephesus, where he successfully ministered for about three years (Acts 19). Threats and violence from those who made idols of the goddess Artemis caused Paul to finally leave. During his stay in Ephesus, Paul most likely wrote his first letter to the Corinthians, and sometime later his second letter to the Corinthians in response to a report from Titus (2 Cor 7:6, 13; 8:16-23). From Ephesus, Paul visited Macedonia and went on to Greece. Paul stayed three months in Greece, mostly likely in Corinth the majority of the time where he wrote the epistle to the Romans. On the return trip to Jerusalem, Paul went through Macedonia again, visiting Philippi. After sailing from Troas to Miletus, the elders of the Ephesian church met with Paul for the last time (Acts 20:17-38). From there, Paul and his companions traveled to Caesarea by boat, making several stops along the way (Acts 21:1-8). After a short stay in Caesarea, Paul and others made the pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost and for Paul to fulfill his oath (Acts 21:15-26).

We can trace the third missionary journey through the following places: Paul and his companions went through Galatia and Phyrgia strengthening disciples (Acts 18:23) and on to Ephesus, where Paul stayed 3 years (Acts 19:1–40; 1 Cor 16:8). After the stay in Ephesus, they went through Macedonia strengthening the churches on their way to Corinth/Greece (Acts 20:2), where they stayed 3 months. As they headed back to Syria/Jerusalem they once again passed through Macedonia/Philippi (Acts 20:3–6a). From Philippi they sailed to Troas where Paul raised the boy who fell out a window (Acts 20:6b–12). They then sailed to Assos, Mitylene, Chios, Samos (Acts 20:13–15) and on to Miletus (Acts 20:16–38). After meeting with the Ephesian elders in Miletus, they sailed to Cos, Rhodes, Patara       (Acts 21:1–2) and on to Tyre (Acts 21:3) to Ptolemais (Acts 21:7) to Caesarea (Acts 21:8–14) and finally to Jerusalem (Acts 21:15, 17–26).

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Journey to Rome      

After his arrest for causing a disturbance in the temple, Paul remains in custody for at least two years awaiting trial. During this time, the Jewish leaders accuse and plot to kill Paul, and Paul makes several speeches and appeals before various Roman authorities (Acts 22:22-26:31). All these Roman authorities appear to consider Paul innocent, which may be the author’s way of showing Christianity’s harmlessness to Rome and its citizens. After appealing to Caesar during his trial before the governor Festus (Acts 25:11-12), Paul begins his journey to Rome. The mostly ocean voyage takes several months due to a shipwreck on the island of Malta. After finally arriving in Rome, Acts 28:30-31 states that Paul proclaimed the gospel without hindrance for two years as he awaited trial. The book of Acts ends with this statement of Paul’s bold proclamation of the gospel in Rome, which was a fitting fulfillment of Jesus’ commission (Acts 1:8) to be his witnesses to “the ends of the earth.” From his letter to the Philippians, we learn that Paul even had opportunity to spread the gospel among the imperial guards, and to Caesar’s household (Phil. 1:12-13; 4:22). In addition to his epistles to the Philippians, Paul also probably wrote his epistle to the Colossians, Ephesians, and to Philemon during his Roman imprisonment.

Very early tradition suggests that Paul was released after this imprisonment (1 Clement 5:5–7; Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 2.22) and continued even further west on another missionary journey. During this period of freedom, Paul probably wrote First Timothy and Titus. Not long after his release, Emperor Nero blamed the great Roman fire on Christians. A severe persecution broke out against the Christians, which probably resulted in Paul’s re-arrest and transfer to Rome. During this imprisonment Paul wrote his last letter—Second Timothy. Paul was most likely martyred by Nero sometime in AD 64-66.

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End Notes

Bock, Darrell. Acts. BECNT; Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007.

Lenski, R. The Interpretation of the Acts of the Apostles. Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1961.

Parsons, M. Acts. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008.

Schreiner, Patrick.  Acts. Christian Standard Commentary. Holman Publishing, 2021.

The Book of Acts: God-directed Mission

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The next few posts will introduce some major themes in the “Acts of the Apostles”. This title appears in several ancient manuscripts of the New Testament, but as Darrell Bock (2007, 7) suggests, the main character of Acts is not the apostles as much as the Triune God, who “enables, directs, protects, and orchestrates. Nothing shows this as much as the story of Paul, who comes to faith by Jesus’ direct intervention and is protected as he travels to Rome, despite shipwreck.” The Spirit empowers the apostles and early church to be witnesses for Christ’s salvation from Jerusalem to the “ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). The extension of God’s kingdom throughout the earth fulfills God’s long standing promises to “pour out his Spirit on all flesh” (Acts 2:17; Joel 2:28-32) and to call the Gentiles to himself (Acts 13:47; Isa 49:6. Acts 15:14-18; Amos 9:11). The “way” of Christ is not a new religion, but a continuation of God’s promised plan to redeem the world. Spirit inspired testimony to Christ goes throughout the known world – from servants to governors, from Jews to Samaritans to even the Gentiles in Rome.

God uses persecution to advance the Gospel.

Even persecution can be used by the sovereign God to advance the gospel. The early chapters of Acts report the tremendous growth of the church in and around Jerusalem. Initially, Jesus’ commission for the apostles to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8) goes unfulfilled. God sovereignly used the Jewish leaders’ hostility towards the church to spread the Christian witness to new areas. By killing and persecuting Christians, the Jewish leaders hoped to crush the Christian movement. But what they meant for harm, God used to spread the gospel.

The stoning of Stephen began the first widespread persecution, which caused Christians to flee Jerusalem and “scatter throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria” (Acts 8:1). Ironically, this persecution was led by a zealous young Jew named Saul, who would later spread the Christian movement even farther. Lenski (1961, 311-315) notes, “The persecution aimed to destroy the infant church; in the providence of God it did the very opposite. It started a great number of new congregations especially in all of Palestine, each becoming a living center from which the gospel radiated into new territory even as Jesus had traced its course by adding after Jerusalem ‘all Judea and Samaria’ . . . These were ordinary Christians; they did not set themselves up as preachers but told people why they had to leave Jerusalem and thus testified to their faith in Christ Jesus. They fulfilled the duty that is to this day incumbent on every Christian. In 11:19 Luke indicates how far this dispersion reached: to Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch.”

Jesus’ commission to witness to “Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth” was now being fulfilled. As if to show that God was fully in control, even the one who led the persecution—Saul, ends up becoming an apostle to the Gentiles. By the end of the book of Acts, Saul the persecutor has become Paul the persecuted. Saul led a persecution that spread Christianity to Judea and Samaria, and now Paul was himself being persecuted so that he would bring the gospel to Rome and the ends of the earth. God’s utilizing even persecution to further his purposes provides another reason for seeing the Triune God as the main actor in the book of Acts.

End Notes

Bock, Darrell. Acts. BECNT; Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007.

Lenski, R. The Interpretation of the Acts of the Apostles. Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1961.

Parsons, M. Acts. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008.

Exegetical Sermon Series on the Book of Acts with a note on “scope”.

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A busy summer that included teaching biblical Greek at Tyndale Theological Seminary in the Netherlands meant no time for blog posting. Since some of my most visited posts are sermon outlines, I have posted an outline and audio links of my current sermon series on Acts below (chapters 1-5). In an exegetical sermon series, it is important to determine the proper “scope” of each passage. As described in the “10 Steps to Interpretation,” the interpreter tries to interpret and communicate the text in units that follow the author’s presentation. Using structural and contextual clues, one attempts to divide larger sections into manageable units to preach—but a unit that follows the author’s presentation as closely as possible.

We naturally follow this practice in other disciplines. Teachers usually assign and teach according to the chapters/sections/paragraphs of a textbook’s author. Following the author’s intentioned breaks and transitions makes it easier to teach and understand the content. The biblical writers did not use modern conventions like chapter divisions (the chapter and verse numbering of modern Bibles are a later addition—yet they can help discern sections as long as the interpreter realizes their later origin), but there are clues to where the author intends a shift or new unit. Through a shift in scene, the introduction of a new argument, a change in genre, a keyword, or other technique, the author signals a change. These signals help mark out the smaller units that can be reasonably treated without doing violence to the author’s intention.

*Note – I would normally treat Acts 1:1-11 as a unit, but I wanted to give some background information to Acts and relate it to the Gospel of Luke, while keeping the sermon to 30 minutes. Likewise, Pentecost was meant to be a unified passage, but the theological and literary implications are too great to be covered in one sermon. The exegetical preacher must balance the scope of a passage with laying bare the meaning of the text in a way that the congregation can process (i.e. taking into account cultural attention spans).

Luke 1:1-4; Acts 1:1-3. Main point: The Gospel of Christ is based in history and transforms our history. Audio: Transforming History.
Acts 1:4-11 Main point: Jesus gives his followers a clear mission and the resources to accomplish that mission. Audio: A Clear Mission.
Acts 1:12-26 Main point: Times of transition/waiting are times for prayer in which God can direct us how to take the next step. Audio: Praying Through the Transition Process.
Acts 2:1-21 Main point: As promised, Jesus sends the Spirit to empower his people to do supernatural things. Audio: The Promised Spirit.
Acts 2:22-41 Main point: Jesus fulfills scripture, rose from the dead, and gives the Spirit so repent and be baptized in His name. Audio: Jesus-Lord and Christ.
Acts 2:42-47 Main point: We must devote ourselves to Bible, worship, fellowship, prayer, and evangelism. Audio: 5 Essentials to Building a Healthy Church.
Acts 3 Main point: Give Jesus – exalt Jesus. Audio: What I have I Give to You.
Acts 4:1-31 Main point: Dealing with opposition? You are only responsible for you. Obey God, He will empower you. Audio: Dealing with Opposition and Conflict.
Acts 4:32-5:11 Main point: The presence of the Lord, and internal opposition to His way, should not be taken lightly. Audio: Are You Serious?
Acts 5:12-42 Main point: If we are in God’s will, nothing can stop us. Audio: Stopping a Freight Train.